It’s interesting to look at the root of where our words come from, it gives us an understanding of what was originally intended by the use of the word.
Take the word ‘Wealth’ for example. Now, in 2020 most people associate wealth with bank balance. However, that’s a corruption of the original intent, because it’s origins are linked to our ‘well-being’ and ‘health’ not money.
Whilst having more in your bank balance can of course lead to more health and well-being through wise choices and a life of integrity, we believe true wealth is not just about your bank balance. In fact, some of the richest people we’ve ever met never even had a bank account to their name.
Where is your treasure?
We also believe where your treasure is, there your heart will be also and that in turn will impact your thoughts, behaviours and well-being. So a question we all need to ask ourselves is; where and what is our treasure?
Gratitude is Gold
We’ve found an attitude of gratitude is a form of treasure that supports well-being. Yes, gratitude really is GOLD.
Studies show that greater health and happiness is measurable in those who practice gratitude over those who focus on negative aspects, even to the extent that there is a change in the brain’s neuroplasticity, just do a google search to see. But how do we develop an attitude of gratitude especially in times of crisis?
3 Steps to GOLD
So there are some simple steps we can all take to develop an attitude of gratitude that contributes to our wealth. Please watch the short video below to learn three steps you can take right now toward an attitude of gratitude that can help you in your business, family and personal life:
An immunological study by University of California (Walker, M. 2017) was performed on two groups of people. With the consent of the participants, the two groups were given a dose of rhinovirus (the common cold). 50% of those in Group A went on to develop the common cold, whilst only 18% of those in Group B went on to develop the cold.
What was the immune boosting property given to Group B that enabled them to stave off the virus by such a statistically significant value?
Based on a large volume of requests for self-care related topics in this current pandemic, this week I share what that immune boosting property was, and the best thing of all is you don’t have to cue in a Pharmacy for it or even spend a single penny, it is freely available to each one of us for no cost at all.
Please click on the video below to watch
For further help with matters of personal or business resilience at this time, we’d love to hear from you at info@digilifeenabled.com.
For Ruth’s blog post on this theme, please Click Here
Reference
Walker, M. (2017) Why We Sleep. Penguin. Sleep Loss & The Immune System, p181-183
This week we focus on resilience-enhancing behaviours that support Personal & Business Resilience in Times of Crisis. We wanted to share these particularly in light of the pandemic Covid-19 Coronavirus. These are evidence-based activities that can benefit everyone physically, mentally and spiritually, and are principles we have found beneficial in our own lives.
Click on the video below to watch
The first of these is practicing gratitude. This can take the form, of setting aside time (a few minutes is enough) each day to reflect on a few things for which we’re thankful. And some research suggests that if we include in our lists social activities or something about relationships, the benefit is even greater. Our family tries to do this together every night before bedtime: each of us names three things we’re grateful for that happened in the past 24 hours. It shifts the focus from negative to positive and helps create perspective.
The second resilience-enhancing activity is engaging in daily physical exercise. You might first think of running or swimming, strenuous exercise, which is great but not always feasible. Walking, going up and down the stairs, lifting weights, and just moving about rather than sitting at our desks for hours on end also contribute to a healthier body, mind, and spirit. We would caution against intensive exercise at this time (you know what intense is for you) as this can lead to a reduced immunity.
Thirdly, and equally important, is eating a healthy diet. It’s not always easy to eat right in times of crisis especially if we’re eating ‘on the go’ but if we plan our meals in advance we can choose and prepare nutritious foods, rather than default to quick fix sugary foods in the moment. It does our bodies tremendous good to eat the rainbow foods (foods of different colours) every day, so plan for a rainbow meal each day.
Fourthly, one of the best boosts to our immunity is free, its an activity called sleep. Now exercise and diet can help with the promotion and onset of this, but it’s important you make specific time for quality sleep as a lack of sleep will reduce your immunity. Now we have young kids and are often up in the night with them so understand we can’t always get that perfect night, however put a schedule in place for you and your family to ensure you give yourselves the best opportunity for collective sleep. Just as you set a guard and boundaries around your cash, set a guard and some boundaries around your sleep – the reality is, it’s more valuable.
