Category: Lifestyle

Albert Einstein is arguably the most famous physicist of all time. His theory of relativity forever changed the way we perceive the world and opened the door for a whole new theory in physics. Ironically, this humble man who had no desire for notoriety wound up becoming one of the most well known individuals of his time.

Einstein wasn’t just a brilliant physicist, however. He was also a remarkably wise man with incredible insights on society. Along with his groundbreaking discoveries in physics, his innovative views on a wide variety of topics ensure that he will be remembered for centuries to come.

In this article I would like to share some of Einstein’s most inspiring and incisive quotes with you. It is my hope that these quotes will provide you with a better understanding of the kind of human being he was.

1. On life

“People are like bicycles. They can keep their balance only as long as they keep moving.” —Letter to Eduard Einstein, February 5, 1930

2. On imagination

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution.” —Cosmic Religion and Other Opinions and Aphorisms, 1931

3. On thinking

“Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking.” —The Ultimate Quotable Einstein (2010 edition), Princeton University Press

4. On value

“If there is no price to be paid, it is also not of value.” —Aphorism, June 27, 1927

5. On peace

“Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.” —Speech to the New History Society, 14 December 1930

6. On happiness

“If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or objects.” —Quotes by Ernst Strauss in French, Einstein: A Centenary Volume, 32.

7. On human destiny

“The high destiny of the individual is to serve rather than to rule.” —Science and Religion, 1939

8. On work ethic

“The state of mind which enables a man to do work of this kind … is akin to that of the religious worshipper or the lover; the daily effort comes from no deliberate intention or program, but straight from the heart.” —From a Speech “Principles of Research”, 1918

9. On politics

“I am by heritage a Jew, by citizenship a Swiss, and by makeup a human being, and only a human being, without any special attachment to any state or national entity whatsoever.” —The Yale Book of Quotations

10. On ambition

“Nothing truly valuable arises from ambition or from a mere sense of duty; it stems rather from love and devotion towards men and towards objective things.” — To F.S. Wada, July 30, 1947

11. On knowledge

“The only source of knowledge is experience” —The Ultimate Quotable Einstein (2010 edition), Princeton University Press

12. On stupidity

“Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe.” — The World As I See it

13. On common sense

“Common sense is nothing more than a deposit of prejudices laid down in the mind before you reach eighteen.” —The Universe and Dr. Einstein

14. On social conditioning

“Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are even incapable of forming such opinions.” — Ideas and Opinions

15. On standing against the crowd

“Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. The mediocre mind is incapable of understanding the man who refuses to bow blindly to conventional prejudices and chooses instead to express his opinions courageously and honestly.” — Letter to Morris Raphael Cohen (19 March 1940)

16. On the intellect

“We should take care not to make the intellect our god; it has, of course, powerful muscles, but no personality.” — Out of My Later Years

17. On wealth

“I am absolutely convinced that no wealth in the world can help humanity forward, even in the hands of the most devoted worker in this cause. The example of great and pure individuals is the only thing that can lead us to noble thoughts and deeds. Money only appeals to selfishness and irresistibly invites abuse. Can anyone imagine Moses, Jesus, or Gandhi armed with …money-bags?” — Ideas and Opinions

18. On talent

“I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.” — Letter to Carl Seeling (11 March 1952)

19. On mastery

“Only one who devotes himself to a cause with his whole strength and soul can be a true master. For this reason mastery demands all of a person.” — Letter, July 1947

20. On freedom

“Everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the individual who can labor in freedom.” —Address at the commencement of Swarthmore College, 1938

21. On solitude

“I am truly a ‘lone traveler’ and have never belonged to my country, my home, my friends, or even my immediate family, with my whole heart; in the face of all these ties, I have never lost a sense of distance and a need for solitude.” — The World As I See It

22. On humility

“The true value of a human being is determined primarily by the measure and the sense in which he has attained to liberation from the self.” —The World As I See It

Have you ever noticed how legendary cartoon figures more often than not, have a specific food they’re crazy about? hellofood picked the top 7 cartoon heroes that are absolutely inseparable from their favorite foods and put together some facts you don’t know about them.

1. Homer Simpson & Donuts

Homer Simpson, the hungriest of them all, has to be on the top of this list. He loves to eat, but his food trademark is without a doubt donuts, with his catchphrase “mmm…donuts” said at least once in every episode. In the 10th season’s episode “They Saved Lisa’s Brain”, his donut mania goes to the next level with guest star Stephen Hawking telling Homer: “Your theory of a donut-shaped universe is intriguing… I may have to steal it.”

Homer’s idea isn’t too far-fetched, actually. Certain hot and cold spots seen in the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation—the afterglow of the Big Bang—has led some scientists to hypothesize that the cosmos might be a three-dimensional torus, or basically, a donut.

2. Popeye & Spinach

Our favorite one eyed-sailor has shaped and settled the connection between spinach and strength. Sorry to say this, but spinach doesn’t make your muscles big. In fact, Popeye’s love of the food was due to a misplaced decimal point. Here’s the story behind it:

In 1870 German chemist Erich von Wolf correctly ascertained the amount of iron in spinach, but while transcribing his notes, he accidentally misplaced a decimal point: instead of recording that spinach had 3.5 milligrams of iron per 100-gram serving (as is the case), he wrote that it had 35 milligrams. This is a huge amount. As Samuel Arbesman notes, if that calculation were actually correct, “a 100-gram serving would be like eating a small piece of a paper clip.” Nonetheless, Popeye helped increase American consumption of spinach by a third!

