The trick to making a team work is three-fold. Coming together and assembling the team is only the beginning. Lots of time is spent picking the right people, the right personalities, and the right skill sets that allow for an environment where the strength of the individuals involved complement the strength of the others. The best person for the job may not be the right person for the job. More important is finding someone that fits. Then you can really start seeing the true benefits of individuals working together. This is what a Mastermind Group is all about.

The longer the mastermind group stays together, the more they learn how to work with one another. The team learns how to communicate with one another, how to motivate one another, and—for better or worse—how to push each other’s buttons. As the team gels, tasks are delegated and completed more quickly. The end result is a group of individuals acting as a whole. No single person can create change the way an effective team can.

Your team doesn’t have to necessarily work under one roof. Your team can be a group of like-minded friends who are focused personal and professional growth. In the end, all teams, regardless of context, are formed under the fundamental goal of growth. You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours. It’s a tribe that looks out for one another and it teaches many valuable lessons in life, such as sacrifice, compromise, and communication.

Think and Grow Rich Team-Building Activity

It’s easier to stay motivated and focused when you are surrounded by accountability. Many people venturing off towards success stumble upon the famed work of Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich. They read the book, feel the power of its motivating power for 48 hours, and then find that the excitement and passion begins to waver as time goes on. At LEAF, we decided to read the book together as a group. One chapter a week, along with written exercises to accompany each chapter. That’s 16 weeks of commitment to the growth of the team and all of the individuals involved. The results have been incredible. And the process isn’t over yet.

Alone, it would have been much more difficult to read the chapters and follow through with the weekly commitment. Instead, the team kept each other accountable, met at the consistent times, and made sure the others were following through. During times where motivation dropped below optimal, our weekly meeting served to re-energize us and remind us exactly why we were doing this team building activity. Each of us had financial goals that we voiced and wrote for the entire group to see, but the written goals were the least important part of the process. We had created an environment that was focused on the long-term success of each and every team member. We were not only accountable to ourselves, but to the rest of the group. When someone displayed low energy, the others acted to bring those levels back up. I haven’t seen this intense level of focus, even in myself, since LEAF opened and I couldn’t be more excited about being part of such an inspired group of individuals. I highly recommend compiling a group and trying this team-building activity yourself with your friends and professional networks. It doesn’t matter what you do for a living, it’s just amazing for personal growth in every regard.

No person is an island. Better to find the right people and grow together.

“Healthy Living. Lifelong Learning. Endless Fun.” 

The problem is that the book is a bit too much like a fairy tale. While I still consider Ferriss to be one of the most influential teachers in my own entrepreneurial path, he neglects to discuss the most important part of creating the dream-like 4-hour work week: Work. And lots of it. If you attempt to start and maintain a fire with nothing but fuel poured over a few small twigs, your fire won’t last long. If you want to keep your entrepreneurial flame burning for ages, what you need to do is invest your time, energy, and effort in cutting down and collecting high-quality wood. You need to put in hard work before lighting the match.

It’s not that I don’t believe in the 4-hour work week. I do. I just think that it takes lots of 60-100 hour work weeks to get there first. Systems that are capable of passively generating income are easier to talk about than actually create. Most people don’t even exercise 4 hours a week. By the time someone is ready to press play on their money making system, thousands upon thousands of hours have been invested. It takes hard work to get to the 4-hour work week. And this is a good thing.

Simply being given money won’t make you happy.

You chuckled and said “bull$&*%” after reading that didn’t you? That’s okay. I get it. Everyone dreams about winning the lottery, but when that lucky person’s numbers are called, study after study and report after report show us the opposite. Lottery winners are less happy after they strike it rich. Shortly before he died, Mahatma Gandhi wrote a letter to his grandson which identified the 7 Blunders of the World. Number one on the list was “Wealth without work”. There is more to life than money. Here are just 1, 2, and 3 perspectives on the lottery being inversely correlated with happiness topic.

Financial reward is only one consequence of those that achieve wealth through hard work. Working hard to create something provides a sense of pride and fulfillment that makes you feel like your limited time here matters. It’s your thoughts, creativity, vision, and dreams manifesting themselves into reality through a long process known commonly as ‘work’ that too many people want to avoid.

So why does chasing the shortcut sound
so much more appealing nowadays?

Being a huge advocate of finding meaningful work, I find it hard to define a person’s daily grind as ‘work’ in the negative light that it has been placed. When you are passionate about what you do and love your job, it could consume 16 hours of your day and you would still go to bed at night with a smile on your face. Working through the grind is something everyone has to deal with it. When you see the light at the end of the tunnel and understand that the hard work will mean something in the end, it’s easier to swallow the tough pill and move onward. In the end, there’s always gonna be hard time to put in. Better to do it with a good attitude than trying to find the easy way out.

There is inherent danger in chasing the 4-hour week with only a superficial understanding of what the finish line looks like. It ignores the process that provides all the educational experiences, experimentation, failures, challenges, obstacles, adventures, successes, and life lessons that will allow you to enjoy the fruits of your labor with a deep sense of fulfillment and gratification. These processes, without a doubt, were experienced by the most famed success stories, Ferriss included, en route to creating their own 4-hour work week.

Pursecase

It was by sheer coincidence that I met Kelley Coughlan and Jenn Deese in 2011. LEAF was in the market for a PR agency, and Melrose PR came highly recommended. There’s nothing that excites me more than working with another young and energetic start up. When one company succeeds, both succeed. Their passion matched our own, so I was hopeful it would work out.

