Recipe for Resolution #18 - To-Done List

Create a “goals accomplished list” and a “to-done” list – when you complete a task or accomplish a goal, highlight it and cut it from your goals list or to-do list and then paste it over to the goals accomplished or to-done list.

Keep this "to-done" or "goals accomplished" list handy and review it from time to time. Seeing your accomplishments in writing will empower you to accomplish more!

Success in Spite of Stress

It’s no secret or surprise that in today’s society most of us encounter a profound amount of stress on a daily basis. Sources range from: our pockets to Wall Street, our businesses, careers, families, relationships, physique, age, responsibility, and bills – all of which cause a multitude of stress within our lives.

Prolonged stress in any form is a great detriment to our health both mentally and physically and I believe stress to be the underlying cause of almost all disease. Stress creates chemical imbalances in our body that can wreak havoc on every aspect of our health and wellbeing. Stress is also a great contributor to heart disease which is the #1 killer in our country today – claiming the lives of about 3000 Americans daily.

I was asked the following question after one of my “Have a Heart” events: “If stress elevates the pulse, then why isn’t it good for the cardiovascular system – after all, that’s what exercise does and that’s good for you, right?”

I explained it to her that unless hampered by a physical handicap or limitation, most of us have enough ‘reserve in the tank’ to be able to get out of bed in the morning or flee the house in the event of a fire. Our ‘fight or flight’ mechanism kicks in and floods us with adrenaline, our heart springs to action and elevates its rate and our breathing changes to bring in more oxygen and eliminate more toxins. Conversely, most of us lack the athletic ability to run a marathon – and if we tried to do so without proper training, we would most likely drop dead or suffer injury before we reached the finish line. With practice and training, we can gradually build up our level of tolerance to added physical stress and have the strength and ‘reserve in the tank’ to accomplish anything.

However, stress is often encountered or induced too rapidly to have time to build up immunity and endurance. One rapid change in your employment or relationship status could instantly send you reeling into a state of ‘stressure’. Now your pulse is racing at an elevated rate for hours, days or even weeks – continuously running a marathon of stress without any warning, training or preparedness. To add insult to injury, the body is now continuously releasing stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline into the body, which leads to toxicity and acidity in the body. This toxic environment can become a breeding ground for cancer and other disease.

Almost immediately we begin to feel the effects of the stress on our level of energy, concentration, focus, and attitudes. These negative emotions have an adverse effect on our level of productivity, profitability, self confidence, and pride - which inhibit us from performing at our best at the very times when we need to be at our best. The worst part is that the very thing we are probably stressing over is far less detrimental than the harm the stress is doing to our body.

The good news is that the effects of stress can be naturally counteracted easily, effectively and economically. The only catch is, you must be willing to think differently and act accordingly. Are you ready to defeat stress and create success? If so, here are some great tips to help you stress less:

1.       Go home and root your feet into the grass, dirt or sand – “ground yourself” - breathe, and clear your mind.

2.       Don’t neglect responsibility – just change the way that you handle it.

3.       You must have love in your own heart before you can give and receive love.

4.       Put yourself first and foremost.

5.       Massage – professional if you can afford it, couples if you have a significant other, or self massage (lymphatic, tennis balls, massage device, inversions) if you are solo.

6.       Music – listen to some soothing sounds – feel the groove and relax.

7.       Focus on what you can control - When you focus on what you can control, other things come into your control.

8.     Smile therapy – turn a frown upside down and consciously smile for a while - 5 minutes at a time (or longer) throughout the day.

9.     Stress Breaths -  deep inhalations for five seconds until the lungs reach max capacity, hold for two, then exhale for five until the lungs are completely empty.

10.   Meditate – learn to clear your mind and turn off the cacophony -  find your “Happy Place.”

11.   Find something to focus on positively – something that can show measurable progress with attention – weave a basket, learn a language or a musical instrument, take a martial arts class, build something – make it a routine and part of your schedule.

12.   Spend time in nature.

13.   Surround yourself with love and emotional stability – even if it means cutting out or avoiding toxic relationships with people that are close to you – make new friends, visit long lost relatives, visit a nursing home.

