Some field and tree

I have more energy than 90% of people. This is because of my regular exercise and activity, foods that I eat, and mindset that I have.

Maybe by sharing what I do, it can help you.

First off, I will discuss the regular exercise I do.  I play basketball often, usually two times a week, and for 2-3 hours each time.  I probably burn 1500 calories during those times.  When you are burning calories like that, you end up not caring about saving 50 or 100 calories here or there.  Always think big picture is my first tip.

As well, I sometimes do sets of pushups, or run around and stretch, or something else that uses some solid energy.  I haven’t had a downtime of regular exercise in many years.

On to the second concept, which is the foods I eat.  I don’t eat or drink stupid foods. I drink water and eat actual foods that have nutritional value.  I eat fruits or bread and sandwiches and salads.  I cook stuff or eat spaghetti.  I don’t drink soda or alcohol or eat foods with partially hydrogenated oils or things of this nature.  I eat ice cream and muffins and other good stuff, but for example, the ice cream would be one that just has milk, cream, eggs, and sugar as its ingredients, and nothing more.  You have to look at ingredients of foods.

The third part is your mindset.  You have to have a determined mindset to stay high energy.  If you lose your determination or motivation, your body will soon follow.  A solid metabolism only exists in a person who is active in habits and in thoughts.

This post wasn’t to brag that I’m super duper, but just to share how I keep up my energy that many have mentioned they have noticed.

I wrote this post in about 8 minutes because I had the interest in doing it.  That is how you should do things in life.  You either do them fast or not at all.  You may notice that sometimes you leave something 10% done, and then you don’t want to return to it for days or weeks or months.  Gotta attack it right from the get-go and finish at the same time if possible.

Thanks for reading folks.

Image from Flickr

Some random trees in the winter

How do you compete with Problogger and other big sites?  You don’t.  It’s like competing with Coca-Cola.  Problogger isn’t going to stop posting either.  Seth Godin posts every day.  These big folks are in a golden position in this continuing internet day and age.  The same is true with big folks on YouTube like EpicMealTime or Ray William Johnson or on Twitter like Lady Gaga or Britney Spears.  These well-known folks are nearly impossible to replace or take over, because those who do something first have a lot of support for their continuity.

Aside from that, one of the hardest things to do in life is maintain focus.  The few that do become winners, and the rest of the people sit on the sidelines wondering what happened. Focus is a skill that can be built.

Another thing to mention is that this site doesn’t grow, not because of content or what I say or what I represent to you.  I just don’t post consistently enough with a common theme.  That is why.  Consistency = growth and I don’t bring it much here.

I got this book by Richard Branson recently, so I may review it in the coming week.  I have started reading again.

Here I rap I did for this post:

Talk to you.

Some person's picture from their house of a neighor's house and some tree branches.

The following is a list of 11 ways that you can keep your brain active and processing and ready for new events that occur.  Your brain is like a muscle, and so you can only have it at top shape by keeping it used on a regular basis.  If you’re not using it much, you will soon see your brain’s ability to process declining, although it is hard to notice from a first-person perspective.

Here’s the list my fellow people:

1. Read material from a category you don’t normally read, like economics or physics

2. Ask someone a question after thinking about what they will say in response

3. Learn 5 phrases in a new language

4. Work on an instrumental song you have not tackled before

5. Do some exercises to get your circulation going before using your brain

6. Talk to a new person, and ask them question based on what they tell you

7. Read a How Things Work page online until you figure out how the gadget works

8. Do something uncommon and then quickly respond to any reaction it gets

9. Write poems to 3 people you know with the lines of it made up on the spot

10. Approach a member of the opposite gender and tell them some facts about yourself

11. Mess up the options on some electronic appliance and then correct them

A nearly ripe lemon on a tree. This picture and the article have no connection.

Hi folks.

I got an idea that might work.  It might actually work.  Okay, before I talk about it, let me intro it.

At times I want to write my best thoughts here, but know that a post like “14 Ways To End The Day” would get 10 times as many page views.  It is a bit disconcerting.  However, I have an idea that will work.