Another very useful way to build resilience is to develop competence (the skills you need to do your job) and confidence (the knowledge that you can do it). At Digi Life Enabled, we’re committed to providing educational programmes and mentoring to enable you to develop confidence and competence in online digital skills.
If you haven’t already, then check out some of our free video series to get you started by clicking here, or if you have started, and you’d like some 1-2-1 tutorials, then drop us a line at info@digilifeenabled.com to arrange a free call with us.
In conclusion, one of the best-documented ways to enhance our resilience is to build and use social support. This means finding people in your personal and professional life whom you can talk to about what’s important to you (emotional support) and whom you can ask for help when you need it (instrumental support). We can do this through Skype, Facebook or other social media outlets, or good old phone, written, or in-person contact. Again, it’s been our pleasure to work through a number of work-life issues with our members and we want to reiterate drop us a line at info@digilifeenabled.com if you’d like to schedule a call with us at this time of crisis.
We also want to encourage our members to watch out for vulnerable members of their own communities. The elderly are some of the most vulnerable at this time, many are alone, and many don’t have ‘social media’ accounts to keep abreast of the latest developments or purchase things online. So think what you can do to check in and monitor those individuals at this time, as many will feel the isolation even more at this time.
Finally friends, we wish health and prosperity in the weeks ahead to you and those dear to you.
This week we caught up with Phil & Pauline Sanderson who hold a number of world records in the Mountaineering world including:
• The World’s longest climb – The Dead Sea (lowest point) to Everest (highest point)
• The 1st British married couple to summit Everest – Only 2 couples have ever done this
• And the the world record for…well I explain more in the video below…
There are so many parallels between planing and executing an expedition to starting an online business. I would suggest the most important parallel is ‘mindset’, and both Phil & Pauline admit the key success factor for them has always been taking control of the conversation that happens in their head.
They both experience doubt, they both experience ‘imposter syndrome’ (I’m not good enough to be here) and they both feel like giving up when things go wrong. Have you ever felt like that?
So why don’t they give up where others have?
Because of the conversation they have in their heads. They take control of the negative thoughts they hear.
What we also love about Phil & Pauline is how they have used their achievements to help a number of charities including:
SOS Childrens Villages ( The world’s largest orphan charity)
And Practical Action – a charity using technological solutions to help tackle poverty around the world.
And probably the most important take away message from Phil & Pauline is, no matter what journey you are on, TAKE TIME TO ENJOY THE JOURNEY!
Stephen
Coming to you today from The Digger’s Inn, Francistown, Botswana, sharing an historic industrial lesson which has relevance to those wishing to start any new venture today.
In the late 1800s Francistown developed as a gold mining town. It had a railway bringing vital communication and transport from the South, but connectivity to the north, in particular Bulawayo (then Rhodesia now Zimbabwe) was by ox wagon only. The Rinderpest epidemic of 1896-7 had killed virtually all the cattle, so that ox wagons could no longer be used for transport of good or people. The sole means of transport therefore became donkey carts and mule drawn Zeederberg coaches making this a long slow journey requiring animal changes every 10-12miles.
Cecil Rhodes gave orders to engineer George Pauling that the rails must reach Bulawayo from Francistown before the rains started at the end of 1897, a feat which they accomplished at a mile a day for 70 days. A feat which is all the extraordinary when you consider this was all manual labour with hand tools.
Because of the urgency, much of the line was initially unballasted with sleepers resting on the ground and most of the river crossings were merely forded without bridges.
The line needed to be able to carry trains at a speed of 12 miles per hour. Stations and sidings initially had only simple tin buildings. However, once the entire line was operational and revenue coming in, appropriate bridges and stations were built.
To summarise, the engineers set to work on a ‘workable’ solution which would deliver something on time, rather than wait for a perfect solution which would be too late.
One of the lessons for all of us starting off a new project, or business, is we often procrastinate and delay because we don’t have everything perfect to start. The reality is, things never will be perfect, we just need to start from where we are, not in a careless manner, but realising that we can create ‘something’ where there was ‘nothing’. That is progress!
So, what are you waiting for?
Remember, a workable solution delivered on time is better than a perfect solution a little too late.
