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Marketing Ploys (Tylenol Edition)

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So … it’s that time of year where it’s winter here in the US … Which means I get sick at least once this season … Due to timing, I didn’t take any medication from the doc just OTC stuff. So while it took a little longer, I feel like I did it a little more naturally. (yay me!)

However, near the tail end I had to pick up more medication. Once purchased, I thought I picked up the wrong stuff. Here’s what I found out:

So the moral of the story is that marketing personnel try to come up with ways to get you to buy things … and sometimes they use it to hike up prices. So be sure to check ingredients and prices … If they have the exact same ingredients and amounts, and the price is the same, your choice is then based on your preference … Unless you just always buy a particular kind of __. 😉

5 Lessons I Learned From Becoming Cynical of Christmas

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Several times over the last few weeks (in reality, the last several years) it has come to my attention that the holidays are not truly celebrated the way they were meant to be … Unfortunately, people get depressed and suicidal during the holiday seasons … People get violent and sale-crazy trying to shop for things they don’t need, can’t afford, or shop for the thrill of it …

I wanted to give something a little bit more meaningful to the holidays for this post. I wanted to give a little bit of background on some of the holidays this season and instead of getting lost in the hype of shopping, I hope I might rekindle the spirit of the seasons. Open up the minds and hearts a little bit …

 

  1. The first lesson I’d like to share is: Christmas. In recent times, it’s the “celebration of BABY JESUS!” A celebration of the spirit of giving. More aptly put, it’s a shopper’s nightmare and a business’s payday.

    Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice to get gifts. But I think gifts should be given because the giver wants to … Not because “everyone else is doing it” or “that’s just what you do at Christmas” or even simply because it’s “that time of year”. I just feel like the “spirit of giving” should not be held to once a year.

    Certain elements of Christmas even have origins in pre-Christian festivals that were celebrated around the winter solstice by pagan populations who were later converted to Christianity. Many modern Christmas customs have been directly influenced by such festivals, including gift-giving and merrymaking from the Roman Saturnalia, greenery, lights, and charity from the Roman New Year, and Yule logs and various foods from Germanic feasts.

  2. As to Christ’s birthday … this is a fallacy that keeps getting propagated by people who spout off opinions as facts without doing their research. I’ve always been told that Christ was born in the spring … not the winter. And if you’re a Christian (or just someone who has read the New Testament) you would be more inclined to agree with this theory than what most “Christians” claim come this time of year.

    This site pretty much explains it. The Bible states that Christ was born when the shepherds were in the fields watching their flocks (which they wouldn’t do in December) and His parents had gone to Bethlehem in order to register for a Roman census (which were not taken in winter). This same site stated, among several others I found (and through word of mouth I have also been told), that Christ was more likely to have been born late March. So this whole, “celebrate the birth of Christ” bit? Yeah – you’re probably a few months too early friends. 🙂

    According to Wikipedia, the celebration of the birth of Jesus was celebrated in connection with Epiphany on January 6, and the December 25th celebration was adopted in the East in the 4th century in Antioch, then in Alexandria in the next century. Not only that, but many popular customs associated with Christmas developed independently of the commemoration of Christ’s birth.

  3. The 3rd lesson I’d like to share is Yule. Also know as Yuletide (“Yule time”), it is a pagan religious festival observed by the historical Germanic peoples, later being absorbed into and equated with the Christian festival of Christmas. It was an indigenous midwinter festival celebrated by the Germanic peoples and Christmas was absorbed into the 12 day Yule celebrations in 336 AD when Pope Julius I declared the birth of Jesus to have been on December 25. (Sound familiar?)

    Some celebrate in a way as close as possible to how they believe Ancient Germanic pagans observed the tradition, while others observe the holiday with rituals culled from numerous other unrelated sources.

    We all have the right to worship in our own ways, and just like any other holiday or religious ritual, just because one person celebrates or worships differently than another doesn’t make them wrong.

  4. The fourth lesson I’d like to share is on caroling. Let’s be honest — who doesn’t like to be serenaded by beautiful voices?

    Did you know that the earliest “Christmas hymns” appeared in 4th century Rome (about the time that Christmas began to be celebrated around December 25th) and that a Perisian monk in the 12 century began to derive music from popular songs, introducing something closer to traditional caroling?

