Friday, December 30, 2011
Reflecting Back…
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Mike's Daily Thoughts
Ahem...funny.
But believe it or not, I tend to have a lot on my mind, a lot of which seems destined to be shared via blogs, pics, vids, and Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or one of my many websites.
The wonderful thing is that we have all of this technology at our fingertips, the ability to transmit those thoughts across cyberspace, literally reaching billions of folks. Okay, that's only if your SEO is strong. Otherwise, said thoughts and pics and vids, etc., may only reach a handful of interested people. No matter, I got things to share and if you are reading this, I am very pleased to share them with you.
I created this blog several years ago, as a way to promote my video website, livelife365. I have been overwhelmed and thrilled at the response and feedback I have gotten from both this blog and my website, so much so that I wrote a book to expand my base, so to speak.
I have further expanded my ability to share the healthy, inspirational, motivational, and entertaining word of livelife365 with the creation of another blog, called:
Mike's Daily Thoughts, Pics, Videos, and More...
This blog is a less formal way to communicate and share many of my videos and photos, insights and just whatever is on my mind that day. The intent is to write a post everyday, but sometimes life gets in the way of all those plans...you know what I mean. I would be pleased to at least get five to six posts out each week...any more than that and we will all be sick of me (if you aren't already)...
So, when you have a few spare minutes in your hectic and busy day, please take a stroll over to my new blog and check it out, leave a comment, and enjoy.
Here is my latest video, by the way, about a very sweet and tasty fruit I recently discovered while vacationing on Maui, called Chico Fruit, or Sapodilla:
What is Chico Fruit (Sapodilla)?
Until next time...
peace,
Mike
Mike's Daily...
Buy the book
livelife365
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Cooking With Mom
30 Minute Marinara Sauce (Cooking with Mom)
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Maui Avocado! WOW!
Okay, so maybe just greetings from the Emerald Island, where this post is being transmitted. Besides my lingering jetlag, my confusuion stems from my desire to be back on Maui...and the size of this amazing avocado.
I could have called this post:
THE ATTACK OF THE KILLER AVOCADO!!
And these babies were killer - killer tasting, that is. I love Maui avocados even more than the California-grown Hass variety, which before encountering the above monster, were once my favorite.
I don't think you really can see from the above pic what I am talking about. Maybe this photo will help demonstrate the size of this beast. And while size is good, the taste is even better.
Is that a Maui avocado, or are you just happy to see me? |
All of these fun and delicious recollections have moved me to reprint one of my favorite posts. Please enjoy:
VIVA AVOCADO!
As much as I love eating avocados today, it's hard to imagine that I didn't taste my first one until I was well into my twenties. I grew up in a small town in a small New England state. Our foods of choice leaned more toward clam cakes and chowder than tacos and enchiladas. Avocado? I hadn't a clue what one was.
And don't even get me going about guacomole. Guaca...huh?
I understand that the avocado existed when I was growing up Back East, and they may even have been available at the local grocery store where my mother shopped. But mom never purchased one, never brought one of those green-skinned babies home. Believe it or not, I did not know WHAT an avocado WAS until I relocated to sunny California in the mid-80's. And even then, I wasn't sure what to do with one or how to eat it.
Today, avocados seem more popular and prevalent in everyday cuisine. In most restaurants you can find them chopped atop salads, sliced in between sandwiches, and, in its most popular form, as guacamole, that amazing green nacho-chip-dipping-taste-sensation.
While your mouth is watering, consider these interesting facts about the avocado:
- a member of the berry family, avocado is a fruit, not vegetable
- the Aztecs named it after the word, ahuacatl, which meant "testicle," because of its shape
- they have been around since 900 A.D.
