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In this episode, Ashley speaks Brian Olds, President and founder of Black Speakers Network, author of the book “35 Questions You Need to Ask Before and After Your Next Speaking Engagement”, influencer and consultant for speakers. In this episode he covers:•How he began his career on the speaker industry,•How he uses social media and marketing tools to increase his brand awareness, and•The importance of a signature speech on his career. Want to learn more about Brian? Head to his website here: www.brianjolds.comFollow him on Facebook: BrianJOldsJoin to his BSN Facebook Group: Black Speakers Network (BSN)Don’t forget to visit the BSN website to learn more about his community: www.BlackSpeakersNetwork.comJoin Ashley’s FREE FB Group for Speakers: https://www.facebook.com/groups/SpeakYourWayToCash/Attend Ashley’s LIVE Speak Your Way To Cash Event: bit.ly/SpeakYourWayToCashQuestions? Topic Suggestions? Email admin@passionpurposeandpaychecks.com! Want to attend Ashley’s Speak Your Way To Cash Event? Come! Learn more here: https://www.passionpurposeandpaychecks.com/attend-sywtcSee Ashley’s Website: mobilegeneralcounsel.comWant to attend Ashley’s Atlanta event: SYWTC3.eventbrite.comWant to attend Ashley’s Chicago event: SYWTC4.eventbrite.comHear Ashley’s TEDx talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caZ9fK6aZZ4&list=PLjTKJTvBHcYZFCNB9kKWGo48GULAhl4Em&index=13********************************************************************************************Ashley Kirkwood is the founding Attorney of Mobile General Counsel, a law firm for entrepreneurs and a consulting firm for companies looking to increase employee engagement. She left her $280,000 + job to be a full-time entrepreneur in 2018 and now works to encourage and equip other entrepreneurs with the tools they need to be successful! She is also a professional corporate and college speaker! Want to connect with Ashley? Follow her on Instagram at @theashleynicoleshow or @speakyourwaytocash. ********************************************************************************************Be sure to take her class: Get The Tea On Trademarks, by clicking here: bit.ly/teaontm Book your consult here: bit.ly/MobileGCFollow Ashley Kirkwood on Instagram: @TheAshleyNicoleShowFollow this Podcast on Instagram: @SpeakYourWayToCash

This is the second part of our series on vetting Chinese suppliers which loosely follows the blog posts in this series that Renaud wrote before. In Episode 10 we explored the bad behaviours or trouble that the wrong supplier can cause, such as scamming you, raising prices dishonestly when they know you have little choice but to pay, or just not being competent enough to be able to produce your products correctly. Now that you know what you don't want from a supplier, what are some of the first steps you can take to weed out suppliers who aren't suitable? Adrian and Renaud discuss this initial vetting process, approaches, and some actionable tips here...   Show Notes Introduction - we'll be discussing questions to ask and actions to take that can help avoid red flags when sourcing new Chinese suppliers (START to 2:40) The following tips are fairly unstructured, but can all be helpful as a part of your preliminary supplier vetting process... Test the water with a factory audit - a supplier should be secure enough to accept a factory audit. If not, then what are they hiding? Either way, conducting an audit teaches you a lot about your potential supplier's ability to do the job you need them to, and audits are affordable (2:40 to 6:20) - learn more about factory audits. Do a search engine search for the supplier - if they have behaved badly in the past, it's likely that there might be some articles or news about them online, so search their company name and see what you can find (6:20 to 8:45) Is the supplier's online information consistent? - a red flag is where the supplier has different information on Alibaba, Global Sources, etc. If they don't match, why not? You can also see verified information about the supplier on these platforms, so it's a good place to see what they're offering very quickly (8:45 to 13:07) - For anyone thinking of sourcing suppliers based on Alibaba's recommendations alone, Renaud wrote about 'Why An Alibaba Gold Supplier Status Doesn't Mean Anything' here. Has the supplier consistently participated in trade shows? - if they have it is evidence that they are a legitimate supplier as trading companies, very small, or unprofessional businesses may not do this (13:07 to 13:45) Try purchasing a sample and insist on paying to their company account and collecting the sample from their address - by doing so you can confirm 2 things: 1. That they are who they say they are because you collect from their address (is it a factory, apartment building, office downtown? If it's the latter two you could have an issue). If they do request you to pay to a personal bank account, or maybe one in Hong Kong, this is a red flag, too - as a legitimate company should be able to provide a real business bank account (13:45 to 17:30) Check the business in the Chinese government database - you will need the company's Chinese name and address, but with this (and the ability to read Chinese) you can learn a lot about the supplier, such as their company size, the scope of work they do, the investment capital (a low amount suggests they aren't a manufacturer), and any past or present court cases and decisions against them and the reasons, too (17:30 to 20:02) - performing a legal records check on the supplier is a fast and inexpensive way to check for this helpful information. Check if the company holds any trademarks or patents in their own name - if it doesn't look like they do a lot of R&D but they have trademarks, patents, etc, this is a possible red flag. Have they been taking IP from past customers and registering it in China under their own name without their knowledge? (20:02 to 21:34) Request the supplier's business license - it will be in Chinese, but it contains a lot of the useful information listed above if you can read Chinese. If not, get someone knowledgeable to analyze it (there should be a QR code on them which shows the registered info online). A good point is to check if they have an export license, too. If they do not, they'd have to deal with an intermediary which can add some risk of IP-leakage, etc (21:34 to 23:48) Check their ISO 9001 certificate - this is common in China now, but you should ask for the certificate which you can verify with the issuing body and also the manual which should list the quality objectives and scope of the Quality Management System is - this is not suitable for people with no understanding of it, but at least be aware of this certificate's veracity if the supplier claims to hold it (23:48 to 25:53) Question them about how they protect your IP - do you have a standard agreement for customers like us? How do you protect my IP? Many importers do NOT ask these questions! If they do provide an agreement, get you lawyer (familiar