I live on the polar opposite side of Winnipeg in relationship to our office. When I first started with the company I work for, back in Sep 2014, I tried various routes to the office and kept changing it up until I found the fastest route (growth). It didn’t take long for me to settle into a habitual driving routine (fixed); the exact same route set in stone.

Flash forward to today. I FLEX and work from home a fair amount and strategically plan my office visits to avoid driving during rush hours. Believe it or not, in little OL’ Winnipeg rush hours, I can be stuck in traffic 60-90 mins. I can make it to the office or back home in 35 minutes flat during off-peak hours. Yet, I still have the exact same route set in stone (fixed).

A few weeks back a colleague mentioned an IOS app to me called WAZE. It’s a GPS app that is different from what I have traditionally used; Google Maps or Apple’s built-in maps. She raved about the fact she could see areas of congestion, and as more and more people use the app, it can re-direct your route to speed up your drive times; the power of crowds and Artificial Intelligence.

Intrigued, I downloaded the app and decided to leave the office during a peak evening rush hour, knowing that just the previous week I had a grueling 90 min drive. Wow. I was all of sudden uncomfortable. I have always left the parking lot the same way, which I thought was the fastest route. Wrong! WAZE gave me 3 minutes back by exiting a different way and conducting a legal U-turn within 100 yards. I can honestly say, I felt a little silly that for over 2 years I didn’t know this and allowed myself to get stuck in an inefficient routine. At that point, I was fully committed to seeing this drive home through completely trusting the technology, no matter where it would take me.

5 minutes: Hey, I’m driving the same route… I must be smart.

8 minutes: WAZE tells me to turn up Broadway. I wanted to resist, as my brain was yelling at me that Broadway is always bumper to bumper at this time of day! I relented and took Broadway. I was WRONG again, sailed right through downtown Winnipeg saving at least 10-15 minutes.

22 minutes: At the end of Broadway, why am I turning right and going over the bridge, when I can turn left and take Provencher? It’s RIGHT there! Frustrated, but committed, I turned right and… Oh geez, traffic is moving way faster than on Provencher Blvd.

This happened over and over again until I was home.

Long story short, I made it home in just over 40 mins during peak rush hour, which surely would have taken me at best 60 minutes or more with my usual route. SUCCESS! Yes, it was uncomfortable at first, but success has a funny way of overriding short-term pain. Sitting in my driveway smiling, I thought to myself, “What else am I too comfortable with?”

Cheers,

Lee

PS. In case you want to give it a try, here is the link to Waze: GPS Navigation, Maps, Traffic & Directions by Waze Inc.

https://appsto.re/ca/Ywbrt.i

It gives a new meaning to walking the talk! If your job involves many SIT DOWN meetings, with one or a few other people, why not offer up a walking meeting.  Nothing more complicated than it sounds. Just walking and talking!

Personally, my meeting schedule can run from as low as fifteen meetings a week to as many as thirty. Some quick calculations suggests that if a person just converted a few 30 minute meetings a day to a walking meeting; that would translate into an additional 5 hours of exercise a week. That’s crazy talk!

I’m SOLD. I’ll be offering this up as an option for as many meetings as feasible. How about you? Are you into walking meetings?

References:

Stanford Study on Walking vs Sitting

Ted Talk on Walking Meetings

Steps Per 30 Minutes Doc

 Steps Per Mile 

Slow Dance

by David Weatherford http://www.davidlweatherford.com/

Have you ever watched kids on a merry-go-round,
or listened to rain slapping the ground?

Ever followed a butterfly’s erratic flight,
or gazed at the sun fading into the night?

You better slow down, don’t dance so fast,
time is short, the music won’t last.

Do you run through each day on the fly,
when you ask “How are you?”, do you hear the reply?

When the day is done, do you lie in your bed,
with the next hundred chores running through your head?

You better slow down, don’t dance so fast,
time is short, the music won’t last.

Ever told your child, we’ll do it tomorrow,
and in your haste, not see his sorrow?

Ever lost touch, let a friendship die,
’cause you never had time to call and say hi?