- they have been grown in North America since 1856
- also known as the alligator pear, Jamaicans call them pears
(for more fascinating information about the avocado, visit this site)
Most of you by now have tasted avocados, but if you still are like I was, back in the day, you should give them a try. You don't know what you are missing. But do you know the best way to cut one open? Here's a video that will help:
Hey, next time you have that chip loaded with guac, happily remind yourself that besides enjoying a delicious snack, you are also getting:
- 10 grams of dietary fiber
- more potassium than one banana
- vitamins E and B
- 10 grams of the good fats (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated)
While very healthy for you, avocados are also high in calories and fats. The good news: these are the good fats--monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. These are heart-healthy fats and help lower LDL (bad cholesterol).
The bad news, for those counting calories or watching their weight, is that an average size avocado has around 300 calories--so tread carefully. I know that I can eat one all by myself, diced, with a sprinkle of sea salt.
Try it! In moderation.
It's hard to imagine that I spent half my life deprived of the succulent taste of avocado. Maybe that's why I've spent the last twenty-five years eating more than my share, trying to make up for lost time.
You should too!
Always remember that you can watch hundreds of self-help videos about health and nutrition, and any number of other topics, at livelife365.com.
Until next time...
peace,
Mike
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Drink Green Tea Every Day!
Green tea, that is!
I have been a green tea advocate for years, ever since I gave up my once addicting and overwhelming Diet coke habit. Searching for a healthier alternative, I discovered green tea and have enjoyed its wonderful taste and amazing health benefits ever since.
Why should you drink green tea every day?
It is loaded with antioxidants, can help reduce the threat of cancer, lowers cholesterol, assists in weight loss, and even fights tooth decay. Cool, huh?
But do you know what's really cool? Turning a successful green tea video (search YouTube for "green tea" and my vid comes up tops out of 45,000) into a cool music video. Please watch and enjoy my newest music video:
DRINK GREEN TEA EVERY DAY (MUSIC VIDEO)
Livelife365 is all about eating healthy, losing weight, and motivating yourself to do all that it takes to change your life for the better. All done in a fun and entertaining way. I hope the above videos continue that message and help you become the person you strive to be.
More cool stuff:
Please visit my new daily blog called: Mike's Daily...Thoughts, Pics, Vids...and more...
And recently livelife365 was voted one of the top fifty health blogs in the world by healthyhideout. Cool!
Lastly, I have a new self-help book for sale. Please check it out and tell anyone you know that is looking to change their lives for the better. I'll even toss in 30 of my top videos and 5 original songs. All for only
Until next time...
peace,
Mike
livelife365
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Aloha!
Mahalo and peace,
Mike
livelife365
mikes daily
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Without Hope, We Have Nothing
While researching this post, I encountered so many excellent, usable quotes that I had to stop for a second and further ponder why I desired to write a post about a topic that has already been written about extensively. I mean, the current president of these United States of America, Barrack Obama, practically based his entire candidacy on hope, or better put: on the premise, and promise, of believing in and rediscovering a lost hope. He even penned a best-selling book called “The Audacity of Hope.” One of his heroes, Martin Luther King, Jr., constantly orated about hope:
“If you lose hope, somehow you lose the vitality that keeps life moving, you lose that courage to be, that quality that helps you go on in spite of it all. And so today I still have a dream.”
Men and women throughout history talk of hope, the opposite of despair, which is also a highly quoted subject matter. Hope and despair are forever linked; you can’t think about one without thinking about the other. The great writer, George Bernard Shaw, may have put it best:
“He who has never hoped can never despair.”
And for those who like their hope quotes a bit darker, there’s always that cheery, optimistic philosopher Freidrich Nietzsche:
“Hope is the worst of evils, for it prolongs the torments of man.”
Although I prefer a softer, kinder hope, as I mentioned earlier, “Ya can’t talk hope without talking about the bad stuff too.” (One of my quotes. Don’t think it will be enshrined into the quote hall of fame anytime soon). To hear me talk more about hope, and why I feel this is a worthwhile topic, I produced this video:
WITHOUT HOPE, WE HAVE NOTHING
One of the things that continually amazes me is the hope I witness in others who have no business believing in anything, much less hope. It makes little difference what specific hardship or malady, act of violence or bad luck I am referring to, only that these brave, resilient souls somehow find it within themselves to persevere, to go on and rise above whatever tragedy that has befallen them and do something with their lives. Which, as always, brings me to what I’m all about—what livelife365.com is all about: living life every day in every way and not letting anyone or anything stand in your way.