with Chinese law) to check it and assure that it's enforceable (25:53 to 27:56) Ask for reference customers - who do they work with? You can learn a lot from this, although it's not always practical for suppliers to give too much of this information away (27:56 to 31:00) What is the typical order quantity and quality standard? - if they deal with huge companies who place much larger orders than you will, you may have to expect a lower standard of quality than you're expecting. So the supplier's 'level' should be appropriate to where you're at as a business (31:00 to 32:30) Familiarity with export standards - if they are unaware or lack understanding of the standards surrounding the products they make (such as UL standard for batteries), this is a red flag (32:30 to 33:19) How is their communication? - real manufacturers may not have the best communication. If they do, you may be dealing with a trading company. However, don't discount a manufacturer where their English isn't perfect, as it is fairly normal (33:19 to 34:50) Conclusion - Buying in China for the first can be confusing, so talk to other importers or find someone with experience who can provide some advice - keep eyes open, do due diligence, gather intelligence - these are three key takeaways (34:50 to END) - We also mentioned the book, 'Poorly Made In China' - this is a modern classic that gives great insight into the (many) things that can go wrong when you start manufacturing in China! The advice you've been listening to draws on these 2 blog posts: China Supplier Vetting, Part 1: Background Checks China Supplier Vetting, Part 2: Questions to Ask Before a Visit  Get In Touch Connect with us on LinkedIn Send us a tweet @sofeast Prefer Facebook? Check us out on FB Get even more great content or assistance with your own project Visit our website at Sofeast.com and contact us if you have any questions Subscribe to our YouTube channel

8 New Marketing LawsLaw 13 Top 5 Questions to Ask Before You Hire an AgentYour Home Sold Guaranteed Realty ColoradoIf you would like to receive a FREE Report entitled "How Choosing a Colorado Springs Area Real Estate Agent can Cost you or Save you Thousands"Call Barb Schlinker at 719-602-6200Or Visit the following Website:http://www.BarbHasTheHomes.comhttp://www.BarbHasTheBuyers.com#8newmarketinglaws #top5questions "choosingtherightagent #barbschlinker #coloradosprings #yourhomesoldguaranteed8 New Laws to Sell for 11% MoreLaw 13 Top 5 Questions to Ask Before You Hire a Colorado Springs Area AgentNot all real estate agents are the same. If you decide to seek the help of an agent when selling or buying your home, you need some good information before you make any moves.Some agents may prefer that you don’t ask these questions, because the knowledge you’ll gain from their honest answers will give you a very good idea about what outcome you can expect from using this agent. And let’s face it - in real estate, as in life - not all things are created equal. Hiring a real estate agent is just like any hiring process - with you on the boss’s side of the desk. It’s critical that you make the right decision about who will handle what is probably the single largest financial investment you will ever makeHere are the top 5 Questions to Ask Before you Hire an Agent#1 What makes you different? Why should I list my home with you?With this question, you are looking for unique marketing plans that make your home stand out.As well as what things this agent offers that others do not help you sell with the least amount of hassle and the most amount of money.#2 How Many Buyers are You Currently Working With?The more buyers your agent is working with, the better the chances are of selling your home quickly.# 3 On average, when your listings sell, how close is the selling price to the asking price?This gives you a good indication of the agent's ability to help home sellers, price their home realistically.# 4 On average, how long does it take for your listings to sell as compared to the market average?Here you are looking to see if the agent knows the market average first if they have listings second and how long it takes them to sell their listings.# 5 What are your marketing plans for my home?Of an agent’s answer is merely take some photos and home another agent brings a buyer, it will most likely not be enough to command top dollar.If you would like to receive a report entitled: How Choosing a Colorado Springs Area Real Estate Agent Can Cost or Save You Thousands, call Barb Schlinker at 719 602 6200.

Marriage Ignited brings practical & spiritual tools to ignite your marriage in our weekly podcast & YouTube channel. NEW episodes every Tuesday!Episode 3 Summary: In this episode, as we continue our series on Barriers to Intimacy, we’re going to talk about what is Spiritual Intimacy and what does it look like in marriage. Resources from today’s episode:If you would like to know more about having a personal relationship with Jesus please email us at marriageignitedpodcast@gmail.com and we’d love to connect with you. Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts: Seven Questions to Ask Before -- and After -- You Marry by Drs Les & Leslie Parrott https://amzn.to/38j9U6SFocus on the Family article: “Divorce Rate in the Church – as High as the World? By Glenn T. Stanton https://www.focusonthefamily.com/marriage/divorce-rate-in-the-church-as-high-as-the-world/His Needs, Her Needs: Building an Affair-Proof Marriage by Willard F. Jr. Harleyhttps://amzn.to/32PCo7hQuiet Times for Couples by H. Norman Wright https://amzn.to/38ep3q3Emotionally Healthy Relationships Day by Day: A 40-Day Journey to Deeply Change Your Relationships by Peter Scazzero https://amzn.to/32GT3tMLiving It Out• Unconditional love and acceptance• Forgiveness• Prayer• Service• Bible study• Reading spiritual material• Worshiping together • Attending church together• Small group/Life GroupGod created us as physical, emotional, & spiritual beings. Each of these areas of intimacy are important to the health of our marriage. We hope this episode gave you a fresh perspective and a few ideas for how to grow together spiritually in your marriage. Episode 3 TOOL: Stand holding hands with your spouse, shut your eyes and focus your heart on God in silence and stillness for at least 60 seconds. Then pray for each other!Discussion and/or Journal Questions:How does your belief in God affect your marriage?Discuss what perseverance in Spiritual Intimacy looks like in your marriage.What is one tool you want to implement to walking in Spiritual Intimacy as a couple?Stay Connected!Subscribe to Marriage Ignited on YouTube to watch in a video format https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk1_qis4tYXiZ35KjKhNOWA?Follow Marriage Ignited on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/marriageignitedFollow Marriage Ignited on Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/marriageignited/Marriage Ignited Website coming soon!! www.marriageignited.orgPlease SHARE with friends who would be encouraged & strengthened in their marriage!!

