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Florian

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Day 19

What am I grateful for today?
1. Getting up early. Still can't wait to begin the next day when I sleep. Seriously, sleeping is the only thing in my life right now I could do without...
2. Writing. It's a form of acted out meditation for me.
3. 10 Idea Challenge. Every day a blog post. Exhausting but good.
4. Living in the US. I love the different landscapes and climates all within one country.
5. Darkness in the morning. It feels like I am up before the day comes around.
6. Low carb diets. Even though I am not losing much body fat right now, I am still committed and not giving up. See below.
7. Brahms String Quartets. Although now that I write this I am listening to the Brandenburg concertos by Bach.
8. My vision board. It's great to look at it every morning and remind myself of my goals.
9. Having the whole day in front of me. That goes with getting up early.
10. Warmth. I am grateful for a lot of things, and there are only a few things I draw a line - cold is one of them.

 

What would make today great?
When my video will upload to Youtube without any sync problems. And it did!

Daily affirmation.
If I am exhausted right now, it's just my body and mind catching up to new boundaries.

 

Three amazing things that happened today.
1. I published another blog post. I think I have it down now to publish regularly around 6 pm. I am also ahead two days of my won schedule. Meaning I have the raw blog post for the day after tomorrow drafted today. That way, if some emergency arrives, I can still post.
2. I recalculated my calories and realized that my assumptions were wrong: steak does have fat. Surprisingly, I was surprised about that. So I recalculated my portions and came to a quite different result for my low carb diet - though still a diet I can follow. I'll see how that goes.
3. I cooked for the next week. My non-stick frying pan really made me use only very little additional fat, which was great.

 

 

How could I have made today better?
I was a bit distracted in the evening - my energy level went down. Maybe I should have sat down with a book.

 

People I want to meet
People I'd like to meet are:
(a) Open to new ideas and creative.
(b) Definitely positive-minded.
(c) They can be either intro-or extrovert, I am pretty much in the middle.
(d) It would be a bonus if they don't depend on TV.
(e) They like to share a beer or two in a smaller group.
(f) They are entrepreneurial and want to create something.

So... I searched for a "young professionals" group in Jersey City/NY, and the closest one just met today. Hmph! I'll join when they have a new dtae in their calendar.

So I spent like forever searching for the right course on meetup.com, and of course where do I end up, me, the efficient German? The "Getting Things Done" meetup in NYC next Monday at 7 pm. 

But its' actually awesome, because the full title is "Minimalism, Simple Living and Getting Things Done". It's funny, because I could not really describe the group of people I want to hang out with - I rather be open to everyone. However, "Getting Things Done" seems to have found me.

That is a central theme in my life: I wait until I see something I find interesting and then jump on it. I am wondering whether I should rather learn to do it the other way around: first define what I really like and then finding the right group.

Be that as it may, I am stoked for having found the group.

Then, I signed up for an opera meetup group in NYC, next meeting is the 20th of November for Puccini's Tosca.

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I just realized this morning when I looked at my vision board - these goals won't work unless I build a lifestyle around them.

For example, seeing the "Ring of the Nibelung" around the world will work well, because I already love classical music and opera and I live this aspect of my lifestyle.

Getting a sports car and a fancy apartment, on the other hand, will work best if I know people with similar goals and mindsets. 

Being on a military submarine also means that I may need to build some inroads with US Army members, at least.

I strongly believe that anything we achieve in life is a byproduct of the habits we install. And the complete set of habits forms our lifestyle.

Then, too, your vision is not just one day in the future. Maybe not even your "ideal day". Your long-term goals need to be a "side effect" of the lifestyle you are building.

That's why it's so important to surround ourselves with people we love to hangout with.

I also expect the more people I meet, the more specific and refined my goals will become.