One day I will post great content(that which I think is great content), and the next day I can post some catchy and entertaining post that won’t actually help you much.  I will alternate between these.  That way, I will be able to express myself and try to actually help you, and also gain readership in the process.  This could be my solution to the dilemma of wanting to put out great content and have many to express it to.

I just got this idea 4 minutes ago, and I think it is good.  I will sometimes post what I think is great material, and will sometimes post what I think people want to read.  Sadly, these are basically mutually exclusive, but that is good for this alternative posting concept.

I think my brain was processing this solution for a while before it just came to me a short bit ago.

If I sound crazy to you, that is something to do with you, not with me.

This guest post/poem is by Ashwani Kumar of Motivational Thoughts For You.

I came into this world with a blank slate
I was eager to make my own fate
I dreamt of becoming great
I wanted to grow at a phenomenal rate

I decided not to be swept by circumstances
I learnt that life is not a game of chance
I decided to hold fast to the helm of life
I learnt to push through all the strife

I learnt that greatness was bestowed only upon a few
I realized I can be one of them too
I decided to achieve it at any cost
I decided to fight for it even if everything was lost

I embarked upon the journey for greatness
Armed with courage and confidence
I faced countless challenges
I overcame innumerable obstacles

The path was rough and dangerous
It was filled with difficulties enormous
I had to use every bit of talent and skill
And carried on with an iron will

With hard work and pluck
I decided to make my own luck
I was determined not to give up
Every time I fall I decided to get up

No matter what the journey would go on
This is my destiny for which I was born
I want people to speak of me even after I am gone
To become great at any cost, an oath I have sworn

-Ashwani Kumar

Motivational Thoughts For You

Post picture added by me, Armen, from Flickr.

Another picture that has nothing to do with the article following it

Hey folks.  See that title?  See the picture?  Those don’t matter.

The important material is the stuff in the post.

First off, I recorded a rap.  This is dedicated to Dan Stover(@DLStover on Twitter), who sent a message on Twitter that said

Timeless Information has become one of my recent favorite sites. Check out @Armen‘s “5 minute” post http://ow.ly/7sTDV

That tweet was very cool for me to see.  I like that kind of stuff.  It was a real message from a real person who liked reading my material.  It wasn’t some spam bot trying to get me to click something, or some advertiser trying to get me to buy something.

The rap that follows here is to Dan and all you readers:

Aside from that, I joined Toastmasters a bit ago.  It is a great thing.  A fine group is in there and it is great for building speaking skills.  I gave my first speech(forgot to get it recorded, sorry) and it went cool.  I look forward to the next.  Maybe you will see it.

Boom there it is.

The image for this post was gotten from Flickr.

Random picture of colored pencils that doesn't connect with the post in any way

Hi folks. I’m good at things when I limit the time I have for them.  I have allotted 5 minutes for this post.  What will it be about?  I will decide quickly.  It will be about taking things slowly and preparing.

As you go through your day, you can go through it in a bumbling rush or in a smooth and slow fashion.  The smooth and slow fashion requires preparation and focus, but everyone will notice that you are controlling the world instead of letting the world control you.  You can’t go through the day in a calm and smooth fashion unless your mind is constantly on what you need to be doing, or else you are just delaying and not doing things in a smooth and slow fashion.

You know those people in expensive cars driving the speed limit on the freeway?  They are having a relaxed time because their days go by smoothly and decisively.  When you do that, you can afford to do things slowly while someone who is confused in their life has to drive by that person going 75 miles per hour.

If you want to have a day like the cool person’s day, you have to prepare the night before.  Then, you have to get up on time and get started.  You have to eat enough and stay on task.  Then, you have to not be afraid of messing up.  These are all needed to have a smooth day.  Weak people can’t have a smooth day.

Okay, my 5 minutes for this post is up.  I will now include some links to some articles from others.

Farnoosh’s latest post is episode #16 of her Daily Interaction podcast series, and it is about opening conversations with style.  This is important to work on because your early impression reflects how the whole conversation will go.

Gail tells us why we need to be great students.  You have to stay a student in this competitive world.  When you stop, opportunities fly out the door.

Celes recently changed the site over to the new name of Personal Excellence.  This is a solid switch and better encompasses her message, so that is nifty.