  We are living in a culture where everything is way too fast paced, where we somehow always over-schedule ourselves, and where we are constantly comparing ourselves to everyone else’s highlight reels in our social media feeds. It’s a hard culture to navigate! And when you add marriage into the mix, it can become extremely difficult to maintain one that is both happy and healthy. Sometimes it feels like all these things that make up today’s world are eroding the foundation and stability of our marriages. So how do we thrive in our marriage, or simply keep it in tact, when it feels like everyone and everything is fighting against it on every front? In this episode of This Grit and Grace Life podcast, hosts Darlene and Julie chat with guest Kristi Hendriks, who helps answers this pressing question for us.   Kristi is the owner of the online boutique, For the Field Apparel, as well as the wife of baseball All Star and MLB pitcher, Liam Hendriks.    Kristi opens up about the struggles and obstacles she and her husband face in their marriage as a result of being in the public eye. She shares her best advice for maintaining a healthy and happy relationship when it feels like the world is constantly challenging it.   Tune in to the full episode where Kristi will help you navigate your marriage in today’s crazy world with a whole lot more grit and grace.  Meet Kristi Hendriks: a true lover of all sandwiches...she loves the humidity in Florida and hates parallel parking everywhere. She is the CEO of For the Field Apparel, a company she proudly built from the ground up. This Virgo babe is #marriedtothegame™️, works with her husband, MLB pitcher Liam Hendriks, off the field for several non-profits including work with animal rescues, community outreach and their initiative to “strikeout bullying”. Her name means “follower of Christ” and that she is. ‘Grit and Grace’ is a part of her everyday life and she is passionate to serve the Lord in any way she can. Connect with Kristi by visiting her site, For The Field Apparel or following them on Instagram. You can follow Kristi here and Liam here! You can get your own Coffee + Bible mug here! Viewing in an app? Full show notes here! Articles We Mentioned or Know You'll Love The Grit and Grace of a Baseball Wife Do you have any childhood memories of attending professional baseball games? I know I do. I was so enamored by the Read more One Thing That Will Improve After Your First Year of Marriage I’m going to tell you about one thing that will improve a lot after your first year of marriage… “I Read more 7 Questions You Need to Ask Before a Second Date My mother dubbed me the “Queen of First Dates.” She always professed to be shocked if I ever “let” Read more In a Long-Distance Relationship? 5 Ways to Keep It Strong If there’s anything that I’ve learned from my experience in a long-distance relationship, it’s that it is probably one Read more Establishing Healthy Boundaries in the Grit and Grace Life Healthy personal boundaries are the key to healthy relationships. Without them, healthy relationships are impossible. Read more This Is a Window Into My Widowhood I remember getting the call. “Paul has had an accident and it’s not good. We need to get over Read more How to Have Your Own Coffee + Bible Time If you follow me on social media (you should, by the way) you likely see me post on Facebook Read more Do Strong Women Like Masculine Men? Each week, Monday night finds women and their girlfriends stuck to the television, watching The Read more Quote of the episode: "When it comes to marriage you're looking for the whole meal deal." Darlene Brock Check out these episodes we mentioned: Julie Graham’s Untold Story of Heartbreak, Healing and Hope – 101, Want to Be a Strong Woman? Set Healthy Boundaries – 103 and Keep Your Love Alive: Avoid These Relationship Mistakes – 084. Be sure to follow us on social media! Facebook Instagram Twitter

Is it possible for you to prevent divorce before marriage? Sid Veenstra, a pastor and premarital counselor believes that you can! This episode of Hope Reclaimed is the second part of the divorce prevention series. In this episode, Ellie Herringshaw interviews Sid Veenstra who explains the importance of premarital counseling for anyone who is getting married. Sid Veenstra Bio Sid Veenstra, M.Div, D.Min. is an ordained pastor, professor or Pastoral Care in the D.Min. program at Bethel Seminary and a premarital counselor for all couples looking to enhance their marriage experience! Bringing an experience of working with over 1000 couples to premarital counseling, Sid helps couples to explore the impact of joining their family systems, along with their personal expectations in establishing and growing a healthy marriage. Sid uses "Prepare" along with the "MBTI" to enhance this process of learning and growing. Resources Referenced Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts: Seven Questions to Ask Before and After You Marry, By Les and Leslie Parrott Ellie's Social Website // http://rclaimed.com Instagram // @hope_reclaimed Facebook // facebook.com/hopereclaimed Patreon // patreon.com/hopereclaimed

Is it possible for you to prevent divorce before marriage? Sid Veenstra, a pastor and premarital counselor believes that you can! This episode of Hope Reclaimed is the second part of the divorce prevention series. In this episode, Ellie Herringshaw interviews Sid Veenstra who explains the importance of premarital counseling for anyone who is getting married. Sid Veenstra Bio Sid Veenstra, M.Div, D.Min. is an ordained pastor, professor or Pastoral Care in the D.Min. program at Bethel Seminary and a premarital counselor for all couples looking to enhance their marriage experience! Bringing an experience of working with over 1000 couples to premarital counseling, Sid helps couples to explore the impact of joining their family systems, along with their personal expectations in establishing and growing a healthy marriage. Sid uses "Prepare" along with the "MBTI" to enhance this process of learning and growing. Resources Referenced Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts: Seven Questions to Ask Before and After You Marry, By Les and Leslie Parrott Ellie's Social Website // http://hopereclaimedministries.com Instagram // @hope_reclaimed Facebook // facebook.com/hopereclaimed Patreon // patreon.com/hopereclaimed

  #004 How To Build Your Summit What is the one question to ensure you don't get screwed by a Virtual Summit consultant, plus how to remove 90% of the time needed to build out a summit with one single solution. If you are just joining us on The Virtual Summit Podcast, I highly recommend that you go and listen to the first three episodes to get yourself acquainted with the podcast. Remember, you can get the shownotes and resources at:  podcast.virtualsummits.com/004 and podcast.virtualsummits.com/resources   This is going to be a little bit longer of an episode but could possibly be one of the most valuable episodes you could listen to.  We are going to be talking specifically about the different ways you can build out your summit, what that looks like, and how to avoid a complete disaster.   It's an episode you want to listen to till the very end if you are serious about hosting a summit.   Four Ways To Build Out Your Summit: Pay someone else to build it Custom build it yourself (wordpress) Use a generic tool or software (ClickFunnels, Kajabi, Thinkific) Use the Virtual Summits Software  - Makes hosting a summit easier than ever before   Physical Components Of A Summit: 1) Landing Page 2) Thank You /Upsell Page 3) Summit Home Page 4) Individual Speaker Pages 5) Bonus/Gifts 6) Sponsors/Resources 7) Sales Page 8) Thank You Page     Additional Aspects: FAQ Page Support Page/Help Desk/Contact Page Group Area for group conversation   What Is The Difference Between A Summit Coach And A Summit Consultant? Coaches typically sell online programs that give you the information to host a summit.  Coaches typically don't do anything with you or your summit other than give you the online trainings and sometimes answer ongoing questions. Coaches are going to be much less expensive as you are paying for a program & no assistance.  You still have to build it all yourself. Consultants typically create most of the platform for you and are responsible for running the summit.  Consultants don't typically do anything outside of the summit platform creation and live summit tech support. Consultants are going to be much more expensive depending on the caliber of consultant.   Let's Dive Into The Four Areas Of Building Out Your Summit:    Pay Someone Else To Build It    Only really recommended if you have disposable resources, or you have done several successful summits & know your conversions & can make it profitable.   What The Process Looks Like Find a consultant or coach – They will do an in depth consultation. Understand what you want and are looking for and when you are looking to launch. They tell you the amount you need to pay them and then you agree They handle most of the heavy lifting as far as building out the site – usually with pre packaged templates they have created. You will still have to do all the speaker, affiliate, & sponsor recruiting, management & interviews. You will have to pay for all of the materials being built (usually software that they are an affiliate for) They will help guide you and advise you on insights into the marketing & launching You will have to create all the marketing materials, ads, emails, copy, and  paid advertising. They will handle any technical aspect or issues that arise during the summit. Once the summit ends your arrangement is finished and they are done You will still have to pay the monthly fees for all of the softwares & plugins they used to build your summit. (Usually generating them ongoing revenue until you stop paying).   How Long Does It Take Typically a summit consultant can get most of the summit up and built within 2 – 3 months If they have the ability to work on it full time probably in 1 – 2 months.  However, you will still need the extra 2 – 4 months for speaker recruitment, interviews, and marketing creation.    