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Day 20

What am I grateful for today?
1. A good night’s sleep. I overslept and decided at 6 am I needed an hour longer. 7 am refreshed!
2. Getting up early. 7 am was still early enough.
3. Tap water. We can drink tap water in the US. That's not the case everywhere.
4. Energy in the morning. I am glad that I can directly get up and be running.
5. Calisthenics. The burn afterwards is the best.
6. Colorful fall. What can be better than brown colored leaves?
7. Opportunities for meeting new people. I am looking forward to the meetup groups I am seeing soon!
8. Non-stick cooking pans. No fat necessary. Not much at least.
9. Spices. My dishes taste great since I discovered the hot sauce from the Indian grocery store around the corner.
10. Coffee. Pushes me up.

11. That I can be so focused that I forget the time I spent on writing.

What would make today great?
When I finish the birthday video for a 50th birthday of a scientist back in Germany. And I also finished, even though it took me much longer than I thought!

Daily affirmation.
Even if I start my day later, I will still push forward with energy!

Three amazing things that happened today.
1. I published my blog post in less time than yesterday. How? I focussed on the text part first, then did the accompanying video, then searched for appropriate pictures, and I was even able to use some of my own!
2. I finished the birthday video and uploaded it. All done! I even figured out (halfway) how to overlay different audio tracks on iMovie. My plan was to record myself with my cello first, then use that recording to play a second track on top of it. Cello duo played consecutively. The only reason I did not use the video was that my playing was not good enough for me. The technical part I had worked out. Guess I have to practise a little bit more.
3. I discovered an amazing hot sauce. My meals are tasting so great now! And it does not burn twice. if you know what I am saying. 9_9

How could I have made today better?
I could have worked a little more efficient in the morning. Somehow I was slow and only sped up towards the afternoon. Guess that is just normal.

Dinner Party

Just sent out some invitations to friends. Not sure about the theme yet, but I got it started.

 

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Can't wait to hear about the dinner party. One idea is during dinner, you could come up with a few different questions to go around and have each person answer. For example, give each person an opportunity to introduce themselves and share one thing they were grateful for this week. That sort of thing. Good way to get to know each other a bit more. 

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Can't wait to hear about the dinner party. One idea is during dinner, you could come up with a few different questions to go around and have each person answer. For example, give each person an opportunity to introduce themselves and share one thing they were grateful for this week. That sort of thing. Good way to get to know each other a bit more. 

Those are great ideas. Thanks for the encouragement! To be honest, I feel a bit embarrassed because I am not living in the best neighborhood (although that's always a bit in the eye of the beholder) and have lived here for far too long (worse, because that was under my control). So another step I will take is to sketch out my living situation 3 - 6 months from now.

If I have people over with the thought in mind "this may be one of the last parties at this place", it's mentally a lot easier to organize. 

Maybe the people I'll have over even know people that are moving out of their place or are looking for a room mate etc.

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Day 21

What am I grateful for today?
1. Starting the week on a sunday. It's a nice trick - while everyone chills, you can get work done away from the hustle and bustle. Then, on monday, you are already back in the swing of things.
2. Friends. Life is great and even better with company.
3. My iPad. The best part: it's still the very first version. I did not go "with the time" and got a new gadget when it came out - what I had was sufficient for me. Practised minimalism!
4. Getting up early. I love the mornings.
5. Old photos. Looking at old photos is looking at the past, so you can understand yourself for the future.
6. Low-carb diet. I am a bit surprised that I did not have cravings for sweets yet. Well, maybe a bit, but far less than I expected.

7. Cold showers. Refreshing and good.
8. Writing in the morning. I am now drafting my blog posts 30 minutes after waking up.
9. My audio recorder. It is so much easier to record my ideas rather than writing them down.
10. My internet connection. I wouldn't be writing this without.

What would make today great?
If I manage to buy someone a coffee ;-)

Daily affirmation.
Even if things don't always seem to proceed, I know that with daily effort, they eventually will!