Which also brings me to this amazing email I received from a loyal follower of livelife365. His name is Pierre and he is a lot like you, me, and millions of other people in this world. He is a human being and he’s made mistakes, embraced vices like smoking (cigarettes and marijuana), overeating, and practicing bad nutritional habits, which means he is not perfect, just like you and me. But like those aforementioned folks who refuse to give up even while facing great odds, Pierre wanted to change his life for the better. He began by researching green tea, because he had heard that drinking green tea was a good way to lose weight. He found my green tea video on YouTube, and then, like many others, stumbled upon my site, and began watching my videos on weight loss, diet and nutrition, and motivation. And, according the Pierre, livelife365 helped him lose 18 pounds in three months and changed his life. I was so thrilled by Pierre’s story that I produced a video about it:
FEEDBACK: LIVELIFE365 IS WORKING!
Like I said on the above video, and as I say countless times, there are hundreds of thousands of Pierre’s out there that need to change their lives for the better. All they need is a push in the right direction and some common sense advice on how to do it. I strongly feel livelife365, both this blog and my video site, can offer that push and advice.
At the end of my video about hope, I play a short version of my theme song, called “livelife365.”
Gee, Mike, how did you come up with that name?
Ahem, no one likes a wise guy…
Anyway, that song, along with letters like Pierre’s, epitomizes what livelife365 is all about. The lyrics say it all.
Click the below widget to listen to the complete version of the song, “livelife365.”
In closing, I leave you with a quote from one of the most quoted political figures of the last century, Winston Churchill:
“The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”
Until next time…
peace (and hope),
Mike
livelife365
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Stop Eating Your Angst
Monday, September 12, 2011
Post 9/11
In honor and in memory of the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil ten years ago, I offer this video. To quote Sir Winston Churchill, when standing up to Nazi Germany as they continuously bombed London night and day:
"Never, ever give up!"
peace,
Mike
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
What is Malabar?
Saturday, August 20, 2011
2008 All Over Again?
It's happening again: Wall Street is slumping, people are panicked, and the economic health of the world is in jeopardy. Sound familiar? This pattern of turbulence is very similar to what occurred only a few years ago. At that time, I wrote an article on how to survive such a drastic and life-changing financial challenge. Those words of wisdom helped me, and many others, through that crisis back in 2008; I feel the tips below are still apropos today. And one more thing:
PRACTICE PATIENCE!
How To Survive an Election-Year Financial Meltdown
I know what some of you are saying, "Why should I listen to what you have to say about the economy? You're a self-help guy, who specializes in healthy lifestyle and personal development, as well as makes funny (goofy) videos and goofy (funny) parody songs."
Why? Because in dire times like these (seen the Business headlines recently?), during the most important presidential election of our lifetime, it takes a commonsense and practical approach to combat all the craziness going on out there.
Q: But, Mike, you write and make videos about diet and nutrition, motivation and how-to, what do you know about finances?
A: As much as the next guy, and more than enough to help you.
TEN THINGS YOU CAN DO TO SURVIVE THE ELECTION YEAR FINANCIAL MELTDOWN
1. DON'T PANIC
Wall Street seems to feed on panic--panic buying and panic selling. While others overreact and sell off their stocks and put their cash in safer investments, you don't need to follow suit. Unless you need the money from those investments right now, standing pat is still the best option. Why? Because stocks eventually ALWAYS come back up--this is a historical fact. And if they don't, then we're all in trouble. This too shall pass.
2. SIT ON IT
Rarely, as a self-help, fitness guru, do I suggest sitting back and doing nothing. But, in this case, go right ahead! Pass the popcorn and park it on the couch. Okay, you still need your daily exercise, but with regards to your money--LEAVE IT ALONE. Sit on it. In fact, the best advice that I hear the most from those that get paid to know this sort of thing is: DO NOT stop contributing to your 401k or IRA. Why? Right now stocks are cheap. When the market goes down, prices go down. The more stock you purchase NOW, at lower prices, the more you will have LATER, when the market stabilizes and goes back up. Think about it.
