This is the second half of a post I originally wrote in 1997. Click here to read Part 1.  It was published in several dozen print newsletters and on even more websites. I received literally thousands of emails and letters from people who said it had impacted them in some way. I thought it would serve as a good initial first post for this website since it’s a perfect demonstration that many core principles never change. I hope you enjoy it!

How To Make 2012 Your Best Year Ever – Part 2

11. The Moral & Ethical Being Principle

You must come to understand that what you expect from circumstances and people must be in tune with your own morals and ethics. If what you are working towards is in disharmony with this, you can never be truly happy.

Action Step: Don’t take actions that are conflict with your morals and ethics.

12. The Priority Principle

Life can be overwhelming for many of us. There are only so many hours in a day and each of us have the same number of hours to work with. Successful people know how to distinguish between priorities and focus on those activities of a higher order. When we start to prioritize activities by order, we find that only doing those higher order items will easily fill our days.

It’s especially important to note that time for revenue-generating activities and creative thinking should always rank at the top of your list of priorities.

Action Step: On a monthly, weekly and daily basis, prioritize your activities based on higher order and then act upon them based on the highest order of personal satisfaction. Doing this will mean you will get more of the important tasks done first since we find it easiest to work on those items we enjoy most.

13. The Time-Value Principle:

As we all know, time is money. We need to know how much our time is worth. We need to also know that we should delegate whenever the cost (both monetary and otherwise) of someone else doing something is lower than the cost of doing it ourselves.

Action Step: Evaluate your personal involvement in activities based upon the opportunity-cost. Where appropriate, delegate.

14. The Knowledge & Skills Principle

Getting and improving upon knowledge and skills should be a high priority. A short-cut is to find a mentor, a coach or a mastermind.

Action Step: Determine the knowledge and skills you need to acquire to reach your goals.

15. The Assumption Principle

Most of us have learned this principle the hard way, yet few of us do anything about it. Simply put, this principle says never, never assume anything! I think that the biggest mistakes I have made in life have come from making inappropriate assumptions.

Action Step: Make sure all parties involved agree about the meaning of something, and if necessary, get it in writing.

16. The Duplication Principle

This principle is probably the easiest to understand yet the one that most people have the hardest time with. Simply put: when you find something that works, do it over and over again as long as it continues to work and continues to help you achieve your objectives. In essence, create a system of things that work.

Action Step: Log your activities so that when you hit on something that works, you’ll know exactly what you did to achieve the results you did. Fine-tune this so that you make small changes until you have created a perfect system.

17. The Do Unto Others Principle

Never, ever do anything to anyone that you would not want done to you. Karma, baby.

Action Step: On a small scale, put this into practice on a daily basis by returning phone calls, make only those commitments you can keep, don’t make excuses to cover things up, etc. Think of how your words and actions will impact others.

18. The Being Common is Uncommon Principle

Common sense. Common courtesy. We’ve all heard these terms quite frequently. “Common” means it applies to the masses. Unfortunately there’s never been a time when common sense and common courtesy have really been adopted by the masses. To act with common sense and common courtesy is uncommon. By actively practicing both, you’ll automatically find yourself becoming more aware and your life will become richer.

Action Step: Exercise common sense and common courtesy in your every day life.  Simply make an effort to be more aware of what is going in your own life and those around you. Make an effort to be more aware of those you come into contact with.

19. The Viability Principle

Life is a series of trade-offs. There are opportunity costs associated with everything that we do. When I explained ‘The Priority Principle,’ I mentioned that it is easy to fill our days with only seemingly high order activities once we start to focus. What I didn’t mention then was that it is also easy to incorrectly choose what higher activities we should be focusing on and the reason why. This is where ‘The Viability Principle’ comes into play. Without it, we can find out that success just doesn’t happen in spite of making our best effort.

This principle suggests that you ask when setting goals: “What has the highest probability of working?” Let’s say for example you are an interior decorator and you’re trying to drum up new business. You have two marketing ideas to reach new people. The first is to approach local real estate agents to get referrals. The other, which you think is simply brilliant, is to approach accounting firms to get referrals. The reason for the latter idea is that if someone can afford an accountant, they can likely afford an interior decorator. Given you have only limited resources for marketing yourself, which do you think would have the highest probability of working?

This principle also covers your choice of business, career or educational pursuits. All other aspects being equal, it is a lot easier to realize success when you focus on things that have a higher probability of working and are more viable.

Action Step: When deciding between different actions or goals, do a viability check and ask which option has the highest probability of working.

20. The Keep it Simple Principle

The more complicated the various aspects of your business become, the more difficult it becomes to expand. Consider companies you are familiar with that generate hundreds of millions a year in annual revenue or more. Most of them have relatively simple business models or their company owns multiple companies that each have simple business models.

The more complicated a business model is, the more parts that can break down and the more difficult it can be to systematize it. Systematization is a key to developing a large business.

Action Step: An easy way to determine if your business model really is simple is to come up with a 1 minute/1 sentence elevator pitch. Can you tell someone in one sentence what your business does? If not, then consider retooling what you are doing to get there.

That wraps up my 20 principles to help make 2012 your best year ever.

I’d love you to share your thoughts on these principles. Is there anything you’d have added to this list?

Photograph by Melody Campbell

How to Make 2012 Your Best Year Ever!

