A Daily Eating Routine for a Healthy and Productive Life

Issue #2335

• WEALTHY: Dave Barry clears up confusion over the Economic Stimulus Payment
• HEALTHY: Why you should avoid the lure of the business lunch (Michael Masterson)
• WISE: Brillat-Savarin on your diet

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:

• A simple 4-step process for using this online timesaver (Rick Maggio)
• A small thing that makes a big difference with your clients (David Cross)
• It’s Good to Know… about the sound of the aurora borealis
• Add "exigency" to your vocabulary

== Highly Recommended ==

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Worth Quoting: Dave Barry on the Economic Stimulus Payment

"This year, taxpayers will receive an Economic Stimulus Payment. This is a very exciting new program that I will explain using the Q and A format:

"Q. What is an Economic Stimulus Payment?

"A. It is money that the federal government will send to taxpayers.

"Q. Where will the government get this money?

"A. From taxpayers.

"Q. So the government is giving me back my own money?

"A. Only a smidgen.

"Q. What is the purpose of this payment?

"A. The plan is that you will use the money to purchase a high-definition TV set, thus stimulating the economy.

"Q. But isn’t that stimulating the economy of China?

"A. Shut up."

(Source: Miami Herald)

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"Tell me what you eat, I’ll tell you who you are."

Anthelme Brillat-Savarin 

A Daily Eating Routine for a Healthy and Productive Life

By Michael Masterson

Dinner is an important meal in my house. While our kids were growing, it was practically the only time we were all together. Five times a week, K would cook a great and healthy meal. Usually fresh vegetables, some pasta or potatoes, and fresh fish or organic chicken. We would come to the table well-dressed and with our hands washed. And everyone would be expected to eat properly and engage in sociable conversation.

Things were more relaxed on the weekends. On Saturday night, K and I had a "date," and the boys ate with friends or cousins. On Sunday night, we all went to a local restaurant – most often Mexican or Italian.

Although K and I are empty nesters now, we still like the formality of our at-home dinners. She still cooks great meals, even if they’re just for the two of us. My contribution is very modest (and gives me great pleasure). Based on what K is cooking, I go out to the wine cellar and select a bottle for us to drink.

We eat at home just three or four times a week nowadays. On Wednesday and Friday, we have separate dinner routines: a book club and girlfriends for her; a different book club and poker for me. Saturday is still date night. And Sunday is still Mexican or Italian.

So that’s dinner. A pleasant mix of formality and informality, dining with K and with friends.

The rest of my eating routine is designed around my work schedule.

I used to eat weekday breakfasts and lunches at restaurants, usually with a colleague. It felt like I was accomplishing more by making those meals business meals, but in retrospect I can see how much time I was wasting. (Plus, all that restaurant food was starting to make me fat.)

Between driving to and from, waiting to order, waiting for the food, and waiting for the check, eating at restaurants is a very inefficient process. Yes, you can have a business conversation while eating, but with very few exceptions it would be better conducted and take less time in the office.

Also, you can’t work on documents very well when you have a plate of food in front of you. For another thing, you can’t think well when you’re hungry or express yourself well with food in your mouth.

These days, eating in restaurants is strictly a social pastime for me – a time to relax with friends and family members, usually on the weekend. During the week, I eat breakfast at home and lunch at my desk.

I will schedule or attend a business lunch (or breakfast) for only one reason: when the purpose is to interview a key person for one of my companies. I like the idea of including a meal in the interview process for the very reason I don’t like business lunches: because eating is a social function. I like seeing the social side of someone I’m going to hire. I want to see how he or she operates outside of an office building. I also like to see how job candidates treat the waiter and busboy. It tells me about their character. And character is my top priority in judging a job candidate’s worthiness.

Other than that, how do I feed myself?

It’s very simple. Here’s my routine:

Meal One : 7:00 a.m., while editing poetry. Two fried eggs (organic). One piece of toasted hemp bread. Two ounces of fresh juice. Coffee. Water.

