top 10

To say I enjoy working out would be an understatement… I LOVE working out. The more my muscles hurt the next day, the better I feel! I am not a masochist but I feel weird if some part of my body isn’t in some sort of pain on a daily basis.

Tips to improve your health and get more out of a workout

Here are my top 10 tips to improve your overall health and fitness, follow these at your own risk and be sure to always get a checkup by a doctor before partaking on anything that will stress your body.

10: Change your routine!

My exercises have evolved over the past decades from a regimented one in which I had to do 3 sets of one exercise followed using x weight with y periods of recovery between them. I am to the point now that it just doesn’t do anything for me anymore to follow this for more then a two week basis, my body just adapts too quickly. I now have a very simple regimen in which I have a different routine each time I enter the gym created in my head. I know I am going chest and back for instance today, so I go into the gym and start lifting what feels right. Regardless, never do the same identical exercise twice in a month.

9: Change your reps and sets every few weeks

I went from doing three to four sets of 8 reps to three to four sets of 20 reps… man did my body respond big time to that! I gained 2 kilograms in a month doing this… without taking protein powder, creatine nor any other supplement beyond a multi-vitamin. By the time you have done six to eight exercises with little rest in between them this way, the blood in any body part you have concentrated on feels like it’s about to explode out of the muscle. FANTASTIC! I managed to shock the hell out of my central nervous system and it was forced to adapt big time. So one month I went from 3-4×8 then 3-4×20 then back to 3-4×6, I think I will try 30 next time (I am doing this using drop sets by the way… for added difficulty).

8: The gym is a battlefield, your enemy the weight… it must be conquered!

I know I look a little weird wearing an army uniform when I workout, it keeps people away from me but also creates an internal image as to what I am doing there to begin with. I am not in the gym to talk, I am not in the gym to make friends, I am there to push my body and mind beyond it’s comfort zone. I am there to vanquish self-doubt, tell the weight whose boss and most importantly, try to attract some of the eye candy that surrounds me To me, a gym is a place of sacrifice, hard work and endless challenges. If you treat each workout like it’s a mission, you will get much more out of it.

7: Challenge others

If I see a guy doing squats and it happens to be my leg day, I can’t help but go to the rack right next to him, load up my bar with a little more weight and begin banging out the reps. I did this once with a guy who was 6 ft 3 and very well built, I didn’t realize his warm-up was my max weight… he cleaned my clock but you know what… at least I stepped up to the challenge without fear nor hesitation. Of course, this is more fun when you can motivate others to push their bodies further, bodybuilding is a game of one-up-man-ship, fair or otherwise, that is how you gain the respect of those at all levels.

6: Take care of your lower back

I keep getting reminded when I take my lower back for granted, just about every exercise from leg curls to standing dumbbell flies requires a lot of work from… you guessed it, your lower back (and abs) to keep you balanced. No matter how strong your legs are, no matter how many inches your arms, everybody has one achilles heel which is their lower back. Begin neglecting your lower back and EVERYTHING gets affected both at the gym and elsewhere. It isn’t any fun waking up in the morning feeling like an elephant used your lower back as a trampoline anymore then it is to have trouble sitting in an office chair for an extended period of time with a throbbing ache. A healthy lower back is vital to a healthy life and body.

5: Machines are for warming up and safely maxing yourself out

People who do entire exercise regimes using machines are loosing out big time on what they could be getting out of their time. It all comes down to neuro-muscular co-ordination or central nervous system optimization, that is what exercise does, it increases the efficiency of your neuro-muscular pathways, the fact that muscles get bigger and stronger is simply a by-product of this work. What I am saying is that there is a lot more stimulation occurring within your body when you use free weights then with machines. You are forced to recruit far more muscle fibers, neurons… you name it, simply to hold your balance, stamina and focus. Machines are great for allowing you to do what would be dangerous with free weights safely but they should be used as little as possible.

4: Bodyweight is an excellent weight onto itself!

