The creation software, iBooks Author, is a free download for the Mac from the app store (It’s not currently available for the PC). It installs quickly and has the look and feel of Apple’s flagship word processor, Pages. I downloaded the software to my Macbook Pro and decided to take an existing ebook that I published and convert it to an interactive text. The iBooks Author video made it look easy.

After working with the software and importing my existing ebook, I would like to give you a preliminary overview of the process. I thought the process would be as simple as importing my existing book, making a few changes and Viola… and interactive book. Unfortunately it’s not quite that easy. Here is what I’ve found so far.

1. Multiple Monitors are a must. If you are going to use iBooks Author, you’ll need a LOT of screen real estate. Unlike working in Pages or Word, creating an Interactive book requires opening a lot of windows and dialog boxes. Trying to do this on my 13” MacBook proved difficult. I soon had a huge amount of screen clutter. Hooking up an external monitor really makes this program come alive. If you have a large screen iMac, you’ll probably be OK. With a MacBook an external monitor is a must.

2. An iPad and connector cable is necessary. To view your compiled book, you will not be able to view it on your Mac. You’ll need an iPad and connector cable to download the iBooks file. The transfer is quick and easy and then you can explore the interactive features. Since this transfer is necessary, you’ll have to change your standard workflow.

I found this to be very clunky at first. I’m used to viewing my finished work with the click of the mouse. With iBooks author you’ll need to export each time to see the changes. Once you get used to it, it makes sense, since only the iPad has a touch interface. If you don’t have an iPad handy, you can also export to PDF which will play on your computer and will give you an idea of page formatting in the final output.

3. Importing is best done one chapter at a time. The iBooks Author program has an import feature that allows you to import existing MS Word or Apple Pages files. While the import works, it doesn’t format existing chapters properly. In my limited exploration so far, I’ve found it easier to import one chapter at a time instead of the entire document. When I tried to bring in my existing book all at one time, I ended up with a mess. So far, I’ve found that having my existing book open in Pages and cutting and pasting one chapter at a time works the best.

4. New file types. In exploring the available widgets, I’ve found some new file types to play with. You can import Keynote files (Apple’s version of Powerpoint) and use the built in animation to create stunning animated diagrams and charts. For 3d models, iBooks Author uses 3D Collada files with a .dae extension. Google SketchUp will create these files. I did a little searching online and found a few examples. Once you get everything together you can build interactive chapter reviews.

Overall: So far this journey has been slow and somewhat cumbersome. Once I added the larger monitor and broke my project into smaller pieces, it’s actually starting to come together. Having an iPad handy, really makes the project come alive. Once I get this done , I’ll post a step-by-step review of the process.

Verdict: If you have a Mac and want to start creating magic, download this free program and start exploring. Start simple and play with the tools. You’ll soon have your first interactive textbook on it’s way to the iBooks store.

Question: Have you tried iBooks Author yet?

In the video above I’ll show you a practical and low cost solution I discovered for preparing quick meals with a minimum of fuss. The Cuisinart Griddler allows me to cook two meat patties along with buns or tortillas all at the same time. I just pre-heat the unit for a minute, put on my food items and come back five minutes later to a fully cooked meal. Since the unit cooks on both sides at once, I don’t have to constantly turn items or drain juices.

The unit features reversible grills for different items. One side is flat for pancakes, buns, and bread while the other is ribbed for meat and Panini style sandwiches. Cleanup is fast and easy as the grills click out for washing in the sink or dishwasher. Cooking a low carb meal couldn’t be quicker and easier. The ribbed grills allow fat and juices to drain off the back into a collection tray.

Watch the video above to see how easy this is.

In the video I used delicious Chicken-lime patties from Trader Joe’s along with whole wheat crumpets. You can easily substitute turkey, beef, or fish, and have your meals ready in minutes. While it’s better to thaw your meat beforehand, the grill works well with patties right from the freezer. Now that there a lot of low calorie bun choices, you can make a healthy low carb meal, that you take with you with a minimum of fuss.

Question: Have you ever used a two sided grill like this?

This is a guest post by Ali Luke. She is a writer and writing coach, and blogs about writing on her site Aliventures. You can find her on Twitter as @aliventures, where she’s always happy to answer questions about writing.

Although podcasts and videos are becoming more and more popular online, we still live in a text-heavy world. Whenever you put a page on your website, publish a post on your blog or even send an email, you’re communicating through words alone. If you’re a good writer, you’ll stand out; if your writing skills need some work, you could be failing to achieve the success you deserve.

