I already wrote my last post. I published “The End” on April 1, 2019.

When I first became a consultant, I was coming from a corporate structure of a Fortune 500 company with regular 1-1’s, goal-setting, and performance reviews. Every year, I would provide my manager with a Word document titled “BW’s accomplishments” that would outline all that I had accomplished during the review period. I don’t know how much it helped with my compensation and bonus, but I always hoped that it made some difference. At least it provided a nice summary for the ol’ resume.

As the world-renowned bar and nightlife expert Jon Taffer says, “People get used to discounts. They don’t get used to free.”

I manage four different email accounts.

When I first started as a configuration analyst, the department was called Business Application Management. Everyone called it BAM. I found out the director floated a different name before that one: Business Application Development and Support Services. That name was vetoed by the VP after he realized the nickname would be “BADASS.”

People would get together for happy hours, and these became known as “BAM” happy hours because of the conversations and personalities that would undoubtedly make it an interesting gathering. At one of these BAM happy hours, there was a fellow configuration analyst named Andrew who notified the group that he was leaving the company. He told us that he was getting in on the ground floor of some start-up and he couldn’t be more excited. He even had a few of us thinking about jumping ship, if for only a moment.

It’s exciting to be on the ground floor of something new. There’s uncertainty but also excitement about the possibilities. I don’t think it worked out well for Andrew based on what I heard, but he survived. The good news is that when you’re on the ground floor, you don’t have far to fall. Then again, I’m not planning to fall.

We’re going to build this together, and I couldn’t be more excited.

I wish had some earth-shattering notes to end November but no such luck after almost 11 hours at the grind. Randomness it is.

Yes, I decided to splurge on the new Homepod Mini. 

A week from today I will be posting my last post here. As I’ve said before, that doesn’t mean I’m gettin’ while the gettin’s good. I’m going to stick around to watch some people hit milestones and go down with the ship. I hope on 12/6/20 I’ll have a new writing home. If not, I guess I’ll break my streak.

One of the tricks companies have been using to entice buyers is to provide some sort of free gift with the order. Sometimes it’s free with any purchase. Sometimes they require you to meet a particular threshold. What I have noticed for companies from whom I have purchased is that the free gift isn’t something I want anyway.

The days of sitting around a big table for a feast with my family are in the past and not just because of COVID. People scatter all over and the prospect of them gathering all in one place is daunting and impractical. I am grateful for the celebrations we had.

I don’t know why this bugs me so much. I just got an email today with the subject line telling me that Black Friday is almost over. How can Black Friday be almost over when it hasn’t even started yet??

I was waiting for someone to say it. It didn’t take long Monday morning for me to hear someone say, “Well, at least it’s a short week.”

I saw a news story today that focused on a topic that I find interesting: geographic compensation zones. The story explains why Reddit will pay workers the same salary no matter where they live. 

A buddy of mine told me that he recently had a prescription filled and he paid cash instead of using insurance. When he went to the pharmacy, they asked him whether he had a coupon because the retail price was something like $2,000. He used a GoodRX coupon, and the final total was around $14. What a great example of how much of a racket drug prices are. 

I was wow’d by the recent Apple event in which Apple announced computers with the first-ever Apple-made M1 chip replacing Intel chips. The reviews have been extremely positive for the Macbook Air, the MacBook Pro, and the Mac Mini. The only one that interests me is the MacBook Air. What’s so great about the new chip? For me, it boils down to two things: speed and battery life. The new Macs are blowing away everyone with how fast they are, and Apple says the new MacBook Air gets up to 18 hours of battery life–6 hours more than mine! Speed and battery - ok I’m in!

According to my countdown widget, I have 14 days left until 12/5/20. That will be the day of my last post on this site. 

Nine years ago, I posted a 20-second video on YouTube of me messing with my cat Bada Bing. I was doing a heavy breathing sound, and she would whip her head around. It’s not a very good video by any stretch, and it was really just for my own amusement and maybe a few chuckles for friends of mine. I have not done anything with this video in years. It’s on my YouTube “channel,” which only has a few other videos on it. 

This signing on before the sun rises and signing off when the sun sets is getting to be a grind. Since I took a second gig in May, I have deemed this time period the “season of work.” There’s some pandemic raging out in the world, so might as well just stay inside and work. 

@abrahamkim asked me to expound upon my assertion about the secret sauce of 200WAD.

To be healthy (or wellthy as I like to say), we need to keep our brains and bodies in good shape. But let’s say you could only focus on one, brain or body. Which would you pick?

This post can probably be in the catalog of the Consultant Code.

I am heartened by the way our little community refuses to be snuffed out. 

On the whole, would you say Facebook provides more good or more harm in the world? I think I would be perfectly happy if Facebook were out of my life. The sad thing is most of the traffic and eyeballs I’ve gotten on any of my content has come primarily from Facebook.

I saw an article recently that indicated that Netflix was planning to raise prices. This rumor was confirmed by an email from Netflix indicating that my membership price is going up by $2/month beginning in December. According to the email, this “pricing update” will allow Netflix to provide even more value for my membership.

At the suggestion of @jasoneleow, I downloaded the countdown widget maker for iOS 14 and created a widget on my home screen for the #Countdownto2years. Only 23 days left.

Below email, I would say meetings are the next most-abused construct in our remote working environments. This morning, I started my day facing nine meetings across two calendars with two double-bookings. By the way, only two of the meetings had an agenda.

Every Monday, I conduct my team meeting. It’s a MEATY meeting, so of course, there is an agenda that I send out prior to the meeting, and I capture notes during the meeting and send them after the meeting. Things can get boring when it’s all about work. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. A few weeks ago, I decided to add a segment at the end of the meeting for trivia to spice things up a bit and introduce some fun.

The headline says it all. 

It’s been confirmed that Writelier formerly Co-Writers formerly 200wordsaday will cease operation at the end of the year.

Joe Rogan has a bit that polls are all BS because think about the people who actually answer polls. He says most people don’t have the time or want to deal with answering questions, so the data gleaned from polls aren’t representative of the population at large. Regardless of the reason, we now have pretty strong evidence from 2016 and now 2020 that something is wrong with polling.

I have two clients and two work laptops. I would like to describe my process of signing in every morning.

I had a productive day of work today. It kept me occupied and blissfully unaware of all the news (noise) swirling around election day in the US.

Back to the old grind today, and I’m already finding the time change to be jarring. It’s not because Arizona changed time because we don’t. It’s because my client in California changed time, and I keep the desktop set to Pacific Standard Time. I like to start work early and end relatively early, but that’s more difficult now.

11-1-19

No it’s not one of the standard “summary” posts. I did a version of that for my newsletter. As the cliché goes, October flew by. 

I’ve had the new iPhone for a day now and thought I would share some first impressions.

Amazon has spoiled me. The idea of receiving a package the same day as ordered or within a day or two is grand. The tracking is also fantastic. You know when a package has shipped, when it will be delivered, and many times I get a notification telling me how many stops the truck has left before reaching me. 

Much has been said about morning routines and what people should be doing after they wake up in the morning. I want to fast forward to moment when you sign on to the computer. 

In the business of consulting, when a project ends or when our contract ends, we call it rolling off the project. I like to refer to anyone rolling off as “Boris Rolloff.” 

I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook Groups. As with anything, the success and value of the group depends on the members. 

In Arizona, someone has finally turned off the oven. The daily highs over 100 have given way to highs in the 80s. Yes, this is why we live here.

There were so many great sponsors for the Virtual Biohacking Conference a few weeks back that I could have really gone off the rails with purchases. Instead, I limited myself to one device for the body and one device for the brain. 

Today is the day when the new Borat movie is released on Amazon Prime. The official title is Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan

I have made the mistake that people I know, friends, family, are actually in the audience for my content. I used to think that just because they know me, they will somehow be interested in the topics I write about or create podcasts for. This is definitely not the case.

@keenencharles had a recent post that inspired me to write more than a few sentences for a reply. He makes the point that he’s done a lot of writing (almost 500 posts on this site alone) and is ready for the next step or evolution. 

In January I wrote a post in which I explored the answer to this question: Which is better, a Coke or a Snickers? Now I suppose that is a loaded question because we all know both a Coke and Snickers are just junk foods with empty calories and too much sugar. But hey, if you want to have one, one is at least marginally better for you than the other one.

I noticed @andrewtsao was writing about the anticipation of putting together and stocking a bookshelf. 

This is my ongoing series with notes as I explore the concept of Essentialism.

I’m writing this post as a reminder to myself to NEVER get to a certain place.

I have been watching a Showtime series called The Loudest Voice in the Room that centers around the rise and fall of the former CEO of Fox News Roger Ailes. It is interesting to watch a depiction of where Fox News came from and how it changed the landscape of cable news and by extension broadcast news. For the longest time, the mantra has been “if it bleeds, it leads,” and things have only been getting worse. It is getting more and more difficult to get straight facts from any news source without some sort of spin or commentary. 

New iPhones were announced yesterday, and now I begin the task of evaluating which one I shall pre-order on Friday. Notice the premise of ordering a new iPhone is a foregone conclusion. I used to be the guy who upgraded every year, but I stopped that and now I’m on a two-year cycle. I will be upgrading from the iPhone XS.

I would like to start out by saying that I’m grateful that I and many other people around the world had the opportunity to attend the virtual biohacking conference on Saturday. The conference has always been in person until this year. Turning a challenge into an opportunity, Dave Asprey went virtual and provided a way for many more people to hear his message and learn about the latest tech and principles. 

The fall season is upon us, and if you aren’t convinced, go to the grocery store. I was at Walmart today, and it’s clear to see that the season with the best (worst) food is here. October is mainly about candy until after Halloween, and then you’ve got all the fall and Christmas cookies and pies and all manner of baked treats.

I haven’t had a Power Weekend in many months. Today I am having a Power Saturday in the form of the all-day virtual Biohacking Conference. This conference is organized by Dave Asprey, founder of Bulletproof, Inc. The conference was originally scheduled in March of 2020 in Beverly Hills, but it was postponed and eventually canceled due to the pandemic. Dave Asprey decided to move forward with a virtual conference, which I will be attending today.

I am so tired of upselling and the constant push to get me to buy more things or donate more money after my initial purchase/donation.

One of the highlights from the VP debate last night was Senator Kamala Harriss’s response about a COVID vaccine. She said that if the health experts recommend taking the vaccine, she would be the first in line to take it. But if Donald Trump recommends the vaccine, she will not get it. Vice President Pence chided her for what he called an irresponsible view toward vaccines.

This time around I’m writing a preview for the Vice Presidential debate this evening. Normally, I would not be interested in watching a VP debate. Vice President Mike Pence is not exactly Mr. Personality, and I’m not expecting anything surprising from him. I don’t know enough about Kamala Harris, so this will be my opportunity to learn more about her. The VP’s are particularly important right now because of the status of the other two.

I have been using AirPods Pro for calls since I have been working at home. I like them for the convenience and issue-free performance. The only problem is that the batteries do not last. I sometimes have back-to-back-to-back meetings or meetings that go on for multiple hours. The AirPods don’t even last three hours now, and the only way to charge them is to put them in a case. Queue the search for alternatives.

It’s hard to believe that it’s been 9 years since Steve Jobs died on October 5, 2011. 

Awhile back I tried setting up my own website and email capture. I hated the process. That’s a strong word, but it suits my feelings on the topic. 

This is my ongoing series with notes as I explore the concept of Essentialism.

Just when you thought things couldn’t get any crazier, the first thing I read this morning is that President Trump and First Lady Melania both tested positive for coronavirus. 

Yesterday I teased that I will be launching a newsletter, and I’m happy to report today that it is launched!

I had an epiphany this afternoon with an idea for a newsletter. I have been thinking about starting a newsletter for awhile and making veiled threats here and there. I’ve decided it’s time to take action.

I generally eschew politics, but I made an exception this evening to watch the first Presidential debate between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden. Here are my random thoughts jotted down during and after the debate. I’m not here to convince the few undecided voters to go one way or the other. I am objectively assessing the forum and the performances of the two players.

This is my ongoing series with notes as I explore the concept of Essentialism.

There are three S’s of Success. Imagine drawing a triangle and each point has one S. 

Allow me to cast the first stone with my opinion about the design of the home page. I consider myself a power user of 200WAD/Co-Writers/Writelier whatever we are calling it these days. Or at least I was a power user prior to the latest re-brand, which I will get to.

Perhaps this would have been a more effective post in terms of viewership if I had crafted a better headline. I think writing headlines is a science and art all by itself, and it’s a skill that can be improved. I’ll readily admit that I’m not great at writing headlines. 

Back in the good ol’ days when I used to work full time in an office, a co-worker named David told me a story that I found quite humorous much to his chagrin.

A couple of times a week I usually get an IM that starts with, “Hey quick question…”

I blew through the first season (@phaidenbauer -style) of the new Netflix show Away, which is a show that depicts the first manned mission to Mars. 

I’ve made it to the last day of my short vacation that started Thursday. I learned a lesson a long time ago: Never go back to work after vacation on a Monday. Most people dread Monday anyway, so coming back to work on Monday after taking time off just makes things worse. Not only is it everyone else’s Monday, but you’re faced with the PTO penalty and trying to catch up after being out of the office. If you come back to work on Tuesday, that will feel like your Monday but at least it’s everyone else’s Tuesday. Somehow that dynamic makes a difference.

This is my ongoing series with notes as I explore the concept of Essentialism.

I have returned home after a two-day trip to the beautiful region known as Sedona, AZ. It’s nice taking trips without planning every hour of every day. In fact, I did not have anything planned on purpose. The main goal was to be away from home to unplug from routine. The secondary goal was to enjoy nature and practicing being present. Other than masks required in all public areas, things were business as usual.

1. Do
2. It
3. For
4. You

I’ve been working six days a week for months now, and I don’t know what it feels like to have an extended break. 

I ran a report from my company’s billing system today and discovered a frightening statistic. It’s 9/16, and since 1/1/20 I have only taken 27.5 hours of paid time off (PTO) and 16 of those hours were Jan 2nd and 3rd. Yikes.

Each week, two marketing agencies go head-to-head to win a client. You are there from the beginning starting with the “brief.” The brief is the first meeting with the client where you receive the assignment and can ask questions about the client’s goals and objectives. You then follow each agency as the various roles and departments work together to formulate creative ideas and a vision that will meet and hopefully exceed the client’s expectations and win the business. At the end of the week is the pitch. Each agency formally presents the campaign and materials, and in the end, only one agency is selected to represent the client. The winning agency receives a contract that will lead to lasting work. For the agency that loses, it was all for nothing. All the effort, work, and time goes unrewarded. 

A co-worker returned to work today after being out for a week on vacation. Even though he was technically on PTO, he actually signed on periodically to check emails and even call in for meetings. According to him, this actually makes him less stressed out knowing what’s going on. He said it allows him to enjoy vacation if he keeps tabs on things vs staying completely out of the loop and wondering what’s happening.

Most of us grew up to believe the following formula:

“I’m going to meet Mary tomorrow for lunch.”

I lost a draft and not happy about it. I normally always write more than 200 words, but I’m not going to waste time writing if it’s not going to be saved. 

I received a piece of mail with my name “Or Current Resident” listed after it. I fed the envelope into the shredder unopened, which I’m safe to do since the envelope did not have a plastic window. (I’ve had to replace a paper shredder because the mechanism was gummed up by attempting to shred too many envelopes with plastic.) Why would I want to open such trash? There must not be anything special in the “offer” if it is addressed to whoever happens to be living at my address.

When they showed us a movie, they had us push our chairs and desks to the perimeter of the room. We all sat on the floor. I don’t remember the movie, no doubt some boring, educational film. I didn’t judge the movies based on how interesting they were. I judged movies by how long they were. The more time watching instead of doing work was always the prime directive. You could tell how long a movie was by how big the film reel was. Even better if there was more than one reel that had to be changed somewhere in the middle. As the film slowly unspooled from the front reel to the back one, the amount of film left on the front reel was a good timekeeper letting us know how much movie time was left.

It is nice to have a day off without obligation. No trips. No vacations somewhere. No plans to be occupied. Just a day off without obligation.

This is my ongoing series with notes as I explore the concept of Essentialism.

When the Continental Congress met in 1776 to review and revise the draft of the Declaration of Independence written by Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin was sitting next to Jefferson. Franklin observed that Jefferson was distraught about what he referred to as “mutilations” to his precious draft. Franklin consoled Jefferson by telling him a story from his youth.

