I’ve been experimenting (tweaking) my breakfast for some time now and I believe I am close to what I call the perfect breakfast. A perfect breakfast is simply one that is high with good stuff, low in bad stuff and sets me up with enough energy to keep me going throughout the day both physically and mentally.

We all know by now how important breakfast is. It’s labelled as the most important meal of the day. I believe this is because the morning sets (tunes) your body into a rhythm. If the rhythm is disrupted in the morning your day is also disrupted. Therefore, your breakfast is a setup program for this fine pice of machinery to work at optimum capacity.

Disclosure: The following list is by no means perfect and I’m sure I will refine it over the next few months. For me it works and I’m sure you can give it a shot and see it also working for you too.

My perfect breakfast

First the most important part – do not wait more than 90 minutes after waking to eat your breakfast. Since this may increase your chances of obesity by nearly 50%!

1. Replenish your fluids

As soon as you wake up the first thing you should always do is replenish your liquids with 2 glasses of water.

1st glass - standard water – filtered water is always better.
2nd glass – mix in Kyo-Green Powdered Drink Mix into the water.

Why Kyo Green?
Just one serving and you hit your daily quota of green vegetables. That’s something to get excited over. It contains Wheat grass which has a huge amount of health benefits, Barley grass, Brown rice,  Chlorella, Kelp & FOS. It is the best combination of nutrients from the Land and Sea supporting your immune and healthy intestinal conditions. But the biggest benefit we really need here is for morning digestion & detox. This will move your bowels in about 15 mins and clean them out from yesterday’s intake.

2. Get your Fibre

Eat cereal which has no more than 3g of fat per serving and around 7g or more of fibre. Make sure you do not use Cow Milk, just Soy Milk. Cow Milk is full of fat!

Don’t over eat here since this is just the beginning of your breakfast.

Why Fibre?
The fibre will help keep your belly full and your blood sugar levels stable.
The last thing you want is an energy rollercoaster ride throughout the morning. If you havent experienced the bliss of consistent energy then I highly recommend you try a lemon detox program like the one I did and lost 13 pounds in 8 days. This will change how you think about source of consistent energy levels from food.

Cereal, Raisins (sultanas) in Soy Milk

Add raisins (sultanas for Aussies) to your cereal. Raisins provide potassium which you body uses to convert sugars into energy.

3. Get your Protein

Eat scrambled eggs with 1 slice of rye bread and some avocado.

Why Protein?
Eggs are a great source of protein. Saint Louis University researches found that people who eat eggs for breakfast consume 264 fewer calories the rest of the day than those who eat bagels and cream cheese. Hmmm bagels – my old breakfast lol.

Protein also helps repair body cells, builds and repair muscles and bones (weight lifters use Protein supplements for this reason), it is also a great source of energy and helps control many of the important processes in the body related to metabolism. More here about the health benefits of protein.

4. Get your Omega 3, 6 & 9 essential fatty acids

Take 1 teaspoon of Udo’s oil blend is enough to meet your daily essential fatty acid requirements.

Why essential fatty acids (Omega 3, 6 & 9)?

Udo's Oil

No doubt you would have heard by now about Omega 3 & 6 being vital for your body to function normally, including your skin, respiratory system, circulatory system, brain and organs. Omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids are known as essential fatty acids (EFA’s).  Our bodies cannot manufacture them, and we must consume them in our diets. Omega 9 fatty acids are not as essential but Udo’s oil contains it as a bonus so why not.

There is more information about the health benefits of Omega Fatty Acids in this article here.

5. Increase your Metabolism & Energy levels

Drink 1 or 2 gourds of Yerba Mate Cruz de Malta tea.

Why Yerba Mate and not tea/coffee?
It’s refreshing and energizing and has a nice list of health benefits. Leave behind caffeine jitteriness or its addictive tendencies and kick-start your day with Yerba Mate tea.

This Argentinian plant plan contains 90% more meatabolism-boosting catechins than green tea. In fact, its meatabolism-boosting powers are so great that many weight loss pills list mate on their ingredients lists. Want to know more about Yerba mate? Click here to read my prior post on this wonder drink.

Note: Give yourself 30 minutes after you have eaten breakfast before drinking Yerba Mate tea. You don’t want to flush your stomach’s digestive juices with liquid while it’s digesting the healthy breakfast.

6. Vitamin D supplements

Every 2nd day take 1 x Vitamin D-3 (5000IU) pill with your breakfast.

Why Vitamin D supplements?
It’s no secret that Vitamin D deficiency is a part of our life. It’s mainly due to our social habits working & living indoors and spending limited time in the sun. Unless you spend at least 1 hour per day in the sun in shorts every day.

Vitamin D inexpensively promotes health and keeps those pills and cold flu injections away from you. I started off with dangerously low 13 ng/ML (January 2010) levels and now am at 54 ng/ML (June 2010) by following a Vitamin D supplement program.

You made it!

So there you have it. This is the my ultimate breakfast program that kepts me full of energy and feeling great. I havent included any fruit in this program since I believe fruit should be a part of your diet throughout the day especially during those “snack times”.

A lot of the cool information I learnt here is from self experimentation and a fantastic book called Eat This Not That!. You can pick it up from Amazon by clicking here.

I would love to hear from you what your breakfast diet consists of and why. I believe that we cannot all have the same breakfast since every body calls for different amount of nutrients to sustain a healthy lifestyle. I say it’s best to always listen to your body and supply it with what it needs.

And no that isn’t bagels with cream cheese!!

Happy breakfasting!

Ernest

Products mentioned in this blog post

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• "Don't wish it were easier, wish you were better." ~ Jim Rohn #
• Time management is a misnomer. The challenge is to manage ourselves. ~ Steven Covey #

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When fear or anxiety consumes us we are prone to burn more energy using our Willpower. Willpower is the strength to act, or forbear from acting, in the pursuit of a goal. Burning your Willpower is a bit like pressing a gas paddle in your car really hard making the engine rev harder and burning unnecessary fuel to go a small distance. It’s not an efficient use of this amazing power you have to get things done.