After our initial meeting, I emailed Kelley and told her why I was not moving forward with them and listed several mistakes they made throughout the process, from meeting until sales pitch. She asked for the truth. Who was I to deny her? When Kelley emailed me and requested a meeting to help her with her processes, I knew I had found the right team. The relationship has been in full bloom since. But that is neither here nor there. This story only serves to communicate the kind of hard working, driven and creative individuals responsible for Pursecase, a new iPhone case about to hit shelves. It’s worth telling the story to illustrate what a little hard work can do, and how quickly vision can turn into reality.

From idea to reality is a time frame of only 4 months. Seems easy, but the highlight reel rarely represents the behind the scenes action. I watched as these two girls spent long hours creatively problem solving and handling manufacturing, distribution, design, branding, website development, 5 rounds of product changes, focus groups, and countless brainstorming  sessions en route to a final product that even I called “pretty cool”. While it’s not up my alley, I know a certain demographic this will surely strike a chord for… teenage girls.

Eventually, someone will probably come in and buy the finished system created by Kelley and Jenn. That’s great news from both parties involved, especially Kelley and Jenn. But the most important part of the process would not be the sale. The amount of experience, knowledge, and wisdom gained from such an experience will carry over to every future project, almost ensuring that the same outcome will occur with the next project. Once you’ve done it once, it’s certainly a lot easier to do it again.

Check out more details and back them on Kickstarter as they get ready for launch! As Kelley and Jenn would say, you’ll be #stylinanddialin

“Healthy Living. Lifelong Learning. Endless Fun.”

There’s no better motivator than a little bit of friendly competition. Okay, sometimes it’s not so friendly. If you’ve ever participated in any form of competition, you understand where I’m coming from.  It can get downright dirty sometimes. But that’s why I like kettlebell sport so much. When I step on the platform there is only three competitor: me, myself, and I. This means that when anyone attends a kettlebell competition, they enter one of the friendliest, open, and generous environments in the fitness industry. Healthy living, exercise and a supportive community? Sign me up!

Last weekend I participated in the OKC California Open in Costa Mesa, California. Walking into Innovative Results, the gym that hosted the event, I felt right at home; probably because the gym is outfitted with LEAF Competition Kettlebells. What’s not to like about that?! Soon after weigh-ins, friendly conversations erupted amongst the tightly-knit kettlebell community that uses these competitions to reconnect with one another and network with the many brilliant minds that attend.

All in all, special thanks are in order for Aaron Guyett and Corey Beasley for hosting such an incredible event. Organizing credits go to the amazing team from Juno Fitness and OKC, Jason Dolby, John Wild Buckley, Juliet Lederle, and Nazo.

And let’s not forget LEAF’s own Margaret Schrader and Leah Ramos for kicking butt with their respective sets. So proud of how far these two women have traveled on their journey towards optimal health and wellness.

My Snatch Set

This was the first time I had attempted to snatch 32kg (70.4lbs) for more than 30 seconds. Honestly, I wasn’t concerned with the outcome. I was more interested in setting an initial benchmark for myself as I make the proactive attempt to attend more competitions across the country over the next 24 months. I told myself if I got 20 reps on each arm, I’d be satisfied. Surviving the entire 10 minute set wasn’t even a thought in my mind. That wasn’t going to happen.

After the dust settled and my grip strength completely drained, I survived 4 minutes and did 62 (2 no counts) reps. Check out the set from the competition below. At rep 33, you can see the kettlebell exploding out of my hand and my opposite hand was barely able to save the set by catching the kettlebell as it was falling to the ground.

Ironically, I didn’t train specifically for kettlebells prior to stepping onto the platform. Instead, I focused the last few months of my training on my most obvious weak link: flexibility. And it worked. Stretching didn’t make me stronger. It just freed up some of the strength and power that was being held back by my own lack of flexibility.

By focusing on inherent weak points, individuals can build what I like to call Holistic Fitness. In other words, everything counts. Flexibility, strength, power, quickness… it all contributes to the total athletic package.

The Master of Movement

My warm up prior to my snatch set included mostly Dynamic Flow Flexibility, a series of dynamic stretches taught to me by Tanner Martty, aka the Master of Movement, that resembles a creative blend of yoga, primal flow movement, stretching, and a pinch of Gary Gray’s knowledge of transformation zones. I’ve had the privilege of working alongside this creative mind for the last 3 years. I’ve learned so much about the human body just by watching Tanner work out. Everyone at LEAF has been utilizing Tanner’s Dynamic Flow Flexibility routines with great results. The good news is that you’ll be able to watch them and do them on your own at home once they’re added to the LEAF YouTube Channel. Until then, keep your eyes and ears open for Tanner Martty, he’s an emerging leader in the fitness industry.

Oh, and why do I call Tanner the Master of Movement? Just check out LEAF’s latest Feats of Fun video where Tanner does single leg pistol squat jumps up and down 18 inch stairs. At 6’4”, 230 lbs, this is pretty incredible to watch.

“Healthy Living. Lifelong Learning. Endless Fun.”

It’s undoubtedly true that I value my personal health. I wouldn’t be able to handle the several projects and responsibilities on my plate each and every day if I didn’t have an equivalent – or greater – amount of health to offset the stresses and rigors of my chosen lifestyle. In fact, if you followed me around for a day, you’d likely conclude that I was a “health freak”. Maybe so, but it definitely did not start that way.

