Inspire and be inspired

Being inspired by colleagues. I guess I'm lucky... as it happens every day. Will pass the same message through... confident will inspire you as well.
Thanks Joe for sharing!

Enjoy

Hungry for Change....

Often we get involved in conversation about food, fat, calories, energy level etc etc... whatever is the status we are currently in, there is no doubt that this is a matter that affects our daily life and the way we decide to live our existence. 

The reality (and it's not a secret) is that eating healthy ensure a better quality of life.

There are several books or documentaries that talk about this topic. 

The first step is the awareness, the second is ... to be "Hungry for Change"

Here the trailer of an interesting documentary that I invite you to watch entirely (or if you prefer, read the book).

Enjoy

click here to watch

And the body said: "Now I'm onboard...Now you are good to me... let me shine to you"

I wish the next record breaker well and hope they enjoy doing it....

 Inspire and be inspired...

Searching for inspirational people and stories. And here we go, another great example of human being. An astonishing story, plenty of determination and... a passion for running, regardless from the age.

Thanks Roby for sharing this.

Run for Life! Enjoy

Centenarian Sikh "retires at the top"

If Lance Armstrong destroyed your faith in endurance sports, an illiterate, turban-wearing pensioner could restore it. Not that drugs would ever appeal to devout Sikh athlete Fauja Singh, 101, the world’s oldest marathon runner who has announced his retirement.

"I recognize that the longer distances are becoming challenging and taking part in races adds pressure on me as I like to be seen to be enjoying myself and not struggling," Singh told Metro from India. "I’m not sad and want to retire at the top. I have achieved all I wanted and there are no more records to be broken."

The Indian-born Briton, who ran his first marathon at age 89 and seven more since, now has an eye on his legacy. 

"I want the young to be inspired to take up physical activity and maintain it through their lives. Hopefully they will see the folly of taking drugs. I also want the elderly to embark on getting fitter – if I can run my first marathon so late in life, no one should use the excuse of old age as a barrier."

 

Singh’s epic journey has seen him post records in eight distance categories, including his best time of 5 hours 40 minutes at the 2003 Toronto Marathon. His achievements have earned him a lunch date with Queen Elizabeth II, and a starring role in TV commercials alongside David Beckham. 

Harmander Singh, his coach of 13 years, credits Fauja’s enthusiasm. "He was my best trainee, always keen to do more than I expected. I would suggest a 10-kilometer run and he would ask 'why not 20?'"

Harmander describes his student as a "simple and humble man" – he has always been illiterate – who has stayed close to his faith.

The pair established the ‘Sikhs in the City’ running club in London, now participating in inter-faith marathons across the world. In retirement, faith and sporting charities will become his focus, along with "meeting people at a more leisurely pace."

Fauja’s achievements have become a reference point for sports scientists. 

"He has demonstrated the limit of human capacity," Professor Jose Gonzalez-Alonso, Director of the Centre for Sports Medicine and Human Performance in London, told Metro. "I’m sure it will motivate other elderly runners to beat his times." 

Fauja’s last official race will be a 10-kilometer event in Hong Kong on February 24.

Q+A with Fauja Singh

What has been the proudest moment of your running career?

Every moment has been topping the last but I was particularly pleased to have completed the Toronto Waterfront Marathon at the age of 100 and finally my home London Marathon – I also value crossing the finish line of my first marathon as special.

Who is your sporting hero?

When I was young there were great Punjabi and Sikh wrestlers who were legends and everyone wished they could be like them. Later it was Ajit Singh from Huddersfield and Amrik Singh from Glasgow, friends who ran many marathons all over the world long before me, and persuaded me to try longer distances than the 100 and 200 metres I used to run.

Would you like your record as oldest marathon runner to be broken?

All records are meant to be broken, but it is great while they last. I wish the next record breaker well and hope they enjoy doing it.

  

Do you wish you had taken up running a bit earlier?