3. Garfield & Lasagna

He is cynical, sarcastic and loves destroying things. Born in an Italian restaurant, he is obsessed with lasagna, which he has described as “nature’s most perfect food”. Whether you are a dog or a cat person, you certainly love the Monday-hating Garfield. One of his best lasagna moves was when he made a pizza-lasagna-pizza-sandwich.

Garfield has nearly 17 million fans on Facebook. That’s one seriously popular feline.

4. Bugs Bunny & Carrot

Bugs have two trademarks: the carrot and his line “What’s up, Doc?” But where do these come from? No one’s sure, but experts have suggested they might have been inspired by a couple of popular films: In Frank Capra’s 1934 Oscar-winning comedy, It Happened One Night, Clark Gable nervously munches on carrots. Moreover, in the classic 1939 screwball comedy My Man Godfrey, William Powqell uses the line, “What’s up, Doc?” repeatedly.

Eating and talking isn’t generally advised. But someone had to do it. The carrot-chomping rabbit was a tough act for Blanc who did his voice: Recording the “What’s up, Doc?” line was incomplete without the sound of the rabbit nibbling on the carrot, which presented problems. “First of all, I don’t especially like carrots, at least not raw”, as he once shared in an interview.

5. Winnie the Pooh & Honey

Known for his love of honey (or “hunny” as he spells it), Winnie the Pooh wakes up in the mornings and first thing he says is “what’s for breakfast”. Similarly, the rest of the day is all about going on adventures with Christopher Robin or Piglet, visiting friends who he thinks have “hunny” and looking for “Hunny to Fill the Rumblee in his Tumblee”.

But why does Pooh have this fascination with honey? The story is somehow reminiscent of the one of Obelix. It begun one summer day when the whole group of friends went to Tigger’s vacation house in Honopolis. It was a rainy day so everyone stayed at home. Winnie the Pooh decided to explore the house and ended up in a dark room. Before realising what was around him, he slipped and fell right into a pot of honey. Later that day Tigger found Pooh at the bottom of the pot, having eaten the whole thing. From then on honey was Pooh’s favourite food.

Songs about his love of honey such as “Hunny in Every Pot” and “A Good 5-Cent Candy Cigar actually won a Grammy in 1975 for the Best Album for Children.

6. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Pizza

These four Renaissance-artist-named superheroes operating from the sewers of New York City are undeniably related to pizza, which has been an integral part of the TMNT franchise from inception (creators, Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird often ate pizza while working on the cartoon). Indeed, the only thing the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles loved more than fighting crime was a hot, fresh pizza. Whenever Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo and Raphael decided to take a rest it was always for a pizza and always with unorthodox ingredients like clams, peanut butter and chocolate sprinkles. Even Shredder was aware that pizzas are the Turtles’ kryptonite and for this reason he used it in many of his plans to destroy them.

As a matter of fact, the TMNT were so strongly associated with pizza that Pizza Hut also designed four cheesy bites pizzas based upon the personalities of each Turtle:

Michelangelo: pepperoni, smoked ham, pineapple, and jalepenos;
Donatello: chicken, mushrooms, green peppers, Roma tomatoes;
Leonardo: sweet red onions, black olives, green peppers, mushrooms;
Raphael: pepperoni, sausage, bacon, and beef.

7. Obelix & Asterix & Wild Boar

Apart from the magic potion, these indomitable Gauls loved to feast with a well-skewered wild boar, a scene that appeared in every issue following their victories. Unexplainably though, Obelix doesn’t seem to like boiled boar.

One of Obelix greatest food performances was on the “Twelve Tasks of Asterix” issue where he “battled” with the Great Chef of the Titans, Mannekenpix. The task was to eat every morsel of a meal prepared by him, something no mortal man ever got close to achieving. Obelix had to eat it all down to the last crumb. And that’s exactly what he did. In fact, he even asked for more. By Toutatis!

Even though there are only 35 Asterix & Obelix comics, their stories with the magic potions and wild boar feasts are so popular that the first French satellite was named after them (Asterix-1), and appeared on the cover of Time Magazine for a special edition on France.

“Freedom and wealth is an outcome of “Time”; the most precious asset that we all possess. Time however is a variable to each individual as our actions from our choices determine the longevity and returns from this asset. To maximize the return on this asset is determined by the energy that we put forth in developing our financial education, relationships and health.”

Scott Burton

In your twenties your future is too far away to think about and what is important is the “here and now”.

Your financial habits are not great, as you will have probably maxed out your credit card, delayed any savings and focused mainly on pleasure spending.

Your twenties are the time to have fun and its ok to make financial mistakes. However, the bad financial habits that you have accumulated in your twenties need to be gone before you head into your thirties.

Being in your thirties is different, you become more responsible and yes a little more serious about life.

Living in a cold damp house where it was party central every weekend doesn’t seem so appealing. The comforts of a warm centrally located apartment with your partner or a flatmate is the place you really want to be. You start to drink wine and your parties go from 100’s to dinner parties of 6! No police get called to your dinner parties!

You will find that children, family, marriage, buying houses are the main topics of discussion amongst your friends.

Shopping. Bills. More bills. Your health. Appointments. Money. Credit cards. Rent. Mortgages. Tax returns. Work. Some of these things were present in your twenties, and if you really wanted to ignore them you could but now you can’t.