Three amazing things that happened today.
1. My latest article got more unique visits than my best one from august. My blog is growing!
2. Realized that one of the most dangerous ways to fall back into distractions is to have podcasts running while I take care of small stuff. Podcasts while working out, writing long posts etc. - not a problem. Small steps it is. So I avoid the podcasts during those times!
3. Got my next reminder for the Jersey City Young Professionals via meetup. I would have felt like a fraud in the past to go there, because I am just beginning my blog, now however I go because it could be fun, and I stay away if it is not fun anymore.

How could I have made today better?
I could have streamlined my latest blog post. It was a list of 14 movies and why I liked them. So I took a long time by writing it one paragraph, searching for a good video, inserting it, next paragraph etc. Of course that takes a while. Better ideas how to write in the future:

How to write a blog post - or anything else for that matter - efficiently
1. Get enough sleep, so you can write faster.
2. Write when you are most productive (for me, that's in the morning, not early afternoon).
3. Don't correct words while you draft your text, do it when you edit it.
4. Set yourself a deadline to finish your draft, so you don't have time to be too critical or correct while you write.
5. Do a predraft, if necessary, with only brainstorming ideas. Then write your first draft. Then edit.
6. Stop judging yourself. My first blog post with "10 ideas" was retweeted by a more advanced blogger, so now in every following blog post, I was worried about the quality of my writing. That led to hesitation and slowed me down. Which is ridiculous, because I did not worry about quality that much for my first post - which was actually retweeted. 
I think the most important part is making sure that I like the ideas that I have when I write my posts, not how I arrange the text or how well I flesh them out. That'll be fine in the end.
 

Paying it forward

There were maybe 5 people in the Dunkin Donuts. My visits there for the GameQuitters missions are probably keeping the business afloat 9_9

Cam, are you aware that your site creates and maintains jobs?

There was a guy in front of me who got donuts for himself and his girlfriend, and I just paid them for him. He was happy, slightly confused, thanked me and slowly walked out of the restaurant. Nothing special about the conversation, I'll attach the file just as a "proof"  9_9.

I do realize that my voice is pretty strong. That's a good fundament upon which to build. Now I just have to learn to speak a bit more slowly still!

111515 Pay Two Donuts.mov

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Day 22

What am I grateful for today?
1. A good night’s sleep. It's amazing how happy you can be after nightly regeneration.
2. My computer. It allows me to do everything I need professionally.
3. Low-carb diet. There is no limit on the amount of calories that you need, yet you still lose...
4. Body Fat. And body fat melting away is my first goal. 10/22/15: I was at 27.2%, 11/01/15: 27.1%, then the next days always between 26 and 27%, and it was very frustrating, because I kept a diet and nothing really changed. Then, this morning, boom - 25.3%
I am sure it will still go up again, but hopefully not beyond 26%. And then in a few weeks I won't go over 25 anymore, then 24, 23 etc. - until I reach my target of 8%.

The interesting thing is that I look today at my losses and think - oh well, that did not take too long. Though as late as last week, I was still frustrated because the loss was so slow. What do we learn from that? Progress can be very slow, until all of a sudden there is a jump in results.

That's why I measure my body fat every day - because I can. Other areas to improve on I can not follow progress that easily, but I am sure it follows a similar distribution as weight and body fat.
5. Friends and family. Just talked to an old friend today via skype. He has a house now, and told me about his successes and struggles. It's great to share, because it gives you perspective.
6. My audio recorder. Great for noting things without having to write them down.
7. My cello. I can play like other people can drive their car - getting the job done, albeit maybe not always too elegantly. I can simply practise every day 30 min for the next 3 months and then be good enough to play in an orchestra, maybe even for money. I have a hidden source of joy, socializing and even income that I just need to dust off when I want to use it. It's good to think of that not to take things for too granted.
8. A warm apartment. Call me a baby. I absolutely need warmth around me. In that sense, I am like a Cardassian (I bet I am not the only one who understands that reference...:-). Yeah, I am still a nerd at heart.
9. Protein Shakes. Can you say "chocolate" without cocoa?
10. Coffee. Black like the night from which I am born every day.

