With that said, Dan has shared 4 Blue Zones Tips to March You into Spring! Enjoy!

1) Invest in others:

One of the best bits of relationship advice I ever received came from Ed Diener, a revered happiness expert. He used to winter in Illinois, and many mornings, ice covered both he and his wife’s car windows. I remember he told me, “When I wake up in the morning, I want to scrape off her windows before my own.” His message: find the partner, or develop the mindset, wherein you get more joy out of doing something nice for them, than for yourself.

2) Eat your fruit:

Odds are, you need more fiber, folate, potassium and Vitamins A and C in your diet. To get these nutrients, stock up on grapes, apricots, berries, peaches, cranberries, pineapple, watermelon, bananas, raisins, pears, oranges, and clementines. If eaten daily, the many antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and enzymes in these healthy treats prevent disease and promote longevity.

3) Sleep:

If you slept fewer than 6 hours last night, you were 30% less happy than you could be today. Note to self: The longest-lived, happiest people sleep between 7-8.5 hours per night. How much do you normally sleep? Is it enough?

4) Take a walk:

I recently met a 50-year-old executive who was earning mid-six figures at his job. But he hated it. Finally, he mustered the courage to quit. Shortly after, he began to walk every day. “I used to do it occasionally, but it was always a rushed workout,” he said. “Now, it’s my daily routine and I’ve never been happier.”

Inspiration from Kelly Croy, Chalk Artist

Make your day great by:

• Surrounding yourself with positive people.
• Smiling.
• Having an attitude of gratitude.
• Looking for and expecting the best in others.
• Just looking in the newspaper if you think YOU have it bad.
• Not just having a great day, but MAKING it a great day.
• Planing something each day to make it great – Exercise, read a book, call your brother, walk the dog.

Jobs also attacked America’s education system, saying that it was hopelessly antiquated and crippled by union work rules. Until the teachers’ unions were broken, there was almost no hope for education reform. Teachers should be treated as professionals, he said, not as industrial assembly-line workers. Principals should be able to hire and fire them based on how good they were. Schools should be staying open until at least 6 p.m. and be in session eleven months of the year. It was absurd, he added, that American classrooms were still based on teachers standing at a board and using textbooks. All books, learning materials, and assessments should be digital and interactive, tailored to each student and providing feedback in real time. (Isaacson, p. 544)

Education was something Jobs thought about often. Even in his final encounter with Bill Gates, Steve asked him about this subject:

Jobs asked some questions about education, and Gates sketched out his vision of what schools in the future would be like, with students watching lectures and video lessons on their own while using the classroom for discussion and problem solving. They agreed that computers had, so far, made surprisingly little impact on schools–far less than on other realms of society such as media, and medicine and law. For that to change, Gates said, computers and mobile devices would have to focus on delivering more personalized lessons and providing motivational feedback. (Isaacson, p. 553)

Reference:
Isaacson, Walter. Steve Jobs. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2011.
Image Credit: L.A. Times Technology Blog

• Create more, consume less
• Leave a legacy
• Develop practical wisdom
• Become a mentor
• Find a mentor
• Establish your core values
• Develop the virtue of order
• Break away from your mother
• Develop a life plan
• Develop the traits of true leadership
• Protect the sanctity of your ideas
• Become decisive
• Avoid the corruption of money, power,and sex
• Live with integrity

…with love… The Everett’s

Spread the word! 

I am wrapping up my last week as a Mo Bro. Come evening of November 30th, the razor comes out and all facial hair is back to normal. As I round out my last week, I would like to share the sentiments of the Mo Bro community in looking out for your health in 4 ways.

Don’t Smoke
If you do smoke… Stop! Compared to non-smokers, men who smoke are about 23 times more likely to develop lung cancer. Smoking causes about 90% of lung cancer deaths.

Be Physically Active
If you aren’t already physically active, start small and work up to a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate physical activity most days of the week.

Maintain a Healthy Diet
Fill up with fruits, vegetables, whole grains, include lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, and nuts, and look for foods that are low in saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, salt (sodium) and added sugars.

Stay at a Healthy Weight
Balance calories from foods and beverages with calories you burn off by physical activities.

In looking at these, I have accomplished much but still have some work to do also. I quit smoking at 28. I have loved that Nebraska has now gone smoke free. I try to be active when I can. I love the Body Pump workouts at the Y. If you are interested, I’ll take you along! The healthy diet is one I need work on. Chips and dip after work probably isn’t the best for my health. So will need to do something about that hiccup! And staying at a healthy weight. Well last year at this time, I was in the “over-weight” BMI category but am proud to say, have been in the lower range of my “healthy” BMI range since about February. As with anything, it takes attention. Get on the scale every day!

Well – if this little activity gets just a few men thinking about their health, it was worth the scratchy extra hair and all the razzing I received this month. So, in closing, look out after yourselves, bros!

I’m a Mo Bro – Come check it out….

Get an annual check up and know your family history! 

From Movember.com: Find a doctor and make an appointment for a health check up. Getting annual physicals significantly increases your chances for early detection of illness and disease.

Also, knowing your family history can help you reduce your risk developing many health problems, including cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and stroke. {Besides, it’s a good reason to call and catch up with the family!}

Health Checks: So what should you talk to your doctor about? Depends on your age.

Check out the Movember Men’s Health Poster for more details.

20′s: Blood Pressure, Cholesterol, Dental health, Eye health, Immunizations, Sexually transmitted diseases, Skin cancer, Testicular cancer

30′s: Blood Pressure, Cholesterol, Dental health, Eye health, Heart health, Immunizations, Sexually transmitted diseases, Skin Cancer, Testicular Cancer

40′s: Blood Pressure, Cholesterol, Dental health, Diabetes, Eye health, Heart health, Immunizations, Prostate cancer (baseline PSA), Skin cancer

50′s: Blood Pressure, Cholesterol, Colorectal cancer, Dental health, Diabetes, Eye health, Heart health, Immunizations, Osteoporosis, Prostate cancer, Skin cancer

60′s: Abdominal ultrasound, Blood Pressure, Cholesterol, Colorectal cancer, Dental health, Diabetes, Eye health, Hearing, Heart health, Immunizations, Osteoporosis, Prostate cancer, Skin cancer

70′s: Abdominal ultrasound, Blood Pressure, Cholesterol, Colorectal cancer, Dental health, Diabetes, Eye health, Hearing, Heart health, Immunizations, Osteoporosis, Prostate cancer, Skin cancer

For thirty days, I will be a walking billboard to help change the face of men’s health. As such, I will be growing facial hair on my upper lip to raise awareness for prostate cancer and other male related cancer and health initiatives. It’s a small act to support a great cause. I will not actively solicit donations but if you would like to make a financial contribution to my plight, please do! The funds go to the Prostate Cancer Foundation, LiveStrong, and the Movember Foundation. What I _would_ like is for you to take a look at the issues surrounding men’s health. Click on the poster below to find out more.

Would you like to join as a Mo Bro? Would you like to support us as a Mo Sista?
Come on over to www.Movember.com and register!

Followup Posts:

• Mo Bro Check Up – Movember Tip #1
• Hair Growth Update #1
• Mo Bro Health – More Movember Tips

• Achieve Financial Health – Don’t spend more than you make.

• Achieve Physical Health –  Take responsibility for what you put in your mouth and how active you are. Don’t take in more calories than you burn.

• Eliminate Clutter – Get rid of things you don’t need/use and organize the rest. Love it, Lend it, Leave it, or Lose it.

Do more with less. Simplicity is clarity.