If you make the right financial choices in your twenties, many of the thirty something life events become not so stressful and far more pleasurable. The reason why,is because you have a good financial base!

However, if you don’t make the right financial choices in your twenties, your life will be one of financial struggle – not only in your thirties but for ever.

“Money is only a tool. It will take you where you wish, but it will not replace you as the driver” Ayn Rand

By pursing these 10 Financial Goals before you reach 30, you will have set the foundation for you to enjoy financial security and independence for the rest of your life.

1. Know Your Personal Financial Profile

“When it comes to money and so many other things in life, understanding your weaknesses and strengths can help you with your future plans.” Tagene Brown-McBean

I know that this doesn’t look like a financial goal however it is the key to your success in achieving your financial goals. You need to know what your values and beliefs are around money.

What is your risk profile? Does spending money give you pleasure? Have you got good saving habits? When you see something you really want, do you justify to yourself how much you deserve it even though you cant afford it. Do you like credit cards? Are you ever able to pay your credit cards off in full every month?

Do you bury you head in the sand when it comes to dealing with money?

There are lots of financial personality profiles assessments on the internet and many of them are free. Here is a link to a great article on personalities and money. How Your Personality Affects Your Finances

Go and find out what your relationship is like with money. Then decide if you have the commitment, desire and motivation to pursue these financial goals before you turn thirty.

2. Write Down Your Financial Goals.

“By failing to prepare you are planning to fail” Benjamin Franklin

Once you have an understanding of your financial personality, you can then start to plan your financial future.

Write down your financial goals – short, medium and long term goals.

The timeframes you set for these goals need to be aligned to your financial personality.

Use the KISS and SMART metrics to write your goals. (Keep It Simple Smart) and (Specific, Measurable, Action, Realistic, and Time Bound).

This financial goal needs you to be disciplined and focused. If you struggle with these personality traits – thats ok. Find someone who can help you or go on the internet and look for templates that you can use to guide you to writing your goals.

Find out how to write your financial goals that are aligned to you and your current priorities in life.

If you don’t take the time to put a financial plan in place by the time you reach your thirties, you increase your chances of failing to achieve those financial outcomes that will enable you to live your dream life.

3. Stop Impulse Spending

“Remember, buying something is not the problem

Give up your bad habits around spending. The sooner you give up the habit of impulse spending, the better off you will be financially.

Try to understand why this behaviour is important to you as it does not serve you well. This behaviour does not support wealth creation. If you continue to spend impulsively your financial future going into your thirties and beyond, will be a struggle.

Don’t stop enjoying your life and spending money all together. You should be spending money on things that make you feel good. Just be realistic about your spending habits. If your spending is reckless and impulsive, then do something about it.

4. Get an App To Track Your Expenses

“There are plenty of ways to get ahead. The first is so basic I’m almost embarrassed to say it: spend less than you earn” Paul Clitheroe

If you are in your twenties and you have a negative perception or no motivation to budget or track your expenses you need to change right now.

Holding on to these beliefs will hold you back from having any financial security in your thirties and later in life. Keeping a track of of your expenses is one of the key financial habits that will enable you to have financial wealth and independence in your life.

There are some amazing budgeting apps that you can download. Go search for these apps as they enable you to budget and monitor your expenses with ease and no stress.

When you reach thirty it is essential that you are able to live within your means otherwise you will find yourself drowning in debt.

Remember your thirties will bring more expense and cost to your life. Good budgeting habits will ensure you are prepared to manage these extra costs and live within your means.

5. Learn About Investing

“Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune”. Jim Rohn

To create long term wealth you need to become educated about investment.

The best time to start getting the basics sorted around investment and start building your wealth is now – as you head into your thirties.

With sound investment planning in your twenties you should have an investment portfolio up and running by the time you are thirty.

Investing in your future now, before you turn thirty, ensures that you will reap the financial rewards of security and independence for the rest of your life.

6. Learn How To Manage Your Debt

“Debt is like any other trap, easy enough to get into, but hard enough to get out of.” Henry Wheeler Shaw

Don’t borrow money to buy depreciating assets is a key rule to managing debt.

Debt can work in your favour, but only when you use it for things that tend to rise in value over a reasonable period of time.

Using borrowed money to invest in a house, a business or an investment (which includes your education) is the sensible use of debt. However you still have to pay the debt of and if you don have a plan to manage your debt, then interest will compound and your debt will triple.

Borrowing to buy a new phone, pair of shoes, TV, or car is not a smart use of debt.

Get rid of your BAD DEBT – credit cards, higher purchase or car payments. Avoid credit card debt like the plague.

There is a very simple rule to follow when you spending, if you have to borrow money for it, then you simply can’t afford it – that includes using credit cards.

7. Get Insurance And Start Saving For Emergencies

“The habit of savings is itself and education; it fosters every virtue, teaches self denial, cultivates the sense of order, trains to forethought and so broadens the mind” T.T Mauger

In your twenties the concept of an “personal emergency” is never thought about because it just doesn’t happen in your twenties. If an emergency occurs usually your parents will sort it out.

However that it all changes in your thirties and things like Life Insurance, Income Protection Insurance and Mortgage Payments start to appear in your lives.

You need to protect your future. Setting up a fund and getting insurance for you to call on in an emergency is a great financial goal to have underway as you enter into your thirties.