What would make today great?
If I got a realistic assessment how long I really need for all my tasks, because then I can plan better.

Daily affirmation.
I am still keeping one blog post per day!

Three amazing things that happened today.
1. I was being able to post to Facebook an check out replies form friends to my posts while only staying on there for 5 minutes! Same for Twitter. It helps to define beforehand what I will do on social media. Then, I go in, do my job and go out. I wish I could do away with Social Media, but since I want to build up my online presence, I need to learn how to use these media, how to tell my story on there. Still, telling a story is different from clicking around.

I listened to a video from Gary Vaynerchuk today, where he described how he grew his "Wine Library" in 2008 on twitter - he spent 15 (!) hours per day on there tweeting to everyone to promote his brand. 15 h is serious work. Very impressive. And I am sure Cam and everyone else on here who builds up his own work, family, anything meaningful in life at one point invests long hours into repetitive work. But if you love what you do, it's never feels like "work". And once you are successful, you remember the good feelings, not the tediousness of any process. Similar to my body fat loss above.

2. I recognized just in time that I had forgotten to put the mug under the coffee filter. Small wins!

3. I also recognized that the 1,000+ words in the morning are a good time to come up with 10 ideas.

How could I have made today better?
I could have had more sleep.

Talking to a homeless person.
It's not difficult to find one, unfortunately, in New York City. So I talked to Scott, who sits at the corner at the New York public library. His wife sits at the corner across the street. Scott lost his home in Brooklyn due to a fire and that was that. He makes $30 - $40 per day, sometimes less... on good days he can afford to sleep in a hotel in Jersey, on bad days he sleeps on the street. He would not want to go to a homeless shelter, because... those are full of drug addicts and people with alcohol problems, and he did not want to get close to them. 

It's easier to become homeless than you think.

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It looks like you're well on track to creating the lifestyle you want! You've reminded me I need to get my vision board done.

Its great to see that you're looking at every day in a very positive light, I need to do that with my own posts for the positive lifestyle i want.

I find homeless people sometimes when I go to Auckland city, and I have conflicted feelings about homeless people. I feel empathetic for them but also am wary of them for fear of them. I also tend to be stingy with money, which is something I will need to change about myself in the long run. Just hearing of your experience puts my prejudices to rest because nobody deserves to be homeless, and they will likely have gone through hell to get there.

Thanks for sharing your experiences!

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Thanks for the kind words, Alex.

I do believe bad luck can affect all of us, yet there is more than that that has to come together in people that are homeless.

For example, the lack of a good support network. I'll have to dig deeper into it, my spontaneous guess is just that if you or me lost all material possessions right now, we'd not be homeless for long, because we can count on our network of friends to help us crash on their couch and get a new job.

Likewise, many people are mentally homeless, but have money to never lack food and shelter. If those people lose their money, however - they'd be in big danger to end up on the street permanently.

Read "The Top Five Regrets of the Dying". There is a story of a young man who is confined to a nursing home after a major accident and literally dies of boredom because he gave in to the drab and grey environment without any mental stimulation.

Take your energy away, your resourcefulness vanishes because your motivation is gone, you shut out friends and then die alone. Doesn't really matter if you have a roof over your head or not.

I imagine homelessness does not happen immediately, but the steps to do it gradually are very easy to do if we are not careful.

Then again, those are just my impressions from talking to one homeless person. It gives us a warning lesson though.

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Day 23

What am I grateful for today?
1. Starting the week on a sunday. A great little trick. You can relax on a saturday and then getting into "work mode" a day before the rest of the world. Much more relaxed.
2. Black Tea. Since a long time, I drank some of it yesterday.
3. Coffee. Always there. I'm excited for a new delivery coming soon.
4. Warm apartment. Did I mention I do like the warmth?
5. To get back up after you made a mistake. Yeah... more on that below.
6. Family and friends. It's great to have them be there for you, but also for you to be there for them.
7. Internet. Th se    l t  rs    wo  d   no    a l   b    th re   wi   ut    t.
8. Learning more about Social Media. Great platforms - going far beyond simple status updates.
9. My iPad. A whole library in there.
10. Special screwdrivers. Most appliances nowadays have one or two non-standard screws, so you don't try to repair the stuff yourself. OR: you get the right screwdrivers.

