Mark Your Calendar For This FREE, Once-In-A-Lifetime Event!

Mark your calendar now and clear your schedule; you have a front row seat to a spectacle which hasn't happened in at least 5,000 years and won't happen again for another 60,000! I'll tell you all about it in a moment...

You set down your Michael Crichton novel, turn out your bedside lamp, and lay your head on your pillow...but you can't fall asleep. Why not? You're haunted by the "ghosts" of all the things you need to do, but have been putting off.

Procrastination, what a killer! We've all been there.

You've been meaning to write a thank you note to Aunt Beverly for the box of delicious Montgomery Inn ribs she sent you a week ago. That list of schools you need to add to next year's college fair database has been sitting on your desk at work for a few weeks. Heck, you've been seeing that your bathtub needs to be cleaned for a month now!

Procrastination weighs you down and hogties your humor nature so quickly that I've created a Fun Commandment aimed specifically at ridding yourself of it: Eat Your Brussel Sprouts First. That's right; when you have an unpleasant task I want you to get in the habit of doing it first and getting it out of your way.

Putting things off is something reserved only for unpleasant duties. You don't put off a wonderful, anticipated activity for long do you? A warm, relaxing shower at the end of a long day, for example. You put off the things you perceive as not fun, not enjoyable, or not rewarding enough.

Eating your brussel sprouts first, however, is the antidote to procrastination. You know how great it feels to finally be free of that thing you've "been meaning to do." Imagine feeling that exuberant freedom anytime you choose - just practice this Fun Commandment!

Case in point: I love public speaking but every time I perform there is a small gnawing fear deep inside me that I won't be successful. At my first few engagements, years ago, I just dealt with that fear and went on stage - to mixed results. What I learned to do, however, is to eat my brussel sprouts first - I confront my fear by meeting people in the crowd as soon as I arrive at the speaking engagement.

Perhaps I've spoken with you under these circumstances. You just thought I was a nice guy; you didn't know I was eating my brussel sprouts. But your warm handshake, bright smile, and kind words of greeting were just what I needed to know that I was welcome at your event!

And then, I trust, I was free give you an outstanding presentation on humor, health, and success.

By the way, on August 1st, Mars will get progressively bigger and brighter as it rises in the east around 10 PM. On August 27th, Mars will be closer to the Earth than it has ever been in recorded history and, certainly, closer than any relative you'll meet will ever see. Mars will be only 35 million miles away and will be the second brightest object in the night sky (after our own moon). Cool, huh?

So don't put anything off that might interfere with your Mars watching! Banish procrastination -I want you to experience freedom today to use and enjoy your humor nature the way I have. Please write me a note and let me know how eating your brussel sprouts first impacts your life this week.



Cliff Kuhn, M.D.
The Laugh Doctor
"it all starts with a SMILE"

The Natural Medicine of Humor
"Discover a unique, FREE, and incredibly powerful prescription created out of desperation by a (formerly) stressed-out Kentucky psychiatrist"

The Blog Directory

How To Maintain Control Of Your Attitude...Even During A Mutiny

It would've been hard to blame Captain William Bligh for having a bad attitude. Bligh was the Captain of the H.M.S. Bounty and was famously mutinied by his crew. But Captain Bligh was resilient enough to make me think he must've used the amazing power of humor to full effect. I'll explain why in a moment...

Your attitude is nothing to take for granted. I know because I used to take mine for granted!

Imagine me as a 25 year old medical intern (circa 1967) and stuck on an insane emergency room rotation: 36 hours on and 12 hours off. I was losing my mind from lack of sleep, job pressure, and not being home to help my young wife take care of my screaming infant son, Greg.

"I don't know if I can make this work," I complained to my mentor one evening over yet another cup of bad, break room coffee. "I hate this job."

My mentor's response was like a slap to my face. "Well, Cliff, how is that attitude working for you? Are you enjoying it?"

"What do you mean?", I shot back, "Look at my life! Are you implying that I'm responsible for my frustration?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying," my mentor calmly replied at he refilled his coffee cup, "You are."

I wish I could tell you that I began to take responsibility for my attitude from that point. In fact, what happened is that I quickly got a new mentor. I wasn't ready to accept responsibility for my attitudes until I fully understood the amazing power of humor's natural medicine almost 25 years later.