8.Stop Relying On Your Parents For Money

“You cannot help people permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves.” Abraham Lincoln

If you are still relying on your parents to financially support you when you are thirty, you should be worried.

I get that you may have a student loan and in your twenties your parents were your ATM machine however this is a bad habit to maintain as you go into your thirties.

It is pretty much guaranteed that if you have bad debt and still rely on a monthly allowance from your parents then your chances of having financial independence and creating wealth in your life will not happen.

That is your reality.

9. Start A Retirement Account

There is no way you would have missed all the hype that has been promoted about how important it is to start saving for your retirement in your twenties.

The book Get A Financial Life by Beth Kobliner focuses on helping people in their twenties and thirties get their personal finances sorted. In her book Beth Kobliner outlines an example to show how the power of time on your investments works.

“Suppose you set aside $1,000 a year from age 25 to age 64 in a retirement account that earns 5% a year (historically, stocks return about 8%, but we’ll be conservative). That’s $39,000 total you invest. By the time you turn 65, you’ll have $126,840. If you don’t get started with saving until you’re 35, you’ll only have $69,760. Starting just ten years earlier would have doubled your total. Yes, doubled.”

When you are investing in your future with the goal to achieving financial freedom, then time is your biggest ally. Start saving and investing now before you reach thirty.

10. Develop A Financial Abundant Mindset

“When we do what we love to do; when we are generous and seek to help others; when we live within our means and save money; when we always seek a more specialized knowledge…we then have an abundant mindset, and are bound to realize financial abundance”.

Source: Life Hack website

Let’s face it, sometimes life feels like it’s falling apart at the seams. Perhaps you’ve lost your job, or your marriage just ended, or you failed to pass an exam and now you are simply feeling helpless and defeated. Winston Churchill once said: “Success consists of going from failure to failure without loosing enthusiasm.” Today I want to remind you why, even though you may be feeling a bit like a failure, you are most definitely not. Here are 15 signs that show you are doing well in life even though you don’t think so!

1. You’ve lived and learned

No one said life was easy and while the bumps on the road may hurt, the ride is definitely worth it. Think back to your failures and defeats. You must know they were all for a reason and part of a grander plan. Each difficulty has led you to where you are at today, each trial has molded you into the magnificent, resilient, person that you are. Continue to move forward in faith, hope and love, knowing that each experience has taught you what you need to become who you were born to be.

2. You have a comfy bed to sleep in

I’ll never forget an interview done on NPR a while back. A young Haitian mother told her story. She had little ones that constantly wondered when they would be able to eat and go to school like all the other kids around them. What impacted me the most about this story was their sleeping arrangements: they all laid on the dirt floor, and at night if it rained everyone would have to get up, grab whatever was left of their “bed” and move to a dry spot. This story gave me a whole new appreciation for my bed and I hope it does the same thing for you!

3. You strive to be better

The fact you are feeling a bit down because you haven’t achieved what you want to achieve shows you are trying. In the grand scheme of things, you always strive to be better and for as long as you continue to do that, happiness, success and love will come – just don’t give up. Einstein once said: “It’s not that I am so smart, it’s that I stay with problems longer.” Hang in there and never stop striving to be all you can be!

4. You have/had a job

Whichever way you look at this one, it is still a win-win situation for you. If you have a job: kudos! Keep at it and know that you are richly blessed. If you recently lost your job, don’t fret! You’ve gotten a job before, you can get one all over again. Perhaps this is the opportunity you’ve been waiting for to do something you truly love to do. Keep searching, keep hoping, and know that you can accomplish the seemingly impossible if you work hard and believe you can.

5. Knowledge is at your fingertips

In this day and age, you can learn anything and everything you want. Knowledge is truly at your fingertips! Since knowledge is power, seize that power and let it assist you in the pursuit of your dreams. Take advantage of all the “learning” opportunities that come your way.

6. You have food to eat

Sometimes a bit more than you should! Food is such an overlooked blessing, yet if you miss it for a few hours you start feeling the necessity of it. Take the time to enjoy your next meal, whatever that is, savor each bite and remind yourself that happiness is found in enjoying the simple things of life, such as eating a piece of pie.

7. You have the power of choose

Aristotle once said: “Excellence is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives – choice, not chance, determines your destiny.” Need I say more? Claim your power to choose.

8. You’ve experienced love butterflies or something like it

Ahh! To be in love…to feel your whole body literally react to that moment when you simply steal a glance from the one you are infatuated with. Experiencing such a natural, basic and simple, yet passionate moment will give you memories that will last a life time. You are beyond blessed to have experienced such a sublime moment!

9. You have clean water

This one should not be overlooked. Do you ever watch Bear Grills and all his desperate moves to get just a few ounces of muddy water? There are also people who aren’t going without water because they have a survival show, but instead because it is their harsh reality. Around 783 million people do not have access to clean water around the globe. Be thankful and fully aware that you are doing well in life even if you don’t think so.

10. You have a dream

Whatever your dream is, it’s yours. You have the ability to embrace it and create it. Don’t give up on dreaming or on your dreams. They are what life’s best things are made up of.

11. Your happiness is real

You have the power to choose happiness for your life in everything you do and in every circumstance. Your happiness is defined by whether or not you are able to discern and seize an opportunity to feel happy. It may be something as simple as enjoying the laughter of a child.