Mike posted a bunch of ways to be realistic.  When you are realistic, you get results, and when you are idealistic, you get nothing.  One of his tips is to ask more questions and I agree completely.  People have the answers you need so you have to get them out of them.

The Flickr photo at the top is from here.

Random picture of a fish, not related to article

Here is a lyric from a recent rap by Eminem:

guess it doesn’t matter now, does it

Out of context, this quote doesn’t really give you much value.  Let me explain it.  First, Eminem was saying how people were rough to him, and that the past doesn’t matter now, because he is in a great position and the people who were rough to him don’t matter anymore.

This is material for you to use.

The difficulties of your current day, or frustrations involving others, are fleeting.  If you stay focused and positive, you will reach a point separate from where you are right now, and those difficulties and people won’t matter.  None of it will matter at that point.  Therefore, spending your time thinking about those difficulties or people keeps you away from your potential future, and so you have to keep in mind what WILL matter, as opposed to what SEEMS to matter right now.

Sometimes you have to do things that seem very small or insignificant, right now, so that you can get to what is big to you, in the future.

How many times do we hear of people who are socially prominent talking about their difficulties getting there.  Who wants you to become well-known?  Noone.  Who wants you to be more successful than them?  Find me that person.  Good luck finding that person.  People may act fake-nice about others around them succeeding, but most do not want it to occur at all.  When someone around you succeeds, you look a little worse off than you did before in comparison, right?

Right now, there are people who are wanting to rise up in some business or position or group who are being indirectly kept down by their peers, and to them, their peers views really matter.

When you get to a high point, those items will no longer matter.

Let’s say people made you feel inferior for being a dishwasher and then you saved up money and got your own townhouse.  Their talk doesn’t matter now does it?

I could type up other examples, but you know what things you do that can make a person feel self-conscious.

Spread my content yo~.

The man pictured is Jay-Z, and one of the lyrics from a song on a recent album of his is:

And it’s much bigger issues in the world, I know
But I first had to take care of the world I know

Making your local world a priority is the way to build up a foundation.  Thinking about other folks’ issues and lives is a great way to waste time, but it won’t get you any progress.

To start, take the example Jay-Z used in the song where he said this quote.  He had endorsed a certain company for a long period, and then a representative of the company said that they weren’t interested in an endorsement from someone like Jay-Z in the hip hop community.  Therefore, Jay-Z decided to make a statement, and switched to endorsing a competing product.

Though this was a small issue in the eyes of some, it was something he had to handle before he could move on.  Therefore, this was part of the world he knew, as in the quote.

Do you sometimes get caught up in other people’s worlds before your own?  A lot of people go on Facebook and live through others’ lives for hours at a time.  Some famous people have thousands of followers pseudo-living through them.

What is your world?  Well it consists of:

• your local city
• family
• friends and relationships
• colleagues
• neighbors
• your health/fitness(check Dietriffic for nutrition tips)
• your socioeconomic status

Things like these are where your concern should always start at.  This is the world we live in.

For example, you live in the city you live in.  That is your home base.  I often see people talk about national or global politics when they haven’t even been to a local city council meeting or taken part in any local activities.  It makes much more sense to start small and grow large than to attempt to start large and somehow fill in the cracks or weaknesses in the method later on.

Just as countries have neighbors, you have your neighbors.  Sure, there are national border issues and trade disputes and imbalances, but the world you want to start with is the one you are in.  Do you have a neighbor that you could help with something, or forgot to invite to something, or can connect with in some way?  A lot of people don’t know their neighbors.  I put up a post on Reddit about this a few weeks ago and got many responses from people that say they barely know their neighbors at all.  Doing a little for your neighbors is all it takes to build some understanding and make your home feel more like a home.

There are huge issues in the world like cancer treatment, lack of food or clean water, or corruption or violence, and these are worthy of tackle, but one can’t really tackle such issues until they have their own issues in a managed state.

There is one quote that says you have all you need, meaning that you have everything you need to move to the next step within your grasp.  You have local clubs and activities to join, information from the library or internet, social networking ability on and offline, and your family and friends for guidance and assistance, etc.

