posted from http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/pickthebrain/LYVv/~3/cMQPoZRGWRI/

You're reading THIS product has changed my nightly routine!, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you're enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

Over the past couple of months I have tried a couple of products that
have really impressed me. The latest of which, is Veritas Farms.
Anybody that knows me at all, knows how much I love skin products.
When I was first introduced to Veritas Farms, I was happy to try it
but not necessarily uber excited, because I assumed the use for the moisturizer and salve were really specific, instead of something I would use everyday. However, as luck (or bad luck?) would have it, I ended up pulling a muscle in my shoulder carrying a heavy bag on a long walk, and after a hot shower and a massage didn’t do anything to help, I remembered my new topicals.

I went to bed that night, nervous I wouldn’t catch a wink of sleep,
and woke up 8 hours later fully rested. I was really shocked.When the discomfort began to come back later that next afternoon, I quickly reapplied the salve. Then later that night, i used the moisturizer, more generously on both of my arms. Again, I fell into a deep sleep.

It doesn’t end there. Two obvious benefits had occurred: I was able to get full rest without aches keeping me up and when I woke up the second morning, my skin felt so soft. 

I repeated my experiment for a third night, and had the exact same results.

After having such a great, and unexpected success, I was curious to do
a little more research on the brand and was really happy with what I
found. There are so, so many CBD companies out there just throwing
their products and packaging together, trying to make a quick buck
without really caring about quality or their footprint, but Veritas
Farms, is part of the sustainable agriculture revolution, in the
Southern Rocky Mountains, protecting the earth as they create the
purest, quality hemp products out there! More than that, on their
website they show a step-by-step process of how each product is
manufactured.

Now I use both the CBD Salve and moisturizer almost every night, or
during the day to help manage physical discomfort. 

I’m so thrilled with Veritas Farms all around, and confident my PTB
readers will have just as great of an experience, I am offering a $50,
$75 and $100 giveaway! Find out more at Veritas Farms, and to enter to win the giveaway simply leave a comment below or tag me on social, saying why you need this product!

You've read THIS product has changed my nightly routine!, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you've enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

posted from https://www.lifehack.org/849520/workout-motivation

You come in from a long day at the office, and you want to get a workout in, but you can’t find the motivation. Or maybe you think you have the motivation but “life” is getting in the way of your workout as you feel you have too much on your plate to fit it in. Making your workout a priority and finding ways to fit it into your schedule will offer you a host of health benefits and make you feel like you’ve got your mojo back. Working out will be a lot easier if you view it as a gift you give to yourself versus a distasteful activity you have to get through. Think about your health and vitality — by your working out, you are treating yourself as a priority. And coming from a place of self-love. Studies show that regular exercise changes the brain to improve memory and thinking skills.((Harvard Health Publishing: Regular Exercise Changes the Brain to Improve Memory, Thinking Skills)) So if you’re using the excuse that work is taking over too much for you to have time to work out, think of your workout as a part of your workday. You’re helping your brain be sharper at work.

“Healthy exercise is valuable not only for the maintenance of good physiologic function of the body, but also mental clarity, and the feeling of good health.” —Paul Dudley White, MD

Once you’re ready to make your workout a priority and give yourself that gift, how do you implement your workout goals into your daily life? Here are 10 ways to boost your workout motivation. These strategies will help you keep your fire for working out going strong.

1. Commit to Your Calendar

Say you want to work out 3 times a week. Look at your calendar for that week and see where those spots will fit in the best. Then, make a commitment to sticking to those times. One exercise study showed that a big obstacle to maintaining regular exercise is being able to fit it into a person’s schedule.((Cbc: Working Out Is Hard)) Make these appointments with yourself unbreakable. Maybe you can handle variety, so one day a week you might have an early morning workout. Another day that week, you might fit it in after work.

2. Start Your Day with 20 Minutes for Yourself and Your Workout

You may have great intentions for working out after work or during lunch hour, but inevitably other commitments might encroach into that time. If you get on up and knock out your workout first thing, you reap the benefits all day long of that energy boost. This workout could be a morning walk or hitting the yoga mat right when you get out of bed.

3. Expand Your Horizons and Seek out Variety

Our brains crave variety. If you are stuck in the rut of the same old workout, it might be time to stretch yourself. Brainstorm some wild ideas that sound appealing to you. Fencing? Look for classes in your area. Kayaking? See if there’s a place near you where you can rent kayaks and look for some local outdoor clubs where you could go with others. Even if the new thing you try is challenging, give yourself some time to stick with it enough to see if it might be for you.

4. Combine Social Time with Your Friends into Your Workout

Having a hard time fitting in a workout because of your social life? Instead of only getting together with your friends at the wine bar, see if you can schedule a hike in the park with them. Or you could join a rec league like kickball. You could talk a friend into joining with you, or you could sign up by yourself and meet some new pals. Some exercise research reported that competition was a key motivator for exercise, and you can use that to your advantage in one of these leagues.((Psychology Today: Study Identifies No. 1 Source of Motivation to Exercise More)) Other opportunities include playing basketball or tennis at local parks, gyms, or fitness centers. Scope out some ways to make your workout more social or combine fitness activities into your social life.