I never worry about things that I cannot control, I am grateful to God that I have lasted this long as it can be tiring to be ahead of the field for so long – 13 and a half years is I am told exceptional to be at the top. No British Prime Minister has lasted as long.

Source: Metro

Human interaction...a key principle in "Participatory Management"

Reading a newsletter sent from our friend and expert in business consulting Philip Levy.  

Decisional process, authority, delegating power, empowerment... all under one umbrella: "Participatory Management".

Food for thoughts  and ready for a more extensive discussion during the upcoming YEX seminar on this topic. Stay tuned

Looking forward

“What is Participatory Management?”

“I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots.” Albert Einstein

Clearly Einstein was prescient. While he could not foresee entirely the technology explosion, he understood the power of human interaction and effective communication. Nowhere is this more important today than in leading a company. Einstein’s vision reinforces the importance of leaders and managers effectively engaging and communicating with staff in building strong teams, and forming strong bonds between employees and their companies, where employees feel respected, cared for, valued, empowered, and committed to the future of the company. Effective and purposeful communication contributes to this essential bond between the leadership of a company and its stakeholders, especially employees. Ultimately, this bond becomes one of the greatest predictors of success. My model of “Participatory Management” is built upon this very quality of human interaction which Einstein envisioned; where employees are participants in the decision making process, where their thoughts and ideas are valued, and where risk taking in the name of creativity and forward thinking is encouraged and supported. In working with clients, I have noticed that there can be confusion regarding what “Participatory Management” is and is not. Many times I have had an executive say “Phil, why would I want to cede my authority and power when I am ultimately held responsible?”  The answer is you would not, but this model does not encourage that. First and foremost, in order to grow a company, you must nurture leaders who are independent thinkers, who view themselves as “stakeholders” in the success of the company. This can only be achieved when top management allows for consistent input to the decision making process. But input does not mean giving up your power or authority. The final decision is always yours! But the support you will receive, the increase in motivation and morale and the professional development of future leaders will come from stakeholders being, and feeling, heard and their input valued. Isn’t it more powerful when the ideas that are ultimately adopted have come up from the ranks rather than imposed from the top? And, you will more likely hear innovative ideas from individuals who are invested in making your company a great success! The art of management and leadership is to create an environment that nurtures this kind of participation. It conveys respect and empowerment and reflects a leader who is confident enough not to fear the loss of control, but rather one who understands that sharing increases the likelihood of creating greater ownership and commitment to the success of the company. Leading only from the top leaves many lonely disenfranchised people at the bottom and many leaders feeling unappreciated and isolated. Philip Levy To read more click here

IQ and the concept of Infinity...

The positive effect of the flu is that it forces you to stay at home. Perfect time to catch up with some of your favorite books or movies... 

So was yesterday. On the screen "IQ", 1994 production. It is definitely an easy going comedy, but with some interesting and pleasant concepts.

One of those is the explanation of the Infinity theory. Well known amongst mathematicians, it's fascinating also for people who simply likes to think about it.

Below you can read some information... it seems there is no ultimate solution... theory does not match reality... 

Infinity is not a number or a thing, but the idea behind many notions:

• no matter how high you count, you can always count higher

• no matter how long you draw a pair of parallel lines, they never meet

• if you start with a line of any length, you can divide it in half, then divide one of the pieces in half, and no matter how many times you repeat the process, you will always have another piece that you can divide in half again.

Our intuition tells us that these infinite things are theoretically possible, even though our experience, which is finite, tells us that it is impossible to demonstrate them in the physical world. Still, it is easier to imagine them being true than it is to imagine them not to be true. How could there be a "last number" when practically everyone knows how to add 1 to it?Where does this leave us, though, when we accept these truths that involve infinity? Does it makes sense to have a number that is greater than the estimated number of particles in the universe, or to begin dividing a line into lengths shorter than the diameter of any particle known to atomic physicists? What if, in the vast unreachable universe that is larger than our senses can comprehend, parallel lines do eventually meet?