I have always held an extreme fascination with what makes the difference between success and failure in the lives of people. Succeeding at something I attempt has never been enough for me; I’ve always wanted to know how and why people in general succeed.

I’ve been a great student of the principles of success – having devoured literally thousands of books dealing with virtually every conceivable aspect of personal development along with the psychological and physiological components of success. I’ve been a first-hand witness to dozens of major success stories in various areas of life; and a first-hand witness to hundreds of failures. Not being one to simply rely on the words and actions of others, I’ve constantly pushed myself to the edge, always setting my sights on things that would further challenge me. This has resulted in my own set of triumphs and failures for me to reflect upon.

This course of study has been somewhat confusing for me at times, as I can imagine it would be for most people. The confusion has come about because of the many contradictions I have seen and heard of.  For example, in the area of goal setting – most authors say that writing out a detailed action plan is an absolute must. Yet, in real life, very few successful people I have encountered have taken the time to do this.

Another contradiction I’ve stumbled across is that many authors say that all you need to succeed is a PMA (Positive Mental Attitude) in order to succeed, yet I’ve found the majority of people who have embraced this philosophy have never had a tangible success!

In spite of the contradictions, I’ve been able to sort out some very basic principles that can make the difference between success and failure. Don’t take my word for it! Read through the following list and pinpoint the areas you might be lacking in. Take these principles as your own and give them a chance to breathe life! I can guarantee you that in doing so, you are paving the way for 2012 to be your best year ever!

1. The Self-Responsibility Principle

No one could care more about your life, happiness and well-being than you could. Yes, there may be times when those closest to you want more for you than you do. However, human nature is such that people typically act with their own best interests in mind. Your success is contingent about you and your actions.

Action Step: Remind yourself at least five times a day for the next thirty days that you need to take responsibility for your life and actions because no one else will.

2. The Personal Fulfillment Principle

Recognize that the number one reason for achieving something is you and your own sense of personal fulfillment in one or more areas of your life. Money, family, or any other external reasons cannot be the reason for doing something alone.

Action Step: Ask yourself what the achievement of your goal will bring you in terms of personal fulfillment.

3. The Higher Order Principle

For the person trying to lose weight, it often feels like there is a never-ending battle between the “skinny” and the “fatty.” Why does this happen? Simply put, because there are really two (and sometimes more!) of you existing in the same body! Skinny wants to feel good about herself and is disciplined about food and exercise. Fatty, on the other hand, wants the instant gratification that food brings her and has difficulty finding the time to exercise.

In many cases where people fail to succeed, it is because on some level they derive satisfaction with doing things the way they are being done now, i.e. pleasure and any deviation from this behavior is seen as bringing with it pain. People who achieve success are able to distinguish between priorities of different orders and can associate themselves with the priority of the highest order.

In the case of someone who successfully loses weight, that means that this individual has decided that the benefits  she associates with losing weight are more important than the benefits associated with not exercising and not eating properly.  Whereas someone who has not yet been able to successfully lose weight has (perhaps subconsciously) decided that the short-term pleasures are more important.

Action Step: Decide which priorities are of a high order for you. Be forewarned: even if your goal is of a higher order, unless you live the “Pleasure-in-the-Process Principle,” you may still not succeed.

4. The Focus Principle

In order to succeed, you must become focused. We’ve all heard this term used time and again, but are you truly focused on your objectives? If not, perhaps you do need to hear it again.

Action Step: Decide what it is that you want in precise terms and set a goal date for attaining it.

5. The No-Exception Principle

Realize that if you make an exception once, you will continue to do so until exceptions become the rule and your goal becomes the exception!

Action Step: Quite simply: never make an exception.

6. The Pleasure-in-the-Process Principle

It is not enough to know you will derive pleasure from your end goal, you need to find pleasure in the everyday activities required to reach your goal.

Action Step: Look at what is involved with reaching your goal and see how you do, or can, derive pleasure on a daily basis.

7. The Reality Principle

You must come to terms with where you are right now in order to move ahead. You might be able to lie to other people but you can never lie to yourself. Often when people take a hard look at the reality of their situation, this alone can be a driving force to propel them forwards.

Action Step: In the various aspects of your life, consider where you are now and how that contrasts to where you want to be and need to be in order to reach your goal.

8. The No-Choice Principle

This principle comes down to burning all of your bridges so that you are literally forced to do things differently.

Action Step: You’ve decided what it is that you want, now you need to leave yourself no alternative!

9. The Persistence Principle

One thing that many people will neglect to tell you about succeeding is that you will fail along the way. Failure is inevitable! However, you will not fail in pursuit of your goal if you persist in spite of your failures.

Action Step: To paraphrase Tony Robbins – If you try something and see that it doesn’t work, then try something else! But keep trying!

10. The Law of Averages Principle

The law of averages dictate to us that if we work at something often enough, eventually we will succeed. In the case of goal achievement, the successes generally outweigh in the failures over the long-term. Even the most successful people do see more failures than successes, but the impact of the successes is so tremendous that not many are needed to be successful over all.

Action Step: Remind yourself constantly that the law of averages will eventually work in your favor.

You can read Part 2 here.

Have you had any personal experiences with the above principles?

