Posts made in April, 2009

The Loving Kindness Meditation

Posted on Apr 29, 2009 in happiness | 3 comments

I started seeing a life coach. My hope is that she can help me find balance in my life so I have time to do the things I love most, like writing in my blog.

We only met a couple times so far but I feel we’re cracking this nut open. My first task was to ask myself, “What am I committed to?” All sorts of answers surfaced, but the one simple word appeared the most and that is “love”. I want to love what I do, the people I’m with, this very moment.

My next task is a little more involved. For fifteen minutes each day I do the “Loving Kindness Meditation”. It’s a gorgeous poem that really sums up the blessing I want for myself and for everyone.

I invite you to join me in this task and say this poem to yourself each day for one week. I’ve only been doing this for a few days and already I can already sense a difference. After one week, I’m guessing you will too.

Loving Kindness Meditation

May I be filled with loving kindness.
May I be safe from inner and outer danger.
May I be healthy in body and mind.
May I be happy and free.

Just Say No to Aging

Posted on Apr 21, 2009 in health | 3 comments

Quite a few years ago I became friends this amazing woman who was in her 70′s but had more vitality than any of my 20 year old friends. She went salsa dancing every night, had men chasing her, and looked amazing. To her, age was mental not chronological.

I recently discovered a Newsweek article saying that my friend’s belief has actually been proven. Harvard psychologist Ellen Langer did a study with some elderly men. She had them stay in a hotel retrofitted with complete 80′s decor. She told them not to reminisce about the past, but to actually act as if they had traveled back in time.

After just one week, the men in the experimental group (compared with controls of the same age) had more joint flexibility, increased dexterity and less arthritis in their hands.

Langer have been running similarly experiments for decades, and her theory is that we are all victims of our own stereotypes about aging and health. We simply accept our society’s negative beliefs about disease and old age effecting our behavior.

If we can disregard the negative clichés about health and believe we are youthful, we can mindfully open ourselves to more productive lives.

Start telling yourself that you have the mind and body of a 20 year old and you will feel the difference. And while you’re at it, pull out those old Farah Fawcett or Rick Springsteen posters to really throw you back in time.

Easy Low Fat Low Sugar Homemade Granola

Posted on Apr 19, 2009 in health | 1 comment

Instead of paying $7.95 for a 10oz bag of granola, I like to make it myself. It costs a fraction of the price, is a whole lot better for you, and tastes far better too. I’m just about to bake up a batch for our Sunday morning feast.

Easy Low Fat Low Sugar Homemade Granola

Dry:

4 cups old fashion (not quick) oats
1/2 cup ground flax
1 tsp cinnamon

Extra Ingredients (for example):

- 1/2 cup coconut flakes
- 1/2 cup almond slivers
- 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
- 1/2 cup of any kind of dried fruit

Liquid:

1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup low sugar maple syrup
1 cup water
1 tsp vanilla

Line two baking sheets with wax paper. Mix all the dry ingredients together except for the dried fruit. In a separate bowl mix the liquids. Gradually add the liquid to the dry, giving it a good stir each time. When all the dry ingredients is coated, spread out on the baking sheets using a rubber spatula.

Bake at 350F for 30 minutes, removing it every 10 minutes to stir. I lift the wax paper on each end to get it to unstick. After 30 minutes let it stand for 10-15 to cool then add the dry fruit. Store in a cool dry place and it will keep about 2 weeks.

Dealing with Bad Days

Posted on Apr 16, 2009 in happiness | 1 comment

Yesterday was one of those days when everything went right. I had productive meetings, managed to catch standby flights getting me home three hour earlier, and I even locked eyes with George Clooney and the world stood still. The day was perfect.

Today, on the other hand, is a completely different story. I got some sad news this morning, followed by loads of frustration with Paypal, and it’s only noon.

I usually don’t let bad news or poor service get me down, but today I want to just let it all out in rambo-woman fashion. A piece of chocolate isn’t going to make me feel better, I know.

I want to scream “Why me? Why today? What did I do?”

But then I remember something Thomas Edison once said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

Poor service or disappointing news isn’t failure. It’s just the universe telling me that something simply didn’t work, so change it and try again. The sooner we get back on the horse and try again, the sooner we get that much closer to success.