When was the last time you tried one legged squats using nothing more then a smith machine and an empty bar? Well, give it a try, it will be a struggle. Same goes with pull-ups and many other exercises where the only machine you need is your own body. Free weights, machines and bodyweight all have an important role to play in optimizing your central nervous system, use them effectively for the best results.

3: Eat real food

Before you even touch a protein powder or the bottle of creatine tablets, consider this, nothing is more anabolic then food. NOTHING! All the protein powders in the world will produce zilch for you unless you include a healthy, whole food diet. If you can’t name the ingredient on something you are about to eat, don’t eat it. The good food you put into yourself is what your body uses to build muscle, produce growth hormone when you sleep and most importantly, repairs all the damage that exercise does to your body.

2: Rest and relax

Exercise produces a lot of micro-tears which the body needs time to recover from. If you don’t give your body enough fixing time, you are setting yourself for injury, over-training and possibly going backwards towards achieving your fitness goals. If you notice after a few months that you stop gaining, the best solution, more often then not, it to take a week or two off and eat as much damn food (read #3) as you can. You will not only gain weight but your strength will also increase along with muscle size.

1: Never stop learning

Like all things in life, the moment you stop allowing new thoughts, training ideas or others access to your methodologies, you will stop progressing. Health and fitness is no different. If you learn of a new training system that counters everything you have been taught, don’t ignore it, give it a try, maybe you will learn something that will go a long way towards improving yourself.

The Bottom Line

Weight training is as vital to a body as breathing, without it, you can never achieve your full potential as a human being.

The founder of GoDaddy has had tremendous success online as a domain registrar, he risked everything he earned from the sale of his company Parsons Technology, turning his 64 million dollar buyout to what will soon be a billion dollar company. Without further ado, here is his top 10 keys (suggestions) for success in 2008.

10: Never listen to advertising experts

The reason for GoDaddy’s success is doing everything that it was told not to do by agencies, the more people say you shouldn’t do something, the more you should do it. People generally fear change, they don’t want to make waves so becoming an agent of change is the only way to get any type of attention no matter your field.

9: Surround yourself with beautiful, intelligent and successful women

Half of the world’s population is female yet if you attend enough board meetings, you will quickly realize that these statistics don’t hold true in the executive world (sadly). I would easily argue that women are our smarter half and a company without at least 50% of the top management that isn’t one is missing out on huge opportunities.

8: Take care of your employees and give to charity

Employees leave a company because of stress but if you provide a good working environment that is fun, challenging and rewarding, even at lower pay then a competitor, they will stay with you. Charity is also always a great thing, once you can afford to do so.

7: It’s never too late to get a motorcycle but always wear your safety gear

I got my motorcycle license a few years back, the freedom that you experience driving on the road is tremendous, cars are so boxed that I got to the point where I actually hated being inside of one. Driving a motorcycle gives you instant feedback about the environment, the flexibility to move on a dime and just pure pleasure of the open road… something lost in cars and trucks.

6: Earn a Ph.D. in International Relations so you can become the head of ICANN

A degree is only worth as much as you do with it, ICANN is just about the most useless organization out there, they are experts at conducting meetings in exotic locations that produce absolutely nothing. Each time somebody registers a domain, they send a few cents to these guys who wine and dine on our efforts and provide anything but leadership or vision for the online industry.

5: Figure out what “Brad” does in GoDaddy

An inside joke but if you have an employee or somebody who really serves no value to your company, no matter your affiliation, time to let them go unless you can afford to do otherwise. Same goes with software and hardware, if it doesn’t have a use, then there is no purpose in supporting it any longer.

4: Figure out what “Yahoo” actually does

Yahoo use to be known as a search engine, now it’s morphed into a huge conglomerate but unlike General Electric, they are experts at buying up overpriced companies then shutting them down. They lack a vision, purpose and to be quite frank, are headed for the same fate as AOL… oblivion.