Photograph by Alosh Bennett

Vivamus non nisl tempor risus condimentum aliquam id eu est. Nulla dignissim ipsum sed mauris dapibus consequat. Suspendisse vestibulum, nisl eget porta dignissim, elit magna fringilla diam, et vehicula nunc leo vel sapien. Vestibulum in massa non ante tempus imperdiet vitae non risus. In quam lorem, facilisis at accumsan et, varius quis metus. Fusce a cursus risus. Maecenas tempor, diam et vestibulum pretium, libero neque gravida libero, vitae aliquam nulla erat ut odio. Donec in feugiat nibh. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Duis fermentum pretium ligula, in blandit neque rutrum sed. In id nulla ut orci auctor lacinia quis ac dolor. Quisque ac ultrices lectus. Morbi viverra tristique turpis in fermentum. In rhoncus euismod neque eget accumsan. Mauris pulvinar, quam non accumsan ultricies, ante nibh hendrerit tellus, sit amet lacinia quam augue fermentum diam. Sed eu libero diam, vitae congue mauris.

Vivamus non nisl tempor risus condimentum aliquam id eu est. Nulla dignissim ipsum sed mauris dapibus consequat. Suspendisse vestibulum, nisl eget porta dignissim, elit magna fringilla diam, et vehicula nunc leo vel sapien. Vestibulum in massa non ante tempus imperdiet vitae non risus. In quam lorem, facilisis at accumsan et, varius quis metus. Fusce a cursus risus. Maecenas tempor, diam et vestibulum pretium, libero neque gravida libero, vitae aliquam nulla erat ut odio. Donec in feugiat nibh. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Duis fermentum pretium ligula, in blandit neque rutrum sed. In id nulla ut orci auctor lacinia quis ac dolor. Quisque ac ultrices lectus. Morbi viverra tristique turpis in fermentum. In rhoncus euismod neque eget accumsan. Mauris pulvinar, quam non accumsan ultricies, ante nibh hendrerit tellus, sit amet lacinia quam augue fermentum diam. Sed eu libero diam, vitae congue mauris

In my previous post about him, I shared a bit about the special bond we have had but I wanted to share some additional memories of the good times with him. Although friends and acquaintances have been super, I’m feeling a bit out of sorts about how much I’ve talked about him the past couple of weeks. I mean – he is just a cat right? But Tony has been special. I have 3 other cats who I dearly love. I’ve had 3 others who I’ve lost. I’ve had dogs before I had cats. But none of them have been anything like Tony. When he’s gone, there will be this huge void that just can’t be replaced. No other animal can be Tony.

I remember several years ago, hearing about animal cloning. Even at the cost of millions of dollars, even then, I thought for more than a few minutes of how wonderful it would be to have Tony with me forever.  But cloning is about genetics and not personality. Personality is what made Tony so incredibly special and no clone would ever be Tony.

Tony As A Kitten

When we first got Tony, he was so tiny on his first trip to the vet, his weight didn’t register on the scale alone! The scale didn’t show weights below 1 kilogram. To find out his weight, he had to be weighed with Pina who was much larger than him. He was a little runt.

Like my other cats, when he was a kitten, the first month or so, he slept curled up against my chest. Since we got Pina at the same time (we had actually thought at first that they were biological siblings but we found out later that they weren’t), I actually had 2 kittens with me constantly.

Tony grew fast.  He turned out to be a very husky Siamese. In my previous post on him, I wrote about his sickness when he was young.  Other than that time and a couple of years ago when his teeth had to be extracted, he was always very active. He never lost the kitten playfulness. His weight peaked at around 17.5 pounds – very large for a Siamese – but since he was not sedentary, we weren’t concerned. He was just a big cat.

Tony and His Special Heart

Tony has always been very intuitive about how I am feeling. When I’ve been sad or upset about something, he was always quick to comfort me – even if I felt I didn’t need comforting.  When he’d sit or lay with me, if I was sad, he had a habit of taking one of my hands between his two paws and looking at me intently. Even when he was sick, he did this many times with me.

He had some really cute habits with me. When I’d hold him in my arms, he’d actually wrap his two arms around my neck – much like a toddler would do. He’d lick my face very aggressively – just showering me with kisses and love.

Until earlier this year, he would often jump from the floor into my arms. Knowing I’d catch him. As he grew older, this happened less and less frequently. But it was something we both seemed to take pleasure in him doing. Until he was around 8 or so, the odd time, he’d jump onto my shoulder even.

I was always able to feed Tony right from my hands. He never nipped me. He was also careful to never scratch humans. The only time he ever scratched me was the night before he went to the vet for his diagnosis. He was doing very poorly that night.

His big heart wasn’t just for me but also with his fellow cats. He got along well with everyone. He never had a fight except for play-fighting. He’d take his time while eating his meals and look around. The odd time, one of the others would be interested in having Tony’s food and Tony would just let him or her.

The Sensitive Side of Tony

As much as Tony showered me with attention, he was also a very sensitive cat. I travel frequently – often I’ve been away from him half of the year – and whenever I’d return, he’d ignore me. Totally. Sometimes it would be for hours. Sometimes it would be for days or even weeks.  Supposedly, he seemed fine when I was away. But he liked to let me know when I returned he had felt abandoned.