It’s so much easier to see the universe nudging others but hard to recognize when it’s nudging me to change. Today’s events isn’t the universe being cruel and mean. In fact, it’s just the opposite. It’s trying to tell me something and it’s up to me to open my eyes, ears and heart and listen.

Just realizing this makes the blows less severe. They still hurt and I still fancy going all rambo for a good five minutes. But in the end I know what I really need is to exhale, believe in myself, and try again. Then follow it up with some intense middle-of-the-living-room-music-blasting dancing. And, of course, chocolate.

Take a Bite Out of Apple’s iTunes Store

Posted on Apr 9, 2009 in wealth | 1 comment

Today I’m delighted insanely ecstatic to announce the release of my ebook Inside Secrets to an iPhone App: The essential non-developers guide to creating an iPhone app. It’s a detailed account of how I successfully created an iPhone app without learning a bit of programming and was written to help other ‚Äúaverage‚Äù people take a bite out of Apple‚Äôs lucrative App Store.

My new book is available for download at iphoneappsecrets.com for $13.99, along with two free bonus books: Interviews with the Best, which shares conversations with the makers of iSteam, Classics, Weightbot, and the best-selling app of all time, Koi Pond; and, How to Successfully Promote Your App, which is full of tips and tricks on how to market an app on a shoestring budget.

The books offer page after page of practical advice … via my own personal journey.

After creating my app, Gratitude Journal (iTunes link), I received a flood of emails asking me how I did it. I spent hours answering every question with as much details as I could. Eventually the emails, phone calls, and meetings started piling up and I knew there had to be a better way to share everything I learned.

As fate has it, a lovely woman named Jill Harrington contacted me to simply let me know she loved my app. Her website, lupusrecoverydiet.com, caught my eye. So I wrote back telling her writing a book on day interests me. Like an angel sent straight from the karma gods, she latched on my dream and talked me into taking my first steps. She unconditionally offered amazing insight and advice.

The bad thing is that I actually thought I could pull this off in a week or two. I now have a new found respect to all writers everywhere. The writing, fact finding, permission seeking, proof reading and website building took me months instead of days. I’m pretty sure I have the iPhone app making process figured out by now!

My 5am routine went from making apps to pouring everything I knew into a book before rushing off to work each morning . But I couldn’t just do one book. I had to do three just to make it really exciting tough.

Just when I needed it most, help surfaced from the best places. People still continued to contact me asking for advice. Their brilliant questions became the basis of my book. Friends offered to proof-read, I found an amazing PR company to help with with a press release, and complete strangers gave me insight into places I’ve never tread before.

My heart and soul went into these books. I truly hope they help others take the first steps to create those great app ideas they’ve been pondering.

Creating an iPhone app has been a truly amazing experience that has opened doors and introduced me to wonderful people all over the world. I created my app with the purpose of helping others find happiness. I created this book with the exact same purpose.

Special thanks to:

Hetty Myric-Hughes & John Oats from Scroll Publishing. These guys know how to write!
Jenny Rainbird – Eagle eyes and such an amazing attention to detail.
Jill Harrington – Your advice got me started on a journey I had no idea where it would lead. Thank you!
GB Veerman – The best advice I ever got for the price of a couple beers.
Alanna Web – Thanks for all your questions. I can’t wait to see your app!
Robert Andrescik – You write the absolute best press releases. View a copy of the press release he did for my books. Wow!
John Casasanta, Tap Tap Tap – Not only do you have a cool last name, you have a big heart. This guy continued to offer me support while managing the release of MacHeist.
Andy Skirvin, Koi Pond – The best selling app of all time made time for me. Thank you.
Vassilis Samolis, iSteam – You are the most efficient person I worked with.
Mark Jardine, Tapbots – Your work is amazing and inspiring. Thanks for raising the bar.
Colin White – Are you ever going to tire of feed and watering me while I burn the sunrise oil?

To everyone who sent me your questions. You motivated me the most.
Most of all, thanks to everyone who got my app and now my ebooks! I love you guys!

– Related Links –

Visit Gratitude Journal website.
The Making of an iPhone app — Gratitude Journal | December 12, 2008