In total you could most likely launch your summit within 3 months based on your speed of speaker recruitment.     How Much Does it Cost Most good summit consultants are going to cost between $7,000 - $10,000.  High end consultants (or speciality niches) can be upwards of $35,000 - $50,000 & require profit sharing from the earnings of the summit.    Consultants below $3,000 are most likely less experienced or not high quality.      What Are The Downsides The obvious downsides are going to be the costs.  Summits typically don't have huge profit margins from the summit. (Most profits come from post summit income – check out episode 003 for more information on this podcast.virtualsummits.com/003).   So when you are paying out a lot of money to build your summit you are Decreasing your ability to take home the cash Increasing risk of actually losing money if your summit doesn't do well Consultants will typically remove themselves from the direct relationship of the success of the summit (mainly because they can't guarantee it's success and  don't want to be held responsible).  So they will only take responsibility for the creation of the structure, not whether the summit succeeds.  Which means you are ultimately still solely responsible for the success. This is why I typically don't recommend consultants for your first summit.  I think they are a great opportunity after you know you can generate results.  But before then you run the risk of paying a lot of money and ultimately not making it back. Ultimately the downside is the financial costs and the risk.  If these are non issues for you, either because you have the disposable finances, or you are confident in your abilities to create success then this can be a great option for you.   What Are The Upsides You don't have to do any of the work building the summit.  Allows you to move much quicker in launching your summit You have someone with experience who can help guide you You can stay in your zone of genius and let someone else handle the technical aspect You have someone to turn to when something goes wrong or if you have questions.   What Should I Know (or Ask) Before you ever agree to pay anything with a consultant here are the things you should know and ask.   1.  How many summits have you run before (and provide some examples)? Do your research.  Reach out to these summits and ask the hosts about their experience. This could save you from disaster in the long run If they have run less than 5 summits they are newer and pose more risk If they have run more than 10 summits they are most likely experience Anything over 25 is a well experienced consultant. 2.  What are the average results you typically get from your summit? If they can't give you an estimate or average that means they haven't generated any decent results. Find out what summit they got good results with and check with that host.  If they won't tell you which summit then they are lying.  RUN!  Always confirm this with the summit hosts.  Many times consultants will “exaggerate” their results.  3.  When was the last summit you helped create? If it's been more than a few years that is a red flag.  It means this is probably not their main expertise and are just trying to do it on the side to generate extra income. 4.  Where did you learn to create summits? This is more in relationship with question 1.  If they have minimal experience, then how do they know how to run a summit?  If they have had training, then maybe it's worth it, if not then they are just guessing and it's your money that will be the gamble. 5.  What exactly are you going to do and what are you not going to do? Always very important to have in writing exactly what they are responsible for doing (and not doing) to hold them accountable.  This should be done before you pay them anything Afterwards they will opt out of doing more work Additionally this is just good to know so you are aware of what you need to be ready to do. 6.  What happens if for some reason this summit bombs? This is a tough question that no one wants to ask, but honestly is something that needs to be asked.  Are they holding any of the responsibility for this summit to perform well?  If not, then that is a LOT of risk on your shoulders.   They should be willing to at least provide guidelines and agreeables to what is a successful summit, an ok summit, and a “bomb” or bad summit.  They should be able to offer you some kind of peace of mind that they have a little skin in the game. 7.  Will you allow me to pay you partially upfront & the rest from the results of the summit? This right here is a huge tell and also relates to the question above.  If they are confident in their abilities to help your summit be successful then they can at least put some amount (even a tiny amount ) 10% -50% of their payment could be taken out of the summit results or profit If they are completely 100% against this and don't even at least consider it, then watch out.  That means they already believe the summit isn't going to do well.   If they don't think it's going to do well then you really don't want them consulting.    How To Get Started? Easiest way is to go to our resource area over at VirtualSummits.com and see the list of our approved consultants that we have vetted & recommend.  (if you are a consultant and want us to check you out then get in touch with us.) Additionally you can reach out to our team and see if you qualify for our Virtual Summits Immersion Programs.   We typically only work with clients we know we can get great results with and we definitely take responsibility for the success of the summit, but we have a limited number of spots we work with each quarter.  You can send us a request for more information to info@virtualsummits.com     Build It Custom Yourself (wordpress)   This will be a much shorter version to get through.  This is only for the bravest of entrepreneurs Ones that have either great knowledge & skill in building websites and landing pages.  Have a lot of experience in creating items from scratch using wordpress.    So most likely the entrepreneurs like myself that were out there creating before things like clickfunnels, kajabi & Thinkific were around.      What The Process Looks Like? You map out what you want your summit to look like.  How many speakers, how many pages.  What color schemes, fonts and special items You then begin building it using wordpress and plugins like wishlist member, deadline funnels, thrive cart, disques chat box, and every other technical tool that goes into building out a 100 page event like a summit Then you pray nothing breaks and you linked all your links correctly. (which you didn't, I can already tell you that) ;)   How Long Does It Take? If you have never done this type of thing before, you can plan on it taking you roughly 4 months of non stop (30+ hours a week) of creation for about 2 – 3 months. That's not counting the interviews which will most likely take another 1 -2 months of part time (15 – 20 hours a week) 0f time. If you run more than one you can reuse your original (clone it) and it will save you about 1/3 of the time.  You will still have to spend a lot of time because you have to edit everything inside of the pages.   How Much Does It Cost? If you are someone that knows how to do this you will probably have some specific tools that you want to use, so the cost might be different When I built my first summit – it had 7 softwares & 26 plugins all frankenstined together It cost me roughly $6,700 in total I was able to streamline the process (after I created the first one) to about $2,500 - $4,000.  Because I could reuse a lot of the same tools I had already paid for.    What Are The Downsides? It takes forever It typically doesn't look as professional It still costs a decent amount for the first one.  It will 100% for sure have tech issues.   What Are The Upsides? Total Control & Customization – make it exactly as you want it. If you plan to run more than one.   What Should I Know (or Ask)? I would not recommend this option unless You are super skilled & knowledgeable in wordpress creation. You have no other option., which really there is always the Virtual Summits Software option which honestly you couldn't pay me to go back to doing it the wordpress built from scratch way.  (and I've done probably 10 summits this way before).   Use A Generic Tool Or Software (ClickFunnels, Kajabi, Thinkific) This is honestly the most commonly done way for people hosting summits.  Either because their coach, consultant, or someone they know told them to just use one of these funnel/course building tools to try and host a summit on it.    Most of the people that are advising people to do this are doing it because they get a paid affiliate commission if you click their link and sign up for any of these tools.  With that being said it is much much cheaper, & easier to do it this way than paying a consultant or building it from scratch.   What The Process Looks Like? Typically 1 of 2 ways:  If you are being referred by someone who gets affiliate commissions, they will typically have some kind of template or generic format that you can download and use to template out your summit. If you are just doing it on your own then you have to figure out how to build it out yourself.  Either way it looks like this: You sign up for one of these tools.  The most common are (Click Funnels, Thinkific, & Kajabi).  They will have pages that can be built. You build a landing page, a sales page and all the speaker pages. You have links for all the pages. When your summit goes live you have to figure out how to turn on or off the links to the pages that they should not have access to yet. This usually requires going into every speaker page for that day of the summit and activating the link, then at the end of the day you deactivate the link.  You do this every day for 3- 14 days twice a day for up to 80 speakers and again pray you didn't miss something . (Trust me you did,  everyone always does).  