The Annoying – Yet Lovable – Side of Tony

Tony was so great at showing love and wanting attention that sometimes it would border on the annoying. I’d have loved to have him sleep curled up with me every night but that never happened until he was sick. I actually had to keep my bedroom door closed. Here’s why – when he’d come into bed, he would want to be curled up in my arms just like when he was a kitten. But he’d start the licking my face thing – continually. Incessantly. I’ve tried sometimes for as long as 2 hours – thinking he’d get tired of it. But no. He felt if he was in bed, he had to lick my face. If I’d turn over to the other side, he’d jump on the other side and start from there. If I went on my stomach, he’d do this digging thing on my shoulders and back to get me to turn over.

What’s interesting is the first day I was actually able to sleep with him curled up peacefully – with him purring away – was on my birthday – less than a week after finding out he didn’t have much longer. It truly made it the best birthday gift I’ve ever received.

If Tony heard me on the phone with anyone or if I had my earphones on listening to music, he’d always come running. He seemed to think that no one else should get my attention except him and he’d just meow until I’d pick him up.

Tony’s Incredibly Playful Side

For several years when we lived in Montreal and we had 7 cats, we had a huge entrance way with hardwood flooring. We routinely used to have soccer matches with the cats. I wish I’d captured it on camera because it’s hard to visualize or imagine it without seeing it. Tony would break the 7 of them into teams… with one of the cats sitting out. We’d then engage in organized soccer games with Tony keeping the order.

After the other 3 cats had passed on, Frisky, who had previously been very quiet, started coming out of his shell more.  For the last couple of years, Tony and him would routinely play tag – running around the house and up and down stairs. This lasted until just a couple of months ago.

Tony almost always had a favorite toy of the moment. He had a cute habit of placing the toy next to the water dish after he was finished playing with it. It made it easy for him to find it again.

Some Random Things About Tony

He loved going outside. Unlike most cats, he would stay in a human’s lap or arms and be well-behaved. Nothing would bother him unless he saw another cat. His nostrils would flare taking in the fresh air and he’d purr away contentedly.

When he felt it was time for us to get up to feed him, he’d make a huge ruckus. His favorite trick was making a mess out of newspapers, papers and fliers laying about. He’d also knock over what ever else was laying around.

Every night, sometime between 11 pm and 1 am, he’d come into my office with a big and insistent meow. He’d continue until I picked him up to give him a hug. It was his pre-bedtime routine. If I didn’t hold him as long as he wanted to be held, the process would start all over again. Usually he’d want a good 5 to 15 minute hug session.

The Final Chapter of Tony

I started writing this post at around 3 am Eastern. His appointment at the animal hospital was at 9 am. When I’d written maybe about a third of this post, I heard a meow in my office that sounded like Tony’s, “Ma.” Very insistent like I was used to hearing from him. Until I turned around and saw that it was him, I really thought I was imagining things. He’d done this maybe once since I found out he was sick. But sure enough, it was him.

He spent around an hour cuddled up with me in bed. Licking my face and patting my face, neck and shoulders. He kept his eyes peeled on me. He chattered in typical Tony fashion. No idea what he was saying, but I’m pretty sure that he was telling me everything was going to be okay.

After that, for the first time in 2 days, he was not only willing to have normal food but he ate rather well. A nice plate of about 2 ounces of tuna!  We had some more cuddle time then I had to get ready and take him in. During the drive there, he sat on my lap and chattered away.

Until we got to the animal hospital, I started to have second thoughts. Was it the right decision? Should we wait longer? Was this a real turn around for him? Then I realized, it was Tony looking out for his mom, just as he had the past – almost 15 years. He had told me the day before it was time. This was him showing total unconditional love and letting me see him okay since he knew my heart was breaking.

P.S. You can see more pictures of Tony and his siblings at my Flickr album.

For the past 15 years, my incoming email load has been 2,000+ emails per day. Several years ago, it had actually peaked at around 10,000 emails per day. This year, I am running around 3,000-3,500 emails on a typical day.

I’ve never had a problem managing it until recent times. A big issue for me has simply been that I don’t have the same amount of time to spend on email as I did before. Part of this is due to my increasing involvement in social media. As my networks continue to grow and strengthen, they are taking more time. I’m also communicating with  lot more people in a typical day than I ever did. Inevitably this translates to an increase in email I need to actually take action on.

A few months back, I found myself becoming increasingly frustrated and moody about email. I was missing emails that were business-related I should have caught. I felt I was juggling too many balls.  My assistant is retiring at the end of this year and has been gradually cutting her hours back in preparation for this.

I decided to completely overhaul how I was managing my email. I took the following steps:

1. Created filters on most incoming email so it would get labelled and miss my inbox entirely. 

2. Creating dated labels for things I needed to get done by a specific day.

3. Revamped my archiving system. I had previously been just hitting archive on emails. The problem is that I kept hitting the maximum allotment of storage space so I’d need to delete a bunch periodically. I started actually deleting things I’d not need again and then archiving in a logical manner the rest.

The problem is this didn’t work for me.

It required more work for me to maintain. I was still getting behind on items not filtered out of my inbox. I was still missing emails I should not have. It was taking me so much time to go through what was still left in my inbox that I never even looked at my filtered email.

All in all, not good. I was probably worse off than I was before.

I decided since organization wasn’t working, time was a factor (if I don’t have the time to deal with it now, when will I?) and my system was taking more time than it should – it was time for a major overhaul.