Multiple times today I heard various people reference excitement at the prospect of a three-day weekend due to the Labor Day holiday on Monday. For me, it’s more like a two-day weekend, which is a nice reprieve from my usual one-day weekends. Weekends are rather short when you work a good portion of the day on Saturday. That’s life when you have two gigs.

I saw a news story about a comedian who was being accused of exposing himself to several women. I try to understand the world from other people’s perspectives, but on this one, I just cannot understand what it’s like to be a woman. And by the way, I don’t expect women to understand what it’s like to be a man.

Years ago I was in a compliance training class with a large group, and the trainer told a story about a security breach. An employee was having problems working with a spreadsheet, and she was on the phone with a friend of hers. The friend told her to just email the spreadsheet to him and he could fix it for her and she agreed. A coworker in an adjacent cubicle overheard the conversation and reported it through the compliance hotline. I muttered under my breath, “Tattletale,” and the people sitting around me looked at me with bemused expressions.

I am happy to announce that I completed my goal of recording 100 episodes of my podcast The Brandonian Doctrine. I am calling this Season 1, and the last episode is a Best Of episode of some of my favorite clips from the first half of the season. I decided to break the compilation into two parts, and part two will be released at a later date. If you’ve missed out on episodes along the way, episode 100 should help get you caught up.

I haven’t written about Project Strength in a bit because I hit a wall and had to step back and determine my next steps. There is one factor right now that is motivating more than any other: pain. Pain is a great motivator. 

I’m compiling the list of acceptable items that may appear in the backgrounds of Zoom calls and tv interviews. This is an arbitrary list and if you have more to add please share.

I work for a company that was recently acquired by another company. Through this process, I discovered my official title: “Senior Consultant.” As I’ve stated previously, they’ll give anyone a senior title.

I saw a video on Tik Tok where an enterprising young fellow demonstrated how he was able to get free candy bars at Walmart.

I got an email from Chipotle telling me that I need to have Chipotle again in the next two weeks otherwise my points will expire. I haven’t eaten at a Chipotle since March. I used to eat there at least once a week on the road because Chipotle was conveniently located in the parking lot of my hotel in California (not THE Hotel California). 

You know, every now and then

Writing can feel like a lonely gig. It’s you and the blank page. Maybe even a voice in your head that’s either your muse or your critic. It takes courage to not only write your thoughts but publish them for others to see.

As I wrote about previously, I have been enjoying playing my favorite arcade game NBA Jam. Although it’s not all fun and games. Arcade games, after all, are designed to get you to spend as much money as possible, and that translates into a frustrating experience sometimes when I’m just trying to casually play the game at home, e.g., the computer cheats to keep the games close.

I pay a professional to prepare and file my taxes. It happens once a year, and I have no interest in the process. Why waste the time or energy on something that happens once a year?

Over the last few weeks, I have been asking myself a question: “Where has all the fun gone?”

For some reason in instant messages, phone calls, or emails, when someone wants to ask a question they usually preface it with “quick question” even if it’s not a quick question. Why is that? I guess they feel that the phrase will somehow lead to more of a willingness to answer the question?

“Hey all. I’d like to introduce Dave to the rest of the team. Dave has been with the company for twenty minutes. That’s right. Today is Dave’s first day, and this is his first team meeting. Dave has accomplished quite a bit in those twenty minutes. He filled out his direct deposit form, including deciphering which number on the check is the routing number vs the account number. He set up his Outlook including his signature. He also logged into the training portal and somehow already completed the sexual harassment training, which normally takes a full hour. 

This is my ongoing series with notes as I explore the concept of Essentialism.

As I wrote about previously, I am crafting what will be my long-term diet using a variety of sources.

No manic Monday for me, thankfully. Folks at my client in California, however, are having all sorts of challenges.

Yesterday I was out and about in the middle of the day and snapped a picture of the temperature that my car thermostat registered: 119 degrees F. I was not outside for very long, but once I got back home I was wiped out. There is something about that heat and the sun that saps your energy.

Around 1:00 PM this afternoon I got a request from my manager asking if I can deliver a document to him by the end of the day. This was a document I had been emailed over a week ago, and at the time it was not associated with any particular deadline. 

Well, I made it to 99 episodes. Today’s episode is a quick story about a time when I was a teacher.

I call it pop. Some call it soda. Some call it soda pop. Steve Jobs once called it sugar water when he was trying to convince the President of Pepsi John Sculley. to join Apple. That’s probably the best description because that is what it is: sugar and water.

Work has been a bear this week. I just finished another day of sitting in the same chair for twelve hours less “bio breaks” (I detest that term.)

George Carlin is one of my all-time favorite comedians. I know he’s not everyone’s cup of tea, especially if you’re not a fan of foul language. He didn’t just use obscenities willy nilly. He had a purpose using these words and pointing out hypocrisy. He was an expert on human behavior and certainly a master of words and the English language. Many of my favorite bits of his revolve around pointing out the absurdity of the language we use. 

Much of my daily work revolves around gathering business requirements and writing documentation. If you have done any technical work, you are probably familiar with a business requirements document (BRD). The BRD summarizes the requirements that need to be configured/coded. Usually, there is also a separate technical document that details all the technical specifications required to achieve the expected outcome.

I don’t have kids, but based on my observations of other people who have kids there seems to be a pattern. For those of you who have kids, please add more to the list.

This morning I got a text from a co-worker: “Uh oh.” That usually means something came through work email, so I pulled up Outlook. I saw an email with the subject “From the Desk of [our CEO].” I opened the email and saw three attachments: letter to employee, an FAQ, and instructions to join a Zoom town hall meeting scheduled for 45 minutes after the email was sent.

This collection is based on Daniel Amen, MD’s BRIGHT MINDS model:

This is Episode 98 of the Brandonian Doctrine.

It’s been six days since I took delivery of one of the greatest arcade games of all time–at least Arcade 1Up’s version of the game known as NBA Jam. In reality, it’s actually three games in one: NBA Jam, NBA Jam Tournament Edition, and NBA Hang Time.  

I have a collection devoted to brain health, which is a summary of my notes from reading The End of Mental Illness by Dr. Daniel Amen. In Chapter 18, Dr. Amen discusses his recommendations for the best foods for optimum brain health.

I have a collection devoted to brain health, which is a summary of my notes from reading The End of Mental Illness by Dr. Daniel Amen. In Chapter 18, Dr. Amen discusses his recommendations for the best foods for optimum brain health.

I was in a meeting today and for some reason decided to grab a pen and attempt to write some notes. It didn’t go well.

When I was a kid I was definitely more the “stay inside and play video games” kid compared to the “go outside and play” kid.

As I wrote about previously, I am crafting what will be my long-term diet using a variety of sources.

As I wrote about previously, I am crafting what will be my long-term diet using a variety of sources.

As I wrote about previously, I am crafting what will be my long-term diet using a variety of sources. 

I generally don’t mention my habit of writing unless someone mentions the topic or asks me about it. 

A year ago I had just completed what I like calling a “Power Weekend.” A Power Weekend is when you devote an entire weekend to personal development. Back then, a Power Weekend would involve traveling somewhere and attending training in large arenas. Clearly, that’s out the window for the foreseeable future. I would expect future Power Weekends to be virtual. 

I received an advertisement in the mail today from a local realtor who bills himself as the AZ Phil Dunphy (Modern Family reference). This colorful ad printed on thick cardboard stock is a report of my community with information such as active/pending/sold listings, average list/sales price, the average price per square foot and the average number of days before sold. There is also the offer of a free home valuation. This type of ad is a step above a generic mailer with no specific information.

A year ago I wrote this piece when I decided to start paying attention to everything I consume.

Today’s episode of The Brandonian Doctrine details the story of a former roommate and the mysterious disappearance of an internet connection.

In the consulting world, long-term engagements are few and far between. The vast majority of assignments are short-term (less than 1-2 years). Longer assignments are usually associated with a major implementation or conversion, but those end eventually as well. 

I’m trying to figure out what makes Mondays so bad. Most people who work Monday-Friday and have the weekends off would be starting back to work on Monday. Is it having the two days off what makes it tough? I worked 12 hours this weekend, and yet Monday is still pretty rough.

I wish I could say I brought my best self to write today, but that is not the case. One sign of a workaholic is that by the end of Thursday, you’ve already got 40 hours in, and Friday, Saturday, and Sunday you put in another 18 hours.

@melakovacs wrote a post asking if her previous success is in her way.

I just filled up the ol’ car with gas. I don’t pay attention to the price of gas anymore. The last time I actually paid attention to the price of gas was a few months ago in California when the price per gallon was approaching $5. Even then I just chuckled while sitting in the Uber.

I got an email from Chase Card Services with the following subject: “Brandon, you’ve been selected to upgrade and earn 5,000 bonus points.”

@colemanfoley mentioned that he was reading Benjamin Hardy’s new book Personality Isn’t Permanent, and it piqued my interest so I got a copy. I recognized Benjamin’s name from my time writing on Medium.

A year ago, I wrote this post to explain why I started #Teamstreak. Many people do not discover this post until they reach 30 days of writing and receive my invitation to join #Teamstreak along with a link to it. For the newer members of the community, hopefully this explains the whole “Teamstreak” thing and why it matters to me and, by extension, the other team members.

If someone is really unhappy in his or her job, many times he or she will not be aggressive enough about changing jobs or finding something better. The reason is that the unhappiness in the job has become expected, so the person is not really blaming himself/herself. But if the person finds a new job and is unhappy there, the person will feel like it is his or her fault.

Project Food as Fuel was the challenge I embarked upon to radically change my diet and reverse type 2 diabetes. I succeeded, but it’s not the end of the story. I realized that an extreme ketogenic diet is not sustainable for the long haul. I need to be very deliberate about crafting the diet that I will stick to for the rest of my life.

Stephen King often goes to writers’ conferences. There will be this question and that question and the next question and inevitably someone will ask, “Stephen King, you are one of the most successful, revered writers of your generation. What kind of pencil do you use?”

For my current job, I get paid twice a month, and that’s 24 paychecks per year. In the past, I worked for a company that issued paychecks every two weeks. Since there are 52 weeks in a year, divide by 2 and you have 26 paychecks per year. This meant that  there were two months sprinkled throughout the year that we called “three-check months.” That third check was supposed to be gravy. Just a bonus. But somehow, it never worked out that way. 

This collection is based on Daniel Amen, MD’s BRIGHT MINDS model:

The other day I joined a webinar and was greeted with a notice to download something called Microsoft Teams. Now we have yet another messaging and meeting program. Do we really need another one?

What’s this rush to have weddings? There are plenty of large and small gatherings of people that have been canceled or postponed due to this once-in-a-lifetime global pandemic. Should weddings be exempt from the same fate?

I gave a cursory mention to the broadway show Hamilton in yesterday’s post, but I thought it is worthy of a post on its own.

When I was a kid, I always looked forward to July 4th because of the fireworks. You could have called me a pyromaniac. 

As part of the Knowledge Business Blueprint course that I’m taking, there is bonus content that can be unlocked by completing modules in the course. I unlocked one bonus from Tony Robbins called a “Power Talk.” In this Power Talk, Tony interviewed the legendary Napoleon Hill, author of the international bestseller Think and Grow Rich. If you have never heard of Napoleon Hill or this book, it’s time to get acquainted. I could not find this interview on Youtube or anywhere else or I would share the link here. Instead, I will provide my notes after listening to this interview multiple times.

It is nice to be off work. Although, I was working on the second gig for a couple of hours today in preparation for the first meeting with the larger workgroup. 

This is my ongoing series with notes as I explore the concept of Essentialism.

As June comes to a close and the first half of 2020 is in the books, I am disappointed in how the first half of the year has gone. I’m disappointed in myself, and I’m not going to use excuses such as the coronavirus or too much work. I supposedly christened 2020 as the year of “Points on the board,” and half the year has gone by and where are the points? 

This is a collection of notes on my journey into the concept of Essentialism.

When I have written about power weekends, I have usually referred to a weekend entirely devoted to personal development. It’s usually a jam-packed Saturday and Sunday full of training, and by the end of the weekend, I am usually fired up and motivated to make things happen.

It’s amazing how much you can accomplish when you eliminate distractions and focus on a singular task. And I’m not talking about some Pomodoro 20 minutes. 

At the suggestion of my financial planner, I started reading the book Essentialism by Greg McKeown. I would like to open with an excerpt from Chapter 1.

Early in my career, I was focused primarily on myself. I wanted to gain more skills, more experience, and continue to improve to work my way up the ladder. I translated success based on my salary. I understand why I operated this way, but as I have gotten older and more experienced in a career, I have shifted the focus from myself to those I serve.

At the suggestion of my financial planner, I started reading the book Essentialism by Greg McKeown. I would like to open with an excerpt from Chapter 1.

Yesterday, I spent Father’s Day on a flight to California. Father’s Day doesn’t hold much significance for me since I’m not a father and my father has been gone over five years. 

I’m back to the email marketing course, and this lesson is about opt-in pages. 

Today’s podcast episode is a rant about food. More specifically, it’s a rant about these ersatz foods people think are as good or better than the real thing. Let’s start with the namesake of the hypothesis: turkey bacon. If I’m going to eat bacon, it’s going to be the real deal, pork bacon. And it better be crispy! I’m not going to eat turkey bacon. If I can’t have the real deal, I’m just going to go without.

At the suggestion of my financial planner, I started reading the book Essentialism by Greg McKeown. I would like to open with an excerpt from Chapter 1.

Ever since I can remember, I have been a contrarian.

The HBO series The Sopranos is considered to be one of the greatest television series of all time. In fact, it was my favorite series until Breaking Bad knocked it off its perch. 

ZZ Top is the answer to a great trivia question: Name the band with the longest-running original line-up. ZZ Top has had the same three members for over 50 years: Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, and Frank Beard. It is also ironically noted that Frank Beard is the only member of the band who doesn’t have a beard.

It’s time to delete some apps from my phone. I suppose I should eventually delete some accounts, but for now, just deleting the apps is the first step so that I’m not as distracted.

In a random comment, I mentioned escape rooms and @jasonleow asked me why I do not like the concept. For a humorous take, listen to today’s podcast episode. 

Matthew Walker, PhD is a sleep scientist. I first heard about him on Joe Rogan’s podcast. I credit his interviews and his book Why We Sleep with kicking me into high gear to improve my sleep. If you don’t have time to read his book, at least carve out 19 minutes and listen to his TED talk Sleep is your superpower. 

I am doing a thought experiment. Suppose I were to create an email newsletter. What would be the topic?

If you do something long enough, sooner or later people will ask you for tips on how you do what you do. For example, @judetejada recently recommended writing as a topic for my podcast. This news may disappoint, but today I am not sharing any of my own writing tips. Do not despair, however, because today I am sharing an absolute gold mine for writers.

I would like to get rid of my Facebook account and be done with it. Then I see a gem like this and get sucked back in. 

I studied psychology in college, and I remember a story about a researcher who committed himself to a mental institution by pretending to be insane. His goal was to be undercover so that he could study truly insane people as they are living in the most natural way possible. Only his colleagues knew of his plan. He managed to fool the doctors, nurses, and other employees at the institution, but to his surprise, he did not fool the patients. 

I’m up to 63 episodes of my podcast The Brandonian Doctrine. A friend of mine asked me if I am running out of ideas. Absolutely not. I seem to have an endless supply of ideas. The trick is turning a one-line idea into an episode. 

If you don’t know who Tim Ferriss is you’re doing it wrong. You can find out more about him on his website. 

I am half-white and half-Hispanic. My mom is Mexican, born in the US to Mexican immigrants. My dad referred to himself as a “hillbilly from Virginia.” When people ask me my nationality, I used to joke, “If you’re going to give me money, I’m Hispanic. If you’re going to deport me, I’m white.”

For those of you new to the community, if you have a goal to improve your writing by establishing a daily writing habit then we have a team for you. If you post every day and achieve a streak of at least 30 days, we will welcome you to #Teamstreak.

I have not worn eyeglasses except sunglasses for many years. Six years ago I got LASIK eye surgery, which corrected my nearsightedness allowing me to see distance clearly. LASIK does nothing for near vision, however, and I’m already starting to notice the effects of age on my ability to stare at a computer screen or read a book. The eye strain is compounded by the fact that one eye is worse than the other, so the brain works harder to focus and compensate. I spend many hours staring at four monitors, and I’m starting to feel the negative effects.