What would make today great?
If I am able to forgive myself for yesterday’s failure and move on stronger than before.

Daily affirmation.
You may not have the codeword to the treasure chamber, but in contrast to the past, you only need to open the mountain, not build the chamber.

Three amazing things that happened today.
1. I got an Amazon delivery on a Sunday for my favorite chocolate-flavored protein shake. Yesterday ordered, arriving today. No extra fees thanks to Amazon Prime. It still boggles my mind a bit.
2. I reconnected with an old friend as part of my 5 random acts of kindness. Here is what happened. I looked for three facebook friends to pay a compliment to, and one of them was someone who I am already regularly in contact with. Thanks to my compliment though, he told me some things he would have never shared otherwise. You never know people until you allow them the possibility to open up. Sometimes they think they don't want to bother you.
3. Somebody vented his angriness to the world and I was not even bothered.

How could I have made today better?

I am happy with the day as it was.

 

TIFU - Today I Fucked Up. Or maybe yesterday. YIFU.

There is a whole Subreddit with hilarious stories.

Well... I am part of NoNothingNovember, and yesterday I failed my goals

Goal #1: No snacks - My diet over the past weeks had literally no carbs. I think maybe a few, but below 50 per day. My energy level was completely down. I felt if I would continue to avoid carbs like before I would not be able to get anything productive done.

Of course I ate some chocolate sticks. Of course I still had some at home... 

Only afterwards I realized I had a kitchen table stacked with apples! Stupid, I could have eaten those and not been failing on my NNN goals. Sigh. That's what I mean by "not having snacks at home". Oh well, what's done is done.

Goal #2: Getting up between 5 and 7 am - 7:15 am. Not cool. Maybe failing on that goal was what enabled me to become weak for the other goals as well.

So the moral of the story: 

#1: Don't have snacks at home. - And keep a diet that is still realistic. Last year's NNN, I would allow myself to eat oatmeal with honey, blackberries and apples. That worked out better. But this year I was just too desperate to lose body fat. I was too impatient. 

#2: Go to bed on time so you can wake up early enough.

#3: Set realistic goals. Similar to what I said under #1 above for the diet - if you make the goal you barely fulfill every day, then it is too ambitious. You never want to have a goal that can be derailed by one factor alone. If I was to say: publish three blog posts per day, then just one hour doing something else would put that goal into jeopardy. Rather chose to do something that still leaves breathing room for doing something else.

 

Five random acts of kindness.
#1 - Send three friends on facebook a sincere compliment. That was relatively easy. Yet there was something unexpected coming from it, see above (three amazing things, 2.).

#2 - I sent the mother of a good friend of mine flowers. We are always getting together with other friends in her house. This year I could not be there... so I just wanted to thank her for always hosting us.

#3 - Smile to people on the street. Did that when I was on my way to the supermarket.

#4 - Picked up the litter close to one of the trashcans at the store. There is more trash than you think laying around, you just have to open your eyes.

#5 - Decided to not bother about an angry rant (see above under "Three amazing things 3.)

 

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Day 24

I am struggling quite a bit where I don't think I want to struggle. I have a HUGE pile of notes, multiple projects and then I am fighting to tame Trello using two books: "Getting Things Done" by David Allen and "Getting Results the Agile Way" by J.D. Meyer.

So I am making progress step by step organizing my work. That is a project in and of itself. I just hope once I have it installed my schedule is robust enough to buffer spontaneous changes.