My new goal: Operation Zero Inbox

I moved all 42,000+ emails from my current inbox to a label called “Old In.”

I converted all my existing labels to sub-labels under a label called “Old.”

At first, anxiety kicked in.  Did I really just banish all of my waiting emails somewhere never to be seen again? Then the realization that these emails aren’t gone – they are still there – but just not staring me in the face – kicked in and I felt calm sweep over me.

How Operation Zero Inbox Works For Me

1. I turned on priority emails in Gmail. (You can get there by going to Gmail settings and then “Inbox.”)

2. I work my inbox with the following rules:

1. If I can delegate, it gets forwarded to the appropriate person.
2. If it needs to get dealt with today, it gets done.
3. If it will take less than 5 minutes to do, it gets done.
4. If it’s ‘junk’ and I can unsubscribe, I do so.
5. If I need the email but don’t need to read it, I am setting up a filter for it to auto-archive under an appropriate label.
6. If I need to do it another day, it goes into one of 4 categories of sub-labels: Priority, Medium, Low, Whenever with a sub-label for the date if there is a due date associated with it.
7. Anything I routinely find myself doing that I can delegate, I do.
8. When I respond to something, while waiting for a reply, it goes into an appropriate sub-label under “Pending.”

So far, so good. Although I am seeing a lot more email than I ever did, at least I’m not feeling like I am missing anything.

What About You?

How do you handle email? Do you have any tricks that have worked for you?

It’s a bittersweet birthday for me. One I really won’t be celebrating. One where a lot of friends have asked what they could do rather than what they could get me.

Meet Tony The Siamese Cat

I don’t have children. Not that I haven’t wanted children but circumstances just haven’t had it happen for me yet. Tony (who is in the picture to the right) and his siblings (there are 3 left – Pina (his sister), Sasha (another Siamese) and Frisky are the closest things I’ve had to kids.

Although I love each one of them dearly, Tony and I have had a very special bond. You see, when he was around 6 months old, he became very sick.  His regular vet recommending removal of an eye and that it was likely he wouldn’t make it even with that. (He had a massive infection.)  I didn’t want to give up on him. I found a specialist vet who was able to treat him. It involved frequent long trips but more importantly giving Tony meds every hour for a month.

We formed a really special bond during that time. You know how kittens are incredibly affectionate? Before getting sick, Tony had – like most cats – started to outgrow that affectionate side. But when he was sick, there was a connection made. He seems to think I’m his real mom.

It’s been just over 14 years. Tony is still with us now. Here is a video of Tony from a few months ago:

He’s always been a regular chatterbox. I really wish I understood what he said. I’m positive it’s all very important stuff!

The bittersweet part of my birthday is that last Friday, we found out that Tony has terminal liver cancer. He has a growth the size of a baseball. Neither chemotherapy nor radiation are viable options with this type of cancer. Due to his age and clotting issues with liver cancer, surgery isn’t an option – the risks are too high. I wouldn’t want to put him through that.

And so, I’m left with 3-7 more weeks of expected time with Tony. I’m making the most of the time I have left. It is truly heart breaking to see him deteriorating and ups and downs within a single day. Earlier today he had a major crash. It was likely from becoming dehydrated. But re-hydrating him every 30 minutes showed speedy results.

I’m unbelievably crushed right now. I really had thought he was going to be one of the cats you read about who live until well into their 20′s. Just a couple of months ago, he was jumping up into my arms from the ground, running around playing tag with Frisky and acting more like a kitten in many ways than most kittens.

I can’t remember the last time I prayed. I was raised a Catholic, but have definitely lost my way as far as religion goes.  But I have.

14 years ago, I nursed Tony back to health when others said to give up. Doing that gave us 14 super years together. For that I am thankful. I am once again nursing him, but this time I know there is no recovery.

What You Can Do

There’s not anything anyone can do for Tony except for me right now. But with Christmas around the corner, there is something we can all do for millions of cats and dogs. That’s to spread a very important message.

If you are a friend – or just another animal-lover – I’d really appreciate if you could share this post. Click the tweet button if you are Twitter, the Facebook share button if you are Facebook, the Google+ if you are on there – or any other network. Shares to more than one network are even more appreciated.

My Birthday Wish

Please, please carefully think things through before getting a kitten or puppy for your family as a Christmas gift. (Or for that matter at any time.) If you do decide it is the right thing, then please go to a reputable local animal shelter versus going to a pet store or breeder.

I’ve had trouble finding exact numbers, but I do know that from December through March, the number of animals abandoned at or entering animal shelters goes up tremendously. Many people get kittens and puppies thinking they are cute, but without realizing what is involved with owning a pet, how it may impact their household, forgetting that the cute kitten or puppy grows up into a cat or dog and other issues. The major reason people leaving animals with shelters give for leaving their pets is that they are moving.

According to the Humane Society, an estimated 6-8 million cats and dogs enter shelters each year in the US alone and half of these are euthanized. Other sources have provided the actual range as being 8-10 million.  Given there are an estimated 75 million dogs and 85 million cats in the US, these numbers are staggering. (Source)

To give a broader view of the scope of the problem – this works out to around 22,000 animals going into shelters daily or about 1 every 4 seconds and 1 animal being euthanized about every 8 seconds.