    Me neither. But that began to be a strong tradition by the 13th century thanks to Francis of Assisi (who you should totally look up — he’s pretty interesting) and Christmas carols in English first began appearing in 1426.

    Singing of carols initially suffered a decline in popularity after the Protestant Reformation in northern Europe, and largely survived in rural communities until the revival of interest in popular songs in the 19th century (1800s).

    I personally love to go caroling! Being able to meld with the beautiful voices around me, seeing the pure pleasure on someone’s face when we go from house to house (or shop to shop) … I just love it!

  5. The 5th lesson I’d like to share is about decorations! A lot of the decorations used during Christmas actually come from “pagan” rituals … For example …

    The Christmas tree is considered by some as a Christianized version of pagan tradition and ritual surrounding the Winter Solstice, which included the use of evergreen boughs. The modern Christmas tree tradition is believed to have begun in Germany in the 18th century, though many argue that Martin Luther began the tradition in the 16th century. By the 1870s, people in the United States had adopted the custom of putting up a Christmas tree.

    In some homes you may see displays of “Christmas villages”, holly (which at some point in history was believed to keep you safe from pagans), mistletoe (which is a parasitic plant people have used to steal kisses from people in “spirit of the season” … sounds about right for a parasite huh?), as well as an array of different plants traditionally used during the season.

    You may even see bright lights or rolls of beautifully colored paper … All to bring about that magical feeling of Christmas.

Don’t get me wrong … I know a lot of what I have said may come off as cynical, negative, and the like. But I truly LOVE Christmastime. I love the occasional snow where children might have the chance to take a day off from school and build snowmen or make snow angels. I love that (for the most part) people are in a more giving and thankful mood.

I love the closeness and warm feelies you get with the season … the love that can be felt … I just don’t agree with the consumerism of the holidays, nor do I like that once the holidays are over, for the most part it seems people just go on with their lives … Like the rest of the year people don’t still need help outside of the “giving season”.

So my call to action to you today is EVEN AFTER the holiday season … Find some way to continue to give throughout the year. Even if it’s not a monetary donation, donate your time to a soup kitchen. Call up old friends you haven’t spoken to in years. Be part of Big Brother Big Sister (because Lord knows our future is in the hands of the young who need guidance)… Do something to keep the spirit of the season strong all year long!

10 Effortless Ways to Support A Good Cause

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I’m sharing these “hacks” (as it were) because a lot of times people want to give but don’t know how … Either it’s too hard, or takes too much time, or perhaps they simply don’t know what they can do to make a difference.

“Every little bit helps” … And you’d be amazed at what very little you have to do to make a huge difference!

  1. Use a Matching Gift Program to Double Your Donations

    There’s 2 ways to do this particular “charity hack” … And although it might do the most monetary good immediately, I put this as the lowest on my list because it does take some effort on your part in order to get this to work.

    Talk to your employer and find out if they have this option available. This may be the easier option and possibly the better one, as I’m not sure how the site I’m about to provide really works.

    The other way is via some online options, but the one I was introduced to only gave donations to one particular place, so I did not feel that sharing the information would be beneficial to the general populace. However, if you’re interested anyway you can click here.

     

  2. Donate Your Computer’s Idle Time

    BOINC

    http://boinc.berkeley.edu/

    I first heard about this type of thing when my ex told me about it — it was something he had on his Playstation 3 and it was super cool! He would just leave it on and it would help unravel information on DNA or something like that … Don’t remember the exact specifics, and after re-reviewing their site it looks like they’re doing a lot more these days.

    So whether you use your Playstation, PC, MAC, Linux or even Android … you can use your idle time to help do the following:
    — cure diseases
    — study global warming
    — discover pulsars
    — help with other scientific research

     

  3. Buy Awareness Branded Items

    RED

    There are several brands out there who allow for part of the proceeds to go to a good cause … For example:

    A) A portion of Product(RED) merchandise goes to help fight AIDS in Africa. For a while now, Apple has been working with this company and has some products that are specifically used for RED … Yet they recently announced that on CyberMonday / World AIDS Day (December 1st) a portion of ALL proceeds (gift cards, accessories, products, etc) will go to the Global Fund to fight AIDS.

    B) Susan B Komen Foundation also partners with companies to provide products that support their cause as well — obviously breast cancer awareness.