12. You have clothes to wear

And sometimes too many options, which trumps your productivity, but that is another subject. The bottom line is, you don’t have to go naked through the streets or poorly dressed. You enjoy the blessing of being properly dressed for every occasion and have the ability to shield your body from the elements. Really, life would get very cold without clothes.

13. You have the ability to forgive

Can you imagine what this world would look like without forgiveness? Never mind the world, just your life! Imagine how bogged down, bitter and unhappy you would be if you did not have the ability to forgive other’s mistakes as well as your own. It would make it nearly impossible to live and most definitely a nightmare to move on with life when difficulties arose. You have the unique gift of forgiving and moving on.

14. You believe in something greater than yourself

For all the times you were so caught up in your own little world and drowning in a kiddie pool version of life’s problems, you’ve had the ability to step back and realize that you have something greater to live for than yourself. Whether it is God, your family or friends, you can believe that your purpose is to achieve something that will be for the greater good or to simply bring honor to your God.

15. You have the opportunity to build global friendships

In today’s day and age, your best friend can literally be five thousand miles away yet you can still experience the beauty of that friendship. You have the unique capacity to be acquaintances with one person in almost every country of the world, something no other generation before the 1900’s was easily able to do. As far as I am concerned, your global ability to make friends is definitely a sign you are doing well in life, even if you don’t think so.

Source: Life Hack

By: Brigette Hyacinth
Director & Founder of MBA Caribbean Organisation

Hyacinth was the name given to my forefathers by their slave owner, then bowing under western supremacy my parents called me Brigette. I cannot trace my lineage as far back to Africa, only to Grenada and St Lucia however, all I can safely conclude is that our slave master must have been quite a small owner because there aren’t many Hyacinth’s around.

On August 1, Emancipation Day was celebrated throughout the Caribbean. This commemorates 1 August 1838 when full freedom was granted to all slaves in the British owned colonies. Between 1662 and 1807 Britain shipped 3.1 million Africans across the Atlantic Ocean in the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Africans were forcibly brought to the Caribbean and sold as slaves to work on plantations. Despite being held captive many slaves resisted their enslavement and refused to be broken.

Although slavery is no longer tolerated, many of us are held captive by limitations placed on us by ourselves or others. My whole life I’ve been told “You can’t.”

These limitations inevitably lead to many of us suffering from the “Baby Elephant syndrome.” The story is told how elephants are trained. When an elephant living in captivity and is still a baby, it is tied to a tree with a chain or rope nightly. The baby elephant tries with all its might to break the rope but it isn’t strong enough to do so. It tries and fails many times until realizing its efforts are futile, it finally gives up and stops attempting for the rest of its life.

Later, when the elephant is fully grown, it can be tied to a small tree with a thin rope and could easily free itself by breaking the rope or uprooting the tree but because its mind has been conditioned by its past experiences, it doesn’t even make the slightest attempt to break free. This powerful animal has confined its present abilities by the limitations of past experiences hence, the “Baby Elephant Syndrome.”

Human beings are similar to the elephant except for one thing, we can choose not to accept the false boundaries created by others or the past.

Here are my 7 tips to break the chains that are holding you captive.

1. Believe in yourself. You have to believe in yourself ultimately. Always Think big and Dream big. Focus on your strengths and work on developing your shortfalls. Don’t compare yourself to others and don’t let circumstances dictate what you are capable of achieving.

“Believe in yourself and there will come a day when others will have no choice but to believe with you.”   Cynthia Kersey

2. Work hard. Do what you can do. Don’t waste time feeling sorry for yourself. Take responsibility for where you are. Stop feeling like you’re owed. In life, there are no handouts. If you want something, you owe it to yourself to go out and get it. Nothing worth having comes easy.

“Determination and perseverance move the world; thinking that others will do it for you is a sure way to fail.”  Marva Collins

3. Be Positive. Turn negatives into positives and make it a growing experiencing. Don’t dwell on others opinions of you or take things personally. Don’t blame and harbour toxic emotions. It will only hold you back. Let it add fuel to the fire. Envision the future and maintain your focus.

“As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom. I knew if I didn’t leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I’d still be in prison.”  Nelson Mandela

4. Never give up. Be confident. Ask for what you want. Purpose in your heart that you will keep fighting for your dreams. How many times will you try before you decide to give up? This is your dream and you have to protect it. I try every door until I have exhausted all options and yet I don’t give up. Once there is a will, there is always way and I am determined to find it!

“You’ve only got three choices in life: Give up, give in, or give it all you’ve got.  Unknown.

5. Be Patient – For everything there is a time and season. The waiting period can be the most difficult but it’s important to not let doubt and fear creep in.

”No matter how great the talent or efforts, some things just take time. “You can’t produce a baby in one month by getting nine women pregnant”  Warren Buffett

6. Have a strong support network. You can’t do it alone. There are days when it becomes too much for you. You may need a little help to get back up.

“Surround yourself with the dreamers and the doers, the believers and thinkers, but most of all, surround yourself with those who see the greatness within you.”  Edmund Lee

7. Have faith that things will work out. Some things are out of your control. I trust that God will take me through those difficult moments and this gives me peace even when things don’t go my way.

“Faith is like the radar that sees through the fog”  Corrie Ten Boom

Additionally, as my grandmother would always say, “Make books your friends!” It opens your mind to new possibilities and helps you learn from the experience of others.