You, too, may be hesitant to accept control of your attitudes. You may occasionally feel more comfortable playing the role of the victim, pretending that your attitudes are an uncontrollable byproduct of your environment and circumstances. The good news is...nothing could be further from the truth.

You have full control over your attitudes. This is great news; you are not a victim! And your humor nature will help you take control of them in such grand style that you may never be unhappy again.

How do you take control of your attitude? It's easy to talk about, but how do you do it? The solution is simple and it's one of my newest Fun Commandments: Become a Humor Propmaster.

Would a director stage a theatrical production without props? Of course not. A good propmaster inspires the audience with her product, adding vibrancy and realism to what would be dull and bland. Why would you stage your day with props? Without humor props, you have something much worse than a bland production, you have deadly seriousness and stress.

A humor prop is anything which brings a smile, banishes your seriousness, lightens your mood, or reminds you to take yourself lightly. If you make a commitment to become a humor propmaster and surround yourself with humor props, you will find yourself with fewer negative attitudes. Because humor props are your reminders to take yourself less seriously.

Do "serious," "somber," and "heavy" sound like the recipe for success in life? Compared to "creative," "resilient," and "light"? Not by a long shot. You can have the later list today when you begin your collection of humor props.

Some of my favorite humor props include fun or funny calendars, socks, ties, underwear, emails, and cartoons. And, of course, a clown nose. I don't wear my clown nose all the time, but it's always in my pocket, reminding me to quit taking slow traffic, jammed copy machines, and credit card bills so seriously.

And this brings me to the best part about your amazingly powerful collection of humor props. They don't need to be funny, expensive, or even visible to anyone else. You only need your humor prop to be available to you, reminding you to lighten up and get back on your road to success through fun and humor.

Captain Bligh, by the way, was not finished with humiliation after his crew mutinied on the H.M.S. Bounty. Oh no, believe it or not, Bligh's new crew mutinied against him just ten years later and he was mutinied against while governor of New South Wales, Australia. After that third mutiny, don't you think he had to muse, "Gee, I wonder if I'm the problem?"

I hope your humor props don't need to steer you through such an attitude wrecker as a third mutiny. Until next week, please let me know what your favorite humor props are.


Cliff Kuhn, M.D.
The Laugh Doctor
"it all starts with a SMILE"

The Natural Medicine of Humor
"Discover a unique, FREE, and incredibly powerful prescription created out of desperation by a (formerly) stressed-out Kentucky psychiatrist"

The Blog Directory

Use Your Brain Now...Before It's Too Late

Here's something else you have no control over: you are issued a hundred billion (or so) brain cells at birth and, unlike the other cells in your body, they are never renewed. That is all you get. And you lose, on average, 500 of them an hour. So if you've got anything to think about, I suggest you get to it right away. I'll give you the rest of the story shortly...

Last week I promised to tell you how to use humor to help you accept the things you can't change. People are surprised by how much humor you find in accepting the things you cannot change. Dealing with things you can't change is usually associated with extreme frustration and, why not?

You don't naturally smile when that BMW cuts you off on I-65 and you're already five minutes late to your appointment. Your first reaction when your daughter sneaks out her bedroom window to attend a forbidden party isn't to smile really wide. What's worse than dealing with other people's unwanted or disappointing actions or attitudes, after all?

But it's in dealing with those attitudes that your hidden humor ally is found. It's subtle, but once you catch on to it, you'll find yourself that much closer to my recommended 30 minutes a day of fun.

What frustrates you about the BMW driver's attitude or your daughter's actions? Not being in control of them, right? You want to be in control, and you're not! Isn't that why we say the things we've let go of have "claw marks all over them"?

But have you ever thought of what you're actually letting go of? Lean in really close because I'm going to whisper an amazing secret to you.

You think you're letting go of your control over that rude BMW driver's attitude or your teenage daughter's actions...but you're not! You're only letting go of the illusion that you have control because you never actually had control over those things anyway - you just thought you did!

Okay, stand back from your monitor. I'm about to start speaking in a normal volume again.

Let's make this very clear. You're not letting go of control over the things you can't change, you're only letting go of the illusion that you have control. You can build an entire sitcom about such misunderstandings, folks.

The more you practice letting go of the things over which you have no control, the more gentle humor you will find in your illusions of control.