It’s not bigger than any other appointment, but in this day and age, any appointment feels like a big deal now. 

May was all about the primary job for me as working for two clients takes up a good chunk of my time.

I lasted four weeks working out three days a week before I hit a wall. Last weekend I burned out both mentally and physically. After some reflection, I want to assess what I think happened and how I shall move forward.

According to the calendar, this was supposedly a short week with the Memorial Day holiday on Monday. It sure didn’t feel like a short week! Why is that?

Sixteen years ago I took my first management job in the role of supervisor for the Quality Review Department for a health insurance company. 

I actually got a headache reading CNET’s latest article describing the new streaming service HBO Max. When did streaming services get so complicated? 

Where are all the (legal) get-rich-quick schemes? I have seen so many presentations and sales pitches where they make it a point to say, “Hey, now this isn’t some get-rich-quick scheme….” Well, why not? Of course, the word “rich” is relative.

This collection is based on Daniel Amen, MD’s BRIGHT MINDS model:

Yesterday I took a nap for the first time in a long time. I had an uncharacteristic lack of energy and just felt off. The trend continues today.

I’m trying to figure out when face masks went from “suggested” to “strongly encouraged” to “mandatory.” I had three appointments recently for which face masks were required. And by the way, you have to bring your own mask. If you don’t have a mask, you’re not allowed in! No masks are provided.

I was going to misspell the title a la @efran , but I don’t think I can pull that off as well as he can. It is time for me to pontificate on Fridays. 

It’s happened to all of us who drive at some point or another. The gas light comes on, and you know you’d better find a gas station soon to avoid being stranded on the side of the road. The gas light is a sign that your tank is nearly empty and time to refuel.

In January I wrote about how we are in the Golden Age of Podcasts. There is a wide variety of content to suit all tastes, and it’s all freely available. Sadly, based on an announcement yesterday, I think we are at the beginning of the end of this golden age.

On the daily management call, they provided an update about all the logistics around slowly opening the office again. One of the guidelines is that they are allowed to have one person per 300 square feet. They are not rushing to bring people back into the office, but there are some people who might insist on going back into the office for an interesting reason.

Success is 80% psychology and 20% mechanics. –Tony Robbins

Dr. Peter Attia’s latest podcast episode explores the topic of how to interpret lab results in the context of longevity. It is an AMA episode, which is only available to members of his site. I would like to summarize the information in this podcast because I think it is very helpful for people who are interested in optimizing health for longevity.

I don’t have a green thumb. I have no interest in gardening and also no skills. So it might surprise you to walk into my yard and see a veritable jungle in the desert. Yes, plants besides cacti can grow in the desert. They are called weeds.

I don’t mean the iron associated with weightlifting. In fact, the kettlebell is the only piece of equipment I use that is actually made of iron. I am referring to iron in the blood.

I told @jasonleow I would expound upon the topic “when the low bar of 200 words becomes a ceiling.”

Nowadays with so many people working and taking classes online, the internet is a valuable commodity. The last couple of days a coworker of mine has been having issues with her internet. I have a mobile hotspot as a back-up if my home internet ever goes down. 

I just returned from a shopping trip at Target and another round of the rousing game I call “Find No Carbs.” I could have called it “Find the Carbs,” but that game is too easy. Close your eyes and point, and you will find carbs. 

I have varied interests and listen to a variety of opinions. I freely admit that when I used to have cable, I watched Megyn Kelly’s show and Bill O’Reilly’s show on the Fox channel. I also watched Bill Maher’s show on HBO. I like hearing all kinds of opinions and like to stay informed so that I can create my own informed opinions.

I have successfully completed two weeks (six workouts) of Project Strength. Here are my thoughts.

After consistently traveling for work over the last five and a half years, it’s nice to have a break. As with most other folks, I have not traveled since the second week in March. While I am enjoying the time off the road, I am now living with the travails of logging in remotely every morning. I work in the health insurance industry, and those who are familiar with HIPAA know that there are many regulations and guidelines around keeping data secure.

I have been incredibly inspired that in the last three days, we have welcomed seven new people to #Teamstreak!

I wish I had a shiny nickel every time I heard someone in a conference call say, “Oh, sorry I was talking on mute.” Why is it that people keep doing that? And you notice it’s the same people doing it all the time? And some people never do it.

At the request of @lucjah and inspired by @philh, I shall share an embarrassing story about how I accidentally walked into a women’s restroom.

As if I did not have enough going on, I decided to enroll in another course. This one is called the Inbox Blueprint developed by Anik Singal as part of his Lurn company. He had a very slick presentation about why he thinks email marketing is a good strategy to generate income. You can watch the razzle dazzle here if you are interested. 

People have shared many great tips and advice for how to establish new habits. It could be writing habits or work habits to be more productive or health habits to be healthier. The tips and advice generally focus on actions. Perform actions every day as part of a routine to establish habits. There is a dark side to habits, however, where habits can be tied to inaction.

This week I started a second gig with a different client. Little did I know it would lead to a complete rearrangement of my workstation.

When you start learning something new, one of the natural questions to ask is how long will it take to get good?

As I wrote about a week ago, Project Food as Fuel is coming to a close. This doesn’t mean I will be footloose and fancy-free with my diet. I will maintain a low-carb diet, but I won’t be staying in ketosis 100% of the time. I will take a fine-tuning approach rather than the full focus I’ve had over the last year.

I read many posts on 200WAD from people who do not know what to write about. These posts are from writers who are new as well as from members of #Teamstreak. It happens to all of us from time to time. One reason this may happen is you are sitting down to write when you are not ready to write.

Definiteness of purpose is the starting point for all achievement. –W. Clement Stone

Prior to the “Great Lockdown,” one of the families in the neighborhood enjoyed hosting an event called Hot Dogs and Hamburgers in the Park every other Saturday. Since we have not had an event in a while, they wanted to have the event in spirit by delivering pizzas to neighbors. This was a very nice gesture. 

As part of my new program to improve my health, I need to weigh myself every day. The clinic I joined sent me a welcome kit that includes a high-tech scale. It measures my weight and without connecting to a wifi network or using Bluetooth, it somehow beams the result to my account. I see the result in the app within one minute. I don’t know how it works but it’s nifty. 

At the request of @basilesamel I am writing about a topic of great interest to me. Alex Becker wrote a book called The 10 Pillars of Wealth, and Pillar #2 is Separating time from money.

I started Project Food as Fuel almost one year ago. My goal, stated simply, was to reverse type 2 diabetes. I accomplished my goal. 

This past weekend was go-live weekend for my client’s system software upgrade. The vendor for this software was hit with a ransomware attack. Techies who are interested in the dirty details can read about it in this article. 

I’ve had my MacBook since it came out in 2017. It’s been a great laptop save for one glaring flaw–the keyboard. I’m not alone in my opinion. Apple admitted as much by redesigning the keyboard in the latest MacBook Pro, calling it the magic keyboard. I don’t know what’s so magic about it, but the reviews indicate the design has been much improved.  

1. Your mood - Sufficient sleep allows your brain time to process emotions.
2. Your heart - Blood pressure drops when you sleep. The less sleep you get, the longer your blood pressure stays elevated, which is harder on the heart and cardiovascular system.
3. Your immune system - The immune cells are more effective and better able to provide a healthy response after a good night of sleep.
4. Your muscles - Proper sleep provides recovery after workouts to allow the body to repair itself.
5. Your diet - When you are not getting enough sleep, you’re more likely to be swayed by hormones that control your appetite. You will also tend to crave bad foods.
6. Your brain - Sufficient sleep allows brains to learn better and helps consolidate memories so that you remember more of what you learn.

I suppose today’s post should be inconsequential and nothing of substance since everyone is busy scrutinizing the just-released Mueller report. 

After a month of delays, my client has finally given the green light to upgrade the system this weekend. 

Have you ever heard someone say, “Boy, I have too much money!” I haven’t and it would be absurd to hear someone say that. I find it equally absurd when someone says, “I’m bored.”

When you make the decision for success, you don’t negotiate the price. Greatness costs what it costs. –Matt Morris, author of The Unemployed Millionaire

What a difference three weeks makes. That’s how long it’s been since I ventured out to my local grocery store to pick up some staples. What can I say, I’ve been doing lots of stapling lately.

As I wrote about a week ago, I launched a podcast. I refer to it as a micro podcast because the episodes are very short (under 2 minutes). A friend of mine referred to it as a bit cast. I like the sound of that. Short episodes are easy to crank out, which lets me publish one per day. Short episodes lower the barrier to entry, and the Anchor app makes the technical pieces simple and straightforward even for a non-techie like me.

From the beginning, you were born a winner. Estimates vary wildly, but let’s just say the minimum number of sperm cells released in one ejaculation is 50 million. That number might be much higher. So at minimum, the sperm cell that won and fertilized the egg that created you beat out at least 49,999,999 other sperm cells. That’s quite an accomplishment. 

On Facebook, I finally gave in to the new “challenge” that is circulating in which one is supposed to post his or her senior year picture from high school. 

This collection is based on Daniel Amen, MD’s BRIGHT MINDS model:

I should start counting the number of times I hear that phrase every day. Is it that hard to pay attention to your phone to see when you are on and off mute?? Add this to my big long list of pet peeves about meetings. 

I’ve had my MacBook since it came out in 2017. It’s been a great laptop save for one glaring flaw–the keyboard. I’m not alone in my opinion. Apple admitted as much by redesigning the keyboard in the latest MacBook Pro, calling it the magic keyboard. I don’t know what’s so magic about it, but the reviews indicate the design has been much improved.  

One year ago, #Teamstreak was created on 200WAD. I haven’t looked at that post in a long time, and I have to say it gets me fired up. 

Recently I listened to an episode of Dr. Peter Attia’s podcast addressing Alzheimer’s disease. Peter’s guest was Richard Isaacson, a neurologist who specializes in Alzheimer’s disease. 

Dr. Matthew Walker, the author of the book Why We Sleep, was recently interviewed by Chris Anderson, the curator of the TED Conference for a virtual TED talk. The video is an hour long, but if you don’t have time to watch the whole thing, that’s why I’m here to give you the highlights.

When I was a kid, one of my favorite gadgets was a tape recorder. I remember starting with reading stories and other content, but I migrated to creating my own content. I used to interview family members. I was creating fake newscasts before those became a real thing. 

In October of 2019, Dave Asprey released his latest book Super Human - The Bulletproof Plan to Age Backward and Maybe Even Live Forever.

This collection is based on Daniel Amen, MD’s BRIGHT MINDS model:

This is the end

What a weird month. I’d say just about everyone’s plans got derailed due to the novel coronavirus. Nevertheless, I’m still pushing to put points on the board.

Over the weekend I decided to fire up the XBOX. I haven’t played in many months, and I decided I would take a break from productive tasks and have some fun.

I have been wanting to write this one for a long time. How long? Technically a year a half. 

This collection is based on Daniel Amen, MD’s BRIGHT MINDS model:

Actually, it does not really mean anything unless you live in the US and you haven’t filed your taxes yet. Then you are a week closer to the deadline. 

So many people who are not used to working from home have been doing so lately. I can tell based on the conference calls in which new team members such as barking dogs and crying babies join in.

When I was a kid there were all sorts of rules I had to follow.  I didn’t get to do whatever I wanted all the time. I had to do some form of work to earn the rewards. 

In these crazy times, the one thing you definitely do NOT want to do is support small business. You can be relying on a small business and you turn around and the next thing you know they are closed or out of business! Then what are you going to do? Here you were trying to “do the right thing,” and you end up getting screwed. 

This collection is based on Daniel Amen, MD’s BRIGHT MINDS model:

I am constantly puzzled by people who profess to be bored. Am I the weird one to say I never get bored?

I was at Target a few days ago, and despite the numerous empty shelves and aisles, the magazine rack in the checkout lane was fully stocked. I will say Time Magazine had my number. There were two Time Magazine special editions right next to each other: The Science of Sleep and The Science of Nutrition.

This collection is based on Daniel Amen, MD’s BRIGHT MINDS model:

This collection is based on Daniel Amen, MD’s BRIGHT MINDS model:

I suppose this advice is impossible in Ireland if you have your heart set on going to a bar since all bars by definition are Irish.

In case you are looking for some content, I have a suggestion for you.

In 2006, Dos Equis beer launched a popular advertising campaign that lasted many years and launched a thousand memes. You probably remember The Most Interesting Man in the World portrayed by actor Jonathan Goldsmith. 

I arrived office in the office this morning and greeted myself with a minor sneezing fit. I can’t remember the last time I sneezed exactly one time. Two is the bare minimum. If someone sneezes twice and stops, it usually means the irritant that precipitated the sneeze has been expunged. Even a third sneeze can be classified as such. Once you reach four consecutive sneezes, however, something else is going on. 

This collection is based on Daniel Amen, MD’s BRIGHT MINDS model:

I could have used the title “Don’t stop.” What’s the difference between “don’t stop” and “keep going?”

I know people who are obsessed with titles. They care more about having a particular title than about the responsibilities of the job itself. I once got an email from someone whose signature line had six different acronyms. I guess I was supposed to be impressed by this, but instead I had less esteem for that person out of the gate. 

My team is working on the coding requirements to update our system to process medical claims billed for screening/testing for COVID-19. For California and perhaps other states, there will be no cost to the members for these tests.

The new book I’m reading has inspired me to start a new collection devoted to Brain Health. Remember, knowledge is not power. I need to take the knowledge and put it into action. The first step is capturing the information I’m learning and transforming it into actions and habits in my own life.

There is a lot of advice circulating about how to choose the right people to keep around you. There is the saying that you are the average of the five people with whom you spend the most time. Some people say only surround yourself with people who know more than you do or people who are more successful than you. 

Daniel G. Amen, MD has a new book out called The End of Mental Illness: How neuroscience is transforming psychiatry and helping prevent or reverse mood and anxiety disorders, ADHD, addictions, PTSD, psychosis, personality disorders, and more.

I was working in the system today and saw an interesting pop-up box. I chose an item to edit and view, and then I wanted to get out of the item without changing anything. When I clicked the X in the corner of the window to exit, a pop-up box showed up with a message asking me if I’d like to cancel my action. There were two choices: CANCEL and YES. 

I travel for work and stay in a lot of hotels. In 4.5 years of traveling, I have stayed 743 nights in hotel rooms. For my first client, I stayed at a Marriott property, which is where I have accumulated all my stays ever since. 

s, each one giving me a more puzzled look than the last one.

Most people start their careers in entry-level jobs making minimum wage or a modest amount. The dream, of course, is to do a good job, get promoted, and eventually, make more money. 

For you music buffs, I’m not referring to The Darkness, a throwback band one-hit-wonder.  

I am booked to attend the Upgrade Labs 7th Annual Biohacking Conference in Beverly Hills, CA. This event is organized by Mr. Bulletproof himself, Dave Asprey. This is the first time I am attending the event, and I can’t wait to hear the latest and greatest from experts in various fields.

I don’t have a green thumb. I have no interest in gardening and also no skills. So it might surprise you to walk into my yard and see a veritable jungle in the desert. Yes, plants besides cacti can grow in the desert. They are called weeds.

Here is my end-of-month summary for February with one extra day to boot!

It is the last day of the month, and I have already heard three different people say a variation of “Where did the month go? It feels like we just started February!”

I had a completely different topic for today. That’s all I had. The topic. I wrote one sentence and then I went blank. It’s a good topic, but for some reason, the inspiration is not coming today so I won’t force it.  

Do I need variety or do I want variety?

It’s time for a peek behind the curtain in my day job. I currently manage a configuration team responsible for maintaining a health insurance claims processing system. Someone submitted a ticket today for a claim that’s triggering an edit.

Greetings have become automatic. The questions and the answers are really just filler. 

I found out a former co-worker of mine is having gastric bypass surgery. I was shocked to find this out because at the time I worked with her, I would not have expected that she qualified for such drastic measures. Perhaps her status has changed in the last year. 