The saddest state a person can reach is mental slavery. They have already given up. Everyday I counsel individuals and I wish I could make them believe in themselves, but I can’t. They will have to remove the shackles for themselves. This is your life! Don’t let anyone else write your story. Take back the pen and make a great ending!

“None can destroy iron but its own rust can. Likewise, none can destroy a person, but his own mindset can”  Ratan Tata.

Source: Linkedin

Calorie Burn

Most experts agree that in order to loose weight, you need to burn off more calories than you eat. Sex, like any physical activity, burns calories. According to editors at Natural News, sex can raise your heartbeat to aerobic levels and burn an average of 200 calories during a 30-minute session. That translates to losing a pound for every 17.5 times you have sex. They also report that sex reduces food cravings and stimulates chemicals in the body that control appetite, helping you take in fewer calories.

Stress Reduction

Sex also helps foster an overall sense of health and well-being through reducing stress and improving sleep–two activities linked with weight loss. According to Christine Haran, author of “Good Vibrations: Uncovering the Health Benefits of

Sex,” an orgasm causes your body to release oxytocin, a chemical that promotes relaxation, pain relief and emotional bonding. Sex also helps you sleep, and getting enough sleep is important for healing the body after exercise and lowering stress hormones that may cause weight gain.

Improved Level of Fitness

The more you do any physical activity, the more fit you become; sex is no different. Through sex you will increase cardiovascular fitness. Depending on your positions and routine, you could also build muscle from frequent sex. Haran states that sex improves cardiovascular fitness and mental health, while mental health and cardiovascular fitness improves the quality of your sex life. Increasing fitness and muscle strength makes your body burn more calories, which in turn makes you lose weight.

Source: Livestrong.com

While the definition of success may be debatable, most people would agree that the leaders of companies getting good traction have likely garnered some measure of it. Want to know how high achievers get to the top? Here are quotes from 20 founders and CEOs on the daily habits that help them get more out of business and life.

1. Prioritize a daily to-do list.

I’ve got a running task list called “near-term,” which contains things that I want to get done during the next one to two weeks. Every morning over coffee, I pull from that list to build a task list called “today.” I make a commitment in the morning to clear this and make sure to deliver at the end of each day.

–Sean Duffy, CEO of Omada Health, a digital-therapeutics company that was selected by Fast Company as one of “The World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies.”

2. Remember names.

Not just staff members but also their spouses, kids, and even pets, if appropriate. Obviously I don’t interrogate people for these names, but as they come up in conversation, I try to make a mental note. It helps me to get to know my team…and your team [notices] that you are actually paying attention…. There are several tricks you can do to try to remember someone’s name. I always repeat the name when I hear it and then say it a few times over in my head.

–Jonathan Cogley, CEO and founder of IT security company Thycotic which ranks at the 2,671 on the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest growing companies in 2014, up 760 spots from 2013.

3. Research people before meeting with them.

Before a meeting, I always do research on whom I’ll be meeting with. Understanding the person’s work history, the school they went to, or even knowing their hometown helps me tailor the way I communicate with them.

–Mike Zivin, cofounder and CEO of Whittl, an online appointment booking platform for neighborhood businesses, which recently raised a $3.3 million series A round with backing from GrubHub co-founder Mike Evans as well as GrubHub’s first VC, Origin Ventures in Chicago.

4. Schedule family time.

Most small-business owners and entrepreneurs start a business to make a better life for their families. If you get caught in the trap of working 20-hour days, your business may thrive, but at what cost? You may be able to send your kids to a great college, but if they’ve never spent an afternoon with you in 18 years, is it worth it? I’m very conscious of making time for my kids, whether that means working with them (my oldest is interning in the office this summer) or carving time out to go to tournaments and games. It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day, but it’s so important to step back and look at the big picture.

–Ted Devine, CEO of online small- and microbusiness insurance agent Insureon, a company at the 107 spot on last year’s Inc. 5000 list.

5. Walk while working.

Part of being a successful executive is being able to interact with people at a moment’s notice, which requires a fair amount of stamina. To achieve that, I work at a treadmill desk all day, and end up walking about eight miles each day.

–Douglas Merrill, former CIO of Google and now CEO of ZestFinance, a big-data startup that uses more than 100,000 data points about an individual to figure out if he or she will pay back a loan.

6. Avoid all habits.

I think having randomness in my day is critical and keeps my brain active. I see too many people whose habits ultimately stifle them. They won’t try something new because it conflicts with something they’ve always done. When I feel I’m falling into a rut, I try to find a way to change things up. That’s one of the reasons I travel so much. Of course, it gets me in front of clients, which is critical, but as much as anything, always being in new environments keeps my mind sharp and my thoughts flowing.

–Rodney Williams, cofounder and CEO of LISNR, a new communications technology company that sends data over sound waves (such as streaming video) and recently won the Gold Cannes Lion for Innovation in Mobile.

7. Purge your email inbox.

I get my email inbox to one page by day’s end. My job is to communicate and build relationships with clients, prospects, and employees, and all email is dealt with, responded to, or filed as complete. It only stays in the inbox if it needs further follow-up. People need to know they can get response from me, not just the other way around.

–Darin LeGrange, CEO of Aldera, a company that provides health plans (insurers) with the back-office technology that handles billing, claims processing, coverages, and more.

8. Avoid all carbs before noon.

That’s my peak energy time, and too many carbs throw me off my game. The momentum created in the morning goes a long way into the afternoon. If you don’t start strong, you don’t finish strong.