With the growth of no kill shelters, the push towards sterilization of animals, improved care and knowledge at shelters in general, the numbers have been improving.

Still, only about 18-20% of people in most areas will go to a shelter when getting a cat or dog. (Source)

With some areas also passing laws which allow sales of animals only to take place through shelters and breeders, hopefully the adoption rate will improve and reduce the number of animals euthanized.

Things to Consider Before Getting a Kitten or Puppy

This is a partial list of some things you’ll want to consider before getting a kitten or puppy.

• If you have children, consider their ages and possible allergies.
• If you have other pets, consider how a new addition will fit in.
• There is a tremendous difference between one breed and another – do some research. Some are better with younger children than others.
• How much time do you have available to care for it?
• Who will be responsible for feeding, walking, playing, vet visits?
• Do you have the money to deal with day-to-day care of the pet and health care?
• What do you need to do to kitten- or puppy-proof your home?
• Where will the pet sleep?
• If you are in a community, apartment or condo with pet restrictions, will the pet be compliant?
• Do you have a move coming up that may impact being able to keep the pet?

If You Do Decide to Get A Pet

As I can readily attest, having cats and dogs can bring tremendous joy to our lives. If the circumstances are right for you and your family to get one, it can be a wonderful experience.

If you do decide to get one, then do some research on local shelters rather than just going to a local pet store or breeder to get one. There is a wide difference between one shelter and another. Also, some shelters are strictly no-kill while others are partly no-kill (they will not euthanize healthy animals). Around Christmas, because the desire for kittens and puppies is much higher, you might find it more difficult to find one at a shelter. However, there may be adult cats and dogs available for adoption. If you really want a kitten or puppy and can’t find one available, plan on looking right after the holidays when the drop-off rate at shelters will likely be up.

If you have the time and resources, opting for an animal with some health issues might be something to consider since that may mean saving a life.  As I’ve shared, Tony had serious health issues when he was young and with careful care and love, he has lived another 14 great years without any other health issues.

Other Things You Can Do

Given the increased need of shelters at this time of the year, consider making a donation of food, other items or money to a local shelter. Each year, at Christmas, I bring food to our local SPCA (the only option locally).  Call your local shelter to see what they need most before automatically assuming. Some shelters would prefer gift certificates or cash donations since they are selective in what they buy.

If you have friends and family members who mention they are considering getting a pet for their family for the holidays, suggest to them kindly to make sure it is the right decision and encourage them to go to a shelter.

About My Cat Family

For almost a decade, I had 7 cats and yes, I had rescues amongst them.  Sasha, although a purebred Siamese, was indirectly a rescue since she was an older kitten when we adopted her – no one had wanted her.  But in the future, any pets would definitely all be rescues.

I have more pictures of my cats at Flickr where you can see more of Tony and his siblings Pina, Sasha and Frisky.

Like many of my recipes, I’ll vary the exact vegetables I’ll use depending on what fresh produce I may have on hand. Sometimes, I’ll add ground turkey, extra lean beef, or sirloin to it.

If having the vegetarian chili recipe as laid out here, you’ll likely want to serve it over a whole grain to have a complete protein. Personally, I prefer my vegetarian chili recipe over some romaine lettuce with some low-fat grated cheddar cheese melted on top.

This vegetarian chili recipe freezes and reheats very well so if you’re looking to save time, you may want to double the batch (and use an appropriately larger pot) and freeze the extra. It can save a lot of time.

Ingredients

• 1 can tomato sauce 680 ml/24 ounces
• 1 can diced tomatoes 820 ml/28 oz
• 1 can mixed beans 410 ml/14 oz
• 1 can kidney beans 560 ml/19 ounces
• 1 medium yellow cooking onion
• 2 small zucchini (green or yellow)
• 1 medium red bell pepper
• 1 large green bell pepper
• Chili seasoning 2-4 tablespoons according to taste

Cooking Instructions

• Open can of tomato sauce and add a few tablespoons to large pot (enough for a thin layer on the bottom of the pot); turn jet on low-medium
• Chop cooking onion into small pieces, add to pot
• Chop green and red bell peppers into small pieces, add to pot stirring, turn heat to medium
• Open, drain and rinse both cans of beans, set aside
• Add 1/2 cup of tomato sauce to pot, stir mixture
• Chop zucchini into small pieces, add to pot stirring
• Leave pot on for 10 minutes to simmer, cover if needed to avoid splashing
• Add remainder of tomato sauce, beans, can of diced tomatoes and chili seasoning
• When vegetarian chili mix starts to bubble with heat, reduce heat to low-medium, cover and leave for 45-60 minutes

Calories for Vegetarian Chili Recipe

The entire pot, based on the above ingredients, works out to around 1427 calories for the full pot. When I made it, there were 17 1/3 x 3/4 cups worth. So a 3/4 cup serving works out to approximately 82 calories.

If I’m having it for lunch, I’ll have 2 scoops (1 1/2 cups). If I’m having it for dinner, I’ll have 3-4 scoops (2 1/4 c to 3 cups).

Tips

Make sure to use chili seasoning and not chili powder.

I’ll try to use organic beans and vegetables. If these aren’t options, at minimal I will try to use low- or reduced-sodium diced tomatoes and tomato sauce.

