I confess I am not a good social networker. Actually, for a guy with multiple websites and networks of the social kind, I rather suck at it. And the stupid thing is that if I were any good at all, I would generate tons more traffic to my sites, et al.
The good thing for me is that I am still able to reach millions of people every year, and this is in spite of my poor social networking skills.
In short, I am a crappy:
Facebooker
Youtuber
Blogger
Website administrator
Tweeter
Stumbleuponer
Entrecarder
Emailer
Friender
Sharer
But does this make me a bad person?
I sure hope not.
I have been doing this thing called the Internet for years. I have had lots of ups and many downs. When I first began the social network scene I subscribed to all networks as a means to spread the good word of livelife365.com. I got into it so much that I produced this song and music video, way back in the day, for your listening and viewing pleasure. Many of the networks are no longer relevant, giving you an idea of the challenge it takes to remain so in a nanosecond world where news and updates are just a finger snap away.
I recently enjoyed eating a melon I purchased at my local farmer's market, called sharlyn melon. I loved its sweet and butterscotch taste so much I made this video:
Melons, like this one, are loaded vitamins and taste. While they are not superfoods, they do pack a lot of nutritious punch. My only negative I can say about them is their sugar and carb count. I constantly watch my carb intake, so I have to enjoy this delicious food in moderation.
But that's just me. What about you?
Some reasons we all, but especially you, should embrace this tasty fruit:
low in calories
no fat
high in vitamin C and A
great for smoothies, fruit salads, and breakfast
taste awesome!
How does one tell when a melon is ripe? Glad you asked...
And don't forget one of the most popular melons of all time...
I love the sweet taste of melons, but consume them in moderation with a nod to my low-carb diet. They are worth it, though, for all of the above reasons.
I try to visit my local farmer's market every week. It is there where I have discovered many of the fruits and veggies that I have shared with millions of people across the world. One of my favorite things to do, something that makes me what I am and gives me wonderful fulfillment.
fortunate; lucky:
the happy position of not having to work
5.
aptly expressed;
appropriate: a happyturnof
phrase
6.
informal ( postpositive
) slightly intoxicated
— interj
7.
( in
combination ): happy birthday ; happy Christmas
There are so many things that make us happy; I am often
amazed at how unhappy some people appear. Hey, I’m not thrilled with
life all the time, but I do strive daily to attain as much of all those nice
descriptions above this paragraph.
So, what makes YOU happy?
For some, happiness is a dog licking your face and snuggling
beside you in your bed. While that same dog on someone else’s bed,
lapping away at your face, may evoke the exact opposite of happiness.
To each his own.
For me, happiness begins with self. If I am not happy with
myself as a person, I have difficulty enjoying my existence.
That’s why I work hard on improving all of my flaws.
Through this effort, even when I am not always successful, I attain my
happiness…and maybe lose a few pounds, gain some introspection, and
improve as a human being along the way.
But it’s not all work and no play for me, either. I
love spending time with my wife and family, strumming my guitar, creating
videos, or dining on some of my favorite foods. Like these:
There are many things that bring us happiness inside this sometimes
challenging world in which we live. The key, as with life, is to know where to
look and embrace it is often as possible.
Last week I wrote a post about looking back at 2011, reviewing many wonderful accomplishments, as well as taking
a moment to do some self-back-slapping. For me, it was a memorable year
that had many achievements. But not all of 2011 was stellar—I start this
year with plenty of opportunities for improvement.
My 2012 to-do list shares many of
the same daily expectations I hold myself accountable to while ensuring I maintain
my triad of balance—the interconnected coexistence between the MIND,
BODY,
and SPIRT.
Let’s start with the MIND:
Read more, if possible (especially
more diverse, undiscovered areas that I normally do not venture into).
Finish writing two books and self-publish
them (both are almost done, just need some tweaking, polish, and editing. “God’s
Will,” and “We Can Change the World…If We Wanted To.”).
Continue to create and produce more entertaining
and relevant videos, start another website, with a goal of doubling my current
success I have had with livelife365.
Continue to grow in my “day job,”
strive to reach more people in whatever endeavor suits me best (in other words:
keep plugging away, be thankful to be employed with a job that challenges my
creative side while affording me the ability to earn a decent wage…).
Learn to organize better—I have lots
of strengths as a human being, but being organized is not one of them. I vow to continue to work on being better
with all of the above.
Produce two more music videos and another
original song (both already in the works, with the hope of publication by
mid-year).
