The perfect place to write...

A tiny fishing cabin in the Swedish archipelago island of Sandham. No internet, no phone and no need to cut the grass on the roof - the local goats will look after that.

Congratulations Goodreads Contest Winners!

Congratulations to the 25 Goodreads members who won a signed copy of Learning to Play with a Lion's testicles. You will receive your copy shortly.

Thank you to everyone who entered the contest!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Learning to Play With a Lion's Testicles

by Melissa Haynes

Giveaway ends June 16, 2013.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

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Lions, Lejons and More Lions but no Shark-Fin Soup in Stockholm

Lions surround the Royal Palace in Stockholm...

And nobly guard every entrance to Drottningatan Street (The Royal Route)

And lions are even found at the Mandarin City restaurant on Stockholm's main street, Sveavagan....

This Chinese restaurant has recently elected to stop serving Shark Fin Soup - Hashtag YOUROCK Mandarin City!

Lions on the menu instead of shark-fin soup

Got Dopamine? National Geographic Society: The Mystery of Risk

Exploration of all sorts is rooted in the notion of taking risks. Risk underlies any journey into the unknown, whether it is a ship captain’s voyage into uncharted seas, a scientist’s research on dangerous diseases, or an entrepreneur’s investment in a new venture. But what exactly pushed Christopher Columbus to embark on a voyage across the Atlantic, or Edward Jenner to test his theory for an early smallpox vaccine on a child, or Henry Ford to bet that automobiles could replace horses? For that matter, why did Powell ignore the cautions of his men and the obvious dangers in front of him to venture deeper into the wilds of the Grand Canyon?

Some of the motivations for taking risks are obvious—financial reward, fame, political gain, saving lives. Many people willingly expose themselves to varying degrees of risk in their pursuit of such goals. But as the danger increases, the number of people willing to go forward shrinks, until the only ones who remain are the extreme risk takers, those willing to endanger their reputation, fortune, and life. This is the mystery of risk: What makes some humans willing to jeopardize so much and continue to do so even in the face of dire consequences?

One hundred and twenty-five years after that night at the Cosmos Club, scientists have begun to open up the neurological black box containing the mechanisms for risk taking and tease out the biological factors that may prompt someone to become an explorer. Their research has centered on neurotransmitters, the chemicals that control communication in the brain. One neurotransmitter that is crucial to the risk-taking equation is dopamine, which helps control motor skills but also helps drive us to seek out and learn new things as well as process emotions such as anxiety and fear. People whose brains don’t produce enough dopamine, such as those who are afflicted with Parkinson’s disease, often struggle with apathy and a lack of motivation.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, robust dopamine production holds one of the keys to understanding risk taking, says Larry Zweifel, a neurobiologist at the University of Washington. “When you’re talking about someone who takes risks to accomplish something—climb a mountain, start a company, run for office, become a Navy SEAL—that’s driven by motivation, and motivation is driven by the dopamine system. This is what compels humans to move forward.”

Dopamine helps elicit a sense of satisfaction when we accomplish tasks: the riskier the task, the larger the hit of dopamine. Part of the reason we don’t all climb mountains or run for office is that we don’t all have the same amount of dopamine. Molecules on the surface of nerve cells called autoreceptors control how much dopamine we make and use, essentially controlling our appetite for risk.

To read the rest of the article click here.

I Hear You!

What an honor it is to wake up in the morning - or the middle of the night, I'm not too sure these days because I'm in Europe so jet lag, time changes and travel times have left my internal clock completely confused, to read your wonderful stories that have been coming through my website - WOW!

You continue to inspire me with your stories of taking risk, embracing change and as one person said 'flipping the bird' to your fears and doubts when they try to tell you that 'you can't do that!'

A remarkable person recently wrote through my website,

            "I find myself at a time of change and I realize I am afraid."

The woman who wrote that statement above is an INCREDIBLY inspirational and brilliant woman, no one would ever guess for one second based on her public achievements that she could actually fear change but she does because WE ALL DO.