     

  4. GoodSearch

    goodsearchhttp://www.goodsearch.com/

    Did you know that every time you search the web you could raise money for a cause of your choice? I didn’t – until today. The searches are powered by Yahoo, and through the sites you go to you can raise up to 30% of your purchases, and up to 6% of your dining at participating partners.

    Be sure to click here to find out how they do it.

     

  5. Shop At Amazon Smile

    AmazonSmilehttps://smile.amazon.com/

    I know a lot of people shop using Amazon. I myself have found some pretty awesome things that I was told I would never find by using Amazon. But why not also have part of your purchase automatically go to charity? That’s what AmazonSmile does. So every time you make a purchase, 0.5% will go to a charity of your choice. It may not sound like much, but that’s basically $0.50 for every $100 spent. And that can add up!

     

  6. Start Your Shopping at iGive

    iGivehttp://www.igive.com/welcome/lp14/cr59b.cfm

    While AmazonSmile may donate 0.5% of it’s ales to a charity of your choosing, this site will allow you on average to be able to donate 3% to a charity of your choosing! And it’s for over 1,500 stores (not just one site)! And something even cooler that I saw on their site is that if you don’t see the charity you want to donate to, you can list it!

     

  7. Fund a Micro Loan Through Kiva

    Kivahttp://www.kiva.org/

    This one is higher on my list because it’s closer to my entrepreneurial heart.

    Too often, small businesses are unable to get loans from big corporation banks. And these small businesses are the ones that need it the most … And too often the loans they get have too high of an interest that it may be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to repay.

    Kiva is a ompany that aids small businesses in the developing world. The idea behind Kiva is simple: you’re helping others to help themselves. Just find a business you’d like to help, select a loan amount that you’re comfortable with, and then you’ll start getting updates as things progress. While Kiva doesn’t promise the inflated dollars that we all hear about these days, it sure is a good way to help your fellow entrepreneur and do some good!

  8. Do a Voluntourism!

    WV Foundation

    What is a voluntourism? It’s basically a vacation where you also volunteer your time.

    This one’s not quite “effortless,” but by booking a volunteer vacation both you and the community you visit to lend a helping hand benefit. You can save a ton of money on your travel and have some amazing experiences all while supporting a good cause.

    I’m part of a lifestyle and vacation club that has a cornucopia of vacation options to choose from, including specific vacations that are geared for this exact thing! You can find out more about what our nonprofit does by clicking here and if you’re interested in going on these kinds of vacations (or if you simply want to take dream vacations at dream prices and save on everything you do) then you can click here for more information.

    But if all of that isn’t for you, then there are other ways to achieve a similar goal. You can learn more by checking out this LifeHack piece on it. (Definitely worth a read!)

     

  9. Go for a Run, Walk, or Bike Ride

    charity mileshttp://www.charitymiles.org/


    With all the ways to help raise money for a good cause, one of the ones that is most often seen are the 5Ks where people raise money for every mile they walk, run or bike. But instead of waiting for a scheduled one that may only happen once a year, what if you could do it whenever you went out for your daily walk/run/ride?Apparently you can! It’s as easy as this: get moving. Bikers earn 10¢ a mile and walkers / runners earn 25¢ a mile, up to the site’s initial $1,000,000 sponsorship pool.
    .This is an app you can download from the Apple store or Google Play store. So not only are you now inclined to be healthier, you can help the charities of your choice by doing so!

     

  10. Directly Donate With Your Phone

    Givelify

    I was introduced to a site that would allow you to use your “spare change” from purchases to be directly sent to a charity of your choice … But it looks like the site is closed to new people AND I heard that it incurred other charges from your bank or had issues with credit card companies … So I found something else for you!

    I found an app via this post that allows for “a three-tap, easy way for donors to give to any cause from their smartphones. However, there’s much more to it, like donation tracking for users (think taxes) and a web portal for registered nonprofits that allows them to customize their presence on Givelify, track donations and receive donation payouts.”

    So click here for more info on this app, check it out for yourself, and when you decide it’s something you want to do, download the app and start donating!

     

Previous Post:  6 Fitness Bands to Improve Your Health

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6 Fitness Bands To Improve Your Health

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Previous Post:  How Tony Robbins Put FOCUS Back In To My Life

Next Post:  10 Effortless Ways to Support a Good Cause

I am sharing this information today because:

  1. This has been something I have been interested in and researching for a while.
  2. After the holidays, everyone usually tries to complete a weight or health goal, and these babies can help you achieve that!

