Hi everyone. I said in my last post that I will try to pass on some nuggets of wisdom I picked up at the Create Your Own Economy (CYOE) workshop. One of them was branding. One of the reasons I started blogging was that since I am in the healthcare field, I wanted to give health information to people such that it is easy to understand. The other reason I started doing that was to monetize my blog. I am also interested in wealth and so I thought I would write a post about that once in a while and finally, I read a lot of books on self improvement and if I find something useful, I pass it on to you via the blog. So I decided that I would concentrate on health, wealth and wisdom related topics. I believe it was Benjamin Franklin who said “Early to bed, early to rise, make a man healthy wealthy and wise”.

Anyway, back to branding. At the workshop we learned that branding makes you different, especially if you are not. Think about the most popular brands: Nike is well known for shoes. Ferrari is well known for making fast cars. Also when you build a brand, you can then expand it into similar areas. For example Coke wanted to get into bottled water. But if they would have come up with Coke Water it would have been confusing. So instead they created a brand called Dasani. Now Coors beer company also wanted to get into bottled water. They created Coors Water but no one bought the water. They should have done what Coke did. So your brand needs to be strong and positive. There was a comedy serial on American TV called Seinfeld. In one episode, one of the characters is a proctologist. So his boat is called Assman. He orders a personalized license plate called Assman. Also based on the example of Coors, you need to realize where it would make sense to extend your brand and where it would make sense to create a different brand. For example, in the US we get disposable razors and pens made by a company called Bic. Now these items are cheap, but they don’t last long. What if Bic decided they want to make pacemakers? Would you buy them? No, because you associate Bic with disposable, short lived items. Another example is Heinz ketchup. Their commercials show that the ketchup comes out of the bottle slowly because it is thick and not watery. But if Heinz decided to build a sports car, would you buy it. Probably not because you associate Heinz with slow ketchup. Branding also gives you the ability to charge higher prices for your services. Think of Starbucks. They sell coffee, but it costs almost $3.00 for a small cup. I can buy a cheap cup of coffee which will probably taste the same and give you the same amount of energy boost at some other store for less than $1.00, but because of the brand Starbucks is able to charge more. So if you want to differentiate yourself, then branding is the way to go.

Hi everyone, over the weekend from October 14-16, 2016, I was at a conference called Create Your Own Economy (CYOE) and it was led by New York Times Best Selling Author, Raymond Aaron. He has written books on Real Estate Investing, The Chicken Soup for the Soul series and Dummies series. He also invites other celebrities like Dr. John Gray, Dr. Ivan Misner, Stedman Graham (Oprah’s boyfriend), Larry Loik, Jack Canfield and many more. So over the next few days I am going to write about what I learned in this conference. Again, I hope you don’t get bored, but I definitely learned something new and I am implementing some of those things in my day to day life. For example he said most people worry about things they can’t control and things that don’t matter. Successful people work on things that matter to them and that are under their control. That is why they are not busy, but they are productive. Another thing he mentioned was that branding is very important. One of the ways you can brand yourself is to write a book. Now I have written 5 books: An Addition to Our Family (available on www.xlibris.com), Taming Ebola, 50 Things to Do if You Get Laid Off ( my friends suggested that if I would have changed the title slightly, it would have become a best seller, but I will leave that up to you to figure out), Taming Zika (available on Amazon kindle), and finally The Great Testosterone Myth (available on Amazon). But in the future, I am going to concentrate on books in the healthcare realm because that is the area I am most familiar with. Stay tuned for posts about what I learned at CYOE. Maybe you might learn something too. As usual I will keep you posted when my next book is published. Actually Dr. John Gray gave me an idea and I might pursue that.

Good morning all. Last night I went to a talk where the speaker was a special agent from the FBI. His department was weapons of mass destruction. As most of you know, I work in the pharmaceutical industry and in todays environment, the threat of terrorism is very serious. Especially chemical and biological weapons. Since pharmaceutical/biotech industry uses a lot of chemicals that can be easily used to make explosives, this talk was a part of the FBI’s outreach initiative. They work with local law enforcement, first responders and civilians to raise awareness about terrorism. Especially post 9/11, the focus has been on prevention of such acts. We were also told that if we see something we should say something. You never know what might be a dangerous situation. He told us about some cases they have come across where students or enraged spouses had gotten instructions from the internet and tried to create devices to endanger people. Common chemicals like nail polish remover, chlorine, hydrogen peroxide, ammonium nitrate that can be bought in beauty supply stores or home improvement stores can be turned into deadly weapons easily. These things can be built in the basements, backyards or other places. In most cases, neighbors don’t even know that something is going on.