Phoenix, AZ. Remmy Johannsen was leafing through the airline magazine on a Southwest flight from Phoenix, AZ to San Antonio earlier this week when the thought occurred to him to take advantage of every complimentary amenity the airlines had to offer. According to Remmy, “Well you pay a lot for a ticket so I figured I might as well get my money’s worth.” According to fellow passengers, Remmy was seen using both airplane lavatories, procuring an airline pillow and blanket, stuffing multiple bags of pretzels in his bag, and asking for a whole can of Coke and cup of ice. He used the free WIFI to watch multiple episodes of Chopped on his iPad while keeping his reading light on and fully reclining his seat. One morbidly obese passenger who preferred to remain anonymous stated that his flight was uncomfortable because they ran out of seat belt extenders, and he was irate when he saw Remmy was using one needlessly. An unnamed flight attendant said she had chastened Remmy about excessive use of his call button. Upon exiting the airplane, Remmy was seen inspecting his seat in an unsuccessful attempt at removing the life vest before pilfering multiple Southwest Airlines magazines and air sickness bags.

We are on the cusp of a revolution

I recently heard about a new supplement I want to try. I went to the website and stepped into what I now know is called a “sales funnel.”

I’m supposed to stay away from fast food. For the most part, I do, but I admit sometimes I have caved in.

This article explains a productivity secret from Jerry Seinfeld. Jerry said he realized that in order to be a better comic he needed to create better jokes. The way to create better jokes was to write every day. To accomplish this, Jerry used a simple calendar system.

My nose has revolted. The last time this happened was December when I was in North Carolina. The change in weather and especially the markedly colder temperatures triggered it. It happened again the last couple days after a return trip from California to Arizona.

As a rule, I don’t go to movie theaters very often. I reserve these occasions for movies that deserve to be seen on the big screen and with surround sound. The last movie I saw in the theater was Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, which I’m sure all Tarantino fans have already seen.

It’s happened to all of us. Whether due to circumstances outside our control or on purpose, sooner or later we are going to have bad nights of sleep. We get to bed too late or have fragmented sleep throughout the night. The one that gets me is staying out late for a concert. What am I going to stop going to concerts? I don’t think so.

It’s a travel day, and I’m currently reporting on the front lines from the usual McDonalds. When I walked in, I was greeted by a sign inviting me to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Shamrock Shake. Since I do not have a vested interest, I politely declined. I remember the first time I had a Shamrock Shake, which coincided with David Copperfield “walking” through the Great Wall of China in a 1986 TV special. I can’t remember the last time I had one.

It’s a travel day, and I’m currently reporting on the front lines from the usual McDonalds. When I walked in, I was greeted by a sign inviting me to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Shamrock Shake. Since I do not have a vested interest, I politely declined. I remember the first time I had a Shamrock Shake, which coincided with David Copperfield “walking” through the Great Wall of China in a 1986 TV special. I can’t remember the last time I had one.

I travel for work and stay in a lot of hotels. In 4.5 years of traveling, I have stayed 743 nights in hotel rooms. For my first client, I stayed at a Marriott property, which is where I have accumulated all my stays ever since. 

We hardly think about breathing except when it becomes difficult. After climbing a couple of flights of stairs, I will suddenly have breathing at the top of my mind. Breathing is controlled by the autonomic nervous system, which regulates internal organs outside of conscious control. That doesn’t mean you can’t control your breathing to influence your emotions, chemicals, neurotransmitters, and hormones.

“Well, if there’s one thing I hope to teach my kids it’s how to make good decisions.” 

I have reached a point where I have to have controversies actually explained to me now. The latest one that puzzled me is related to a new book called American Dirt. This novel tells the fictional story of a Mexican mother and son’s journey to the border after a cartel murders the rest of their family. In January, Oprah announced this book as the latest pick for her book club saying, “From the first sentence, I was IN…like so many of us, I’ve read newspaper articles and watched television news stories and seen movies about the plight of families looking for a better life, but this story changed the way I see what it means to be a migrant in a whole new way.”

Part 1 - Fear Solving

Neurotransmitters are signaling chemicals that are critical for brain function and the communication between the brain and the body. It is helpful to understand major neurotransmitters and how being dominant or deficient in certain neurotransmitters can influence your daily life and overall health.

Part 1 - Fear Solving

Part 1 - Fear Solving

One method of creating a nutritional framework is to think about three different forms of dietary restriction:

In my current stage, I am not interested in reading or writing fiction. My usual catchphrase is “Who has time for fiction??” That said, when I come across content that I think will help others (even if it’s not applicable to me) I want to share it.

Part 1 - Fear Solving

I generally eschew summary posts, mainly because I like to be contrarian. There is value, however, in pausing to reflect what I’ve accomplished to contribute to my overall theme of 2020: Points on the board.

When I didn’t travel a lot, I was terrible at packing. It was like it was my first time packing every time I did it. I packed way more than I needed, often with the end result of at least one checked bag. And I still forgot things.

This morning I overheard a conversation between two people as we all walked into the office.

A highlight of one of my meetings yesterday was an exchange between two consultants. We were all sitting around the conference table waiting for the meeting to begin. One consultant looked right at another consultant and said, “You need to leave this room!” He replied, “Why?? I’m not sick. I just cough some.” He actually punctuated his response with a phlegm-coated chortle. He did not leave the meeting. Someone on my team sits in the cubicle next to Mr. No Sick, and she said he’s been hacking all day.

Bravisimo!!

The core problem with creating content is that even though it’s important, it’s not urgent. For most people, content creation is part of a long-term strategy toward goals. This makes it tough to prioritize content creation among all the other urgent tasks that pop up every day.

My theme for 2020 is Points on the Board. 

I have come to the conclusion that I am just not going to use a journal/planner. It’s not for lack of trying. 

If given the opportunity to return to any point in my past, I guess I would pick four days ago before I downloaded some app called Tik Tok. I had heard of this app, and I know it’s big with the kiddies. I went through the rabbit hole on Monday, and now I wonder whether I can escape.

I was wide awake a full hour and a half earlier than my anticipated wake-up time. There is no set it and forget it with sleep. You can do all the right things and still end up with issues. As I like to say, every once in awhile the lion gets out of its cage.

I recently read this blog post by James Altucher regarding his version of the 1% Rule. The idea is that you can’t become a master in one day. It takes time to build skills and get to the level you want.

Part 1 - Fear Solving

Let the record show on the last day of 200WAD before “The Great Re-Branding,” there are seventeen OG members of #Teamstreak including myself:

Part 1 - Fear Solving

On my journey to better health, I have focused on some key areas. I think sleep is so important that I’m writing a book about it. The working title of the book is Start With Sleep, so that’s what I did. 

I like a good quote. It’s even better if the person to whom the quote is attributed is recognizable. Now, that shouldn’t matter if it’s a really good quote. But, I admit I have seen quotes I liked and then saw it was a no-name person (or worse yet a Non Name) and thought, I guess I’ll pass on that one. Meaning, I paused for a brief moment to ponder the quote but did not pass it on to anyone else or make a note of it. What a shame. I should have researched that person to figure out who came up with such a great quote.

“Did you hear about AirPods 5 coming out next year?”

I work in the health insurance industry, and sometimes I get emails from people who have multiple titles or credentials listed after their names. They could be doctors or nurses or social workers or project managers. I once saw someone with seven different titles. My rule is the more letters that appear after someone’s name, the less I trust that person until I get to know him or her.

In Dr. Peter Attia’s latest email newsletter, he discussed his nutritional framework. The problem with nutrition is that it is a loaded topic, very similar to religion or politics. Dr. Attia’s approach is to use a framework that is not controversial and applies broadly. 

My theme for 2020 is Points on the Board. 

The last two weeks of 2019 were amazing. I was off work, and more importantly, spent time with the woman I love (and her Pug, Puggy, can’t forget about him). Sadly, all good things come to an end. 

What are some examples?

Make no mistake, sugary drinks and candy are both bad for you. Both have “empty calories,” which means plenty of calories and sugar without nutrition.

What follows is my summary of the highlights of a recent episode of the Health Theory podcast featuring an interview between Tom Bilyeu and Dave Asprey, founder of Bulletproof, Inc. I previously wrote about Dave’s latest book Super Human. 

It is January 8th, and I bet many people have already given up on resolutions. It is rare to see people who commit to something and stay focused on it long term. 

Now that I have had a few days of my own time in between assignments, I realize that notifications are frequent distractions that kill focus.

Phoenix, AZ. Darren Jacobs was on a flight from Phoenix, AZ to San Jose, CA Sunday when he suddenly found himself in a conga line waiting for the airplane lavatory. Darren explained, “Well I was closer to the front lavatory and they tell you not to wait in the area by the cockpit door so I was waiting behind someone else. I looked behind me and two more people lined up.” Other passengers on the flight reported heavy turbulence causing the line of people to sway with arms flailing in a make-shift conga line. Darren’s wife Darla was also on the flight and commented, “I was watching Darren and the line of people while listening to Pitbull’s “Fireball” when the turbulence hit, and it looked like they were dancing and I started laughing so hard.” 

When you travel, it pays to minimize baggage. For any trip that lasts five days or fewer, I will always have one carry-on suitcase and my laptop bag. 

When I was a kid, I remember a specific analog clock on the wall. It looked like a giant version of a pocket watch. What I hated about it was that the numbers were Roman numerals. I had the hardest time figuring out what time it was before I learned Roman numerals. 

Many people on 200WAD are rabid fans of James Clear by way of his book Atomic Habits. I signed up for his email newsletter because my financial advisor recommended it as always providing actionable information. I know @jasonleow agrees. I’m just now catching up on previous newsletters and found a nice gem with tips to become a better writer.

I have a clear memory of the very first time I tasted a McDonald’s chicken McNugget when I was around five years old. Apparently, I was a very picky eater as a kid. My mom broke the NcNugget in half, ate one half and gave me the other. I remember the explosion of flavor as I chewed it. I had never tasted anything like that before, and I felt a rush just by eating it. I gulped it down and immediately wanted more. She told me that was the last one. 

As I pointed out recently, I don’t think we are living in the Golden Age of Television. We are, however, living in the Golden Age of Podcasts. If you aren’t listening to podcasts, you’re doing it wrong. 

Today is actually January 1st. I like saying, “Today is January 1st” when it’s not January 1st to remind myself that each day is a new day to start something. I’m intentionally not starting anything new today to buck the New Year’s resolution trend.

I am resolved to not have resolutions for the new year. There will also be no summary of 2019. I like @arcticloon ‘s approach–If you want to know what I was up to in 2019, there are 364 posts you can read. 

Many people have the opinion that we are in the Golden Age of Television. They point to the “prestige dramas” in which each episode feels like a mini-movie. I am not doubting the quality of the content, but it’s not just about the content but also one’s access to it. 

When most people encounter a baby or young child out in public, the reaction is pretty standard. People generally widen their eyes, smile, and start speaking in high-pitched tones. For babies, I’ve seen people start babbling some form of proto-language. 

I’m not interested in New Year’s Resolutions. In fact, I actively discourage people from making resolutions that will statistically be broken soon after January 1. If you are really committed to change, today is January 1st. You don’t need to wait until some arbitrary date on the calendar.

Yesterday, my girlfriend and I toured the largest private home in the U.S. located in Asheville, North Carolina. The Biltmore House spans 178,926 sq ft of floor space with 250 rooms, 35 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, and 65 fireplaces. 

No, I’m not referring to the great 1986 comedy Back to School starring Rodney Dangerfield.

“You grow rich in your niche.”

After Thanksgiving, Christmas ranks as the highest volume of travel. I am one of the masses this weekend as I am flying across the country for a two-week break.

I have always lived in a world with Star Wars. The first Star Wars movie was released in May of 1977, and I was born in September of 1977. I don’t remember seeing the original movies in the theater. I do remember watching them on TV.

After Thanksgiving, Christmas ranks as the highest volume of travel. I am one of the masses this weekend as I am flying across the country for a two-week break.

This next movie is a comedy from 1986 that stars one of the all-time great comedians: Rodney Dangerfield. The movie is Back to School. Rodney plays a character named Thornton Melon, a wealthy but uneducated father who decides to go to college to show solidarity with his son. Hilarity ensues as Thornton goes to class, remodels the dorm rooms, crashes a sorority house, and parties like an animal.

The first best post competition as a 200WAD community event was a great start. The topic of introducing yourself gave writers freedom to be creative and personal. It was clear that a lot of work and effort went into the submissions. I participated in the contest and was happy to see Keni place first. 

This is the first of what will likely be several posts about life as a consultant. I won’t claim to be an expert, mind you. I don’t have twenty years experience as a consultant. By the way, why is twenty years always the timeframe touted when someone is exalted as having so much experience? Even if they have twenty-two or twenty-five or twenty-eight years in an industry, the usual phrase is “over twenty years.” But I digress.

I had a conversation with a buddy of mine the other day. We are both trying to break out of the Matrix. He has put a lot of time, energy, and money into learning about real estate. He confessed that lately, any time he thinks about the next step of what to do in real estate he gets anxiety and an overall uncomfortable feeling. He wondered, “Is that just the feeling of being out of my comfort zone and should I just push through that? Or is it a red flag that maybe this isn’t the right path for me?” I know real estate is a popular choice for many people pursuing side hustles. It is not my choice. It just doesn’t do it for me. I wish it did. 

A one-hour timeshift is enough to disrupt my sleep schedule. When I travel to California from Arizona, the clock goes back one hour. It still feels later to me, so I end up going to bed earlier and waking up earlier. This morning I was up wide awake at 4 AM. Did I stay in bed and toss and turn for an hour? Absolutely not. I will cover the topic of “sleep hygiene” in more detail in my book.

I just finished the latest episode of the Tim Ferriss Show featuring Gary Keller. If you don’t know who Tim Ferriss is, shame on you. Just kidding. Actually, go to tim.blog right now and forget about what I have to say. If you have heard of Tim Ferriss, then you should find this interview interesting. 

Part 1 - Fear Solving

I am not superstitious, so Friday the 13th doesn’t carry any special meaning to me other than reminding me of a series of scary movies I saw when I was a kid. 

I had a busy day today, and this evening I exchanged gifts with my neighbor. We chit chatted for a while and now it’s sleepy time. Well, almost sleepy time. It’s a priority to stick to my sleep schedule, but it’s also a priority to write every day. This is one of the rare times when these two high-priority items conflict with each other.

At some point, you might hear a news story about a shipwreck. One of the sailors went overboard and he’s at risk of drowning. Suddenly, a dolphin popped up at his side and gently but firmly started to nudge him safely toward the shore. It is tempting to draw the conclusion that dolphins must like human beings if they take actions like this to save us from drowning. But how can we know this, that dolphins are actually intending to be helpful?

I just watched the series finale of the HBO show Silicon Valley. This show has been one wild ride. For those who are unfamiliar, this show follows a group of misfit coders as they navigate the waters of being a start-up in the tech capital of the US. There are six seasons, but the last two seasons are short a few episodes.

I finally relented and watched the Netflix documentary The Game Changers. It clearly has high production values with a good storyline, celebrity appearances, and the illusion of being scientific. If you haven’t seen the documentary, I’ll save you the time by providing the thesis: Everyone should stop eating red meat and animal products and switch to a plant-based diet for improved health, longevity, physical performance, and recovery. According to the documentary, the switch will also lead to a healthier planet and help combat climate change.

The sun and wind quarreled about which was stronger. The wind said, “I’ll prove I’m stronger. See that old man down there with the coat? I can get that coat off him quicker than you can.” The sun went behind a cloud and the wind blew until it was almost a tornado. The harder it blew, the tighter the man clutched his coat to him. Finally, the wind calmed down and gave up. The sun came out from behind the clouds and smiled kindly on the old man. He wiped the sweat from his brow and eventually removed his coat. The sun then told the wind that gentleness and friendliness are always stronger than fury and force. 

Over the last month, I have been focusing on consistent meditation. My goal is to meditate for at least ten minutes per session five times per week. I have been using guided meditation with the Waking Up app. 

I’m sitting at the airport people watching because my flight is delayed. The airport is one of the few places in which you will see people walking stridently and with purpose in one direction and then a few minutes later, the same people are walking just as confidently in the opposite direction. 

It started with one decision. 

If you are interested in blogging, you should know the name Jon Morrow. If you don’t, this is a good article to learn more about Jon’s inspiring story and career.

I received the December 2019 issue of Rolling Stone magazine. The cover story is about Star Wars. Finally, a non-musical topic I am actually interested in. But the cover photo is of an actor who a friend of mine refers to as “it’s just that guy from Girls.”

This weekend Martina Scorsese’s latest film The Irishman finally released on Netflix. 

