fruitmovement-blog

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Company Culture Spotlight: Zappos

In this company spotlight, we look at how Zappos turned ordinary service like shoe delivery into an extraordinary company.

A few months ago, I attended a networking event at a local coffee shop. Around this rectangular table of 7 people, there was a sales rep. that wanted to be a top performer in her company. The business coach asked her what differentiated her company. She adamantly replied, “Customer Service”. The coach retorted, “Everyone says their customer service is amazing, how can you prove it?”

You can't prove customer service. Everyone knows great customer service when they experience it. You walk into two identical hotels and by only changing who worked behind the front desk, your experience could be magical or mediocre. However, the difference between good customer service and great customer service is rather nuanced. Customer service is how someone treats you, speaks with you, understands you. It’s hard to form a corporate policy handbook explaining how to act in every scenario. So how do companies like Zappos create a culture of extraordinary customer service?

Amazing customer service is a result of caring about your employees, which in turn flows through to your customer service. 

I recently finished reading the Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck by Mark Manson. A point he hammers into the reader's skull is: your life satisfaction comes down to the values you hold. If you believe happiness lies behind ludicrous wealth, then you will put yourself in a torturous rat race to out-compete those around you. If you change your value to affecting people’s lives, then not only is it attainable every day, it's continuous. With Zappos, their fundamental goal is to deliver happiness. The values they hold to achieve that goal are their 10 company / personal values. They are not exclusively company values. Everyone at Zappos holds those values as personal values. Zappos takes its 10 values so seriously, they hire and fire employees by it.

Their 10 values are:

1)     Deliver WOW Through Service

2)     Embrace and Drive Change

3)     Create Fun and A Little Weirdness

4)     Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded

5)     Pursue Growth and Learning

6)     Build Open and Honest Relationships With Communication

7)     Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit

8)     Do More With Less

9)     Be Passionate and Determined

10)  Be Humble

They select talented employees with these values and foster them. Everything is employee focused. Contrary to the antique belief that employees are unintelligent, lazy, unmotivated cogs in a machine that need to be watched with an eagle’s eye, it’s proven that if you are just to your employees, they will be just to your customers. Next time you’re sitting in a meeting or get a memo about improving customer service, think for a moment that employees are only the vessels of the values of the company. If a company holds and fosters poor values, their clients will feel the effects from its employees. 

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Farm Fresh vs. Industry Standard

The Fruit Movement Team along with friends / family went to Mackintosh Farms in Berryville, VA for apple picking. We learned an important lesson about apples: Do not judge an apple by its cover. 

In the past few years, there has been a major push for organic and "Farm to Fork". If you ever go apple picking you will quickly realize that the apples growing on trees do not look like your grocery store apples. The apples you buy in the grocery store go through an number of quality control measures to ensure that consumers get apples fitting industry standards. However, just because an apple isn't beautiful on the outside, doesn't mean it's not delicious. 

This brought up an interesting problem. Do consumers care more about organic or beauty? See the image below between an apple picked off the tree versus your local grocery store. The apple on the left is ugly. It has an odd shape, damaged by hail, but it tastes absolutely amazing. The apple on the right fits consumer standards for how an apple should look and it tastes good, but not nearly as good as the hand picked one. 

At FM, one of our goals is to partner with more local distributors. One of the challenges is that local farmers may not mass produce perfect fruit. As a result, we are going educate consumers on fruits. Over time this will help update people's perceptions of what is a safe fruit to eat thus supporting local farms and reducing the waste of fruits that do not fit the industry standards for shape / size. 

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We love hiking! . But our local trails need love, join us this weekend to help maintain Fountainhead Regional Park. Starts at 8:45am and we're having tacos after 🌮😋 . See our FB page for event details. (at Fountainhead Regional Park)

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Day 9: The Art of Storytelling

Everyone Has A Story

Podcast: The James Altucher Show

Author: James Altucher

Episode 249: Chris Anderson: TED  - Tricks to Mastering Public Speaking and Storytelling

I grew up listening to bedtime stories, read by my father. Sometimes it was a hero on a mission, or a protagonist that befalls misfortune. Sometimes it ended happily ever after or left unresolved. These stories fascinated me. I wanted to be a great storyteller. 

