Author Archives: Richard La Bella

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Secret Menus? Really?

ImageWhile driving this morning, I heard an interesting story on NPR about food chains running something called, “secret menus”. You have to ask for it though. It’s not visible. It on a card, and you can even ask to have it uploaded to your smartphone. For example, one can walk into Panera Bread, ask for the secret menu and receive a list of healthier items to choose from. Apparently there are other food chains doing this. Not sure if it’s true, but there’s a rumor McDonalds has something called the “Monster Mac” – it’s eight patties. Yikes! I really hope that’s a rumor.

Here’s a link to the NPR transcript. The audio should be available after 9am today.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2013/02/21/172518724/secret-menus-give-restaurants-a-not-so-secret-boost

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Influence Behaviors That Promote Exercise and Good Health

My Daughter Chelsea and I Before a Run

I’m goal oriented. I set goals for everything in my life because I’m able to measure the success or progress of the goals I put in front of me. In other words, it moves me forward so I get the results I want – for myself and the people in my life. For example, every January I run in the ING Miami marathon. I run the full marathon every year as a motivator, as way to influence vital behaviors that contribute to lasting exercise, diet and nutrition. That’s all.

Identify weak behaviors you want to improve (in this case, you want to eat better and exercise regularly) by finding influencers to improve those behaviors. Here are some of the influencers that work for me:

Choosing an event (marathon, 5K, spinning class – the goal and influencer)
Training for the event (I schedule and measure my progress every day)
Complete the event (I complete my goal based on my own perceived vision or how I visualize my end result)

Everything we do starts with making a choice. We are responsible for where we are in our lives based on the choices we have made up to this point, and it’s all in our control for the most part. I realize certain, unfortunate health conditions or unstoppable forces outside of our control can impede us from accomplishing certain things, but for the most part nobody else should be held responsible for our current state but us. Physically speaking.

Find a positive influencer – a personal trainer, a running coach or group such as Team in Training, which is an excellent way to stay influenced and on track. All we have to do is find ways to influence ourselves to greatness. Buying a new pair of running shoes is another big influencer for me as is purchasing a new heart rate monitor and some cool, new exercise clothes. There’s are some suggestions for how we can influence vital behaviors to promote exercise and good health in our lives.

I completed 1 full Ironman, 3 half Iromans and 8 marathons in my life because I simply chose to. I was influenced by the challenge and how I might stand out from everyone else by setting an example. Challenges are what influence me in all aspects of my life. I’m easily influenced by my own perceived outcomes, vision or how I visualize my end result to be.

I know you can do this. Start visualizing where you want to be. You can have the life you want. You just need to make a choice and never give up on yourself.

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The Changing Landscape of Defcon

I remember my first Defcon show, one of the most popular and elite hacker conventions on the planet. It was more than ten years ago. At that time, Defcon was not the glamour and hype it has become today. It was small, raw and intimate and everyone pretty much knew everyone else; either from previous shows or IRC (Internet Relay Chat).

Today, Defcon is flooded with more talent and diversity than ever before. It has matured into a mainstream “Geektropolis” and media and government agencies want in. This video is a perfect example of the two converged. It centers around Defcon 19 and the value Defcon can provide to anyone interested in recruiting the best of the best to protect their most prized assets – information and infrastructure.

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Here are Two Goal Setting Tools I Like

I’m currently using two goal setting tools that I really like. The first is called “GoalsOnTrack.com” and the second is “GoalEnforcer”.

I use GoalsOnTrack for work and personal goal setting (sub-goals, tasks, calendar, etc.), and I use GoalEnforcer for mind mapping. Mind mapping is a process used to break large goals into smaller, more manageable goals. It comes in at a price of about $30.00 for the standard version; the version I’m using.

I use GoalsOnTrack.com for daily goal setting. There’s a $65.00 a year fee attached to its use; and it’s all in the cloud. You can sync with iCal so you have a way of keeping track of your goals on your mobile device, but the only downside is if you don’t have an Internet connection you can’t access GoalsOnTrack.

There are a number of goal setting and time management tools available. There are some for the mobile platform, but I haven’t been able to find anything comprehensive from the Android Market or the App Store. If you find something please share.

I hope these two options are helpful to you.

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Do Your Goals Excite You and Take You Out of Your Comfort Zone?

One of my personal goals in life is to play guitar with Eric Clapton by September 14, 2016. Even if it’s just for 15 minutes.

Here’s why I chose this as a goal for myself:

  1. September 14th was the day I put this goal into action
  2. Guitar is one of my passions
  3. Eric Clapton is one of my favorite musicians
  4. It’s exciting and it takes me out of my comfort zone

I could have made my goal learn how to play “Stairway to Heaven” but I didn’t, because; (1) it’s not exciting enough for me, and; (2) it doesn’t take me out of my comfort zone as a musician. And that’s where we want to be all the time.

Why is this important?

When we choose goals that really excite us and take us out of our comfort zone, we set ourselves up for new opportunities – new lessons to be learned, new relationships to be made, new ideas to cultivate and ponder, and a new sense of direction we didn’t have before.

Here are 5 steps you can take that will take you out of your comfort zone, and help you put into action the necessary steps that will produce the results you want from your life:

  1. Make a list of things that excite you the most. For example, playing guitar with Eric Clapton is a very exciting goal for me. More exciting than learning how to play “Stairway to Heaven”. You need to find out what excites YOU. Maybe you want that director position that just opened up in your company or you want to make $10,000,000.00 dollars.
  2. Make them your goals. You might even find that some of your new goals fit into different areas of your life such as health, fitness, finance, relationships, work, etc. If so, great, because now you’ll live a more balanced life as a result of this exercise.
  3. Write down all the steps you must complete to accomplish your goals. For example, I need to learn how to read music, play faster, build accuracy, play live, continue taking lessons, practice, etc.
  4. Give all your goals specific completion dates. I gave myself 5 years (September 14, 2016 to be exact) to prepare for my moment with Eric Clapton.
  5. Read your goal list daily, and as you read your list, picture what your life looks like when you achieve your goals. I’m on stage with Eric Clapton, sitting in a chair next to him with my guitar, the stage is dimly lit, etc.

Keep your goals with you – on your computer, your phone, tablet or day planner. Read your goals over and over to yourself at least two to three times a day until they become second nature. Eventually, your goals will become part of you, and the actions you take will be those that support your mission.

It’s important for us to be in touch with the things we’re most passionate about in our lives. They shouldn’t be ignored. Because the things we are most passionate about, the things that really excite us also define us. When we make a decision to take action on the things that excite us the most, they give us a greater sense of purpose, meaning and fulfillment. When I listen to Eric Clapton’s music or pick up my guitar to play, it has a much deeper meaning for me than ever before.

Believe in yourself and create the life you want by doing what excites you the most. I wish you all the success in the world.