5. Use Music to Inspire You

Is your playlist stale? Spend some time creating a great workout playlist. Search Spotify or create some motivating stations on Pandora. Think about what songs make you move. If you hear that song, you just can’t sit still. Use those. Even the theme song from Rocky might be a good motivator for you. You can create multiple theme playlists to spark more creativity and fun in your workout. How about making a playlist of Best All-Time Roller Skating Songs? Or Best Heavy Metal Workout Songs? Best 80’s Workout Playlist (maybe it includes Let’s Get Physical).

6. If Music Is Not Your Thing, Find Some Cool Podcasts

Download podcasts or audiobooks that interest you. Getting lost in a good podcast or audiobook can make the time fly by on your workout. And if you get the satisfaction of “multi-tasking” — you’re getting your exercise in while reading a book or staying up to date on a podcast.

7. Update Your Gear

Maybe you’re not up for working out because your workout gear is from the dark ages. If you go to pull out a tee shirt for your workout, and it’s full of holes or from a college party, it’s time to re-do your workout wardrobe. Think of getting new workout gear as investing in yourself. How often do we make sure our living rooms or kitchens are state of the art, but we don’t put any time, energy, or money into our personal effects? It could be as simple as a getting a new water bottle. Making sure you have supportive and properly fitting shoes is key to achieving your workout goals. And if you get a new workout tee or tights, it can make you more motivated to get moving.

8. Just like You Get Organized at Work, Get Organized for Your Workout

Set out what you need as motivation for your workout. If you are going on a morning run, lay out your workout clothes the night before. Fill your water bottle and set it on the counter. For the after-work exercisers, pack your bag of clothes to take with you to work so you have no excuse not to go onto the gym. Or, if you are coming home after work, set your clothes out so that when you come home; they will be a not-so-gentle reminder to you saying, “hey, pal! It’s time to go on your walk!”

9. Use Alarms as Nudging Reminders

So you’re not a morning person. If you think getting up earlier to squeeze a workout in before work is just not going to happen for you, then set an alarm for the time you need to start preparing for your workout in the afternoon/evening. If you want to go on a walk at 6pm, set an alarm for 5:30pm as a reminder. When you hear the alarm, it’s like a nudge saying, “it’s time to get dressed for your walk.” You don’t want to shirk on yourself.

10. Trade Exercise for That Afterwork Happy Hour Drink

Maybe you are skipping some workouts to meet co-workers at happy hour. Or you come in from a long day at work and have a glass of wine first thing to alleviate the stress of the day. While it’s sometimes nice to unwind with a glass of wine, doing so after work could be a habit. And you can replace that habit with exercise. By cutting out alcohol right after work, it gives you more time in the day to get a workout in. So try to go straight from work to your workout, or put your exercise clothes on the minute you get home and head back out the door for your run or walk. Whatever it is, think of that happy hour as a new kind of "happy hour time" for your to treat yourself and your body to your workout. Exercise can help stave off anxiety and depression, so if your post-work drink is to alleviate post-work stress and anxiety, give a neighborhood walk a whirl instead.((Europe PMC: Exercise for Mental Health))

Time to Get Moving!

Life sometimes gets in the way of our best-laid plans, including our plans to work out. But by maintaining the attitude of self-love, and giving yourself the gift of time to exercise, you can use the above tips to help you stay on track with your workout regimen. By using some organizational tricks as well as remembering your reasons for making your workout a priority, you'll not only find the time to fit it in but feel good about doing so. Now, which strategies of these are you going to implement this week?

posted from https://www.lifehack.org/849514/how-does-apple-cider-vinegar-help-with-weight-loss

Few foods are as storied as the apple. Thanks to its widespread availability, it may not seem like a very exotic fruit, but it’s still significant to people and cultures all around the world -- not just as a healthy staple, but as a mythological symbol (and an icon of science, as well).((Alimentarium: The apple of discord and beauty))((Science Mag: How the apple conquered the world)) Part of the fruit’s fame lies in its versatility. From its sweet derivatives (like applesauce and apple juice) to the tangy (like apple cider vinegar), this gem of nature has a lot to offer in terms of health benefits. As for that vinegar? It might just be a little-known but vital way of peeling off the pounds.

Does Apple Cider Vinegar Help Weight Loss?