In this podcast, James Altucher and Chris Anderson discuss the elements of a story and why storytelling is a relevant skill. One of the first points they make is that everyone has a story. 

Stories are meant to be entertaining and amusing, but the true gift of a story is to share an idea. In early days, human beings communicated dangerous plants, places to avoid, or lessons learned. A story without lesson or idea behind it, is simply recounting events. Those events may be entertaining, but they do no justice to the audience. The first step then is to think about what idea you wish to share. 

When we learn new information, it changes our brains creating new neural pathways. One of the best ways to ensure someone interprets our information, instead of ignoring it, is to ask a question. Questions are interactive and engage our brain the same way playing a video game holds our attention more than a newspaper. Catching and holding someone's attention is a requirement before you can share your story. Aim to capture attention early.

Lastly, build on your audience's current state of knowledge. Meeting technicians, I find that too often they either over-generalize their jobs or nerd out. I don't know anything about systems architecture, but if you say you design virtual worlds using coding, then I can wrap my head around that concept. It's difficult for us to imagine what it was like to not know, what we know (the "curse of knowledge"). Being able to gauge your audience's current knowledge base is important so you can tailor the message to their current state. Once you know where they're starting from, you can built up to where they can accept your idea. 

To recap:

1) Stories need to share an idea

2) Captivate the audience's attention early and hold it. 

3) Tailor the story to the audience's knowledge base so you can guide them toward your idea. 

Stories are not just for campfires. Writing a memo, giving a sales pitch, or snapchatting your day are all forms of storytelling. Next time you post, think for a moment, what idea are you sharing?

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Day 8: G is for Genius

G is for Genius

Podcast: Kwik Brain: Memory Improvement

Author: Jim Kwik

Episode 32: 4 Keys to Genius

Before we start, genius is not someone with a photographic memory. It's anyone who is exceptional in a skill. 

4 G's of Genius: Growth Mindset, Giving Back, Gratitude, Grit

1) Growth Mindset

Every exceptional person is focused on growth. Kaizen, continuous growth. It's a fine balance between appreciating where you are, but fixed on the horizon. 

2) Giving

If you think about the economy as a tribe. Everyone has a role to play. They contribute to each other in a way that produces value. That value is exchanged for resources. By giving, you inherently produce value without capitalizing (yet). You can believe it's karma or the power of positivity, but giving helps even if you don't realize it. 

3) Gratitude

Geniuses appreciate the things around them. The podcaster challenges the audience to wake up each morning and think about the list of things they are grateful for, things money cannot buy: health, capability, family, friends, etc. 

Hence why travel is important, especially to other countries. You witness real poverty in developing nations. When I was 8, I saw a man begging in India with one arm and no legs. Seeing his condition has stuck with me and making me grateful of my position. 

4) Grit

Going beyond the pain period. Every tale involving a hero, requires the champion to overcome an obstacle. An obstacle so powerful, that it takes every ounce of strength for the champion to overcome. The champion struggles and struggles, by going through that pain period, he/she emerges victorious. True grit is what makes a genius push on when others turn away.

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Day 7: Water Flows Downhill

Water Flows Downhill

Podcast: Workforce Health Engagement

Author: Jesse Lahey

Episode 31: Building a High-Performance and Health-Driven Culture at Trek Bikes

 There are many perks to being the leader. You have greater control over your life, you direct the shots, and you have a team to carry out your vision. Humans have always had an unspoken agreement between teams and leaders, whether it was during tribal days or in companies today: Leaders accept the benefits AND responsibility. 

Leaders direct change from the top. Leaders make the hard choices. Leaders are on the front lines fighting it out with their team. Leaders guide by example, working those late nights and weekends. For any initiative to be successful, leaders need to adopt it themselves.

