Archive for January, 2007

I picked up a great audio book over the weekend, entitled “Eat That Frog,” by Brian Tracy. Many people have told me that this little book has changed their lives. From the opening chapter, Brian is an unpretentious host. His humble background and day laborer school of hard knocks lays an interesting foundation. This guy is the real thing.

Brian starts off with the premise that there never is, or will be, enough time to do the things we have to do. In this modern world things come at us fast and furiously. He lays it out simply… “get over the notion that you somehow can get it all done… you can’t.”

His main point in the book is to take the ugliest task that you have and do it first. This is based on a quote from Mark Twain…

“If you eat a frog first thing in the morning, the rest of your day will be wonderful.” -Mark Twain

He paints a simple but effective picture. Eat your Frog first. This advice will help you overcome procrastination and become much more productive. Last time I looked, Frogs are really ugly which makes this a real challenge. Mr. Tracy goes back to Mark Twain again for another quote…

“If you have to eat a frog, don’t look at it for too long.” -Mark Twain

This simple picture really brings the concept home. Brian has 21 points throughout the book to challenge you and help you with your daily task list. I found the book to be a great addition to my productivity toolbox. While there is nothing new or groundbreaking here, I found it to be a great reminder to do the unpleasant stuff first.

If you are a follower of the “Getting Things Done,” methodology by David Allen, you may find prioritizing lists a little arduous but the concept of finding the biggest frog works well for getting you started on your next action lists.

This is a great book to help you visualize why you procrastinate.

I am looking at one ugly frog… oh well… here goes… gulp…

Hey that wasn’t so bad after all!

Technorati Tags: procrastination, setting goals, time management

As a kid my favorite cookies were Nabisco Oreos. These delicious little gems were the best. You could take them apart and eat the fluffy filling and then finish off with cookie outsides. Dipped in milk these were like Manna from Heaven. Since they were expensive we didn’t get them very often, but when we did they were a wonderful treat.

With the passing of the years and the slowing of my metabolism, these have been off limits for years. I still love them, but my willpower to pass them up is not great. At 55 calories per cookie, you can really damage your diet quickly with these little pucks of joy.

The other day I was walking through the lunch room at work and noticed out of the corner of my eye a bag of Oreos in the snack machine. But this wasn’t any ordinary bag, it had a description that I had never seen before on any cookie bag.

It said 100 Calorie Pack.

What? That must mean you get 2 cookies! But I looked closer and had to buy a bag just to check it out. I put 2 quarters in the machine and I soon had a bag of Oreo’s in my hand. I quickly opened them with a sense of excitement. I could now have a bag of my favorite cookies without killing my diet.

Just then the excitement died… the new cookies had no filling! How could this be? An Oreo is not an Oreo without the filling. I took a close look at one of the new cookies. It was a flat dry cookie with some little white sprinkles on it. This could hardly be called an Oreo.

I tasted one and it was like eating a dry version of just the Oreo cookie. It was OK… but certainly not a real Oreo. I noticed in the same machine that there were 100 calorie packs of other popular snacks.

I thought to myself… This is marketing brilliance!

100 Calories is pure genius!

The cookie companies can now sell smaller portions and make people happy at the same time. 100 calories will fit on almost any diet plan. Compared to the regular cookies in the machine at 360 calories, this was a dieter’s Nirvana.

When I looked at the ingredients, it was the usual processed stuff, with sugar, flour and corn syrup. Nothing to recommend here. But if you don’t have a healthy snack like an apple or orange with you, these new snacks might be an acceptable alternative to satisfy your sweet tooth without killing your diet.

Technorati Tags: diet, marketing

As I walked into my local Barnes & Noble bookstore, I was confronted by the New Year assortment of diet books. They were all lined up on the front table, their covers bright and shiny. Being curious by nature, I decided to look through a few and see what the latest diet buzz was all about.

There were the usual over-hyped titles where you supposedly can lose a lot of weight in a short period of time. The big names in the fitness world were all displayed with toned bodies with before and after pictures. The diet industry giants like Weight-Watchers all had their new recipe books. But over to the side was a yellow book with an interesting title that caught my eye.