Hmmm, Now it is even more complicated!

Maybe, the answer is in Albert Einstein's words "Never let your brain interfere with your heart"...

Enjoy your Holidays

The Jar of Life...

Here we go, linking some of the old stories and inspirational concepts with the current day by day activities represents always a pleasant discovery. Even more when you realize that those principles are exactly the ones needed to move forward in your plan. Take few minutes of your time to read below story. Probably you already know about it. Probably no. In both cases, it is never late to identify which ones are the big stones in your life…Enjoy your reading

----------STORY-----------------

One day, an old professor of the School of Public Management in France, was invited to lecture on the topic of  “Efficient Time Management” in front of a group of 15 executive managers representing the largest, most successful companies in America.  The lecture was one in a series of 5 lectures conducted in one day, and the old professor was given 1 hr to lecture.

Standing in front of this group of elite managers, who were willing to write down every word that would come out of the famous professor’s mouth, the professor slowly met eyes with each manager, one by one, and finally said, “we are going to conduct an experiment”.

From under the table that stood between the professor and the listeners, the professor pulled out a big glass jar and gently placed it in front of him.  Next, he pulled out from under the table a bag of stones, each the size of a tennis ball, and placed the stones one by one in the jar.  He did so until there was no room to add another stone in the jar.  Lifting his gaze to the managers, the professor asked, “Is the jar full?” The managers replied, “Yes”.

The professor paused for a moment, and replied, “Really?”

Once again, he reached under the table and pulled out a bag full of pebbles.  Carefully, the professor poured the pebbles in and slightly rattled the jar, allowing the pebbles to slip through the larger stones, until they settled at the bottom.  Again, the professor lifted his gaze to his audience and asked, “Is the jar full?”

At this point, the managers began to understand his intentions.  One replied, “apparently not!”

“Correct”, replied the old professor, now pulling out a bag of sand from under the table. Cautiously, the professor poured the sand into the jar.  The sand filled up the spaces between the stones and the pebbles.

Yet again, the professor asked, “Is the jar full?”
Without hesitation, the entire group of students replied in unison, “NO!”

“Correct”, replied the professor.  And as was expected by the students, the professor reached for the pitcher of water that was on the table, and poured water in the jar until it was absolutely full. The professor now lifted his gaze once again and asked, “What great truth can we surmise from this experiment?”

With his thoughts on the lecture topic, one manager quickly replied, “We learn that as full as our schedules may appear, if we only increase our effort, it is always possible to add more meetings and tasks.”

“No”, replied the professor.  The great truth that we can conclude from this experiment is:

If we don’t put all the larger stones in the jar first, we will never be able to fit all of them later.

The auditorium fell silent, as every manager processed the significance of the professor’s words in their entirety.

The old professor continued, “What are the large stones in your life?  Health?  Family?  Friends? Your goals? Doing what you love?  Fighting for a Cause?  Taking time for yourself?”

What we must remember is that it is most important to include the lager stones in our lives, because if we don’t do so, we are likely to miss out on life altogether.  If we give priority to the smaller things in life (pebbles & sand), our lives will be filled up with less important things, leaving little or no time for the things in our lives that are most important to us.  Because of this, never forget to ask yourself,

With a warm wave of his hand, the professor bid farewell to the managers, and slowly walked out of the room.

----------STORY-----------------

OPEN THOUGHTS...

Is your jar of life full of sand & pebbles or is it filled with large stones?

Which are the large stones in your life?

Take care of the large stones first Set your priorities.  The same goes for your life.  If you spend all your energy and time on the small stuff, you will never have room for things that are truly most important.

Discovering the Organic Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright

Walking in Oak Park, a small town in Illinois. A visit organized by curious friends who shared their curiosity towards an architect and his style. Ending up discovering that this gentleman's masterpiece is a building that I keep crossing by every week in New York. 
Yes, we are talking about Frank Lincoln Wright and the Guggenheim Museum.
Back home...time to learn more about it and share with all of you. Enjoy below information and don't forget, Oak Park is only 25 minutes from Chicago's Airport, no excuses to miss it!