Be a better social networker—while I
am not as fond of this practice as one would think, given the success and necessity
of my websites and this genre, if you will, I need to be better to ensure said
success. And to grow even more! I am working on it daily.
Get back to doing daily crosswords (my
new desk calendar, by the way, is a daily ten-minute crossword puzzle…that
should help).
Write more…again, if possible, given
all of the above. But one of my passions
in life has always been writing. And while
I do write daily and have produced a plethora of wide-ranging results of that
practice, I would still love to write even more. It can be done, I just need to find the time
and balance (see SPIRIT goals).
Next, the BODY:
Drop these excess travel
pounds! This is a major bone of
contention for me, as I have always been in great shape and advocate the need
for limited dietary intake. I also know
that a dozen (or more!) excess pounds can lead to so many detrimental physical ailments:
heart disease; diabetes; cancer; gastrointestinal problems; and bone and muscle
issues.
Maintain a better routine of
exercise. By that I mean, walking EVERYDAY! And upping my thrice-weekly weight program
with more reps and pounds. Also keeping it
going on weekends—these are the times that I tend to kick back.
Cut back on the carbs and add more
protein. As a vegetarian, I tend to
consume more carbs than I’d like. While I
always strive to eat complex, high in fiber, carbs, I sometimes do not. I vow to cut back on the empty carbohydrates,
while concentrating on more complex, high fiber carbs. And will add more fish into my once only
vegetarian diet. A good thing, in the
healthy long run.
Sleep more! I used to get by on six hours of sleep a
night…not anymore. I need to kick back
in bed and close my eyes sooner rather than later. Sleep deprivation will shorten one’s life as
fast as poor diet and lack of exercise. Don’t
under estimate the necessity of adequate sleep.
I’m not going to.
Balance. I need to spend more time with my wife, family,
and friends versus staring at this computer screen. While I love the work I do, I need to also
find the balance in my days to spend less time working and more time
enjoying. I often advocate the need to
find the time and balance in one’s life to do all that you need to do to be all
that you need to be…but also you need to find the time to be just you. Think about it.
Incorporate more diverse exercise
programs, et al. into my weekly routine.
Like yoga, tai chi, and even Pilates…whatever works. As we grow older, our bodies change and what
once worked as an exercise regimen may no longer. I am cool with discovering new ways to stay
in shape. Even Wei…whatever floats your
boat and keeps that boat afloat.
Last, but not least, the SPIRIT:
Spend more time with my wife. We have already started an every quarter day
out of work to spend together. Last month
we spent a Friday away from the office, went out to breakfast, and then just
hung out. We also investigated local
volunteer opportunities that we could work on.
Volunteer more. While I pride myself in spending time helping
others, I still can do lots more. 2012 I
want to do even more than ever. My wife
and I have applied to several local charitable places that need support, like
Meals on Wheels and Hospice Care. We are
in the process of setting up a regular volunteer schedule that will assist
these places over the coming years.
Find more balance. I have mentioned this earlier in this post,
but repeat it here to underscore its importance. While I love working at my full-time job and
all of my blogs and websites, I understand the importance of balancing those
vocations with the rest of my life. Family
and friends, working around the house, relaxation, or just kicking back and
doing little other than watching some goofy television show are equally as
important as earning a living and spreading the good word of livelife365. One of my biggest opportunities of this year
is to better balance my life. All work
and no play really did make Jack a dull boy.
Stretch my mind to understand others
more. While I consider myself a
compassionate person, I sometimes overlook what motivates and makes other
people do the things they do, and in turn, be so utterly different than what I feel
they should be. My desire to help them
change, or just be better in many aspects of their lives, at times flusters
me. One of my spiritual goals this year
it to be more open minded, forgive more, and stretch my mind to openly embrace
more diverse attitudes and personas…while still vowing to share the programs
and successes of livelife365 as best I can.
Practice more random acts of
kindness. It sounds simple and very obvious,
but holding open the door for someone or reaching for an item from a tall self
for a wheelchair-bond person used be the norm, the decent thing to do. No matter how we arrived at this place in
society, I still have no problem waving someone before me into traffic or
holding the elevator door rather than frantically pressing the close
button. Kindness is a virtue, a
compassionate necessity that makes us human beings what we are.
Meditate even more. I take great spiritual joy from my daily
zazen, every morning. Yet my desire and
my ability to add more time to my sittings often conflict. This year I would love nothing more than to
double my meditation times, daily. I have
no doubt that this will lead to nothing but good things: a more relaxed,
complete, fulfilled and happy Mike Foster.