It was entitled, The Reverse Diet, and the premise was that you could lose weight by eating dinner for breakfast. This actually had a familiar ring to it. My grandmother used to say that you should always have a big breakfast and you won’t be hungry the rest of the day.

When I looked inside the front cover I found that the author, Tricia Cunningham, had lost over 150 pounds using this simple technique and had maintained her weight loss for over 6 years. This was a success story like Jared of Subway restaurants. It was simple and something most anyone could do.

I looked further into the book and perused the actual menu selections. The plan focused on non-processed foods and lean proteins. But the difference was in the portion sizes and meal combinations. You reverse your meal sizes, times, and content to better distribute your calories throughout the day.

You eat like a king in the morning, a prince at lunch, and a pauper at dinner.

The diet also includes a morning and afternoon snack to keep you fueled throughout the day. The diet choices are very similar to those presented in Eating for Life, and other well rounded menu plans. While exercise is recommended, this is primarily a diet book, with an extensive list of menu choices.

I like the simple premise of this book. It fits into a niche that works for me. As a morning person, focusing on a substantial breakfast will be easier than fixing a big dinner. The menu choices are easy to follow and prepare. This book will make a great addition to my diet library and along with a sensible exercise program should be a great tool to help me reach my fitness goals.

Technorati Tags: diet, fitness, goals

My wife Joyce is starting a new diet challenge at her work this week and they have come up with a novel approach. Instead of losing a pre-determined amount of weight over a time period (such as 10 pounds), they have set it up as a percentage of their total body weight.

They have set their time period at 12 weeks and the goal weight loss percentage at 5 percent. They weigh in on the first day and they take that weight number and multiply it by .05. This gives them their weight loss goal. As an example, if someone weighs 200 pounds, five percent of that number would be 10 pounds. Their goal would be to lose 10 pounds over 12 weeks.

The way they have structured their contest is to have an entry fee and at the end of the contest everyone who meets their goal receives half of their money back. The top three losers (in percentage) get an additional payoff. This gives everyone an incentive to stay on the program and at least meet their pre-set goal.

This sounds like an interesting program to me. It has the element of competition, it seems like a fair contest since it is percentage based, and it has a reasonable timetable for completion. I told my wife that this would be a program that my readers might be interested in. We sat down and went over the details. We came up with a toolbox of goodies that would allow most anyone to setup a similar challenge.

Here is our 5 Percent Diet Toolbox.

12 Week Diet Tracker

Tracks calories, fat grams, and steps/day. This is a standard size 8.5×11 sheet that you can print out and stick on your desk or refrigerator. You write down your goals and then track your actual weekly results. This sheet will help keep you on track each week. We have also included a modified tracker that has minutes of weight training on alternate days for those of you that are adding resistance training to your routine.

Dieteer

This is a collection of cards that you print out on Avery Business Card stock. They fit easily in pocket or purse and can be clipped together for a complete wallet sized diet toolbox.

1. Daily Tracker Card
   Works well with most diet plans
   Works with the Daily Diet Goal Card
   Tracks calories and fat grams throughout the day
2. Weekly Exercise Card
   Works well with most exercise plans
   Tracks aerobic and resistance training throughout the week
3. Daily Diet Goal Card
   Set your daily goal for calories, fat grams, and exercise
   Post in a visual place on your desk or in your car
   Use in conjunction with other Diet Motivators
4. Calorie & Fat Gram Card
   Comes with popular fast food listings
   Modify as necessary to include foods on your diet
5. Glycemic Listing Card
   Comes with popular glycemic listings of popular food items
   Modify as necessary to include foods on your diet
6. Twelve Week Weight & Waist Card
   Works well for tracking your progress over 3 months
   Designed for Body for Life and other plans
7. Weight Watcher Points Card
   Track your daily Weight Watcher points
   Provides a subtotal column so you can plan your next meal

Diet Motivators

These simple cards can be placed on your desk, your car dash, or on your refrigerator door to motivate and remind you to complete your successful actions every day. These cards are printed out on standard Avery Business Card stock and can easily be added to your dieteer. Take them with you anywhere.

Books & Additional Tools

Since dieting requires planning and preparation, it’s best if you follow a profesionally designed plan. I would suggest that you find one that takes a balanced approach and includes diet and exercise examples. My favorite books that include weight training are Five Factor Fitness by Harley Pasternak, Body for Life by Bill Phillips, and Core Performance by Mark Verstegen. All of these plans are reasonably easy to do and can be followed at home with a minimal amount of equipment or food preparation.

