Sometimes the answer is really simple.
Here’s a secret that most aren’t willing to hear or practice.
The biggest difference between where you are and the life you’ve always dreamed of is trumpeted in this video. Should you watch it? My advice, "Just Do It!"
Don't wait until all the conditions are perfect for you to begin. Beginning makes the conditions perfect. Just Do It!
Moneyball is out in theaters. Lots of people consider it a sports movie; but, it is so much more.
Yes, it is the film version of the book by Michael Lewis (which was a pretty good read). Still, underneath the sports story, it is about finding and refining an edge (or sustainable competitive advantage).
If you've ever thought "if I'm so smart and talented, how come I'm here"? You're not alone.
This is a movie about someone who "should" have been a star player … but never quite got there. Instead, he moved up to the front office of a pro team – and made his mark there, differently than he expected.
The big idea? Rather than following conventional wisdom, find something that gives you an edge. For example, If you ignore a lot of the obvious flaws that damage players in the eyes of professional scouts (bad legs, can't field, too thick in the middle, likes strip clubs or gets high too often), and you focus instead on a single, telltale metric — the percentage of times that they get on base — then tons of players who don't cost very much will turn out to be winners. What would happen if you built an entire team out of these green-diamond misfits?
Where there are undervalued assets to exploit, there are by implication overvalued ones to avoid. Sounds like business or trading, doesn't it? In any case, the scope and scale of the overvaluation is often so large, learning to identify and exploit those situations can be a winning recipe.
Here is a video trailer of the movie.
The underlying message is to focus a critical eye on everything you do and be vigilant about the process, reassessing, challenging assumptions and constraints to find a way that works for you.
Moneyball is out in theaters. Lots of people consider it a sports movie; but, it is so much more.
Yes, it is the film version of the book by Michael Lewis (which was a pretty good read). Still, underneath the sports story, it is about finding and refining an edge (or sustainable competitive advantage).
If you've ever thought "if I'm so smart and talented, how come I'm here"? You're not alone.
This is a movie about someone who "should" have been a star player … but never quite got there. Instead, he moved up to the front office of a pro team – and made his mark there, differently than he expected.
The big idea? Rather than following conventional wisdom, find something that gives you an edge. For example, If you ignore a lot of the obvious flaws that damage players in the eyes of professional scouts (bad legs, can't field, too thick in the middle, likes strip clubs or gets high too often), and you focus instead on a single, telltale metric — the percentage of times that they get on base — then tons of players who don't cost very much will turn out to be winners. What would happen if you built an entire team out of these green-diamond misfits?
Where there are undervalued assets to exploit, there are by implication overvalued ones to avoid. Sounds like business or trading, doesn't it? In any case, the scope and scale of the overvaluation is often so large, learning to identify and exploit those situations can be a winning recipe.
Here is a video trailer of the movie.
The underlying message is to focus a critical eye on everything you do and be vigilant about the process, reassessing, challenging assumptions and constraints to find a way that works for you.
Most people say they want to be healthy. That's the easy part … it's more challenging to do.
To be fair, life happens … and it is hard to find sufficient time to exercise. Nonetheless, in this case, procrastination can be a real killer.
Procrastination doesn't just happen with exercise. Many things get put off while waiting for better circumstances, more data, or for it to be the "right" time. Well, it turns out that it's always a good time to take right action.
Here is a great video called "How Bad Do You Want It?" It is inspirational and worth watching. It's not just some exercise video … there is a great message in there worth hearing about business and life, too.
How Badly Do You Want It?
Have you ever looked in the mirror and thought "how did that happen"? Pictures of me on the beach resembled the image on the right.
Perhaps I should blame genetics. My grandfather was a professional wrestler who tipped the scales well above 300 lbs., and my Dad spent plenty of time north of 300 as well.
A year-and-a-half ago I was Twinkie away from there myself.
At 265 lbs., my doctor told me I had a 10% chance of having a heart attack in the next year. That was my wake-up call.
I'm down to 228; and I am committed to being healthy and vital. That makes all the difference.
You Manage What You Measure.
One of the things I really like about the Fitbit is that it's constantly monitoring and reminding me about the actions I take – or the amount of non-action I tolerate.
