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Category Archives: Business


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Something to Ponder…(or, Work- & Self-Management)

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Yesterday’s Conscious Quote spoke about the fact that there are only 24 hours in a day; choose your actions wisely. Much like our earlier post, “Tick & Flow”, Parthasarathy speaks of time as mutable in nature.

And it is.

To help balance my own work day, I do things outside the office to help me stay fully present in my work day. I run, practice yoga, and have at least 5 books going at any given time. At first glance, it may seem ridiculous that someone could do all of this on top of a busy, demanding job in one week day.

But hey, it all gets done.

And, while I find these tasks enjoyable, they also take focus, time and energy.

A good friend (and also yoga teacher) gave me a book called “Governing Business & Relationships,” by A. Parthasarathy. A scholar of Eastern Philosophy, Parthasarathy says that when we complain about “time management,” the actual issue is work- and self-management, and that should be the priority.

“Time Management = Work management = Self Management”

I find it quite easy (and rather satisfying) to complain about a bevy of external vagaries that somehow “got in the way” of the work I was supposed to be doing (hello, procrastination). But rather than focusing on the outside environment, the real work is about inner discipline.

This is what is meant as “self-management.”

So, if things keep getting in the way or your work, perhaps it’s time for a “software update.” This updated programming will have a few layers that help build a solid foundation for effective action. I like to use a model concocted by one of my favorite TED speakers, Simon Sinek. Sinek says to “start with why.”

In other words, think of your work projects and/or career in this order:

1. Why are you doing what you’re doing? What’s the motive, the mission?

2. What is it that you actually need to do? What do you want to do?

3. How will you take action? What’s the game plan?

Basic questions, big results. Ask yourself these in any situation where you find yourself stuck, and observe what comes up. You might be happily surprised at the effect on your work day and life!

More on this subject (“Why?”) coming up – stay tuned.

Namaste, @cjpatryck


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Friday, May 31: Week in Review

LIFE

set your imagination freeThe Benefits of Boredom

No matter how old – and busy – I get in life, when summer rolls around, I still think of the leisure of the season as a kid. As much as I looked forward to the open-ended days of running wild, however, at some point I’d inevitably find myself bored. My best friend would be away on vacation. The weather would be too consistent. Whatever the case, I’d find myself feeling like I’d seen and done all there was to do a million times over. I’d mope and grumble (gaining no sympathy in the process). In those days, there was no gadgetry to surrender attention to. It was mostly the power of invention and imagination – the two best aspects of childhood if you ask me. Eventually, I’d conjure something good enough to get out of my funk. In fact, my greatest schemes and misadventures seem to have came out of those lulls. The thought makes me wonder: in this age of easy preoccupation, do we undervalue boredom?
Read more here.

url-5The Only Thing Better Than a Fireworks Show Is a Fireworks Competition

There’s something wonderful about watching things blow up in sparkly, colorful explosions. You might even have your own little display over the holiday weekend. But this explosive timelapse video of the massive annual International Fireworks Competition in Da Nang, Vietnam will make your backyard show look puny by comparison.

Over two nights, five firework shows from the top manufacturers from the U.S., Russia, Japan, Italy, and Vietnam light up the Han River. The winner takes home a prestigious trophy, but really, everyone wins at a fireworks competition.Read more here.

bloodcellsDoes Your Blood Type Determine Your Optimal Diet?

I get a lot of emails about the “Eat Right For Your Type” diet, also known as the blood type diet, which asserts that specific optimal diets exist for each blood type. In this post, I’ll take a look at whether there’s anything to this idea, and whether you should change the way you’re eating based on whether you’re Type O, A, B or AB.

The proposed diets all tend to be pretty decent, whole foods-based ways of eating, and they’re all better than the standard American diet of industrial processed junk, but differences do exist. Here’s the basic breakdown of all four blood type diets…Read more here.

JJH_8333-1.jpg.400x300_q85_crop-smartGrilled portobello mushrooms stuffed with sauteed leeks and spinach [Vegan]

I can’t pass up a grilled portobello mushroom, especially when it is stuffed full with sauteed leeks and spinach. Talk about a hearty summer main dish. This recipe is extra flavorful thanks to the balsamic vinegar mixed in with the leeks and spinach. The melted cheese on top is a delicious addition. I added roasted red peppers with the cheese topping for a little extra flavor.
Read more here.


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FYI Friday, May 24: Week in Review

LIFE

ku-xlarge-1Why Your Ears Pop (And What to Do If They Don’t)

The surface of the Earth is covered in a thick atmospheric soup. Though only a fraction of the density of our oceans, the atmosphere behaves much the same way. Just as water pressure increases the deeper you go, air pressure increases the closer you get to sea level. In both cases, that’s because as you go deeper, you’ve got more and more air/water above pushing down on you. FULL ARTICLE.