Watching a child reach up to grab the object appearing "right before her eyes" during a 3-D movie will make you laugh gently because it's sweet and cute. Why is your trying to grab control of your illusion any less humorous (and any less sweet and cute)? Answer: it's not.

If you give yourself permission to laugh with yourself (another of my Fun Commandments), you will soon find loads of fun and humor in your illusions of control. And, trust me, that humor makes it easier to let go of the things you cannot change.

The more you give yourself permission to find humor in your illusions of control, the more you are practicing accepting the things you cannot change. Because finding humor in accepting the things you cannot change helps you accept them much more readily. And accepting the things you can't control, in return, helps you find the humor in them. It's a wonderful, reciprocal relationship!

Don't be alarmed, by the way, about your brain. Although your brain cells are designed to last as long as you do, their individual components are constantly renewed. So no part of your brain cells are ever likely to be more than a month old. Knowing that your brain is like a freshly brewed pot of coffee should help you accept the fact that your brain cells don't ever replace themselves.

Until next week, let me know what humor you're able to find as you accept the things you can't change!



Cliff Kuhn, M.D.
The Laugh Doctor
"it all starts with a SMILE"

The Natural Medicine of Humor
"Discover a unique, FREE, and incredibly powerful prescription created out of desperation by a (formerly) stressed-out Kentucky psychiatrist"

The Blog Directory

How To Help A Woman...Without Ruining Your Day

Two monks approach a stream swollen from a recent heavy rain. They encounter a beautiful young woman unable to cross. Although they have taken a vow of silence and abstinence regarding women, the older monk offers to carry the young woman across the stream on his back.

A few miles down the road the younger monk angrily asks, "Why did you break your vow and carry that woman across the stream?" I'll share the older monks interesting reply momentarily...

Do you ever feel angry, frustrated, or worried? Do you occasionally boil at the antics of bad drivers? Do you sometimes seethe over the ineptness of coworkers? Do you intermittently grind your teeth over your spouse's annoying habits? Do you frequently worry how you're going to make ends meet?

Of course you do. You're human. If you're like most, you feel that way more often than you'd like.

I have a solution for these feelings that works 100% of the time you use it. This solution is completely free and you already possess it in abundance. In fact, you were born with this solution - you've just forgotten to apply it as you've become an adult.

The solution is one of my newest Fun Commandments - Accept the Things You Cannot Change. And you already possess the abundant humor nature necessary to accept anything life throws at you. Humor, as you will find, is as necessary for acceptance as water is for coffee because it keeps you flexible and buoyant.

But before I get into how to use humor to accept the things you cannot change, let's briefly discuss acceptance. Acceptance is often maligned and misunderstood because people think it means endorsement or approval. Nothing could be further from the truth; acceptance simply means that you're not going to carry a burden of resentment, fear, worry, or anger. You are moving on with your life.

There are only three things in life, after all, that you can control:

1. Your ideas


2. Your attitudes


3. Your actions

For every single thing falling outside those three areas, you have only two choices: 1. Try to control/influence it or 2. Accept it and move on.

Think back to the last time you were angry or frustrated. It involved something outside of your ideas, attitudes, and actions, didn't it? Trying to control something outside these three areas is the source of all your worry, fear, anger, and frustration.

Simple...but not easy to remember, right? So, let's create an action plan for practicing my newest Fun Commandment, Accept the Things You Cannot Change.

As you encounter something that you cannot control today, make a choice. You will either try to influence it or accept the way it is and move on. If you are successful at influencing it, great! If you are unsuccessful at influencing it, accept it and move on. Then simply repeat this process throughout the day as often as you can remember! (More on how to help yourself remember later...)

For example, you're in the grocery store and you reach the entrance of an isle simultaneously with another shopper. Rather than barge ahead, you smile and offer this shopper the right of way. Your fellow shopper, however, doesn't acknowledge your kindness and barges ahead with a scowl.

You have two choices: 1. Accept the mood of your fellow shopper, let it go, and move on with your day or 2. Approach your fellow shopper with more kindness in an attempt to influence his mood. If you choose choice number two and are unsuccessful, remember to accept that and move on. The key is to really let it go because if you don't you will burden yourself by letting that shopper take up space in your head - rent free!

And you can't afford to have your humor nature weighed down by rent-free squatters who sap your spiritual and physical energy and resilience. You want your humor nature to fly free and unfettered today. You have too much success awaiting you today to be detoured by such burdens!