Francistown grew because of the gold rush. If you’re interested learning how to leverage the digital gold rush, then click here to review our complimentary video series where you can learn more about starting a profitable online business based on your values and passions.
Where your treasure is, your heart will be also. So where and what is your treasure?
This video is about how an attitude of gratitude is a form of treasure, yes, gratitude really is GOLD.
Studies show that greater health and happiness is measurable in those who practice gratitude over those who focus on negative aspects, even to the extent that there is a change in the brain’s neuroplasticity.
But how do we develop an attitude of gratitude?
Please click here or on the picture below to learn three steps you can take toward an attitude of gratitude that can help you in your business and personal life.
Ruth & I have both been humbled by individuals we’ve met from around our world, refugees, orphans and others, who despite loosing everything in a material sense, still find something to be grateful for, so much so, that we are the ones who feel poor in their presence. We hope from this video you will see that even by having the capacity to watch a video on youtube, we’ve all so much to be grateful for, and that an attitude of gratitude is a treasure worth investing in.
And if, like many, you’d like to learn how to start an online business around that which you’re grateful for and passionate about, then click here to gain instant access to Digital Business System & Training Series.
Now, if you’re getting started in setting up an online business, or are already running one, then you may be one of those statistics who use electronic devices late into the night, like we used to, until we found out the evidence that this can make it harder to settle down to sleep.
You see, using electronic devices before bedtime can be physiologically and psychologically stimulating in ways that can adversely affect your sleep.
Here’s what happens: Using TVs, tablets, smartphones, laptops, or other electronic devices before bed delays your body’s internal clock (your circadian rhythm), suppresses the release of the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin, and makes it more difficult to fall asleep.
This is largely due to the short-wavelength, artificial blue light that’s emitted by these devices, LED light in particular. The more electronic devices that a person uses in the evening, the harder it is to fall asleep or stay asleep, even if you’re physically exhausted, because of how the messaging in the brain responds to that type of light.
Besides increasing your alertness (like caffeine) at a time when you should be getting sleepy, which in turn delays your bedtime, using these devices before turning in not only delays the onset of REM sleep – the most productive part of sleep, but reduces the total amount of REM sleep too, thereby compromising your alertness the next morning. Over time, these effects can add up to a significant, chronic deficiency in sleep. Which is bad news not only for running a business, but bad news for your health and well being.
All of this is true for children and adults alike.
Sunday is a great time to pause from our work and enjoy REST with those dear to us. So this Sunday, why not try to cut out electronic devices and even dim the lights (especially LED lights) for the night. Try stopping ‘screen time’ two hours before bed, one hour before bed, or even 30 minutes before bed—the earlier in the evening, the better, but whatever is realistic in your circumstances.
We implemented this change and really felt the benefit.
One good substitution is reading an old-fashioned printed book under lamplight (as opposed to bright overhead lighting) or an e-reader (like the Kindle Paperwhite, as opposed to the Kindle Fire) is also a good idea, because it doesn’t produce the same type of blue light that a smartphone or tablet would.
Anyway try these tips for yourself, and let us know if your sleep improves.
Hope you have a restful Sunday with those dear to you!
The post A Rest From Electronic Devices first appeared on Digi Life Enabled.]]>In fact our western society is set up to increase productivity in every area of life, so no matter where you look we’re encouraged to do more and get more.
In my late teens and early twenties, like most guys, improving my physical athletic performance was high on my list of priorities. “No pain no gain” was the given mantra. So I trained hard 6 days a week, often twice a day. Even after formal coaching sessions had finished, I did extra training on top, because ‘more was better’.
The result?
I got injured, but still trained through and with those injuries to the extent I needed multiple corrective surgeries.
Why?
Because “No pain, no gain” was my mantra, and the idea of rest was a non-productive cop out in my mind.
A Half Truth Mantra
But the problem was, my mantra was a half-truth, in that it’s true pain is involved in any kind of development, so embrace rather than reject it, but it’s only half true because pain is also a design feature signal that warns us ‘something is wrong’. You know those dashboard warning lights on your car?
Please don’t ignore them, it doesn’t matter how urgent your journey is, please check out what the manufacturers manual says about those lights, otherwise you might not make it to your destination at all.
