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When we start a fitness and weight loss plan, often we think of what we will be restricted in.  Such as, no more pizzas, no more beer nights, no more French Fries, no more lounging in front of the TV and before we know it, all we think about is “no more fun”!

How about if we spin that to what we can have more of?  We can have more exotic fruits, we can eat more volume of vegetables, we can enjoy interesting types of fish and shellfish, we can also get in good enough shape to hike and see new places.  We will be able to enjoy our vacations and family times more because we will be in shape to explore trails, walk around new city sights for hours at a time and play with our children.

Once we eat healthier we feel better.  Once we feel better we enjoy more things!  Sure we can have the occasional ice cream, yummy wine or slice of pizza as a super treat!  That’s almost as much fun to look forward to as feeling fit and healthy.

We tend to look at our lives in very much the same way. We have our health, enough food to eat, a job that pays the bills and allows us some leisure activities, but we don’t focus on that. We don’t appreciate that.

Instead, we concentrate on the tiny black dot – the 10% in our lives that we don’t like or the things we wish we could change. By concentrating on the 10% that represents our problems or things we don’t like, we develop a negative attitude and feel lousy. Plus, there’s a universal principle that comes into play: we attract what we think about most.

By focusing on what is lacking in our lives, we create more experiences of scarcity.

Think about your life. Are you paying too much attention to the 10% that isn’t what you want it to be as opposed to the 90% that’s going well? I’m not saying we should ignore our challenges or things we’d like to change. But if we paid a lot more attention to the 90% that IS working, we’d have a better attitude and we’d get better results.

When it comes to your job, do you concentrate on all the positive aspects of what you do, or do you gripe about how much money you make, your co-workers, or the fact that someone else got the recognition and rewards you wanted?

What about the basic necessities of life? Do you feel gratitude every day for the food you eat, the clothing you have, the roof above your head or do you take all of these things for granted? Worse yet, do you complain that you don’t have more?

And let’s not forget your body and your health. How much time do you spend thinking about what IS working? Your body is a miracle, make no mistake about that. There’s nothing “ho-hum” about your body and its day to day operation.

Albert Einstein once said that there are two ways to live your life – one way is as though nothing is a miracle – the other is as though everything is a miracle.

Most of us walk around with a ho-hum attitude about the miracle of our bodies. We treat this amazing creation as if it’s no big deal.

Consider this: your heart is only the size of a fist and yet it pumps blood through your body. Every day, the heart pumps about 2,000 gallons of blood and beats about 100,000 times. That’s just in one day.

In one year, that amounts to 36,500,000 beats. And in most cases, the heart just keeps on beating 36,500,000 times a year for many decades. Stop for a moment and recognize the enormity of this miracle.

And, of course, you don’t have to change any body parts or beat your chest manually to keep your heart going. It automatically beats and sends the blood through your body with no effort on your part.

Now, let’s consider your brain. The brain and spinal cord are made up of many cells, which include neurons. There are about 100 billion neurons in the brain. 100 billion! Neurons are nerve cells that transmit nerve signals to and from the brain at up to 200 miles per hour. Isn’t this amazing?

Of course, your ears … your eyes … well, I could go on all day about the miracle of your body and how we take it for granted. Just one final example to drive the point home: When you get a cold and have difficulty breathing for a few days, I bet you’ll often tell everyone that you are congested and don’t feel well. When the cold clears up in a week and your breathing returns to normal, you probably don’t say: “My breathing is perfect today! I’m able to get all the oxygen I need!” Why does it make sense to complain about your breathing for the one week it is impaired … while failing to acknowledge the other 51 weeks when your breathing is full and healthy?

Stop taking this incredible body for granted. Appreciate all the things that ARE working! You’re a walking miracle, and part of an extraordinary universe.

Some of you may feel that ignoring the black dot is not the answer – and that you need to focus on the black dot to improve certain conditions in your life. Well, if you choose this route, here are three strategies you could use:

1. Worry about the black dot.
2. Complain about the black dot.
3. Take some proactive steps to eliminate or reduce the black dot.

The only strategy that makes sense is #3. Yet many people select strategies #1 and #2, which only makes them more miserable.

Be brutally honest with yourself. Are there any areas of your life where you’re ignoring the large white sheet and seeing only the tiny black dot? Do you see the faults of those at work or at home, and seldom affirm people for their positive contributions to your life? If you’re like most of us, you have an abundance of blessings, yet you’re often blind to them.

If you’ve been staring at some tiny black dots recently, take responsibility for that. And recognize that nobody is forcing you to keep your eyes on the black dot. You’ve developed the habit of focusing on the negative and your life (and the lives of those around you) will be greatly enriched if you start to shift your vision toward the white sheet.

You have a choice. You can keep staring at the black dot and telling others about all the things that are wrong in your life, or you can begin to appreciate your many blessings. Sounds like a pretty easy choice to make, doesn’t it?