Take care of your personal world, and then you can think about taking a crack at the larger world we all reside in.

Hey all.  It is me, Armen, also known as the coolest guy on and off the internet, back with another post~.  I do it for the people.  This one is about quotes some fellow bloggers(I might as well use that term for a change, but I’m not a blogger, I’m a site-writer) use on a regular basis in their thoughts, or that they use as a motto, or that they are quite fond of.

As you read these quotes, you might want to think about a quote that you have running in your thoughts at regular times.  It could be a short one like “Just do it” that you use to get things started or completed, or “what goes around comes around” to deal with someone wronging you.  Whatever it may be, it can be good to know what quotes are in your thoughts on a regular basis.

My first quote is from Mike King, writer at Learn This, and his quote of usage is:

You miss 100% of all the shots you never take. -  Wayne Gretzky

Mike knows what’s up.  Are you a guy?  Did you not talk to that girl at the coffee shop?  Guess what.  That was a shot and you missed it.  Are you a girl?  Did you not talk to that guy at the coffee shop?  Guess what.  Well, society expects him to talk to you so I guess this doesn’t relate to the quote so well.  Are you a student?  Did you leave something out of your essay because you thought it might not be well-received, even though you had an inkling it might make it one of the top essays?  That shot was missed folks.  Are you a parent?  Did you not sign your daughter up for the musical instrument class because you weren’t sure they could handle it?  That shot was also missed.

As we go through our day, we see shot after shot.  Even people that do barely anything see opportunities they can take advantage of, but instead, they miss out on them.  Who wants to miss a shot?  Noone, that’s who.  22% is higher than 0% most days of the week.  31% is also higher than 0%.  I can do more of these math problems but my calculator will run out of ink if I keep using it here.

A doctor might be wavering between two methods of treatment for a patient, with one having 40% chance of success and the other having a 15% chance of success.  However, if he keeps deciding for hours until the patient is no longer functional, he now has a 0% chance of successful treatment, and that’s a fact you can take to the bank or your local credit union if you aren’t a fan of the recent big bank monthly fee additions.

Onto the next blogger and their quote—

Used by Bud Hennekes, writer at A Boundless World  we have:

This too shall pass.

This quote is a useful one for many different situations that can come up.  It is more for the hard times than for the good times(I think it is almost only for the hard times).  Let’s say you are in a period of unemployment, or lack a partner, or have an illness, or have just experienced grief.  Then, this quote fits your situation.  You must remember that terrible things have come and gone for all people through all of history.  Thinking that your ‘thing’ is the end-all is about as realistic as thinking that teen singers are going to bring forth a powerful voice.

This quote is not one you should use during a good time.  Actually, it is.  At that time, it will remind you that your good time will pass, and that you need to make sure you take care of the foundational parts so that you can return to a regular mood in a stable fashion.  Sometimes, when you are in a good mood, you do things that would not make sense if you knew the good mood would just last another 10 minutes.

Let’s say you start a new job.  The first two weeks might be tough because you know so little about the environment and other people and requirements.  That is the harder period.  That period shall pass, and you will then be in a position and have competency in it, so here is another example where you should use this quote.

To the third quote–

This one is used by Farnoosh Brock of Prolific Living:

The lust for comfort kills the passions of the soul. – Khalil Gibran

Let’s first discuss the lust for comfort.  Who is looking for comfort?  Most people are.  You’re probably looking for comfort.  We seek that feel-good feeling of safety, relaxation, and well-being.  While this is great, it is actually terrible.  When you strive for that boring comfort that we all know is the comfort most people are thinking of, you give up risk-taking, and risk-taking is necessary for the “passions of the soul” that is present in the 2nd half of this quote.  To see that lounge chair in the sun with no worries type of comfort, one sets aside the roughness and toughness required to have enough of a thick skin to follow one of those passions of the soul.  Find me some person who followed one of their passions who had an easy time with it.  Whether this is Eminem, Tony Hawk, Sheryl Swoops, or J.K. Rowling, following your passion basically requires you to walk around with a big piece of armor across your chest, to protect from stupid people trying to cut away at your self-confidence, so that you quit making them look weak in comparison.