Are you achieving your goals?

Look back to the start of this year, when you set your goals. How much closer are you to achieving those goals? If you are not close then maybe you are burning your Willpower on unresourceful activities. David DeAngelo taught me a very important rule about Willpower and how to use it wisely.

When we have awareness we should focus on Willpower to create routines (habits). Use Willpower to do something that will become a routine (habitual). ~ David DeAngelo

Ernest Semerda at Malibu LA Private Beach - Willpower baby!

Where is your Willpower

Willpower is with you daily. But a bigger reservoir is there with you early in the morning. This is because your Willpower is not yet sucked up by the daily disruptions, anxiety, email & internet addiction, noise pollution etc… Therefore, since your Willpower is at “maximum” early in the morning it makes perfect sense to utilise it then to make the most of it in achieving your goals.

Starting early

It’s no rocket science that most people are more productive early in the morning. You may have heard these people say things like “I’m more focused in the morning” or “the lack of morning disruptions allows me to do more”. No wonder. Their Willpower is fresh, new, full and ready to be focused on what they set their mind to. You too can tap into this limited supply of daily Willpower. Just wake up each day early and focus on your NEW will power day after day after day. After you have given focus to what you want to achieve using your new will power, your mind will take over and the power of habit pulls you to the thing you wanted to do. It becomes the thing you do automatically. If you want to understand more about quick habit building, check out my post on 21 day habit building.

Programming self thru practice

In order to make this work effectively, you have to program yourself to do it. This is done by creating a practise of it. The habit I mentioned above. Realise it will not always be in the moment. “Trying to do it” or “remember next time” never works. Practising is the only thing that works. Create a practise that you make yourself do it. Once you create a practise of it, you don’t have to remember how to do it again. The thing you practised JUST HAPPENS. It’s all automatic. In the same way great speakers can empower people naturally, and how we can drive a vehicle while listening to radio and speaking to your passengers. From practise it’s just happens, all automatically.

Awareness is the key

Awareness is the most valuable state to make this happen. ~ David DeAngelo

You need to be aware of what you are doing, how your body and mind behave and react and question everything. With questions come answers. Do the following:

1. 1. Marshal your will power on a daily basis.
2. 2. Put some accountability in place so it is something you just do.
3. 3. Make it inevitable so that you are doing this all the time.
4. 4. And it’s just what you do. So that you can free up Willpower to go and work on the next goal.

It all starts up the stream at “awareness”.

An excercise

Here’s a practical excercise you can do to understand this approach better.

1. 1. Image your specific outcomes you want & behaviour you need to change. Make sure it’s specific and measurable at specific time. For example; “I will buy a beautiful 10 bedroom waterfront property in 6 months at Carmel-by-the-sea, California.”
2. 2. Get your reason why. How will this affect your life?. For Example: “I have always wanted a waterfront property in a beautiful place surrounded by nature. My life will be more fuller, a life long goal achieved at an early age, I will have more space to spread my wings, have a large family and throw those fantastic cocktail parties for my close group of friends.”
3. 3. Visualise clearly – make it inevitable and then visualise, visualise and visualise. Imagine how you will behave when you have achieved this goal (buzzing with life and energy), how your body will look (perfect posture & glowing with energy), how you will feel different (inspired, full of life), how you will move differently (head up, chest out, relaxed), how you will breath (deep from the belly), your posture doing this new behaviour and how you will feel deep inside when you have reached this outcome. This is your new reality. Make it happen!

Your mentality creates your reality ~ Sean Stephenson

In conclusion

Once you engrave this new reality inside your mind, it becomes 2nd nature. Your map in your head changes and reality alters to meet your new map. You notice connections and become conscious of it. Your Reticular activating system fires up and starts to see things it wouldn’t see before. This is the same system which is behind your awareness when you buy a car and you notice that car everywhere. You know which one, we all had it happen to us with a car purchase. You are alert to it. You have learnt that through repeated and visual affirmations and clear specific outcome tied to motivation your mind snaps into action and pulls you towards it. This is nothing new. Napolean Hill had chronicled this over 100 years ago. But like most knowledge, if not used it gets lost. What nature gives it easily takes. “Believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given unto you.” – Bible.

As always I love questions so please ask!

Ernest

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I hate procrastination, I dislike the word slow and I love fine tuning my productivity to gain optimum results. Results are all that count and effort doesn’t necessarily equal results. This is why having a great set of tools available to reach this productive state helps you achieve your goals sooner.

But first, let’s take a step back and understand why “tools” are so important.

The brain sees tools as limb extensions

When you brush your teeth, the toothbrush may actually become part of your arm – at least as far as your brain is concerned. That’s the conclusion of a study showing perceptions of arm length change after people use a mechanical tool.

The brain maintains a physical map of the body, with different areas in charge of different body parts. Researchers have suggested that when we use tools, our brains incorporate them into this map.

To test the idea, Alessandro Farnè of the Université Claude Bernard in Lyon, France, and colleagues asked 14 volunteers to use a mechanical grabber to pick up distant objects. Shortly afterwards, the volunteers perceived touches on their elbow and fingertip as further apart than they really were, and took longer to point to or grasp objects with their hand than before they used the tool.

The team say that their brains may have adjusted the areas that normally control the arm to account for the tool and not yet adjusted back to normal (Current Biology, DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2009.05.009). “This is the first evidence that tool use alters the body schema,” says Farnè. Source: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20227145.300-brain-sees-tools-as-limb-extension.html

What this means is that tools are an extension of you (that’s how the brain sees it), allowing you to do more and to get to those results faster. Now that we understand the importance of the tools, let’s look at my current favorites. These tools all use a Freemium business model. Meaning they are free to use for limited time or with limited functionality and if you want you can upgrade to more features for a small fee. So try them out for free!

