Just one of many beautiful view seen in modern day Nicaragua. So I decided to take a trip back to the homeland, Nicaragua. While I could write about my trip for hours, I rather keep this post brief and encourage all to visit. This country is considered the 2nd safest country in Latin America and based on what I saw there I would have to agree. The people were extremely friendly and willing to lend a hand at any given moment. My spanish has gotten rusty and I sure appreciate all the help I received while there.

   One the most exciting things I got to do there was go visit El Volcan de Masaya.  This site was simply amazing.  To be able to smell the sulfur and see the rising smoke was nothing more than awesome…and I would say probably not so healthy.  Nicaragua is gaining world wide popularity, in the bottom foto,  I have posted a piece of an article that was published in Inc. Mag Oct, 2008.  

Ryan Black enjoys Nica.......

The article was written by Jess McCuan and briefly touches on the fact that Super CEO Ryan Black(from San Clemente California) will spend about a week doing nothing but surfing in Nicaragua.  This place is exotic but unlike Costa Rica it is not very developed.  It not being developed essentially helps us to have a true experience of a 3rd world country.  I had a blast while I was there and plan to return soon.  This might turn into something I write about often, so if you have an interest in Nicaragua stay posted

Great Beer

Flip Mino by Pure Digital Technologies

Since the ipod came out I have not seen such a neat and practical toy.  The Flip offers the versatility of a small pocket side video recorder.  I have tested it against my Nikon camera and it performs better.  It is not made to be a super recorder but what makes it so great is the simplistic design.  If you like minimalism than you will love this recorder.  It works off of flash memory so you avoid the issues you would have with moving parts.  I will be posting some videos here soon of my future trips using this device.  Later I will compare it to my canon HV-30 just for the sake of comparison.  

     The flip starts around $129 and the Flip Mino goes for about $149 on Amazon.  This is a must have for anyone interested in taking quick videos on the road.  In summary,  I think this is as cool as the ipod.  It is so easy to use and has a flip-out usb plug built into it.  Live and record your life. 

My next stop NYC again…. Perhaps I will be moving there soon after some min-retirements are complete?

This was the interview that was done last week with Anthony Robbins. In the years that I have studied and read Tony’s strategies I have noticed that he has key tools to use that are congruent with the current times. Furthermore, something that I think is worth mentioning is how when tough times arrive the optimistic seem to get more optimistic and the same pattern goes with the negative attitudes. Asking the right questions can stir the answers needed to take you out of a slump. For example, instead of saying “these gas prices suck, I better cut back from driving” …. you could say “what options are available to me to increase my monthly income?”

3 Key Factors

1. Search for opportunities in other areas.
2. Focus on what you want, not what you don’t want.
3. Find mentors and leaders you admire. Read what they did to make it to the top. There are patterns that give the same results over and over again. Get off the couch, turn off the sitcoms, and go pick up a book. There is gold in quality books.  

This is a quality interview that America needs to watch.

I had taken this picture about 2 weeks ago and meant to put a post on it.  Nothing too significant about this meal compared to the first post about salmon under great foods.  The main difference was that i substituted a boiled sweet potato for the brown rice.  Sweet potato is supposed to have significant health benefits as well as being high in fiber.  Just a reminder that you can still eat healthy and mix it up.  I will be posting some video content of Stan and I cooking some healthy meals.  Have a great night- Jose.

In summary,  the lack of focus seems to be a huge epidemic that is striking our country.  3 Ways to stay on track:

1. Know your Outcome-  The more clear you are about where you are going the better navigation you will have in arriving to your destination.
2. Take notes Daily- Though this may sound tedious, compare a week when you write things down to one in which you just go with the flow.  It will speak for itself!!!
3. Don’t multi task-  In order to be more results oriented,  do one task at a time.  This will help prevent confusion and keep you more in tune with getting the job done right, the first time.

Though this may come across as controversial, I am still going to voice my opinion on the matter.  NYC now requires all restaurants and food places to display the number of calories in each food item.  What a concept!  I personally know that when I want to eat something really high in calories and I see it on the label I get outraged and put it down.  This may be exactly what others may be thinking too.  Well I will let MSNBC take it away:

By Roni Caryn Rabin

MSNBC contributor

updated 7:34 a.m. CT, Wed., July. 16, 2008

Nora Cara was flabbergasted.She was about to order her usual morning coffee and muffin at Dunkin’ Donuts when she saw the new calorie labels. The chocolate chip muffin she had her eye on was 630 calories.“I was blown away,” said Cara, a 27-year-old homemaker from Forest Hills in New York City. “I’m not a no-carb type of person, and I usually don’t even think about it. But you pick up a little muffin with your coffee, and it has 630 calories in it? That’s a bit extreme!”  New Yorkers have been in the throes of sticker shock since this spring when the Big Apple became the first city in the country to implement a law forcing chain restaurants to post the calorie count of each food in the same size and font as the price.  Restaurants have not exhausted their legal challenges, but the city will start fining violators up to $2,000 beginning Friday, say officials with the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.  While some sit-down chains and fast-food eateries are waiting until the last minute, coffee shops like Starbucks — home of the 470 calorie raspberry scone and 610 calorie cookie — have been replacing their menu boards and adding calorie tags to pastries in recent weeks. The result: Do a little eavesdropping in a New York City restaurant, and you may think you’ve stumbled into an Overeaters Anonymous meeting.