Who I am today is the cumulative result of several small behavioral changes that started from the first moment I decided health was my number one priority. In other words, I worked on one little health tip at a time. I learned it, implemented it, found a cost effective version of it that worked for me, and repeated the process when that healthy choice became as habitual as brushing my teeth in the morning. What I have now is a life centered on health and, being the entrepreneur I am, cost-effective ways of achieving that ultimate goal.

I’d like to share those strategies with you because I think that many people want to be healthy, they just don’t think they can afford it. For all of you nodding your head as you read these sentences, my new YouTube Channel is for you, so I hope you subscribe and share with your friends and loved ones the videos that you find most useful or helpful.

Specifically, I’ve started a web series called Health on a Budget to show you how to save money, time, and stress while building a lifestyle focused on health.

But I need your help!!!

In the comment section below, or in a private message, let me know what topics you would like me to cover. I have a few ready to go, but your suggestions and preconceived notions about healthy living will help the process since, in the end, this is about helping you get healthy. On a budget. So I want to know what areas you’re having problems with.

I posted my first video, High-Quality Mineral Water for Health, and received a lot of great feedback. I will definitely be addressing the constructive criticisms I have received so that the information provided to you is easy to digest. Thanks to everyone who helped out with the feedback process. In case you missed it, here’s why I will never buy$2-$3 bottles of mineral water ever again. And I look forward to hearing your suggestions on future topics!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUZNjv0stWo&list=PLOS6RofV3xV-CdT8n98Exb0wl1c6DuVj3

“Healthy Living. Lifelong Learning. Endless Fun.”

A Bachelor’s degree used to be an admirable goal that provided a well-lit path to success. Finish college. Get a job. Climb the corporate ladder. Get a house, a dog, and 2 ½ kids. Retire. Smile. Wash, rinse, and repeat. Well not anymore. As students finish school with student loans the size of a mortgage and no job in sight, they either take minimum wage jobs or go back to school to defer payment of their massive school loans. How long before a Master’s degree succumbs to the same fate? Even today, will a Master’s guarantee you ‘success’ and financial freedom?

Dreaming big and subsequently chasing that dream is now necessary for our youth to succeed. Especially when you consider the many facets of success. With a large goal, you are more likely to stay focused, live with purpose, and withstand the obstacles and challenges that will surely find their way onto your path. Success thus becomes a lifestyle as you overcome the hurdles that steer others off the course. The truth is that the majority of the college experience has been transformed into one big Girls Gone Wild frat party. Many of these parties last long after the tassel has been turned. Students choose between path A or path B on a daily basis. But why miss the party if nothing down path B looks that great? This is exactly why dreaming big can help. It’s a much needed compass in times of confusion. Short-term raging or long-term fulfillment? Which will it be? 

The single best argument for being a big dreamer is that you will learn and experience so much more in the process of challenging yourself beyond your self-imposed and perceived limits. You will be forced to cultivate and learn new skills, become a master at your chosen craft, step outside your comfort zone on a continual basis. Growth, growth, and more growth. All in the name of a higher purpose that fuels the fire deep inside of you. If a lifetime is measured by how much you learn and experience, then there is no better way towards that aim than chasing the wildest dreams imaginable.

Get ready for critics, too. They’ll tell you not to plan so far ahead. That you have to live in the moment. That’s akin to telling aspiring children and student-athletes that they shouldn’t attempt to reach professional levels because it’s too far in the future and chasing that dream would prevent a life from being lived. As a former student-athlete I can honestly say that the majority of the leadership, determination, work ethic, and passion that define my character to this day were forged as a result of being focused on working towards huge goals, which coincidentally included playing professional football. This lesson isn’t just for kids. It’s for everyone. It’s for you. It’s never too late to dream big, sacrifice the trivial and superficial temptations surrounding you, and pursue that which will leave your soul fulfilled. What’s the worst that can happen?

Most people chase small goals. This is not a problem in of itself. Lofty goals are usually broken down into smaller and more attainable goals so that the path towards the impossible is filled with smaller checkpoints and reasons for celebration are earned. Small goals build patterns and habits of success. That is not the issue being examined here.

Others are completely comfortable and happy with their current situation. Obviously, this message is not for them either. Happiness and purpose are subjective. Not everyone wants to follow the path into uncertainty.

The issue being presented here is for the countless of individuals setting small goals when deep down inside they yearn for more. A lot more. These people have lofty goals, but for whatever reason, they shy away from fully committing and bury their goal out of conscious awareness. Ironic that chasing smaller goals means being pooled with pretty much everyone else. There is a lot of competition for being just average.

You never know what you are capable of doing or handling until you test yourself and jump into the deep end head first. Only then will you know your own potential and limitations. Don’t be surprised if you find that you are more capable than you previously thought. Lastly, after facing the many challenges associated with lofty goals, everything else in life will seem easy. You will have a cool, calm, and collected demeanor that can handle all of life’s hardships with balance and ease.

Go ahead, scratch that itch. Dare to do something different. Don’t settle on small dreams if your heart and soul yearn for something greater. Chase the dream that everyone else calls impossible.

You are the writer, actor, producer, and director of your own life story. How does your story end?

Still not motivated? Well here’s your pep talk…

“Healthy Living. Lifelong Learning. Endless Fun.” 

Watching the news is one of the most depressing activities of the day. With media coverage focusing on everything that’s wrong in this world, it’s a rarity to see something that touches us with a smile rather than causing us to reach for the front door to make sure it is securely locked. When probed as to their reasoning for such sensationalist media coverage, broadcasting companies site the psychological phenomenon known as the negativity bias, a theory that suggests humans pay more attention to and give more weight to negative rather than positive experiences.