In this interview with CEO of Trek Bikes, John Burke reveals how Trek Bikes has evolved over the last 40 years. Company culture remains a cornerstone in developing the company from $16 million to over $1 billion in sales. Burke discusses how their old wellness program was your typical offering of benefits and discounts for healthy staff. 13 years ago, Trek Bikes made a drastic revision to their corporate policy by making healthy living a requirement. Burke changed the policy after three employees (1 spouse of employee) suffered obesity related deaths. Trek Bikes made it easy for their employees to get in shape by providing the following:

- Free health center in their offices

- Changing food in the cafeteria

- Bringing healthy snacks to the office

- Annual health assessments

The message was as clear as day. Burke cared about the health of his team and he made sure that the organization reflected his beliefs. Change occurred at the top and flowed downhill. Every year since that revision, his company has performed better on their health assessments. Burke says that if his employees are happier, they perform better and being healthy allows you to get more out of life. 

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Day 6: Best Time to Do Your Best

The best time to do your best, is Today. 

Podcast: Increase Your Impact

Author: Justin Su'a

Episode 466: Today's Opportunities

If you are the type to spend more time planning to take action instead of taking action, it's time to stop planning and start today. Su'a's podcast hits the point home of not waiting for tomorrow's opportunities. Instead, he emphasizes creating the most of today's opportunity because tomorrow it will compound to create greater opportunity. 

What is the Value of Today?

Below is a visual example of saving / investing money. If you started invested today, instead of next month and put aside $100 each month, then by the end of the year, you will have 9.5% more money invested. It doesn't stop there. By investing a month earlier, you gain experience faster. You will make mistakes earlier too. These mistakes will be minor road bumps, just keep cruising.  

Justin Su'a is one of my favorite podcasters, delivering quick punchy clips each and every day. Today's podcast was less than 5 minutes long, but gives you nuggets to chew on for the rest of today. 

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Day 5: Surviving is Not Thriving

Surviving is Not Thriving

Podcast: Startalk Radio

Author(s): Gary O'Reilly, Chuck Nice, Neil deGrasse Tyson

Episode: NFL Fitness & Nutrition

The human body can endure intense physical torment and still make it out relatively unharmed. We are built to survive. Thriving takes effort and planning. 

O'Reilly, Nice, and Tyson sit down with nutritionists, athletes, and coaches to learn more about how NFL athletes find the extra edge in their games. Nutrition and overall wellness has progressed the most in the past 30 years of football. They found the progress comes down to 3 things: training, fuel, and recovery. 

Training: Performance over risk. Coaches Dave Puloka and Glen Tobias discuss cookie-cutter programs focus on minimizing injury, instead of looking to improve performance. If they identify an athlete is more injury prone with their hips, then the coaches develop a training routine to increase the mobility of their hips. This enables the athlete to get increased performance from their hips and that in turn minimizes their chance of injury. 

Fuel: Three things here: glycemic load, food composition, and timing. Glycemic load measures how your body's insulin levels react to a meal. (If you are curious to learn about glycemic load see our post here) How your collective meals affect your body is more important than any 1 individual food. This gives rise to flexible eating, allowing you to satisfy certain food cravings but not break your plan. This leads into the point of food composition. Balancing carbohydrates, fats, and protein can lead to desired results. They talk about how athletes require many more carbohydrates than the typical person because their goal is performance not aesthetics. Finally, timing is huge. The coaches say the most important meal of the day is not breakfast. It's the meal right after your training session. Post-training is a window where your body needs to be refueled properly. Refueling leads to proper recovery. 

Recovery: Recovery begins before you train. The number 1 point made was adequate sleep. Sleep is the cheapest & best form of recovery anyone can get. The conditioning coaches ensure the athletes are getting enough sleep prior to training sessions, so their bodies are capable of improving. Without sleep your body is frayed and injury prone, leading to reductions instead of improvements. They mentioned using massages, ice baths, and cryotherapy tactically as the season progresses. At the start of the season, they want the athletes' bodies to adapt to the pain. As they play more games and need to recover quickly, coaches will introduce these recovery methods. 

What does this mean for me?

NFL athletes are competing at the highest possible level, they are the top 0.1% of players. At that stage, everyone is amazing. So there is a much higher investment into technology and optimizing the routines of these athletes to gain an extra 1-2% on the field. For most people, we don't need to result to such extremes, broad-strokes here works wonders. If you can focus on getting enough rest, training throughout the week, and balancing your diet, you can see a major boost in your performance. 