3. KISS (KEEP IT SIMPLE, SHERLOCK!)
Simplify your life. Cut back, spend less. Analyze what you NEED versus what you WANT. If you dine out 3-4 times a week, cut that in half. Do you really need satellite TV and radio? The recent trend now is stay-at-home vacations--you spend less on gas and airfare, while discovering local attractions you may have been missing, or avoiding, for years.
Bottom line: Simplify your life and save money.
4. TAKE A WALK
How much do you spend a year on that health club membership? Figure out a way to stay in shape at home, and cancel that costly membership. Walking is one of the least expensive, but most effective, ways to stay in shape. Plus, it gets you outside, and is good for the mind and spirit. In times like these, that's a good thing.
If you desire a more strenuous workout, look into purchasing dumbbells, a stationary bike or other equipment; whatever fits your specific needs. The initial investment may smart a little at first, but will more than pay for itself for years and years.
5. INVEST IN YOURSELF
While exercise and keeping fit are vital aspects of personal growth, don't stop there. Continue working on self-improvement and personal development all the time. livelife365.com offers hundreds of self-help videos that can change your life for the better, all free of charge and just a mouse-click away.
6. LISTEN TO YOUR BOSS
There is no place continued growth is more important right now than in the job market. Now is not the time to take your job for granted. Nor is it the time to mess up the job you have. Yes, keep that resume handy and continue networking and sharpening your skills so that you are more marketable. But you also need to keep your boss happy with your work. Work harder. Do the best job you can to make yourself indispensable. Most companies will have cutbacks and layoffs--YOU cannot control this. But you CAN control your effort, productivity, and attitude.
ALWAYS be in the TOP ranked twenty percent of good performers, not the bottom twenty.
Why? GOOD companies seldom layoff GOOD employees.
Be good, listen to your boss!
7. STOP AND SMELL THE FLOWERS
Enjoy yourself. Enjoy each day. Live life 365. This simply means to live your life every day in every way. Yes, times are tough, the economy is a mess, the world is a bigger mess, but you can still find a way to enjoy the little things in life that have nothing to do with the bigger things that are out of your control.
Every Day Every Way
8. GET YOUR HANDS DIRTY
Now is the time to roll up those sleeves and get to work. But you're already working on self and your job; what next? Go outside, dig up the garden. If you don't have a garden, start one. Landscape. Mow the lawn. Do house repairs, spring or fall cleaning. Learn a new (inexpensive) hobby. Do it yourself. Besides saving you a ton of money, DIY is good for the mind, body, and spirit. A sense of self-accomplishment goes a long way. And if you're picking ripe tomatoes off the vine, you're not worrying about Wall Street. Besides, growing your own will save you more money in the long run (and they taste so much better, too!). Can, bottle, preserve, or freeze whatever you can't consume now, and have a winter of homegrown, inexpensive veggies.
9. BALANCE YOURSELF
And your portfolio. The only movement you should be doing with your portfolio is rebalancing it. This simply means you need to take a look at your asset allocations. When there are sharp fluctuations in the stock market, your assets will also shift. But do me a favor, check with your financial consultant before you do anything.
As for you and YOUR balance: you should always be working on managing your Triad of Balance, the harmonic balance between Mind, Body, and Spirit.
10. VOTE FOR CHANGE
Now, more than ever, we need some major changes in Washington. If YOU do not like what is happening in YOUR life due to decisions made by our political leaders, YOU have the power to CHANGE it.
The current financial meltdown we are witnessing needs to be fixed. Fixed fast! We have the choice to keep on making the same mistakes that have led us here.
Or opt for CHANGE.
For the better.
I hope these tips help make dealing with these turbulent times a bit easier. And always remember that YOU have more power than you think to CHANGE your LIFE.
peace,
Mike