3: Let the devil within you come out every once in a while

Living life on the straight and narrow is nice but it’s good to get out of your shell or comfort zone every once in a while. When was the last time you did something crazy? If you can’t remember, time to do it again.

2: Never, ever, buy a Zune

Hmmm… let me see, Microsoft is an expert at creating loss leaders, they have the Xbox franchise which looses money hand over fist, more software packages then I can count which do little but offer pale imitations of other software products and are sitting on a huge pile of cash. Microsoft has their operating system (XP) that is their backbone and Office, otherwise, everything else has been a dismal failure… why? Well, they got too much money and I think they fear loosing it, so instead of making waves inside of new industries, they are stuck taking cautious approaches towards everything… which leads to mediocrity. If you aren’t in an industry to shake it up, don’t go into it… the Zune (so far) is no different. Let me put this another way, if you own stock in Microsoft, how much has it grown over the past few years compared to a company that does take chances such as Google?

1: Be Godaddy’est in everything you do

The definition of Godaddy’est is simply the ability to live on the fine edge between decency and absurdity. It’s a fine line between being labeled a mad man vs a crazy man, if you live your life on that edge, sometimes you get burned but more often then not, you will progress faster. Take chances, take risks and more importantly, enjoy the trip while it lasts.

The Bottom Line

Follow your gut, more often then not, it will prove right.

Buzvia: GoDaddy,  GoDaddy Radio, Bob Parsons Personal Site, ZipitLive: GoDaddy Reseller

Over the years, I have studied the Branson way of “Virgin” business and here is the top 10 list that he, so far, has never released as to why he has become such a successful entrepreneur.

10. Keep things small

Keep the size of the companies small, his average is about 60 employees per company, if they get too big, break them up into smaller pieces. This does a number of things, first, it keeps the company nimble and still personalized as everybody knows everybody else on a first hand basis. Secondly, it keeps things manageable, if there is a problem, the risks are minimal for the entire “Virgin Group” both financially and in reputability. Like Sir Richard Branson says, he always pays off the debts of defunct Virgin companies should things go bust which is difficult if you have one huge company with billions in receivership and tens of thousands made redundant.

9. Be ethical

Don’t participate in underhanded business activities such as kickbacks, bribes and sabotage. As a businessperson, the only thing you have to stand on is your business ethics and reputation, once this is tarnished, it’s an uphill battle to regain it. People tend to remember the dramatic and negative about people even if they represent but a small portion of a positive image.

8. Give others a vested interest

Sir Richard Branson has a unique method of building up his conglomerate of companies, he creates partnerships on usually a 50/50 basis. As such, each party has a direct interest in success of the new Virgin brand. This works in several ways for the entrepreneur who wishes to buy into this type of arrangement. Firstly, Virgin has a lot of companies so you may instantly have a customer with another part of the conglomerate, for instance, the in-flight entertainment for Virgin Atlantic may also be used for Virgin Trains. Secondly, Virgin has huge cash reserve, so getting additional funding (seeking it from Angels, Vcs and banks) is far easier when you can say “Oh, by the way, you do know Virgin is a partner in this company right?” Lastly, people work harder when they have a direct vested interest in something, an employee will work 40 hours a week but the founder behind the company has no problem pulling in twice those hours off the clock. This internal motivation usually makes the difference between boom or bust.

7. Follow your gut

Businesses must evolve to stay competitive, if you have a gut feeling to do something that doesn’t show up in the numbers yet, well, DO IT! Nobody knows a company like the founder or executive committee that was there since it all began, competitors, segways and even the market demands are in a constant state of flux. If you want to run a company strictly by the numbers, become an accountant, otherwise, follow your gut more often then not, it will prove right.

6. “Sue the Bastards” - Sir Richard Branson

If somebody is being unfair, tainting your image and reputation or simply not paying their bills after multiple tries to solve a problem, sue them. A friend told me once that there is business and there is personal, you may be great friends with a person who may be one of your suppliers or providers but don’t let that get in the way of running your business. If somebody isn’t treating you right, solve it before things get worse, and yes, they will get worse. I have taken my fair share of people to court, I think it’s a great way towards dispute resolution.