Tools that I use to fine tune my productivity

Here are my currently favourite software limb extensions:

1. RescueTime – Time Management, Productivity, & Project Tracking Software
Sign up for RescueTime and see where your time goes:
http://ernestblog.com/rescuetime

Why use it: We all know about distractions and how bad they are. But now you can really understand it when you see solid numbers indicating where you spend your time ie. on Facebook instead of coding or writing that article, in your emails instead of researching for your thesis paper etc… Rescue Time monitors your behaviour while you use your computer and then reports back how productive you have been and areas to improve on. Once you know your distractions you can work on reducing or cutting them out.

Think of this product like a personal coach making sure you stay in line and are constantly improving.

2. Xobni – Outlook Plugin to Search People, Email, and Attachments Instantly
Drowning in Email? Frustrated with Outlook? Find anything in Outlook instantly by signing up for Xobni:
http://ernestblog.com/xobni

Why use it: I’m no fan of Outlook’s inbuilt search – it just doesn’t work well. We all know how Google Desktop changed the way we search for documents on our computers. Xobni does that to your emails – and fast! It connects the dots (relationships) between emails, share documents very well and the results pane always shows you exactly what you are looking for. It has fantastic search smarts!

This tool helps you get organized quicker and if you are using the Outlook GTD method I mentioned in my prior posts then you will be moving faster onto your next task.

Oh and if you haven’t figured it out yet, xobni is actually inbox spelled backwards.

3. DropBox – Online backup, file sync and sharing made easy
Sign up for a new way to sync, store and share your files online:
http://ernestblog.com/dropbox

Why use it: This is file sharing in the clouds made so easy even my grandma could do it with a few clicks. It gives total control of your box (storage space) so you can share just the bits you want via any social method (smart phone, any computer etc.) out there. You can put your USB drive aside because Dropbox is the new kid on the block.

You may recall an article I did on productivity using GTD (Getting Things Done) where I spoke about offloading everything from your memory and into a reliable storage medium for later processing to help you manage daily chaos effectively. Think of Dropbox as this reliable storage medium which you can access from anywhere.

If you use any other great productivity tools which you think others would find useful then please share them here in the comments section below.

Ernest

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You may recall my post in 2009 about understanding each other using primary human modes. That is, there are three primary modes that people use to process thoughts during communication (visual, auditory, and kinesthetic — both emotions and physical feelings). Just like being right handed primary, each of us uses one of the 3 modes as our primary form to convey messages during communication. Understanding which one the person you are speaking with is using is a step forward to better communication.

Recapping each primary mode

Note, the following applies for right handed people. For left handed switch the right to left and left to right information.

Visual:

• Speaker will primarily look up / up and to the side as they process information (answers to your questions). As if looking into the sky for an answer.
• These people are known as “the fast talkers” because visual memories are a lot quicker to put into words.

Auditory:

• Speaker will primarily move their eyes left to right / right to left (from ear to ear) as “they need to hear” what they are saying.
• These people are moderate speed talkers.

Kinesthetic:

• Speaker will primarily look down and to the right as “they need to feel” what they are saying.
• Typically these people will be slow talkers because to feel their response before speaking, this takes longer to come out.

Note: Don’t get confused with people looking down and to the left – this is common when people are having internal chatter like reciting a preplanned script e.g. actors or individuals during an interview with a pre memorised script/s exhibit this behavior.

Communicating effectively

You may have came across indivduals where you didnt just click or something was missing after your discussion. There is a high chance this may have been the choice of words you used to communicate with them. Their primary mode of communication might have been different to yours and thus the two of you did not connect and ended a discussion prematuraley.

To avoid this happening again, try to recognise the other person’s primary human mode. Once recognized, add (or change) some words & sentences in your communication. It isnt about changing what you say but how you say it.

Step 1 – identify their (speaker’s) primary mode

• Listen to their choice of words, how their eyes move and speed of speech. My previous post on understanding each other using primary human modes talks about other indicators you can use to get this information.
• Ask about the weather “how is the weather today?” – always a favourite. Is the weather, sunny (visual), warm (kinesthetic) or windy (auditory). Or, “is your car” – yellow (visual), safe (kinesthetic – volvo drivers) or noisy (auditory). etc…

Step 2 – add the appropriate “words” into your communication

Here is a list of keywords you can throw into all your communicaiton in order to get a “better” message across and be heard, understood or caught on. (which of these clicked for you?).

Step 3 – add the appropriate “sentences” into your communication

Step it up a bit and use appropriate full sentences to respond back or ask questions. Some of the common ones you can use for each primary mode include:

Step 4 – have fun!

Don’t forget that having fun is when you are having an effective communication. Once you are connecting and communicating effectively with the other person doors open to oportunities and you really get to learn and grow from the experience, building rapport quicker and even new friends. Everyone has a story to tell and once you are listening and communicating effectively the world is your oyster.

As always, I love questions, so ask away!

Enjoy,
Ernest

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In the 1st post for 2010 I hit it off with a wake up call for you to take control of your life and be a leader.

“Take control of your raft and steer your way forward, don’t let the current carry you in its own direction.” – Ernest Semerda

The message is clear – Take a hold of your life (raft) and steer it towards your goals, visions and aspirations. Don’t let the sinking feeling hit you mid year because you failed to focus on your goals. Or worse, that all the goals you have achieved are someone else’s. If you need help with creating a set of solid goals and making a lasting difference in your life then I recommend you re/visit my past post on this topic. If you have already read that post and are now looking for more strategies to get you moving at an ever quicker pace then read on.