A lot of people want to know whether apple cider vinegar actually helps with weight loss. In a word, yes. Scientists have more than one theory about the underlying biological mechanisms, but the short answer is that it does make a difference. The knowledge we’ve gained from scientific inquiry goes a long way toward helping explain a part of apple history -- the fact that vinegar from apples has been used as a medicinal tonic across many cultures, dating back centuries. Studies using human subjects have shown that not only does apple cider vinegar help reduce weight, it also lowers body fat and serum triglyceride levels (triglycerides are the main constituent of the body’s fat cells).((Biosci Biotechnol Biochem: Vinegar intake reduces body weight, body fat mass, and serum triglyceride levels in obese Japanese subjects)) The research in question comes from a study of 144 Japanese adults suffering from obesity. They were split into three separate groups -- one group added a single tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to their daily intake; one added two tablespoons, and the third group consumed a daily placebo. The treatment took place over a 12-week period. Other than limiting how much alcohol they drank, participants were not asked to change anything else about their diet or exercise routines. The results were striking. On average, members of the group that drank one tablespoon of vinegar every day lost 2.6 pounds, experienced a 0.7 percent decrease in body fat, and dropped triglyceride levels by 26 percent -- no small feat. The group that consumed double the vinegar, however, saw even more impressive results -- in addition to the same 26 percent drop in triglycerides, those participants lost an average of 3.7 pounds and 0.9 percent of their body fat. As for those who only had a placebo, no weight loss occurred. In fact, those participants gained weight -- 0.9 pounds on average. One study is good, but science demands replication. Was the weight loss benefit from the Japanese study on obesity just a fluke? Not at all, based in part on the following: In terms of metabolism, humans and mice are quite similar, which is why the furry little guys play a big role in lots of nutritional studies. A separate, six-week-long experiment (also in Japan) showed that mice, too, experience weight-loss effects from adding apple cider vinegar to their diets. Actually, the results were remarkably similar to the human trial; mice who took a high dose of vinegar gained less weight than those who took a lower dose, and both groups gained less than those who took none at all. This is despite each group being fed the same high-fat, high-calorie diet.((J Agric Food Chem.: Acetic acid upregulates the expression of genes for fatty acid oxidation enzymes in liver to suppress body fat accumulation))

How Does This Happen?

Again, there’s some debate about this. In at least one study, researchers were able to demonstrate that acetic acid (apple cider vinegar’s main ingredient) may lower blood sugar levels by aiding the liver and muscles in absorbing glucose from the bloodstream. The lowered blood sugar and insulin reduction that goes along with it, may promote the body’s ability to burn fat. And the more fat you’re able to burn at rest, the better everything goes.((Br J Nutr. : Effect of acetic acid feeding on the circadian changes in glycogen and metabolites of glucose and lipid in liver and skeletal muscle of rats)) Acetic acid intake also correlates with levels of AMPK, an enzyme that contributes to cell homeostasis. The higher the AMPK availability, the greater the body’s fat-burning ability -- and the less sugar produced by the liver, two things that can contribute to the kinds of results seen in the apple cider vinegar studies.((Biochem Biophys Res Commun. : Acetic acid activates hepatic AMPK and reduces hyperglycemia in diabetic KK-A(y) mice)) Apparently, consuming extra acetic acid like that found in apple cider vinegar has an effect even on a genetic level -- an additional study that treated obese, diabetic rats with acetic acid heightened the expression of certain genes that govern the body’s likelihood of retaining belly and liver fat. In other words, when you’ve got extra acetic acid, your genes are likely to tell your body not to add belly fat to your body -- a welcome message.((Biosci Biotechnol Biochem.: Improvement of obesity and glucose tolerance by acetate in Type 2 diabetic Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rats)) Yet another study suggests that the whole thing could be as simple as the fact that acetate consumption reduces appetite. And when you eat less (even if it’s just a little bit less), you give your body a chance to adjust to a lower percentage body fat, etc. ((Source: The short-chain fatty acid acetate reduces appetite via a central homeostatic mechanism.))

Does Apple Cider Vinegar Alone Work for Weight Loss?

It’s easy to get caught up in the headlines and the idea that something as simple as tossing a bit of vinegar down the hatch can help us accomplish our biggest health goals, but we shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves. Apple cider vinegar can help with weight loss, but that doesn’t mean any of us should go out and stop exercising. Regular exercise, proper hydration, plenty of sleep, and a balanced diet are still crucial factors in both body mass measurements and overall wellbeing (which is something I can personally vouch for).((Dr. David Minkoff M.D.: At 70-years-old, here’s how I’ve competed in 42 Ironman races (and how you can, too)))

Additional Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar

Apple cider vinegar isn’t just good for knocking inches off your waist, either; it’s got loads of other upsides for your health. For instance, it’s a probiotic, meaning it contains friendly bacteria that help support a healthy digestive ecosystem. On top of that, it’s got a decent amount of antioxidants, those helpful little molecules that negate free radical damage. And those lowered triglyceride levels do more than just help you retain a pretty shape -- they reduce your risk of heart disease and diabetes, too.