14.   Spread love – do a good deed, make a donation, volunteer – you can’t fully receive until you first give of yourself.

15.  News Fast – cut out TV, commercial radio, newspapers, magazines, the internet and any other sources of bad or depressing information.

16.  Stretch, exercise, practice yoga – connect the mind, body, and spirit.

17.  Write a gratitude list of all of the gifts that you’re appreciative of in life.

Written by Sean Donovan

Giving up S.A.D.

This year I celebrate 17 years as a vegetarian. My mother laughs at me now, because when I was a child, she remembers cooking delicious meals and casseroles only to watch me pick out all of the spinach, broccoli, celery, and anything else green.  I would have a pile of ‘green stuff’ on the side of my plate that I would refuse to eat for the first twenty years of my life. Now, my whole refrigerator is filled with everything green. What made me give up my Standard American Diet (S.A.D.) of predominantly red meat and potatoes? Several things – and am I glad that they did!

It was partly my mother’s influence, but it wasn’t her cooking that prompted my change. My mother and both of her parents developed colon cancer during a short period of time. In fact, my grandmother lived the last decade or so of her life with no colon at all. Talk about a reason to change my ways – I didn’t ever want to have to endure what she went through. A colostomy bag is not for me. My mother and grandfather were luckier as they only lost very small portions of their colons. When my mom beat colon cancer only to have cancer return in the form of lymphoma a couple of years later – and then beat that too, I knew I had some strong “fighting genes” in my gene pool, but I also realized I have some genetic predispositions to contend with as well. Thankfully, I discovered that although our genes load the metaphorical gun, it’s our lifestyle that pulls the trigger.

I was also influenced by a good friend of mine who was raised by vegan parents. He had never consumed meat or dairy his entire life. He was also a phenomenal athlete who was a star on his collegiate cross-country track team. He made running marathons look easy and he never seemed to lack energy, stamina or strength. I was so intrigued by his physical ability and absence of past medical problems that I quickly accepted his challenge to “go raw” for 21 days and only eat fruits and veggies. I was already in pretty good shape and had yet to suffer any health problems, but nonetheless my transformation was remarkable.  The increased energy alone was enough to make me never crave animal products again.

It’s undeniable that humans were designed to be vegetarians. The physiological proof starts with the alkaline saliva in our mouths. Also in regards to our mouths, the shape of our teeth (flat molars for grinding) and the movement of our jaw (up and down and side to side also for grinding) indicate that of a vegetarian. Compare our mouths to that of a carnivorous dog and you will find acidic saliva, sharp incisors and pointed molars designed for ripping and tearing flesh as well as a jaw that only moves up and down (no need to grind the meat side to side). The next clue is the dexterity of our magnificent hands - complete with opposable thumbs for grasping and picking fruits and veggies – as opposed to a carnivore like a bear that has massive claws for holding live prey and tearing its flesh from the bones. Human digestive tracts are very long and curvaceous so they can extract all of the nutrients from the living fruits and veggies -while true carnivores (such as lions) have very short and relatively straight digestive tracts to expel the rotting flesh and it’s toxic digestion by-products from their bowels as quickly and easily as possible.

If that physiological evidence isn’t enough to convince you that vegetarianism should be the way of humanity, then try this test. Put a pile of berries and a rabbit in a playpen with a four year old child and observe what happens. Then try the same experiment with a four year old lion cub in a cage. My guess is that the child will eat the berries and pet the rabbit. And in the lion cub’s cage there will be a bloody mess and a pile of untouched berries. Instincts don’t lie. And by the way, anyone who thinks that humans are at the top of the food chain is dead wrong. I invite them to spend the night in the wilderness full of lions, bears, mosquitoes and snakes – or take a swim in shark infested waters. In reality, decomposers such as bacteria and fungi are the ones on top of the food chain.

If most people in modern society had to raise, kill, clean, prep and cook their own meat, there would be a whole lot more vegetarians. Thank God for our modern food production industry – right? Wrong! If slaughterhouses and meat packing plants had windows or an open-door policy, my guess is that everyone would be a vegetarian!