I hope you liked that last line.

So, therefore, we have to cut away those weak thoughts of comfort-seeking when we have them.  It’s that simple.  When the thought of some idealistic future comfort comes in your mind, tell yourself “this is stupid”, and move on.

Speaking of the passions of the soul, it is sort of interesting how so many people have them.  We sometimes think only 5% of people have big passions because they are the only ones who make it, but there are a huge chunk of people, possibly like yourself, who have big passions and don’t touch them out of fear of whatever.  They have big passions too, but they just don’t act on them.  Near the end of people’s lives, they could care less how much money they have in the bank, or other stupid things, but people do regret not following their passion.

Our next quote comes from Peter Clemens, creator of The Change Blog:

In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. -  Thomas Jefferson

Let me tell you.  Rocks are great.  They are like the symbol of stability and strength.  We will get back to that.

First, let’s discuss the first half of this quote by the honorable Thomas Jefferson.  Regarding style, swim with the current, and be as others are.  This means to wear red if that is the thing that is happening, or to add some extra tone to your voice if that is what people are doing.  Style is something you bring for others, because the clothes you wear are for others to see, and the style you put in your craft is for others to enjoy and get fulfillment from.  This is why style is to be maintained in according with what people are currently doing and wanting to see.

Now, as far as the second part of this quote, principle is something you don’t mess with.  Various folks have said “if you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.”  This is quite true.  Your principles have to remain whether times are good or bad.  That is why they are principles.  If you toss them away at the first sign of difficulty, what was the point of maintaining the charade of having them up until then?  If your principles involve being a strong family person, but you forget your family when some emergency occurs, how is that the case?  If you are against drug usage, and allow a peer to influence you into using one, what are you really against?  This list goes on and on.  If you are a person who speaks about environmental protection, but who starts bending the rules when it costs a little bit, why put up an act?  You’re not fooling anyone if you don’t live up to a principle you’ve set forth.

It can get pretty heated up in here.

The next quote is used by Vincent Tan, who writes over at Health Money Success(one of the most direct site names you will see):

Reaching your destination is all about taking one step at a time.

This quote reminds me of my one audio post about taking the first step for whatever you are working on.  Smart people break things into steps.  Giving a speech to 100 people might be a 12 step process involving steps for writing the speech, steps for acquiring the audience, steps for securing a venue, and steps for follow-up.  Big things get small real quickly when you break them apart.  A tree can have 100 branches and seem huge, but if they are cut off one at a time, the task is not so difficult.  Steps are the way we go from the first floor of our complex item to the second floor of the process.

Now, if you take one step at a time, that means you aren’t try to ‘cheat the system’ or skip ahead.  Trying to speed by or find some secret faster path is a good way to lose time.  You do things one by one, one step at a time, and you pass the people who are either try to cheat their way through, or who aren’t doing anything.

Making a great salad is as easy as some 10 steps that are done one by one, and the end result is healthy food you can eat for days.

Our last quote here is one used by Celestine Chua from The Personal Excellence Blog:

If you want to get something you have never gotten before, you have to do something you’ve never done before.

Now, Celes has done a lot of things she’d never done before, and now she has gotten a lot of things she had not gotten before, so this quote certainly fits her.

We have to understand this quote and then absorb it.  Let’s say what you are doing is called X, and it gives you Y.  Doing more X is going to give you more Y.  That is how the world works.  If you want M, you are going to need to do something different, like Z.  X is not going to get you M.  This makes life seem more appropriate and fair.  Instead of thinking doing more X will get you Y, and also M, and also whatever else, you will know that doing more X will just get you more Y, whatever that Y is.

It is when you do or create something different that you get something different, and that you learn something new about yourself.

If you are wanting to get a new client, you are going to need to reach out to potential clients in a new way.  Sitting there like you may have been will get you a new client as much as buying a lemon will help you make orange juice.

I hope you all enjoyed these various quotes and my commentary upon them.

Maybe I will hear from some of you folks/readers in the comments.  Which quote did you like best?  What is your own quote of usage?  Your feedback is cool and also gets you to learn more for yourself.