Some additional vegetables you may want to add: mushrooms, Portobello mushrooms (which can add a meaty texture to it) and grated carrots.

Our society has become addicted to snacking:

• We snack with information.
• We snack with food.
• We snack with our interactions with others.
• We snack with our work.

By snacking here, I’m referring to us just getting a taste of something. Typically this taste – or snack – is just enough for us to feel like we’ve done “something” but that something is rarely enough.

We Snack with Information

How we do this

We skim and get the general idea of information rather than absorbing and understanding it.

An example of how we snack with information

Let’s say you see a tweet on Twitter that says, “Facebook demographics changing – largest growth in 35-50 age group,” along with a link.

The serious snacker would see that tweet and file the summary per the subject away in their head for the short-term.

The middle-of-the-road snacker would click on the link, skim the article and probably not end up with any bigger of a takeaway than what they learned from the title itself.

Why do we snack with information?

We’re becoming avid surface absorbers of trivial information.  I think many of us feel that knowing all these bits of information must do something for us.

I’ve also noticed that people tend to be more interested in information that somehow backs up who they are and their own opinions even if it adds no real value to them to possess this knowledge.

I hazard a guess that if the above tweet and information were real, the people most likely to retweet (share) the information with others would be:

• Those that work in social media (relevant to their occupation)
• Those that use Facebook (since it is related to something they personally use)
• Those that fall into the 35-50 age group (since they belong to that age group)

When snacking with information becomes a problem

There are 4 times when snacking with information becomes a problem:

1. When we snack on too much information that has no relevance to us.
2. When we snack on so much information, our ability to filter out what is important – what we should know and be absorbing – becomes diminished.
3. When we pass along information snackage to others.
4. When we actually do come across information that is relevant to us and we choose to snack rather than to absorb and understand.

It is a really vicious cycle for many people: we don’t filter the information we take in to determine what is important or isn’t, we scan rather than read those things that could impact us, we don’t spend a lot of time thinking about what we discover, we don’t take action on what we learn and then we feel the need to share this snackage with others.

What should we be doing?

I agree that snacking on some kinds of information is a good thing for some people. Information has become entertainment as well. I don’t think that we need to get rid of information snacking entirely.

But I do think many people need to start actively applying filters to information. Filters so that we can more easily recognize when we come across information that is relevant and/or can improve our lives and our businesses.

Let me share an example of this from one of my blogs

I wrote a post last year on how to target Gmail in Google Adwords. This post contained information being sold by others. It is solid content. For those of you that have a business, being able to get highly responsive web site visitors for low acquisition costs should be a priority.  It really should be a no brainer to try it – especially if you are already using Google Adwords for advertising.

The post was one of the lowest read and recirculated ones on that site. I’m not really surprised about that because it is geared to a more limited audience than many of the other posts.

I decided to conduct a little survey. I went to people I knew who visit that blog (primarily those who have tweeted posts or who are subscribers) and asked if they had read the post until I got to 10.

I asked those 10 people if they could answer 3 questions:

1. Do they use Google Adwords? 6 of 10 said they do now and 2 said they have.
2. Do they need more business? All said yes.
3. Have they tried the Gmail targeting I described before or since reading the post? All said no.

Note: This isn’t to point fingers at any one individual or group of individuals. It’s simple to illustrate how our filtering can often mean we miss out on things that can provide value.

I’m not suggesting that the post described the Holy Grail of marketing. But what I am suggesting that all of this information snacking we do in the end will do very little for us if we don’t start to:

1. Filter out those things relevant to us,
2. Understand, rather than surface absorb information and
3. Take action.

What do you think? Do you believe information snacking is a problem? Do you do it?

Photograph by Incase Designs

Suspendisse eget porttitor dolor. Etiam a nunc eget justo luctus tristique. Suspendisse pulvinar orci mauris. In ac odio eget dui blandit bibendum. Mauris molestie dolor nec nisl congue porttitor. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Pellentesque arcu enim, euismod vitae fringilla at, molestie ut ligula. Praesent id purus non justo elementum placerat. Nulla placerat consectetur ipsum at volutpat. Donec sed libero ac magna fringilla posuere elementum eget lectus. Duis ullamcorper tortor eu libero pretium vestibulum. Sed sed orci id nisi vulputate sagittis id sit amet nulla. Aliquam erat volutpat. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae; In porttitor tincidunt volutpat.

Etiam faucibus varius nulla non aliquam. Nam sed justo elit. Pellentesque a nisi ipsum, ut luctus diam. Aliquam euismod rhoncus ipsum et convallis. In dui magna, dapibus sit amet luctus vel, ullamcorper suscipit urna. Ut dapibus blandit velit quis volutpat. Etiam eu lectus sit amet ligula aliquet consequat. Vestibulum et risus turpis. Vestibulum dictum venenatis libero. Quisque dictum massa sit amet elit pretium egestas. In in dolor urna, vitae semper mi. Etiam eu justo tortor. Sed tempor mauris sit amet libero sodales mattis sed nec lacus. Sed sed odio a tellus cursus iaculis. Curabitur id enim ante, non placerat mauris.