When people pick up a brochure, they want to see the inside of the house.  Why not give it to them with a full home layout.  That’s right! MagicPlan can help you create full indoor floor plans of your home to use on your website, brochures, and other marketing materials simply by using your iPhone or iPad.

First things first, before using MagicPlan make sure you watch the intro video.  It will be extremely helpful.  When you’re ready to start your floor plan, simply stand in one spot in the center of the room, move the camera around tapping on the screen to label corners and doors. It doesn’t even matter if furniture is in the way.  Floor plans can be emailed to you in PDF, JPG and DXF format or publish an INTERACTIVE FLOOR PLAN on the web.

Just think a professional looking floor plan without picking up a measuring tape, moving furniture, or drawing.  Just point and shoot.  The whole process takes only a matter of minutes.

The floor plans the app creates are available for free, but only for non-commercial use. For commercial use (and to remove the watermark), subscription plans are available, as is enterprise pricing.

So go out there and start creating your floor plans!

The important thing to note about Roger is he joined the Dallas Cowboys as a 27-year-old rookie in 1969, after finishing his required service in the Navy, including a tour of duty in Vietnam, and didn’t get the regular quarterback job until his third season.  During his nine seasons as the regular quarterback, Dallas played in six NFC championship games, winning four of them, and also scored victories in Super Bowls VI and XII, quite an amazing feat.  Staubach was known for his ability to think quickly and scramble out of trouble.  This and his motivation to excel at a sport he loved so much, is truly what makes him a great man.

It’s no surprise that these attributes carried over to his life after football.  He was able to start a very successful commercial real estate business, The Staubach Company, in 1977.  The philosophy of the company is definitely something noteworthy:

“Operating Principles: We will adopt the objectives of our clients, the users of space, and dedicate ourselves to the achievement of their goals.  We strive to understand our clients’ long-term operational objectives and to orient our work to achieve these objectives, rather than simply fulfill a short-term real estate need. … If at any time our clients are not completely satisfied with the services we have provided, they have the unilateral right to adjust our fee.”

To the Staubach Company, their clients were not just people they did business with for the short time they needed real estate services.  These clients were with them for life.  The employees developed long-term relationships with them and catered their services to accommodate the client.  No cookie cutter plans here; just true customized customer service.  They recognized that each person’s needs are different.  With this philosophy they were able to accomplish their goal of satisfying their customers every request.

Quite an amazing concept if you ask me and one every person should definitely take into consideration.

A suit was filed last summer against Cytosport for false nutritional advertising.  The plaintiff, Claire Delacruz, claimed that Muscle Milk bars were high in saturated fat and low in vitamins and minerals.  In fact, one chocolate peanut caramel bar contains 300 calories and 8g of saturated fat.  One chocolate muscle milk ready-to-drink shake (14 fl oz) contains 230 calories, 9g of total fat and 430mg of sodium (sodium recommendations are <2300mg daily).  Although the total carbs and sugars are low on the label, ingredients include vegetable oils, maltodextrin, crystalline fructose, natural and artificial flavors, acesulfame potassium (a calorie free artificial sweetener) and sucralose.  In other words, a lot of substances that are associated with disease are contained in one bottle of what is supposedly “nutritional.”

A glimpse at nutrition facts for a standard chocolate frosted Dunkin donut reveals 270 calories, 7g of saturated fat and 340mg of sodium, not too far from a serving of Muscle Milk, yet no where does Dunkin donuts claim to be healthy.  Cytosport, on the other hand, states of their Ready-To-Drink shake “it is a protein-enhanced functional beverage that promotes sustained energy, lean muscle growth and recovery from exercise with a milkshake like taste.  Muscle Milk provides a precise blend of 25 grams of premium protein, healthy fats, good carbohydrates and 20 vitamins and minerals in a lactose-free, gluten-free formula.  Muscle Milk ready to RTD (Ready to Drink) is an ideal nutritional choice whether you are a performance athlete, on a diet, or simply desire to maintain lean muscle mass.”  With a claim like that, who wouldn’t want to try Muscle Milk?

The FDA sent a warning letter to Cytosport on June 29, 2011, stating that their products were misbranded due to nutrient claims without following legal guidelines of such claims.  The FDA stated that to be considered “healthy,” foods must have a “total fat content of 3g or less per reference amount customarily consumed (RACC), 1g or less saturated fat per RACC, and no more than 15% of calories from saturated fat.”  Cytosport was also critiqued by the FDA for claiming 0g trans fat without including an adjacent disclaimer of “See nutrition information for fat content.”

Cytosport countered the argument by claiming that “many healthy, nutritional products contain some amount of fat” and that their products contain levels below recommended daily amounts.  Delacruz is in the process of revising her arguments before the judge makes a final decision on the case.  Stay posted.  ..And maybe think twice before believing nutritional claims and trends.