I never bought into the idea of signing up with the stampede of people outside Walmart or Target or any other store trying to get some sort of huge bargain. Nowadays, it’s online or bust. But it’s still buyer beware.

I finally relented and watched the Netflix documentary The Game Changers. It clearly has high production values with a good storyline, celebrity appearances, and the illusion of being scientific. If you haven’t seen the documentary, I’ll save you the time by providing the thesis: Everyone should stop eating red meat and animal products and switch to a plant-based diet for improved health, longevity, physical performance, and recovery. According to the documentary, the switch will also lead to a healthier planet and help combat climate change.

A buddy of mine asked me the following question: “Would you rather be bored or completely stressed out at work?”

When you work remotely, you get used to the idea of things working the way they are supposed to. Internet is up, the network is fine, and remote access works as it should. Then the wheels fall off and you realize just how good you had it.

Mixed feelings and resistance are normal and natural parts of change. We like being in our comfort zones, and even the tip of your toenail out of the zone can be anxiety-ridden.

If you want others to like you, think about why they did what they did, accept their shortcomings, and make it a rule never to criticize them openly.

In my early career, I did not take many vacation days. When I was a teacher they called them “mental health days.” When you teach junior high kids, I assure you that you need to keep your mental health. 

Today I was at the office before 7 AM and didn’t leave until after 6 PM. Ten-, eleven-, even twelve-hour days are not unheard of for a consultant. I know some people put in even more hours, but I draw the line at half the day.

Today I attended what is known on projects as a Steering Committee meeting. The Steering Committee is the governing body, usually comprised of the executives and decision-makers at the company, that approves or denies decisions related to initiatives. The meeting today was notable because a new CEO joined the company, and this was her first meeting.

Many of us are looking to establish good habits. There are plenty of hacks, tips, and tools. My purpose today is not to rehash the research or give a lecture. I want to tell you about a tool that I believe will be a great help in establishing habits. And it’s free!

I like popcorn. I have an old-fashioned popcorn machine that cranks out popcorn movie-theater style. I use coconut oil and when I get the right amount of salt it is sublime. Some people use an air popper, but that leads to popcorn that is too close to styrofoam for my tastes. Microwave popcorn is simply not good for you, and you should avoid it.

*ding dong*

Here we go again. Every time I turn around, there is another company offering its own streaming service with exclusive content. 

Back in the ’90s when the internet was becoming mainstream there was something called shareware. Shareware was software primarily created by independent developers who gave it away for free. In some cases, the developers released full versions of the applications and simply relied on donations. In other cases, they released demos or limited the functionality to a specific trial period. Today’s analog is “freemium” apps that you can download for free with in-app purchases.

A young boy was staying for the first time at his grandfather’s farm for the summer. He loved getting up early to feed the animals and complete his chores. He did this with his grandfather by his side at first, but then he started completing chores on his own.

My primary goal with Project Food as Fuel is food selection. I need to completely change my approach to the foods I eat. It’s not about what I’m in the mood for or whether I have a taste for something. Food is fuel and nutrition. That’s not an easy transition to make when you eat the way I used to eat for years and years.

Part 1 - Fear Solving

When you start a challenge or are working toward a big goal, it can be quite daunting. At the foot of the mountain, you can barely see the peak. But you don’t have to do things all at once.

Years ago I didn’t go to the dentist regularly, and I paid for it in the form of gum disease. I required an unpleasant procedure called “scaling and root planing” followed by periodontal maintenance every four months. Once you have gum disease you need to have it addressed, otherwise you are opening yourself up to bone loss, tooth loss, and a variety of other health problems.

When I am onsite in California, I walk from the hotel to the office and back to the hotel. I only skip the walk when it’s raining, which thankfully is not very often. The walk is almost exactly one mile, practically as the crow flies. Initially, this choice was to avoid the swirl of coordination around the shared rental cars and timing. The reality is that the walks are far more important for me physically and mentally.

I work in the healthcare insurance industry, and we are trained from the very beginning about privacy laws and something called HIPAA, which governs how patient data is accessed, stored, and transmitted. The best practice I have without even thinking is locking my workstation every time I leave my desk.

On my journey to better health, I have focused on some key areas. I think sleep is so important that I’m writing a book about it. The working title of the book is Start With Sleep, so that’s what I did. 

Usually, this time of year is when people start to take the foot off the gas. Take some vacations. Visit with family. Take it easy. You have Thanksgiving and Christmas and of course endless shopping. I think you can do all those things and still keep pushing forward without losing momentum.

On Sunday at the Phoenix airport, I was treated to an excellent shoeshine. I wear my dress shoes on travel day to avoid the baggage of an extra pair of shoes even though that would be the more comfortable option. More on that in this post about sensible footwear. 

Halloween is nearly upon us. There is a potluck in the office tomorrow, and I will avoid it due to the low probability of food I should be eating. Maybe I will get some dark-chocolate-covered popcorn at the airport as my treat.

This week Apple announced the release of redesigned AirPods called AirPods Pro. Sure, NOW you come out with them!

As I hit reply I noticed this post was filed in a collection called Minutia. Interesting choice.

In high school, I had a full head of thick black hair. I have the pictures to prove it. In college, I started losing my hair. I remember sitting at my desk reading textbooks, running my hand through my hair, and seeing clumps of hair fall onto the pages. 

Two weeks ago I wrote about the next phase of Project Food as Fuel. I have been wearing a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) for fourteen days, and I’d like to share some observations so far.

I was out of the office last Friday and Monday, and this absence reminded me of the concept I call the PTO Penalty. For those without a traditional job, PTO stands for Paid Time Off. 

In Chapter 3 of Super Human, Dave Asprey makes the argument that food choices directly contribute to either speeding up or slowing down the aging process. Here are some takeaways after reading this chapter.

It’s a word we say all the time, and most of the time we don’t even think about it.

Jack Nicklaus is considered one of the greatest professional golfers of all time. He holds the record of 18 major championships, three more than Tiger Woods. He is a true champion.

The whole is greater than the sum of the parts. This is a good description of an orchestra. Each instrument has its place in the orchestra. 

Last night was the last night in Vegas, and my girlfriend and I got last-minute tickets to see Penn and Teller. Penn and Teller is a duo of magicians (illusionists if you will) comprised of Penn Jillette and Raymond Teller. Penn is the tall, outspoken one and Teller is the short, quiet one who performs with body language and facial expressions.

The Office is one of the great comedy series of all time. I know some people insist that the original UK version is the best, but I have not watched enough of it to make that assessment. For some reason, the processing power it takes for me to understand British accents takes away from my full appreciation of UK programming.

When I travel for work I take exactly one pair of shoes. I travel light with a laptop bag and a carry-on, and I just don’t want to make the sacrifice to squeeze in an additional pair of shoes.

I arrived office in the office this morning and greeted myself with a minor sneezing fit. I can’t remember the last time I sneezed exactly one time. Two is the bare minimum. If someone sneezes twice and stops, it usually means the irritant that precipitated the sneeze has been expunged. Even a third sneeze can be classified as such. Once you reach four consecutive sneezes, however, something else is going on. 

Tomorrow I am heading out to Las Vegas. It’s about a 5.5-hour drive. I am attending another weekend of personal development training. It’s Friday night, all day Saturday and all day Sunday. 

Super Human - The Bulletproof Plan to Age Backward and Maybe Even Live Forever is a brand new book by Dave Asprey. Dave Asprey is the founder of Bulletproof, Inc., of the same Bulletproof coffee fame. Dave is considered the father of “biohacking,” which he defines as follows:

If you or your loved ones are taking prescription medication or even over-the-counter medication, you’re going to want to pay attention.

In school, I was a very good student. The funny thing is I don’t remember learning how to learn. I had a good memory, so that was certainly a good portion of it. As part of the Precision Nutrition certification course, there is a unit devoted to core skills, practices, and actions of being a good student. This is a good reminder for me, and I thought I would share some of the ideas.

Spoiler-free Edition

Today marks day 168 of Project Food as Fuel. For the uninitiated, feel free to get caught up with this post. 

I arrived office in the office this morning and greeted myself with a minor sneezing fit. I can’t remember the last time I sneezed exactly one time. Two is the bare minimum. If someone sneezes twice and stops, it usually means the irritant that precipitated the sneeze has been expunged. Even a third sneeze can be classified as such. Once you reach four consecutive sneezes, however, something else is going on. 

It’s happened to all of us. You see some title of an article with a grandiose claim:

I have been at both ends of the spectrum with a job. I have been incredibly bored and unmotivated with whatever I was tasked to do on a daily basis. I have also been completely stressed and maxed out after a full day of crisis after crisis. A friend of mine recently asked me, “If you had only those two choices–stressed out or bored–which one would you pick?”

This morning I was in the break room at the office washing the coffee mug I use for broth. A woman walked by me, and a moment later I was hit with a wave of pungent perfume. It smelled like a combination of a flowery cleaning product and hair chemicals used for a permanent. It was so bad that I had an overwhelming urge to sneeze and my eyes started to water. I couldn’t get out of there fast enough to recover from the olfactory assault.

Difficult-easy - This is the stuff we do that’s stressful, challenging, and/or irritating. It’s the pain we recognize that is very familiar.

This morning I went out for a bike ride at about 6 AM. It was 65 degrees. That may sound like nice weather, and it is. But when you are used to over 100 degrees, this weather change feels a bit chilly. On a bike, it feels even colder.

I just listened to an episode of The Portal podcast in which the host Eric Weinstein interviewed Democratic Presidential candidate Andrew Yang. At around the 24-minute mark, their discussion turns to the dignity of work and what happens when a machine replaces your job and how to find meaning outside of your career or what you do to make money.

One of the concepts presented early in the Precision Nutrition course I’m taking is having a “beginner’s mind.” 

Part 1 - Fear Solving

I have written enough posts on 200WAD that I have forgotten whether I have covered certain topics. I was surprised that this one is uncharted territory.

This was my first time seeing a concert at the Hollywood Bowl. It is an unusual venue in that it’s built inside of a hill. It has a capacity of 17,500, and I was one of the masses attending the sold-out show. Getting through security took a lot longer than seemed necessary. There was a giant mass of people converging upon eight metal detectors. Once I got in, there wasn’t even time to get water. I heard the bagpipes, and I knew the show was starting. Rod was born in England but grew up in Scotland, which explains his affinity for the Scots including the Celtic football team.

When you hear the word Hollywood, your mind might conjure images of glitz and glamor. It’s the land of TV and movie stars. I discovered the reality is a bit different. When I arrived yesterday, my first impression of Hollywood was marred by dense traffic, garbage, and homeless people living under a freeway overpass. 

After returning home from San Jose, CA yesterday, I’m doing what those in the industry call a “turn and burn” by flying to Burbank, CA to wrap up my Summer Concert Series. This summer I saw Sir Paul McCartney and the Rolling Stones. I’m rounding out the series with one more bloke (well, two blokes) from the UK. Tonight, for one night only, Rod Stewart is reuniting with his former bandmate and legendary guitarist Jeff Beck. 

It’s travel day, and this morning I made my usual stop at McDonald’s for a reprieve from the hotel breakfast food. For those who are curious, my keto-friendly meal included two egg whites, two sausage patties, and a coffee with cream. 

I was talking to my brother Mark recently who is very curious about the keto diet I have been following. He was asking if I had some documents or resources he could take a look at. I said sure no problem, and I promptly emailed some documents to his wife Pat since he doesn’t use email.

I am woefully ignorant when it comes to nutrition. Anything I learned in health class in high school is certainly obsolete. I took Biology I and was so bored that I refused to continue to Biology II and some other course before finally getting to Human Anatomy and Physiology. I took all the chemistry and physics courses instead. In college, I was a math major, and I was certainly not learning proper nutrition from the dorm cafeterias and fast food places.

Part 1 - Fear Solving

In general, I like to use the power card that comes with the device. In some cases, it is mandatory because the cord has a power brick on it that is specific for that device. Apple makes it relatively easy with the lightning port. I can charge my iPhone, iPad, AirPods, Apple TV remote, and Apple Mouse all with the same cord. The MacBook is the exception with the bigger USB-C port. 

I rarely go to see movies opening weekend. It turns out, it’s not really the madhouse I expected if it’s not some blockbuster. Maybe it’s because I saw it at an IMAX theater. The movie is called Ad Astra starring Brad Pitt. 

I found an article on AOL.com. My first reaction was shock that AOL still exists. My second reaction was anger from the headline:

Often people will use the term “heavy set” to politely describe someone who is overweight, obese, or morbidly obese. I think it’s a funny term.

Six months ago I wrote about taking action steps now to reduce my risk of developing Alzheimer’s or some other dementia in the future. I know unless you are in your 60’s or older you probably don’t have Alzheimer’s on your mind (pun intended). 

I have a friend of mine who is heavily involved in fantasy football. I don’t know anything about it other than what he has told me. Apparently they have very sophisticated tools and apps for tracking all the stats and displaying your ranking. One of the indicators, when things are going well, is a green arrow pointing up.

I yam what I yam. –Popeye

This is going to be a rant. If you enjoy my rants about #firstworldproblems then grab a beverage and settle in.

I have a subscription to Dave Asprey’s Biohacking Box. Dave is the founder of Bulletproof, Inc., with perhaps Bulletproof coffee being his most famous creation. 

“Hey man, you know me. I don’t read books. I don’t have time to read books. I’ll buy yours just to help you out but I won’t read it. So just give me the best sleep tip you have.”

Outline the conclusion

Part 1 - Fear Solving

In the office there is a gal who has a Costco-sized box of Goldfish crackers on her desk. I walked past her desk on three different occasions, and all three times she was reaching into the box to grab another handful while still chewing the last handful. 

It’s that time of the year. Time for the big hardware updates from Apple. You can read the specific details here or even watch the keynote here.

Part 1 - Fear Solving

The latest news item that I’m supposed to be concerned about is the harmful effects of vaping. There is some “mysterious” lung disease afflicting these vapers and there have been five confirmed deaths this year. 

Imagine that the ability to time travel to the past is eventually possible. Some future generation manages to travel back in time hundreds or thousands or tens of thousands of years. They don’t just travel back in time to observe events. They actually intervene in events.

Part 1 - Fear Solving

In a meeting today I heard someone say the following:

At the end of August I reached the four-month mark in Project Food as Fuel. 

Part 1 - Fear Solving

I read an article recently that described disgruntled Tesla owners who got locked out of their cars on Labor Day. Apparently these owners use the Tesla app exclusively, and it went down for about three hours. The physical key card or fob would have worked had they had it with them. A Tesla is my dream car, but the idea of not being able to unlock the car and drive it because an app went down is unacceptable.

Part 1 - Fear Solving

Part 1 - Fear Solving

Fifteen years ago around the holidays I got drawn in to an infomercial on QVC. It was some artist named Esteban selling a guitar and DVD’s with guitar lessons. He was playing familiar songs and made it look so easy! I probably paid a couple hundred dollars, convinced that it was time for me to learn how to play the guitar. I have no musical background or any latent talent. I just wanted to learn how to play a few songs.

Challenge #1 Identify your limiting factors. (end of Chapter 4)

Click stopwatch.

Ten years ago I was one of the first in the avant-garde group in my department to work from home. I was recruited to be a part of a process-improvement project conducted by an external consulting company. This company was not prepared for teleworkers. I had to beg to get a phone conference for the meetings, and everything was geared toward in-person activities without capturing the information in electronic form. One time I drove forty-five minutes to the office for a meeting only to find out the meeting was cancelled fifteen minutes before starting. 

Part 1 - Fear Solving

When I was a kid one of my earliest memories of music involved listening to what my brother was playing on his record player. Sometimes he let me put the needle on the record, which always made me scared that I would screw it up. He had a large vinyl collection, and I remember the imagery on the album covers. One of the most memorable images was a big red mouth with lips and tongue. 

I was tidying up my writing desk and found notes from when I did a deep dive on the non-fiction book On Writing by Stephen King. If you want some good advice about writing (especially fiction), Stephen King should be at the top of the list. Here is a summary of my notes and hopefully there will be one or two points that speak to where you are in your own writing journey.

Part 1 - Fear Solving

I like brain teasers. I found a few old ones saved in my notes app. Enjoy!

I work for a client in California. When I am onsite, I notice all the attempts by the organization to encourage healthy behaviors. In the break room there are various signs and posters, some good and some bad. 

I saw an article today that set me up for this rant. I don’t even want to link to it to give it traction, but you need to see the context for my response.