Managing daily chaos effectively

It’s best written then said since I can share this with more then the few that have asked me this question – How do I handle the ever increasing vastness pool of both daily personal and business emails, requests, ideas, stuff to do et al and still get things done… fast!

You may or may not have heard of David Allen, the author of leading productivity books and his Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity (commonly abbreviated as GTD) method. I have had the pleasure of working through his material some time ago to gain insight and alter my habits to increase my productivity and become more results orientated in both my personal and business life.

GTD rests on the principle that a person needs to move tasks out of the mind by recording them externally.

The process explained to get stuff done fast

The main principle is to get everything that is nagging you out of your mind and into a trusted external memory (file system or electronic form), so that you can stay focused on what you actually have to do now, rather than on various ideas, plans and commitments for later.

This allows you to systematically move through your to-do one by one without loosing focus. I will share my multi-tasking experience in a future post because these 2 go hand in hand.

So, the GTD process is a method for using those tools systematically together. The process can be broken down as follows:

1. Collect basket:
   1. Collect everything (stuff) that catches your attention.
   2. “Stuff” is a catchall word, which can refer to an email, something at the back of your mind, a note, a voice-mail, a scrap from a newspaper, etc., i.e. any item that has been collected.
   3. Then get it out of your mind and into a trusted external memory, e.g. by writing it down on paper or in a computer file and placing it into an in-tray.

1. Process basket:
   1. To gain control over the collected material, you need to empty the in-tray regularly.
   2. Emptying means deciding what to do with— not actually doing— by processing and organizing the items one by one.
   3. Processing a basket is easy:
      

1. Start at the top of your ‘in-tray’.

2. Deal with one item at a time.

3. Never put anything back into ‘in-tray’.

4. If an item requires action:

- Do it (if it takes less than two minutes), OR
- Delegate it, OR
- Defer it.

5. If an item does not require action:
- File it for reference, OR
- Throw it away, OR
- Incubate it for possible action later.

An example: The to-do item “plane tickets for Sydney” was initially in the Project Plan “Travel to Sydney”, reminding you to order the tickets; now you are Waiting for them to arrive by post; if they don’t arrive, it will become a Next Action to call the company about the tickets; after you have used them, you may store the tickets as a Reference, so that later you could potentially use them as proof of expenses made.

Simple right? At first it may feel awkward because it is outside the norm. Change always feels different and sometimes scary. But with time and practice this will become a new habit of yours and you will wonder how you ever lived life without it.

Why you must change – your brain only stores 7-plus-or-minus-two items

Anxiety is linked to future thought patterns. Especially when those thought patterns get buried (forgotten) and you get that uncomfortable feeling you forgot something important. Stress & anxiety have a natural tendency to affect the conscious mind throwing logic and decision-making out the door. All this happens because short-term memory is of limited capacity, usually 5-9 items (“7-plus-or-minus-two“). Beyond this capacity, new information can “bump” out other items from short-term memory. This is one form of forgetting.

Therefore, getting everything out of your mind and into a trusted external memory is paramount.

Hence the benefit of this fantastic approach. You will feel much less stressed by the need to remember all that “stuff” and at the same time will know that it isnt lost, just filed for later processing.

Practical application to real life examples

So I hear you screaming for examples, your excited, and ready to apply this right now. Here are some ways you can do this right away:

• Change how your inbox is setup:
  

  	Here is a snap shot of my work Outlook Inbox.I have these folders closed for privacy reasons but you can already see a common pattern. All my emails arrive in the Inbox – standard. But it’s what I do next that’s more important! What I do is try to clear them out by applying the GTD rules outlined above. Some will be done instantly and others will be filed into my Next actions, Waiting For or one of the Archive folders. Simple right. If I get asked about an email which required my team members getting involved then that email will be in my “Waiting for” folder since I would have had to contact the other party/s and am now waiting for their reply. How about an active project to retrieve some material from few weeks back. No problem. It’s in the “Projects” folders filed under the name of the actual project.
  Each morning I review the “Next actions” and “Waiting for” folders to “create action” – stuff that will keep me busy moving forward. I may find that I need to chase someone up, send a reminder email, finish off a task or organise a meeting etc… it all just flows.

• But there’s more: Your computer folders can also be setup and managed as your inbox. Doing this helps you solidify this new habit sooner since all your organisation (inbox, folders etc) is done using the same process.
• Offline: Put an “in-tray” on your desk and always throw all notes into. It doesnt matter what type of note, whether it’s sticky notes with things to do, ideas you scribbled on paper, paperwork you were handed to do etc. Try to move away from sticky notes on your monitor – these now belong in your in-tray. Let’s face it, sticky notes are useless when stuck to your monitor and serve only to distract you and clutter your desk (and mind).

In conclusion

The strategy outlined above is simple, effective and anyone can start use it today. However what is required is a change in your habits, which takes time. People want instant change but unfortunately it takes time as I outlined in my post on developing new habits. Change requires effort and persistence, it also requires moving away from your comfort zone and accepting that the current habit may not be the best. And this is where it stops for the masses since humans are creatures of comfort and not many are willing to change unless something major happens in their life. Those that have learnt that the world is constantly changing and they should too will experience the power of accelerated productivity from the technique I outlined above.

If you are already following this new process please share it with other readers and tell us how it’s working for you in the comments section below. If you have further questions about the application and/or methods then please post a message in the comments section below and I will answer it immediately.

I love questions, so ask away!

Have a blast with this new approach and remember it’s here to help you to be more productive and get stuff done fast!

Ernest

Links mentioned in this post

• Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity
• David Allen Books
• Get off your @$$ – be the leader of your life!
• The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two

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This tea rocks! If you had enough of caffeine jitteriness or its addictive tendencies, want to quit adding sugar to your tea or not a big fan of green tea but would love something that has both the power of black tea and the health benefits of green tea then look no further then Yerba Mate. It’s refreshing and energizing and has a nice list of health benefits.