I’ve met plenty of people who are incredibly smart – but unfortunately, in emails, they come across as careless or uneducated. I’ve met others who are great fun to be around – but their website copy sounds stilted and jargon-heavy.

Here are five quick tips for improving your writing today:

#1: Write in a Conversational Tone

Most of us learnt certain “rules” about writing in school. Do any of these sound familiar?

· Don’t write in the first person (“I”)

· Don’t use contractions (write “do not” not “don’t”)

· Don’t end a sentence with a preposition (Write “To where did the ball fall?” not “Where did the ball fall to?”)

· Don’t start a sentence with “and” or “but”

· Don’t ever use sentence fragments (sentences without verbs)

You can break all of these rules when you’re writing for your website or blog. If you write in the first person, using contractions, your web copy will sound much more friendly and immediate.

#2: Look Out for Jargon

Whether you’re writing a corporate website or a hobby-based blog, there’s a fair chance that some jargon’s going to sneak in. This can be alienating to potential clients or new readers. Watch out for:

· Technical terms that could be expressed more simply (or explained briefly in parentheses)

· Acronyms that your reader might not understand

Slang and in-jokes are also a form of jargon. Online, you’re often writing to a worldwide audience – so don’t assume that everyone will understand a regional expression.

If you need to have a lot of jargon on your website, you might want to create a glossary page that explains the different terms to new readers.

#3: Edit Your Writing

One of the most common causes of poor writing is hitting “publish” or “send” too fast. Make sure that you take a few minutes to re-read what you’ve written. This is especially crucial if you’re using a smartphone or another device with predictive text – sometimes, what you thought you wrote is very different from what’s appeared on the screen.

Careless typos make you look unprofessional, especially if they’re on prominent pages of your website. People will be more forgiving with casual blog posts and emails – but typos still have the potential to cause embarrassment or even offense. (I’ve heard plenty of tales from people who’ve accidentally typed “retards” instead of “regards” at the end of an email, for instance…)

#4: Ask Someone Else to Help Edit and Proof-Read

It’s hard to spot your own typos, and it’s also hard to spot areas of your writing where you’ve expressed something clumsily. Get a friend or colleague to help by reading through your work before you send it out into the world. Often, they’ll spot something that you can easily fix.

If you’re returning the favor, look out for:

· Missing words – a common form of typo that spell-checkers won’t necessarily pick up

· Awkward or confusing sentences – if you had to read it twice to understand the meaning, it probably needs rewriting

· A lack of flow or coherence in the piece – if it deals with several different points or subjects, you’ll want to suggest adding in some subheadings

#5: Borrow from Other People

When you come across a piece of writing that works well, borrow from it. If a headline on a magazine cover catches your eye, for instance, you could try using a version of it for your next blog post title. If you read a blog post that’s engaging and valuable, see whether you can use a similar structure for your next post.

Be alert to the sort of writing that grabs your attention – and the sort that turns you off within a couple of lines. You’ll almost certainly find a clever trick you can use in your own writing – or something to avoid!

If you’ve got a great tip for better writing, leave it in the comments below…

Ali’s Blogging Guides can help you with your writing, blogging, or creating an e-book. Check them out for straightforward, action-focused support for your business goals.

In a nutshell, carb cycling boils down to…

On weight training days you have more carbohydrates,

On non weight training days you have less carbohydrates.

This simple concept allows your body maximum calorie burning efficiency and helps your system maintain a high metabolic rate

On the surface this looks really easy, but as I have dug deeper into the plans, many of them are extremely complicated. The idea of carb cycling is to keep your body from reducing its metabolic rate and going into starvation mode when you reduce calories.

Over the next few weeks, I’m going to experiment with different exercise and diet options and see if I can boil this down into a simple program that is easy to do and remember.

My top three goals are…

A simple meal plan that is easy to make, portable, and doesn’t require exotic ingredients.

An easy to follow exercise program that is flexible and doesn’t require a gym

A simple daily plan that most anyone can follow.

Hopefully, as with many things here at Success Begins Today, I want to simplify this into a one sheet solution. If I can’t put all the information on one sheet of paper that I need to deal with on a daily basis, it’s too complex.

To start with I’m going to dig into Chris Powell’s Book, Choose to Lose, and take a look at his menu and fitness options.

Stay tuned…

Question: Have you tried a carb-cycling program before?