In January of 2007 Steve Jobs revealed the original iPhone. One day after his keynote, he went to his team and told them they need to replace the plastic screen with glass. He had been carrying the prototype iPhone in his pocket with his keys, which scratched the original plastic screen. His team told him durable glass would not be available for three to four years. Jobs did not take “no” for an answer. He said, “I don’t know how we’re going to do it, but when it ships in June it’s going to be glass.” The rest is history. The original iPhone did ship with what came to be known as “Gorilla Glass.”

Part 1 - Fear Solving

Part 1 - Fear Solving

I am using the free Scribe book writing course to guide me through the process of writing a book. The chapter after the introduction is called Fear Solving.

Today is the anniversary of the death of the King of Rock and Roll Elvis Presley. Elvis died on August 16, 1977 at the age of 42. 

As I wrote about in a previous post, I discovered a free resource to learn about how to write and publish a book. I have been thinking about writing a book about sleep. That’s just it. Thinking about it. Dabbling. Enough’s enough of that. It’s time for action. 

People like to use the phrase “nails on a chalkboard” to describe any noise or sound that is very unpleasant. I bet there are some people reading this who have never even seen or used a chalkboard much less heard the sound of nails on one. 

Every once in awhile I believe the universe reaches out and taps you on the shoulder. It’s a brief notice that you will miss if you’re not paying attention. I don’t have an explanation for it, but I think one of these moments happened to me today.

I call it pop. Some call it soda. Some call it soda pop. Steve Jobs once called it sugar water when he was trying to convince the President of Pepsi John Sculley. to join Apple. That’s probably the best description because that is what it is: sugar and water.

Here is how we think we form abstract beliefs:

Time for a rant. Software updates generally suck.

For those of you who have been following Project Food as Fuel, I have an update to share. For the uninitiated, you can get caught up with this post. 

This is the first of what will likely be several posts about life as a consultant. I won’t claim to be an expert, mind you. I don’t have twenty years experience as a consultant. By the way, why is twenty years always the timeframe touted when someone is exalted as having so much experience? Even if they have twenty-two or twenty-five or twenty-eight years in an industry, the usual phrase is “over twenty years.” But I digress.

This is the first of what will likely be several posts about life as a consultant. I won’t claim to be an expert, mind you. I don’t have twenty years experience as a consultant. By the way, why is twenty years always the timeframe touted when someone is exalted as having so much experience? Even if they have twenty-two or twenty-five or twenty-eight years in an industry, the usual phrase is “over twenty years.” But I digress.

We live in a day and age when packages are delivered all day every day. This phenomenon has given rise to people who steal packages, usually taking them right from the porches where they were dropped off. These people are known as porch pirates. Thankfully I have not had any run-ins with these pirates. 

Last night as I was attempting to drift off to sleep at the hotel, I was startled awake by the sound of a young child screaming. The room I have is on the second floor, and the balcony faces the courtyard area with the pool. The young child was happily playing in the pool, and this activity included a heavy dose of screaming.

My project started April 27, 2019 when I decided to radically change my diet with medical supervision toward the goal of reversing type 2 diabetes. I have sustained focus for three months. It’s time for an evaluation. Yesterday I had lab work done. This coming week I should have my results, so I can see how my biomarkers have changed with this experiment. 

Remember the days when the house phone rang and you had no idea who was calling? Maybe it’s a friend or family member. Maybe it’s someone you don’t know trying to sell you something. At least it was a human being. I bet there are some readers who weren’t even around back then. Those were also the days of a busy signal with no way to leave a message.

I recently read an article with an infographic about the state of social media demographics in 2019. If you want to go straight to the source and skip my commentary, here is the article. The following are my takeaways.

Sleep experts generally agree that for most people, the target amount of sleep is between 7-9 hours each night. This number varies by age. Younger people need more sleep, and as we get older we tend to need less sleep. Yes, I know there are those rare people who function perfectly fine on much less sleep. The odds that you are one of those people are very slim.

I was primed to write about this next movie after watching Quentin Tarantino’s latest offering Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. Some people might quibble with this statement, but I maintain that Tarantino’s best film is Pulp Fiction.

Yesterday I ventured out into the heat to see Quentin Tarantino’s new movie Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. I rarely see movies on the opening weekend to avoid crowds, and I rarely deem a movie worthy of being seen in a theater (again crowds). 

I used to work with a woman who had an unusual philosophy regarding gifts she received in the mail. She spoke specifically about gifts such as labels with your name and address, note pads, bumper stickers, etc. When she received such a gift, she made it a point to donate money or repay the gift in some way. If she decided not to repay the gift, she threw the gift away! I asked her, “Why not just keep the gift and use it instead of wasting it?” Her reply was that she did not feel comfortable accepting and using the gift if she did not repay it in some fashion.

Sometimes a simple picture quote can be a powerful trigger to change your thinking or your behavior. Here is one I saw recently.

The problem with a traditional belt is that it does not allow for fine tuning. Have you ever been “between holes” in which one hole is too loose and the next hole is too tight? What about running out of holes and having to bore another one? 

When the 200WAD site suddenly became verboten for the Safari web browser recently, I decided to try out the new Brave browser on the advice of a friend of mine. The Safari issue is fixed, but I am still test-driving Brave.

I don’t drink the coffee in the hotel room, but I opened one of the condiment packets to get a stirrer. One of the items was a packet of “non-dairy creamer.” I’m sure in the past I would have used this in a pinch because I do not like drinking black coffee. Now that I am more aware of food as part of Project Food as Fuel, I scrutinize everything.

The #PowerWeekend is over. Now is the time to figure out how to keep the enthusiasm, energy, and focus from this weekend and carry it forward.

When I was 21 years old I went to the doctor to get a TB test. I was negative for TB but positive for high blood pressure. He immediately put me on a prescription. I never really got an explanation for why I had high blood pressure or what to do about it. This condition does not run in my family. 

People say the hardest part is getting started. Taking that first step. Is that harder than taking the 100th step or the 1000th step? Some say, “Well don’t worry it gets easier.” Maybe that’s wishful thinking. Some say, “It only gets harder.” That’s probably true and that sucks.

Takes extreme ownership

There is a reason people say dream big and aim high.

A story is told of the great nineteenth-century violinist Niccola Paganini. He was performing with a full orchestra in front of a sold-out crowd. As the final piece began, suddenly one of the strings on his violin snapped. Without missing a beat, Paganini continued to play with three strings. Within moments another string snapped. Once again, Paganini continued to play flawlessly this time with two strings. Unbelievably, a third string snapped. His determination and ability allowed Paganini to continue playing with only one string left. p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px ‘Helvetica Neue’; color: #000000} span.s1 {font-kerning: none}

There is a lot of talk nowadays about installing good habits. Many people look for ways to improve themselves and seek advice for how to establish certain habits or how to perform tasks. One task that I have never seen anyone ask for help with is spending money. Maybe kids need help spending money the first time. After that, they have it down.

I just filled up the ol’ car with gas. I don’t pay attention to the price of gas anymore. The last time I actually paid attention to the price of gas was a few months ago in California when the price per gallon was approaching $5. Even then I just chuckled while sitting in the Uber.

Like @jacklyons I have been reading Graham Hancock’s book America Before. I am now officially caught up into the mysteries of ancient civilizations. For all the advancement in knowledge and technology by modern humans, it is surprising how little we know about our own past.

Today marks the start of another completely made-up “holiday” christened solely for the purpose of separating you from your hard-earned cash. 

My dad was an engineer and technical writer. He had a master’s degree in Latin and Greek from Northwestern. He was a master of English and writing. I would ask him a simple question in an email and receive a reply that could have been published in a magazine as-is. I knew he wrote it on the spot because I had seen him do it. Some people speak in prose, no umms and ahhs, no superfluous words. They speak as if they are reading something prepared in advance. My dad wrote that way.

It’s time to circle the wagons.

In a previous post I wrote about articles I have written on Medium. I was puzzled then and continue to be puzzled by the behavior of one of my articles.

If someone is really unhappy in his or her job, many times he or she will not be aggressive enough about changing jobs or finding something better. The reason is that the unhappiness in the job has become expected, so the person is not really blaming himself/herself. But if the person finds a new job and is unhappy there, the person will feel like it is his or her fault.

I have settled in nicely to the new office. This is the first time I have had an office in my professional career. There’s nothing really special about it. I have joked that I just need to get Matt Lauer’s guy to install the button under the desk, and I’ll be good to go. That reminds me, I need to complete some sort of sexual harassment tips..I mean prevention training.

I encountered the same bug other people did today accessing 200WAD on Safari. Good thing I was in Slack and saw that it was browser-specific (An Apple browser at that..Boo!) So I just switched over to good ol’ Firefox. A friend of mine said he has switched over to some new browser called Brave, which is supposed to be very secure and somehow related to crypto currency or blockchain technology. I might give it a whirl at some point.

Stephen King often goes to writers conferences. There will be this question and that question and the next question and inevitably someone will ask, “Stephen King, you are one of the most successful, revered writers of your generation. What kind of pencil do you use?”

It’s that time again. I have been home two weeks and developed quite the scraggly beard (with some white hairs popping up no less). I generally do not shave when I am home. For those who missed it, I detailed my shaving regimen here. This is not a simple task by design and certainly not meant for daily completion. 

As part of the Knowledge Business Blueprint course that I’m taking, there is bonus content that can be unlocked by completing modules in the course. I unlocked one bonus from Tony Robbins called a “Power Talk.” In this Power Talk, Tony interviewed the legendary Napoleon Hill, author of the international bestseller Think and Grow Rich. If you have never heard of Napoleon Hill or this book, it’s time to get acquainted. I could not find this interview on Youtube or anywhere else or I would share the link here. Instead, I will provide my notes after listening to this interview multiple times.

Yesterday on July 4, 2019 Project Food as Fuel took a hit. My streak of 67 days of being in nutritional ketosis ended. 

Facebook must be on to the idea that I want to write. I saw an ad in my feed for something called a Freewrite portable typewriter.

I wouldn’t be surprised if some people on 200WAD have never listened to a voicemail message, much less have used an answering machine. For people who DO remember listening to messages, perhaps you have experienced the following phenomenon. 

After a hiatus of about 4.5 years, I have returned to a management role this time as a consultant instead of a full-time employee. Before becoming a consultant, I was a Configuration Manager at a Fortune 50 health insurance company. Yes, for those who don’t know I am in the glamorous industry known as healthcare insurance.

I completed my SQL course on Saturday. I used the Join.me software and recorded every session. Some of the videos are 1.5 hours in length. 

The next movie on my list was released in 1995. I suppose the genre would be gangster comedy. The cast is stellar. John Travolta, Danny DeVito, Gene Hackman,  and Rene Russo as the main characters. I’m talking about the movie Get Shorty.

As much as we complain about the daily grind and mundane nature of work and life sometimes, it is interesting how we feel when we arrive at a transition. 

I have a confession. I broke my sleep protocol last night by sliding into bed three hours later than my normal bedtime. This morning I was up at my usual time, so today is going to be rough. It was worth it.

Recently I listened to an episode of Joe Rogan’s podcast in which he interviews Bob Lazar. I had never heard the name, but apparently Bob Lazar is quite well known in the UFO community based on information he has shared over the years. 

I recently watched a documentary on Amazon Prime called Fed Up, and indeed this is how I felt after watching it. The documentary chronicles young children struggling with obesity while providing a history of food production and trends in the US since WWII. 

Yesterday I wrote my assessment of the HBO miniseries Chernobyl, and @keni made a comment hoping that the show is based on the truth. This got me thinking about history.

After 200 days of writing on 200WAD, I have a decent selection of posts. Most of them are of the standard, run-of-the-mill variety. Then there are a few that might have inklings of something special.

Early in my career I was focused primarily on myself. I wanted to gain more skills, more experience, and continue to improve to work my way up the ladder. I translated success based on my salary. I understand why I operated this way, but as I have gotten older and more experienced in a career, I have shifted the focus from myself to those I serve.

In hotel parking lots it is very common to see open trunks and people adding or removing luggage. For the Brits I’m talking about the boot of the car. 

@basilesamel

I’m standing in a Barnes & Noble. Or maybe it’s an Amazon store. I pick up a novel from the New Releases rack. I don’t remember the cover of the novel, but I read the back jacket summary.

I’ve heard the phrase “unfair advantage” used a lot in the context of competition and differentiating oneself. The idea is that you have unique skills or experience that give you an advantage over other people operating in your same space. These could be natural-born talents or skills you’ve developed over time. 

Yesterday, I spent Father’s Day on a flight to California. Father’s Day doesn’t hold much significance for me since I’m not a father and my father has been gone over five years. 

@Rawhead inspired me to write about this movie next because of his reference to the great Robin Williams.

This afternoon I walked over to the Dutch Bros coffee shop for a cup of joe. As I was walking back to my house, I got cornered by two young men on bicycles with the telltale white shirts and ties. In the area where I live, I like to say I’m hiding among the Mormons, as there is a rather large Mormon population in this area of Arizona. 

I knew a guy who always seemed to have money problems. He was the guy who would only put $3 of gas in his car sometimes. You can imagine how many times he ran out of gas and needed to be bailed out. 

No, I’m not talking about enthusiastic supporters of Bernie Sanders. Yesterday, the high was 112 degrees F in Phoenix. This temperature tied a record that was set on June 12, 1974. Today the high is supposed to be 111. Would you believe it gets even hotter than that? The all-time record high in Phoenix was 122 on June 26, 1990.

Matthew Walker, PhD is a sleep scientist. I first heard about him on Joe Rogan’s podcast. I credit his interviews and his book Why We Sleep with kicking me into high gear to improve my sleep. If you don’t have time to read his book, at least carve out 19 minutes and listen to his TED talk Sleep is your superpower. 

A recent post by @sarasilva

I read this article recently that presents a theory that the number of pushups you can do is an indicator of your overall cardiovascular health and risk for a heart attack or stroke. The magic number is 40. If you can sustain 40 pushups or more, you are 96% less likely to experience a cardiac event compared to someone who can only do 10 or fewer pushups. 

My nephew is in college. He had the good sense to buy a car and pay in cash so he doesn’t have a car payment. Of course, he’s not immune from the costs of car maintenance, and he was just hit with a $450 bill as a result of the check engine light.

For those of you new to the community, if you have a goal to improve your writing by establishing a daily writing habit then we have a team for you. If you post every day and achieve a streak of at least 30 days, we will welcome you to #Teamstreak.

As of this writing, the next movie dropped to #3 on the list of all-time gross sales at the box office knocked off the number #2 spot by Avengers: Endgame. I am referring to the movie Titanic, which came out in 1997. This movie holds my personal record of most times seeing a movie in the theater. I lost track actually, but it is somewhere around 7-8 times.

I have now had three different people in the office make the same comment when they see me:

My father one time told me, “Take care of your feet. They are the only ones you get.” Unfortunately, he did not take his own advice. In his later years, he had a toe amputated and needed negative-pressure wound therapy treatment due to complications from type 2 diabetes. 

Roger McNamee is a name you may not recognize, but he’s someone with whom you should become familiar. He is referred to as every tech billionaire’s mentor with over 35 years in the technology industry. He has worked with Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Page, and Sergey Brin. When Roger talks about technology, everyone should listen.

Those old enough to remember the “Golden Age of Infomercials” will surely recognize the phrase “Set it and forget it.” This phrase was popularized by Ron Popeil, who used the phrase to describe his Showtime Rotisserie. Ron was a master salesman, and he made it look so easy. Just pop a whole chicken in the rotisserie, set it, and forget it. In a few hours, you will magically have delicious, moist chicken. The allure of this approach extends well beyond food preparation.

Today I had my first formal interview in over 4.5 years. The interview was for the role of configuration manager at my client. I would still remain a consultant and an employee of my company. This would be a change in my role and responsibilities for the same client I have been working with since January.

I like playing video games. The iPad is a great device for games. Lately, I have been playing a game called Klondike. This is a game that is free-to-play but has in-app purchases. This type of game is also referred to as “freemium.” The first big game of this type that took Facebook by storm years ago was Farmville. 

We all do it. Let’s get the obligatory “time flies” exasperations out of the way.

As an educated, native-speaker of English I am fairly well versed in the language. Occasionally, there will be a rule I have forgotten or perhaps never properly learned. This brings me to the rule I reinforced today.

