Janet was asking me about “this NLP stuff” (as she called it) and how she could apply some of the principles to her business in order to increase sales.

Needless to say…

Our “30-minute lunch” quickly became a 3 1/2 hour NLP lesson on how she could make a few small adjustments and increase her number of clients without spending any money on advertising or doing much extra work.

I wish I would have recorded our conversation because she asked question after question and we were able
to free flow some really good ideas that she has already started to implement in his business.

Of course, this got me thinking…

If my friend (who regularly attends world-class sales trainings) got this much value out of applying a few simple NLP principles, so will A LOT of other business owners and sales professionals.

Over the next few weeks I’d love to share some NLP sales-increasing ideas with my blog readers, AND I want to make sure that this topic is something you are really interested in.

If you do want to learn more on how to use NLP to grow your business then take a few minutes
to tell me about your situation and give me some input on what you would like to learn. Email directly at mail@carmenisais.com.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

One of the by-products of our sedentary & isolated contemporary life is the growing epidemic of depression. Over 120 million people worldwide are affected by the black dog of depression, as Sir Winston Churchill described it. Depression is one of the leading causes of disability, missed work, broken relationships and more. Chances are you or someone you know will suffer from it in your lifetime. It is truly one of the most devastating of dis-eases (not at ease!) in that it robs you of the ability to simply enjoy life.

Activities that you used to enjoy leave you feeling empty. Interacting with friends, family and coworkers can be overwhelming. It’s hard to imagine GTD (Getting Things Done), when just GOB (getting out of bed) seems like a chore. So what can we do?

Traditional routes of therapy and even medication are effective and should definitely be considered if depression is disrupting your life. However there are other, natural steps to take that can, over time, be very effective. In fact, some studies have shown these to be as effective (or more so) than traditional therapies. As an added bonus these are good lifestyle changes that will enhance anyone’s life, depressed or not, and most don’t cost a thing! Studies have shown that primitive people get much more exposure to an active & healthy lifestyle than we do and hence they have no, or very little, depression. Attempts to study depression in primitive tribes found nothing to study. The same attempts to study depression in the Amish found very little.

Changing your lifestyle to be more like those of our primal ancestors can work wonders in battling the blues. Pick one of these and do it for a week. Add a new one each following week until you’re doing all of them. Keep doing them. They compliment one another. Doing one will help you do another which will help you feel better. Turn them in to a routine like brushing your teeth, so that they become a part of your daily life. You don’t think about them, you just do them! Here are the very practical caveman therapies for modern men and women.

• Get outside. Our caveman friends saw lots of daylight; getting up at sunrise and going to sleep at sunset. Exposure to bright sunlight for 30 minutes a day either through sunlight or a light made for this, helps keep your internal clock set. This circadian rhythm helps to regulate our sleep/wake cycle and insures a good night’s sleep which in turn, helps our physical and mental health. Don’t wear sunglasses though; the exposure must come through your eyes!
• Aerobic Exercise. Primitive folks had to forage or work in the fields for their food. 30 minutes at least 3 times a week means those ‘runner’s high’ endorphins get released regularly. It’s also a good way to work through and release stress. You don’t have to run a marathon, just get your heart rate up to your target range – around 120 to 160 beats per minute depending on your age and condition. Walking works wonders. Get your doctor’s approval first!
• Omega-3 fatty acids. 1,000 mg daily. Omega-3’s aid in the brain’s neuron connectivity. Enteric coated capsules help prevent burping the fishy tasting oil but you can also freeze them. Throw in a good multi-vitamin and avoid overly processed foods in favor of complex carbohydrates (whole grains), fish, free range meats, & vegetables and you’re good to go. 4. Sleep. Change your sleep routine so that it’s more conducive to a good night’s rest. Turn your lights down and go to bed at the same time everynight. Turn the t.v. off. Engage in calming, quiet activities like reading, taking a warm bath, etc. Avoid caffeine and alcohol. Don’t work late or do other stressful activities that cause your mind to race. Remember a tired body and quiet mind are the requirements for quality sleep.
• Socialize. Remember the Amish farmer has his family and community to fall back on for support. There’s no reason you can’t too. Involve yourself with close friends and family. You don’t have to engage in heavy conversations about your plight, just have fun. Keep it simple and go to a movie, visit an art gallery or museum, go to a ball game, grab a cup of coffee or have a meal together. Just be with other people and your feelings of isolation will fade. Do this face to face (not online!) and do it regularly.
• Watch your thinking! Anti-rumination strategy is vital to breaking out of depression and other emotional ruts. Become aware of those times you dwell on the negatives in your life – both real or imagined – and stop them. It takes work and persistence but if you constantly tell yourself to ’stop it’ when you start to go over and over the negatives, then you are building a positive habit that will change your life for the better. Whether it’s the jerk who cut you off in traffic or something a little closer to home, don’t give yourself the luxury of a negative thought.