When that happens you generate typically several hundred to several thousand emails from attendees complaining. At the end you drive all the traffic to the sales page and try to generate sales. Then after it's over you have to duplicate everything (If you really are trying to be ethical) so that the original attendees can't still access the recordings, and give the new duplicated version to those who upgraded and paid for the recordings. Another way is to shut it down , take all the presentations and put them on a membership platform and give all those who paid access to that membership platform. Or the lazy way is to shut it all down and just give those who paid a link to your dropbox with all the videos.  (Don't do this) Overall, this is honestly for the costs one of the best ways to run a summit, if the virtual summit software didn't exist.   How Long Does It Take? Typically this will take roughly as long as it does to set it up on wordpress because you still have to go through and build everything.  It's just much more user friendly and won't look like a 3rd grader built it. (or maybe it will I guess I've never seen your page building skills. So in general you are looking at probably 1-2 months of solid work to build out the summit at a minimum putting in 20-30 hours a week & then another 2-3 months of interviews & marketing creation.    How Much Does It Cost? Costs are much more reasonable here.  You are probably looking at around $1,000 - $3,500 upfront costs & around $600 - $1,000 of recurring costs depending on what tools and additional fancy software you add into it.  Also if you are getting this from a coaches program you should factor in the $1,000 - $2,000 you paid for their online course.   What Are The Downsides? Its still a small investment.  You still have to build it all which is going to take a lot of your time. Things will break and not work (always happens)  links not connected correctly, etc. It won't look or function great because it's built on something that isn't really designed for summits. Meaning the functionality won't feel perfect.  It will work, but trying to do a summit on a course software, or a landing page software just doesn't function the way a summit is truly suppose to be run.   What Are The Upsides? It's much quicker than building it custom It's much cheaper It will look better than building it yourself It lets you create a summit which will greatly benefit you and your business.   What Should I Know (or Ask)? Honestly , there is nothing super negative to this approach. I've done the same. My progression went from building them custom on wordpress, to using Thinkific or clickfunnels, to now running them on Virtual Summits Software.  The only real thing to know is if you are going to build a summit on one of these tools then for the same or less cost you can have it built and run quicker, cheaper, and with better functionality on Virtual Summits Software.   How To Get Started Go to the show notes at Podcast.VirtualSummits.com/004 and we will have links to all these tools like Thinkific, click funnels, etc.      Use The Virtual Summits Software  Virtual Summit Software Makes hosting a summit easier than ever before.  It is the only software designed 100% specifically for running summits which means every aspect about it is ideal for summit hosting & creation It has literally changed the game when it comes to summits.  The power that use to be reserved for those already successful entrepreneurs with big budgets, teams, and resources has now been given to everyone of us.   You don't need a team, you don't need any tech skill, you don't need a big budget or resources. You can literally have a summit up and ready to launch in a matter of hours, not months. ***A little history on the virtual summits software.  As I had mentioned I have been running summits for about 4 years now.  I've been involved in around 25 summit creations.  I use to build them by hand painfully.  After a few years of wishing there was an easier way to run summits, I finally found the number one development company in the US and we set out to build the perfect solution to hosting a summit.    We started out by doing a product discovery where we interviewed 50 some summit creators asking them their pain points and solutions.  We found that there was a massive pain in this area and NOT a single solution available to accurately solve it.   We then set out on the next year building what would become the number one tool for hosting a summit.   It literally makes the process so easy that everyone can quickly and simply run a successful summit.     What The Process Looks Like: Head over to Virtual Summits.com and you can sign up for a free trial. Click “Host Your First Summit” You then type in your summit details Go to the landing page builder and choose a template customized from the top 100 most successful summits ever run. Fill out the information you want on the landing page. Go to the speaker section and start recruiting your speakers. Speakers will get the request & they fill out their information and it is auto populated through out the whole summit saving you at least 25 – 40 hours of work. Decide what levels you want in your summit, like free, vip, and elite.  Attach your email software to the membership with one click of a button and you now have all the attendees being signed up to your email list automatically. Drag and drop those speakers into the summit scheduler and poof you are done! Your summit is ready to collect leads to run automatically without you having to do anything and of course collecting you the cash generated from the summit purchase.   How Long Does It Take? I've created summits in under an hour My partner in my other company runs a one-day summit at least once a quarter. She is probably the least techy person you will ever meet & she can have a summit up and ready in a matter of 2 hours.  Obviously your first time in the software it might take you a few hours, but no matter how you look at it, the other alternative is 100+ hours or 2 – 5 hours.  Pretty awesome.   How Much Does it Cost? This is the insane part.  It doesn't cost $10,000.  It doesn't cost $5,000.  It doesn't even cost $1,000.  The highest offering that is available for fully unlocked, unlimited summits with the Ever-Summit Feature is the same price as any of the other software solutions we were previously talking about.  Or even less if you take the standard option.  It's really a no brainer.   What Are The Downsides? Really there are very few downsides if any.  If I had to really try to make something for this I would say in terms of software it is still relatively young.  Which is actually kind of a positive because every week there are new and cool features being released, but at the moment of recording this episode there is not as much customization options as there could be.  They are coming, but that would probably be the top downside.   What Are The Upsides? Essentially everything.  It's cheaper, easier, faster & less tech problems to host a summit.  It is designed specifically for hosting & running summits. Everything about it is seem less and the way a summit should run.    What Should I Know (or Ask)? There is a feature called the Ever-Summit feature which is exclusive to Virtual Summits Software.  With one click of a button the software will automatically rerun your summit as if it was live on going forever.  What is so cool about this is that human nature has us subconsciously think that anything that is old is no longer good.  Even though you and I know that those videos are still good, people who see that it's over will choose not to opt in for it. The Ever- Summit feature allows anyone who comes to the landing page to see that the summit is set to run next week for example.  They opt in and then the software automatically unlocks and locks each day & session appropriately and correctly and then when it's over it locks it down again.  If that attendee tries to go back to the landing page it shows them that the summit is ended and they need to upgrade.  But for all new traffic that goes to that landing page sees that the summit starts next week!  It allows your summit to become the beginning of your customer journey and allows you to scale your business quicker.   How To Get Started Head over to VirtualSummits.com and you can sign up for a free trial to test it out and get started building your next summit.   ***In closing here, there are no necessarily right or wrong answers to these options.  My goal was to shed an in depth light into the options that are there, what is great about them, and the not so great.  It's up to you to decide which option is the best option for you and your situation.  No matter what you are (Summit Host, Speaker, Affiliate) you have a message that needs to get out to the world.  Don't wait, choose whatever option makes the most sense to you and is the easiest to get started and just start moving forward!     My Request I'm going to give away all the best insights and gems, I just need YOUR HELP? First subscribe & leave a 5 star review on this podcast Second, share this podcast with anyone you know who has done, or wants to do a summit. That's all I ask.    How To Get In Touch I am always looking for feedback.  If you have questions send them to me.  (I'll start doing a special Q&A monthly episode) If you want to be a guest reach out and let me know If you know someone I should interview please put me in touch with them. Email me at:  podcast@virtualsummits.com     Resources You Can Get:  Podcast.VirtualSummits.com/resources             - ODS Guide,             - VS Framework,             - Plug & Play,             - Free Trial Virtual Summits Software   I want to end this episode by saying,   “I believe in YOU & YOU can do this."   Summits are by far one of the most powerful ways to quickly grow your list, launch your platform & make more money! (Even if you are just getting started). Don't get caught up in Analysis paralysis, because the world needs to hear your message & there are people who are waiting for you to help them.    So just get started.  Imperfect action is always better than doing nothing! Thank you & see you on the next episode!  