My wife likes the low glycemic meals in the new Sonoma Diet. They are great recipes created in the spirit of the Napa Valley. Her exercise of choice is walking and the Omron pedometer goes with her wherever she goes. She aims for 6000-8000 steps/day. This clip on unit gives her visible feedback of her progress.

For the weigh-in portion of any diet, it’s important to have an accurate scale. I recommend the Tanita Scale as it has very accurate weight measurement and will also give you a relative body fat percentage. Since this unit is very precise, you can see your weight fluctuate through the day. It’s best to measure once a week, first thing in the morning.

One Simple Download

We have put all of the tools together in a simple to download zip file. Unzip the contents and open them in Microsoft word. Modify as necessary.

The tool box includes

1. Dieteer: 9 Different Tracking Cards
2. 12 Week Roster: Walking Only
3. 12 Week Roster: Walking & Resistance Training
4. Diet Motivator Cards: 10 Different Motivators
5. 12 Week Tracking Cards: Full Page for Group Use

Here are simple instructions for printing and assembling your Diet toolbox.

• Download the Diet Toolbox
• Unzip the file (contains four templates)
• Open the template(s) in Microsoft Word
• Fill in the blanks as needed or print as is
• Print the 12 week roster on plain paper
• Print the cards out on Avery Business Card stock (10 card)
• Break the cards apart. Mix & match as necessary
• Clip them together with a mini-clip
• You now have a complete Diet Toolbox
• Track your diet with the daily cards
• Transfer your progress to the 12 week tracker

Good luck with your diet program. Remember to always check with your doctor before starting any type of diet or exercise program. This tool box is ideal for a workplace challenge. It includes 10 individual tracking cards on a sheet and 8.5×11 rosters for monitoring individual performance.

Other Card Based Items you may be interested in:

Five Minute Organizer
Five Minute Flowchart
Five Minute Outliner
Five Minute Motivators
Instant Garage Sale

Technorati Tags: diet, exercise, goals

As I put the book down, I came away with the feeling that I needed to take something away. I needed to capture the spirit of the book. I knew from past history that the “Giant Erasers” would soon be wiping away the memories of this profound work. I took out a pen and wrote down the quotation from page 35 on the back of a business card.

As I viewed the quotation, the chapter came flooding back into my mind. This little card helped me remember the book. I put the card on my desk where I could see it and the book stayed alive for weeks. Powerful words and a simple reminder.

I would like to take this simple strategy and share with you 10 powerful quotations from some of my favorite authors. The subjects vary, but the quotations are powerful. Each of these books has made an impact on my life. I’ve written the quotations in an appropriate font and put them each in a single business card template. You can easily print them all out on one Avery business card sheet.

The cards work great as desktop reminders, illustrative bookmarks, or as a memory jogger for pocket or purse. Since these quotations are actually graphics you will not have to have these special fonts on your computer.

Here is a short synopsis of each book and the included quotation.

John C. Maxwell: Becoming A Person of Influence. This little book is chock full of great ideas and will really change your outlook of what “Influence” is all about. I’ve found this book is very useful for small group study or a personal development challenge. If you are looking to advance in your career, this is an important resource for your success library. The selected quotation…

“For Most People, It’s Not What They Are that Holds Them Back, It’s What They Think They’re Not.”

Nicholas Boothman: How To Connect in Business in 90 Seconds or Less. This book has simple but effective strategies to connect with people. This is one of the few audio books in my library that I have listened to multiple times. Nicholas takes us on an adventure with his old employer, Francis Xavier Muldoon. Mr. Boothman is a powerful storyteller and paints a very compelling picture. He has distilled his business strategy into KFC…

Know what you want,
Find out what you’re getting,
Change what you do until you get what you want.

David Allen: Getting Things Done. If you have read this blog for any length of time, you’ll know that I am a firm believer in the “Getting Things Done,” time management system. David’s system of project management and next actions has helped me take control of my in-box and myriad of projects. His simple mantra for dealing with “stuff” is…

Do It, Delegate It, Defer It, Drop It.