ENVIRONMENT

dot1.jpg.400x300_q85_crop-smartMore Proof That Bike Lanes Boost Business

In any discussion about installing bike lanes the argument often is put forward that they are bad for business, what with the loss of parking spaces and the increased difficulty of loading and deliveries. But what if this is completely backwards? TreeHugger alluded to this in How bicycles bring business to your community and There IS a Bicycle Economy, Two Cities Find, but here is the real proof from New York’s Department of Transportation.
FULL ARTICLE.

ku-xlargeA Wind-Powered Factory That Makes Chairs, Scarves, and Pillows

It’s not often that we get to talk about engineering and knitting in the same sentence. But Merel Karhof, a Dutch-by-way-of-London designer, is an expert in both.You might remember Karhof from her 2010 project, the Wind Knitting Factory, a knitting machine powered by a small windmill. Built entirely from scratch, Karhof’s the four-foot-wide mill leveraged the wind to power a small, circular loom, which churns out scarves and textiles with a quiet mechanical speed. Karhof “harvests” the fabric every day or two (depending on the weather) and sells them on her website—along with a tag that indicates how long it took to knit.FULL ARTICLE.

HEALTH

JJH_3962-1.jpg.400x300_q85_crop-smartThe “Anything Goes” Savory Tomato and Bean Stew (Vegan.. if you want)

I’ve been doing The Cooking Project for about two months now, and with nearly 50 different recipes tried and tested during that time, this non-recipe couldn’t have been a better celebration of what I’ve learned about cooking so far. This stew is all about cooking intuitively, figuring out what flavors you like and what will mix well together, and knowing how to use what you already have in the cupboards.
FULL ARTICLE.

StrongmadesimpleTracyCrawling, Balancing, Rolling: The Importance of Practicing Natural Movements

My job is essentially to get people to have fun. I am a MovNat Natural Movement Certified Trainer and Parkour coach at True Nature Training who uses play and unconventional programming to get people active without realizing they are getting a workout. It’s so common to get stuck in our fitness routines. Push ups, pull ups, squats, and sprints are all obvious choices for a primal fitness program, but when we get bored or hit a plateau it can help to widen your repertoire to introduce new things. In many cases, this great “new thing” is actually very old. Natural movement is a movement philosophy with a set of principles defined and popularized by Erwan Le Corre, founder of MovNat, and based on natural human movements that we have evolved doing. Our ancestors had to crawl, climb, run, jump and more just to survive. Yet…FULL ARTICLE.


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FYI Friday, May 17: Week in Review

LIFE

Stash-Shorts1 Keep Your Gadgets Dry With These Waterproof Shorts

Many of us protect our gadgets from clumsy falls and nicks with protective cases. But when your precious smartphone gets wet from the elements or from an unfortunate drop down the toilet, sometimes there’s no going back. Salt Lake City-based Stash Incorporated has designed waterproof pocket shorts that are designed to keep your phone and other pocket items dry. It could be convenient for those summertime activities: relaxing at the beach, a trip to the water park or for mindlessly running through the sprinklers. FULL ARTICLE.

ENVIRONMENT

imgres-1 People Can Actually Afford “That Expensive Electric Car”

You know the Tesla Model S, the $70,000 (and-up) electric car that “nobody can afford”? Well, evidently, more than a few people can afford it. In fact, in the first quarter of this year, more people bought a Tesla Model S than bought any of the similarly priced gasoline-powered cars from the top three German luxury brands, according to data from LMC Automotive. About 4,750 buyers bought a Model S while just over 3,000 people bought Mercedes’ top-level sedan. FULL ARTICLE.

HEALTH

chefWhy It’s Important to Cook Your Own Meals

When was the last time you made a great meal? From-scratch prep, serious gratification result. This morning? Last week? Last month? Although I imagine Primal folks cook much more often than most non-Primal types, we all get caught up in the busyness of life. Eating – even healthy eating – often gets boiled down to convenience and strategy. I get it. Few of us have the luxury of basking in culinary ventures at every meal (myself included), but I do find real cooking to be an underappreciated indulgence – and there’s the rub. FULL ARTICLE.

FOOD

mayrecipes-sm.jpg.662x0_q100_crop-scale 15 Easy recipes for eating local and vegetarian in May

Eating healthful meals during busy weekdays can be as easy as throwing a few in-season ingredients into a casserole dish and putting it in the oven. We’ve gathered 10 great late-Spring recipes from soups and sautés, from salads to breads. Enjoy! FULL ARTICLE.


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Conscious Quote

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“All successful people men and women are big dreamers. They imagine what their future could be, ideal in every respect, and then they work every day toward their distant vision, that goal or purpose.”

-Brian Tracy

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