The last two weeks here on the show with Dave and Ann Wilson have been explosive. You guys have been talking about those episodes all over the place, and for that, I’m so grateful. This week, I want to take a deeper dive into the practicality of love. What does it look like in disagreement and misunderstanding? How do we love when it seems as though everyone and everything is against us? And how do we love when we don’t feel loved ourselves? This week, our guest is no stranger to relationships. In fact, he’s one of the most trusted voices on relationships in America. Meet Dr. Les Parrott. Dr. Les Parrott, along with his wife, Dr. Leslie Parrott, are a husband-and-wife team who not only share the same name, but the same passion for helping others build healthy relationships. Les is a professor of psychology at Northwest University and he and Leslie are founders of the Center for Healthy Relationships on the campus of Olivet University. Married in 1984, the Parrotts bring real-life examples to their speaking platform. Their professional training—Leslie as a marriage and family therapist, and Les as a clinical psychologist—ensures a method that is grounded, insightful and cutting-edge. As #1 New York Times best-selling authors, their books have sold over two million copies in more than two dozen languages, and include best-selling and Gold-medallion winner Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts: Seven Questions to Ask Before -- and After--You Marry. That said, pull up a chair, and lean into this conversation, because after having done so, you’re going to have a simple plan to improve all of your relationships--with family, friends, coworkers, and even strangers. Buy the Books In this down-to-earth, practical new book, #1 New York Times bestselling author Dr. Les Parrott provides a simple plan to improve all of your relationships--with family, friends, coworkers, and even strangers. Dr. Parrott takes the latest findings from psychology and sociology and blends them with biblical teaching to reveal five transformative ways of relating to people demonstrated by Jesus himself: be mindful, be approachable, be grace-filled, be bold, and be self-giving. Each chapter contains a self-assessment, and the results will aid your growth and help you revolutionize your relationships. Buy Love Like That: 5 Relationship Secrets from Jesus now.   More than a million couples can’t be wrong! And with this updated edition of their award-winning book, Drs. Les and Leslie Parrott help you launch lifelong love like never before. This is more than a book—it’s an experience, especially when you use the his/her workbooks filled with more than 40 fun exercises. Get ready for deeper intimacy with the best friend you’ll ever have. Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts: Seven Questions to Ask Before -- and After -- You Marry, in more than 15 languages, is the most widely used marriage prep tool in the world. Uncover the misbeliefs of marriage Learn to communicate with instant understanding Discover the secret to resolving conflict Master the skills of money management Get your sex life off to a great start A compelling video, featuring real-life couples, is available, and with this updated edition Les and Leslie unveil the game-changing SYMBIS Assessment. Now you can discover how to leverage your personalities for a love that last a lifetime. Make your marriage everything it is meant to be. Save your marriage—before (and after) it starts. Buy Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts: Seven Questions to Ask Before -- and After -- You Marry now. Review “Win Today” Click here to read the ratings, or even better, please leave me a rating and review on iTunes. Your rating will help the podcast get noticed and positioned on iTunes. What Listeners Are Saying… “So great to find a podcast that is both encouraging and challenging! It is professionally produced, yet still has an informal feel like I’m hanging out with Chris… And fr...

Author’s note: This ‘Ultimate Guide’ is a collection of over a decade of research, experimentation, and many of my past articles on the topic of living a less sedentary lifestyle. This guide is also based on many conversations with the world’s foremost experts on proper ergonomics, the dangers of being sedentary, and the benefits of more consistent movement throughout the day. There’s A LOT of information in this guide to help you build a healthy workstation and move more during your day. If you’d prefer to have this guide as a PDF you can reference for later use, Click here to download this ‘Ultimate Guide’ as a PDF. Working a very sedentary career as a Hollywood film & tv editor, I have spent the last two decades figuring out how to stay active all day long despite living in front of a computer (in the dark) . Fifteen years ago when I traded in my super-fancy Herman Miller Aeron chair for a $20 exercise ball as my primary desk chair, people laughed at me. Ten years ago when I invested $3000 in a motorized height-adjustable workstation for my home office, people thought I was crazy. And five years ago when I moved in a desk treadmill, a doorway pull-up bar, and kettlebells to my office at Empire, people snickered thinking I had lost my mind. Luckily a lot has changed in the last five years. But a lot hasn’t changed as well. While it’s true that people are becoming much more conscious about the fact that sitting is slowly killing us, they are still often seeking the wrong solutions. The most common question I’m still asked to this day is: “I want to invest in the best ergonomic office chair on the market for the sake of my health. What should I buy?” This question is encouraging because it means people are (finally) recognizing that you can have a successful career because you invest in your health, not despite prioritizing your health ahead of your career. But it’s also frustrating because it’s completely the WRONG question to ask. If you do a search via Dr. Google for the “healthiest office chairs,” the #1 option (if budget is no object) is the Herman Miller ‘Embody’ Chair. And it costs just under $1500. Even more extreme, for those with ample funds to spend (who aren’t terrified of the film WALL-E becoming our reality), there is even a workstation that allows you to lie down while you work...if you’re willing to drop over $8500. Clearly if I spent over $3k on a motorized standing desk a decade ago I have no problem investing in technology that will make my work environment healthier and more ergonomically friendly. But the last thing I would ever spend a single dollar on is a chair that is so comfortable it encourages me to sit (or lie down) for hours on end without moving. Do not make the cardinal mistake of thinking that “ergonomic” and “healthy” are synonyms. An “ergonomically friendly” desk chair like the Herman Miller Embody Chair will absolutely reduce lower back pain and discomfort...but unless you’re moving throughout your day, it’s still slowly killing you. Here’s the hard truth: The probability is over 70%1 that you are sitting as you read this ultimate guide. You were probably sitting for the 60 minutes before reading this ultimate guide, and you will probably sit for the vast majority of your day after reading this ultimate guide. (Full disclaimer: I’m also sitting as I write this ultimate guide) We sit at the breakfast table. Then we sit in our cars (or buses...or trains) until we get to work. Avoiding the stairs, we then take the elevator until we land at our desk chairs. Then after between 6-12 hours of sitting at our desks, we then sit in our cars on the way back home. Exhausted from a “crazy day” we then sit at the table while eating dinner (yeah right...more like the couch). Then we decompress by binge-watching the latest and greatest Netflix drama until we collapse into bed (wishing we had stopped three episodes earlier). Rinse. Lather. Repeat for 30 years. Between sitting an average of 13 hours per day and sleeping an average of 8 hours per night (8 hours...yeah right): Americans are sedentary for an average of 21 hours per day2. There has to be a better way, right? Right????? Despite thinking that ‘The Perfect Chair’ will eliminate your discomfort, there’s nothing healthy about sitting in the proper ergonomic position for 12-16 hours a day. The best ergonomic position is always your next position. Josh Kerst, Ergonomist The key to building a healthier workstation