4100weeks

What's your idea?

Do you have an idea for a business, but don't know how to take the next step? Check out Ahhha. You can submit ideas to the site and Ahhha's community votes on it. The best ideas bubble up to the top, and are given funding or connections to make the project a reality. A 74 second animated clip on the main web page gives you an overview of how it works. 

According to Matt Crowe, Ahhha founder, the link between idea and execution is what's really missing in most peoples' lives.

A challenge for you

 

artwork by Hugh MacLeod - gapingvoid.com

Facing life, and death

“And I just want to encourage people, and inspire them to look at life in that way that they do have control about the way they view every day.” -- Nick Charles, CNN's first sports anchor.

 

 

Simplify your life

I just rediscovered an old article from Fast Company magazine (1998) that I feel is still very applicable, and a must read. Titled Keep it Simple, the article has some great steps you can follow to simplify your life and make more time to do the things you most enjoy doing. Here is an outline of the steps to simplifying your life . . . 

1. It's about time - creating more time, on the job and at home, to do the things you want to do.
2. Less is more - the less you take on, the more time you create.
3. Just say no - No one can maintain more than three priorities . . . so if you have a career that you care about, and a family, that leaves one more priority. 
4. Possessions are nine-tenths of the problem - we all have lots of stuff, and we work to pay for the stuff. 
5. What really matters is . . . what really matters - many people don't know what they want to do. It's often easier to keep doing what we know we don't want to do, or don't mind doing. Simplifying your life frees up time for you to figure out what really matters.

Starting a business . . . in a recession

Starting a business is always a challenging proposition. How about during a recession?  Well some people think that's crazy. Not Richard Branson of Virgin fame. Here are his 5 tips for starting up in a recession.

Climb the Highest Peak in Every State.

Be the first on your block to climb the fifty tallest peaks in all fifty states.  Aw, come on, someone has to do it and you have 4100 weeks or more to get it done. You can start with the toughest challenge at Mount Mckinley aka Denali in Alaska with a 20,320 foot technical climb or you may want to consider a stroll up Driskell Mountain in Louisiana at 535 feet.  Aren't there basketball players that are taller than that and can you really call a 535 foot bump a mountain? 

Regardless of your choice it's a great way to see the USA and a rocking bucket list item that few have accomplished.  Got to www.state50.net to organize your road trip and then do your homework to hone your technical climbing skills because several of these peaks are not a cake walk like Ebright Azimuth in Delaware at 451 feet.  Send pictures and stories!

Play a game, feed the hungry

If you want to play a game and help feed hungry people round the world check out Freerice.com. It's a non-profit website run by the United Nations World Food Programme that offers free education while helping to end world hunger at the same time. You can play educational games on various topics on the website and for every question you answers correctly, 10 grains of rice are donated to the hungry. It may not seem like much, but it adds up quickly. Check it out. Learn something. Help someone. 

 

Half Marathon Popularity Trend

The half marathon has been widely reported as the fastest growing road race distance in the US.

In 2008 to 2009 registration for the distance grew from 900,000 runners to over 1.1 million runners - a whopping 24%!  Since 2000, US half-marathon finishers have jumped to over 1.1 million for a 131% increase.

Runners rank the half marathon as their favorite distance for the following reasons:

It's the next challenge or step-up after completion of a 5 or 10K. Runners who are intimidated by the marathon find the half to be a doable distance.  The half fills the void when marathoners decide that 26.2 miles is no longer for them. Runners use it to build fitness while training for a marathon and the chances for injury are fewer at the 13.1 mile distance.  The training time is much less, and many walkers complete the 1/2 marathon without running a step.

For an excellent 1/2 marathon training program go to www.halhigdon.com/halfmarathon

For a list of many of the half marathons go to www.halfmarathons.net

 

What do you do?

Author Dan Pink detests the question "What's your passion?" In his recent monthly column for the Sunday Telegraph titled Think Tank: Ever felt like your job isn't what you were born to do? You're not alone, he says a more productive question to ask is "What is it you do?" He says that while hot steamy passion is good, it's the long term, calmer true love that is where the enduring magic is. Here are a few more to ask . . . 

What did you do last Saturday afternoon – for fun, for yourself?

What books do you read or blogs do you visit, not for work, but just because you're interested in them?

What are you great at? What comes easily to you?

What would you do – or are you already doing – for free?

 

So you're a multi-tasker huh?

Can you really do several things at once and give each the necessary focus? Check out this great multi-tasking video (5 mins.) . . . 

Multitasking from Reel Social Media on Vimeo.