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Enter the Void

Enter the Void to Isolate from Other Minds

Podcast: Art of Manliness

Author: Brett McKay

Episode: 333: Solitude & Leadership 

Solitude is when the mind isolates itself from the input of other minds and works through thoughts / problems on its own. 

This singular line reshaped how I viewed solitude. I make it a point to spend time throughout the week away from people. I wouldn't consider myself to be an introverted person, but at times the amount of input can be overwhelming. News, television, Youtube, Instagram, Snapchat are all great tools to dial into the world around us. But there can be a feeling of being too dialed in. Too focused on what's going on around you, instead of listening to your inner voice. 

Brett McKay interviews co-author Mike Erwin who wrote the book Lead Yourself First: Inspiring Leadership Through Solitude. Mike talks about solitude granting us 2 types of clarity:

Analytical Clarity: This type of clarity is gained when you take a timeout and allow information to be synthesized in your mind. If you spent all day researching the demographic data of new home buyers, making time at the end of your day to step away from your work and allow yourself to mentally make sense of what you've learned can lead to a discovery of a growing market trend. You have done this whenever you've worked on a difficult problem and when arriving to work the next day, the answer seems so simple. 

Intuitive Clarity: This type of clarity comes from hushing the noise around us to find our internal voice. This is your gut. This is what tells you the right answer and making that decision feels solid. The buzz around us often interrupts that inner voice but solitude allows it to resurface. 

This Labor Day weekend take some time to step away from the office and relax. Allow yourself an hour or two to completely disconnect. You don't have to be on top of a mountain meditating like monk, but something as simple as a walk alone can do wonders. 

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Day 3: Dynamic Duos

Day 3: A Partner in Crime

Podcast: Bodega Boys

Author: Desus Nice and The Kid Mero

Episode 76: Trust the Process

Batman and Robin, Holmes and Watson, Ben and Jerry, and now Desus and Mero.

If you haven't heard of Desus and Mero yet, check out an episode of their show on Viceland, where they proceed to breakdown anything from latest political changes to the best sneakers.

Desus and Mero remind me of Ray and Tom Magliozzi aka Click and Clack the Tappet Brothers aka Hosts of Car Talk, the best show on NPR. Desus and Mero are just as nutty as the Car Talk Brothers, but if the Car Talk Brothers were born in the Bronx and were famous for Twitter instead of fixing cars. 

They have no clear direction with their podcast or show, other than look at the world around them burning while they make jokes. Desus, the working Jamaican has had every job imaginable, brings a tech nerd + sports fanatic vibe. The Kid Mero, has 4 kids and lives in the Jersey suburbs, brings his celebrity impressions + eccentric laughs to the show. 

Listening to their skits and commentary reminds me how their success is interdependent, not independent. A look at the greatest duos in history, each has played significant roles. Jobs and Wozniak the classic example of a front man and support relationship. Wozniak was the traditional tech nerd, whereas Jobs was the strategist / salesperson. 

In a time of striving to be the best at everything, sometimes playing to your strengths and teaming up with partners that compliment your skills can lead to combined success where one person may fail. As the saying goes: Jack of All Trades, Master of None. It seems much easier to be Master of Some and stick to it. In the example of Desus and Mero, Desus is the calmer one providing more thought-out commentary whereas Mero brings a big loud personality. Either one of them individually would perform well, but together they make a show and podcast unlike any other on late night television. 

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Day 2 - Imperfection

Day 2: Humans are the most imperfect machines we know. 

Podcast: Revisionist History

Author: Malcolm Gladwell

Episode: Blame Game

Thoughts: Human error. It's so common, that simply saying "we're only human" explains why something went wrong. Humans are imperfect, yet in tough situations we believe we're anything but. What if for a moment we look at the events that go wrong as human errors. 

It's all too easy to overreact when things do not operate as intended, whether they are machines or people. My surface pro was returned to Microsoft last week, the screen flickered. It's easy to say the machine was the problem. The machine was only trying to operate as intended. If you step back and look at error, you realize that symptoms are merely the effect, not the cause. What if the screen was not properly installed or handled. Those are possible causes that lie in human error, not machine error.