Let’s see if we can change that with a little help from a nice rack… but first get your mind out of the gutter. This is a different kind of rack.

Enter #niceRAK.

The nice thing about theories is that they are theories. They don’t have to be universally or completely true. If they were, they’d be labeled as laws. In my humble opinion, the only reason we focus on the negative is because we have been conditioned to do so. We live in social systems that constantly throw negativity at us in various forms of media. If we were taught, or if we learned, something different or consciously made the effort to focus on the positive aspects of life, these initial behavioral changes would evolve into habitual practice.

Have you ever experienced the power of a nice random act of kindness? That’s what #niceRAK stands for. I tested the waters of this concept with a group of friends in Big Bear Lake. I presented the idea behind #niceRAK to see if it would resonate with my close friends. After they realized I wasn’t talking about female anatomy, I wondered whether the idea I had presented made sense. If they didn’t see the light, I figured no one else would. Either way, expectation levels were low, and the only curiosity that lingered was seeing how people would react to thoughtful and intentional random acts of  kindness. An hour later I had my answer.

My friends had returned from a coffee run and walked in and in unison yelled “Nice Rack!!!” Hilarity ensued and I instantly guessed what had happened. While finishing their trip through the Starbucks drive-thru, my friends decided to pay for the coffee of the customers in the car behind them. The Starbucks employee thought it was a joke. He asked if they were trying to get him fired. After a few laughs and an explanation, the employee smiled. A real, authentic, and genuine smile. The only request my friends left the employee was to inform the next customer of #niceRAK and to keep it going. The exchange of smiles, courtesy of #niceRAK, was well worth the initial awkwardness and confusion.

An external smile, smirk, or chuckle may seem insignificant to an observer, but to the person doing the smiling, that is hardly the case. A multitude of biochemical and hormonal reactions are occurring at exponentially high rates. Smiling invokes feelings of happiness and happy people are healthier. Studies on altruism and acts of selflessness have also been shown to contribute to long-term health and vitality. The bottom line is that being kind and helping others is truly helping good ol’ #1: you.

Kindness should be the norm, not the exception. People shouldn’t feel confused or awkward about kindness. Being generous to others can dominate our mental landscape if we allow it to. It just takes time and effort to shift the focus. But with social media tools like Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, Nice Random Acts of Kindness, or #niceRAK, can be a smile that changes someone’s day. Probably yours. Go ahead and try it just once, see if you can avoid a deep and fulfilling emotion in your gut that sends shivers up your spine and leaves you with grinning from ear-to-ear. It won’t happen. Humans are innately empathetic when given the chance. It’s how we’re wired. By being nice we are only cooperating and living in line with our natural ways.

See if you can take time out of your day and do a #niceRAK, then share it with your social media world. Share it. Tweet it. Hashtag it. We all want to see your #niceRAKs! These are the small things that can truly change the world. One smile at a time.

After all, who isn’t flattered when complimented on their #niceRAK? Don’t be shy, show off your #niceRAK.

And in this case, it’s always polite to stare…

“Healthy Living. Smart Business. Endless Fun.”

Ever heard of a CAFO? It’s short for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation. I’ll save some of the specifics of what happens within the confines of a CAFO for later in the article, but for now let’s simply summarize a CAFO as a hybrid of a factory and a farm where most of this country’s livestock is destined to spend some time on their eventual journey to your plate. Even though science has finally jumped on the common sense bandwagon by signing a declaration acknowledging every mammal’s inherent conscious awareness, the treatment of livestock in CAFOs is anything but humane¹. Currently in the industrialized livestock agriculture sector, even the most progressive welfare policies lag behind, are ignorant of, or arbitrarily disregard the science on sentience and cognition that many people believe to be common sense².

At the root of every CAFO is a concept known as industrialization, a process of creating systems geared towards production efficiency.  A consequence, however, of this strict focus on maximum productivity, aka $$$, is that livestock is transformed from a being respected and revered for its contribution to human life to nothing more than a line item on an income statement. Profits, losses, and economics replace values, animal husbandry, and ethics. The sad reality is that this very same process is quickly consuming many aspects of life, not just the livestock industry. Industrialization introduces a thought process and philosophy that can alter—and I argue that it has completely transformed—society’s  perception and attitude towards the natural world and what constitutes a fulfilling and meaningful existence. Economic efficiency and effectiveness have become the sole focus and the qualitative factors that create intrinsic value and worthwhile experience have fallen by the wayside. Case in point: the United States Public Education system.

Industrialized Education

One sector significantly impacted by industrialization is education. Rather than being taught how to think, students are taught what to think. Public education now closely resembles a factory in which a student taken through set curricula and standardized tests. What is neglected in this process is a student’s individuality, factors that include creativity, personal interest, culture, skill set, life goals, and type of intelligence.

“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” – Albert Einstein

In his thought-provoking and entertaining presentation available for viewing below, Sir Ken Robinson, one of the leading advocates for reforming public education, discusses these issues and how the current static nature of our industrialized educational systems cannot keep up with the rapidly changing environment. Without educational reform, Robinson argues that America’s public education system will remain ranking as one of the worst in the world.

The result is more and more young adults questioning the necessity of public education and choosing to follow the path of self-education, some in lieu of and others in addition to, their path towards a BA or beyond. Michael Ellsberg, author of The Education of Millionaires, discusses how students are not taught how to survive and thrive in the real world because academic institutions do not cultivate the ‘street smarts’ necessary for navigating through the dynamic nature of the real world. Instead of teaching valuable lessons such as finding meaningful and passionate work, finding great mentors, creating and making a vision a reality, marketing and branding yourself, and money management, school teaches bottled courses that after 2^nd grade, are rarely applicable to daily life.