Be the Difference

Being decisive is one of the biggest keys to success…while procrastinating is one of the biggest success killers.  However, being decisive is something we have to train ourselves to do because it is not natural for most people while procrastination comes naturally.  Unfortunately, most of us are conditioned not to be decisive because we don’t want to offend anyone, we are afraid of making mistakes or we just don’t want to take risks.  It’s so much easier to just not make a decision…go along to get along.  I see people every day that just sit there and think, procrastinate, and ponder what to do but never actually do anything.  Unfortunately, they never get any closer to the things they want.  The reality of it is not making a decision gets you farther away from what you want because in life if you are not changing and improving every day, you are slipping back.  Remember what JFK said “Change is the law of life…and those who look only to the past or the present…are certain to miss the future.”

What all of us need to do is figure out our goals and then write down specifically what we need to do to accomplish them.  Put those specifics into our schedule, and then make a commitment to JUST DO IT!!!!!  No more waffling…no more waiting…no more putting off what you need to do to get what you want.  At the beginning of each day, review your goals and specifically what you need to do, then simply just do it.  Then, at the end of each day, review your goals and specifically what you need to do and compare that to what you did today.  Is it in alignment?  If not, why?  Once your day is over, recommit yourself and then start again the next day.  Do this day in and day out…before you know it your goals will become a reality.  Just don’t give up…remember it is the accumulation effect of doing it over and over again that will get you what you want.  It will typically come out of nowhere just about the time you are ready to give up and throw in the towel.  Don’t!!!!  Push through the pain and the doubt at all cost…success is just on the other side.  It requires breakdowns for breakthroughs.  Just remember that is part of the process of getting better.

Ask for forgiveness…don’t ask for permission.  Make it a great week!!!!

SocialOomph allows you to schedule your tweets in advance, track keywords, automatically follow those who follow you. One that helps you make the most of social media while not sacrificing all of your time. See, the thing about social media is that you try, try, try again, but that you also test, see what works, test, see what works, test, see what works.

It offers a way to get some insight into your twitter activities. And now it’s offering a way to clean up your account for more effective use of twitter.  You can purge your tweets and start with a clean slate without losing your followers and the people you follow.  This is a great feature if you’re feeling a little overwhelmed by the amount of information you have on your page.  All you have to do is log into your current SocialOomph account and click on the “Schedule Updates, Purge Twitter Tweets” link in the menu.  Time to clean up and start fresh!

Happy Tweeting!

I am proud to be Ritz-Carlton

1. I build strong relationships and create Ritz-Carlton guests for life.
2. I am always responsive to the expressed and unexpressed wishes and needs of our guests.
3. I am empowered to create unique, memorable and personal experiences for our guests.
4. I understand my role in achieving the Key Success Factors, embracing Community Footprints and creating The Ritz-Carlton Mystique.
5. I continuously seek opportunities to innovate and improve The Ritz-Carlton experience.
6. I own and immediately resolve guest problems.
7. I create a work environment of teamwork and lateral service so that the needs of our guests and each other are met.
8. I have the opportunity to continuously learn and grow.
9. I am involved in the planning of the work that affects me.
10. I am proud of my professional appearance, language, and behavior.
11. I protect the privacy and security of our guests, my fellow employees and the company’s confidential information and assets.
12. I am responsible for uncompromising levels of cleanliness and creating a safe and accident-free environment.

Much of the Ritz-Carlton’s success has come from these service values and the consistency of instilling them into each and every employee.  Keep these in mind as you go about your everyday business. They can certainly be applied to your interactions with customers, other agents, and vendors.

1. Eliminate all white flour products from your diet.  To take this a step further, eliminate white rice and potatoes too.
2. If you need a sweet treat daily (which I do most days) make sure it is no more than 5% of your total daily calorie needs for your slimming up goal. For example, if you are on a 1500 calorie diet, this would be a 75 kcal treat.
3. Eat every 3 hours; making sure you finish eating when are satisfied instead of full.
4. Have a lean protein source each time you eat (chicken, fish, turkey, egg whites for example).
5. Drink water…lots of it. Herbal tea can count as water too, however the more coffee or caffeine you drink, the more water you will need.
6. Always, always, always eat breakfast within 90 min. after you wake up.  Your breakfast should consist of a high fiber source and at least 15 grams of protein.
7.  Keep alcohol to a minimum during the slimming down phase…nonexistent is ideal if you are really serious, if you really want a good glass of wine, let yourself have one occasionally, and pair it with a very lean protein meal.
8.  Sweat every day…and sitting in a hot car doesn’t count…get your heart rate working!

Of course there are about 100 other tips, but to get you started on a fast track to the beach, follow the top 7 nutritional tips and make the 8th fitness tip an absolute!   Try these and let me know how you do!