“I reached the place of our vibouac by sunset and drinking much mate, soon made up my bed for the night. The wind was very strong and cold, but I never slept more comfortably.” – Charles Darwin, Voyage of the Beagle, 1936

What is Yerba Mate

Yerba Mate is a green leafed shrub, original of subtropical South America. It’s popularity is due not only to it’s exotic taste, but to it’s potent health benefits. It has been the drink of choice of the Guarani Indians in early colonial periods. More on Wikipedia here.

Health Benefits of Yerba Mate Tea

Here are a good bunch of great reasons you should be drinking this tea:

• It’s rich in vitamins, minerals and full of antioxidants – yerba mate offers a higher concentration of polyphenols to pack a punch in the fight against free radicals,
• Works as an appetite suppressant,
• Due to its thermogenic compounds it helps you burn more fat by elevating your metabolism,
• 100% of the caffeine in a cup of coffee but no side effects like the jitters or yellow teeth stains &
• Promotes cell survival better than red wine or green tea. - Hard science sources

How does it look

Pictures speak louder then words. Here are some of the pictures I took of the tea.

Where to get it?

Yerba Mate is a lot harder to acquire in store due to lower awareness of this great tea. However there are few places online which sell Yerba Mate for basically next to pennies. Amazon as always has a good selection – notice the special Yerba Mate tea gourd for drinking this tea:

If you are in Australia, “Natures Green Gold” proudly introduces South America’s secret of well being and vitality to Australian homes. Visit their website for Australian locations to pickup Yerba Mate: http://www.naturesgreengold.com/. Thanks to Nathan Hesse for sending me this link to help our Australian readers in acquiring this fantastic drink locally.

Tim Ferriss

Timothy Ferriss, an American author and public speaker speaks highly of Yerba Mate and it’s benefits in how it had helped him write his 1st NY Times Best Seller book called The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich.

“2. Biochemically Fine-Tune. I found by accident that my best sessions all followed a specific ratio: 3 cups of yerba mate tea for each glass of wine consumed.” – Tim’s blog

Further reading

If you would like to learn more about Yerba Mate Tea then I highly recommend you read the links below. There is a wealth of information there. Alternatively send me a message and I will happily respond to your questions.

I love questions, so ask away!

Ernest

Links mentioned in this post

• Stories submitted by Yerba Mate loyal customers:
  http://www.yerbamatetea.com/yerbamatetestimonial.htm
• Yerba mate contains 24 vitamins and minerals, 15 amino acids, and 11 polyphenols, a group of phytochemicals which act as powerful antioxidants. Find out more about this here:
  http://www.mymateworld.com/yerba_mate_health_benefits.htm
• Yerba Mate Cruz de Malta x 500 g Argentina Tea 1.1 lb:
  http://ernestblog.com/yerba-mate-cruz-de-malta-500g-argentina-wonder-tea
• Natures Green Gold proudly introduces South America’s secret of well being and vitality to Australian homes:
  http://www.naturesgreengold.com/

Stories submitted by Yerba Mate loyal customers:

“I drink Yerba Mate every morning. It is my way of waking up and greeting the day. It gives me an energy that is not a ‘hyped up’ feeling but rather like a natural energy that comes from a healthy lifestyle.”

Nancy Smith, Registered Nurse, Reno, Nevada More…

“When I sit down to paint yerba seems to give me the mental clarity and focus that I need in order to create to my fullest potential.”

Scott Cranmer, Artist, Audubon, New Jersey More…

“When my doctor suggested I give up black tea and coffee a year ago, I switched to drinking Green Tea for the perceived health benefits. However, I found it somewhat unsatisfying as a morning beverage. Luckily, I discovered Yerba Mate and I’ve never looked back. I began ordering my yerba mate from Nativa for their great services and prices (just one third of what I was paying here in BC). Since switching to yerba mate, I experience none of the jittery side effects of coffee, sleep very well and just generally feel great!”

Jim Sutton, Family Therapist, Vancouver, British Columbia More…

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This post is going to make you uncomfortable and hopefully enlighten you about a free natural source of health. In order to be free from the constraints of the modern world you need to look outside the box and question every bit of information and how it applies to you, just like Sherlock Holmes would have.

Vitamin D deficiency

Most of us are suffering from Vitamin D deficiency and we don’t even know it.

• Current research has implicated Vitamin D deficiency as a major reason in the pathology of at least 17 varieties of cancer as well as heart disease, stroke, hypertension, autoimmune diseases, diabetes, depression, chronic pain, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, muscle weakness, muscle wasting, birth defects, periodontal disease, and more.
• Kevin Rose & Dr. Weil M.D. covered Vitamin D deficiency as a major cause of disease in detail here, and
• The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey a group of researchers concluded that having low levels of vitamin D (<17.8 ng/ml) was independently associated with an increase in all-cause mortality in the general population. If you want to read more about Vitamin D click here.

“Vitamin D” isn’t even a nutrient! It comes from the sun, not from nutrition. – GRC

Vitamin D isn’t really a Vitamin like Vitamin C rather more like a powerful steroid hormone in our body which lays an important role in the maintenance of several organ systems. Critically important for the development, growth, and maintenance of a healthy body, from birth until death. Your primary source of Vitamin D is sun exposure followed (to a lesser extend) from food.

Vitamin D inexpensively promotes health.- GRC

Why the deficiency?

Ever since we started spending more time indoors we have been inadvertently starving our bodies of Vitamin D. We spend less time outside in the sun and more indoors working, driving to work instead of walking in the sun with the few exceptions on the weekends out and about. During the typical work week you will be hard pressed to get more than 45 minutes of good sunlight on your skin. But still then only your face and hands are exposed to the sun and possibly covered with sunscreen because as you may have heard… the sun is dangerous and you need to “slip slop & slap” – Aussie health slogan to cover up from the sun.