The Low Carb Diet (South Beach, Dukan, and Atkins are common versions)

The Paleo Diet (Diet restricted to what our ancestors ate: No bread or processed food)

The Low Fat/Calorie Diet (Many versions including Weight Watchers, Volumetrics)

The Liquid Protein Diet (Slimfast and others)

The Vegan Diet (No meat or animal products)

The Gluten Free Diet ( Gluten is a wheat protein which some people are allergic to)

The listings above are just a small sample of the popular diets advertised on TV, infomercials, and in books and magazines. Many are restrictive, and block out whole food groups.

Over the years, I’ve tried many of them with varying success. Since most restrict either quantity, calories, or types of food, they are very hard to stay on for long periods of time.

I have found a simple secret though,

It might seem counterintuitive,

But it works…

The secret is this…

You need to eat to lose weight.

Your body is like a furnace. You need to keep the fire stoked and burning with the proper fuel for efficient operation. If you give it too little fuel, the fire goes out. If you give it the wrong fuel you may end up with a flash fire that quickly extinguishes or a heavy slow burning fire that lumbers along. Too much fuel and it has to store it somewhere.

In simple terms, a furnace converts fuel into heat. If your body takes in more calories than it needs to function, it stores the excess by transferring it into fat.

Many diets restrict so many calories, that the fire goes out. This causes the body to shut down its metabolism and go into starvation mode. Some diets severely restrict carbohydrates, which are the main fuel of the body This causes a very uneven fire which can make you lethargic and foggy. Other diets have you eating 2 or 3 big meals a day, which causes excess fuel to be stored as fat.

So the real question is… How do you make your furnace burn the hottest?

The secret to keeping the fire going is to eat smaller meals more often. This keeps the fire hot at all times and your metabolism steady.

In practical application, this means 5 or more meals a day and 500 calories or less per meal.

Chris Powell in his popular book, Choose to Lose, has divided up a furnace stoking solution into 4 rules…

RULE 1: Eat more often.

RULE 2: Eat carbohydrates.

RULE 3: Build muscle.

RULE 4: Move your muscles.

Chris has come up with a Carb Cycling program that can keep your body’s furnace burning hot at all times. His program has helped many overweight people find significant success. His story of how he helped David Smith lose over 400 pounds in 26 months is amazing.

His video page will explain to you how your body’s furnace works and how true weight loss takes place. Years back, I used a similar plan (Body for Life) to lose 26 pounds in 12 weeks. I really like how Chris has fine tuned the diet portion and combined it with specific exercises to maximize how your body burns calories.

In our next blog post, we’ll look at his carb cycling program and see how we can design a simple diet and exercise plan that will work with our busy lifestyles.

Question: Have you heard of Carb Cycling?

Why are November and December so hard on the waistline?

Every year I tell myself I’m not going to gain any weight over the holidays, but it is usually a losing battle. When I actually sit down and research what happened, I come away with one powerful answer…

It’s their fault!

Yes… it’s the Starbucks and their Peppermint Lattes. It’s Applebee’s and their holiday pies. It’s all the people in the office with their home made fudge, brownies, and Christmas cookies. It’s our friends and family who give us See’s candy for the holiday.

It’s not my fault… really it isn’t.

I’m helpless to resist!

Every year I try, but the temptation is too great.

Sugar, white flour, and all sorts of unseen fat are combined in a myriad of different ways to trip me up. This combines with the fact that it has become very cold outside and my daily runs/walks have gone away.

So what really happens?

It really comes down to this…

For two months out of the year I’m taking in more calories than I’m burning. Usually about 500 extra calories a day.

500 calories/day x 7 days/week = 3500 extra calories/week

3500 calories equals one pound.

By the time I realize the damage, 10 weeks have gone by, and 10 pounds have found my midsection.

It’s simple math really!

So to lose 10 pounds I need a 500 calorie deficit every day to lose a pound a week.

I can do this two different ways…

I can restrict my calories by 500/day or burn an extra 500 calories with exercise.

Or I can do both.

Both sounds good.

Here is the challenge. I need to find a way to burn an extra 500 calories a day and develop a diet that I can stay on that restricts my calories by 500 below my baseline.

It has to be fun and enjoyable

It has to work!

Tomorrow we’ll look at a mysterious diet secret …

Question: How were the holidays on your waistline?

Have you been there?

I sure have.

I usually ask friends, go online, and search for answers where ever I can find them. Yet many times I end up stuck.

Many times it comes down to a decision or a less than desirable answer.