In this podcast, Gladwell provides an example of runaway cars, where the brakes failed to work. We assume the cause originates from the entity where the effect is seen. A driver tries to apply the brakes but the brakes do not work, thus the problem is in the car . We turn a blind eye to how human error could play a role, where the driver may not be applying the correct peddle. 

This concept of the cause of an error being different than where the effect shows up also applies to organizations. Employee burnout is seen as a problem with the functioning capability of the employee. What if the organization had flaws in its leadership? What if the employee was not communicating effectively that he/she needed support? It may be another case where the brakes are mechanically sound, but human error continues to halt the line between intention and execution. 

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Day 1 - Chaos

Today marks the 1st day of a new challenge for the Fruit Movement Team. 

About the Challenge

Learning does not start nor stop in the classroom. With the plethora of ways to digest information, we are going to explore podcasts. 

Ground rules:

1) Length of Challenge: 21 days

2) Podcast Length: Something that you could digest in an average morning commute

3) Podcast Variety: A new podcast, preferably a new podcaster, each day

Pretty simple. We'll listen to 21 different podcasts and summarize what we learn each week. The first line of each post will be the lesson learned.

 Chaos brings change, embrace the chaos. 

Podcast: Hidden Brain

Author: Shankar Vedantam

Episode: You 2.0: Embrace the Chaos

Link: http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=542093039

Thoughts: If you set out to plan your progress, you will ultimately hold yourself back. When we think about a new goal, we tend to build order into how to reach the goal. Want to do 100 pullups? Okay, start with 1 and add a rep each day. Without assessing the validity of this plan, is this the most effective way to reach your goal of doing 100 pullups?

Athletes embrace the idea of performance to failure. So instead of adding 1 per day, what if you did as many as you could for 3-5 sets? Could you knock off a few days from the 100 days? What if you continued to confuse your muscles, working the muscles in different ways, could that shave a few more days off? Progress is not a line graph where you use [y = mx + b]  to solve for linear equation. There are days of rapid progress and days of no observable progress. Those days of no observable progress give rise to rapid change. 

This podcast shed light onto how order can help us learn the rules behind a skill or ability, but to achieve a higher understanding, chaos is required. Introducing a bit of chaos into your life could do wonders. For the next 21 days, we'll be introducing chaos into our schedules with a new podcast each and every day. 

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Kombucha Fever

We tried this mystical solution for the first time two weeks ago at the Palmercare Orthopedics Charity Golf Tournament. Today we figure out what it is and what are the real health benefits?

Taste & Prep

Kombucha is a slap in the face. Your mouth feels fizzy from the carbonation, sour from the vinegar, and then the flavors creep in. At first, you want to throw your cup away, but then it starts to grow on you. You're almost daring yourself to take another sip, seeing if you can handle the overwhelming experience. 

Kombucha will be sure to put some hair on your chest. Kombucha's base consists of tea, sugar, water, vinegar, and the magical ingredient active SCOBY. 

No not that Scooby. SCOBY means Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast

The process does not seem too difficult to brew yourself. Most of the ingredients you'll find your home except the active SCOBY. Seems like you throw it in a jar and let the yeast ferment. Flavors and other additives can be added to enhance the taste. The fermentation process also produces alcohol (approx. 0.5% ABV). Not enough to get a buzz yet it's purported as a cure for hangovers as well as many other conditions.

 Health

Kombucha is marketed as a healthy elixir curing all your ailments, including:

Probiotics – healthy bacteria

Alkalize the body – balances internal pH

Detoxify the liver – happy liver = happy mood

Increase metabolism – rev your internal engine

Improve digestion – keep your system moving

Rebuild connective tissue – helps with arthritis, gout, asthma, rheumatism

Cancer prevention

Alleviate constipation

Boost energy – helps with chronic fatigue

Reduce blood pressure

Relieve headaches & migraines

Reduce kidney stones

High in antioxidants – destroy free-radicals that cause cancer

High in polyphenols

Improve eyesight

Heal eczema – can be applied topically to soften the skin

Prevent artheriosclerosis

Speed healing of ulcers – kills h.pylori on contact

Help clear up candida & yeast infections

Aid healthy cell regeneration

Reduce gray hair

Lower glucose levels – prevents spiking from eating

 Our b/s detectors are going off; this seems too good to be true. A bit more digging and most of the kombucha claims have only been performed on rodents. People have reported adverse reactions to the solution from upset stomachs to allergic reactions. There are pasteurized and non-pasteurized versions of kombucha making attempts to limit the bacteria growth, but the bacteria is one of the components that is supposed to make you feel better, so drinking a pasteurized version may not have the same impact. 

 Verdict

It's worth a try. I suggest trying a retail version of kombucha before trying to brew it yourself. Most grocery stores stock up a few bottles and it's typically $3-4. Personally, I will not be an avid consumer, perhaps saving it for those hangovers where you'll drink anything to make the pain go away.

 Continued Reading

http://www.culturesforhealth.com/learn/kombucha/how-to-make-kombucha/

https://wholelifestylenutrition.com/health/what-is-kombucha-why-is-it-so-healthy-for-you/

http://www.shape.com/healthy-eating/healthy-drinks/what-kombucha

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Speed of Turtle

Progress toward goals are not input / output equations. At times, it’s breakneck speeds and at other times, it’s a dead stop. Think about moving at the Speed of Turtle next time you feel things are moving too quickly or not quickly enough.

Background

On a morning run, I came across a turtle. As I circled around for another lap, I saw it had moved farther along the path than I had anticipated. It moved with purpose and steady dedication. In a day and age where instant gratification reigns supreme, patience can be hard to develop.

Prime Form

Socrates emphasized looking at things in their ideal form. What qualities would make a solution perfect. What form would make the best team members? What form makes the best career? What form makes the best client? Turtles are the ideal form of persistence. 

A box turtle is approximately 4 - 8 inches long, 11.5x smaller than humans. They cover up to 100 yards each day. The humans equivalent is crawling 0.65 miles per day. Less than a mile does not sound like a lot, but box turtles on average live 50+ years. That means if you walked 0.65 miles per day, every single day, in a year you would have traveled close to 240 miles (the distance from DC to NYC). Over 50 years you will have traveled nearly 12,000 miles (almost the distance from the North Pole to the South Pole. 

This long winded example is meant to emphasize how persistence reigns supreme. Walking a mile is easy, walking the Earth seems impossible. Turtles are creatures that persist over time, living longer than humans and understanding that progress is made with every step. Every step may not always translate into immediate results, but it does count.

So as you come close to finishing off the week, think about moving at the Speed of Turtle, persistent, focused, and unwavering. If thinking about the Speed of Turtle is not enough, here are some cute photos of turtles.

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Elixir of Life: Coffee

On a day such as today you may find yourself enjoying a large mug of coffee. In this post we look at the 21st century elixir of life: Coffee.

Origins & Current Production

The exact origin of coffee is unknown but one of the oldest stories is the legend of Kaldi. Kaldi, a goat herder, found his goats eating berries from a bush. Later that night the goats overflowing with energy, had trouble sleeping. Kaldi tried the beans himself and was overcome with energy. Those magical beans were eventually roasted and brewed into what we consider coffee today.

Those original beans that Kaldi found came in the form of the cherries seen above. Coffee cherries are dried and roasted to create aromatic ready-to-brew beans. Coffee beans are produced on nearly every continent; the top coffee exporters are Brazil, Vietnam, and Columbia (in order by volume).

Gift of Health

The consensus views toward coffee seem to change with every new study, some days coffee is the elixir of life, on others it's burnt water. Coffee has been linked with many health benefits. Coffee contains chlorogenic acids and caffeic acid, both of which help detoxify the body. While chlorogenic and caffeic acid are linked to reduced blood pressure, resiliency toward cancer, and helping some respiratory allergies, the main benefit of coffee lies in the liver.

For those of you who skipped out of anatomy class, the liver is one our major organs. Most of us know that the liver synthesizes drugs and processes alcohol, but it does much more. The liver plays 3 crucial roles: cleans our blood, aids in digestions, and processes nutrients.