The duty of public education should be preparing individuals for the demands of the real world, not for success on tests based on theory, which are often times static and out of date due to the incredibly slow pace at which academic information can change or evolve. Instead, students across the country are now graduating with student loans the size of mortgages with nothing to show for it except a minimum wage job… if they’re lucky. Both Ken Robinson and Michael Ellsberg agree that the traditional model public education do a really good job of one thing: training more college professors. Those that succeed are most often those with street smarts, not book smarts. Practical know-how trumps bottled and industrialized academic theory. Just ask folks like Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, Ralph Lauren, or Bill Gates.

CAFO Life vs. Human Life

Industrialization has transformed the way human beings live. It is not surprising to see animal activists picket and speak out against CAFOs since the industrialization of this sector has led to inexcusably inhumane practices. Interesting, however, is that the industrialized lives of human beings—predominantly those living in urban areas—mirror that of livestock living in CAFOs. Sound absurd? Let’s look at some comparisons:

1) As a result of living in unnatural environments, industrial livestock must be over-medicated for the majority of their lives, pumped full of antibiotics and hormones just so that they can survive. Like the animals, humans are becoming sicker at earlier ages and requiring lifelong medication as they become obese and diabetic in adolescence³. Maybe our living conditions have become just as unnatural as a CAFO? Why do more and more people need medication throughout their entire lives?

2) Life in CAFOs subjects livestock to extreme amounts of fear and stress, leading to abnormal behaviors that include cannibalism, violence, and even producing permanent genetic changes⁴. The last few weeks of this year have brought some of America’s worst tragedies ever seen. The shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School will never be forgotten. The firefighters gunned down in Rochester, New York on Christmas Eve will remain heroes for eternity. Both of these events are some of the most heinous acts ever witnessed in modern times. The public outcry has been immediate, significant, and warranted. The public demands more treatment for mentally ill individuals. Where is all the support for these mentally ill individuals? I argue that a better line of reasoning would be to question why the prevalence of mental illness seems to be on the steadily on the rise. Why are incidences ADD, ADHD, Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome becoming more common⁵?

3) A funny thing happens when you feed livestock food that is not part of their natural diet: The animals get fat, chronically diseased, or die. Or all of the above. A funny thing happens when you feed humans heavily-processed, chemical-ridden, and engineered edible products: The humans get fat, chronically diseased, or die⁶. Or all of the above.

Industrialization transformed life on Earth. It brought with it unprecedented innovations, technological advancements, and economic progress. Times have changed. Maximally producing anything for the sake of production is not the answer. The Dust Bowl, America’s major ecological and agricultural disaster in the 30′s, was was caused by poor agricultural practices that focused on overproduction and ignored the principles of sustainable agriculture⁷. The short-term objective of maximum production is never the right answer for the long-term viability of any product, industry, or aspect of life. Industrialization strips the authenticity, genuineness, and intent of an experience, thus transforming it into a superficial economic transaction focused intently on profit.

There is more to animal husbandry than maximizing profit per pound of cattle. There is more to education than an SAT score or GPA. There is much more to life than economics and productivity. As new problems arise and life-centered values reemerge at the forefront of public awareness, new solutions must replace the archaic and static industrial systems of the past. Yes, money and economics are important, but they cannot trump values, ethics, and the social bonds that define humanity. When they do… well… you see what can happen.

De-industrializing Life

The industrialized world has disconnected us from the game of life by taking our focus away from the process of living and placing it instead on the final score at the end of the game. Whoever came up with the quote ‘he who dies with the most toys wins’ missed the point. He missed the whole map by a long shot. In a CAFO, animals are disconnected from their natural environment. The combination of closed quarters, highly stressed living, and poor diet leads to diseased animals that require mega doses of medication to simply continue breathing. Is it so difficult to see our own systems have created the same fate for humans? We live in closed quarters, within four walls, and completely disconnected from one another and from nature. The most connected we feel to the natural world is when we watch the National Geographic Channel.

It is time to reconnect with the world around us. To value something beyond mere economic profit and the almighty dollar. No, I am not saying money is evil. It is what it is. Money can be used as at tool for both good and evil. But valuing it above all else creates the problems currently plaguing our country and world. Life is more about the process than the end goal. Reconnect with moments that define life. Don’t rush to the finish line and realize you missed the ride. Reconnect with nature by spending time outdoors. Take off your shoes and walk on the beach, or a park, or a hike. Reconnect with your food by eating actual food. Grow it or buy it from a local farmer. Converse about it. Prepare the meal yourself. Turn off your television and sincerely reconnect with your friends, family and loved ones. Most importantly, reconnect with yourself. Movement is the language of the body. Listen to it through meditation.

[End Note: This article is not an argument for veganism. The process of industrializing wheat and soy production destroys the environment in equal, if not worse, ways in the form of monocropping and deforestation⁸. In order to make room for vegan-friendly crops, massive quantities of land must be utilized for cultivation. The process of producing wheat and other grains requires clear-felling native vegetation, which alone results in the deaths of thousands of plants and animals per hectare. Some analyses reveal that producing monocrops like wheat kills 25 times more sentient beings per kilogram of useable protein and creates more environmental damage in the process⁹. Either way you look at it, whether you are a meat-eater or vegan, there is blood on your hands¹⁰. Humans kill fungus, plants, bacteria, plants, animals, EVERYTHING that gets in the way of human food production. There is no escaping the reality that vita manducat vita… life eats life. The more important commonality between monocropping and industrial livestock agriculture, however, is that the process of industrialization is at the heart of the issue. It is not what we eat, but rather how that food was raised, cultivated, treated, and prepared that matters.]