Vivamus non nisl tempor risus condimentum aliquam id eu est. Nulla dignissim ipsum sed mauris dapibus consequat. Suspendisse vestibulum, nisl eget porta dignissim, elit magna fringilla diam, et vehicula nunc leo vel sapien. Vestibulum in massa non ante tempus imperdiet vitae non risus. In quam lorem, facilisis at accumsan et, varius quis metus. Fusce a cursus risus. Maecenas tempor, diam et vestibulum pretium, libero neque gravida libero, vitae aliquam nulla erat ut odio. Donec in feugiat nibh. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Duis fermentum pretium ligula, in blandit neque rutrum sed. In id nulla ut orci auctor lacinia quis ac dolor. Quisque ac ultrices lectus. Morbi viverra tristique turpis in fermentum. In rhoncus euismod neque eget accumsan. Mauris pulvinar, quam non accumsan ultricies, ante nibh hendrerit tellus, sit amet lacinia quam augue fermentum diam. Sed eu libero diam, vitae congue mauris.

Vivamus non nisl tempor risus condimentum aliquam id eu est. Nulla dignissim ipsum sed mauris dapibus consequat. Suspendisse vestibulum, nisl eget porta dignissim, elit magna fringilla diam, et vehicula nunc leo vel sapien. Vestibulum in massa non ante tempus imperdiet vitae non risus. In quam lorem, facilisis at accumsan et, varius quis metus. Fusce a cursus risus. Maecenas tempor, diam et vestibulum pretium, libero neque gravida libero, vitae aliquam nulla erat ut odio. Donec in feugiat nibh. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Duis fermentum pretium ligula, in blandit neque rutrum sed. In id nulla ut orci auctor lacinia quis ac dolor. Quisque ac ultrices lectus. Morbi viverra tristique turpis in fermentum. In rhoncus euismod neque eget accumsan. Mauris pulvinar, quam non accumsan ultricies, ante nibh hendrerit tellus, sit amet lacinia quam augue fermentum diam. Sed eu libero diam, vitae congue mauris.

Suspendisse eget porttitor dolor. Etiam a nunc eget justo luctus tristique. Suspendisse pulvinar orci mauris. In ac odio eget dui blandit bibendum. Mauris molestie dolor nec nisl congue porttitor. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Pellentesque arcu enim, euismod vitae fringilla at, molestie ut ligula. Praesent id purus non justo elementum placerat. Nulla placerat consectetur ipsum at volutpat. Donec sed libero ac magna fringilla posuere elementum eget lectus. Duis ullamcorper tortor eu libero pretium vestibulum. Sed sed orci id nisi vulputate sagittis id sit amet nulla. Aliquam erat volutpat. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae; In porttitor tincidunt volutpat.

Etiam faucibus varius nulla non aliquam. Nam sed justo elit. Pellentesque a nisi ipsum, ut luctus diam. Aliquam euismod rhoncus ipsum et convallis. In dui magna, dapibus sit amet luctus vel, ullamcorper suscipit urna. Ut dapibus blandit velit quis volutpat. Etiam eu lectus sit amet ligula aliquet consequat. Vestibulum et risus turpis. Vestibulum dictum venenatis libero. Quisque dictum massa sit amet elit pretium egestas. In in dolor urna, vitae semper mi. Etiam eu justo tortor. Sed tempor mauris sit amet libero sodales mattis sed nec lacus. Sed sed odio a tellus cursus iaculis. Curabitur id enim ante, non placerat mauris.

Vivamus non nisl tempor risus condimentum aliquam id eu est. Nulla dignissim ipsum sed mauris dapibus consequat. Suspendisse vestibulum, nisl eget porta dignissim, elit magna fringilla diam, et vehicula nunc leo vel sapien. Vestibulum in massa non ante tempus imperdiet vitae non risus. In quam lorem, facilisis at accumsan et, varius quis metus. Fusce a cursus risus. Maecenas tempor, diam et vestibulum pretium, libero neque gravida libero, vitae aliquam nulla erat ut odio. Donec in feugiat nibh. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Duis fermentum pretium ligula, in blandit neque rutrum sed. In id nulla ut orci auctor lacinia quis ac dolor. Quisque ac ultrices lectus. Morbi viverra tristique turpis in fermentum. In rhoncus euismod neque eget accumsan. Mauris pulvinar, quam non accumsan ultricies, ante nibh hendrerit tellus, sit amet lacinia quam augue fermentum diam. Sed eu libero diam, vitae congue mauris.

Vivamus non nisl tempor risus condimentum aliquam id eu est. Nulla dignissim ipsum sed mauris dapibus consequat. Suspendisse vestibulum, nisl eget porta dignissim, elit magna fringilla diam, et vehicula nunc leo vel sapien. Vestibulum in massa non ante tempus imperdiet vitae non risus. In quam lorem, facilisis at accumsan et, varius quis metus. Fusce a cursus risus. Maecenas tempor, diam et vestibulum pretium, libero neque gravida libero, vitae aliquam nulla erat ut odio. Donec in feugiat nibh. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Duis fermentum pretium ligula, in blandit neque rutrum sed. In id nulla ut orci auctor lacinia quis ac dolor. Quisque ac ultrices lectus. Morbi viverra tristique turpis in fermentum. In rhoncus euismod neque eget accumsan. Mauris pulvinar, quam non accumsan ultricies, ante nibh hendrerit tellus, sit amet lacinia quam augue fermentum diam. Sed eu libero diam, vitae congue mauris.