Frank Lloyd Wright (born Frank Lincoln Wright, June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture. This philosophy was best exemplified by his design for Fallingwater (1935), which has been called "the best all-time work of American architecture".^[1] Wright was a leader of the Prairie School movement of architecture and developed the concept of the Usonian home, his unique vision for urban planning in the United States.

His work includes original and innovative examples of many different building types, including offices, churches, schools, skyscrapers, hotels, and museums. Wright also designed many of the interior elements of his buildings, such as the furniture and stained glass. Wright authored 20 books and many articles and was a popular lecturer in the United States and in Europe. His colorful personal life often made headlines, most notably for the 1914 fire and murders at his Taliesin studio. Already well known during his lifetime, Wright was recognized in 1991 by the American Institute of Architects as "the greatest American architect of all time."

One of his late masterpiece, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City, occupied Wright for 16 years (1943–1959)^[49] and is probably his most recognized masterpiece. The building rises as a warm beige spiral from its site on Fifth Avenue; its interior is similar to the inside of a seashell. Its unique central geometry was meant to allow visitors to easily experience Guggenheim's collection of nonobjective geometric paintings by taking an elevator to the top level and then viewing artworks by walking down the slowly descending, central spiral ramp, which features a floor embedded with circular shapes and triangular light fixtures to complement the geometric nature of the structure.

Not just a Goal... But a SMART Goal

How many of you experienced the case to set a goal and ....not getting there?
One of the common mistake starts with the goal setting itself. Here some useful questions that can help you out to set a more concrete goal.
Anthony Robbins uses to say: "Clarity is Power". Let's start with the right step and let's move successfully towards our Goals.
Below represents a simple and easy guideline for you... enjoy using it.


                           CREATING S.M.A.R.T. Goals
                         Specific

Measurable

Attainable

Realistic

Timely

Specific: A specific goal has a much greater chance of being accomplished than a general goal. To set a specific goal you must answer the six “W” questions:
*Who:      Who is involved?
*What:     What do I want to accomplish?
*Where:    Identify a location.
*When:     Establish a time frame.
*Which:    Identify requirements and constraints.
*Why:      Specific reasons, purpose or benefits of accomplishing the goal.
EXAMPLE:  A general goal would be, “Get in shape.” But a specific goal would say, “Join a health club and workout 3 days a week.”

---

Measurable - Establish concrete criteria for measuring progress toward the attainment of each goal you set.
When you measure your progress, you stay on track, reach your target dates, and experience the exhilaration of achievement that spurs you on to continued effort required to reach your goal.
To determine if your goal is measurable, ask questions such as……
How much? How many?
How will I know when it is accomplished?

---

Attainable – When you identify goals that are most important to you, you begin to figure out ways you can make them come true. You develop the attitudes, abilities, skills, and financial capacity to reach them. You begin seeing previously overlooked opportunities to bring yourself closer to the achievement of your goals.
You can attain most any goal you set when you plan your steps wisely and establish a time frame that allows you to carry out those steps. Goals that may have seemed far away and out of reach eventually move closer and become attainable, not because your goals shrink, but because you grow and expand to match them. When you list your goals you build your self-image. You see yourself as worthy of these goals, and develop the traits and personality that allow you to possess them.

---

Realistic- To be realistic, a goal must represent an objective toward which you are both willing and able to work. A goal can be both high and realistic; you are the only one who can decide just how high your goal should be. But be sure that every goal represents substantial progress.
A high goal is frequently easier to reach than a low one because a low goal exerts low motivational force. Some of the hardest jobs you ever accomplished actually seem easy simply because they were a labor of love.