As my readers know, I have a few businesses – but they are mostly businesses I can do from home or from some place where I don’t need to be active. However, at this time I still also work for a tech company. And I found that I am rarely active.

They say that in order to lead a healthy lifestyle, you should walk at least 10,000 steps a day. But when you work in a cubicle job, you rarely get that many steps in.

So I started looking for devices that would help me lead a more healthy lifestyle.

The biggest things for me when looking for a health/fitness band are the following:

  • heart rate
  • sleep tracker
  • step counter

Everything else I found were either superfluous or were awesome perks!

The reason I needed a heart rate monitor was because I actually have a heart condition. And although I have an ICD implant, I need to be able to monitor my heart rate when working out and doing strenuous activity to ensure that I’m not only staying in whatever zone I’m trying to focus on, but also to ensure I don’t get into the “danger zone” as it were.

As for the step counter — well, I live a mostly sedentary lifestyle and need to change that. So if I know how many steps I’m taking over the course of the day, I can do something differently to ensure I hit that goal.

And as for the sleep monitor … Our bodies require 6-8 hours of sleep (this is debateable, but for most people it’s true). And due to our lifestyles, we rarely get 6-7. We like to stay up late, have to get up early for work, and try to squeeze out every little drop of time we can for our days. But if we don’t get enough sleep, we overwork our bodies and can cause some pretty damaging things to occur. So being able to track my sleep, see how I feel when I get plenty of sleep vs just enough (or too little), and see how being active can cause my sleep patterns to change is not only informative it’s just plain cool!

Some of the brands / companies listed have other devices that might be of more interest to you, but I’ve only listed ones I’ve considered purchasing, and those would include devices with a HR monitor. So be sure to check out the accompanying websites!

  1. FitBit Surge

    fitbit

    The FitBit Surge is the one of the newest of the line from Fitbit. It’s not even out yet! But I’ve provided you with a link to compare the products they currently have with what they are coming out with.

    Although it’s a pricey tag on it ($249.95) here are the features it has:
    — Calculates steps, calories, distance
    — Clock
    — Sleep Tracking
    — Auto Sleep Detection
    — Silent Wake Alarm
    — Floors Climbed
    — Active Minutes
    — Multi-Sport
    — Continuous Heart Rate
    — Caller ID
    — Text Notifications
    — Music Control
    — GPS Tracking

    It’s basically a smart watch with health benefits, honestly. And based on the image I’m sharing on the FitBit line, you could probably get away with the Charge HR, since the only differences between it and the Surge are:
    — $100 difference
    — No text notifications
    — No music control
    — No GPS tracking

    Click Here to Learn More About FitBit Surge

     

  2. Garmin VivoSmart

    GarminFor the Garmin choices, the difference between the VivoFit and the VivoSmart is that the VivoSmart has:
    — auto sync (with BlueTooth)
    — smart notifications
    — vibration alerts
    — touchscreen
    — OLED displayDownside is that it only lasts up to 7 days and the VivoFit lasts up to a year or more.Price Tag of VivoSmart: $169.99
    Price Tag of VivoFit: $129.99

    One of the cool things listed for the Garmin device that wasn’t on the FitBit chart was that there was a personalized daily goal. FitBit may have this, but it wasn’t listed in it’s chart.

    Click Here to Learn More About Garmin VivoSmart

     

  3. My Basis PEAK

    peak

    Price Tag: $199.99

    This items totes “advanced heart rate technology” that is based on your blood flow. Algorithms and fancy science speak says that as your heart beats, your blood ebbs and flows and changes the amount of light that is reflected. Using this, the device from this company can apparently provide a better heart rate detection.

    WHEN YOU’RE EXERCISING:
    — Gives a more true account of the number of steps for walks/runs
    — Uses HR and motion detection to provide “proper credit” for calories burned
    — 24/7 HR monitor (no chest strap required)
    — Checks perspiration levels to give you a better understanding of your physical exertion
    — Detects skin temperature so you can see how your body reacts day & night

    It looks like this is mostly focused on running, walking and cycling but you should check the site for more information as I’m not sure how well this device works with other forms of exercise.