5. Mistakes aren’t a BIG deal

No matter what type of business, there will be some mistakes made, you simply cannot afford to go through the world of business walking on egg shells. No matter the size of the mistake or who it affects, admit to it and move on. Trying to push a mistake under the rug will simply allow it to grow into a bigger problem and eventually, it may get legs of it’s own. I liken the role of an entrepreneur to that of a fireman, you spend your day putting out fires before they become unmanageable, whether this is kicking the sales force back into shape or making sure internal politics don’t get out of hand.

4. Think long term

If you are starting a business with a quick payout then you should stick to your job at McDonald’s flipping burgers. Businesses need to be run for the long term, this is the only way you can attract investment and maintain your sanity through the years. Decisions are a lot easier to make when you can envision their effect a few years down the road then how they will immediately impact your bottom line. Todays investment will result in tomorrows revenue.

3. Don’t cash-out!

Your company just made a huge profit this year, what do you do? No… don’t go on a vacation splurging all this away, look at areas in your company that would benefit from additional investment or even better, consider acquisitions or new areas you wish to create change into. The bottom line is that profits are great mechanisms to further boost future influence, don’t take this cash out and waste it! This is a gift to be taken seriously and shared, not to be squandered at the casino

2. Customers come first

Let’s face it, a business without customers is a dead business. It’s tough to get new customers and even tougher to get repeated business from them, always appreciate them! There is something very wrong when a company begins to take it’s customer base for granted and begins exploiting them. I have seen this time and again, most of the time, the company goes under once all these under-handed activities either become known or the staff themselves get tired of becoming the customers punching bag. Let me repeat, if you want a successful business, you must appreciate each and every customer who ultimately buys into your idea. EVERY ONE!

1. Have Fun!

Life is about having fun, and business shouldn’t be any different, if you don’t enjoy your position in life, change it before it changes you. We are all very lucky to be given the gift of life by our parents, we need to show that appreciation by learning and exploring the world around us. You run a business, great! This is a tool to give you more freedom then the average worker, but be sure to get as much learnings out of it as you possibly can.

The Bottom Line

There is much we can all learn from Sir Richard Branson, hopefully this glimpse into his keys of management opens the doors of possibility for you.

Entrepreneurship is really about turning a vision, no matter how obscured by severe myopia by others, into a reality that you are not just proud of but can also be converted into a comfortable living. Here are some things that I tell myself often so I don’t forget as I reach towards higher and more challenging heights in my life.

1) Give Meaningful & Honest Praise

If you want people to be productive in your work environment – provide plenty of meaningful praise because thoughtful rewards for achievements go further then cheap “title promotions” or nasty criticisms.

2) It’s NOT all about YOU

People generally are not that interested in you, unless you are developing a long lasting relationship. People love to talk about themselves – become a good listener and encourage others to talk about themselves.

3) Respect is Earned, Not Given

You wouldn’t build a house without a foundation any more then you would build a relationship without respect – in both cases, in order to achieve goals – you need to allow time for things to cure so they can become solid enough for a more substantial footing in the future.

4) Remember “Lady Luck”

No matter how successful you become, never forget that a very large part came from dumb luck – and that same luck can bring you down just as fast. Perseverance and hard work got you to the door, dumb luck allowed it to open. I have a theory developed from talking to people of all walks of life, from CEOs and millionaires to average folk and it basically states that the higher your net worth, the more luck had a big role in achieving this success.

5) Reward Loyalty

Friends are a dime a dozen, true and loyal friends are a rarer breed. Remember those who stuck with you during the tough times and reward them during the good ones.

6) Space is Important

Everybody needs their own space and time alone to reflect on their lives – genuinely offer them this before they ask you for it. You will earn not only loyalty but great Karma

7) Remember Names and use them OFTEN

People where given a name upon birth, not a number – say their name often and it will become second nature (ei: you won’t forget it) and more importantly, always command their immediate attention.