Sometimes I settle…

Sometimes I give up.

There has to be a better way.

Last week, while perusing the listings at Audible, I came upon a book with an interesting title

Accidental Genius: Using Writing to Generate Your Best Ideas, Insight, and Content

I decided that it might be something that would be of interest, so I downloaded it and listened to it on my daily commute. What I found was a little known problem solving technique called Freewriting.

This was really interesting, since I’ve been a big fan of Freewriting for some time. Yet I never considered it as a way to solve problems.

Freewriting can simply be described as sitting down at the computer, opening a blank word processing document, and typing whatever comes to mind for a limited period of time, usually 5 or 10 minutes.

I’ve used it for years to get unstuck while writing. If I have writers block, I usually Freewrite.

As I got into the book, author Mark Levy offers six secrets to turn Freewriting into a helpful problem solving exercise.

They are…

1. Try Easy (Work at 90%)
2. Write fast and continuously
3. Work against a limit (10min)
4. Write the way you think (not speak)
5. Go with your thought
6. Redirect your attention.

He suggests writing about your subject or problem in an easy low stress way. He calls it “try easy,” where you work at about 90% of your usual intensity. He proffers that writing fast and continuously for a set period of time, usually 10 minutes, will bring on powerful ideas one after the other. As you are writing, he says to put down your actual thoughts, not cleaned up versions as your would use in conversation.

Once you have reached your time limit, he suggests that you take a break and then go into another session, using the last thought as your starting point.

I have tried this technique over the last week and I can honestly say it has been a source of amazing ideas and creativity. The most interesting thing about this technique is to write things down in your thinking language. This provides great outline headings and junctions to start new freewriting journeys.

I highly recommend this book, in either audio or written versions. It’s simple premise and helpful tips can help you break through tough problems and come up with completely unique solutions.

Popular speaker and blogger, David Meerman Scott says in his Amazon review…

In a typical year, I’ll write one full-length book, a smaller ebook, about 100 blog posts and deliver about 50 talks all over the world.People ask me all the time how I can be so prolific. "Where do all your ideas come from?" they ask.

The answer is simple: I put my internal editor on hold for first drafts. This allows me to crank stuff out very quickly. A technique called "Freewriting" that I learned from Mark Levy in his terrific "Accidental Genius" allows me to get ideas down very quickly without seeing if it is "good."

I’ve been amazed at how this simple technique can draw out ideas you didn’t know you had and word them so you can easily take action.

Question: Have you ever tried Freewriting before?

Failure can offer great insight.

Failure can help us change direction

Failure can offer abject proof of something that didn’t work.

Unfortunately, admitting failure is usually painful. In so many cases, it’s easier to just move on, than to actually analyze the situation and learn from it. And here is one thing that I know for sure…

If we don’t learn from our mistakes, we are bound to repeat them.

So.. on this note I decided to come up with a failure checklist.

It works very simply…

You write down and describe the failure and then you answer four questions…

1. What can we learn from this?

2. How could we have done things differently?

3. Where do we go from here?

4. What does this make possible?

Actually taking a few minutes and writing down the answers can yield some amazing results. Putting things on paper allows our mind to consolidate thoughts and come up with solutions.

To make this easier for you, I’ve created the failure checklist in a MS Word template that you can download and print out for free.

If you had some things that didn’t go so well last year, why not write them down and take a few minutes and go through the questions.To help you get started, you might want to read a couple of posts on the subject that might give you greater insight…

How to Fail Well, a guest post by Nathan Rouse

What Does This Make Possible, by Michael Hyatt

This simple exercise has given me greater clarity as I plan out my goals for the New Year. It has given me some surprising answers to some tough problems. The act of actually writing them down has allowed me to visualize the problems and come up with solutions.

Question: Do you think a sheet like this might be helpful? Are there other questions that you might ask?

  1. Twenty Steps. The first place to start is to determine your top goal for the New Year. Brian Tracy talks about a simple technique to help you find your top goal in his book, Success Secrets of Self Made Millionaires. It’s actually rather simple.

