3 Things You Should Know About Eating More Fruits, Vegetables, and Legumes.

Consuming more fruits, vegetables, and good sources of fiber, including all types of nuts  and reducing or even eliminating all flesh foods completely is the best action you can take to assure yourself an long and healthy life.

Last year, I went to a birthday party for a 90 year old acquaintance who has a "girl" friend 20 years younger. He's happy and she's happy. He's been a vegetarian for over 40 years. I've been a vegetarian for over 50 years.

Consider the following: 

1. More than 90% of all Americans do not eat the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables. Eating more vegetables everyday as a part of a healthy diet may lower your chances of getting cancer, heart disease, stroke, in other diseases.

2. Current recommendations for healthy adults are to get 20 to 30 grams of fiber a day through dietary food sources. However, Americans on the average just get about 10 to 30 grams a day.

The following food items are good sources of fiber: beans, all types of berries, whole grain cereals and breads, sweet potatoes, peas, and nuts. There are many health benefits to eating enough fiber including lowering blood cholesterol levels and assisting with digestive disorders.

3. Reducing the amount of saturated fat such fat found in meat, high-fat dairy products, and in some processed foods should coincide with the increase in the amount of fiber in your diet. You should limit your intake of saturated fats to 10% or less of your daily fat calories.

The reduction of saturated fats help prevent many chronic diseases, such as heart disease or stroke; it helps prevent clogging of the arteries; it helps with weight control and management; and it helps to lower cholesterol levels. Healthier fat sources include monounsaturated and polyunsaturated sources of fats such as olive oil, canola all, nuts, and other vegetable oils.

Above all making these changes in your diet will help you to realize a longer and healthier life span. 

What are your thoughts? Leave your comments below.

What You Need to Know for Successful Work Life Balance

An independent consultant, freelancer, or just one who is self-employed  can be best defined as one who chooses not to be an employee; 

one who is willing to depend upon his or her own talents, abilities, and expertise for continued existence; one who is a risk taker - knowing that there is no weekly, semi-monthly, or monthly pay checks; 

one who may seem to be a little crazy and weird to his peers, but one is willing to try to make a difference in the world.

The Life of the Self-Employed
The life of a self-employed means that in working for yourself, you have to organize your own day. I organize my day around set blocks of time and types of task . Your choice of several calendar applications allows you to to this. 

I personally use Google Calendar which has proved to be great in helping me to do so. For example, you may break your day down into one hour segments or thirty minute segments depending on the type of task and how much time may be needed to complete that type of work.

Some of your tasks might require more time to be spent on the phone. Consequently, you may allow an hour for phone calls and follow-up to phone calls, while you may allow just thirty minutes for reviewing reports, and an hour for billing. 

The day and times allocated to each type of task may vary depending upon the type of work that you're doing. 

Know What Adjustments You Need to Make
Some type of task may be required each day, while some might just be required just once a week. The main thing is that over time it become clear as to how much time you need to allocate to the specific type of task week and what adjustment you need to make

A typical day of a self-employed person includes:

 a. making phone calls,
 b. checking e-mails,
 c.  keeping appointments,
 d. reviewing reports,
 c. writing reports,
 d. billing clients,
 e. going to meetings,
 f. and writing letters.

And, of course, until you become well established, you have to consistently obtain work which includes prospecting, asking for referrals, dealing with no answers, and marketing. Getting paid for your work includes billing, following up on billings, and negotiating rates.

Find the Work Life Balance
Finding the work-life balance can be a challenge. Being  self-employed means a willingness to accept extended periods of working alone while balancing that need with time to have fun and to enjoy your relationships. 

That means dealing with the challenge of finding those times and making those times meaningful.

Over time you want to develop the reputation as one who puts the client first; one who is willing to take the extra step; one who is sincerely committed to the idea of adding value to what you do; and one who is willing to make a commitment to becoming an expert in your chosen field.

Are you willing to make the commitment? Leave Your comments below.

8 Important Financial Terms for Hacking Your Business Future

When you're asking for capital to start or expand your business, it's important to know the key financial terms the financiers use and what these terms actually mean. 

I've included a brief summary of these financial terms to help you in your efforts:

1. Financial Statements: Used as a reference for Profit & Loss Statement (which shows revenues and expenses and your income or loss) and the Balance Sheet (which reflects your assets, liabilities, and owner's equity).

Additional financial reports such as Cash Flow, Break Even Analysis, Sources and Uses of Working Capital, and Financial Ratios Analysis are also often included.

2. Debt or Equity Capital: Describes what kind of capital you are seeking. Debt is usually in the form of a loan, promissory note, mortgage or other legal instrument. Equity is an ownership position in the business.

3. Rate of Return (Yield): The primary purpose of investing your money or getting other people's money is to earn a return on capital. This number indicates what profit or interest investors or lenders receive for investing. Prior to approaching any source for funds, you should know what kind of yields they are seeking.

4. Cash Flow: This is the life blood of a company. Cash flow is the generation of funds available to pay expenses and returns to investors or lenders. Cash flow reflects the timing and amount of inflow and outflow of funds.

5. Working Capital: Usually this figure represents total assets that will be converted to cash within a year minus liabilities that must be paid within a year.

6. Collateral: This is property accepted as a secondary source of repayment of a loan or other obligation.

7. Break Even Analysis: A method of assessing a company's profit potential downside risk. Expenses should be separated into variable costs (i.e. labor, materials, commissions) and fixed costs (i.e. rent, utilities, salaries, insurance, etc.). With these costs and estimated revenues per unit, you can determine how much product/service must be sold to cover costs.

At this volume, your company incurs neither a profit nor loss. The break even analysis is an important tool to illustrate the effects of product price changes, cost increases or a reduction in demand on the company's profitability.

7. Margin: The difference between revenues received and expenses incurred and commonly expressed as a percentage or dollar amount. Gross margin is the difference between total sales revenue and total costs of goods sold. Net margin is the difference between total sales revenue and all costs associated with producing goods, including administration, taxes, and other overhead expenses.

8. Leverage: The ability to borrow a larger amount of money than a company has invested in property or assets.

Now Hack Your Personal Finances in the Age of Trump.


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