How to Reap Its Benefits

If you’re worried about the taste, it’s not as bad as you think. A tablespoon of apple cider vinegar mixed with water actually goes down quite nicely, especially when you add in a dash of honey. There are also plenty of other ways to incorporate it into your food, such as in a salad dressing, deviled eggs, or creamy vegan queso dip.((TheKitchn: 21 Recipes That Make Use of Apple Cider Vinegar)) Be mindful, though -- you can get too much of a good thing. Too large a dose of the tonic can burn your throat (ouch!) or give you a stomach ache, not to mention interfere with your bowel regularity. Also, be sure to brush your teeth shortly after drinking it. The primary ingredient is acid, which can wreak havoc on your tooth enamel. To be on the safe side, you can use a straw as an easy workaround for this. Safe consumption practices include splitting the dose into portions rather than swigging it all at once, and heavily diluting it no matter how much you take. This also helps prevent your throat from feeling raw afterwards. As far as the “right” dose, a review of apple cider vinegar’s therapeutic benefits found that 15 mL a day was enough to confer most of those. That’s about one tablespoon, or half of what was taken by the biggest losers in the Japanese weight-loss study.((ScienceDirect: Therapeutic effects of vinegar: a review))

Bottom Line

The bottom line is that apple cider vinegar is probably the least expensive yet most effective health supplement you can pick up from any basic grocery store. There’s plenty of reason to believe that it can help you shave off -- or keep off -- the pounds. An apple a day might not keep the doctor away, but based on all this evidence, a few tablespoons of apple cider vinegar just might.

More About Healthy Weight Loss

• Why You're Struggling to Lose Weight (And How to Fix It)
• Intermittent Fasting Weight Loss (The Ultimate Weight Loss Hack)
• Why Can't I Lose Weight? 8 Reasons Why You Aren't Getting Fit

posted from http://youtu.be/LP8b4VqvUiY

posted from https://addicted2success.com/life/your-life-in-one-sentence-the-power-of-vision/

Many people think they know the vision for their life, but they confuse it with objectives like wanting to make a certain amount of money or achieve a certain job title. Other people only have a general idea that is not well defined—like “I want to help people.” A life of freedom and fulfilment requires a clearly defined vision that encompasses your entire life, not just your work. Your vision is the glue that holds together all of your daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly objectives for your life.

Not being able to state your vision in a single sentence is like trying to navigate without a compass. Your vision is your guide. Without it, you cannot expect to achieve your desired outcomes in a timely or efficient manner. So let’s take a deeper look at what vision is and how to craft a vision statement.

Your Life Sentence

Former Congresswoman Clare Boothe Luce, who later became an ambassador and author, was concerned that President John F. Kennedy was stretching himself too thin and setting himself up for disappointment and defeat. She reportedly told him that the lives of all great men could be summed up in one sentence. She called that their “life sentence.”

For example, can you tell me who she was talking about when she said the following: He preserved the Union and freed the slaves.

Or how about this: He lifted us out of the great depression and helped us win a world war.

Now, whether you agree with those statements or are a political fan of those people, you probably know who those sentences describe: Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, respectively. That one sentence defines that person’s life and legacy. That brings us to vision.

It is absolutely vital in living a life of freedom and fulfilment that you have a clear, compelling, and defined vision statement for your life. Whether you’re going to die twenty minutes from right now or twenty years from now, if the person delivering your eulogy is only allotted one sentence, what is the one sentence you would want them to say that sums up your life or legacy? What is your life sentence? That’s what a vision statement is.

When I do workshops, invariably there is one person (usually a man) who shouts out that he would want to be said of him at his funeral that “He worked his ass off.” Really? That’s what you want the members of your surviving family, your wife, your kids, your grandkids to know about you?

My father had an incredible career saving the world and working on a space program, but at his wake, nobody really talked about his career. Instead, he was defined by his role as a husband, a father, a volunteer in the community.

That’s what freedom and fulfilment are all about. It’s about a vision statement that doesn’t just define you by your work, job title, or paycheck, but defines you by your role as a family member, your relationships, and, yes, your work. That’s why it’s so important to have that clearly defined vision statement.

“If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with success unexpected in common hours.” – Henry David Thoreau

Purpose + Impact = Vision

Your vision statement is the desired outcome you want for your life. A lot of people ask me if a vision statement is the same as purpose. I used to think it was the same, but after working with hundreds of people around the world and from my own experience, I have come to believe that vision is bigger than purpose. In fact, a compelling vision statement combines your purpose for living with the impact you want to make on the world.

As an example, here’s my vision statement: To save the world by helping individuals fight for lives of freedom and fulfilment.

This vision statement combines my purpose for living—helping individuals fight for lives of freedom and fulfilment—with the impact I want to make on the world—saving it (yes, I have big goals). 

My vision statement doesn’t just apply to my work; it applies to my relationships and myself. Whether it’s how I live my life, how we raise our kids, how I build my business, or how I coach my clients, my vision statement provides a guiding star—that destination on a map where I want to end up.

Some people are convinced that you should have multiple vision statements in your life. But they’re confusing vision with objectives. Having yearly objectives, and maybe five and ten year objectives, is important. For example, when you’re in your twenties, perhaps you think your vision is to make partner and earn $100,000 a year. Then when you get in your thirties, you think your vision is to find your mate, get married, and have kids. Those aren’t visions; they’re actually not even purposes. Those are objectives.

It’s critical to have those objectives, but if you go through life from objective to objective without a clear and compelling vision that serves as the glue to hold them together, you are going to find yourself lost. You are going to hit the wall—whether it’s in your thirties, forties, fifties, or beyond—and have that feeling that you don’t know what you were put on this earth to do.

“Keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt

Questions to Help You Craft Your Vision Statement

So you may be thinking, “Well, coming up with my purpose and impact and a compelling vision is easier said than done.” And you’re absolutely right. It takes time and deep reflection to craft your vision statement.

To help you get started, here are some questions to think about:

• What are your strengths? How are you leveraging them? How do you wish you could leverage them?
• What are those one or two things you would want to be said about you at your funeral that would make you feel that you passed on a lasting, fulfilling legacy?
• What things, people, and activities make you feel the most passionate?
• Where would you like to be in five years? Ten years? Twenty-five years?
• If you found out you only had one week left to live, what are the one or two things you wish you would have done by now, but haven’t?
• How does your vision align with your strengths? And on that last note, when you look at your strengths, how can you use them to help achieve your vision?
• When you come up with your vision, is it one that is going to allow you to use those strengths every day to achieve it?

Chart Your Course

Whenever you take a trip, you usually know the destination you want to go to, while also having milestones and landmarks in between. Whenever my family and I drive back to Chicago, I plot out our rest stops, perhaps where we’re going to stay overnight. Those rest stops and temporary stays are objectives, but I also have a clear idea of where I want to go. That’s what it means to live an outcomes-focused life. 

Your vision statement is your destination. It is the thing that defines your path and all your objectives leading you from where you are today to where you want to be in the future. 

Without a vision statement, you will wander aimlessly, perhaps ending up far from where you want to be. With a vision statement, you can instead move toward a life of freedom and fulfilment.

We’d love to hear what your vision is for your life. If you’d like, please share it with us below!

posted from http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/JohnChowDotCom/~3/l-WOU2erwEA/

It’s a blessing and a curse, if I’m being perfectly honest. When you work a more traditional job for a more traditional employer in a more traditional kind of office, you can usually expect to have set working hours. Monday to Friday, nine to five is the most typical kind of arrangement. When you work for yourself as a dot com mogul, you have the freedom to set your own working hours. And the responsibility.

Not a morning person? No problem. Start later and end later. Work on a Saturday instead of Wednesday, so you can skip the crowds at Costco on the weekends. Regardless of how you choose to define your “morning” as an entrepreneur, though, you do have to start working at some point in the day. Beyond the myriad of productivity apps at your disposal, having a productive morning as a dot com mogul requires having a system.

And these five basic steps will set you off in the right direction.

1. Start the Night Before

The most important step to having a productive morning is to lay the groundwork the night before. As humans, we are creatures of inertia. The hardest part is getting started. As such, you don’t want to start your morning with trying to find your bearings. Instead, you should be able to hit the ground running as soon as you’re ready to buckle down and work.

At the simplest level, this means putting together your to-do list either at the end of your workday the day before, or before you to go to bed the night before. What I’ve learned is that you need to keep this to-do list tight and focused, so try to avoid having more than five items on there. List them in order of priority if you can. This lets you do the “brain dump” the day before, so when you get started in morning, you can reference your to-do list and know exactly what you should do first.

2. Enjoy an Offline Morning Routine

This might sound a little counter-intuitive in terms of being as productive as possible. With our smartphones always so close at hand, there’s a temptation to get an “early start” on the day by rifling through your messages and checking those social media notifications just as your eyes open or while you’re brushing your teeth.

Avoid this temptation. Remember how I said that we are creatures of inertia? It takes some time for your mind and body to adjust from a state of sleep to a state of wakefulness. Let everything get up to speed naturally before you get going. For some people, this might mean hitting the gym, going for a run, meditating, drinking a cup of coffee, or reading a book. Find what works best for you, and don’t even think about looking at your phone until you’re actually ready to work.

3. Limit Your Admin Time

I get it. With the breakneck pace of the web and ever-present ability to connect with almost anybody in the world, we feel compelled to see what’s happening with your friends, colleagues, and the rest of the globe. I know I do. Email, direct messages, and all these other forms of communication are important and necessary.

But it’s far too easy to fall deep down this rabbit hole, replying to messages and getting pulled into conversations, rather than actually doing the work that moves the needle. Decide on how much time you’re willing to dedicate to these tasks in the morning — I’d say no more than an hour, and ideally a lot less than that — and stick to that. You can do one more email sweep later in the day, as well as other administrative tasks like checking stats, metrics and analytics.

By limiting how much time you spend on these sorts of tasks, you maximize the time you can spend on the things that really matter.

4. Focus on the Important Things

There are only 24 hours in the day, and chances are you don’t want to spend all of them working. That’s kind of why you’re interested in the dot com lifestyle in the first place, right? Again, much like the menial and repetitive administrative tasks mentioned above, you’ll also be faced with a lot of “work” that isn’t nearly as important as your other “work.” You try to peg it off, because it feels like low-hanging fruit.

It’s become one of my biggest procrastination pitfalls. Instead, what you should be doing is deciding what is truly the most important thing for you to do (that day) and start working on that first, before you refocus your attention on other things that might need to be done. Utilize one of the many tools to manage your workflow, so tasks don’t fall through the cracks, but spend more of your time on what matters and less time on what doesn’t.