Works Cited

1) Dvorsky, George. Prominent Scientists Sign Declaration that Animals have Conscious Awareness, Just Like Us. I09. Aug 2012. http://io9.com/5937356/prominent-scientists-sign-declaration-that-animals-have-conscious-awareness-just-like-us

2) Jones, Robert. Science, Sentience, and Animal Welfare. Biology & Philosophy. Nov 2012. http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10539-012-9351-1?LI=true

3) Pittman, David. People Living Longer but Not Healthier Lives. Medpage Today. Dec 2012. http://www.medpagetoday.com/PrimaryCare/PreventiveCare/36409

4) PEW Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production. Jul 2008. http://www.ncifap.org/_images/212-7_PCIFAP_AmlWlBng_FINAL_REVISED_7-14-08.pdf

5) Norris, Barry. Autism Spectrum Disorders Fact Sheet. Autism-help.org. http://www.autism-help.org/autism-incidence-increase.htm

6) Poulter, Sean. Cancer Row Over GM Foods as Study Says it did THIS to Rats. Science and Tech. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2205509/Cancer-row-GM-foods-French-study-claims-did-THIS-rats–cause-organ-damage-early-death-humans.html

7) Trimarchi, Maria. What Caused the Dust Bowl? How Stuff Works. http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/dust-bowl-cause.htm

8) Agribusiness in the Rainforest. Rainforest Action Network. http://ran.org/agribusiness-rainforest

9) Archer, Mike. Ordering a Vegetarian Meal? There’s More Blood on Your Hands. The Conversation. http://theconversation.edu.au/ordering-the-vegetarian-meal-theres-more-animal-blood-on-your-hands-4659

10) Herring, Peg. OSU Scientists Questions the Moral Basis of a Vegan Diet. OSU University Extension. Mar 2002. http://web.archive.org/web/20041107084521/http://eesc.orst.edu/agcomwebfile/news/food/vegan.html

Statistic Brain reports that nearly 50% of the US population makes New Year Resolutions. Surprisingly—or rather not at all—only 8% of these individuals actually achieve the goals they set out to do. The reasons for failure vary across the board, but hopefully these tips can help you as you prepare the final draft of your 2013 resolutions:

1. Reward yourself

Every heard of Pavlov’s Dogs? There’s a reason why this study continues to be the foundation of all classical conditioning behavior models. Pavlov’s dogs were trained to salivate when they heard a bell ring in anticipation of receiving a treat. Well, it’s time to embrace your inner Fidoand reward yourself in the same way.

Here is one easy way, especially if your resolution is to exercise more. First, each time you complete your daily workout, put $1 inside of a jar. Second, each day you successfully don’t ‘cheat’ on your diet, go ahead and put another $1 bill inside that jar. At the end of each month, enjoy dollars amassed in your jar and treat yourself to something special or donate it to a good cause. Either way, financial incentives assist with positively reinforcing good habits and behaviors.

You are an animal after all. Just like Fido, you have to reward yourself for a job well done. Maybe you can even get someone to scratch your tummy after you finish yoga class.

2. One at a time

Having numerous resolutions is fine. My checklist consistently includes 5 to 10 resolutions each year. Trying to do all of them at once, however, now that’s a mistake. You have an entire year to get through your resolutions. That’s 12 months… 365 days… 8,765 hours. Attempting to knock your whole list out before Valentine’s Day is a sure-fire to fail across the board. It’s much better to focus on one resolution at a time, especially if they are behavior related goals like working out or eating healthy.

It takes time to turn new behaviors into habitual practices. The easiest way to build a habit is to use triggers—like placing your running shoes in front of your refrigerator to remind you to exercise before scarfing down breakfast—committing yourself every day, and rewarding yourself (see tip #1). Most sources agree that it takes roughly 30 days to build a lasting habit. That’s potentially 12 pesky habits to change or add in a single year. How different would you be if you eliminated just 5 of those pesky or unhealthy habits? Or added 5 good ones?

3. Make it Measurable

According to Statistic Brain, the top five resolutions are losing weight, getting organized, spending less money, enjoying life to the fullest, and staying fit/healthy. These resolutions sound fine and dandy, but the obvious question is: relative to what? You need to make resolutions measurable so the goal can actually be measured and tracked. Instead of losing weight, try losing 10 pounds. Even better would be losing 10 pounds by June 15, 2013. Everything about the goal is measurable and you can track progress more effectively. If May 1^st rolls around and you’re only down 2 pounds, you know it’s time to step up your game if you want to be part of the small percentage of people that follow through with their resolutions.

4. Be ALL In

If thinking about successfully completing your resolution doesn’t send shivers down your spine and make you want to stop the first person you see and scream in their face about how excited you are about your goal, maybe you should reconsider writing it down in the first place. You have to internalize your goal and desire to make a change. This is something author and lifestyle expert Tim Ferriss refers to as the “Harajuku Moment” in his book The Four Hour Body. To sum it up, go all in. Don’t accept anything less than success. The roadblocks, challenges, and obstacles only make the sweet nectar of victory taste that much sweeter.