Don’t hold grudges

This can be difficult at times but learn to let them go – your only hurting yourself by creating internal stress that can never be resolved… if there is a problem, use your energy towards fixing instead of prolonging.

9) Be precise

Nothing is worse then living or creating ambiguity – try to be as straight forward as possible, leave the bumpy roads to cars – not your life.

10) Use your influence to make positive changes

Once you reach the pinnacles of life, use the influence and people you have gathered from your past to create lasting positive change in the world – you want to leave a positive legacy for future generations to talk about… don’t you?

The Bottom Line

Being true to yourself is vitally important as you begin to achieve some level of success in life, how ever you choose to define it.

Most people, like it or not, stick with being themselves most of the time. They don’t go out trying to be somebody they aren’t nor do they try to change others to become one of them.

Why would you assume an alter ego / persona?

You see this a lot in artists of all types, from Madonna to movie stars, the public (their fans) get tired of seeing the same-old all the time, so to re-invigorate the interest in them (income)… they make a change. Sometimes it’s a drastic one, other times, it’s barely noticeable. It all depends on how the person markets themselves towards others. It isn’t just the rich and famous who change their looks and even mentality, we ALL do it to a certain degree! Sometimes it’s to forget something from the past, other times, it’s to begin anew. You see a lot of this around New Years Resolution time. Change is good!

Halloween: the ultimate excuse to try on a new persona

Today is Halloween, what better time to make a drastic change! People will enjoy the change and then, you can either go back to your old self or keep the new personification of yourself. I am not saying come into the office on a daily basis from now on wearing a “Scream” mask but who knows… for some people, it might be an improvement!

Top 10 Dos and Don’ts of Personification Modification

10: DO include both an attitude and mental state change that matches your new outer look

9: DO make a change you are both comfortable with and can stick to, if you choose to keep the new YOU.

8: DON’T warn others about what you are about to do… new first impressions are important!

7: DON’T allow others to stop you from making a change in your life, you are an individual, act like one!

6: DON’T make a drastic change on a daily or weekly basis, this works against you in the long run. A change every quarter or two is more the adequate.

5: DO spend a little time thinking, planning and studying what you will become… you don’t want to change into something you HATE but others love!

4: DO it all in one shot, migrating from an old persona to a new one will deaden the blow, changing your persona is as much to shake up your life as those around you.

3: DON’T ask others if they like or dislike the new “you”, this kind of defeats the purpose. Make the change for yourself and others just have to accept it, if they don’t, that is their problem, not yours!

2: DO make sure that you truly believe in the new you, commit to it and no matter what, stick with it!

1: DO IT!

The Bottom Line

A new you is always in fashion… have fun with it!

With myfoodcount.com being a longtime Amazon.com affiliate, we come across some weird and sometimes rather expensive stuff in the world of health. So without further ado, here is a rundown of the top 10 products that make us go “Huh? They sell this stuff online?”

10: Stage IV 3000 Bariatric Pressure Relief System

9: The Happy Company Head Trip Therapeutic Massager

8: The Relaxman Relaxation Capsule

7: Anti-Monkey Butt Powder

6: Genie II Major Surgery Light Double Ceiling Mount

5: Potato Gun

4: Whitehall Wirlpools Hubbard Tank Low-Boy Body Immersion

3: Marshmallow Blower

2: iVent201 Intensive Care Face Mask Ventilation System

1: Online Grocery Shopping

The Bottom Line

Amazon.com has grown nicely since its initial beginnings, diversification beyond simply “consumer grade” stuff is a fantastic thing as the more competition in the medical field, the better it is for everybody. Of course, there are also some weird stuff out there but hey, so is life.