5. Break for Lunch at a Reasonable Hour

Here’s that inertia thing again. Once you manage to get going in the morning, it can sometimes feel like a raging locomotive. Believe me, I know it feels great when you feel like you’ve had a really productive morning. At the same time, you need to give yourself a break, and pushing lunch into much later in the day will be detrimental in the long run.

You might even choose to enjoy an extended lunch break with friends to recharge those batteries, and that’s okay too. As productive as your morning may or may not be, it needs to end eventually. Live your life, enjoy your meal, and return re-energized for an afternoon of awesomeness. Then, you’ll be ready to do it all over again the next day.

posted from https://addicted2success.com/life/3-keys-to-getting-the-results-you-want-in-life/

Are you going through a bad patch in your life where you’re not experiencing the kind of results that you desire to experience? Are you feeling stuck in your business and career? The truth is, you are not alone, we all go through the storms of life. The good news is that there is a sure way of getting out of the rut you find yourself in and getting the results you know you are supposed to be getting.

I formulated these 3 keys while I was going through almost a whole year of no income, my businesses were stuck and so was I. It was a hopeless and dry season of my life that I will never forget. In that time, I read over 20 personal development books and attended seminars and webinars because I was hungry for a solution that would help me get unstuck in my business and life.

Now, I run two successful companies, authored 4 books and counting, and I travel and speak all over the world. And, whenever I speak to organizations on “how to break plateaus” the audience gets it and they get to have the solution to getting unstuck and achieving great results.

Here are the 3 keys to getting the results you want in life:

1. A Clear Vision is The Big Picture

The iconic Mona Lisa painting by Leonardo DaVinci is a masterpiece which took him several years to finish. He had a clear vision of what he wanted his painting to look like, long before he painted it and long before it was ever the Mona Lisa.

Likewise, you also need to have a clear vision of what you want to experience in your life. Doing this will allow you to see the bigger picture of your life and it will help you to weather the storms of life, which will come, because your hope is safely anchored onto your bigger picture.

Here are some of the Golden rules to creating a clear vision:

• Your vision must be clearly defined
• Your vision must be centered around serving others 
• Your vision must be written down 
• Your vision must be recited everyday

“If you are working on something exciting that you really care about, you don’t have to be pushed, the vision pulls you.” – Steve Jobs

2. Goals Are Your Roadmap

There has been a big misconception about what goals are. In fact, a lot of people have used the words “goal” and “vision” interchangeably, so let us clear this up. A goal, in its simplest form, is a means of direction. It is hardly effective when it is standing on its own. Imagine that I invite you to my beautiful home for my 31st birthday party and when you ask me for directions, I simply say “I live in Los Angeles, and my gate is big and black”.

I bet you would think I’m crazy right? Los Angeles is huge. What would be more beneficial is if I had given you my street name and house number at least. Likewise, you need to understand that the goals you are setting are meant to direct you to your end destination (your vision). If your goals are not attached to a bigger picture, then you are simply moving around everywhere and going nowhere.

Here are some golden rules to setting goals:

• Your goals must be daily, weekly and monthly objectives
• Your goals must be written down
• Your goals must, when achieved, bring you closer to your bigger picture
• Your goals must be recited everyday

“Goals. There’s no telling what you can do when you get inspired by them. There’s no telling what you can do when you believe in them. And there’s no telling what will happen when you act upon them.” – Jim Rohn

3. Massive Actions Precede Massive Results

This sounds very cliche but it is a fundamental truth that we sometimes fail to grasp. If we will not do what we ought to do, then we will not experience the results that we desire to experience. The quality of the results we wish to experience is predicated on us taking massive amounts of action in order to have that quality of results. Got it?

Imagine for a moment that you desire to have indestructible abs, so you search for abdominal exercises that will give you the abs you desire. You find one particular exercise that says all you need to do is 50 reps of crunches and 50 reps of sit-ups everyday for the next 3 months. But, instead of doing 50 reps, you do 10 of each and you do it for 10 days straight before you quit.

Do you think that your actions are “indestructible abs” worthy? I don’t think so. I think you would be lucky to get a 1 pack. Likewise, your actions have to be consistent and massive in order for you to achieve the kind of results you desire. There is no substitute for massive and consistent amounts of action.

To get the kind of results you desire to have in your life, you will have to create a clear vision for yourself, set goals which will direct you to your vision and take consistent and massive amounts of action everyday in order to have great results. The rest will be history.

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“People are so caught up in their own negativity and losses that they give up on creating the future they want.” ~Grant Cardone

I have a friend. Let’s call him Ram. Ram is always angry because of the cards that he was dealt in life. He comes from a middle-class family that has no money or inheritance. He got a decent education but couldn’t go to a better college because his parents didn’t have the money to fund it.

He’s disappointed that his education has limited his opportunities. He’s frustrated that he has to spend money on public transport while others drive in their swanky cars. To him, it feels like the entire world has conspired against him to ensure he doesn’t succeed.