is combining proper ergonomics with consistent movement. Only with the right equipment AND the right habits can you truly have a “Healthy Workstation.” The good news is you can redesign your entire work environment, your workstation, your chair, your habits, and the tools around you all for the price of a fancy office chair. And you don’t even have to do the research...because I’ve done it for you. What’s In This Ultimate Guide? If you’ve decided you are ready to make a substantial investment in upgrading your work environment for the sake of your health, your creativity, and your well-being, before buying “the perfect desk chair,” here is the ultimate guide to building a healthier, more active, and more ergonomically friendly workstation...all for the price of a fancy desk chair. This guide is working under the assumption your budget is $1500 (roughly the cost of the Herman Miller Embody Chair mentioned above). If your budget is substantially lower, I have broken this guide down to what I believe are the “Essentials,” and I have provided as many budget-friendly options as possible. Simply mix & match the many tools from this guide to fill your most pressing needs first, then over time slowly invest in more tools as you start building in the proper daily habits to use them. TABLE OF CONTENTS PART I: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Movement* (But Were Afraid to Ask) I. Why “Sedentary Is the New Smoking” (Not Sitting) II. Why Movement Is So Important For Your Health & Creativity III. Why Standing (and even Exercise) Isn’t Enough PART 2: The Gearhead’s Guide to the Best Equipment Available to Keep You Moving (And Alive) IV. The Essential ‘Must-Haves’ For Both Sitting & Standing V. Tools to Reduce Chronic Discomfort & Pain VI. Tools to Increase Strength (and Burn Calories!!!) PART 3: It’s Not Just About the Tools...It’s About Using Them Consistently VII. How to Modify Your Daily Habits to Make Activity Effortless Appendix: Expert Interviews & Additional Articles AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE: I believe in 100% transparency, so please note that I receive a small commission if you purchase some of the following products below (at no additional cost to you). Your support is what helps keep this program alive. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me. PART I: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Movement* (But Were Afraid to Ask) Before diving right into all the cool tools I recommend for living a more active (and pain-free) life in front of your workstation, it would be irresponsible if I didn’t provide at least a brief overview that explains why being sedentary is so detrimental to your health, your creativity, and ultimately your lifespan. And conversely, it’s also vital to explain on a scientific level why movement throughout your workday is so important to optimize your creativity (not to mention your physical and mental health). And if you think you get a free pass because you already have a standing desk, or because you “hit the gym” once in a while or even regularly...keep reading. I. Why “Sedentary Is the New Smoking” (Not Sitting) If you have a working internet connection, you’ve most likely come across the headline ‘Sitting Is the New Smoking.’ This sensationalist phrase, as coined by Dr. James Levine, director of the Mayo Clinic at Arizona State University, is everywhere. Yes the statistics are downright terrifying. Chronic sitting and a lack of physical activity can lead to an increased risk of: Type 2 diabetes3 Cardiovascular disease4  Breast cancer5 and kidney disease in women6 Colon cancer in men7 Oh yeah….early death for people 35 yrs and older8 But like a frog slowly boiling in water, you don’t realize anything is wrong until it’s too late. According to Dr. Levine: Sitting is more dangerous than smoking, kills more people than HIV and is more treacherous than parachuting. We are sitting ourselves to death. What’s most alarming to me about all of these studies as they relate to those of us who work in creative fields is they warn people of the negative and deadly consequences of sitting up to 6-8 hours per day. Seriously? 6-8 hours? 6-8 hours is a half day for most creative professionals. It’s not like I’m going to write, “You should be moving more throughout the day,” and you’re going to say, “Wait, what? You mean I need to be more active? Huzzah!” But knowing that sitting is bad clearly isn’t enough to motivate people. The question is given the complete and total lack of free time in the constantly-moving busyness of the 21st century, what alternative do you have? According to the media and the multi-billion dollar fitness industry, you essentially have two options: Option #1: Do absolutely nothing, sit all day long, eat poorly, become fat, ugly, unattractive, and then die. Option #2: Exercise 6 days a week (everyone needs a “rest day” after all), eat an impeccable vegan/paleo/Mediterranean diet, and become one of those amazing “Before and After” pictures you see on late-nite infomercials. There is a giant chasm in between these two options that I like to call “Everybody else.” The problem is there’s nothing sexy about taking a flight of stairs instead of waiting for the elevator. You can’t make gazillions of dollars selling “moderate long-term lifestyle change.” Yet the vast majority of people fail to reach their exercise goals or complete their fitness programs because success is measured by long-term results, and results like losing 30 pounds don’t happen overnight. Here’s the secret nobody tells you: You don’t have to go to they gym every single day to be considered, “healthy,” but you do need to move more. That’s the brilliance of reframing your mindset from “I have to exercise,” to “I need to move more throughout my day.” Unlike “all or nothing” exercise programs, when you make the conscious choice to be more active, the benefits are profound and (almost) immediate. To be clear before moving forwards, I’m not saying you shouldn’t exercise. In fact, I highly recommend it if you have a pulse. But if you are working 14 hours a day and trying to raise a family, getting to the gym or doing a round of P90X every single day just isn’t a realistic expectation. There has to be a middle ground. Shockingly, our genes expect us to move 10-14 miles per day9. PER DAY. If you’re already counting your steps with a Fitbit or similar technology, you know that 10,000 is the magic number recommended by the American Heart Association10. That’s roughly 5 miles per day, less than half of the movement our bodies and minds expect, according to our genetic code. Here’s why this is terrifying if you rely on your creativity for a living - your brain functions very similar to a muscle. With lack of activity, your brain will atrophy. And conversely… The more you feed your brain, the more it will grow. The best way to feed your brain the fuel it needs to function at an optimal level (i.e. oxygen) is consistent movement. II. Why Movement Is So Important For Your Health & Creativity When you move, especially when you do quick bursts of high intensity exercise, even for as little as 60 seconds, your brain releases the neurotransmitters serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. So every bout of activity is like taking a small dose of Prozac and Ritalin mixed together. Exercise has been proven beyond the shadow of a doubt to help people regulate their anxiety, depression, and their attention issues11. As someone who has suffered from adult ADD since college, I’ve been down the prescription drug road, and I took Adderall for a short time to manage my attention issues. Having also managed my depression, anxiety, and attention issues with exercise and activity, I can tell you firsthand that perpetual motion throughout the day is a much better long term solution for me. SIDE NOTE: Just to be clear, I am not giving medical advice of any kind, especially when it comes to taking medication or choosing to eliminate medications in exchange for increased activity. So please make sure to consult your physician first before changing how you manage your own medication. I am just sharing my personal story with you to give you some personal perspective. According to Dr. John Ratey, author of Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain: “A massive Dutch study of 19,288 twins and their families published in 2006 showed that exercisers are less anxious, less