He devised a simple four step process that anyone can take to get started on this path to success. Here are the instructions…

1. Take out a sheet of paper and write down ten goals you would like to accomplish in the next 12 months. Things you want to have, do, or become.
2. Look at all ten goals and ask yourself this question. If you could only accomplish one goal on this list, but you could accomplish it in 24 hours, which one would would have the greatest impact on your life? Brian says in most cases it will jump out at you. Write the goal down in bold writing and set a completion date.
3. Turn the paper over and write down twenty action steps to accomplish this goal. This step will be easy at first but will become harder as you progress down the list. Don’t stop until you have filled in all twenty.
4. Each day take at least one action step to accomplish your goal

To make this easy for you, we have a free worksheet to get you started. Just download the  two sided MS Word document called the Top Goal Worksheet that has ten boxes on the front and twenty on the back. Unzip it, and open both sheets in Microsoft Word. You can add text to the document in Word or print it plain to fill in with a pen or pencil.

When you are ready, print it front and back on both sides of a sheet of letter sized paper.

To fill it out, just follow the four steps above.

You’ll find complete instructions here

If you are having trouble with your Top Goal, you might want to go through Michael Hyatt’s Life Plan first

2. Goal Setting Toolkit. Now that you have your top goal written down, along with some action steps to take, you’ll need to keep this goal top of mind. The easiest way to do this is to write your Goal(s) down using our Goal Setting Toolkit. This kit includes 9 different pocket sized cards that you can take with you in your pocket or purse. You can stick the cards up at work, at home or even in your car.

You’ll find complete instructions for using this kit here along with the free download.

3. Daily Planner. Now that you have your goals set and your action steps listed, it’s time to take daily action. This is where the daily planner comes in. This one sheet, MS Word document has a place at the top for your top 6 priorities for the day as well as a complete section for creating a daily to-do list. It’s simple to use and it will keep all of your priorities listed in one spot.

You’ll find complete instructions here.

Overall: These three items should get you started for the year. Why not take some time today to download them and put yourself in the driver’s seat for the New Year.

Question: What Is Your Top Goal For The New Year?

In 2011, there were very few places to make money with investments…

The Stock Market ended up basically flat, with a whole bunch of wild swings and volatility along the way. Putting your money in the bank faired no better, with interest rates at an all-time low. If you invested in Real Estate, you probably lost money on your investment as home prices continued to fall. Gold was the only bright spot, up about 10% from the beginning of the year. It had wild swings too, so many people bought while it was wildly going up and now it’s back down to reality.

The job market was dismal, with more employers laying people off and the real unemployment rate staying stubbornly high.

So… what does 2012 hold in store?

Analysts are not too keen on stocks as Europe looks ready to drop into a recession. Home prices are bouncing around the bottom, with banks releasing foreclosures at a more rapid rate, Gold is an unknown, and interest rates look to stay low for the foreseeable future. The job market is still bleak with real unemployment running over 15% in many areas.

So do we just put our money, what little we may have, in a mattress and take the year off, or is there a bright spot?

That is a really good question…

The best investment advice I have ever heard was to buy items with intrinsic value when no one else wants them and sell things when they are in high demand.

So… many analysts are saying stocks may drop this year if Europe drops into recession. Probably a good time to wait out investing here. Real estate prices are low but not poised for a comeback here for a few years… It might be a good time to start looking for cash flow from buying income property and renting it out. The rental market is booming in some areas.

Gold is a crap shoot. Is it in a bubble or poised to go higher?

Lots of questions… very few answers…

I’ve actually only seen one area that makes me very comfortable at all.

2012 may be the year to start a business or write a book.

I know this sounds crazy, but it might be one of the best times to take matters in your own hands and make something happen. Especially if you can help the rest of us with a new product or new ideas.

So where do you start?

On of the least expensive ways to get off to a great start in the New Year is to pick up a step by step book and take action. I have found a few that can help. Here are three popular ones that can get you started today.

1. Life Plan: This is the best place to start. Download Michael Hyatt’s free e-book and take a few hours and fill it out. This will help you plan out your year in advance and create a plan for action. One you have a plan in place, download our goal setting toolkit and write down your goals.

2. Freelancing Guide: One of the most pro-active things you can do in the New Year is to start a blog. This can help you get the word out about your business and with proper planning it can actually become your business. In the Bloggers Guide to Freelancing, Ali Luke shows you how to make money from your writing and take control of your career.

3. Create an Ebook: Once you have a blog up and going, a great way to start making money from it is to write and promote helpful E-books. I have read a number of books on the subject, but none have been more helpful than Ali Luke’s Guide for creating Irresistible E-books. Her step by step help and fully documented templates have helped me put my books together and actually get them off the ground. If you want a low cost way to create a sellable product in the coming year, pick up this guide. She offers a money back guarantee so there is no risk at all.

Overall: Why not start the year with a plan? The three books above can help you get a quick start.