Now most pharma/biotech companies have restricted access to their labs and facilities, but beauty supply and home improvement stores don’t. Neither do facilities like garages, pool supply stores, and metal polishing stores. So the bottom line is be aware and when in doubt report it to the proper authorities.

Good morning. Have you ever wondered if your neighbor is a millionaire? Well according to Dr. Thomas J Stanley who wrote the best seller The Millionaire Next Door, it is a definite possibility. Dr. Stanley studied the habits of wealthy people and surprisingly found that most people who are wealthy don’t display their wealth. According to him, people who buy expensive things are aspirational, meaning they want to be rich and they buy things to satisfy their idea of what being rich means. Through his research Dr. Stanley found that millionaires don’t live in expensive houses, or drive expensive cars. They don’t eat in expensive restaurants or buy fancy clothes. Take Warren Buffet for example. He is one of the richest person in the world, but he lives in the same house his parents had bought. He lives in Omaha, Nebraska and not in a million dollar penthouse apartment in New York city. He eats popcorn and watches movies for entertainment. What Dr. Stanley found out was that it is more important to keep what you earn rather than earning more. Just because someone earns more doesn’t mean they are rich. If their expenses are more than their earnings, what is the use. The millionaire next door is able to save money, have no debt and they believe in experiences rather than materialistic things. So the next time you see your neighbor driving an old car or wearing simple clothes, he might just besitting on a million dollars.

Good morning. With the Presidential election campaign going on in full swing, we see that everyday the candidates are accusing each other of something. Then they go on the offensive and make the campaign personal. But that is not the right way to disarm your critics. If they accuse you of something, try to deflect it by saying that you respect that person and that perhaps you can look into it. This way you take emotion out of the equation and at the same time take the high ground. It also prevents further questions into the accusation. I remember the movie Clear and Present Danger. In it a very close friend of the US President is murdered by Colombian drug dealers. Apparently, this person was embezzling money from the cartel. So the Presidents advisors tell him to downplay the situation by saying that they were really not good friends. But Jack Ryan, the character Harrison Ford plays, tells the President that if he downplays the situation, it will raise more questions. Instead he advises the President to acknowledge the friendship. This prevents any further inquiry from the press. I sometimes get very upset when people accuse me of something or when they criticize me. I used to respond by getting upset and making it personal. But I realized that it escalates the matter. So I am going to try to use this strategy.

Hi everyone. Everyone I know wants to lose weight. There are many ways of doing it. But one popular way is to count calories. Everyone thinks that all calories are created equal. But that is not the case. Take for example a 1.5 oz bag of potato chips. It has 240 calories of which 142 calories are from fat. And I can guarantee you that after about 30 minutes or so, you will be hungry again. Now look at a smoothie/shake. The one that I drink every morning is made of 16 oz unsweetened vanilla almond milk (60 calories), two scoops of whey protein powder (150 calories) and 1 scoop of Organifi powdered greens (25 calories) for total 235 calories. But this smoothie/shake will tide me over until lunch. So especially if you are trying to lose weight and think a calorie is a calorie, think again. The quality of those calories also matter. Eat things that are low calorie, but fill up on them. Add a lean piece of meat, some healthy fat from nuts or avocado and you are set. Speaking of calories and meals, if you want to start off your day with a protein shake like I do then get Organifi powdered greens here:

http://organifishop.com?rfsn=342107.18a9c and for a limited time if you use code ANI15, you will get 15% off your order. Enjoy.

Good morning all. Many of my readers in the US know that we are in the final days of campaigning for the US Presidential election. The Republican candidate, Mr. Donald Trump and the Democratic candidate, Mrs. Hillary Clinton are almost neck and neck although Mrs. Clinton has a slight edge in many states. Mrs. Clinton is a career politician and her husband, Mr. Bill Clinton has served as US President for 8 years. Mr. Trump is a businessman and a political outsider. But that was one of the qualities which helped him become the Republican frontrunner. However, Mr. Trump is a very outspoken man and many things that he has said in the past or recently are being used by Mrs. Clinton cleverly  to show the voters that he is unfit to be a President. Mrs. Clinton is not without her own skeletons in the closet. To be honest, I don’t like either of the candidates, but I am a registered Republican and as of right now, I am leaning towards Mr. Trump. Yes, I realize some of you will dislike me for that, but I believe in being loyal to the party. Besides, I do think it is time for an outsider to come in a shake up things. Mrs. Clinton, if she wins, will be the first woman President of the US. That is a huge deal. And I suspect many people might vote for her because of it. But I also think that she will continue the policies of Mr. Obama. It is also possible that she might just continue the status quo. However, I feel that the common person should not depend on the outcome of the Presidential election to make their lives better.