Vitamin D isn’t the only benefit we are missing out on by being indoors. In January 2010 I covered the issue of low LUX and it’s connection to depression and what to do about getting this corrected today without denting your wallet. This revealing post is located here – it goes hand in hand with this post and is highly recommended.

Setting people up to die

Vitamin D Science has a problem: Vitamin D is very inexpensive and cannot be patented.- GRC

Just go outside in the sun and get adequate amount of skin exposure or cheap (about 2.4 cents per day) supplements and you are ready to kick on. No pharmaceutical company wants to even think about investing any sort of money into trials or marketing of Vitamin D because it’s not financially rewarding. Instead when the flu season breaks, you will smell the fear created by these conglomerates to the tune of N1H1 and all its cousins and a need for immunization. Did you know that N1H1 flu shot had limited testing in Australian labs (6 weeks to approve) before hitting the shelfs. Yet so many people jumped to get the injection of something only few know what it contains. The message is simple,  pharmaceutical companies want to “keep you by” and NEVER to cure you or prevent any form of illness. Because there is no money in that.

Curiously absent from all the health advice being handed out on the swine flu by the White House, the CDC, the WHO and even the FDA is any mention of Vitamin D or other natural remedies that offer enormous protections from influenza infections. It is a well-known medical fact, of course, that influenza always gets worse during the winter months North of the equator and the summer months South of the equator (which are really called their “winter” months). This is because as sunlight hours lessen during the winter, the people living there become vitamin D deficient and are susceptible to influenza infections of all kinds. Read more about this in literature here.

But the prevention is so simple. All it takes is good daily exposure to the sun and some Vitamin D supplements to protected you and your family from the common flu and other degenerative diseases. Sounds easy, cheap and feels alright, right? Nature has all the answers but we sometimes fail to see past the smoke.

If you want to read more about Vitamin D uncovered and some great videos visit this site: http://www.grc.com/health/vitamin-d.htm

Vitamin D levels – getting yourself tested

Vitamin D is measured in ng/mL. You can find out your levels by getting blood work for 25-hydroxyvitamin D from your local doctor. Make sure you specifically ask for Vitamin D check when getting full blood work.

Your Vitamin D levels should be 50-80 ng/mL year-round. If they are not you need to act quickly and get them up.

Here is a good chart from Office of Dietary Supplements National Institutes of Health on Adequate Intakes (AIs) for Vitamin D:

When I got my levels checked in January 2010 they were dangerous low at 13 ng/ML!

Sure I spend a lot of time indoors but I also walk in the morning sun for 15 mins and during my lunch break for 30 mins. Still this isn’t enough. Therefore fast action to get this corrected was required.

Best ways to ensure adequate levels of Vitamin D

1. If you are low, start with 50,000 IU tablets for 8 weeks. Your local doctor should give you a prescription for these if you are in the dangerously low zone.
2. Regularly receive midday sun exposure in the late spring, summer, and early fall, exposing as much of the skin as possible (being careful to never burn). Beware of the times you can do this safely when UV index is less than 3. Especially if you are in Australia / NZ where the the hole in the ozone layer has spread.
3. Take Vitamin D-3 (5000IU) per day for 2–3 months, then get a 25-hydroxyvitamin D test. Adjust your dosage so that blood levels are between 50–80 ng/mL (or 125–200 nM/L) year-round.
4. Get blood work done regularly to make sure your levels of Vitamin D are in the safe zone.

So there you have it. Simple strategy to get your body back on track naturally fighting the common flu and protecting itself from other common diseases.
I am currently supplementing my lack of Vitamin D with 50,000 IU tables and will follow through with the Vitamin D-3 (5000IU) post the 8 week supply.

I’ll leave you with some interesting notes I found online about Vitamin D – a conspiracy you say:

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Further reading material:

“Vitamin D” Research – What and how the world is beginning to learn about the importance of “Vitamin D”
http://www.grc.com/health/vitamin-d.htm

Dr. Weil Interview: Geek Health Issues
http://kevinrose.com/post/354908516/drweil

If you ever wondered why people feel grumpy, low on energy and depressed during winter season, long hours in the office or why 1 in 5 people in the UK suffer from Depression then read on.

Back in September last year (2009) I covered light therapy as one of the methods used in controlling your sleeping cycle and having more energy. Since we are now officially in winter (USA timezone) I have switched on an alternative source of 10,000 lux – the NatureBright SunTouch Plus Light and Ion Therapy Lamp. Every morning for 1 hour I sit in front of a 10,000-lux lamp (as shown below) educating myself while receiving the required daily intake of light to help lift my mood, stabilize my rhythms and invigorate my body. By the time the 1 hour is up I feel refreshed, full of energy and fully awake.

Me (Ernest) getting my daily 1 hour of 10,000-lux of Light. The only source of light in this picture is the 10,000 lux lamp - very bright!

Benefits of light therapy

Light therapy is a replacement for those of us who do not get at least 1 hour of sun light (10,000-lux of light) everyday. And that is just about everyone who works in an office, drives to work and works though lunch. Most indoor office light only gives out 300-lux of light. A candle in a dim room gives out 3-lux of light; for comparison. Outdoors on a sunny day is 500- 1,000 times brighter than office or room lighting. Not forgetting that during winter the amount of available natural light is reduced due to shorter days and more cloud cover.

10,000-lux of light has the power to:

• help Lift your spirits,
• balance your body clock,
• lift your mood,
• stabilize your internal rhythms,
• invigorate your body systems leaving you feeling rested, refreshed, and nourished all over and
• it can reduce the nagging symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). If you want to know whether you are suffering from SAD click here for a quick free test.

How the lamp works

The Sun Touch Plus emits energizing, healing rays, using 10,000-lux Sky Effect light while simultaneously releasing streams of negative ions. It creates the same fresh air you feel by a waterfall or from an ocean breeze.