So I am continuously adding one new blog post per day, which works: drafting it as part of my "free writing" routine in the morning, ca. 1 hour - when my mind is fresh and I am really only writing for myself - then I edit it in the late afternoon/evening, record the corresponding youtube video (ca. 20 - 30 minute long), plus one quick video for Facebook and Twitter (10 - 15 seconds) to promote my blog post and publish slightly later. 

Yesterday's example is here.

Actually, I am two days ahead with my blog post schedule. I edit the blog post I drafted two days ago, so even if I don't have time in the morning to draft a new post, I will still be able to produce one post per day in the evening.

Right now, after one blog post per day, I have now slightly over 500 unique visitors since the beginning of november. That is significant - a "unique visitor" is a user that visits the website more than once - because now I can actually join Udemy's affiliate program. Besides the possibility to earn money (Udemy pays 40% commission, which is that much more compared to Amazon's 4 - 7%) - the even bigger take home message for me is this: if companies are willing to partner with you at that number, then 500 unique visitors is probably a first small benchmark where you can say: yes, the website is on a good track.

I love writing for it, and I already have two more ideas for satellite websites. And one booklet draft 70 - 80% done, so I can soon offer my first product! Free. 

So there is a lot going on, and there is not a single day going by where I don't want to work.

I am even getting some feedback on my blog posts here and there.

Let's not forget though why I have been so successful so fast - it's all thanks to a website called manosphere.com. I went to a meetup with Matt Forney October 2014 - one of the bloggers that I was following - and there I met the guy who runs manosphere.com. Incredibly generous person, and he put my blog on his feed.

Now I am receiving 80% or so of my traffic - targeted! - from that site. That's great, but I think it's also important to acknowledge all the positive factors that contribute to your own business.

Building your business nowadays still means going into the trenches. And then, there is amazing help along the way.

Last, but not least, the GameQuitters community has actually helped me to work towards my purpose. That's another reason why I am having a very successful month.

A big thank you from me to all of you!!!

What am I grateful for today?
1.Getting up early. 5 am used to be early for me. I am now getting up at 4 am. When I see that I am already having done stuff at 5 am, that’s even better.
2. Painfree teeth. We often don't acknowledge our body when all works fine. But we wish it was better when there is a hole in our teeth, for example. So let's just be happy when everything works!
3. Youtube. It's awesome that we can share our own content so easily with the world.
4. My vision board. I am going through it every morning and name every single picture. Lately, I am assembling a YouTube playlist with small 3 minute clips about each point. To (a) have something to watch - and avoid aimless internet surfing - when I need a short break from my normal work and (b) to make it easier to really visualize my goals. It sounds funny, but in 10 years, I want to retire, and while it may be nice to be able to own a Lamborghini, I think the most important part really is sitting inside one (even if I only rent it for one day) and starting the motor. That - right there - will be the moment I retire. Even if it is "only" on $2,000/month. Likewise, being able to do 4 reps of deadlifting 400 lbs will also be such a moment. I am trying to really define these moments to make my vision as specific as possible.
5. Paper being accepted! Yes, it is finally in. 3 years in the making.
6. Living in the US. I am so happy that I am living this dream every day. It was something I wanted since I was 19 years old, and I got it.
7. Books. You can learn so much. And you can let your own phantasy play. I think Michael Ende's "Momo" or "The Neverending Story" are two books that are definitely worth a read - beautiful story-telling, and they are all about the importance of time (Momo) and creating your own world (The Neverending Story). For kids upwards of 6 - 8 years, and I still reread them at the age of almost 40.
8. Writing every day. That is my own form of meditation in the morning.
9. My iPad. The new library. Very Star Trek, actually. I was always fascinated with the fact they had (a) electronic books and (b) a worldwide/universe-wide database. And what else are eBooks and the Internet? I can even imagine some form of "beaming". You send the blueprints of some objects to people, and maybe in 50 years, when everyone has a 3D printer, they can be directly printed.
10. Inspiring people. Successful, generous, living a life of abundance - the internet has also made it so easy to connect to so many inspiring mentors. I mean, look at this community. We are all spread around the globe, and we come together here as if those borders and distances aren't there!