            We are all afraid of change, but when we feel that fear we must rejoice because it means that a) we are alive and thriving and able to feel these powerful emotions and b) it means we have stepped out of our comfort zones which is a very difficult but necessary thing to do because that is where the Performance Zone is. Scientists define the Performance Zone as a state of increased fear, anxiety and stress where we are forced to learn new skills - even just coping skills, but it is a PERFORMANCE zone that is going to take us forward to an entirely new and exciting place called the magic zone.

            The Magic Zone is where everything and anything is possible, namely miracles to us humble humans. If you think back to anything you ever accomplished in life you will see the sequence of moving out of your comfort zone, having those uncomfortable feelings in the performance zone but being resilient despite this and then POOF you accomplished your goal or more than likely BEYOND what your initial intent was. It's a great idea to remember those times when you are feeling anxious and nervous.

So embrace the fear because you are almost there and what you are feeling is perfectly normal, in fact, it would be abnormal if you didn't feel those things. You ARE brilliant, it is people like YOU that kept me going when I was trying to get published and each rejection letter that came in threatened to send me into permanent hiding under the covers to eat an endless supply of potato chips ;-)

The very fact that we are alive should be all the proof we need that we are destined to live the life we want and we can't do that if we are living within our comfort zones. This is it, this Really. Is. It. (Insert billboard surrounded by flashing neon lights here).

We've all known people who have died with regrets of not taking chances but I've never met anyone that regretted taking a chance - have you? The only thing holding us back are those pesky little twerps called doubt and fear so as one brilliant woman recently said, 'Damn the Torpedoes' and damn them indeed and damn the potato chips that I still want to eat despite having been published...

The heartwarming stories of love and loss and coping with grief you have sent reinforce to me that at our deepest core we are all the same and no matter how difficult life can be, we can help each other weather any storm.

And speaking of friends, a few days ago I had the pleasure of reuniting with my dear friend Melanie in Stockholm, Sweden. You may remember from the book that Melanie was the German journalist I met in South Africa on the elephant sanctuary project who later joined me for two days on the Big Five Conservation project.

Although our visit was brief, the friendship that was born while volunteering in Africa is one that will last a lifetime and as for future adventures together? Absolutely!

The photo at the beginning of this article is of a German Steiff lion Melanie just gave me to commemorate our time in South Africa with the lions.

Please keep sending in your beautiful stories and keep pushing the boundaries of your comfort zones!

Live with courage or die with regret

Sam McGoun's Commitment to End Human Trafficking

A 15 minute video that will change your life or at the very least someone else's.




To learn more about how our charity helps the most impoverished young Cambodian women obtain an education and employment in Siem Reap's hospitality industry, please visit http://touchsalabai.com/ and watch our 12 minute documentary entitled Khatna's Journey. And when you are done, please Like Us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TouchSalaBai

21 Suggestions for Success by H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

1.         Marry the right person. This one decision will determine 90% of your happiness or misery.

2.         Work at something you enjoy and that's worthy of your time and talent.

3.         Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.

4.         Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know.

5.         Be forgiving of yourself and others.

6.         Be generous.

7.         Have a grateful heart.

8.         Persistence, persistence, persistence.

9.         Discipline yourself to save money on even the most modest salary.

10.          Treat everyone you meet like you want to be treated.

11.          Commit yourself to constant improvement.

12.          Commit yourself to quality.

13.          Understand that happiness is not based on possessions, power or prestige, but on relationships with people you love and respect.

14.          Be loyal.

15.          Be honest.

16.          Be a self-starter.

17.          Be decisive even if it means you'll sometimes be wrong.

18.          Stop blaming others. Take responsibility for every area of your life.

19.          Be bold and courageous. When you look back on your life, you'll regret the things you didn't do more than the ones you did.

20.          Take good care of those you love.

21.     Don't do anything that wouldn't make your Mom proud.