This is a pretty big list, but one that I am
thrilled to have at. What’s on your list
of things to do in 2012?
Resolutions and goals are a vital necessity for
anyone who wants to change their lives for the better. But as I always encourage, don’t only set
goals at the start of a new year. Set goals
to better yourself and your life throughout the year.
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:
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:
How’s this new year going for you? Getting all those resolutions and goals figured out? Or have you already given up, like a handful of folks do when confronted by a bump in the road along the path to achievement?
“Life is a series of one roadblock after another.”
~ Mike Foster
Yes, life can be a constant thorn in ones side, or a blessing - it all depends on how you look at it.
Another thing you can say about life is that its one constant is change. Our challenge is in overcoming adversity while embracing the change that will inevitably seek us.
Call them what you will - roadblocks, unwanted change, adversities, bumps in the road. One thing that separates those who succeed in life and those who find excuses around every corner is the ability to adapt, to persevere, to overcome and embrace change and roadblocks as challenges to adapt to and not complain about.
What is your major roadblock standing in the way of your success?
The best way I’ve discovered in helping me deal with life’s imperfections and constant curveballs is by using laughter. A favorite Zen saying of mine is:
"Nothing is left to you at this moment but to have a good laugh."
One of the things that separates us from all other life forms is our ability to laugh in the face of some of the most dire situations, chuckle when all around us are freaking out, guffaw when life looks its darkest. Like the old adage suggests: “when life gives you lemons make lemonade.”
This time of year millions of people, just like yourself, are making resolutions and setting goals to attain throughout the year. Goals to lose weight, eat better, be more charitable, compassionate, kind. I applaud anyone who strives to improve themselves, while also reminding anyone within earshot that goals and resolutions should not just be saved at year’s end or its beginning - set them and refine that as often as necessary, throughout the year and whenever you feel the need to improve yourself.
In summation, life is life is life. It is up to you to make the best of not only any bad or tough situation, but all the good ones too. We may not be able to control a lot of what life tosses our way, but we can control how we react and deal with it.
* Have a laugh at life’s idiosyncratic impossibilities and seemingly unfair results.
* Look adversity in the face and dare to overcome it.
* Embrace not only every new year and opportunity to change for the better, but every day.
* Understand that there will be bumps in the road and challenges along the way…
* …and that you can control how you react to them, as well as your effort and energy in overcoming them.
Remember, sometimes you just gotta laugh at life.
But never, ever give up striving to do your best so that you live your life to its fullest.
With apologies to Denzel Washington and Spike Lee ("Mo' Better Blues"), I begin this post. Has anyone noticed that my recent music video, "Social Networking Blues," has climbed the charts on my video site and now resides at the very top of the Most Popular list? No? Well, here’s proof:
It has also done well on Metacafe and YouTube. What, some of you may be asking, am I talking about? Well, this, of course:
While these few thousand views are considered a bad hour for some viral Internet videos, they show me that my creative efforts are appreciated and, hopefully, enjoyed by a wide variety of viewers. In fact, I am so excited by the feedback I’ve received on this video I want to do something special in return.
HOW ABOUT A CONTEST?
This blog and my video site, ( livelife365.com) have been around for over a year now and I have not yet had a contest, thought about having a contest, felt the need or desire to have a contest, or had the energy to think up a contest worth doing. Until now, that is. In celebration of “Social Networking Blues” hitting number one on my vid site, and as a reward to all you loyal followers of both of my sites, here it is:
1. Tell me your most bizarre social networking story. Or… 2. Watch my social networking video and describe what it means to you. Or… 3. Make up a social networking story, combing both the bizarre and my video.
* Extra points will be awarded to those who leave comments on both this post and at my video site. * Entries will be judged on originality, creativity, humor, and whoever sucks up to me the most. * The deadline for all entries will be May 8, 2009.
What’s a contest without prizes, right?
I am offering several prizes and, depending on how many entries I receive, will award them to one or several contestants.