Let's finish the story about the two monks. The older monk's wise reply is, "I only carried her across the stream; you're still carrying her." Get the message? Let it go! Accept it and move on.

Next week I'll give you some amazing tips to help you remember to accept the things you cannot change. You'll use your humor nature and have lots of fun. But, in the meantime, practice your action plan and share your results with me!



Cliff Kuhn, M.D.
The Laugh Doctor
"it all starts with a SMILE"

The Natural Medicine of Humor
"Discover a unique, FREE, and incredibly powerful prescription created out of desperation by a (formerly) stressed-out Kentucky psychiatrist"

The Blog Directory

How To Make Mistakes

Have you ever told someone they “eat like a bird”? You meant that they picked at their food and didn’t eat very much. (I’ve been called a “bird brain”, but that’s another matter entirely) Are you aware, however, what a big mistake it is to make this comparison? I’ll explain why in a moment…

Last week we discussed the importance of welcoming your mistakes. Sweeping your mistakes under the rug fools no one but you. You reinforce the horribly incorrect paradigm that you are wrong to make mistakes - that you shouldn’t make them. You already know that you are perfectly imperfect; you were born to make mistakes. So why beat yourself up over something you are meant to do?

Better to learn to use your innate inclination to make mistakes. Take those lemons and make lemonade.

Do you ever wish you’d stop making mistakes? Why? Not making mistakes would make you a robot. Your ability to make mistakes makes you human; it gives you free will because you have the power to do things “wrong.”

I don’t know about you, but I love my free will and my humanity. Not that you actually have this choice, but you’d have to trade your free will to attain mistake-free living. I wouldn’t exchange my life of unlimited possibility and opportunity for cookie-cutter perfection.

So how do you stop beating yourself up for your mistakes and start welcoming them? How do you develop a lasting paradigm which equates making mistakes with living a full and adventurous life? How do you free yourself from the bondage of fearing your mistakes and emulate the great achievers of humankind, who welcome their mistakes with gusto?

Great questions! Here are three simple, yet powerful, actions steps to get you started:

1. Learn to regard your mistakes as tangible assets. What wonderful opportunities to grow and change await you with your first mistake today! Wait for that first mistake with baited breath and welcome it with enthusiasm because it holds a golden kernel of victory – a message for a better life!



2. Don’t try to hide your mistakes. You are going to notice some changes accompanying your new attitude toward your mistakes. As you waste less energy trying to hide them as they occur, you have more energy for learning from your experiences!



3. Be like Babe Ruth and swing for the fences. Babe Ruth struck out twice as often as he hit home runs, but so what? People remember his homers. Use your increased energy level to try new spontaneous and creative things. You will make more mistakes as you take more risks, but so what? People will remember your success (and admire your courage).

One more thing: an important side benefit of welcoming your mistakes is that they are entertaining, which adds to your thirty minutes of fun today. Remember Carol Burnett’s definition of comedy is “tragedy plus time.” While there is nothing funny about pain and disappointment, you can always find humor in your unrealistic expectations of mistake-free perfectionism.

You can shake your head and gently laugh with yourself, instead of beating yourself up, when you make your mistakes today!

The more you are able to laugh with yourself about your mistakes, the more you will treat them lightly enough to quickly learn from them. And, of course, the more you are able to quickly learn from your mistakes, the more you’ll be able to take them lightly enough to be entertained by them. Before long, you’ll be confident enough to join me in making mistakes on purpose – just for the entertainment value!

And about those birds… Birds eat a tremendous amount each day, much more than you and me. Adult birds eat one quarter to one half their body weight each day. And, because their metabolism is even higher, baby birds usually eat their body weight worth of food each day! Who knew?

But, of course, if you’ve made the mistake of telling a picky eater that she eats like a bird, who cares? Your mistake was humorous and educational at the same time! Now you know the real story behind “eating like a bird.”

Soon you’ll be treating all your mistakes this lightly and, when that happens, you won’t be eating like a bird -you’ll be soaring like one!



Cliff Kuhn, M.D.
The Laugh Doctor
"it all starts with a SMILE"

The Natural Medicine of Humor
"Discover a unique, FREE, and incredibly powerful prescription created out of desperation by a (formerly) stressed-out Kentucky psychiatrist"

The Blog Directory