To read more excellent posts from John, check out his blog, Walking the Black Dog.

Business Services Coaching

The Business Services Coach (Real Estate Agents, CPA’s, Financial Advisors, Attorneys and other service providers) – as an add-on to their traditional services acts as a trusted specialist advisor and guides their clients and/or other practitioners through strategic planning and related personal management issues.

Business Development Coaching

The Small Business Development Coach works with the busy owner/manager/entrepreneur trying to better manage and grow his/her business enterprise.

Sales Coaching

The Sales Coach assists Sales Managers and sales professionals to enhance their performance levels, personal skills and client relationship capabilities.

Career Coaching

The Career Coach assist clients in working on areas such as: finding career/job development and direction, life purpose, personal satisfaction, life/work balance, job search strategies etc.

Communication Coaching

The Communication Coach works with individuals, groups, and organizations in the areas related to preparing and communicating effective public/media presentations by increasing communication effectiveness through a variety of methods including improved listening, presentations, leading and participating in dialogs, writing, and non-verbal communication etc.

 
Tertiary Coaching

The Tertiary Coach works with university/college students, staff, and faculty members to navigate through their learning workplace and develop their career.

Breathing can transform your life.

If you feel stressed out and overwhelmed, breathe. It will calm you and release the tensions.

If you are worried about something coming up, or caught up in something that already happened, breathe. It will bring you back to the present.

If you are discouraged and have forgotten your purpose in life, breathe. It will remind you about how precious life is, and that each breath in this life is a gift you need to appreciate. Make the most of this gift.

If you have too many tasks to do, or are scattered during your workday, breathe. It will help bring you into focus, to concentrate on the most important task you need to be focusing on right now.

If you are spending time with someone you love, breathe. It will allow you to be present with that person, rather than thinking about work or other things you need to do.

If you are exercising, breathe. It will help you enjoy the exercise, and therefore stick with it for longer.

If you are moving too fast, breathe. It will remind you to slow down, and enjoy life more.

So breathe. And enjoy each moment of this life. They’re too fleeting and few to waste.

—

Tip: Put the word “Breathe” as a screensaver or desktop pic, or put it up as a note on your wall or fridge or on your desk. Then do it every time you see the word.

While working long hours and cranking out a lot of widgets is one way to go, another is to work on important things, to create amazing things, and then to relax.

I’m not saying you should surf the web all day, or take naps all afternoon … but why not? Why not enjoy a lovely nap? Why not take a long lunch and then a siesta? Why not enjoy a good book?

I get people who ask me all the time, “What should I do on those days when I can’t seem to be productive?”

My answer: “Enjoy it!”

Sure, we need to produce sometimes, especially if we have to pay the bills, but an obsession with productivity is unhealthy. When you can’t get yourself to be productive, relax. Let go of the need to be hyperefficient. Stop feeling guilty about enjoying yourself.

But what if you can’t motivate yourself … ever? Sure, that can be a problem. But if you relax, and enjoy yourself, you’ll be happier. And if you work when you get excited, on things you’re excited about, and create amazing things, that’s motivation. Not forcing yourself to work when you don’t want to, on things you don’t want to work on — motivation is doing things you love, when you get excited.

It’s how I work every day. I work on lots of projects, on things I really care about, with people I enjoy working with.

Simply put, there is too much emphasis these days on productivity, on hyperefficiency, on squeezing the most production out of every last minute.