5. Do Something.

Lists are cute, but without action you’re dead in the water. When I first watched the popular movie The Secret a few years ago, my only thought was ‘and….. then what?’ I fully endorse and urge people to think positively about life. But positive thinking without complementary action leaves you at the starting gates when everyone else is finishing the race. You have to move forward. You have to do something. Anything. Regardless of how large the task may seem, little moves forward build momentum. Momentum mounts. Before you know it you’ll be done with your resolutions by July and proudly penciling in new goals to keep yourself occupied until 2014.

The Mayans were wrong about December 21, 2012. That means two things. First is that there are going to be a lot of babies born around September 21^st, 2013. Second, and more important, is that 2013 can and should be start of a healthy and fulfilling new life. Follow these steps to goal attainment and your resolutions will be a reality. Be part of the 8%. Cheers to you and the amazing year to come!

Using weight, height, age, and sex to calculate how much food you should be eating for a specific goal is an absurdity. Period.

The rate at which individuals burn calories varies greatly, and cannot be measured. Saying that ‘calories count’ is nothing more a truism. Yes, food has calories, but it means nothing substantively since there are countless of other variables that determine what happens to those calories and how they impact the rest of the interconnected human systems. In order to truly understand why calorie counting, as a measure of guiding dietary practices, is highly inaccurate and, arguably, unhealthy for our society’s food production systems, one must examine relevant variables that impact the human body’s metabolism.

Whole Foods Matter

There are important reasons to ‘count chemicals, not calories’ when choosing foods; and they have direct implications on the validity of a caloric number and the process of calorie counting. For one, highly processed foods can artificially stimulate dopamine, the pleasure neurotransmitter, which creates cravings and can lead to addictions ⁽¹⁾. While this does not directly increase or decrease calorie absorption in the body, it surely leads to behaviors that make calorie counting even more difficult. If a person is constantly eating foods designed to make them crave more, willpower only lasts so long. Prevalent additives in processed foods like high fructose corn syrup, sugar, and MSG have been linked to weight gain and obesity ⁽²⁾. If we focused solely on caloric intake, these substances could hinder fitness goals and, more importantly, health.

The differences between whole and processed foods also impacts the actual net caloric number associated with the food. Whole and processed calories are just not the same. To start, the thermic effect of food, which is used to describe the energy expended (calories burned) in order to digest and process food, is different when comparing eating whole foods and processed foods. In one study, the thermic effect of the whole food meal was almost double that of the processed food meal.⁽³⁾  In addition, depending on whole food or processed food choice, the resting metabolic rate after digestion was altered in significantly different ways. For those who ate the processed food meal, their metabolic rates dropped below their average resting metabolic rate (RMR) during the fourth hour after eating, while the whole food meal group never fell below the RMR, meaning whole food eaters were ‘burning’ calories at a higher rate during their resting state long after the meal actually ended.⁽³⁾

While most calorie counting proponents base their arguments on the laws of thermodynamics (despite the fact these are based on mechanical and closed systems, something the human body definitely is not), one study finds that the notion that ‘a calorie is a calorie’ is a direct violation of the second law of thermodynamics. The study notes that the “second law of thermodynamics says that variation of efficiency for different metabolic pathways is to be expected. Thus, ironically the dictum that a “calorie is a calorie” violates the second law of thermodynamics, as a matter of principle.”⁽⁴⁾ Even the different macronutrients—proteins, carbohydrates, and fats—require different amounts of energy (calories) to be burned to breakdown, absorb, and use. Protein is the most complex macronutrient and, therefore, takes the most energy. Fat takes the least amount of energy to metabolize and carbohydrates fall between fat and protein. None of these thermic factors are accounted for in the calorie equation. Thus, depending on the food you eat, a calorie is NOT always a calorie.

Individual Digestive Differences

Every single person’s digestive system is anatomically and functionally different. We may all have the same parts, but they come in all different shapes and sizes, especially after a lifetime of lifestyle choices. Varying intestinal lengths and structures create different and dynamic ways in which the gut adapts to diet, disease, and damage. ⁽⁵⁾  Surely, these variables impact caloric breakdown and absorption rates. Of course, stomach acids and digestive enzymes in individuals will breakdown foods at different rates and varying degrees of efficiency and effectiveness. This can happen when someone’s digestive health is compromised from consuming too many processed foods that damage intestinal lining, thus impacting the secretion of these essential digestive acids and enzymes.

Even the foods you select can impact digestion. Eating fermented foods like sauerkraut and raw foods like raw milk means that you are also consuming the bacteria and enzymes that will help break down the foods once consumed, removing some of the digestive burden from your body and allowing for a more thorough digestive process.⁽⁶⁾ This also means that an individual’s gut flora will also be a variable to consider in the digestion equation. The interplay of these variables significantly impact the actual amount of calories burned and absorbed through the digestive process making the process of counting calories a pointless act.

Hormones, Hormones, Hormones

Lastly, every substance that goes through the digestive process is a drug. This is because every substance, including food, will have a direct affect on hormone levels. Why are hormones important? Hormones, in large part, dictate fat distribution, body composition, and metabolic functions. ⁽⁷⁾ In one study, the diminished secretion of growth hormone was responsible for a general decrease of lean body mass and the increase of fat mass. All the calorie counting the world cannot override imbalanced hormones. ⁽⁸⁾ Since it is macronutrients, not calories, that impact hormones to a much greater degree, they can be considered superior to calories in determining food choices.