Meal Two : 11:00 a.m., while writing in my studio. Blended vegetable drink or a piece of toasted hemp bread with organic peanut butter. Water.

Meal Three : 1:00 p.m. or 1:30 p.m., after my workout. Salad with chicken or fish. Iced tea.

Meal Four: 6:30 p.m., after my second workout. Protein shake.

Meal Five : 7:30 p.m. A well-balanced dinner.

Meal Six : Does not exist when I’m being good. Once or twice a week I snack on something. When I do, I always regret it.

Like my work routine, my eating routine has been developed over time. It is now designed to give me optimum energy throughout the day and provide me with the nutrients I’ve been told I need to lead a healthy life.

Most of my current eating habits have been influenced by the research that my personal physician, Dr. Al Sears, has done on the subject. Al’s approach to food is not difficult to understand: He believes that natural is better.

In particular, he advocates an eating regime that is consistent with how our long-ago ancestors had to eat: fish, grass-fed beef, free-range poultry, organic vegetables that grow above the ground, berries and fruits. He warns against grains, grain-fed meat, and anything that is infused with hormones and chemicals.

In The Doctor’s Heart Cure, he puts it this way:

"Remember those four basic food groups from grade school health class? If you’ve forgotten them, don’t worry about it, they don’t tell you anything about your natural diet. They were a nutritionist’s attempt to make sense of a very contrived artificial diet based on grains and other processed foods…

"… You don’t have to count calories or record fat grams to achieve your ideal weight and maintain optimal cardiovascular health. All you have to do is to eat the same ratio and quality of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates that we have for eons. How are you going to do that? Get started by remembering these three easy principles:

"Principle #1: Eat protein at every meal.

"Principle #2: Limit carbohydrate intake.

"Principle #3: Eat natural fats."

A typical day’s meals for me supply the following nutrients:

I have tried dozens of eating plans over the year. This one works best for me. I like being able to eat five times a day. I don’t mind if each of those meals is small. Food is primarily fuel for me. I want to put the highest quality fuel I can into my body as often as I can.

Of course, you don’t have to eat exactly the same foods that I do. What you eat is a matter of personal choice. But to stay productive, energetic, and healthy, I recommend that you try for a similar balance of fats, proteins, carbohydrates, and fiber.

When you’re full of energy, your goals will be easier to tackle. And you’ll enjoy their achievement even more when you’re feeling healthy and strong.

[Ed. Note: Eating right isn't the only thing you should do if you hope to turn your dreams into reality. But many proven goal-setting strategies are just as easy to understand and implement. Learn more about how you can finally accomplish your personal and professional goals here.]

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== Highly Recommended ==

Your gut started telling you something wasn’t right, didn’t it?

You did your part. You tried out some of the Internet programs, maybe even put up a website or two, but it didn’t happen as expected did it?

And yet, you KNOW a few are getting rich off the Internet by pushing a button. You see them in coffee shops with their backs to the wall, smiling at their laptops. I should know, I’m one of them…

I was about to take the rest of the week off as usual, but something compelled me to grab another coffee and write you this letter. They say writing all your frustrations down eases them. Maybe so, but I just want to be able to sleep soundly tonight… Click to continue.

Really Simple Set-Up for RSS Feeds

By Rick Maggio

We’ve told you before how RSS (really simple syndication) – a technology that allows Web users to receive constantly updated information – can benefit your customers and help get more traffic to your website. But using it can help you too – by saving you time.

RSS delivers updates from your favorite newsletters and news websites into one place: your RSS feed reader. So, by getting set up to receive RSS feeds, you’ll spend less time looking for content and more time benefiting from it.