Prizes:
* 5,000 Entrecard credits (not everyone’s cup of tea, but cool if you’re an Entrecarder) * Autographed and inscribed livelife365 CD, featuring Mike Foster and the Hungry & Poor Band (You’ve tapped your toes to the tunes, now own the CD!) * Autographed and inscribed copy of my young adult novel, "Mikey and the Mysterious Kite" (fun read for all ages!) * Personalized video about you or your blog or website, filmed by me, added to my video site, and blogged about on this blog (the best prize, as far as I’m concerned)
Few things in life bring me more joy than writing and performing my own music, and then adding that finished musical tune to video. Also on that list of joys is making people smile, laugh, or just happy watching one of my creations. Social networking is one of the best ways for me to marry both of these passions: sharing my creative endeavors with as many people as possible. From my hectic/active participation in this madness otherwise known as social networking this song and video were born, and, in turn, this contest created.
I hope you enjoy watching and commenting on my passion as much as I love doing it. In life, what more can one ask for?
We all do it, even without realizing we do it. Some of us do it more than others, while others do it a lot more than some. We do it in the morning, sipping our caffeinated beverage of choice (you know what mine is), midday, while munching our lunch, sometimes while preparing meatless meatloaf (or any other healthy fare) for dinner, and often deep into the wee hours. In fact, most of us, or dare I say, all of us, do it throughout the day and night, as often as we can, whenever we can steal a minute here or a half-second there. Admit it, you’re doing it now!Heck, so am I! Yikes!I can’t stop doing it!
What are we all doing? You guessed it, social networking. Or more to the point: electronic, online, surfing-the-net, cyber-social networking. It’s the new sitting-around-the-coffee-shop-chatting-with-your-pals interaction, replacing face-to-face meet-and-greets with “tweets,” “shouts,” “subscribers,” and “Facebook friends.” (go ahead, add me as your friend, I dare ya!). It’s the phenomenon that is and has been sweeping the world for years, only now it appears to be multiplying faster than the national deficit.
You want to know what the ironic, funny thing of all this is? I never in a million years ever thought that I would be heavily involved in social networking, let alone writing a blog post about it. LET ALONE CREATING AMUSICVIDEOABOUT IT! But I am and have. More on the vid in a minute.
How did I get involved in all this electronic-interaction of the cyber kind? You’re looking at it, or, more to the point, reading it. Yup, blogging. It all started with my video website, livelife365.com. I created that site as a venue to help people improve their lives and to share that information with as many people as possible, probably one of the many reasons you created your site, right? One of the first things I did was create this blog. Blogging, I discovered, was an excellent way to reach hundreds of people, with the ultimate goal: hoping as many interested people as possible would eventually visit my vid site. Blogging is, after all, a form of social networking, as I soon found out, with commenting being a major electronic interaction between like-minded souls.
And it just kind of snowballed from there. As I visited and read more blogs, I discovered more social networking sites like Digg, Stumbleupon, and Entrecard. And tremendous sites for bloggers like MyBlogLog and BlogCatalog. As a videographer, I naturally migrated to video-sharing sites like YouTube and FunnyorDie. I went social networking crazy, and if it weren’t for healthy sites like Iowa Avenue, I might have gone nuts, or at least more nutty than I already am. What eventually evolved from all this social networking, which so often does for me, was a seed of creativity. I mean, I don’t know about you, but I have kind of a love/hate thing going with social networking. I love visiting cool and interesting blogs and websites, learning new things and meeting a diverse group of bloggers and SoNets (my new word, just invented, for “social networkers”). But, quite frankly, it can get exhausting, overwhelming, tedious (at times), and time-consuming. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy visiting dozens of blogs and sites every day, but there are times when I wish I could hop aboard a time machine and travel back to a place where there were no computers, or even televisions, for that matter. And then I stumble upon a new site that catches my eye and I thank god that I live in this amazing technological time period. Sleep? Who needs sleep?
So, one night, I was doing my social networking thing, and my brain, while fighting fatigue and getting punchy, came up with the following song. I then got out my trusty video camera and began shooting. As always, I had help. Mostly, my good buddy and the other half of the Hungry and Poor Band, Dale from Electric Canyon Studios. Dale is the guy who makes my voice sound better than average, while adding so much to my mediocre guitar playing it is beyond words. He is also a master video editor. His magical touch and relentless patience makes our collaborative efforts effortless. You may recognize him from my I Miss My Hair video; he’s the one with hair! Thanks, Dale.
Please take a few minutes and enjoy my latest music video:
Sure, social networking can seem like an endless chore, at times, but more often than not it is an effort of joy, a linking between souls connected, perhaps tens of thousands of miles away, through the touch of a mouse, the flicker of a finger across a keyboard, or the click of a link, like this one, which will take you to Mike‘s Lyrics, if you would like to read along while you watch:
As many of you probably know, besides writing this blog, I also have a video site by the same name. I have produced over 200 videos, with topics ranging from fitness and health, diet and nutrition, self-help and how-to, motivation and inspiration, as well as dozens of funny vids and original songs, like I Miss My Hair.