Scientific researchers have discovered a new light receptor in the eye’s retina that interprets signals from light rays, and sends the information to sections of our brain that stimulate hormone secretion and body rhythms. The Sun Touch Plus’ Sky Effect lamps emit the optimal blue light (white light is made up of colours – think of a rainbow) that best stimulates these receptors, which send signals to neurological receptors, energizing important centers in the body. (Amazon)

The trick is to make sure that the light enters your eyes from the top– just like the sun light would on a sunny day. I achieve this by lifting the device on some books to raise it higher and then proceed to read a book which is laying flat on the table in front of the device. Time goes by very quick, and by the time the auto timer on the device turns off the light I feel amazing and ready to tackle another amazing day. Who would have thought that a $100 device could make such a huge difference!

Where to get the lamp

I use the NatureBright SunTouch Plus Light and Ion Therapy Lamp from Amazon. For those that know me well will know that I do a lot of research before committing to any investment. In future posts I will explain how this therapy has played a major role in reshaping my everyday life. For now if you are interested grab it from Amazon here.

If you found this post useful and / or have or are using light therapy then share your experiences with everyone by posting a comment below.

Sources / mentions in article:

Still not convinved? Here are some comments from users of NatureBright SunTouch Plus Light and Ion Therapy Lamp from Amazon

I wouldnt’ have believed it if I hadn’t tried it, February 28, 2008

By Super Happy Gal

I’m a 34 year old woman. I’ve used this light faithfully for about a month. Until about day #12 I would have told you it was a hoax. But the light said it could take up to two weeks before you could see results. So I stuck with it and I will tell you that it really works. It’s a subtle but big difference (i.e. it doesn’t change your personality, just your energy and mood) in my mood and energy level. I will use this at the beginning of every winter, into spring. I get really tired with low energy in winter. My energy level has gradually increased until I am my regular, energetic self. I’ve told all my sisters to get one. I work as a nail technician and have told my clients to get one. Everyone is wondering if I get some kind of kickback from Naturebright. I tell them that I should be, but I’m not. I use my husband as the real critic and he swears it has made me a lot more energetic with a more even mood. So there you have it. Also, I looked at the Mayo-clinic websight and their research seems to support the light therapy. My dad is a psychologist and all the research he’s read supports light therapy. Just make sure you get a 10,000 lux lamp. I really like this one, though because of the optional ion thing. Even though I have no feedback on that because I haven’t used that yet. I wanted to try one thing at a time so I would know the difference. This is getting long. Anywho, I would definitely recommend this lamp for its effectiveness and reasonable price. See ya! Read more.

Bye Bye Winter Blues!, January 7, 2008

By J. Bowley “J B” (Westerly, RI)

I have had winter SAD for a long time and if I knew the enormous difference this thing would have made I could have saved myself many seasons of suffering. Within a few days my mood has done a complete 180! I feel like “my old self” again! Thanks Naturebright your product has changed my life and I dont ever want to go without it again. Read more.

A miracle!, December 4, 2009

By J. Davies (Chicago, IL USA)

I cannot believe how wonderful this product is. If I knew, I would have bought it years ago! I have suffered from SAD for years, since college, getting progressively worse each year. Last winter was the longest, grayest and coldest in memory in the Chicagoland area. We followed with a cool gray summer and long, cool gray fall. I was at my wits end. Amazon had a price on lamps that was reasonable compared to any lamps sold in years past. In just a few short days I feel amazing! I use the lamp for 30 minutes in the morning while checking emails, and again for 10 minutes in the late afternoon. It is dark here around 4:30pm with the worst yet to come. It has been gray 9 out of 10 days on average. I usually NEED a nap around 3pm and the length was increasing from 30 minutes to over an hour. I have not taken or felt the need to take a nap since using the lamp. Also, I would usually be crashing by 8pm, struggling to keep my eyes open until 10:30, not any longer. I wake up refreshed at 4:30am-my usual summer time-I am a morning person ; ) I have had more energy and enthusiasm and feel much more like myself. I am getting a lamp for my mother and recommending it to anyone who asks about my improved mood and energy level. I can’t say enough positive things about this product and I never write reviews. I can only say try this lamp. Oh…I do not mind the negative ion therapy. It doesn’t smell bad, as others wrote, kind of like the smell after a good rain. The unit is the perfect size to sit on a desk and seems quite sturdy. I terrific value for my mental well being!!! Read more.

I Wish I Would Have Bought This Years Ago, November 16, 2009

By M. Unruh “Missouri girl” (Kansas City, MO USA)

I have suffered from Seasonal Affective Disorder for over seven years. It is usually a fairly insidious onset until by January or February I am not getting out of bed and sleeping for over 12 hours a day. I have literally tried everything: medication, behavioral therapy, and multiple lifestyle changes. I wish I would have purchased this years ago.

I have had this for five days and there is a huge difference in my energy, mood, and circadian rhythm. I use it for thirty minutes when I first wake up. Since waking up with SAD is very difficult, I will place it on my coffee table and will watch the morning news while using the lamp (my biggest battle is getting out of bed to the couch, which isn’t too bad). Then I will use it between 5-6 p.m.

As for some of the prior reviews, I can agree that there is a smell associated when the ion therapy is in use. However, it does not bother me that much. It smells much like a new plastic item does, but I think that scent decreases with use. Read more.

Wide awake, November 11, 2009

By N in maine (maine)

It is 6am in the (soon to be) frozen north and pitch black outside but I am wide awake and full of energy. I love my light box. It is light and easy to use. I understand the bulbs get very hot but you would never know it because they are behind the frosted screen so it is also safe. The product is excellent and my biggest concern before buying it was whether light therapy works or not. I can tell you it works great with me. I have never used the ion-function so I can’t tell you about that. Before using it make sure you read the instructions and check out websites that can tell you how light therapy works. If the light is not close enough to you or if you use it the wrong time of day then it will not work.  Read more.