What Ram doesn’t realize is that most of us have been dealt less-than-ideal cards, and it’s up to us to make the most of what we have.

For Ram, everything that he’s suffering through, or has a problem with, is not under his control. He’s angry, frustrated, disappointed, and sad because, according to him, he is not responsible for any of his problems!

Ram has what you would call a victim mentality. For a victim, everything is someone else’s fault and nothing is under their control. Every obstacle is a problem instead of an opportunity.

Every time we suffer a setback, we think:

Why me?
What did I do to deserve this?
Everybody is out to get me.
I cannot do anything right.

But every time we suffer a setback, we have a choice to reframe our thoughts to:

I was not up for the task.
I was lacking somewhere.
This is a good opportunity for…
I will be better prepared next time because of this.
Now I know what not to do.

Can I be completely honest with you?

Ram is a pseudonym I created. Ram is me. I am Ram.

I get into the victim mentality very easily, because that’s easier than taking responsibility for my life. For four long years, I rejected the cards that were dealt to me because I felt that I didn’t choose them, so I could just ignore them.

I tried to distance myself from my parents and avoided going home for as long as I could because I blamed them for everything that was lacking in my life.

I’ve read a lot on self-help and personal development, so I don’t know exactly when the switch happened or why, but sometime in the beginning of 2015, I realized that running away was not going to get rid of the cards I was dealt, so I needed a different strategy.

So I decided to listen to Marcus Aurelius, who said, “Reject your sense of injury and the injury itself disappears,” and pack my bags to relocate back to the motherland—back to where it all started.

It’s easy to look over the white picket fence and think that the grass is greener on the other side. We’re quick to assume things, to create this image about others, thinking their life is perfect when that’s far from the truth! We all have things we wish we could change, but like it or not, much is beyond our control.

We don’t have control over where we are born, who we are born to, if we are born with a disability or we are born into a poor family. We also don’t have control over the stock market, natural disasters, the decisions our parents make for us when we are kids, which school we go to, or where we live. Most of us have to accept things we wouldn’t choose ourselves—but most of us still have a lot to appreciate.

When we measure ourselves on someone else’s yardstick, the yardstick tends to be very short because we are only looking at what we lack and wishing we had it. We completely ignore all the things that might be going our way.

In my case, I was overlooking the fact that I had a college degree, a roof over my head, parents who loved me, a job that was satisfying to varying degrees and helped me pay the bills, and colleagues who were friends at this point, who cared for my well-being. More than anything else, I had mental peace—when I wasn’t dwelling on everything I lacked.

When we spend our time wishing for something we don’t have, we waste time that could be used for either accomplishing something or getting us closer to actually having that something we want. You can complain and cry about how things are unfair and how other people have it easier, or you can get to work.

I am going to share a secret with you: You don’t have to do the craziest thing in the world. You don’t need to be the most spectacular. You don’t need to be the most famous. You just need to do what you can, with what you have, where you are.

Benjamin Hardy hit the nail on the spot when he wrote, “Most people wish that their circumstances would magically change for them. They don’t have a desire to become better themselves so they can proactively improve their circumstances.”

I had tried avoiding and running away from the cards dealt to me, but it hadn’t occurred to me that I was actually missing out by shunning my family, my friends, and my culture. So this time, I decided to embrace my cards and work with them.

And boy did that make a difference!

I’d missed celebrating the festivals, wearing Indian outfits, getting my elders’ blessings, smelling all the street food, and playing on the streets. I was slowly losing my ability to read and write in my mother tongue, which scared me. So, for starters, I decided to reconnect with my roots.

The festivals reminded me of the fun I’d missed out on, while the street food brought back a lot of great childhood memories. Attending religious ceremonies and weddings reminded me of the importance of having a close-knit family. Reconnecting with my cousins and old friends made me realize that we all have our own flaws and we are all trying our best to live with them.

The biggest change, however, was that I began to recognize the sacrifices my parents had made to ensure I got a good education and the right values growing up—moving to USA in their forties so that my brother and I could have a better life, working late hours to provide for us, giving up on their wants to fund our education.

Yes, they were lacking in many departments, but realizing that they didn’t have much help and were figuring things out themselves was the shift in perspective I needed.

As I started to work with what I have, I was able to leverage that instead of always wishing that I had a completely different deck. 

I started to lean more on my family. Instead of thinking of them as the weak link, I began to leverage their connections, their experiences, and their advice. I began learning how to navigate the complex web of human relationships.

It was the beginning of a different relationship with my parents, because by seeking to understand where they come from and why they do what they do, I had begun to respect them and earned their respect  in me.

I started reconnecting with old friends, who exposed me to interesting people and experiences, and in doing so, strengthened my relationship with them. For the first time, I was able to give back by being present and helping instead of being away and wishing I was present. Overall, this gave me immense satisfaction and mental peace.

I slowly began to return to myself—to remember who I was before I decided the world had wronged me.

Moral of the story, as Arthur Ashe wrote:

“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”

My favorite indian word is Jugaad. Translated to English, the shorter version means “resourceful,” while the longer one would read, “Doing the best with what you have.”