Good morning everyone. It has been a long time since my last post. I have been busy with other things and could not find the motivation to post. So this post is my way of getting back on track. But it is also about getting back on track after a fun weekend. On the weekend of October 1st and 2nd, a few friends and I went to the Pocono mountains for a guys weekend. This is the 5th year and we look forward to it every year. We rent a house, play volleyball, sample some of the finest single malt scotches, and unwind in general. But come Monday, it is back to reality. Work and family responsibilities are waiting. Also, we need to get back to a healthy lifestyle. One of the ways I do it is by starting my morning off with a nice protein shake. In fact a few months ago, I had written about it in our community newsletter. But basically you pick your base-water, skim milk, almond milk etc. Then pick a good protein powder. Add some fruits and vegetables and blend it. But sometimes, prepping for this takes time. However, for some time, I have been using a combination of protein powder and powdered superveggies. The brand of powdered veggies that I like the most is called Organifi. Also in the spirit of full disclosure, I am an affiliate for Organifi. But I would not endorse anything just for the heck of it. I would like to request you to give it a shot here:http://organifishop.com?rfsn=342107.18a9c and for a limited time you can use coupon code ANI15 to get a 15% discount. Let me know how it goes.

Hi everyone. I wrote a book and it should be available soon on Amazon Kindle. The book is called Taming Zika. Just like my other book Taming Ebola, this book also goes into origins of Zika, how it can be transmitted, treatments, government efforts etc. Hope you will support me by buying it. A few days ago when I mentioned that I was working on this book to a few friends, one of them said “Why do you write books about boring topics?”. Instead you should write about sex because sex sells. I reminded him that I have a reputation to protect. Most of my friends and contacts know me as a scientist, author etc. Besides I can only write about my knowledge and experiences. But he does have a point. So far the royalties from my two books: Taming Ebola and 50 Things To Do If You Get Laid Off; can’t even buy me a beer. But it is okay. As I said, it would be nice to make money from my books, but that is not my primary objective or motivation. I just want to educate people and perhaps give them a different perspective. Anyway, if I do decide to write about sex, I will definitely do it under an assumed name and perhaps advertise on a different forum. But jokes apart, I have said this before and i will say this again; please let me know what other topics you (not related to sex) would like to see addressed in my future books.

Hello all. Before I get into today’s blog, I want to correct  something in my blog about Harambe the gorilla that was killed at the Cincinnati Zoo. In that post I said that a 12 year old boy fell into the enclosure. But one of my readers, a mother of a 4 year old corrected me. She said the boy was actually 3-4 years old. So I would like to thank that reader. Also, I want to say that I usually check my facts before I share them with the readers. This one slipped through the check. So I apologize for this error.

Now for todays post. Since it is about financial matters, I want to mention that what I am saying should not be taken as financial advice. I am not a certified financial planner or other such professional. Before investing, please talk to a certified or licensed professional and every situation is different.

If you want to retire a wealthy person, you have to start small and if possible, start early. Warren Buffet started investing at age 11 and thought he started late. Also start by saving a small amount everyday, but do it consistently. In the book Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki talks about putting aside money for 3 things. Savings, investing and charity. Many other advisers recommend a similar strategy. Thanks to the Federal Reserve’s near zero interest policy, money in the bank will not grow that quickly. But you should keep some part of your money in a state where you can get to it quickly in case of an emergency. When you invest money, seek investments that are conservative so that you don’t lose the principal. Finally charity. Make a point to donate some part of your money to charity. I remember a few years ago when I lost my job, I still donated to charities. Going back to investing, if you invest $10 everyday at a growth rate of 5% for 40 years, you will get almost a half a million dollars. If you can put aside more or if you get a better growth rate, obviously, you will have more money. But the trick is to start early, start small and be consistent.