Animal cruelty is a travesty and is prevalent in almost every aspect of the carnivorous side of the food industry, but I’ve found that most people simply don’t care – they don’t want to think about it – they just want their meat neatly packaged or prepared and cooked for them. They don’t even want to know what went into the process. If they only knew or thought about what went into the “meat process” and how it goes straight into their bodies, then they would realize that “we are what we eat” – right?

Maybe the chronic diseases suffered by many people in today’s modern society are simply nature’s revenge for the cruelty that mankind’s carnivorous population is exacting on the rest of the animal kingdom. For scientific proof that animal consumption is linked to chronic disease, I would be happy to direct you to Dr. T. Colin Campbell’s book “The China Study”.

Recently I was having dinner with a colleague who seemed quite perplexed when they discovered I was a vegetarian. Their immediate reaction was “Oh, you don’t eat meat? What do you eat?” My simple response was “Plants and living foods”. Simple and to the point – when you eat a plant based diet of fruits and veggies, you are eating living foods and thus ingesting life into your body. When you eat meat, it is dead and so you are ingesting death into your body. Plus, the higher up the food chain we eat, the farther we move away from the natural source energy of the sun, the mineral nutrients of the soil and water, and the purity and oxygen from the air.

Look, I’m here to tell you that if I can make the “cold-turkey” conversion from the typical male American meat-and-potatoes diet to vegetarianism, anyone can do it. Having made the transition and having lived on ‘both sides of the food chain’ – I can honestly say without a doubt or reservation that vegetarianism is an exponentially far superior lifestyle to that of an American carnivore. Forget all the macho B.S. - you don’t need meat or dairy to get protein – I work out harder and longer than most of my meat eating friends and never lack energy, stamina or strength. In addition, I’ve never had a tooth cavity or a broken bone – and that means a lot considering my active lifestyle!

Think about it – better yet, try a vegetarian, raw food diet and experience the awesome benefits for yourself. You’ll be happy you did.

by Sean Donovan

Recipe for Resolution #17 - To-Do

Create a daily “to-do” list based on your plan of action items and schedule – read it along with your goals list every morning when you wake up and every night before you go to sleep.

Keep it in a conspicuous place. Save it on your computer's desktop. Print it out and tape it to the refrigerator, the bathroom mirror, your desk or the dashboard of your car.

Update it daily.



PEP Program Kickoff at DME

Our first Peak Employee Performance (PEP) orientation session kicked off the much anticipatd 24 week program series in the DME BeneFitness center today. The event was well attended - participants included 24 DME Holdings employees and 8 guests.

Thanks to all who participated, contributed their energy, and shared their feedback. We look forward to GRO'ing with you over the next 23 weeks.

Health yeah!

Recipe for Resolution #16 - Seek Wisdom

Surround yourself with advisors or “board members.” You can have a board member or advisor on your team without them even knowing it. These advisors may also be part of your tribe.

My grandparents were happily married for over 60 years - until death did they part – so they were my advisors when it came to relationship issues. When my divorced friends or “player” friends offered relationship advice, I said “thank you for sharing” and promptly forgot what they said.

Seek “advisors” that are very good at the things you need help with. Aside from giving reliable, proven advice, they will also hold you accountable to your goals and commitments. Remember, you become the average of the 5 people who you spend the most time with.

Need some PEP - or just a laugh?

GRO healthy, happy and successful by redefining your corporate culture and workplace wellness with the exciting Peak Employee Performance (PEP) program.
For more information, visit: http://www.grassrootsreformorganization.com/Wellness_Programs.html#PEP and http://www.dmebenefitness.com/programs.html

Recipe for Resolution #15 - Delegation

Focus on what you do best, let others do the rest.

Find “partners” and form creative partnerships to help you accomplish tasks that you are not necessarily good at or don’t enjoy doing. For every task you hate (accounting for me) – there is someone (an accountant) who is passionate about it and made it their career.

What “best” part of you can you contribute to others? Consider forming a “tribe” based on the barter system. Everyone would have a unique specialty to contribute. This tribe will also help hold you accountable to your responsibilities, commitments and contributions.

This environment breeds success, teamwork and follow-thru. 

Recipe for Resolution #14 - Scheduling

Review your plans of action for your top goals and create a daily minute-by-minute schedule and incorporate time for your all of your new plan of action items.