I was looking through the local newspaper insert from a grocery store and on the back, there was an entire page dedicated to Shrek puddings, Shrek Frootloops and Shrek snacks of various types. What I found interesting is how all these foods… marketed squarely towards kids, where ALL junk food. So here is my top 10 list to help parents buy HEALTHY Shrek colored food (ei: all green). Unlike junk food, it’s very difficult to become obese or overweight eating these fruits and vegetables. Tell your kids that these are truly Shrek based foods because they are things he might find in his swap (use your imagination) as there are no grocery stores there.

10: Green Granny Smith Apples

These apples are very filling, exploding with fiber and very nutritious. If your child wants a few of them as a snack, no problem. Apples are very low in Saturated Fat, Cholesterol and Sodium. They’re also a good source of Dietary Fiber and Vitamin C.

9: Green Watermelons

Watermelons are fantastic during hot summer days, add them to salads or serve them simply in slices. Don’t forget that every part of the watermelon is edible, from the red interior with seeds to the rind. I enjoy them with a little salt added and even as a drink.

8: Unripened Green Bananas

Bananas are a stable in many tropical countries where people include them in their breakfast, lunch and supper… including snacks throughout the day! Banana trees grow up to 26 ft high in bunches of up to 150 and are very high in Vitamin B6 (pyriodoxine), Vitamin C, Potassium, fiber and Manganese. Please wait till they turn yellow before eating
7: Green Peppers

You see green pepers on pizza, in salads and are great when mixed with other fruits / vegetables in a juice. They are easily added to any meal, such as pastas, soups and great simply raw.

6: Green Spinach

Sure they are high in Iron but they are contain a lot of anti-oxidants and minerals to make them a great all around vegetable. Their high fiber content makes them ideal for people with digestion (processing) problems and they are full of flavonoids which are great anti-cancer agents.

5: Green Dried Seaweed and Kelp

The Japanese produce some truly amazing dried Seaweed and kelp. It tastes great, packed with just about every vitamin and mineral known but I warn you ahead of time, once you start eating it, you can’t stop
4: Green Broccoli

I really don’t understand why there is such an aversion to broccoli, it’s one of my favorite vegetables. It tastes great raw, steamed or cooked in a soup and is packed with nutrition and fiber. George Bush Senior may have banned Broccoli from Air Force One but he didn’t abandon it from your kitchen! Buy it today!

3: Green Vegetable Based Pasta

I have seen this starting to appear in more and more places, basically, instead of 100% flower/egg based traditional pasta, they now sell multi-vegetable based pasta which is far more nutritious and tastes great! One of the tricks to a healthy diet is replacing foods that are so-so with foods that have great nutritional profiles.

2: Green Pears

I LOVE pears, they taste fantastic, packed with all of natures goodness and best of all, extremely high in fiber. It’s one of the few fruits that you can eat 5 and poo 10 of them hahahaha. I know some people bake them or add them to soups, as for me, I like them raw in bunches of 5.

1: Green Kiwi

Kiwis are just one of those fruits that if you where ever stuck on a deserted island with only one fruit available, would be at the top of my wish list to bump into. They are packed with nutrition, water and have a particular taste that never gets old. I add them to home made carrot/orange juice to spike up the flavor.

The Bottom Line

The next time you or your kids want to buy something GREEN because it’s marketed as Shreks (etc.) foods of choice, pick one from my top 10 list… your body will not only thank you but get you well on your way to proper nutritional habits.

Success is defined as the achievement of something desired, planned, or attempted. Here are a few guidelines I use to keep my life in check on the path towards ultimate freedom.

Learn to say NO

You can do anything you want on any given day, the freedom of time that citizens of the industrialized democratic world have is truly the most under-appreciated right we have yet instead of realizing its value, most of us are running around like chickens with our head chopped off. We have become a society that fears saying NO to people, we don’t want to hurt peoples feelings or worst yet, try to get our self-esteem by making other people happy at the expense of our time.

Your time is the most valuable commodity you will ever have, it is like a bank account only allows you to make withdraws from. Take control of your life and take pride in saying NO to things that are not compatible with your life plans.