   At T.G.I. Friday’s, one of the few sit-down chain restaurants to have already added calorie counts to menus, a group of young women gasped as they studied the menu, barely able to find a meal under 1,000 calories, never mind an appetizer or dessert. Both Stephanie Fowler and Lindsay Green asked about the suddenly popular Classic Sirloin — at 290 calories, it was one of the lowest calorie items on the menu — but learned the restaurant ran out by the time the dinner rush started.  Starbucks customers in New York City are in for a surprise when they see the calorie counts of their favorite pastries.  Outside the Forest Hills’ Dunkin’ Donuts, Juan Restrepo, the 45-year-old owner of a construction company, said he was quitting corn muffins — 510 calories! — this time for good.  “My daughter warned me about them,” he lamented. “I just didn’t listen.”  Putting the brakes on thoughtlessly inhaling calories is exactly the effect New York City health officials hoped the law would have. They say calorie labels could reduce the number of obese New Yorkers by 150,000 over the next five years, and prevent 30,000 cases of diabetes.  New York is not the only city pushing calorie labels. New laws in Seattle and California’s Santa Clara and San Francisco are scheduled to go into effect later this year, including some more stringent than New York’s, requiring restaurants to post information about sodium, carbs, fats and cholesterol in addition to calories.  Such laws have faced stiff opposition and legal challenges from the restaurant industry. A judge struck down New York City’s first calorie labeling law, which would only have applied to fast food restaurants that were already making calorie information available on Web sites or posters. The law was then revised to apply to all chain restaurants with 15 or more outlets nationwide.  “We’re still in court, but the ruling is in effect,” said New York City health department spokeswoman Jessica Scaperotti. Fines for the restaurants who haven’t posted calorie counts by Friday will range from $200 to $2,000 depending on the violation, she said. 

Finally,  America is putting the brakes on people overeating.  Though, there will always be people eating junk at least let them see it eye to eye.  These calories and nutritional facts are facts and fact is that you will become what you eat.  To a healthy living.

Stan Newton explains the some basic exercise techniques one can use while on the road.  I thought this would be an appropriate link considering I am taking a trip to NYC tomorrow.  In this video we see the use of a few basic exercise tools you can purchase for a grand total of under $50.  The bands are used in replacement of weights and offer significant resistance.  I bought these at www.performancesports.com.   They come in various levels of resistance and they offer various sizes for multiple purposes.  Though I do recommend the use of weights in a regular workout routine,  I do think these serve a practical purpose.  Next,  Stan was using a jump rope that was purchased at Academy for under $5.  You can’t beat a good cardio workout for this price.  The most significant benefit I have noticed with jump roping is that it gets your heart rate up fast.  Many times individuals start a workout slow and never get to a fat burning heart rate.  As far as working out your abs, I would suggest strict dieting first.  Let’s be realistic, if you have over 2 inches of fat covering your abs crunches are only going to make your waist look bigger.  There is not such thing as target fat burning.  This was a myth of the 80’s and early 90’s.  

My Top 3 suggestions for getting Ripped:

1. Regular cardio program that fluctuates your heart rate through the entire workout.
2. Low-Carb and Eating Clean.  Lots of water and no carbs after 6pm.
3. Sticking with your diet and exercise.  Just like the fat did not appear over night nor will it disappear overnight.  There are lots of claims to losing fat fast but the only way to do it the right and healthy way is consistency over periods of time.  Remember,  this is a lifestyle not a quick fix.

What really has added some more desire of explorations is this video.  This video should be an inspiration to everyone.  What a way to live life.  It is critical to travel the world to be able to understand the different cultures.  Most arguments are nothing more than a lack of knowledge by either or both parties.  A deeper understanding of people is achieved at the level by which someone puts themselves in different environments.  Look carefully at all the countries that Matt visited.  What an awesome experience is must be to put yourself out there and learn from the world.  What could you learn from visiting a third world country?  How would you value where you live in comparison to the places you have visited?  All in all the experiences with people you meet will be what hold’s the highest value to yourself.  Money is great but wiser is the man who leverages money to help him experience the world.  What is the most unique experience you have had in a different country?

A sad day in the world of bodybuilding and in the city of Plano, Tx.  Amanda Savell and David Jacobs were found dead in their home in Plano.  It is a very unfortunate thing to see.  The art of bodybuilding has been flooded with steriods for decades, but when lives are taken it is a huge wake up call to everyone.  One can admire the dedication that Amanda had for the art of bodybuilding.  It is not ever day that we see someone with such discipline.   I personally had seen  David at 24Hour Fitness but would never imagine that a bodybuilder would just flip out and commit  such horrific crimes.  My condolences go out to both of their families.  I had not planned on writing a post today but I think this is a current issue our society needs to address more.

Jose’s Call Pad… I know innovative : ) 

So I have noticed a personal problem that seems to haunt me like a spector in the  movie Scrooge.  I get calls and with my not so great memory I forget to make some critical calls.  I have tried the Palms and PDAS,  but have been good at failing to use them.  I think that with the time I spend checking email and browsing through the forum of www.thefourhourworkweek.com,  I get burned out.  The last thing I desire to do is type my voicemails and action items on an electronic device.  Please double click on the picture so you can see what I wrote clearer.  Sorry for the picture not being the greatest, but I used my cell phone for that picture.  Anyhow, enough about the problem, here is my simple solution:

Solution:

1. Date each page of half page.  Which ever you prefer.  Only do a day at a time.  We are not trying to plan out each and every second of our lives.  
2. On the left hand side write calls or voicemails.   This column is made for incoming calls or voicemails you receive through out the day that require action.    Whether it is the postal client calling you or your ISP calling you they get the left side of the sheet.
3. On the right hand side you will write the action taken.  You will only do this when it is complete.  You will do this so to keep yourself accountable.  Examples: you returned a call, you said NAH! they are not getting called back, or you resolved the issue.  Any of these will be written down.  This is done to ensure that you did follow through.