Using recipe #12’s weight loss goal and plan of action as an example:

Monday, 6:15 am – wake up, read goals list, drink one liter of water, put on gym clothes.

Monday, 7:00 am join the gym.

Monday 7:10 to 8:30 am workout- stationary bike 20 minutes, nautilus equipment and free weights 40 minutes, sauna and stretch 20 minutes.

Monday 8:30 to 9 – shower, drive to work, eat an apple on the way.

Monday 10:30 am – eat a banana.

Monday 12 noon – take a 20 minute walk, eat a prepared  salad from home on the picnic table outside of office.

Monday 12:45 practice breathing exercises and rebound/stretch for 5 minutes.

Monday 2:30pm – eat an avocado at my desk.

Monday 5:30pm – stop at grocery store on the way home to buy fresh produce.

Tuesday and Thursday 6:30-8pm – Hot Yoga...

This is just a basic outline of a schedule for one plan of action – try to account for every minute of your day (even sleep time). The more detailed your schedule the better – the detail and practice of scheduling may seem excessive, but remember – you are forming new habits and taking control of your time, life and health so that you can reach your ultimate goals.  Stick to your schedule daily – remember to incorporate reading your goals list daily into your schedule.

After approximately 21 days of doing this, you will find that the new items on your schedule will become new habits in your life. Your time (and health) are the two most important things in the world – give yourself 10% of your best time each and every day and you will find that the other 90% of your time will be exponentially more productive.

Recipe for Resolution #13 - Luck

Lucky #13 – My definition of Luck: “when chance meets opportunity - and you recognize it, and most importantly, capitalize on it”. Always keep your senses open and pay attention to the signs. Resolve to create your own luck daily!

Know Your Doctor

Too often I hear people express a lack of trust and confidence in their doctors. When I question them about their contempt, I realize the root of the problem. Most people don’t truly know their doctor – and on the flip side, their doctor doesn’t really know them either. A recent study that was published on MSN.com found that the average doctor gives each patient less than a minute of his undivided attention during an office visit – that’s barely enough time to tell someone your name and address!

Think about it – we shop all over town for the best deal on a car or a pair of shoes and most of us will interview multiple professionals and check all credentials and references when it comes to hiring child care or a contractor, but we often settle for a doctor simply because he/she is in the ‘approved network’ of our insurance company. Many people I talk to can’t tell me a thing about their doctor other than their name and the location of their office. I challenge you to interview your doctor as if your life depends on it (because it may). Know where they went to school, when they graduated, how many credit hours of nutritional training they had, do they have any allegiance or affiliation with any pharmaceutical companies, what are their areas of expertise, what are their weaknesses – and most importantly, are they healthy? Would you want an overweight, unhealthy doctor who smokes giving you health advice?

I think a GREAT doctor and a routine yearly physical are essential in maintaining good health, so do everything in your power to make this happen. Make money the last concern when choosing a doctor. A great doctor is worth paying for – after all, how much is your life worth? If your insurance provider won’t cover the doctor of your choosing, choose another insurance carrier. Whatever it takes! When everyone wakes up and takes charge of their health and demands more from their doctor and insurance provider, then and only then will true health reform start to take place in this country.

Accept a prescription as a last means of treatment, not as the knee-jerk reaction that most doctors default to. Unless your doctor can logically explain the source of your problem and prescribe a treatment that will get to the source rather than cover up the symptoms and create new side effects, then don’t settle for drugs. Let’s face it – we don’t get migraines due to a lack of aspirin in the brain and our acid reflux and digestive problems are not due to a lack of antacid in the stomach. Don’t settle for just one person’s opinion – do your own research, consult specialists, think logically and explore every solution possible.

We only get one life to live and one body to live it in – make the most of it every day and take care of yourself as if you are the most precious thing in the world.

I Once Cried the Blues

You may have heard the saying “I once cried the blues because I had no shoes – then on the street, I met a man with no feet.” This simple saying has great implications as to the appreciation we should all have for the simple treasures that we DO have in our lives. For me, this saying brings with it a memory and a true story of greater meaning.