---

Timely – A goal should be grounded within a time frame. With no time frame tied to it there’s no sense of urgency. If you want to lose 10 lbs, when do you want to lose it by? “Someday” won’t work. But if you anchor it within a timeframe, “by May 1st”, then you’ve set your unconscious mind into motion to begin working on the goal.
Your goal is probably realistic if you truly believe that it can be accomplished. Additional ways to know if your goal is realistic is to determine if you have accomplished anything similar in the past or ask yourself what conditions would have to exist to accomplish this goal.
T can also stand for Tangible – A goal is tangible when you can experience it with one of the senses, that is, taste, touch, smell, sight or hearing.
When your goal is tangible you have a better chance of making it specific and measurable and thus attainable.
Please also see Goal Setting -Powerful Written Goals In 7 Easy Steps!

Source: http://topachievement.com/smart.html 

The best advice you can receive from your parents....

....In a nice way: "Try to figure it out first, before we help you"... This story teach us that maybe, limits are only in our mind!


Watch this video and learn how determination can make the difference.... Enjoy

Armless archer a master with bow and arrow

Walking on Chi-town...

Our compass landed in Chicago...finally we have the time to better discover new and unique places.. hmm... but let's do some homework... it's time to learn something about the Windy City ...
or Chi-town... Enjoy.
Next step... canoeing under the night lights of the City... it will definitely be a long and pleasant day...fireworks coming up.

 Largest city in Illinois and the third most populous city in the United States. The city has approximately 2.7 million residents.^[1] Its metropolitan area, sometimes called 'Chicagoland', is the third-largest in the United States, after New York City and Los Angeles,^[4][5][6] with an estimated 9.8 million people. Chicago is the county seat of Cook County,^[7] though a small portion of the city limits also extend into DuPage County.

Chicago was incorporated as a city in 1837, near a portage between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River watershed.^[8] Today, Chicago is listed as an alpha+ global city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, and ranks seventh in the world in the 2012 Global Cities Index. The city is an international hub for finance, commerce, industry, telecommunications, and transportation, with O'Hare International Airport being the second-busiest airport in the world in terms of traffic movements. In 2008^[update], the city hosted 45.6 million domestic and overseas visitors.^[9] Among metropolitan areas, Chicago has the fourth-largest gross domestic product (GDP) in the world, just behind Tokyo, the New York City metropolitan area, and Greater Los Angeles, and ahead of London and Paris.^[10] Chicago is one of the most important Worldwide Centers of Commerce and trade.

Chicago's notability has found expression in numerous forms of popular culture, including novels, plays, movies, songs, various types of journals (for example, sports, entertainment, business, trade, and academic), and the news media. The city has many nicknames, which reflect the impressions and opinions about historical and contemporary Chicago. The best known include: "Chi-town", "Windy City," "Second City,"^{[n 1]} "Hog Butcher for the World" and the "City of Big Shoulders

Interval Training loves our Heart

 Meeting a person and discovering that running is a common passion. Few more minutes and the interval training is already a discussion topic. If you are a person who loves cardio activities, training at intervals it might be something you are already used to. If not, well.... you probably experience every day a similar activity while you are busy at work or at home.
So, let's learn something more on the reason why it is important. Enjoy your reading.

Interval training is an extremely effective form of cardiovascular exercise that has been gaining popularity. It incorporates sessions of short intense bursts such as sprinting which is called the “work cycle”. This is followed by an interval of lower intensity exercise such as walking. This is called the “rest cycle.”

More and more research of late has surprisingly shown the effectiveness of interval training for people with heart disease. The results of the related research also shows the tremendous benefit of interval training for healthy individuals.