Bill Phillips: Body For Life.  With a combination of aerobic exercise, weight training, and proper diet, the Body for Life system will change the way you look and feel. The real secret to success with this plan is the motivation to see it through. When I was struggling to lift the barbell for the 10th time his quotation would come rushing into my mind…

“Don’t Just Do It… Do It With Passion & Pride!”

Mark Sanborn: The Fred Factor. A small hand-held book. Only 112 pages. Profound stuff! Simplicity is key, and Mark writes about the effect his small town postman, “Fred” had on his life. It’s about going the extra mile and always doing more than expected. It can be summed up…

“Passion In Your Work & Life Can Turn The Ordinary Into The Extraordinary”

John Ortberg: If You Want To Walk On Water. This is a book I would not recommend to anyone. Don’t put it on your Amazon shopping list or pick it up at your local bookstore. Don’t even crack the cover… Unless… you want your life to be different. John will profoundly challenge you throughout the book, because as he says…

“If You Want To Walk On Water, You Have To Get Out Of The Boat”

Patrick Hanlon: Primal Branding. Why do some companies prosper and other similar companies struggle or fail? What makes a product popular? This book covers seven different areas that are necessary for your brand to differentiate itself from all of the others. One of the keys is that…

“Preference Creates Sales”

James Surowiecki: The Wisdom of Crowds. Are crowds smarter than individual experts? In this fascinating book, Mr. Surowiecki looks at many amazing aspects of crowds. From voting to traffic control, James takes us on a interesting adventure right into the heart of the largest crowds in the world. He even asks this thought provoking question…

“If You Had To Meet Someone In Paris On A Specific Day But Had No Way Of Contacting Them, When And Where Would You Meet?”

Bill Wagner: The Entrepreneur Next Door. Who is the Entrepreneur next door? What makes them tick? What are their strengths and weaknesses? Why can they start a business, when your endeavor never gets off the ground. Bill might ask you…

“Are You An Entrepreneur or a Wantapreneur?”

James C. Humes: Speak Like Churchill, Stand Like Lincoln. Ever wish you could capture the imagination of your audience like Martin Luther King? Have you ever tried to start a speech with a powerful opening line like Winston Churchill? How about standing as tall as Abraham Lincoln? Mr. Humes would be sure to remind you of one important thing…

“Speech Is Theatre”

To keep these important quotations in front of you, download the 10 quotation cards template.

Instructions for use:

• Download the Powerful Quotations Template for MS Word
• Open the template in word
• Print out on Avery business card stock (10 Card)
• Break cards apart
• Put the cards on your desk or use as bookmarks
• For portability, stack cards in order and clip together with mini clip
• Transport easily in pocket or purse
• Add to your Walleteer organizer

If you are looking for inspiration in the new year, the books above will capture your imagination and take you on an incredible journey. Most fit well with a Personal MBA program to help you become more successful in business.

Put the wisdom of these book’s at your fingertips. Download a set today. For fun, pass the “Wisdom of Crowds” card around and see if other people would pick the same time and place that you do. You may be surprised at the answer.

Technorati Tags: quotations, goals, books

In a game of blog tag, a few different bloggers caught me this week. Grigor, Dwayne and Rosa all linked over to this site for the popular “Tell us five things about yourself,” meme going around the blog-o-sphere. After reading their 5 things, I was inspired. Rosa’s was motivating, Dwayne’s was a traffic stopper, and Grigor’s was a goal accomplished.

So… Here are five things you don’t know about me.

1. Burnt Bean Burrito
   
   In High School, three of my friends and I started an underground newspaper. This was in the 70’s and our high school did not allow the publication of any material unless it was approved by the administration. Luckily for us we had a great teacher who allowed us to use the ditto machine after school and our signature publication became a reality.

   We called it, “The Burnt Bean Burrito,” after the awful food in the cafeteria. Two of my friends were great artists so we had some amazing drawings and the spirit of the publication was patterned after Mad Magazine. Most of the articles were pure satire but we did get a few political commentaries in along the way.

   Our mascot was “Hank Bean,” and his smiling mug adorned all of the publications. We were able to get a few issues out a year. Hours were spent drawing and writing by hand on the ditto masters. There was no such thing as a word processor in those days. In my junior year, my friend Tim Pacheco and I were called into the principal’s office. We had to bring a parent since the principal wanted to suspend us for publishing without a permit.