It was a hectic weekday and I was in the midst of a typical workday in my former career as a Realtor/Contractor. It was already 2pm, I was driving my “mobile office” (truck) and running late to an appointment. I had not had time to enjoy a moment of rest – let alone a lunch break. I recall thinking “where’d the day go?” as I contemplated how I was possibly going to finish all of the tasks on my ‘to-do’ list for the day. I also came to the realization that I wouldn’t have time to sneak in an afternoon run and would have to wait until the evening to do a quick gym workout. I had a dozen or so people in my employ who were working on multiple projects and contracts. Their productivity fueled the success of the company, but when they were unproductive, it heavily taxed the payroll and company resources. So I was obligated and required to give the business my constant attention and focus. My phone was blowing up as usual with one situation after another that demanded my attention and energy. As I drove, I was texting my client to let them know I would be late due to a previous meeting that ran over because that client was late. My day was reeling out of control. It was chaos.

Then suddenly I had the realization that I had no idea how I had just driven the last couple of miles or so. I pulled up to a three-way intersection - and as I heeded the stop sign in front of me, I wondered if I had done the same through the last few (dozen) intersections. Wow – I realized that I was absolutely in no state of mind to be driving. I might as well have been drunk. My mind was way too convoluted to focus on any one particular thing – especially something as important as driving. I put the phone down and returned my focus to the steering wheel and the intersection in front of me. My only option was to make a left on Cary Street - the one-way street at which the road I was on dead-ended into. Before I checked to see if there were any cars coming to my right, I experienced a life-changing sight on the other side of the street.

There is a homeless man who lives in Richmond, VA. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon to see a homeless person on a city street in Richmond; however, this individual is different. He is an African-American male probably in his fifties with long dreadlocked hair. He has no legs from the knees down and lives in a wheelchair along with all of his possessions. I’d seen him many times before, but today’s encounter was different. In the instant in which I looked across the street, he looked up from folding some clothes in his lap and made eye contact with me – and then smiled – from ear to ear.

The previous waking hours of that day had flown by in a chaotic whirlwind, but that few seconds of eye contact and smile from the legless homeless man lasted from that moment years ago until now – and will continue to stay fresh in my mind for many more years to come. In an instant, that man changed my mindset and my course of action that day – and for thousands of days to come.

I put down my phone, turned on my blinker, checked for oncoming traffic, made my left turn and glanced over my right shoulder one more time to give a smile back to him. I then made another left, circled the block and headed home instead of to my next meeting and jobsite. When I got home, I sent one group text message to all of my other appointments and cancelled the rest of my meetings that day. I then sent a text to my project managers and foremen and told them I would be unavailable the rest of the day and to conduct business accordingly. I then turned off my phone. I changed into my favorite pair of shorts and t-shirt and then strapped on my running shoes.

I ran for miles down Monument Avenue that beautiful early fall day. I easily exceeded my usual 3.5 mile route without even breaking a sweat, so I kept going. When I finally got back home, I estimated I had run 8 to 10 miles at an extraordinary pace, but was hardly out of breath. I then treated myself to an afternoon dip in my back yard hot tub. As I soaked in the hot, bubbly water, I reached down and massaged my legs. I wiggled my toes and flexed my feet. A great sense of appreciation filled my entire body as I thanked the Universe for my legs and my ability to run, walk, wear shoes and all of the simple treasures that come with a healthy, normal body.

You see, my rationale is that the homeless man saved my legs – and possibly my life. Had I not seen him for that moment and had he not caught my attention with his smile, I may not have changed my course that day. In my haste and stressful state I may have run a stop sign and hurt or killed someone – or myself. I could have easily been the legless one.

As I sat relaxing in the hot tub, I reflected on my experience and lesson that day. I resolved to never let stress or other peoples’ demands and agendas dominate my life. By turning my attention and focus to myself, I have lived a happier, healthier, more successful life and now have more energy, vitality, love and experiences to share with the rest of the world.

For months and months, I looked for the homeless man so that I could stop and thank him for the experience he gave me. I have since moved to Florida, but the memory of that man and my life-changing moment has stuck with me. It is amazing how much one moment and one complete stranger can impact your life. Now, I strive to return the favor by positively impacting the lives of many other people.

By Sean Donovan