Take ownership of your life

Nobody really cares about your life as much as you do. Ask the person who loves you the most in your life how much time they have planned into turning your life around into one overflowing with success… I bet the answer you get is “huh?”. Success can only happen when YOU take ownership of your life, YOU need to plan and YOU need to execute YOUR goals. YOU are the only person who can invest the amount of time and energy required to achieve YOUR goals.

Plan your life before life plans you

The typical lifespan of most people is between 60-100 years, I would easily say that 95% of the people go through their entire life like a tree in the wind… simply going in the direction of the wind. If you want to make something of yourself and turn your dreams into reality, you must be that one stubborn tree that ALWAYS points in one direction… the direction of success. No matter what comes at you, you must never loose sight of why you are doing what you are doing. Plans do change, sometimes just as erratic as a breeze but as long as your able to adapt, you will be fine.

Goal setting with established absolute benchmarks go a very long way.

Find your purpose

Success, no matter if for you it means becoming head janitor at the school you work at or to make your first billion before the age of 30… it must have a purpose for being. If you are unable to build a strong emotional link as to why you are getting up every morning and going “against the wind” then your wasting your time and fooling others. We are emotional animals and without that fire in the gut feeling pushing you, don’t expect to get very far. You must not only WANT to achieve something… you must ABSOLUTELY REQUIRE it for your survival.

TAKE ACTION!

Success only can be achieved by taking ACTION. Dreaming about what you “would” do will not get you towards what you want out of life… everyday, take at least 1 action towards achieving your goal, no matter how small. Momentum builds onto itself rather quickly once you have developed the habit of action.

Expect to make sacrifices

Success takes sacrifices, I can’t think of many people who have achieved success in absolutely every part of their life, often there is great success in one area of their life at the expense of another. I don’t think its possible from the onset to become successful all around, it takes so much focus and attention that something will else will suffer. Expect some pain and very tough decisions to come your way… but always remember to also enjoy the journey. Are you willing to make life long and life altering sacrifices to see a dream come to reality?

Even friendships are on the table of business

Haven recently gone though some very large business turnovers in the past few months, I can tell you that friends come and go - if there is no longer a reason to remain as close as you once where, don’t fight it - it’s simply the evolution of your life taking a leap (usually for the better). Life isn’t a popularity or “friend collection” contest, to be blunt, friends can sometime be dead weight on your life which you need to drop off at the next embankment of life, no matter the emotional/financial connections in order to get back your life and move onward with it in a positive way.

The Bottom Line

Success is how you define it but with enough intensity and attention, anybody can achieve what they want out of life.

10. Restaurants that bribe kids

Restaurants who bribe children with toys to bring them in the door with their family to eat their food. My nephew a few weeks ago went to McDonalds to get this “Cars” blue car and guess what, the following week McDonalds releases a red one - guess who was begging to go BACK to McDonalds so they could get the red one Anybody who markets to children should be ashamed of themselves… when your food is so bad that you need to bribe kids to eat it - and so unhealthy that just about every “health advocate” would prefer to eat the dirt from the soles of their feet then what you offer as food - it’s time for a new business plan.

9. “Weight Loss” Personalities

“Weight Loss” Centers who use people with deep seeded problems to get customers in the door. Kirstie Alley has had weight issues most of her life, yes she WAS beautiful (who isn’t when they are young) but using a known cocaine addict who is still obese telling people with weight problems “hey, I did it” send the wrong message and doesn’t make much sense neither. If you want to succeed in achieving your weight loss goals - model yourself after “skinny” people, not screwed up ones.

8. Phony Diet products

Diet plans that promise “up to” (usually in fine print) 7lbs weight loss in 7 days, I hate to burst your bubble but the weight you will loose is WATER weight, anybody can loose 7lbs in a week, stop eating and drinking - it may also kill you but at least you didn’t waste your money. The healthiest amount of weight to loose in one week is no more then 2 lbs (and that’s pushing it), making any large shifts in weight (water, fat or muscle) is a guaranteed way to gain the weight right back plus a little more bonus.