People have forgotten how to relax. How to be lazy. How to enjoy life.

Try this: read some of the best books, magazines and blogs on productivity, and see how many will tell you how to get the most out of the time you spend waiting, how to maximize your energy, how to make use of your commute time, how to make every meeting more effective, how to get more out of your workday, how to crank out more widgets.

People are working longer hours, constantly checking their inboxes, constantly focused on Getting More Done.

But to what end?

Are we producing more in order to make more money for corporations? Or to make more money for ourselves? Or just to hold on to our jobs — jobs we might not like anyway?

It’s possible we’re trying to get more done because we love doing it — and if that’s the case, that’s wonderful. But even then, working long hours and neglecting the rest of life isn’t always the best idea. Sometimes it’s good to Get Less Done, to relax, to breathe.

How to Relax
It’s funny that I’d even need a section on this topic — how to relax. It seems like it should be something we all know how to do. After all, aren’t we constantly searching for ways to be less lazy? And doesn’t it logically follow that we already know how to be lazy?

It’s possible you already have mastered the art of relaxing.  And if so, congratulations. You are a Get Less Done master. All you need now, perhaps, is to let go of the guilt you might feel, and enjoy this relaxation.

But for those of you who have forgotten how to relax, you’re going to have a tougher time. Here’s a hint: don’t stress out about it. If you don’t know how to relax, it’s OK. Breathe. Take it slowly. One step at a time.

Some steps:

• Take 5 minutes to go outside for a walk. Breathe the fresh air.
• Give yourself more time to do things. More time means less rush.
• After work, get outside, take in nature, run around if you can.
• Play. Play like a child. Play with a child. Play when you work.
• Give yourself a day off. Sleep. Watch TV. Eat bon bons.
• At work, give yourself an hour off. Don’t try to be productive. Just have fun.
• Work with someone who is exciting. Get excited about a project.
• Take evenings off. Seriously, no working in the evenings.
• Get a massage.
• Breathe.

Step by step, learn to relax. Learn that productivity isn’t everything. Creating is great, but you don’t need to fill every second with work. When you do work, get excited, pour yourself into it, work on important, high-impact tasks … and then relax.

Editor’s note: This is a guest post written by Scott of the Modern Forager blog.

Why Has Eating Become So Difficult?

Along with sleep, what you eat is likely the biggest determinant of how healthy you are. Not exercise. Not supplements. Sleep and nutrition. We’re not here today to discuss sleep, but you probably need more of it, so go to bed…after you finish reading this and leaving a comment. Moving along now, the real question is: why is it so hard to figure out what we should be eating? A wolf doesn’t have a problem figuring out what is a healthy diet. A bird knows exactly what it should be eating. What’s our problem?

I think the answer is that most of what we’re presented with isn’t Real Food. When I walk through the grocery, I see lots of (to quote Michael Pollan) “edible food-like substances,” but precious little “food”. We’ve been convinced that the foods Nature has provided us are inadequate and need tweaking. We steer clear of fat, demonize carbs, and dissect food, then put it back together in unnatural ways, generally making sure that we never eat anything remotely resembling the foods our body recognizes.

Unfortunately, the laboratory has yet to outclass the foods that we evolved with. Couple that with our omnivorous ability to eat virtually anything and you have a recipe for confusion.

How To Simplify Eating

I really don’t think it’s all that difficult to figure out what to eat, however. It’s as simple as “Eat Real Food”. So what do I mean by Real Food? Simple…I mean foods that are in, or very near to, their natural state. Here’s a short list of guidelines to lead us to real foods:

Food grows and dies. It isn’t created.
Food rots, wilts, and becomes generally unappetizing, typically rather quickly.
Food doesn’t need an ingredient label (and probably isn’t in a package either).
Food doesn’t have celebrity endorsements.
Food doesn’t make health claims.
If you apply this list to your food shopping, you’ll probably realize that much of what passes your lips doesn’t pass muster.