–David Kalt, founder and CEO of Reverb, a marketplace for musical instruments and gear that has raised about $5 million in funding and expects to do $130 million in transactions this year, up from $40 million last year.

9. Don’t dive right into work in the morning.

Without fail, I start every morning off with a cup of “proper English tea,” even when traveling in San Francisco, and leisurely check the daily newspaper headlines on my tablet, before diving into email and catching up on the company Chatter feed. Having a slower-paced morning routine helps me work more efficiently as the day goes on.

–Jeremy Roche, CEO of FinancialForce.com, an ERP solutions provider built on the Salesforce1 Platform which equips customer-centric businesses with a unified cloud platform and all the applications necessary to grow both the top and bottom line.

10. Make small but meaningful personal statements.

After the ritual coffee every morning, I make sure I have a clean pair of crazy socks. No crazy socks, no glory. They anchor my confidence and remind me that different is good. Everyone could use a personal statement.

–Ahmed Albaiti, founder and CEO of Medullan, a digital health innovation company that works with payers, providers, and pharma on patient engagement.

11. Quantify your life.

There are 8,760 hours in a year, and I know exactly how many of them I have spent working, with family, exercising, or on community activities. For the last 15 years, I have kept a matrix of how I spend each hour in the day in an effort to live a balanced and optimized life. I’ve had nine major surgeries as part of a lifelong battle with Crohn’s disease, so tracking my time and health is essential to helping me maximize every moment. It’s also provided the perspective of both a patient and an executive to my companies.

–Jeff Margolis, chairman and CEO of Welltok, creator of CafWell, the health optimization platform that helps consumers achieve optimal health. Previously, he founded the health IT company TriZetto, and took it from startup, through IPO, to a $1.4 billion leveraged buyout.

12. Pay attention to people, not devices.

Put the cell phones away. I try to keep them out of sight when I’m around my kids and in all executive meetings.

–Rick Morrison, CEO of Comprehend Systems, which works with big names in the life-sciences industry, such as Boston Scientific, Astellas, and AstraZeneca, modernizing and improving the quality in their clinical process through cloud-based tech.

13. Wake up early and swallow the frog.

Mark Twain was onto something when he suggested you should tackle your most challenging project first thing in the morning. I wake up at 5 a.m. almost every morning, including weekends. My mornings are a time to tackle thought-intensive tasks, or approach projects with a new perspective. I consider 5 to 8 a.m. my power hours, and try to get through one significant undertaking by 8 a.m. every day.

–Neha Sampat, CEO of digital tech solutions provider Built.io, which powers innovation at the intersection of enterprise mobility and the Internet of Things (IoT) for startups and Fortune 500 companies. Sampat also co-founded KurbKarma, was named a “San Francisco Business Times 40 under 40” honoree, as well as one of “50 Women in Tech Dominating Silicon Valley” in 2015.

14. Don’t “find” time for family, make time.

As the CEO of a rapidly growing company, it’s easy to let the job consume you completely, to the detriment of those closest to you: your family. It’s not enough to “find” time to spend with your children, because the job will always find a way to fill every minute. So I make it a priority to spend two hours a day focusing only on my children. It helps me to recharge my batteries, think more creatively, and it also gives me that daily reminder of why I work so hard.

–Ratmir Timashev, CEO of Veeam, a data center backup company founded in 2006 which now employs more than 1,500 employees around the world and brings in hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue, with its sights on reaching $1 billion in revenue in the next five years.

15. Talk constantly with your team.

Team culture is critical in the American service economy. The only way to make sure that your team is working together at an optimal level is to make sure that you talk both formally and informally with your team.

–Vikram Aggarwal, CEO of EnergySage, a solar-marketplace company that recently secured a $1.5 million Series A round of funding and announced a partnership with Green America.

16. Drive your kids to school every day.

Sure, I would love to sleep later than 6 a.m. every day, but that half hour we spend in the car is amazing. I also try not to schedule client or internal meetings at 3 p.m. That’s when I have a scheduled conference call with my sons. They get on board the bus from school, and that’s our time to chat about the day so far. Finally, in the evenings, from the moment I walk in my home until they go to bed, my phone stays at the front door so they understand that family time is a priority.

–Sandy Rubinstein, CEO of DXagency, an ad-engagement agency with clients that include DirecTV, HBO, MTV, and Whole Foods.

17. Meditate daily.

Twenty minutes upon waking and 20 minutes as soon as I walk in the door at the end of a day helps me maintain a level of mindfulness that enables moment-to-moment awareness. Meditation has strengthened my ability to be open to new possibilities and ideas without attachment to “my way,” and has helped foster a level of communication amongst my team that respects and celebrates new ideas, the very thing that inevitably moves business forward.

–Ernie Capobianco, CEO of digital marketing agency Sq1, which serves clients including Michaels, Jiffy Lube, Shell, and Papa Murphy’s.

18. Plan for tomorrow.

At the end of each business day, I take some time to regroup and think about the most important items that need to be accomplished the next day, as well as what actions the team needs to take to accomplish those tasks.

–Michael MacDonald, CEO of nutrition and weight-loss company Medifast.

19. Exercise at least five times a week.

I either hit the gym or get 90 minutes on my mountain bike in the morning and start at 6 a.m. At first it was hard, but now I can’t go without it. It de-stresses and sets the tone for the entire day.