If you are stuck and unhappy, maybe it’s time to accept the cards you were dealt, because acceptance is the first step toward happiness.

There would have been no Helen Keller if all she did was rue that she was deaf and dumb. Instead, she decided to accept it, and years later, at a time when very few women were even attending college, she graduated. Not only that, she authored six books while co-founding the American Civil Liberties Union.

Helen Keller is may be a famous example, but she is not the only one. Every day I see people accepting and playing their hand instead of wishing they’d been dealt other cards. They might not have everything, but they’re doing everything they can to make the most of what they have.

If they can do it, so can you! I promise you won’t regret it.

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You're reading Top 5 Visitor Management Systems for Medium Business, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you're enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

Visitors have been gracing the premises of businesses with high expectations for centuries. But with the advent of technology, it has now become imperative for businesses to manage visitors’ expectations, as well as visitors themselves. Visitor management has been a crucial part of running any business, and deploying manual comprehensive measures to meet the standards of visitor management can only help you so much. Hence, employing a quality visitor management system has become a necessary tactic for businesses to employ. It not only helps in the general tasks of managing the visitors’ activities, but also assists the staff in paperless processes, modernized reception, improved security, and decreased waiting times.

So, here is a list of the top visitor management systems for medium businesses that can help you in elevating your venture's standards while serving the visitors adequately:

1. piLOBI

One of the best visitor management software in the marketplace, piLOBI is a force of nature when it comes to visitor management. Offering a slew of functionalities and advantages that are unmatched by its competitors, piLOBI is as comprehensive as it gets when it comes to visitor management systems. Always be aware of who is visiting your premises with visitor check-ins, and hence, have top-notch security with the help of piLOBI. The system is easy to install as it is cloud-based, and once installed, it comes with a detailed guide that is easy to grasp for its plethora of functionalities.
Some of these functionalities include instant notifications for visitor check-ins, QR code visitor surveys, centralized dashboard which keeps track of all the visitors’ activities, pre-registration/appointment scheduling feature, and much more. The best thing about piLOBI’s visitor management software is that it comes in 4 types of subscriptions for every kind of business, which means that your venture can subscribe to the services that best suit your needs and pay for just them.

2. Envoy

Envoy’s visitor management system is utilized by industry leaders like Weight Watchers, Accenture, Spotify, L’Oreal, Slack, and many others. This sleek visitor management software is feature-rich and flexible software that improves the visitor experience and helps in improving the brand image of your venture. With a user-friendly interface, Envoy’s visitor management app helps in reducing the wait time of the visitors by allowing them to sign-in conveniently via an iPad.
Envoy is a great tool to ensure round the clock protection of your people, property, and business ideas. With badging and record-keeping features, it assists businesses in maintaining their data and have top-tier regulatory compliance. The software is also flexible and integrates seamlessly with other tools.

3. Proxyclick

Proxyclick’s visitor management software is leveraged by thousands of users in over 20 countries. The most prominent clients of this VMS are Fortune 500 behemoths as well as top brands such as Dimension Data, Johnsons Control, Airbnb, Acer, and Audi. Having a clientele so pristine, Proxyclick keeps up with the standards by offering a customizable check-in feature as well as interactive guest recognition functionality that keeps the hosts notified of the visitors’ activities and confirms entry to the visitor conveniently. QR codes feature also helps to make subsequent visits faster and smoother. The badging and instant image capture tools elevate the security standards and makes their functioning more robust. Data is stored securely and available for access anytime for use by the owners.

4. Sine

Sine offers a solid and smart solution for visitor management. This VMS is used by top brands such as DHL, Comcast, News Corp, JLL, Qantas Airways, General Electric, Vodafone, and others. Sine’s VMS also has free applications for smartphones and compatible with both, iOS and Android devices. The software is compatible to be run on the web, and helps you monitor the visitors at any time.
Furthermore, the platform delivers instant notifications in emergency situations to help you swiftly evacuate the office premises.

5. SwipedOn

SwipedOn has a very simple and informative dashboard, which offers sections like visitor info, error, time, etc. This is one of the easiest to use visitor management systems in the marketplace. With its fully customizable dashboard, SipedOn’s VMS lets you pick the tools you need. Furthermore, the system can also print ID badges for visitors to ensure fool-proof security protocols. Moreover, SwipedOn’s comprehensive tracking framework provides the hosts with a live report of staff and visitors to facilitate precise management for visitors, as well as the staff.

piLOBI’s visitor management software stands out from its competition due to its plethora of features and competitive price. Whether yours is a small, medium or a large business, piLOBI’s visitor management system helps you in improving your visitor management and visitor experience, to elevate the standards and brand image of your business to new heights. Contact our professionals today.

You've read Top 5 Visitor Management Systems for Medium Business, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you've enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

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Introduction Arjen Robben is a Dutch former footballer who played as a winger from Bedum, Netherlands. He is known for his dribbling skills, speed, crossing ability and his accurate left foot long-range shots from the right-wing, Robben was regarded as one of the best players in the world in his prime. As of 2019, Arjen […]

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