Here’s how to do it quickly and easily:

1. Start by visiting a favorite website that also offers RSS… like www.earlytorise.com.
2. Click on the link that says RSS News Feed. On the ETR homepage, you’ll find it on the top right, just under the search box.
3. Now, choose the RSS reader you’d like to use. Google’s a good one – and it’s free – so click on the Google icon.
4. Google will then walk you through the final steps of subscribing to the RSS feed. If you don’t have a Google account already, you’ll be instructed on how to set one up at this time.

RSS feeds are widely available across the Web, and the set-up to receive them is similar to the one I just walked you through. Using an online RSS reader (such as Google’s) is recommended, because then you’ll have access to your RSS feeds anywhere you go. Just sign onto your account from any computer, and you’ll be able to keep up to date on all the news that’s important to you… in less time and with less searching.

[Ed. Note: Rick Maggio is ETR's newest Search Engine Marketing Specialist.

Now you can get useful, edgy ideas about business, wealth, and marketing from two of ETR's experts - via RSS! Sign up for RSS delivery of Michael Masterson's blog and Charlie Byrne's blog.

The Internet is full of useful tools that can save you time... and even make you money. But sometimes they can seem more complicated than they are. For instance, setting up an Internet business doesn't have to be difficult or time-consuming. Learn more about how easy it can be here.]

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Is Your Client Relationship Worth a Cup of Coffee?

By David Cross

One of the great sales directors with whom I worked many years ago gave me a simple tip: "If you buy a client a cup of coffee, never, ever, ever ask for a receipt."

You see, asking for a receipt means you are going to claim the charge as a business expense. What’s the big deal? Well, it gives the subtle impression that, even after all the thousands of dollars the client has spent with you or your company, you do not value the relationship enough to buy him a cup of coffee.

Yes, it’s a small thing. But little things can add up to a boatload of good – or bad – feeling. If you don’t ask for a receipt when you treat your client to a drink or dinner, you give the impression that you care about him on a personal level.

Don’t worry. You can still write it off as a business expense. In most cases, you’ll get a receipt without asking. If you don’t, you’ll have a credit card statement you can use to prove the expense.

The point is, forget about yourself. Your clients are important. If you’re not willing to spend a few bucks to buy them a cup of coffee from time to time, how much do you value those relationships?

[Ed. Note: David Cross is Senior Internet Consultant for Agora Inc. There's a lot you may not know about building an Internet business. David has the answers - and he'll be sharing them with an exclusive group of business builders at ETR's 5 Days in July conference. If you have the slightest interest in creating a fully functioning Internet business in one week, sign up for our hotlist right here.]

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It’s Good to Know: The Sound of the Aurora Borealis

The aurora borealis (also known as the northern lights) is a phenomenon that produces a spectacular light show in the Earth’s northern polar regions. And the greenish glow, the result of microscopic particles colliding in the atmosphere, is sometimes accompanied by noise. Those who have heard it say it sounds like radio static or a crinkling cellophane wrapper.

The cause of the noise is not known, and it has never been recorded. According to Inuit folklore, it is the sound of dead spirits.

(Source: Damn Interesting)

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== Highly Recommended ==

Give Yourself a Nice Pay Raise – And A Three Day Weekend, Every Weekend

By the end of this week, you can give yourself a pay raise. How does an extra $20/hr sound… and schedule a few days of vacation while you’re at it!

After a month or two, how about another raise… to $2,000 a week.

It’s happening everywhere. Ordinary people — including folks who never finished school — starting their own businesses… and making side incomes in the neighborhood of $40,000… $60,000… even $100,000 or more a year.

They’re living the American Dream. Now it’s time for you to start living it too. Read on…

- Charlie Byrne

Word to the Wise: Exigency

An "exigency" (EK-sih-jun-see) is an emergency – a pressing or urgent situation that requires prompt action. The word is from the Latin for "to demand."

Example (as used by Douglas Martin in The New York Times): "The bride was radiant in a gown that had been twice altered to meet the exigencies of her pregnancy."

Copyright ETR, LLC, 2008

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