Implementing It In Daily Life

All that is well and good, but the real key is being able to take the above guidelines and put them to work in your life without making eating a chore. I don’t know how it is outside of the United States, but here, we’re in love with our microwaves and convenience foods. The quicker dinner can be served, the quicker we can get back to more important things, like American Idol and work.

How can we eat unprocessed, unpackaged foods without spending our lives in the kitchen? There’s nothing ground-breaking about what I’m about to say. But as all of us know, simplicity and the basics are what works best.

Cooking At Home

When it comes to healthy eating, you just can’t beat your own kitchen. In fact, I’ll guarantee that the more you cook at home, the healthier you will be. Obviously though, having healthy foods on hand is imperative. If the food isn’t there when you’re hungry, it’s unlikely you’re going to go much out of your way to get it. The same rule you’ve heard over and over again applies: keep vegetables, fruits, and nuts on hand and ready to eat. Further, keep the Twinkies, cinnamon rolls, ice cream, and cereal out of the house, except when you’re treating yourself. If it’s there, you will eat it.

So quick access to the right foods is important, but boredom has killed the best laid dietary plans many more times. Food manufacturers have conditioned our taste buds to seek overly salty and sweet foods. It took me a long time to be able to enjoy the natural sweetness of a carrot. My eating pleasure really took a flying leap though when I figured out how to add flavor without sugar or salt. In a nutshell, love your herbs and spices. Find five or seven or ten go-to spices, keep them on hand, and try combining them in novel ways. Branch out and try others.

Here are a few of my favorites: garlic, basil, cumin, ginger, black pepper. And I’m currently eating lots of sage and rosemary that I’ve been picking up at the farmer’s market. The fun of learning to eat right is getting in the kitchen and seeing what new flavor combos you can create. I like cumin, soy sauce, and garlic together. What you come up with might be weird, but it’s all yours. Oh sure, you’re going to mess something up or create a meal that just ain’t quite right, but Rome wasn’t built in a day…or something like that.

And here’s another aspect of cooking that seems to scare many people off: you don’t have to be competing for the title of Iron Chef to cook delicious, healthy meals. In fact, most of what I cook are simple one-skillet meals where I saute an onion and something green (kale, Swiss chard, broccoli, etc) with ground beef (or other meats, like chicken), throw in a load of whatever spices I have on hand, perhaps a touch of tamari, and get on with eating. It doesn’t always have to be duck confit with a something-something reduction demi-glace.

Shopping

So where do you find all of this food? My favorite place is my friendly neighborhood farmer’s market (and by “neighborhood,” I mean “across town, but worth the drive”) where I can find fresh, seasonal produce, typically for about 1/3 less than I’d spend at the grocery. So the food is both cheaper and fresher. What else? A bigger benefit is that you are unlikely to find much of temptation there as the farmers are selling fruits, vegetables, herbs, spices, raw cheeses, and grass-fed meats and eggs, not pies, cookies, and bagels. Real food from real farmers.

 For me, a trip to the grocery is inevitable now and again though. For instance, I’m a big fan of olives and sardines, two items that just aren’t available fresh here in Louisville, KY. The key to the grocery store is sticking to the perimeter. Think about what you see on the outside of the store…meat, eggs, produce, nuts; all foods that are incredibly healthy and unprocessed. About the only thing I can think of worth venturing into the middle aisles for are things like the aforementioned olives and sardines, olive oil, vinegar, and things that you could make at home, but probably aren’t going to, like tomato sauce and coconut milk.

Resist the colorful packages with Spongebob Square Pants calling out to you. Resist the hottest celebrity flashing their tight body on the front of a package of Fritos. And reduce your marketing exposure by never exiting an aisle the same way you came into it. Once you enter, continue on through. It’s the second look that typically catches people and marketers know it.

Eating Out

Unfortunately, when dining out it’s more difficult to make sure you’re eating the right foods. You don’t know what kind of oils they’re using to cook. You don’t know what kind of seasonings are being added or in what quantities, though you can bet there’s a lot of salt. The food is probably not of the high quality that you demand in your own kitchen. You really don’t even know how fresh it is.