   The principal held up one of our issues and looked my dad in the eye and said, “your son has broken the rules and published this newspaper… look at this title… what do you have to say!” My dad looked at me and then turned to the principal and said, “I think it’s funny!” The principal was taken aback and just muttered under his breath and dismissed us. My dad was so cool!

   Our final edition was published at our 20 year reunion, with all four authors participating. It was great fun and brought back the memories of writing, drawing, and laughing that we did for hours on end.

    

   All Hail Hank Bean!

2. President of the Rocket Club
   
   As the ultimate geek in high school, some of my friends and I formed a model rocket club. Our chemistry teacher, Mr. Socolis helped us form a school charter, and the Workman Rocketeers was born. At the time we were not allowed to shoot rockets into the air. We bought a long spool of bailing wire and strung it across campus above the baseball fields. We then glued metal tubes to the side of our rockets so they would travel over the wire.

   I’ll never forget our first launch. Our rocket blasted off from the upper level stairway and got about halfway across the wire when the tube became disconnected from the rocket. The rocket dropped quickly at full speed, headed directly for the second baseman. He looked up to see this smoking rocket coming directly at him. He dove out of the way just in time. His teammates chided him for not catching it in his mitt.

   This club was a lot of fun and we had a few field trips to the desert to launch our rockets in the air. We really enjoyed launching our 6 foot long Estes mega rocket. Boy have things changed since then. I went back out to the launching area in Lucerne Valley a few years ago and now the rockets are huge. Some of them are over 20 feet high and they are getting altitudes over 10,000 feet. WOW!
   
   

3. Comedian on a Cruise Ship

   My wife and I took our first Caribbean cruise back in the mid 80’s. It was on the ship called the Canada Star, and it sailed from New Orleans to Key West and then on to Mexico. I got the great idea to be part of the talent contest. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, so I decided to be a comedian… I mean really… how hard could that be??. I soon found out. I prepared all afternoon with the only humorous material I could find… the Readers Digest that we had brought along.

   My moment of truth came early that night. I was introduced and immediately started telling jokes. Unbelievably… no one laughed! I told some more and only one older gentleman in the back row laughed… I was dying and dying quick. My 5 minutes of fame came crashing down and I determined to never… ever… do this again. Only by joining Toastmasters years later was I able to overcome my fear of public speaking.

4. 200 MPH in a Mini Van

   Years ago, when I worked in an Automotive repair shop as a service advisor, things would get slow sometimes. We decided to build a rocket car and see if we could blast it up the driveway on a wire. Our first car was a Barbie Ferrari. We modified the rear of the car and installed four “D” rocket motors. We got some bailing wire and strung it down our long driveway and attached a metal tube on the bottom side of the car to guide the car over the wire.

   We did a countdown, and the car took off. It went so fast it got airborne and crashed into a wooden crate at the other end of the driveway. Barbie flew out of the car, and the smoking car came crashing down on her. It was terrible… er uh… terribly funny. The car was in three pieces and we couldn’t stop laughing. Our office secretary had a tear in her eye for Barbie, but she did survive for another run. This was so much fun it became a monthly event.

   I have a short flash video clip of a Barbie Mini Van going upwards of 200 mph with one “F” model rocket engine. I think you’ll see just how fast these things go. No wonder Ken doesn’t want Barbie to drive…

5. Miatian

   Yes I admit it… I am a Miatian. This is the common name for anyone who owns a Mazda Miata. Arguably this is the most fun you can have on four wheels. These little cars are amazing and hug the road like a glove. My wife and I owned one of these cars for over 6 years and were a part of two clubs. As part of our club adventures over the years I created some short flash videos of our escapades.

   If you truly want a fun bargain on four wheels, buy a used Miata and join a local Miata club. You’ll be glad you did.

To truly finish this meme up, I need to pass it along to five more bloggers…

So the gauntlet goes to…

• Scott Hodge
• David Zinger
• Wendy Maynard
• Chris Bailey
• Yaro Starak

I can’t wait to see their five items…

Technorati Tags: 5 things, rockets, miata