And, that’s what happened to me athletically, I didn’t make it to my destination.
And do you know who was to blame?
Me and my half truth mantra. I thought I knew better than the design feature signal.
The Productivity of Rest
You see the evidence from the world of sport science is that ‘quality rest’ is fundamental to ‘quality growth’ and that overtraining and minimising rest, will harm you and your development. Any coach worth their salt will tell you that.
Did you know Usain Bolt sleeps in the hours before he races?
That’s even after he’s had a quality 8hrs sleep the night before by the way.
The benefit of that natural, drug free but essential reset and boost prepares his body to do what no other body has done athletically in recorded history.
So, is rest a productive, or non-productive activity?
Having worked many years in the corporate world, I know what many Execs think of ‘rest’, and I’ve witnessed their abysmal decision making as a result. (Did you realise sleep deprived individuals perform worse at ANY given task than those who have just above the legal level of alcohol in their bloodstream?) But, taking the hard lesson I learned from my teens and twenties I want to share with you a couple of parallel lessons I’ve learned when it comes to being productive, particularly as it applies to learning and investing in new activities such as starting an online business from scratch, something I did while holding down a full time job and raising a young family with very little spare time and spare cash floating around:
No.1 Set a balanced schedule which includes ‘rest’ and stick to it.
Recognise you need some outgoing time and finance (pain) to make any business a success, but balance it according to where you are right now and where you want to get to.
You need to factor in a break/rest point, and realise that break/rest point is actually necessary for you to be productive and grow.
Many people don’t get started because they’re intimidated by what seems to be the immensity of the task at hand, they know where they’d like to be, but don’t know what first step to take. So they don’t start.
So work out a time limit you’re comfortable to committing to in your current situation, recognising your current situation is not permanent, but it’s your starting point, then start from your starting point.
So, if you can only afford 30 minutes a night to study new skills or set up new platforms, set a 30 minute timer, and work at it for 30 minutes, not 31 minutes, then stop and move on. But, don’t drop off at 29, 28, 27 minutes either! Being disciplined in this aspect will focus your mind to the task at hand.
Try it, set the time limit, then move on to what you have to move onto, and that could even be ‘sleep’.
Likewise with your budget, sit down and calculate what marketing budget you can afford to commit to now based on your circumstances. If you have a marketing budget of $1,000, for a few months don’t spend $1,000 in a few weeks. Set a limit and keep to it, it will focus your mind, otherwise, your mind will be tempted to be pulled in all sorts of directions. Likewise don’t just stop marketing after a few weeks either when you’ve underspent, because you won’t have enough data after only a few weeks to make an informed decision on what is or isn’t working, you need to commit to the process.
Set an alarm to finish the task.
Set a budget for the task.
No.2 Listen and put into action advice from proven coaches
Like my half truth fitness mantra, I came to the online world with some half truths. Thankfully, I found a community of online business practitioners and mentors who challenged and corrected those half truths, and now we can run an online business based on our values of INTEGRITY, COMPASSION, & FAMILY WELL-BEING.
The truth is, we wouldn’t be running an online business today without the support and direction from those mentors. That is why we’re sign posting others who are interested in starting an online business from scratch to those very same mentors.
PROVEN PRODUCTIVE STEPS FOR RUNNING A PROFITABLE ONLINE BUSINESS
So, if you’re interested in learning proven productive steps for running a profitable online business, then join Stuart Ross as he reveals his strategies for profiting online and growing your income with a business you are passionate about … (business models and concepts that very FEW people know about)…
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE FREE WEBCAST
Get your FREE spot today, and get a “crash course” on profiting online with our proven out-of-the-box Digital Business System (even if this is all new to you). Learn steps that you can start using YOURSELF to begin making profits online and grow a business you are passionate about. Giving you more time to enjoy the life of real personal freedom.
Learn the same strategies Stuart personally used to:
- Start a profitable Internet business without any previous experience
- Generate sales and income without any of his own products (or ideas) working part time
- Build one of the fastest growing exclusive private online communities
- Grow Digital Experts Academy to a multiple million business in 12 months!
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE FREE WEBCAST
Here’s to your online success!
Stephen
The post Are You Being Productive? first appeared on Digi Life Enabled.]]>