What would make today great?
If I get everything done that I planned plus having some time to really appreciate this day.

Daily affirmation.
I will take on this day and finish it as happy as I feel right now in the morning.

Three amazing things that happened today.
1. I was getting up at 4:20 am and shortly thereafter up, running and happy.
2. I wrote down a list with people that have had a major influence on my life, and I realize how much my parents actually mean to me.
3. Somebody on another forum I follow mentioned how the hustle itself is most fulfilling, not the success itself. That was quite an astonishing revelation. We always have this notion of results being side effects of progress, but this was the first time somebody actually mentioned that he likes the progress more than the success itself.

How could I have made today better?
It's hard to answer this question, because honestly, I have taught myself to enjoy every day no matter how it went. So if there is not a major catastrophe, I am fine with the day as it is. I continuously try to learn, so it's not even that I think "this did not go well, let's try that instead". 

The only thing I hope is that I do not become too complacent, because obviously, I am not at the end of my journey.

Volunteering at a soup kitchen.
It was a bit difficult to get an appointment for me, at least in Jersey City. The soup kitchens apparently want you to apply to an organization that will give you an orientation etc. - seems a bit over the top. Are the days gone even here where you could simply walk into a shelter - or call them - and just be put to work? That's what I imagined. In any case, I eMailed the organization and asked them to put me on. Let's see what comes out of that.

 

 

 

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Thanks! Yes, writing comes easier to me, I feel my biggest advances though are in the videos. I am literally becoming a little more secure and less shy every time.

Introducing my blog posts with a little Twitter blurb has felt most helpful to me, because I have to get my message out and make it a little interesting within 15 seconds.

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There's been a noticeably sharp increase in your posting frequency and quality.  The teaser video idea is great, like a free mini advertisement.  It made me think about this video:

https://youtu.be/l1ffFe8wXpo

He talks about opening loops in the headline, and then closing them within the post.  He started talking about an alligator whereas you introduced a penguin.

I'm expecting LifeScienceMentor.com to smash some records in December.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Ed, thanks for your kind words and your support!

At the moment, I am smashing through 7 - 8 hours per day for a post... don't know whether that's a record. it's certainly very fulfilling.

I am getting some traction online - my post about sleep was reposted by @thesleepdoctor on Twitter - his website is sleepdoctor.com.

I am not even that happy about the post, but had I allowed that doubt to seep in, I would not have reached others. Hopefully it will help some people.

 

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What am I grateful for today?
1. Getting up early. Not as early as I wished - 5 am, but still.
2. My space heater. I need warmth. I am kind of surprised that I can still do cold showers, but now I did them every day for almost two years, don't want to break the string.
3. My iPad. Reading books and Netflix - it's kind of a treasure.
4. My computer. A treasure as well.
5. Writing. Every day it starts my morning on the right foot.
6. The post. "Snail mail" is still a good way to send parcels. Unless you send them overseas. $50 for $20 worth of toys... nah. I'll order from Amazon Germany directly.
7. Family and friends. Always there for me.
8. Books. Here is to Martin Luther and Johannes Gutenberg - I think both had a strong impact in taking books out of the hands of a select few.
9. My blog. It is slowly growing, and I am happy that daily writing contributes to that.
10. Being healthy. For the first time, I really enjoy not being sick instead of just accepting that as fact.

What would make today great?
If I'd find a possibility to get my next blog post out - it touches the stock market which I know next to nothing about.

Daily affirmation.
I can do it with silent determination.

Three amazing things that happened today.
1. I realized that I can rely on me waking up on time if I make sure I have at least 6 hours of sleep.
2. I got the manuscript proofs for our paper in Development - it’s cool to see the final version!
3. I never really sweated after calisthenics - so I started again to finish 
120 squats/sit-ups/push-ups with the 7 minute workout from the NY Times. Result: sweat.

How could I have made today better?
If I had gotten up before 7 am.

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