I heard about a TED talk by Ric Elias, a passenger who literally had a front-row seat on Flight 1549, the plan that crash-landed in the Hudson River in New York in January 2009. The video is less than five minutes and worth watching.

For my Project Food as Fuel I have been focusing primarily on food and not so much on drinking. For drinking the choices are easy–coffee, broth, and water. No sense taking in extra calories or sugar through drinking. Considering the quantity of water I have been consuming and with my laser focus on better health, I decided to examine my water quality more closely. Yesterday I wrote about my recent investigation of the water quality in my home. Today is a summary of the outcome.

There are certain movies that any time I flipped channels, (when I had cable/satellite tv) I would stop and watch them if they were on. I can watch them over and over again and never get tired of them. I decided to finally put together a collection of my favorite movies in no particular order. 

I do not know the origin of the seemingly fair concept of first come, first served. I know we learn it at a very young age. Whoever is first in line gets to go first. Wait your turn. It seems inherently fair. But in the real world, it doesn’t always happen.

One month ago on April 27th, I started Project Food as Fuel. That is, I began dietary changes as directed by the Virta clinic. 

Tomorrow I will deliver session 3 of my SQL class. I will be the first to say that I’m certainly not a SQL expert. According to John Lee Dumas, who went to law school for one semester, if you know more about a particular subject than anyone else in the room, you meet the legal definition of a subject matter expert. I guess in this case I would be deemed the expert. But I’m still learning.

I am fascinated by people’s behavior, which is why people-watching is a favorite pastime of mine. One of my majors is psychology, and I studied a lot about human behavior. The problem is that was twenty years ago and many of those studies have been debunked. Where is the warranty on that knowledge, by the way??

Jim Rohn

It was so great to read @basilsamel ‘s summary of the first 6 months of 200WAD. In six months, the number of posts and the number of words are truly amazing, but what is even more amazing to me is the community. 

It’s happened to all of us who drive at some point or another. The gas light comes on, and you know you’d better find a gas station soon to avoid being stranded on the side of the road. The gas light is a sign that your tank is nearly empty and time to refuel.

It’s part of the zeitgeist, so let me add my two pennies to the discussion about Game of Thrones.

I have learned that investing in myself is truly the best investment. It’s one thing to listen to podcasts or watch YouTube videos or read books. It’s quite another to experience personal development in person. With a group of people and dynamic trainers, you get the full experience and emotions. This is where the magic happens.

Success is 80% psychology and 20% mechanics. –Tony Robbins

I was disturbed today to learn that Buzzfeed published an article detailing allegations of abuse and harassment by Tony Robbins. Lest you be mislead, Buzzfeed is NOT a reputable news source. Don’t take my word for it, just look at the research. If you want cute stories about cats, by all means go to Buzzfeed. If you want trustworthy news, look elsewhere.

I told @jasonleow I would expound upon the topic “when the low bar of 200 words becomes a ceiling.”

5 years from today. 2024. I’ll be 45. A day in the life of me, imagined. A writing exercise in daydreaming about the future, as if I was writing it in the present.

I read the post Unsubscribe to achieve inbox zero by @5plus6 and was inspired to take a shot at this concept. I’m going to explain why Inbox Zero does nothing for me.

For pretty much all of my life I have hated eating veggies. I was a picky eater as a kid. That trend continued into adulthood. For me it was texture (can’t stand mushy) and the taste. If I had to eat veggies, I would eat them raw and only when my arm was twisted.

There is a busy intersection near my house that has a Walmart among other stores and restaurants. The easiest way to get to Walmart is to make a U-turn and turn into the parking lot. This saves time from turning left and driving further to get to the other end of the parking lot. It is assumed that people make U-turns at this intersection. I know this because people waiting at the stoplight on the cross street face a “NO TURN ON RED” sign and also have a green arrow. This traffic light controls for the people making U-turns to get to Walmart.

I just returned from a shopping trip at Target and another round of the rousing game I call “Find No Carbs.” I could have called it “Find the Carbs,” but that game is too easy. Close your eyes and point, and you will find carbs. 

Sometimes things don’t work out the way you expect. A “no” in the present could become a “yes” in the future. This is why patience is important. Allow me to illustrate with a story.

You can’t have just one. pringles

This week was the first week I had to implement Project Food as Fuel on the road. I do not have a car. The hotel room has a microwave and mini fridge and that’s it. The idea of procuring groceries and making meals was out the window from the beginning. This was the first big test of adhering to my new regimen with eating out.

I have a theory that the emojis you use are indicative of your habits and mood. Maybe you don’t use emojis, which is telling in itself. If you do use emojis, take a moment and look at your favorite messaging app to see your “Frequently Used” emoji’s. I know iPhones have this feature in the Messages app. I have no idea about Android so you all are on your own. 

I have been incredibly inspired that in the last three days, we have welcomed seven new people to #Teamstreak!

As I have written about previously, I am undergoing a major lifestyle change to reverse a chronic disease.

At the request of @lucjah and inspired by @philh, I shall share an embarrassing story about how I accidentally walked into a women’s restroom.

There was nobody in the women’s restroom, and for some reason, it did not occur to me that it was odd not to see urinals. Priority one was the urgency to relieve myself, so I went straight for one of the stalls and closed the door. I set about performing the task, and the next thing I hear is a woman’s voice. I thought to myself, “That’s odd. Maybe it’s an employee who is coming in to clean the restroom.” But as I continued to relieve myself and listened, it was a conversation with another female voice then suddenly the panic hit me.

At the request of @lucjah and inspired by @philh, I shall share an embarrassing story about how I accidentally walked into a women’s restroom.

People have shared many great tips and advice for how to establish new habits. It could be writing habits or work habits to be more productive or health habits to be healthier. The tips and advice generally focus on actions. Perform actions every day as part of a routine to establish habits. There is a dark side to habits, however, where habits can be tied to inaction.

I have been publishing articles on Medium since May 5, 2017. I have published a total of seventeen articles, most of which were published prior to when I started writing on 200WAD. Publishing on Medium is a great way to test ideas and audience. It’s a decent focus group that will give you some feedback before you buy a domain name and put in all the time and resources into creating your own website.

Last night I watched a livestream of an event that was a masterclass in promotion and sales. The event included Tony Robbins, Dean Graziosi, and Russell Brunson. 

On a recent podcast episode of Entrepreneurs on Fire, John Lee Dumas interviewed Tony Robbins. Tony was promoting a free live training event to introduce a new product he’s been working on with Dean Graziosi. Tony, Dean, and Russell Brunson are delivering this event tonight at 5 PM PST. The tag line for the course is the following:

The library is a wonderful place. I used it quite a bit in college, but as I’ve gotten older I have visited libraries less and less.

When you start learning something new, one of the natural questions to ask is how long will it take to get good?

When I was a kid I remember we had a brown cable box with a remote control tethered to it with a long cord. I believe HBO was channel 1. Throughout my years growing up we always had cable. This changed when I was in college where I relied on an antenna to get local channels for a few years. But once out of college and on my own, when I moved to an apartment the first thing I did was get internet and the second thing I did was get cable. 

Definiteness of purpose is the starting point for all achievement. –W. Clement Stone

Today marks the last day of “business as usual” regarding my diet. My metabolism is broken, and the incremental approach is not working. I want to get massive results so I need to make massive changes. 

I tend to read articles via aggregating apps such as Apple News, SmartNews, and Flipboard (RIP Zite, which was previously my favorite). I’ve noticed a growing trend of sites with content behind a paywall, but you are given a certain number of stories to read for free each month. Medium is another example, with free stories still available but the option for writers to publish members-only content to receive compensation.

As part of my new program to improve my health, I need to weigh myself every day. The clinic I joined sent me a welcome kit that includes a high-tech scale. It measures my weight and without connecting to a wifi network or using bluetooth, it somehow beams the result to my account. I see the result in the app within one minute. I don’t know how it works but it’s nifty. 

I read many posts on 200WAD from people who do not know what to write about. These posts are from writers who are new as well as from members of #Teamstreak. It happens to all of us from time to time. One reason this may happen is you are sitting down to write when you are not ready to write.

This morning at the hotel I was having a nice cup of coffee. Unfortunately, I realized too late that the plastic lid was not quite a match for the cup leading to a spill on my shirt. The last thing I wanted to do was walk around the office all day with a highly-visible coffee stain. Tide pen to the rescue!

I used to be a junior high teacher. I remember attending a workshop where various experienced teachers shared their wisdom. One speaker was a chemistry teacher. I wish I could remember his name, but I can only remember his wild-eyed look and energy with his blonde hair whipping around as he talked.

I will assume positive intent that this was not a shot at #Teamstreak. Even if it is, that’s okay too. The term “streak slavery” is rather provocative and you got my attention.

I’m taking things to the next level with improving my health and it’s about to get real. I am working with a clinic whose sole purpose is to help people reverse type 2 diabetes. The primary focus will be dietary changes.

I suppose today’s post should be inconsequential and nothing of substance since everyone is busy scrutinizing the just-released Mueller report. 

When I travel I tend to use cash a lot. This gives me a better sense of what I am spending and keeps my credit cards from getting compromised in unfamiliar locations. One byproduct of using cash is the accumulation of coins. 

When I was a kid I had lots of dreams. Big and crazy dreams. Dreams about being like Superman and flying around in the sky. Or like Spiderman slinging webs and swinging from building to building. Or like Luke Skywalker and piloting a spacecraft across the galaxy. 

When you make the decision for success, you don’t negotiate the price. Greatness costs what it costs. –Matt Morris, author of The Unemployed Millionaire

The cancer of life is regret

From the beginning, you were born a winner. Estimates vary wildly, but let’s just say the minimum number of sperm cells released in one ejaculation is 50 million. That number might be much higher. So at minimum, the sperm cell that won and fertilized the egg that created you beat out at least 49,999,999 other sperm cells. That’s quite an accomplishment. 

I have so many ideas to write about from my training event.

I’ve read stories about people who have been in terrible accidents and had to learn to walk again. I can’t imagine that. Walking is something so automatic to me that I cannot imagine not knowing how to do it and learning it all over again.

Today I am flying to Los Angeles for another “Power Weekend.” I call it a Power Weekend because it is a weekend of training and personal development. The last Power Weekend was at the end of January in Birmingham. 

Most of the time I listen to podcasts and not music. Occasionally, though, I do get into moods where I want to listen to music. It could be when I need to concentrate and not be distracted by talking on a podcast. It could also be due to my mood.

I was inspired by @Rawhead with his recent posts about barber shops. 

A takeaway from every interaction and activit

Any time I read a post in which someone references not getting enough sleep I pounce on it. I admit I was guilty of the same thing. What’s the harm? Only an hour or two short. Make it up on the weekend, right? 

I arrived home last night after a week-long road trip across the US. I was greeted with wet carpet in the living room by the kitchen and in the adjacent bedroom. I already knew what was waiting for me because a friend of mine came by to check on the cat the previous day and gave me the bad news. He also shut off the main water line to the house to prevent additional flooding.

You knew this was coming. It’s time to decide which team you’re on. 

Recently I listened to an episode of Dr. Peter Attia’s podcast addressing Alzheimer’s disease. Peter’s guest was Richard Isaacson, a neurologist who specializes in Alzheimer’s disease. 

Anyone who drives for any length of time on the US interstate highway system quickly realizes that the highways are dominated by semi-trucks. They are everywhere. Most of the trucks are nondescript, but there are the occasional obvious businesses like FedEx, Walmart, and Amazon.

In case you missed it, here is Part 1 of my dissertation on hotel showers. Since I am traveling this week, I have more to say on this topic. Heads up @amie!

I travel for work and stay in a lot of hotels. In 4.5 years of traveling, I have stayed 743 nights in hotel rooms. For my first client I stayed at a Marriott property, which is where I have accumulated all my stays ever since. 

This week I’m on a road trip across the great USA. I am traveling from Arizona (southwest region of US) to North Carolina (East Coast). I’m not in a hurry on this trip. There will be full days of driving but stops in different cities along the way. I started on Tuesday and will arrive in my destination on Friday. I suppose this is my own brief stint as a nomad before returning to the normal routine.

This is the end

Last night I enjoyed a very nice dinner with my girlfriend and a good friend of mine. I live in the desert, so the only way to get good seafood is to go to a high-end restaurant that flies in fresh seafood daily. We chose a restaurant called Ocean Prime. 

I guess I will experiment with this feature. I always thought if I had something really private to write, I would write it somewhere else. Somewhere on my personal drive and not in a cloud scenario.

At my current client I work with another consultant who is from India. He has lived in the US for several years on a work visa. He learned English as a child, so his English is very good even though he speaks with a pretty thick accent.

Technology, machine learning, and algorithms have all made curation much more readily available.

When I was a kid there were all sorts of rules I had to follow.  I didn’t get to do whatever I wanted all the time. I had to do some form of work to earn the rewards. 

Apple media events are so hyped nowadays that it’s hard to imagine feeling fully satisfied after one of them. The latest event, although unique in that it was focused on services rather than hardware, had its ups and downs as I explain below.

Actually, it does not really mean anything unless you live in the US and you haven’t filed your taxes yet. Then you are a week closer to the deadline. 

The word: maybe

In high school, I did not have exposure to coding. Due to my father’s influence, I was interested in computers especially Apple products like the Apple IIe and the Mac. When I went to college I knew I was going to major in mathematics, but I was also planning to combine that with something related to computer science. 

I understand why businesses offer money-back guarantees, but as a consumer I’m not really a fan. I don’t want my money back. I want your product to work the way you say it should work. That said, I will still take my money back as an alternative to holding a product that does not work.

I was inspired by a recent post by @santhoshguru discussing the value of social media. 

If you want to improve any aspect of your life, you have to measure it so you can track your progress.

I have wasted a lot of time in work meetings. Not all meetings are bad, but I have learned to avoid bad meetings as much as possible. When I’m in a bad meeting, I can’t help but to hear the line from Pacino in the movie Heat where he is walking away from a meetup with his informant and screams out, “Don’t waste my #!%!^$#! time!!”

In his book Tribe of Mentors, Tim Ferriss details his interviews with high performers. In the interview with designer extraordinaire Debbie Millman, Debbie explains her thoughts about being busy. 

I suppose this advice is impossible in Ireland if you have your heart set on going to a bar since all bars by definition are Irish.

I recently read that the average person will spend six months of his or her life waiting for red lights to turn green. I suppose this is a small price to pay for the convenience of owning one’s own vehicle and having the freedom to drive virtually anywhere.

I am always looking at techniques and devices to biohack myself and improve health. One of my recent experiments has been with red light therapy.

I could have used the title “Don’t stop.” What’s the difference between “don’t stop” and “keep going?”

Focusing on the process and steps rather than the end goal.

I travel for work and stay in a lot of hotels. In 4.5 years of traveling, I have stayed 743 nights in hotel rooms. For my first client I stayed at a Marriott property, which is where I have accumulated all my stays ever since. 

I know people who are obsessed with titles. They care more about having a particular title than about the responsibilities of the job itself. I once got an email from someone whose signature line had six different acronyms. I guess I was supposed to be impressed by this, but instead I had less esteem for that person out of the gate. 

There is a lot of advice circulating about how to choose the right people to keep around you. There is the saying that you are the average of the five people with whom you spend the most time. Some people say only surround yourself with people who know more than you do or people who are more successful than you. 

Now more than ever we have a multitude of ways to learn new things. In addition to traditional learning in a classroom or instructor-led training, we have self-paced online courses, YouTube videos, podcasts, books, Facebook groups, the list goes on and on. The challenge with learning on your own is that if you never learned how to learn, you are not going to be efficient and make the best use of your time.

A former co-worker of mine was just laid off from her job. Her husband also works full time so thankfully she is not in dire straights. For too many people, though, losing a job is devastating.

So of course @jasonleow had to pick the topic of pizza, my favorite food and sadly the food I will have to give up as I embark on a journey to change my diet and improve my health. 

When you mentioned people who have too many books to read, in my mind I raised my hand and displayed a sheepish grin. That said, I do think there is value in reading a really good book more than once.

In a previous post I wrote about how to determine the diet that works best for you. One of the tools I am using is from a company called Viome. I submitted a stool sample, which the company uses to perform an analysis of the microbiome. 

Most people start their careers in entry-level jobs making minimum wage or a modest amount. The dream, of course, is to do a good job, get promoted, and eventually make more money. 

