Up Your Stamina with Cold Exposure

Ok, ok, now don't jump to conclusions. I am not a fan of frost bite or anything like that.

But lately I've been pondering Tim Ferriss' and Tony Robbins praises of "cold plunges" followed by "hot/warm plunges"....Both Tim and Tony are motivational "Type A" men
and they are BOTH HUGE fans of cold plunges. They use cold plunges into icy waters to "reset" something within themselves.( see Tony's blurb about the power of cold plunges HERE.)
( see Wikipedia's description of Contrast Bath Therapy HERE as Tim Ferris podcast suggests on his
("The Random Show")

So, since we are still in the thick of our wonderfully convenient CHILLY Ontario, Canada winter, I've decided to give my two cents about my experience with similar phenomena.

For the record, I have not yet done a professional "cold plunge" into icy water.
And No, I have not gone to the store to buy ice and thrown it into my bathtub to create my own indoor "cold plunge tank".

But what I have done, is simply RELAX more as I do force myself to go out for 20 minutes walks into the chilly winter air that currently surrounds my home.I used to hate the cold, and blamed my middle age on my lack of "cold tolerance". But lately I've been tweaking my perspective. Cold can be good. Cold can help me live better and feel better. 

So, before I go outside I bundle up; I wear a fab coat with excellent winter protection. Occasionally I wear a hat or hood  to combat falling/blowing snow, because there are some days that are just sooo cold that my big hair no longer is sufficient to insulate my head ....lol.

Growing up in Ontario, tobogganing and building snowmen was part and parcel of being a kid.
My recent ponderings of "pro cold plunges" brought back to my remembrance how I felt when I would come back home from a raucous afternoon of tobogganing.
 I remember rozy red cheeks.... feeling pumped and on top of the world. Perhaps there was some kind of internal "resetting" going on then too.
I recall feeling so refreshed and energized. I recall icy blue skies and seeing our breaths as we plodded back home dragging whatever was left of our dented toboggans. Back then, we actually had a steel toboggan. I don't think I've ever seen a steel toboggan since I was a kid.

So what's my point? Maybe Tim Ferriss and Tony Robbins are simply restating an obvious fact that I did know experientially to be true. I experience it again, whenever I do force myself to go outside for a very chilly winter walk. After only 20 minutes of walking in the frigid winter outdoor air I come inside and find myself feeling renewed, refreshed and yes, a definitely delightful boost of stamina and exhilaration.

Is that adrenaline? Is that my body's response to the outdoor air's attempt to lower my body temp?
Is that simply the affect of fresher outdoor air replacing stale indoor air in my lungs?
I have no idea.

All  I know, is that, being out in the cold even for a brief 20 minute walk, while fully dressed in winter garb, gives my stamina a great kick in the pants. I simply feel better.

Thank you to Tony Robbins and Tim Ferriss for making it "cool" to get cold ")

How 'bout you? What gets you feeling better in the winter months?

Ttys,
Carla.

DISCLAIMER: Note that the author and publisher of this blog does not accept any liability for the ideas discussed in this blog post or any other post on this blog. This post is intended for conversational purposes only and is not intended to be taken as advice or medical advice. Medical advice should always been sought from licensed medical professionals. Before undertaking any new or unusual activities seek advice from a licensed medical practitioner.




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What Do Smart Girls Read?

Simple enough question. So, if you are a smart gal, then I want to ask you politely....whatya reading?

Verna Oller ( the late Verna Oller left millions of stock market money for her fave causes) and she read the Wall Street Journal and Barrons.

Hetty Green....one of the richest women in America from the late 19th century  and according to her Wikipedia page ......I quote "At the age of two, Hetty was living with her grandfather, Gideon Howland. Because of his influence and that of her father, and possibly because her mother was constantly ill, she took to her father's side and was reading financial papers to him by the age of six."

So, the legendary Hetty Green started learning how to succeed in the predominantly male financial circles of her day by starting to read to her father some "financial papers" as early as age 6. How cool is that?

Starting early gave the young Hetty precious knowledge and confidence, to become comfortable with financial and business terminology and the ways of success.

What are some of your fave female mentors reading? What do they read daily, weekly or once in a blue moon?

Help me ask Barbara Corcoran what her fave reads are via Twitter   ....