7. Using carb depleted spokespersons

Exercise systems from reputable companies to “as seen on TV” products that show commercials of once obese people transforming their body into human anatomy charts. Listen, the amount of diet and training required to get to that level of “cutting” is incredibly difficult not only to get to but also maintain. It’s also unhealthy to walk around with such a low “carbohydrate depleted” body fat percentage because the body NEEDS fat to keep things running in between meals - think of fat as the bodies battery when no energy is around. Yes, they should be congratulated for getting to that level but lets be realistic here, I bet if you met them a few weeks after the show was tapped, that 6-pack has lost much of its definition. Very few people would have the mental and physical fortitude required to get into the shape portrayed as a direct result from using any type of equipment.

6. Before and After pictures

Just about every health product uses these to promote their products - I have yet to see one with the SAME lighting, angle and facial expression. Usually the “before” picture has low light, the person looking unhappy and depending on the product, the lighting used to enforce the bad areas then the “after” picture usually has a completely different angle, BRIGHT lighting and a happy face on the person (and with make-up). Of course they look better - but it has nothing to do with the product!

5. “Weight Loss” Centers

“Weight Loss” Centers such as Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers etc… charging people hundreds of dollars a week to eat processed foods without a strong educational and exercise program is a fantastic way to keep obese people for life. People will loose the weight and guess what, once they get off the calorie restricted diet it comes back with a vengeance - these centers “allow” people to loose weight simply because the amount taken in is usually below the amount burned by the individual. Why people PAY to eat LESS I still do not understand… in my opinion, “Weight Loss” Centers are in the same league as cigarette companies - same business plan and motive with little regard for their customers well being.

4. Herbal or Natural products

These products promise everything from a cure for cancer to extreme health… they usually promote some exotic product found where no man has ever been and say that “clinical studies” prove they work. Ask them for a copy of the study and you will get a blank stare. If you read the fine print, it will say something to the effect that “the FDA has not evaluated said product”. In other words, the health benefits from their product are probably equal to that of eating a vegetable (at best). The reason why “herbal” or “natural” is seen on everything these days is because there is a loophole in the FDA regulations which means they don’t need to go through clinical trials before they go to market essentially because their main ingredients are considered no stronger then a placebo. A rule of thumb is that if something is potent enough to actually work, 99.999% of the time it’s only available by prescription.

3. Fad diets

Why people fall for these every 2-3 years is another one of those mysteries that have eluded me so far in my life. They DO NOT work (long term), are usually very unhealthy (ei: Atkins) and cost you a little fortune. Save your money, eat whole foods that are unprocessed and you will always eat very well and have no problem maintaining the body that is right for you. Promise your body you will not follow any more FAD diets!

2. Cell phones

This is a bit of a stretch but I believe cell phones where invented by the devil himself, go anywhere - airports, public transit, restaurants, hotels, theaters, beach and no matter how hard you try your luck - there will always be at least one person talking on their cell phone - how does this affect my health? When you cannot enjoy the moment and unwind in public, stress levels are not allowed to dissipate - instead of being in the moment, you are forced to be inside of somebody elses. When somebody is talking loudly over the crowd, it cannot be ignored. We wonder why our lives are so crazy everyday… the infernal cell phone is squarely to blame in my opinion

1. Environmental Degradation

There is a very real link between the environment we live in and our general health - why our “leaders” cannot open their eyes to this and take real action to not only change things for our generation but the generations to follow is unconscionable. I am not talking about Global Warming specifically which is the buzz word of the 21st century - it’s only a symptom of a far larger problem - people still don’t seem to realize that pollution doesn’t abide by any borders, China is quickly becoming the worlds largest polluter, the United States (todays larger polluter) believes in an “wealth before health” policy and even Canada has outpaced the United States in terms of net increases of pollution. What am I doing to do about this? Stay tuned… but change must always starts with Responsibility, Awareness & Education.

The Bottom Line

Pet Peeves are like weeds, get rid of one and two new ones pop up in its place