    WHEN YOU’RE SLEEPING
    — Says it’s the “only” tracker to automatically detect your sleeping cycles (including REM and deep sleep … but I know other devices tote the same thing)
    — Offers in-depth data on sleep quality
    — Automatic sleep detection
    — Both HR and accelerometer data combine to provide rich sleep insights
    — Understand sleep trends based on your ongoing average
    — Set habits to build consistent sleep patterns

    They also say on their site that this sleeping part of the device was developed in partnership with leading academic institutions, so I’m a little more inclined to believe what they’re saying.

    WHEN YOU NEED A PUSH: This device uses a “habit system” to help you make small but powerful changes to your sleep or activity patterns.
    — Automatically adjusts weekly goals based on your performance
    — Habit notifications when you’re on track or need a nudge

    FUTURE FREE UPGRADES: On wrist alerts coming as a future upgrade, such as …
    — habit notifications
    — smartwatch notifications & alerts
    — SMS
    — email
    — phone
    — apps
    — events

    One of the other super cool features of this device is it’s ability to be water resistant up to 5 ATM (which I believe is 50m).

    Click Here to Learn More About My Basis PEAK

     

  4. Samsung Gear

    samsung gear

    This one was a little tricky to share, because they have several items to choose from.

    SAMSUNG GEAR S:
    — map run
    — track steps
    — HR monitor
    — count calories burned
    — get vital health info over time
    — integrates with “S Health” and “Nike+ Running” and “MapMyRun”
    — SmartWatch Features

    SAMSUNG GEAR LIVE:
    Seems to be similar to the above, but with limited features … I would go to their site and compare to see which is best for you.

    SAMSUNG GEAR FIT:
    Nothing super fancy … Seems to be a basic step counter but with some SmartWatch features. Also has HR monitor.

    Click Here to Learn More About Samsung Gear

     

  5. Jawbone Up

    jawbone

    For this device, They used to have the Jawbone UP and UP24 … Now they have the UP24 and 2 new devices, but no original UP.

    I personally tried out the UP24 and for the most part I was ok with it (although it didn’t have a HR monitor … their UP3 does though) … The only major issue I had with the UP24 was it kept snagging on everything … So I’m really glad they had a 60 day money back guarantee, because I really tried to be ok with the snagging… Just couldn’t take it in the end.

    One of the cool things about their new UP3 is that it has advanced sleep tracking (similar to one of the previous products where it reads your HR and skin temp) AND it also apparently learns your activities.

    Pretty cool.

    Click Here to Learn More About Jawbone Up

     

  6. Atlas (Top of My List)

    AtlasSo, I saw the demonstration for this little baby and was FLOORED with what it could do …So the reasons why this device is at the TOP of my list, is because not only does it calculates your calories burned, but it:
    — identifies your exercises
    — counts your reps
    — evaluates your form
    — allows you to set the calories you want to burn
    — display that provides you with feedback on type, quality & speed of exercises (including # of miles ran, laps in the pool, weight benched, etc)
    — helps anticipate plateaus and find what makes you stronger faster
    — learns new exercises you teach it
    — weight input
    — smart rest timer that suggests the perfect time to start your next set of reps based on your HRClick here to see all of the current capabilities.

    Here was their IndiGogo page to get funding that goes into more detail about how this all works.

    The only things that bother me about this particular device is that:
    — it doesn’t have that sleep function
    — no GPS at device launch
    — if the screen cracks you must purchase a new device (but I think that’s the case with most fitness devices)
    — some kettlebell exercises could potentially damage the device

    Click Here to Learn More About Atlas (Top of My List)

     

So, I’ve just shared some devices that may help you improve your health and fitness. And as an avvid reader, you know that I want you to live a more prosperous life in all aspects. So if you’re looking to improve your finances (perhaps even have a $100 to $500 or so extra each month) I wanted to provide you with a way to do so. Results are not typical, but I know that if you click on the image below to get additional information that you’re not the typical person. 🙂

What I’m Thankful For

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Be thankful for the things that bring you life – in whatever area they do so.

 

What are you thankful for? Me – I’m thankful for many things. Among those includes (but is definitely not limited to):
– my life & health
– my friends and family
– having the ability to build generation wealth

In my video above I said I was thankful for the information on how one of my businesses could leverage my ability to become more prosperous in all aspects of my life, and you can get the same information by clicking here!

 

 Click Here for my next blog post!

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