What leads to success?

Recently I was thinking about what makes a person or venture successful. I searched in Amazon's bestsellers and then used the keyword "success" to see if any worthwhile books came up.  The book "Outliers: The Story of Success" by Malcolm Galdwell came up in the first page of search.  I immediately borrowed the book from the local library and was fascinated by his "novel" ideas of what leads to success.  A lot of times people associate success with talent, luck, mentorship, and hard work, of course.  What fascinates me is the month and year one is born could completely change one's success rate in the future, and then very hard work (not just talent), the ability to seize the opportunities and culture/legacy are some of the determinants of success.

I now believe that one happens to be born or be at the right place at the right time can get one a good start, but without the hard work (the author mentioned to do something really well, one got to log in at least 10,000 hours of hard work), there is no true success. 

So next time if I think that I cannot achieve something because I am unlucky, I first need to think whether I have really utilized all the opportunities presented and logged in that hard work.  The way I work and how much I give would determine whether I am successful or not, not luck.

Learning to detox

Recently I read a book by Thomas Rau called "The Swiss Secret to Optimal Health" which I highly recommend. Some of the suggestions for detox may shock you but the suggestions are well-supported. Dr. Rau devised a 3-week detox diet called "The Swiss Detox Diet", then followed by his maintenance diet.

Foods one must eat on the maintenance diet includes:
Plenty of raw and lightly cooked leafy greens, root vegetables and other vegetables.
Whole grains.
At least 2 tablespoons of good fats.
2 to 3 liters of uncarbonated, non chlorinated spring water and herbal teas daily between meals.

Foods you must not eat at any time (can be a shocker):
All cow's milk including yogurt, cheeses and ice cream (because of allergy to cow protein).
Pork.
Shellfish.
Bottom-feeding or large ocean fish (e.g. swordfish).
Processed foods.
White flour.
Refined sugar.
Excessive sodium.
Soda.
Commercial fruit juices
Any genetically modified foods.
Many nuts.

I would highly recommend Dr. Rau's book to help one to detox and to eat right for the rest of life.