I use my debit card for one activity only–withdrawing cash from an ATM. Notice I didn’t say ATM machine since that redundancy drives me crazy. I also only use what I consider a “trusted” ATM, usually at a bank. I don’t trust those stand-alone ATM’s in gas stations and random locations. I have Ally Bank, and I can use any bank’s ATM and be reimbursed up to $10 per statement in fees automatically.

Sometimes people like to apply the knowledge they have today to some situation they had in the past. “Well, if only I knew about that then!” The phrase commonly used is “Hindsight is 20/20.” While this technique may scratch some mental itch, it is not productive because you can’t change the past.

As Leonardo DiCaprio’s character stated in Django Unchained, “You had my curiosity but now you have my attention.”

It is the last day of the month, and I have already heard three different people say a variation of “Where did the month go? It feels like we just started February!”

When you work at home, you sometimes forget the necessary things when you go into the office.

Thoughts are real and what you focus on expands. With this in mind, it makes sense to figure out a way to analyze your thoughts and slowly change the way you think to improve all aspects of your life.

I listened to the latest episode of Seth Godin’s podcast Akimbo and heard a statistic that shocked me.

“You’ve heard of MADD, right? Mothers Against Drunk Driving?” Jake liked using that line to strike up conversations with random strangers next to him at a bar. He was pushing fifty but he could still pass for late 30’s on a good day. On a bad day, he’s a photocopy of Nick Nolte’s mugshot.

We have had record cold temperatures in Arizona along with a lot of rain, and this weather change has given me a sinus headache. 

When I was a kid my mom told me, “Finish everything on your plate. People are starving. Don’t waste food.” So that’s how I grew up. Eating everything on my plate regardless of how much food was piled on there and whether or not I was full. That habit has been very hard to break, and even as an adult I still hear my mom’s voice when I see food still on the plate.

I’m supposed to stay away from fast food. For the most part I do, but I admit sometimes I have caved in.

This article explains a productivity secret from Jerry Seinfeld. Jerry said he realized that in order to be a better comic he needed to create better jokes. The way to create better jokes was to write every day. To accomplish this, Jerry used a simple calendar system.

I’m not a mechanic. I know how to operate a vehicle and get from one place to another. I just need the car to work. If I can get by without ever opening the hood, I’m happy.

I recently read this blog post by James Altucher regarding his version of the 1% Rule. The idea is that you can’t become a master in one day. It takes time to build skills and get to the level you want.

I was going to eviscerate Valentine’s Day today, but in the spirit of gratitude for the topic of the week I will play nice.

I’m an Apple fan. I was an Apple fan before it was cool and then not cool to be an Apple fan. I wrote about my Apple story on Medium. 

Lexus has designed an all-white tire. It looks to be a proof of concept and not actually designed for mass manufacturing. This got me thinking, why are all car tires black (except for some with white walls)?

Most impact on your life.

I find the more books and articles I read and the more podcasts I listen to, the more ideas I have to write about. When the well is dry sitting at a blank post for 200WAD, that tells me I have been slacking off with other activities. @BasileSamel mentioned that he gets ideas from writing, but it doesn’t usually work that way for me. 

The hack is after you have finished writing your piece, delete the first paragraph and the last paragraph. Here is the theory behind the hack. When you are writing the first paragraph, you don’t really know yet how the piece will shape up. You might be trying to overcome writer’s block to get started. You haven’t gotten into the true telling of you story yet. If you delete it, then you will start quicker with the story.

Taking time to enjoy things.

Forget the letter to my younger self. I need to communicate to myself in the present day and hopefully to my future self who will return to this post for reminders.

According to Dr. Caroline Leaf, it takes around twenty-one days to rewire neural pathways to begin building a new way of thinking, and another forty-two days to establish a new habit based on the chemical changes that occur in the brain. This adds up to a total of 63 days for a fully-formed new habit.

Greetings have become automatic. The questions and the answers are really just filler. 

I have previously written about how notifications are big distractions. My recommendation is to eliminate as many non-critical notifications as possible so that you can focus on the task at hand.

The other day I was scrolling on either Facebook or Instagram and saw an ad for a sleep mask. Apparently the algorithms have figured out that I have a big interest in the topic of sleep. It just so happens I was coming off a particularly bad week on the road with a hotel room that was not conducive to good sleep. It turns out a sleep mask is something I need to add to my sleep routine on the road.

I went many years before I had my first professional massage. I am not sure why I waited so long. I used to save massages for special occasions like a visit to the spa on vacation. Now I have massages at least once a month.

Well that month went by fast. Now is a good time to pause and reflect on how 2019 is going so far.

I love my AirPods. I found out that the AirPods are the best reviewed Apple product in history. I can understand why. AirPods exemplify the concept that “they just work.”

I’m in hotel rooms a lot. I was trying to remember the last time I turned on the TV in a hotel room. It was the day of the funeral for George H.W. Bush December 5, 2018. My client was closed that day, so I worked from the hotel and watched the historic event. Prior to that, I cannot remember the last time I turned the TV on in a hotel room.

My financial planner sent me an email to sign in to the portal with all my information. I could not find the email, so I checked my junk mail folder. 

When I didn’t used to travel a lot, I was terrible at packing. It was like it was my first time packing every time I did it. I packed way more than I needed, often with the end result of at least one checked bag. And I still forgot things that I needed.

The theme for the “Power Weekend” training event I am attending this weekend is Momentum. I would like to provide a summary of some of the interesting points from Saturday, which happen to be in sets of three.

I’m a math major. When I graduated from college I joined a program called Teach for America and taught junior high for two years. After that, I had to figure out what to do for a career. Then 9/11 happened and I was jobless for several months. After applying at seven different temp agencies, I finally got a placement at a health insurance company. Not because I knew anything about medical claims, but because I am a fast typer. Eighteen years later I am in the same industry.

This weekend I am in Birmingham, Alabama. I am here for what I like to call a “Power Weekend.” The company with which I am affiliated offers four major training events each year. This is my third event since joining in June of 2018.

I was listening to episode #560 of Bulletproof Radio, the podcast hosted by Dave Asprey. His guest was Satchin Panda, PhD, a leading expert in Circadian biology. Satchin said something very interesting:

I wrote recently about getting uncomfortable. One of the ways I have gotten uncomfortable recently is enduring cryotherapy. I have done seven sessions so far and did three in a row this week with one more planned today.

I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.

Yesterday I asked if someone would get a haircut from a bald barber. Today I would like to outline my methodology for selecting professionals who will be providing me with important products and/or services.

Would you get a haircut from a bald barber? I have, but only because I’m pretty much bald myself so I don’t have much to lose. But for people who have a full head of hair, do you judge how good a barber or hair stylist is based on how they maintain their own hair?

I recently saw an article announcing that Nabisco is releasing a limited edition version of the Oreo cookie called “The Most Stuf.” For those unfamiliar with Oreo cookies, these cookies are comprised of two thin chocolate wafer cookies with cream in the middle. 

Apparently, there is something called a “Super Blood Wolf Moon Eclipse” occurring this evening in North America. A lunar eclipse occurs when the earth is between the moon and the sun as opposed to a solar eclipse in which the moon is between the earth and the sun. You can stare at a lunar eclipse without harm. You shouldn’t stare at a solar eclipse without special glasses. A certain President did not heed this advice during the last solar eclipse.

How well did you sleep?

A couple weeks ago I was on the sky train at the airport on the way to the terminal from the parking garage. I noticed there was an airline employee identifiable by the photo badge he had strapped to his arm. It was amazing to see the contrast. In his photo, he was staring right at the camera with a big, enthusiastic smile. In person, he was slouched over, looked like did not get enough sleep, and was mindlessly scrolling through his phone.

The good and the bad.

A friend of mine recently told me that he gave his notice to leave the company. We work for the same company, and he is the one who referred me originally. I was surprised when he told me, but after he explained his reasoning it made sense. Our jobs as consultants require us to travel, and this no longer works for him and his family responsibilities. 

Traditional cow’s milk has become very controversial. Does milk do a body good as the dairy industry suggests? Should you drink whole milk, 2%, 1%, or skim? What about non-pasteurized milk? Of course all of it is out the window for people who are lactose intolerant.

I have participated in many different projects over the years. Some projects were small in scope and short term. Other projects were major implementations. There is a common element to many of these projects. Usually toward the end of the project or right after the project is finished, there is a meeting with everyone to talk about “lessons learned.” The stated intent of the meeting is to have an open discussion about the project itself. People want to know what went wrong, what went well, what could have gone better. Someone may even take notes. 

When I was between assignments I noticed an interesting thing about the days of the week. They tended to all blend together. Weekdays did not seem much different from weekends. Several people who are freelancers or do not have typical jobs commented the same thing. It appears that a traditional job is what drives this feeling.

As they say, all good things come to an end. I completed my work for my last client on 12/31/18 and have been on the “bench.” It’s been great having two weeks without a regular “job” dictating my schedule. I have been able to establish a morning routine, daily habits, and keep working on my goals for 2019.

I know a lot of hard workers. They put in many hours at the office, often without getting any extra pay for any hours worked beyond 40 in a week. These same people also work hard for others. They take care of their families. They are the first ones willing to help a friend in need. These are great people with good intentions. The problem is that they are so focused on working hard and helping everyone else that they neglect themselves.

Yes, I am writing about another first-world problem. I get a lot of junk mail. It seems unavoidable at this point. The worst junk mail is the kind that has your personal information because ideally, you need to shred it. It may sound old school since so much is online now, but I still make it a practice to shred documents with personal information. 

My current answer is “too many.” But I’m going to change that.

Every once in a while an idea occurs to me that makes me chuckle. Usually, it is something completely absurd. I thought I would share one of those with you today to give you a peek into how my mind sometimes works.

Yesterday I posted a pic on Instagram of me standing in a cryotherapy tank holding a sign that said #getuncomfortable. If you want to see it, find me on Instagram @Lobacrow.

In the region of the United States where I live, a company called Waymo is testing self-driving vehicles. Waymo started as the Google Self-Driving Car project in 2009. These white SUV’s and minivans are easy to spot with the logos and extra machinery bolted on the top and sides of the vehicle. There is always someone in the driver’s seat to take over if needed, but I believe most of the time the car is supposed to be operating autonomously. 

I used to only use airplane mode on my phone for the intended purpose. Now, I use it all the time, and it has helped me stay focused and eliminate distractions.

I have a running joke with a buddy that unemployed people dread weekends while people who have regular jobs can’t wait for weekends. My theory is that during the week, unemployed people have the upper hand. They don’t have the shackles of a job dictating the structure of each day. They can wake up and go to bed whenever they want. They can run errands during the day when most people are occupied.

We all want to be healthy. We all have a pretty good idea of how to be healthy with various lifestyle choices. So the desire is there. The knowledge is there. What stops us from actually making it happen?

Now that I have had a few days of my own time in between assignments, I realize that notifications are frequent distractions that kill focus.

Outside of holidays or vacation, if it’s a weekday I am working, Which is why today is unusual in that I am not working for a client. I am a consultant in the health insurance IT space, and my company uses a concept known as “the bench.” What is great about the bench is that I still get paid my salary even if I am not currently assigned to a client.

One of my goals for 2019 is to use a daily planner and get very focused on setting goals and establishing daily habits. I am using Michael Hyatt’s Full Focus Planner, and I purchased his book Your Best Year Ever, which has his 5-step plan for achieving your most important goals. I am sharing these five steps that I am using as a framework for setting goals for 2019.

I am grateful for finding 200wordsaday and the community of great people who are inspired and inspiring. It has been great to have a tool to help me start a daily writing habit. 

Learn to work harder on yourself than you do on your job. If you work hard on your job you’ll make a living, if you work hard on yourself you can make a fortune.–Jim Rohn

Today is a new day. You still have memories from the previous days, months, years, and of course, you are going to bring that “baggage” to the new day. Some of the “baggage” is good. Your good habits, your streaks, your positive accomplishments. Some of the “baggage” is bad. 

I have no idea what’s going on today but the site was extremely slow for all my devices through my supposedly fast 40 MB internet connection. The only way I could access the site to publish today was to use my phone with WiFi turned off. 

For some reason when I pull up the website for a split second I just see X’s instead of the amount of time left. For that split second I have a mild sense of panic as I get closer to the deadline. Usually I complete my daily writing well before the deadline, which happens to be later afternoon my time. Still, it’s nice to know how much time is left.

Have you ever gotten a song stuck in your head? It happens to me sometimes, and my solution is to actually listen to the song. Somehow listening to the song enables my brain to release it.

Recently I watched an episode of The Big Interview with Dan Rather who interviewed Simon Cowell. For many years Simon was one of the infamous judges on American Idol. He also created the show The X Factor. Needless to say, he is quite successful.

The last week of the year, particularly Dec 25 through Dec 31, is a unique time. People are on vacation from work and kids are on holiday from school. Many people are rightfully spending time with family and friends, some perhaps making up for lack of spending time throughout the year. 

It’s that time of the year. In the office, you arrive at your desk and find various envelopes with your name on them. In your mailbox, you sift through all the catalogs and find more festive envelopes. For some reason, many people continue to carry on the long tradition of sending holiday/Christmas cards. 

Just when you think you have a nice routine and you have momentum to accomplish daily goals, life intervenes and challenges you. 

We are living in a world full of noise. This is especially true in the US considering our current President. At this point when someone tells me something about Trump, my response is usually, “It’s just that guy from The Apprentice.”

Last night I finally went to go see Bohemian Rhapsody, the biopic of Freddie Mercury and the band Queen. If you are a music fan, I would encourage you to go see it. Try to avoid reviews and people’s opinions and judge the movie for yourself. That said I will offer a few of my thoughts.

The other day I pulled up to a stoplight and looked at the drivers in the cars around me. The driver in front of me, the one to my left, the one to my right, and the one behind me ALL were using smartphones. So much for the message to stop texting and driving.

For over two years I have been working for a client in Baltimore, Maryland even though I live in Arizona. This week is my last week onsite. Here are some random thoughts about my experiences here.

I work in the health insurance industry, and sometimes I get emails from people who have multiple titles or credentials listed after their names. They could be doctors or nurses or social workers or project managers. My rule is the more letters that appear after someone’s name, the more I will be skeptical of that person until I know him or her.

It is easy to get caught up in daily life and work. There are always tasks to complete and not enough time to get everything don

Almost without fail, I get asked this question multiple times at the end of the week. Why do you people ask you what you are doing this weekend?

First my apologies to PETA, the organization that has determined this well-known phrase should be changed to the more animal-friendly “put all your berries in one bowl.”

We have all heard some version of this advice about the path of life. Do well in school to get into a good college to graduate and get a good job and work hard and save money so that when you turn 65 you can enjoy “retirement.” 

When is the last time you went through the dial of your local radio stations? Let’s assume we are talking FM stations because AM radio went out with powdered wigs. I get suckered in to listening to the radio because it’s free and convenient. It’s the thing that comes on right away when you turn it on in your car. No connecting your phone to a cord or using bluetooth. 

I was talking with a friend the other day who was deliberating about what to have for lunch. He could go out to eat, have leftovers, or make a new meal. I said how about just don’t eat. Skip a meal and see how you feel. He looked at me dumbfounded as if I had suggested he leap off a tall building.

Everyone loves an underdog story. That’s why you hear these stories so often. Someone tells you about when he was a teenager and was told he was a loser and worthless and would never amount to anything. Then as an adult, he is wildly successful and credits part of his success to being motivated by all the naysayers and people who told him he’d never make it. It’s a classic story that inspires people.

In high school, I remember seeing all these different posters on the wall in the library. The posters depicted various celebrities with books in their hands and pithy quotes and phrases. The one that comes to mind is one of actor Edward James Olmos that had the quote, “Leer es poder.” This literally translates to “reading is power.” 

No it isn’t!? Well I suppose it depends on when you are reading this post. I’m writing this on December 8th yet I’m saying today is January 1st. Here is why.

You are what you focus on. Or put another way, what you focus on expands. This means that wherever you choose to direct your focus has a major effect on where your life is going. Yes, I said choose because you control your mind. Your mind can be reprogrammed similar to a computer, but it takes some work and consistent applying of habits.

Why is it so hard to commit to goals or activities that you truly want to accomplish? Maybe deep down it’s something you really do not want? Perhaps, but I think there is a better answer.

Here’s an idea. I’m wondering why it hasn’t been done yet.