Coffee keeps out liver flushed out and operating in good form. This liquid gold reduces scarring in the liver from alcohol consumption and obesity. The caffeine boosts our metabolisms and regulate our blood especially helping those with type 2 diabetes manage their insulin. Caffeine from other sources do not purport the same results. 

Studies look at the effects of black coffee, not your 2/3 caff triple ristretto affogato venti, 2 pump mango 1 pump classic, 2%, mango to the second line, 3 scoops protein, 3 scoops berries, 2 scoop matcha, add banana, double blended, with whip, caramel drizzle, salted caramel topping, vanilla bean frappuccino. Adding milk and sugar to your coffee changes the profile of your elixir of life to a solution of liquid calories. Black coffee has 1-2 calories per cup as you start to get fancy with your Starbucks order you will see the calories increase quickly. That treat yourself moment where you order a caramel frappuccino, you could have had two bananas and an apple (shameless fruit advertisement).   

Final Thoughts

As with anything, discretion and mindfulness reigns supreme when it comes to your coffee consumption. Juan Ponce De Leon may not have found the Fountain of Youth in Florida, but he might fight a new elixir of life today. So to recap:

- Coffee helps your liver 

- Your liver helps you

- The closer to black coffee the better

- Be kind to your local barista

  Continued Reading

https://www.thespruce.com/the-origin-of-coffee-765180

http://www.ncausa.org/About-Coffee/10-Steps-from-Seed-to-Cup

http://www.worldatlas.com/articles/top-coffee-producing-countries.html

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/coffee-reveals-itself-unlikely-elixir

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlorogenic_acid

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeic_acid

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Pack Your Bags: 8 Travel Tips

As you take time off this August to step away from the office and recharge, keep these 8 tips in mind. 

1) Disconnect

Chances are that during the workweek you are glued to your email, phone, slack, etc. Take a chance to leave your phone in your room and explore without it. I commonly travel with friends and as long as someone has a phone, I throw mine into the ocean.... 

 2) Use your Points! 

If you've been racking up points on your Chase Sapphire, use them. Points lose value over time, so the same trip next year will cost more points. Might as well take that flight to San Diego for those surf lessons or to Costa Rica for sloth-spotting. 

 3) 1 Checked Bag

Unless you're packing a bobsled, you can fit everything in 1 checked bag and 1 backpack. Don't be the friend who needs help carrying their bags. You need the freedom to move around and be flexible. So before you pack your bags, hold every item to your chest and ask yourself "What would Bear Grylls pack?"

 4) TSA Precheck

TSA-PreCheck is the greatest service ever provided. It's on the same level as a restaurant hostess saying it's going to be 45 minute wait, but then finding a table 3 seconds later. For frequent travelers TSA PreCheck and Global Entry will not only save you about an hour on every trip, but greatly reduce any missed flights. You get to breeze past security and most importantly, keep your shoes on!

 5) Be Uncomfortable

Vacations are not only a great time to relax, they're a great time to be put in odd situations. On my last trip to Puerto Rico, I found myself buying a Brooklyn Brewery flag from a bar in Playa Fortuna. It took 2 nights and an interesting negotiation with the owner, but I walked away with the flag and a story. Which leads me to my next point...

 6) Forget Souvenir Shops

I enjoy picking great souvenirs to eternalize trips. However, souvenir shops are the equivalent of taking the tiny shampoo and conditioner bottles from hotels: if it's your first time, you're going to take as many as you can get, but you'll never use them when you get back home.

On  my trip to Whistler BC, I picked up a piece of art from a local coffee shop (see above). Made by a local artist Alicat Art Studio and costs maybe $20. It sits nicely on my wall and means more to me that I found it on my trip instead of making a forced purchase, just to buy something for my dear Aunt Sally (PEMDAS!).

 7) Work Out

Stay balanced. You don't need to spend your entire vacation working on your bicep pump, but giving yourself a break to do something active will help you recover from the food you'll be eating.