 First, resign yourself to paying a bit of money to eat well when eating out. Restaurants with higher quality and better food tend to be more expensive. O’Charley’s costs more than McDonald’s. Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse costs more than O’Charley’s. There’s a reason for both of these things. It doesn’t mean you have to pay $40 a plate. It does mean that relatively speaking, higher priced restaurants will probably be nicer to your waistline (and the damage to your wallet might keep you eating at home more often).

Okay, so you’re at a decent restaurant and looking to make the right choices. Where to start? First, keep the munchies out of sight. It’s perfectly acceptable to ask the server to remove the bread basket. I know, I know…it’s darn near blasphemy to go into a Mexican restaurant and not chow on chips and salsa (I’m guilty of this…we all have our vices!). And skip the appetizers. They’re rarely anything but processed crap.

Second, you know this rule: grilled or baked are better than fried. Grilled salmon, shrimp, steak, chicken. Also remember: you cannot go wrong with vegetables. Ditch the mashed potatoes and opt for a second serving of steamed vegetables. If you’re watching carbs, nix the rice in favor of broccoli. Most any sit-down restaurant is going to have a couple forms of vegetables from which to choose. Get olive oil and vinegar dressing for your salad. If you’re lucky, they’ll bring it to the table in two bottles, which you can then conveniently hang onto to add some flavor to your double order of steamed vegetables. You did order extra vegetables, didn’t you?

Now do you want one of my secrets to getting awesome food that is typically on the good side of healthy at good prices? Ethnic restaurants. And I don’t mean the Chinese buffet; I mean ethnic restaurants run by people that immigrated from the country. There is a Cuban restaurant here in Louisville called Havana Rumba that knocks the socks off of any pub fare you’ll ever sink your teeth into. Where else can I get a huge mound of pork marinated in lime and orange juices, olive oil, and spices? Try Ethiopian, Greek, and Irish fare for something new. You’ll taste novel new uses for spices that a burger and fries just can’t touch.

“Yeah, Yeah, Yeah…But WHAT Should I Eat?”

Okay, time to wrap up before Carmen gives me the hook. What foods do I associate with Real Food? Scroll back up and look at the list I tossed out under the second heading. Wow…quite a list huh? Seems to eliminate everything. Well, it does. Everything except meat, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seed, squashes, and tubers. I find that I’m better off without grains, but properly prepared (which is a whole other post), they can be a fine addition to your diet (though I’ll say that most breads and all boxed cereals do not fall into “properly prepared”).

Still think it’s restrictive? Let’s name some things that are most definitely Real Food: beef, chicken, turkey, pork, salmon, shrimp, crab, lobster, eggs, cheese. Spinach, kale, cucumbers, carrots, turnips, squash (spaghetti, butternut, and acorn to name a few), sweet potatoes, collard greens, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, onions, radishes, bok choi, olives, cabbage. (Deep breath.) Apples, bananas, cherries, melons, berries (straw, black, rasp, and blue), pears. Almonds, walnuts, pistachios, Brazil nuts. Coconut oil, palm oil, butter (yes, I said butter!), olive oil. And let’s not forget parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme, garam masala, curry powder, paprika, cumin, cinnamon, garlic, ginger, and nutmeg. If I were more creative, I’d have made it rhyme, but I think you get the point.

Frankly these foods are far more tasty, more versatile, and healthier than anything you’re going to find in a package. They are far better than the foods with “Now with added X” or “less saturated fat” or “low-carb” or “low-fat” written on the front.

And Finally, Enjoy Life

My final guideline is to let loose sometimes. As I mentioned above, I will tear through some chips and salsa (or better yet, guacamole). But I don’t go to a Mexican restaurant when I plan to stick to my guns and I don’t go all that often. Pick a few smart vices (like dark chocolate, good beer or wine, chips and salsa, ice cream, probably not Dunkin Donuts) and pepper them throughout your life to make things enjoyable. Frankly, life is too short to give up everything, but by being good 90% of the time, you’ll find that the other 10% doesn’t really hurt you and is far more enjoyable.

What other guidelines do you have? How do you motivate yourself to cook good food at home instead of grabbing processed convenience foods? How do you keep on the straight and narrow when you’re eating out?

Read more from Scott at his blog, Modern Forager.