Peace,
C.
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Second Hand Money

I've been galavanting through Tim Ferriss' new book "Tools of Titans" which weighs a ton....it's almost a motivational lifehacking coffee table encyclopedia.

Two things I've noticed....first that there ain't enough female mentors in the world,....and Two....that
two gals that Tim Ferriss writes about in his book "Tools of Titans" are both involved in selling
second hand goods. Who? Sophia Amoruso who sells both new and vintage stuff....and
Tracy DiNunzio who founded Tradesy sells all things second hand.

Why is this a big deal? Because it wasn't soooo long ago, that "second hand goods" made folks turn their noses up in disdain. Somehow over the past 20 years.....second hand "anythings" have been transformed into a legit cash cow via sites like Ebay and Craigslist and Kijiji. There are now so many thousands of companies whose SOLE revenue comes from selling second hand goods exclusively.

Second Hand Money can turn into BIG MONEY. Don't make the mistake to snub it anymore.
The Thrift store up the street may not be the hangout of the of the rich and famous, but it just might be one of the reasons why some folks, get rich....by counting on second hand money.


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Changing State a la Tim Ferriss and Tony Robbins

So, are you familiar with Tony Robbins teaching about "Changing State"?

Well, in a nut shell, Tony studied many different methods we mere humans can utilize to
quickly and easily "change our state". His reasoning is that when we are stuck in a mental funk, the easiest thing to do is to change our physical state and that state change will result in an improvement in our mental and emotional state.

So, one of the habits that Tony Robbins and Tim Ferriss have in common is the method  of
"cold plunges" into freezing cold water. It is said that this will reset us internally and result in a more energetic and positive mind set. ( Disclaimer: This is not intended as medical advice, and should not be perceived as any kind of suggestion. Please consult your licensed medical practitioner.)

Well, I've never tried a cold plunge, other than jumping into a cold Ontario lake in early summer.....or perhaps an unheated pool. But recently I did go for a walk in probably minus 10 degrees weather. The wind was so cold, I could feel my cheeks turning bright pink and the wind whipped the cold air into an even stronger burst of icy air current.

But once I got over the shock of it all, I did find that I actually felt terrific after my subzero walk.
Hmmm, maybe I'll do this again.

You see, Ontario winters can be long and dreary and  it can be easy to slip into a mid-winter funk, simply because if you aren't into any winter sports, it's easy to spend virtually all of your time indoors and without fresh air and sunshine.

So, my brief 20 minutes walking out into the subzero cold Ontario winter, DID do something cool for me mentally and emotionally. It took a while to kick in, but it almost felt like a burst of adrenaline...similar to a "runner's high.".

Well, that's it. Have you tried anything lately to boost your mood and/or energy in the wintertime?

Looking forward to reading your comments below.

Peace,
Carla.



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What does President Elect Donald Trump and Bernard Kelly have in Common?

There are some practices and/or daily habits that successful people have in common .....because
as Tony Robbins says "Success leaves clues".

So are you curious? Bernard Kelly, by the way, just in case you don't recognize the name is the gent who has spent all of his working life working for McDonalds and amassed a fortune and wrote the book
entitled " Flipping Burgers to Flipping Millions".

On page 64 of the above named book, Kelly describes a daily success habit
"Every day I read the financial pages of at least one major newspaper".

I have read and/or skimmed through a couple of books that Donald Trump has written and I apologize for not knowing which precise book/paragraph to quote, but I recall specifically enjoying reading about how
President Elect Donald Trump actually has made a determined point of reading major newspapers on a daily basis, and if my memory serves, i believe he was referring to consuming up to 10 major newspapers on a daily basis.

Why do i like writing about this? Because Tony was right. Success does leave clues. What works for
President Elect Donald Trump and Bernard Kelly will work for you.

And yes, you may have to stand alone. I am the only woman I know who goes out of her way to find and read a current copy of the GlobeN Mail. Which section do i gravitate to? The business section.
Why? Because, again it must be said that "Success leaves clues" and to quote an another oldy but goody
"Knowledge is power". If you make it a habit to seek out accurate and current knowledge you will see that you become more empowered to succeed.

What we read is CRUCIAL in determining what we become and what we will possess. 

Peacefully productive,
Carla.