 8) Meet the Locals

Try to get away from the main spotlight and meet locals. They'll key you into treasures in each area and you'll get an experience that will be hard to replicate. Be open to throwing your vacation plans in the ocean with your phone and embrace the flow. 

 Summary

As you approach this month's travel plans, try to take it easy. Recharge your batteries and relax. Without sounding too cliche, travel gives you a break from your normal life and provides a fresh perspective on your life. Safe travels!

[fruitmovement-blog]

Founding Father: Lessons from Ray Kroc

A look at the life lessons from Ray Kroc - the founder of McDonald's. 

I enjoy reading books about entrepreneurs, learning how they created their businesses and navigated their careers. Ray Kroc's Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald's was a great read in college, instilling the value of the grind. This past weekend, I watched The Founder the movie adaptation written by Robert D. Siegel and directed by John Lee Hancock. But before I proceed....

SPOILERS AHEAD!

The movie starts with the audience cheering Kroc on as this hardworking salesperson grinds his way into a building a national chain. By the end of the movie everyone hates Ray Kroc. He double-crossed his business partners, neglected his wife, and seduced a franchise owner's wife. However he made important business decisions along the way that we can learn from.

Lesson #1: Hard Work

Ray Kroc may have preached persistence in the movie but his work ethic was the most admirable trait. His work matched his aspirations. He was not the type to fade into nothingness. Kroc prioritized work over everything: social status, luxury, even his wives. While a traveling salesman for many years, visiting thousands of kitchens selling paper cups and milkshake mixers, he gained intuition. He may not have been particularly smart, but what he lacked in intelligence he compensated with experience. That experience gave him the ability to dream. 

Lesson #2: Vision

Kroc was a mediocre salesperson and barely functioning human being. He didn't have have many redeeming qualities beyond his hard work, but he had vision. Kroc knew from the moment he laid eyes upon the first McDonald's establishment that it was an idea much larger than what Mac and Dick McDonald (McDonald brothers) envisioned. Perhaps that's why the McDonald brothers even gave Kroc the original franchising contract.

Throughout his journey, he encountered many problems. All of his problems shared one trait. They were problems arising from connecting the dots: the dot of where he was versus were he wanted to be. For example, when Kroc needed capital to continue his expansion across the United States, he tried to solve the issue by increasing franchising fees, but was bound by his contract with the McDonald brothers. Luckily he ran into Harry Sonneborn (played by B.J. Novak) and they were able to maneuver around Kroc's contract and gain the capital they needed to expand. 

Kroc never lacked vision, only lacked the knowledge of how to get there. As Tony Robbins says, knowing the what and why is more important than how. If you know what you want and why you want it, you can figure out the how to get there.

Lesson #3: Removing Limitations

I have mixed feelings about this last lesson. I agree with the lesson, but not the execution of how Kroc carried it out. 

Kroc had many people or situations that placed limitations on his ability to pursue his dream. The first was his wife Ethel Kroc (played by Laura Dem). Ethel wanted a different life, a life of luxury and relaxation. Ethel would have preferred that Kroc retired and spent the rest of his days playing golf instead of sweeping up trash in McDonald's parking lots. She supported him along the way, but in the end she reached the limits of her ambition and began to interfere with his. At that point, Kroc made a swift movement to get a divorce. 

The second example of removing limitations was his contract with the McDonald's brothers. He signed the original contract in haste because anything is better than nothing. During his rapid expansion, he felt handcuffed with the McDonald's brothers having no intention of compromising on any part of their agreement. He employed shrewd tactics, but once he retained the upper hand, he strong armed the McDonald brothers in selling. 

As I said, I am not a fan of his tactical plays, but the concept remains valid. If something is limiting you from achieving your dreams, remove it. That limitation can be a person, situation, or psychology. Kroc may have had limiting factors, but he forged ahead regardless.

Final Thoughts

I may need to crack open Kroc's book again, especially after watching the movie. We are all too quick to forget lessons of the past. While the landscape has changed, there are some natural rules that still apply. Working hard toward a goal and not allowing anything to block your path is an easy sentence to write, but a much harder way to live.  

If you work just for money, you'll never make it, but if you love what you're doing and you always put the customer first, success will be yours.

- Ray Kroc