Quite a number of initial studies in patients with coronary artery disease and chronic heart failure have shown that the effectiveness of a high intensity training regime may be greater compared with traditional endurance training methods. Endurance training is any form of cardio training such as jogging or swimming that is done at a constant pace. High intensity aerobic interval training is now being recommended for several disease populations as quoted in the American Journal of Physiology. Aerobic interval training involves having participants exercise briefly at higher exercise intensities (90%–95% of maximum oxygen consumption) followed by a period of recovery

An except from the abstract of a study entitled “The role of exercise interval training in treating cardiovascular disease risk factors” elaborated on the benefits of interval training as follows;

Although the net effect of interval training is aerobic, this style of training involves periodic excursions of exercise intensity into “anaerobic” metabolism and appears to better stimulate whole-body cardio-respiratory improvements as well as cellular signaling involved in metabolism and energy flux”.

A study published in the prestigious American Journal of Cardiology looked at the effectiveness of interval training for the rehabilitation of patients with coronary artery disease. The researchers concluded that interval training provided an effective means to improve the cardiovascular fitness and health of patients with coronary artery disease.  They also further elaborated that interval training improved anaerobic tolerance to a greater extent than the traditional exercise training model without increasing the risk to the patient. The researches ended with a recommendation for the implementation of interval training for highly functional patients with coronary artery disease.

Researchers of the study concluded that exercise intensity was important for improving aerobic capacity and quality of life in patients with heart failure after having a heart attack. The same benefit would also be derived by healthy individuals. The researchers further elaborated that their findings will have important implications for exercise training in heart failure rehabilitation programs.

Interval training had the ability to increase the heart’s pumping ability and even additional mitochondrial activity in muscle. These benefits should motivate healthy individuals to incorporate interval training as an essential exercise for fitness and health. Interval training is an essential tool for correct weight loss, fitness and health.

Nothing is more powerful than an idea... KONY 2012

TIME IS NOW.... this is the main message out of this video.
I've been talking with a friend of mine (thanks Pietro) and he strongly recommended to watch this video.
Well, I definitely did learn something more about this topic and this individual... and I invite you to do the same. Sharing itself it's something very useful for this cause.

27 minutes to watch.. if you think you don't have enough time, well, try to answer to below questions and you will easily understand why is important you do watch this video.

Do you know what ICC is?
Do you know who is the #1 individual in the world identified as responsible for Crimes against the humanity?
Do you know why KONY 2012 campaign took place?
Do you know how you could have an active role in this cause?
Do you know why nothing is more powerful than an idea?

Video KONY2012

Morning Snow... a window of thoughts

January 21st, here we go again, the first snow of the year in New York.
Waking up early in the morning and watching the snow falling down from the outside window creates a pleasant atmosphere. All of a sudden, sleeping in the bed makes sense, as well as reading the news or thinking to cook something special for the day... There is a sort of energy around... it's time to catch it.

Maybe for this reason this blog will finally publish a new article after few months of silence...maybe this is the reason why today is a special day for the person who brought me into this world, (Happy Birthday Mamma)... maybe this is the reason why today will happen something special.

For sure, I'm already up to catch it... hmm... what will be? Stay tuned ... and let the thoughts go...

But it ain't about how hard you hit, it's about how hard you can get it and keep moving forward.

Difficulties...somebody call them stress, pressure...others callthem challenges, opportunities. There is no doubt that it depends from your state of mind, from the environment on which you are living in... from the people that support you or the ones who don't....

For sure, past experiences can help to overcome these moments... but the reality is that anytime we face difficulties that touch our self-confidence...it starts a deep analysis within us. That's when we get inspired by a speech, by a movie, by a song or even better, by a person who means something to us. The rest... it depends from our reaction....and the way we decide to move forward...keep up, keep up...sunshine days will come soon...

First Video..."Success has been defined as getting up one more time than you have been knocked down"

Second Video..."But it ain't about how hard you hit, it's about how hard you can get it and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward"

Simply AIESEC >>>>

There are no words to explain how an interactive international experience can change your life...volunteering, sharing ideas, feelings, traveling, understanding cultures, growth, leadership, inspiration... friendships...a unique and fantastic Network...AIESEC.

Enjoy some of those video :-)

EXCHANGE

AIESEC CORPORATE