Here is a screenshot of my Fitbit home screen. It's graphically pleasing and lets me quickly focus on the number of important fitness and activity metrics.
Notice that there is an activity graph that shows the amount and intensity of my activity in five-minute increments throughout the day. It updates wirelessly, and automatically, without me having to press any buttons.
In addition, here is a graph that shows the days activity broken into intensity levels.
I use a graph like this to figure out whether I'm happy with what I'm doing. At work, I do something similar. I ask the team to think about whether we are 'walking', 'jogging', 'running', or 'sprinting'? More importantly, to achieve what we want, what's the right mix?
It's one thing to tell yourself you're working hard; it's another to compare your levels with benchmarks or standards. Here's another area that Fitbit excels. This graph shows that last week my activity level fell in the 90th percentile.
However, this graph shows that recently my sleep patterns fell in the bottom 2%.
While I am competitive and want to increase the number of steps or the percentage of time I'm in higher levels of activity, the quickest way for me to improve my health is probably to get more sleep.
The point is Fitbit doesn't just focus on activity; it helps you figure out the right activities on which to focus.
There are lots of other things I could tell you (like, it is about the size of money-clip) … but the most important is to just go get one. It is about $90 at Amazon.
Being Healthy, Fit, and Vital … that's Priceless.
Most people say they want to be healthy. That's the easy part … it's more challenging to do.
To be fair, life happens … and it is hard to find sufficient time to exercise. Nonetheless, in this case, procrastination can be a real killer.
Procrastination doesn't just happen with exercise. Many things get put off while waiting for better circumstances, more data, or for it to be the "right" time. Well, it turns out that it's always a good time to take right action.
Here is a great video called "How Bad Do You Want It?" It is inspirational and worth watching. It's not just some exercise video … there is a great message in there worth hearing about business and life, too.
How Badly Do You Want It?
Have you ever looked in the mirror and thought "how did that happen"? Pictures of me on the beach resembled the image on the right.
Perhaps I should blame genetics. My grandfather was a professional wrestler who tipped the scales well above 300 lbs., and my Dad spent plenty of time north of 300 as well.
A year-and-a-half ago I was Twinkie away from there myself.
At 265 lbs., my doctor told me I had a 10% chance of having a heart attack in the next year. That was my wake-up call.
I'm down to 228; and I am committed to being healthy and vital. That makes all the difference.
You Manage What You Measure.
One of the things I really like about the Fitbit is that it's constantly monitoring and reminding me about the actions I take – or the amount of non-action I tolerate.
Here is a screenshot of my Fitbit home screen. It's graphically pleasing and lets me quickly focus on the number of important fitness and activity metrics.
Notice that there is an activity graph that shows the amount and intensity of my activity in five-minute increments throughout the day. It updates wirelessly, and automatically, without me having to press any buttons.
In addition, here is a graph that shows the days activity broken into intensity levels.
I use a graph like this to figure out whether I'm happy with what I'm doing. At work, I do something similar. I ask the team to think about whether we are 'walking', 'jogging', 'running', or 'sprinting'? More importantly, to achieve what we want, what's the right mix?
It's one thing to tell yourself you're working hard; it's another to compare your levels with benchmarks or standards. Here's another area that Fitbit excels. This graph shows that last week my activity level fell in the 90th percentile.
However, this graph shows that recently my sleep patterns fell in the bottom 2%.
While I am competitive and want to increase the number of steps or the percentage of time I'm in higher levels of activity, the quickest way for me to improve my health is probably to get more sleep.
The point is Fitbit doesn't just focus on activity; it helps you figure out the right activities on which to focus.
There are lots of other things I could tell you (like, it is about the size of money-clip) … but the most important is to just go get one. It is about $90 at Amazon.
Being Healthy, Fit, and Vital … that's Priceless.
You never know when something like this can change your life or the life of someone else?
Every three days, more Americans die from sudden cardiac arrest than the number who died in the 9-11 attacks.
You can lessen this recurring loss by learning Continuous Chest Compression CPR, a hands-only CPR method that doubles a person’s chance of surviving cardiac arrest.