Carbohydrates, particularly those with a higher glycemic index, immediately increase the level of the hormone insulin, one of the key hormones and drivers involved with fat storage. This is a highly complex process that certainly has more to do than simply insulin, but this simple representation helps paint a clearer picture. When you eat a lot of carbohydrates, insulin levels are constantly elevated. As this dietary pattern continues, chronically elevated insulin makes the cells resistant to the insulin, which consequently elevates the stress hormone cortisol. This hormonal cascade contributes significantly to fat gain.⁽⁹⁾

Finally, the discussion turns to the all important stress hormone, cortisol.  Frequent and long-term exposure to cortisol is associated excess abdominal fat ^{(10, 11)}. So for those people counting calories to lose fat, adding more stress to an already stressful life with the time-consuming process of calorie counting is counterproductive. Better to relax and simply choose meals that include wide varieties of whole foods.

Bringing to Together

The most important factor in all of the above mentioned points is that all of these inputs and metabolic processes are constantly and endlessly changing within the body. What this is means is that the human metabolism, the rate at which ‘calories’ are supposedly burned, is constantly in flux and always changing.  In other words, calorie counting is an attempt at calculating and specifying the impossible: a moving target.

Admittedly, one point can be conceded in defense of calorie counting. If someone needs calorie counting in order to hold him or herself accountable to healthy food choices, by all means, continue. Whatever motivation or method an individual needs to make healthy choices—whether a vision board, a six pack, Jesus, calorie counting, or bikini season—is fine. Just know that the actual calculation is bogus. And stress inducing. F@%# stress.

The real downfall of calorie counting, however, is something that is much more important than whether a calculated number is accurate or not. Calorie counting perpetuates our current disease and obesity epidemics. Yup, I said it.

Calorie counting is one of the contributing factors to our nation’s diminishing food quality, thus leading to the current prevalence of chronic health issues.

By focusing on calories, people become disconnected from their own body. They no longer ‘listen’ to the way their body reacts to food and instead focus on an arbitrary number that does not acknowledge the intrinsic quality of the food choice. Just like your cholesterol level does not paint a complete picture of your health, a certain amount of calories does not determine anything substantive about the health of the food you eat. With a society focused on calories and other numbers on nutrition labels, many of us couldn’t care less about what we eat as long as it doesn’t take us over our ‘1,500 daily limit’, or whatever the number might be. This is obviously the wrong mental mindset. 100 calories of apple is different from 100 calories of a Snickers bar. 100 calories of grass-fed beef is different than 100 calories of a Muscle Milk protein shake. This reductionist perspective has transformed our food systems. Food engineers create ‘foods’ that conform to irrational expectations of what constitutes food.

The bottom line is that no one eats calories. Hopefully, they eat food, something that carries with it loads more complexity than a single number can ever convey. A level of complexity that, quite arguably, will never be fully understood. Calories are just a measurement—like a foot, an inch, or pound—and have no real substance. The community garden down the street from the LEAF Wellness Center is about 50 feet long. What does this measurement really tell me about the garden? Nothing. By definition, a calorie is a unit of heat equal to the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one kilogram of water by one degree at one atmosphere pressure. Does that sound like a human body to you?

The calorie theory, as used for dietary protocols, is based on the heat engine analogy, also known as thermodynamics.  The human body is not a heat engine. The human body is not a machine. Even machines like cars do not burn their “fuels” at constant rates due to factors such as tire pressure, oil level, oil quality, etc. The human body is an infinitely more complex and open system. The human digestive system is not akin to a conveyor belt taking food through a mechanical system that extracts nutrients from within the food. Instead, food is converted into complex substances and structures through various series of reactions within the body. Most importantly, that process and its respective efficiency and effectiveness are different for every individual and based on many interconnected variables.

The true fuel value of any natural unprocessed food is dependent on many intrinsic qualities such as type, quality, freshness and ripeness. Do you really get the same value from unripe and pesticide-grown tomatoes you eat in January as you get from sweet and ripe tomatoes organically grown in a backyard in summer, eaten right off the vine?  The calorie system says “yes”. Common sense, science, and nature say otherwise.

Works Cited

1. Goldhammer, Alan, D.C., Dietary Addictions: Why eating healthfully is so difficult. National Health Association.

2. Tsang, Gloria, R.D. and Girdler, Lauren. MSG and Your Weight. September 2008. Health Castle.

3. Barr, S., Wright, J. Postprandial Energy Expenditure in Whole-Food and Processed-Food Meals: Implications for Daily Energy Expenditure. Food and Nutrition Research. July 2010.

4. Feinman, Richard, and Fine, Eugene. “A Calorie is a calorie” violates the second law of thermodynamics. Nutritional Journal. July 2004.

5. Weaver, L., Austin, S., and Cole, T. Small Interstinal length: a factor essential for gut adaptation. BMJ Journal. October 2012.

6. Parvez, S., Malik, K.A., Kang, S., and Kim, H.Y. Journal of Applied Microbiology. June 2006.

7. Svendsen, OL., Hassager, C., and Christiansen, C. Relationships and independence of body composition, sex hormones, fat distribution and other cardiovascular risk factors in overweight postmenopausal women. International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders. 1993.

8. Rudman, Daniel. Effects of Human Growth Hormone in Men over 60 Years Old. The New England Journal of Medicine. July 1990.

9. Taubes, Gary. What if it’s All Been a Big Fat Lie? New York Times. July 2002.

10. Rosmond, Roland. Stress-Related Cortisol Secretion in Men: Relationships with Abdominal Obesity and Endocrine Metabolic and Hemodynamic Abnormalities. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. June 1998.

11. Moyer, Anne. Stress-Induced Response and Fat Distribution in Women. Obesity Reseach. September 2012.