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I’m not going to bore you with the same aged material about goal setting and how important it is to your success or go into detail about a long rumoured Harvard study which found “that the 3% of the population which makes the effort to write down their goals makes over ten times as much as the other 97% combined”. Or was that the Yale study which also didn’t take place.

“Change your life change your future.” – Jim Rohn

What I will talk about is changing your future with a good solid plan for the year ahead. Putting together a set of steps  which you can follow to take you to the next level. Without a direction how do you know where you are going? where are you going? maybe you are drifting by with the rest. Time to take control of your future!

“Take control of your raft and steer your way forward, don’t let the current carry you in its own direction.” – Ernest Semerda

Planning the year ahead is the same habit every successful leader / company takes time aside annually to layout the strategic direction for the new year. The aim is to re/focus efforts (both resources and financial), create a road map how to move forward to stay ahead of competition and keep the wheels moving. This IS the biggest study that this system actually works and creates long-lasting results. Planning works. It has worked for companies ranging from 1 to thousands of employees generating up to billions of dollars per year. It has been underneath our noses, you may have even played a role in it, so why shouldnt it work for you. Let’s make it work for you.

The aim is to bring focus to the year ahead. What do you want to do this year in your personal and business life in 2010?

We all want more out of life, yet how many of us are willing to change in order to make a difference. Change requires effort, sacrifice and breaking through the fear barrier. As an unknown proverb once said “fall down 7 times get up 8 times!” in order to succeed. This means moving outside your comfort zone and building new habits. It takes time and rarely yields instant gratification. But I’m sure you have heard this quote before, “all good things come to those that wait”. It’s not wait do nothing, but that gratification comes over time to those who persist, put in effort and energy into change.

“Rome was not built in one day.” John Heywood

Where to start – it’s simple

1. You have 12 months (1 year) to make a difference in your life. Need motivation? I’m sure you can recall an event, a person or something unjust which happened to you in 2009. Get Angry! Feel the Disgust – today is the day you say “enough is enough” and you make a life changing event.

2. Start with a Mind Map. It’s the closest approach to how you mind works when brainstorming. Dont bother with bulleted notations for brainstorming – your mind is not linear in thought. It’s chaos in there. Let’s get it down on paper. Click here if you want to read more about mind maps.

3. Once you have the Mind Map done, pull out “Core Project” areas you want to focus on. Make sure each Core Project area is realistic – challenges should match skills, i.e. the task should be neither too difficult, which would produce stress and anxiety, nor too easy, which would produce boredom. You may call these Core Projects “Goals” if it helps to maintain uniformity with your earlier approach.

4. Expand on each Core Project and write it’s “Milestones”. Each Milestone must have a due date and be very specific without leaving much room for interpretation. For example, writing “I want more money by July 2010″ might yield you an extra 1% raise in your financial position. But if you write “I will have an extra $20,000 by March 2010″ then this is specific and your subconscious mind has something solid to work with. Think of your subconscious mind like a Genie. You have to be very careful what you wish for, because you are damn sure going to get it.

5. Now break down each Milestone into Actionable steps (how & what you plan to do). Let’s use the $20,000 example; ask yourself how do you intend on making that additional $20,000 by the due date. Some actionable steps might be:

• Sell a product online. This may be by creating an iPhone / Android applications or through Affiliate Marketing in a niche market. If you have the skills then you might do this yourself or maybe you need to educate yourself in this area before you can begin or hire someone with the right skill set.
• Meet that sales target at work, work out a deal with your employer that for a sale of x amount by the due date you will get compensated the required money. If you can give value to your employer which is above what they are to pay you there is no reason the employer would refuse. You and they make money. It’s only fair.
• Provide a specialised service (that’s of value to your target market) and set up a subscription service ie. $9.99 for access. This means you will need 2003 subscribers to reach your target figure. What will this service be, how do you intend to make it unique, how will you build your subscribers list and why should they subscribe (give money) to you.

These are just some of the questions you need to be asking yourself and working on their solutions to meet your target.

6. Have fun. You need to enjoy what you are doing. When you are doing something you enjoy and it is realistic you will experience Flow. The pleasurable state that people experience when they are absorbed in an activity that demands their full attention, but such that they feel in control, i.e. able to effectively move towards their target, however far away this still may be.

7. Put your targets where you can see them daily. You want to be reminded constantly to generate “urgency” for completion. You want to make sure that you review the list on a daily basis and have it in sight all the time, say on the bathroom mirror (to see the list each morning), on a whiteboard, to do list etc…

8. Dont forget point 1. This is very important to keep you going (motivated). There is a reason why you must change / make a difference in your life.

“Gambaru” translated from Japanese means “Never give up! Even if there is no chance of winning!”

Feel happy

When you have achieved a goal or set a milestone it will make you feel happy. You want to be happy, right. You want a sense of accomplishment, right. When you get to your golden days you want to be able to tell your kids you made a difference not only in your life but the life of other people you connected along the way, right.

Not enough time in a day – an excuse?

The same old excuse plagues many. If I told you that I can show you how to recover 3 hours daily without sacrificing your work or personal life would you once and for all eliminate this excuse of “not enough time in a day” and get moving on making a massive change in your life? What if I explained how to get another 2 hours on top of the 3. In total around 5 hours per day to focus on your goals. That’s 25 hours extra per working week! No gimmicks, no painful sacrifices (well maybe some pending how you look at them) but in the end you will be more, have more and get more pleasure out of life. I will share these learnings in a February post (if not earlier).

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I hope this post has inspired you to start making a difference in your life today. It’s never too late and now is the best time to start making a difference. What are you waiting for – do it now!!

May the rest of your life be the best part of your life! – José Silva

Ernest