It’s easy and does not require mouth-to-mouth contact, making it more likely bystanders will try to help.
Here is a video showing you how it works.
If YouTube is blocked by your organization, you can watch the video on the Arizona Health Sciences Center site.
Visit the Sarver Heart Center for more information and resources on Chest-Compression-Only CPR.
You never know when something like this can change your life or the life of someone else?
Every three days, more Americans die from sudden cardiac arrest than the number who died in the 9-11 attacks.
You can lessen this recurring loss by learning Continuous Chest Compression CPR, a hands-only CPR method that doubles a person’s chance of surviving cardiac arrest.
It’s easy and does not require mouth-to-mouth contact, making it more likely bystanders will try to help.
Here is a video showing you how it works.
If YouTube is blocked by your organization, you can watch the video on the Arizona Health Sciences Center site.
Visit the Sarver Heart Center for more information and resources on Chest-Compression-Only CPR.
It was over 100 degrees, here in Texas, as my son graduated high school.
Our out of town guests weren't buying the "But it's 'dry' heat" line. So, much of the weekend was spent eating and searching for air-conditioning.
Sometimes it is just too hot to trot.
Exercise Frequency Goes Down as the Heat Goes Up.
The Economist recently printed a chart showing that people who live in colder states exercise more than those who live in warm ones.
A recent report by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention declares that only 64% of Americans surveyed can be described as physically active (defined as over 150 minutes per week of moderate exercise or half as much vigorous activity). Almost a quarter get no exercise at all outside the workplace.
The report offers a breakdown of exercisers by state. In general, it seems that people who live in cold states like Alaska are more likely to get their weekly work-out than those in sunny Florida.
The biggest outliers from this correlation are Hawaii, where 70% are energetic, and Tennessee, which has the lowest percentage of active people despite a lower average temperature than several other states.
It was over 100 degrees, here in Texas, as my son graduated high school.
Our out of town guests weren't buying the "But it's 'dry' heat" line. So, much of the weekend was spent eating and searching for air-conditioning.
Sometimes it is just too hot to trot.
Exercise Frequency Goes Down as the Heat Goes Up.
The Economist recently printed a chart showing that people who live in colder states exercise more than those who live in warm ones.
A recent report by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention declares that only 64% of Americans surveyed can be described as physically active (defined as over 150 minutes per week of moderate exercise or half as much vigorous activity). Almost a quarter get no exercise at all outside the workplace.
The report offers a breakdown of exercisers by state. In general, it seems that people who live in cold states like Alaska are more likely to get their weekly work-out than those in sunny Florida.
The biggest outliers from this correlation are Hawaii, where 70% are energetic, and Tennessee, which has the lowest percentage of active people despite a lower average temperature than several other states.
Have you seen the athletic shoes that look like gloves?
They started showing up at the gym I go to … then someone in the office wore them when we worked-out together. Part of me thought it was "pretentious", and another part thought it was "silly"; turns out … they are worth trying.
Here's a confession; I'm now of an age where it made sense to judge a workout by how much my feet and ankles swell. The well-cushioned athletic shoes that I have been wearing, do such a good job of masking impact that I wasn't noticing how my running form was hurting my body. Instead, I just thought the damage was simply a result of getting older.
Apparently, I just forgot how to run. A few weeks in those silly looking barefoot running shoes has made a huge difference.
Studies show that barefoot running prevents injury, and can even enhance performance! A professor at Harvard led a research team that looked at the "impact collision force" (when the foot hits the ground) of runners in shoes compared to barefoot runners. The impact was actually reduced by two-thirds by running in bare feet. Basically the difference is in how the foot lands on the ground. Barefoot runners land each step more on the ball, or the middle of the foot, which is more gentle to the foot.
In contrast, runners in traditional athletic shoes tend to land more on the heel. As a result, our thickly-cushioned modern running shoes may actually be causing stress on our joints and feet because we're not landing the way we were meant to do while running.
If you decide to try out this age-old running style, it's best to gradually transition yourself for a few weeks. Listen to the signals from your body. Otherwise, you may feel sore while you get "back on your feet" – and start using muscles you probably forgot you had.
Certainly worth trying.
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