–Jason van den Brand, co-founder and CEO of online mortgage refinancing startup Lenda, which graduated from Silicon Valley-based 500 Startups last year. Since then, the company raised its first round of funding, has been growing 40 percent month over month since December, and recently passed the $40 million mark in loans financed through the platform.

20. Publicly commend an employee.

I try to give a written compliment to an employee on something they accomplished the previous day that aligns with our company’s core values. The written compliment is public to the entire company through a platform we use called HighGround. I think that doing so helps reinforce our company’s core values and helps us live our values every day.

–Ethan Austin, founder of the online fundraising website GiveForward, which has raised more than $150 million and hosts 20,000 active fundraisers at any given time.

What daily habits help you achieve more in business and life?

Source: Inc.com

Worldwide, mobile penetration is constantly on the rise. Particularly rapid growth can be observed in emerging markets such as many African countries. In 2014, the growth rate of mobile orders on hellofood reached 50% on the continent, facilitated by the increasingly affordable prices of smartphones ($40). This has a great impact on millions of people’s every-day lives.

Studies have shown that most Africans use their mobile phones predominantly to listen to music and interact with friends and relatives on social media. Taking pictures and browsing the web for information were also listed among the most common activities. But when it comes to mobile banking and payment, most users still seem slightly wary.

This caution was also observed by the online food delivery service hellofood. However, last year the online delivery platform counted the same quantity of orders from mobile phones as from desktops: both accounted for 50% of the total. As mobile phone usage and thus mobile orders is strongly rising, the amount is expected to surpass desktop orders shortly.

Some countries are already mobile-first, for example Tanzania, where 79% of customers order food on their phones. Egypt (56%) and Ivory Coast (54%) have also shifted to mostly mobile orders. The other countries still make the majority of orders via desktop, with Ghana (69%) and Nigeria (61%) having the highest numbers of desktop orders.

In order to meet the customers’ reservations about online payment, many companies, including hellofood, use cash-on-delivery services. This allows online companies to overcome issues of trust regarding internet businesses. Flexible payment methods are important, as such a huge percentage of business in Africa is still being done via cash-on-delivery to avoid the seemingly unsafe process of mobile banking. This payment method will remain predominant until the general perception changes along with the increase in mobile phone usage.

“Africa is a global leader in the development and adoption of mobile technology”, explains Joe Falter, CEO of hellofood, “and our strategy is centered around this. Mobile data speeds and handset capabilities have improved dramatically in the last 5 years, and hellofood is taking advantage of this to completely revolutionise the way people eat on the continent. It’s an incredibly exciting time to be working in mobile in Africa.”,

Fitness always goes hand in hand with good equipment and gear and a healthy diet.

In an exclusive interview with IGIHE, the Marketing Director of WAKA Fitness has revealed how they help people use both gear and nutritional supplements to achieve results.

Below are excerpts of the interview.

IGIHE: What types of fitness gear and supplements do you have at WAKA Fitness?

WAKA Fitness: We offer a diverse variety of fitness gear and nutritional supplements at WAKA Fitness including performance tops and pants for men and women, workout gloves, protein powder, protein bars and shakes, creatine, yoga mats, WAKA branded T-shirts and more. Our prices are also more affordable than other retailers in Kigali which means you can look great and feel great for less.

IGIHE: What kinds of clothing should you wear to work out and why is it important?

WAKA Fitness: In general, it is important to workout in clothing that is comfortable, breathable and will keep sweat off your body.
When it comes to style, this is largely a personal decision, but you should choose lightweight fabrics and styles/cuts that are loose enough to allow for a full range of movement but not so baggy that it might get caught in machines or equipment.
Also important is selecting a fabric with sufficient breathability to reduce the amount of sweat during your workouts. Cotton absorbs sweat and will become heavy during workouts so choosing clothing that is made out of polypropylene, spandex or polyester blends is usually the better options. WAKA has several options for both men and women which feature these breathable, workout friendly fabrics.

Proper shoes for the type of workout you’re engaging in is also crucial in performing better and preventing injuries. For example, running shoes often have shock absorbers to lessen impact from running while tennis shoes tend to have flexible soles for quick movements back and forth. There are also cross-training shoes for those who want to use their shoes for a wider variety of exercise.

IGIHE: What is protein powder or creatine? What are the benefits of these nutritional supplements?

WAKA Fitness: Protein powder is a processed alternative to protein, one of our body’s building blocks that supplies us with energy and builds muscle. Along with fat and carbohydrates, protein should be included in every plate of food. Protein powder is commonly derived from three natural sources of protein whey and cassetein (both of which come from milk) or soy.

Protein powder can be very beneficial for those who have difficulty incorporating enough healthy natural protein into their diet or those who are looking for an alternative to natural proteins. Because protein powder can easily be made into a shake or smoothie they are also convenient for those who don’t have enough time to plan every meal and snack.

Creatine is a naturally occurring compound that helps supply energy to all cells including muscle cells. If taken, it can enhance your overall performance in the gym, including your ability to do high intensity work or to lift more weight, it also helps with muscle gain and can even assist with recovery post-workout.

IGIHE: How does one know if nutritional supplements are right for them?

WAKA Fitness: If you are looking to see better results from all your hard work in the gym, either protein powder or creatine may be the right product for you. Both will assist with increasing the amount of muscle you gain and fat you burn. And for those looking for even better performance in the gym, you may want to try creatine.

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tombola@igihe.com