Quite a few of these videos have been well received, and I have gotten hundreds of wonderful comments from numerous blog posts like Do You Believe? and Is It Just Me? and Just Do It? Ten Tips to Get You Started. But one video stands out from the rest. Why does it stand out? You got me?
DRINK GREEN TEA EVERY DAY is not one of my best videos, if I say so myself. It’s kind of long and uneven in spots, if you ask me. In fact, given that it was one of my earlier efforts, I’d even go as far as to say that besides being nowhere near my Top Ten List, it‘s probably not even in my Top Fifty.
So, again, why does it stand out? And, more to the point, why am I making this big (okay, maybe semi-big) deal about it?
10,000 and counting!
Well, besides always wanting to call attention to healthier ways to improve your life (like the amazing health benefits of drinking green tea daily), my green tea video also happens to be, by far, my most watched. In fact, this very informative and worth-watching vid (even though it’s not in my Top Ten) recently registered its 10,000th view on YouTube. This is a modest milestone on this popular site when compared to some viral vids that get that many views an hour, but when you consider that 10,000 represents the total views my next three videos combined have received, then you can see why I have taken this moment to call attention to this (semi-) remarkable achievement.
So, without further ado, for those of you who have not had the pleasure of viewing my most watched video, please enjoy:
DRINK GREEN TEA EVERY DAY
And for those of you who would rather read the book than watch the movie, here are some of the amazing health benefits you may get from of a daily diet that includes ingesting green tea:
* Helps you lose weight * Aids in digestion * Encourages regularity * Lowers risk of cancer * Reduces LDL cholesterol * Fights diabetes * Loaded with antioxidants * Strengthens tooth enamel * Helps to lower blood pressure
Besides green tea, two other excellent sources of antioxidants are yerba mate and rooibos teas.
Yerba mate is found in the rain forests of Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina. Considered a sacred beverage, it is a high-energy stimulant that is also loaded with nutrients. The leaves of the mate tree naturally contain 24 vitamins and minerals, 15 amino acids, and loads of antioxidants. Naturally sweet, this tea is delicious, a great afternoon pick-me-up, and one of the healthiest beverages you can consume. Rooibos is a red bush tea grown in South Africa. Caffeine-free and high in antioxidants, this tasty tea is also filled with vitamins and minerals and has been known to relieve allergies, colic, and skin conditions, as well as sooth digestion and fight cancer.
DRINK GREEN TEA EVERY DAY is not only my most popular video, but one that has received the most feedback. Here is a sampling of a few of the questions I have gotten from this vid and my responses:
Q: Is it better to bring the water to a full boil or just before?
A: This, by far, has been the most controversial subject of debate in my tea vid. I use a teapot and bring it to a full boil, which purists say one should not do. They prefer the water temperature right before it boils. But when steeping the tea in a cup, like I do, versus keeping the leaves in the pot, the water temperature is just about right, since it loses heat from pot to cup. Check out this site for more about this subject.
Q: What are better, teabags or loose leaf?
A: Another controversial topic, but one I feel is all about personal preference, and for me, convenience. I drink at least five cups of tea each day so using teabags are fast and easy. When my life slows down and I can take a few more minutes each day to relax and enjoy the ceremony of using loose tea leaves, I will probably do so, but until then, its bags, baby! For more about this topic, visit this site.
Q: Are teas like Lipton green tea good?
A: I always answer these questions with one word: ORGANIC. Whenever possible, I choose organic. Why? Because if your goal is to improve your health by drinking green tea, then drinking non-organically grown teas is not helping. In fact, I suggest going organic with any and all foods you ingest: no pesticides, naturally grown, and a lot more healthier for you.
Q: Are bottled, sweetened iced teas good for you?
A: Read the label. If the ingredients say green tea and nothing else, and if it is organically grown, then you will get the same healthy benefits as brewing your own. But lots of these bottled iced teas are loaded with things you should not ingest. A safer bet is to make your own ice tea.
Green tea, yerba mate, rooibos, and even black and white teas are head-over-heels better beverage choices than soda, and a nice change from your daily cup of joe. Loaded with antioxidants, natural vitamins and minerals, they not only taste delicious but may just help you change your life for the better.
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