You better slow down, don’t dance so fast,
time is short, the music won’t last.

When you run so fast to get somewhere,
you miss half the fun of getting there.

When you worry and hurry through your day,
it’s like an unopened gift thrown away.

Life isn’t a race, so take it slower,
hear the music before your song is over.

Back in 2009, I was introduced to this poem by author Timothy Ferriss and I felt compelled to share its profoundness with you. I hope that it affects you positively as it has me ( If so, please pass it on). Thank you to David Weatherford for not only writing Slow Dance, but as well for granting me permission to post it here.

This question blew up the internet this past few days. My daughters brought the image to my attention last night, making the rounds on Twitter under various hashtags #TheDress, #blackandblue, etc. Everyone, and I mean everyone, including my family, @justinbieber, and @talyorswift saw different colours, or both, at different times of the day, or saw it change colors before their eyes. I have seen both, but  at first glance was black & blue.

First thought would be that it is one of those animated pictures, called GIFS, but it is not. You can screen shot the image, and it will still appear differently to various people.  Scientists are weighing in. Late night talk shows will be weighing in tonight. People are arguing in the streets, and fighting in school hallways across the planet!

Fact: The source which originally got the controversy to go viral, via Tumblr,  eventually determined the dress to be Black & Blue. In fact, other sources indicate the dress is ONLY sold in that color.

Mystery Solved: 

Human eyes are imperfect, and can be easily tricked to see one color and interpret as another. Our eyes are all different  by so many factors, and the reality is that geometric shapes, angles, lighting, clever placement, and a thousand other things can mess up our brains ability to properly distinguish color. These illusions have been studied for years.

Example:  How many different color circles do you see in the box below?

The answer: Only Two (Blue & Green)

Reality: The dress is black and blue, but sometimes your brain is telling you it is gold & white, and that’s OK! You are human. Booyaaa…  mystery solved Unless, of course, you wanna argue about it?

I hosted  this #webinar on May 27th/2014 for Canadians interested in getting their most common questions about wills and estates answered. I had convinced Manitoba lawyer and estate specialist Caroline Kiva to have a 45 -60 minute digital fireside chat. Question and answer style, but NOT as creepy as most politicians She did an excellent job answering the following questions…

The Basics

1. What is typically involved in establishing an estate plan?  And which professionals are typically involved?
2. Why do I need a Will and what happens if I die without a Will?
3. For clients who have minor children, are there specific provisions in the Will that need to be addressed?
4. Why do I need a Power of Attorney?

The Nitty Gritty

5. Can you comment on when Joint tenancy is most applicable for clients?
6. How do I transfer assets such as Cottage, Investment Account, Business to the next generation?
7. Briefly what are some points to consider for clients purchasing U.S. real estate?
8. Will there be taxes that may also have to be paid on death?
9. Do you recommend insurance as part of estate planning?

Advanced

1. Recently the 2014 budget announcement indicated a change to the taxation of testamentary trusts.  Can you briefly outline those changes?
2. Can you outline some non-taxable benefits reasons to still consider using testamentary trusts in an estate plan?
3. Can you outline some of the expenses that arise during the administration of an estate?

Touching when he says, “I really miss her…it was like dream.”

After watching this video I think you’ll agree that true love is one of the most powerful things on the planet. Having compassionate people on this planet, that believe in true love, is why I think this song came to life. Kudos to Jacob Colgan of Green Shoe Studio for making this song a reality. Also to the FRED STOBAUGH, “I hope you KNOW you have touched so many more hearts than just one!”

You can buy Oh Sweet Lorraine on iTunes here: Oh Sweet Lorraine

Who do you love? Do they know it?

What an aweome way to start your Monday! The apparel company Ten Tree will plant a tree if you join their community here: http://www.tentree.com They will plant ten trees for each item you buy from them. FYI I’m not assoited with the company in any way.

Let’s plant a tree today!!!

Cheeers,

Lee

4 min 20 Seonds

Love what you create! What will you create today?

Cheers,

Lee