Those Extreme Cheapskates like Victoria Hunt have Missed an Opportunity

It's been several years now since TLC first featured that now infamous
series called "Extreme Cheapskates".

I must admit, my dutch inclinations were quite intrigued by some of the shows.

However, I just wanted to make one clear comment. TLC has made tons of money ( in my opinion) from airing and re-running the most infamous episodes of these series. But where are the guests that made the show now? Have any of them figured out how to capitalize on their new found fame?

I've done several on line searches to see if any of them have published anything after they were featured on TLC and only two of them are easily searchable and have creatively profited from the time they spent on TLC's Extreme Cheapskates....and those two names would be Jeff Yeager 
who has written books and continues to offer his advice at a profit with his own youtube channel
https://www.youtube.com/user/CheapLifeChannel

(http://blog.aarp.org/author/jeffyeagerultimatecheapskate/)

And The other one is a feisty clever red headed gal by the name of Aimee Elizabeth
(http://www.aimeeelizabeth.net/ )

Aimee has capitalized on her fame and if you see her website above, you can see that her book
 "Poverty Sucks" is still for sale.

Aimee and Jeff both exemplify entrepreneurial "chutzpah" and have not relied on their "cheapskate" ways to simply lower their living costs. They have profitably marketed and sold their thrifty expertise to earn even more income ! My hat's off to both of you.

If most of the other guests who appeared on TLC's Extreme cheapskates realized how easy it would have been to make money off their new found fame, they would have been delighted with the extra sources of income.  For example, there was one millionaire cheapskate by the name of Victoria Hunt whose extreme thriftiness both intrigued and disgusted viewers. However, I would like to say that Victoria Hunt is missing out by not writing a simple e-book featuring her money saving methods. It doesn't cost anything to publish an e-book with Kindle other than your time. Book royalties are a prime method to create new passive income streams from new fame.
What is your opinion? Would you buy a book or go out of your way to find a book written by one of TLC's Extreme Cheapskates?
You probably know my answer, because I've already read both Jeff Yeager's book as well as Aimee Elizabeth's book.
Fame can be brief. One needs to know when an opportunity presents itself and ca-ching....
cash in on the opportunity!

Peacefully productive.
C.

What's Your Side Hustle?

If we can resist the temptation of "babysitting" our jobs and resist that false "employee" mindset which wrongly assumes that all our eggs must be in our "one and only full time job" basket, we can have a LOT of fun and some good coin along the way.

So What am I talking about? These little things we can do outside of our working hours which can bring in extra money along the way.
Some ideas are:

1/ Become a pro at Scavenging and Reselling curbside "freebies". It never ceases to amaze me what folks set out on the curb to give away free for the taking just because they lack the time or motivation to sell or dispose of these items themselves. Sometimes folks wrongly assume that something is read for the landfill, when really all that is required to be able to re-sell it at a profit is a good cleaning and./or some minor repairs.
Note which stores in your town/city will pay you cash for good quality second hand and/or refurbished items.

2/ Are ya Crafty? Like to putter around in your wee work shop and make birdhouses? Or knit sweaters? or make homemade jam?
You'd be surprised how delighted folks are to pay top dollar for home made "local artisan" crafty items.
You can post them on free websites like Kijiji or Craigslist, or sniff out the best "popup" shops or              flea markets that may be willing to sell your items for you for a modest cut of the proceeds.
If you are working full time, you may not be able to spend time setting up tables to sell your home made goods at farmer's markets, etc....but you may be able to sell them through friends and/or neighbors that have noticed your beautiful home made crafts. Some folks display their home made wood crafts on their own front lawns to sell only in the summer months when they have time to chat up and serve local and/or touristy customers.

3/ Cutting grass. Some folks start doing this as a favor for a sick neighbor....but it eventually can turn into something that can bring in a nice bit of extra income, without you even having to leave your own neighborhood. Elderly residents are often greatly relieved to find a local person to take over that pesky duty of cutting the grass every week in the warmer seasons of the year.
Tip: use the homeowner's own lawn mower and they will be required to keep  it gassed up or plugged into their own electricity supply, thus eliminating the need for any start up costs for your side hustle altogether.

Well, that's all for now. You didn't think i was going to give away all my best ideas in one breath did ya ?

Peaceful productivity,
C.




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