depressed, less neurotic, and also more socially outgoing. A Finnish study of 3,403 people in 1999 showed that those who exercise at least two to three times a week experience significantly less depression, anger, stress, and “cynical distrust” than those who exercise less or not at all.” Beyond the release of neurotransmitters, the other very important chemical that is released during movement and exercise is called BDNF, or brain-derived neurotrophic factor. The reason this is so important is because BDNF is considered “Miracle-Gro for the brain,” meaning the more of it that is released, the faster your new neural connections can grow, the better your memory becomes, the faster you can learn new information, and thus ultimately become smarter over time. “In a 2007 study of humans, German researchers found that people learn vocabulary words 20 percent faster following exercise than they did before exercise, and that the rate of learning correlated directly with levels of BDNF. Along with that, people with a gene variation that robs them of BDNF are more likely to have learning deficiencies. Without Miracle-Gro, the brain closes itself off to the world,” according to Ratey. Furthermore, in my podcast interview with Dr. John Ratey, he cites a study done in Sweden with 1.2 million boys, and they found a definitive connection between fitness and cognition. Even when they tested identical twins, they found that the less active of the two had lower cognitive scores. Beyond your creativity, perhaps your second most important professional investment (especially if you are a film editor like me) is your ability to retain information. If you have 40 hours of raw footage to review and then ultimately edit into a 42 minute episode of television, you better have systems in place to make sure you can retain as much of your raw footage as possible and synthesize your creative ideas into a finished product. According to Dr. Joan Vernikos, the former head of the life sciences division at NASA, as well as the author of Sitting Kills, Moving Heals: “When you are either sitting or lying down, your body is experiencing gravity in a very similar fashion as being weightless in space.” When the force of gravity is no longer present on the human body: Your muscles and your bones begin to atrophy Blood circulation is reduced to the brain and your brain is deprived of oxygen Triglycerides increase (fats in the blood) and you become insulin resistant (meaning that your body goes into a pre-diabetic state) Inflammation in the body increases Your metabolism slows to burning as little as 1 calorie per minute As depressing as this sounds, I only bring it up because if you move more throughout the day, the opposite of every single item listed above becomes true. Movement every 20-30 minutes, even as simple as just standing up and sitting right back down, interrupts the negative effects of sitting. So it’s not really so much about the fact that you’re sitting… “What’s important is how much time you are sitting without interruption.” Therefore the more you are able to move throughout the day and protect your brain, the better your ability to make creative decisions, the more money you are ultimately able to earn, and the better you can provide for your family. Time to get a standing desk and a gym membership, right? Not so fast. Learn more about the effects of gravity and living a sedentary lifestyle on your health in my podcast interview with NASA Scientist Dr. Joan Vernikos. III. Why Standing (and even Exercise) Isn’t Enough In my podcast interview with Ben Greenfield, one of the world’s foremost health & fitness experts, we discuss in detail what is happening to your body at the physiological level when you sit for long periods during the day and why sitting can lead to all of the aforementioned health risks. But more importantly we also discuss why there is nothing inherently wrong with sitting. Placing your body in a seated position is not doing any serious damage in and of itself, the serious damage comes when your body is chronically in the same position with little or no movement for 60-90 minutes or more at a time. The negative health consequences of being sedentary for more than 60-90 minutes apply to any position…including standing. (Click here to learn everything that science knows about standing desks) In short, if you are standing all day: You are going to burn more calories. You will most likely increase your HDL cholesterol (aka the ‘good’ cholesterol). You may lose a little weight. You’ll probably be in a better mood. And even cooler, standing has an anti-aging benefit12. And while there isn’t a ton of scientific research to back this up, I will argue that you are more creatively engaged and can maintain focus for longer periods of time. As Walter Murch said in our podcast together, being a film editor (like many other highly creative professions) is a combination of being a surgeon, an orchestra conductor, and a short order cook…all of whom stand while working. Don’t get me wrong, a standing workstation is a great start. But don’t pat yourself on the back thinking you’ve solved all of your health problems just because you’re standing all day. Unfortunately, standing for 12 hours in front of your workstation will only make you marginally healthier in the long run because you are still sedentary. In fact, some have even gone so far as to claim that standing desks are mostly bullshit. What I’ve found from years of personal experience is that if you stand to avoid the chronic pain associated with sitting, you are only shifting the pain to different places in the body, especially if you don’t know how to make the transition correctly. Ask any orthopedist or chiropractor (don’t worry, you don’t have to, I already have), they’ll tell you the standing desk movement hasn’t lessened their number of regular clients, it’s just changed the problems they have. So I guess that means finding more hours in the day to exercise, right? Here’s where it gets really frustrating. Even if you have miraculously found an extra hour before or after work to jog, bike, or even throw in some HIIT training, you still aren’t offsetting the negative effects of being sedentary for the vast majority of your day13. Don’t get me wrong, exercise is fantastic for you and you should be doing it, but you can’t use the excuse that it’s okay to sit for 12 hours because you exercised. According to biomechanist Katy Bowman, author of the fantastic book Move Your DNA, you may actually be increasing your risk for cardiac issues by sitting all day and then jamming in a workout at night. By sitting all day you are restricting blood flow and circulation through your blood vessels, and when you suddenly try to pump enormous amounts of blood through these vessels very quickly, it’s like trying to run water through a kinked hose. You may end up doing more harm than good. To put into perspective how difficult it is to use exercise to counteract the effects of sitting and/or being sedentary, recent research has shown that it requires at least an hour of intense exercise to offset the negative effects of sitting for 6-7 hours per day14. If you are regularly working a 12 hour shift like many creative professionals, you would need to exercise for almost 2 hours per day to reverse your risk of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. Do you have two hours per day to exercise on top of a 12 hour shift with no lunch break? Me neither. PART 2: The Gearhead’s Guide to the Best Equipment Available to Keep You Moving (And Alive) IV. The Essential ‘Must-Haves’ For Both Sitting & Standing Now that you have a clearer understanding of how being sedentary can damage your body, shorten your lifespan, and inhibit your creativity (not to mention your mental health), and now that it’s clear how beneficial moving more can be to your physical health, mental health, and optimizing your creativity, let’s dive deeper into the rabbit hole and take the first and most important steps to transforming your workstation so you can start moving more! As a film & television editor I don’t have a “full-time” job per se, I move from one project to the next every 5-7 months. Therefore I don’t have my own permanent office to call home. Furthermore, I know many people in my industry and similar creative industries who move around far more than I do, often times changing gigs practically on a weekly basis. Whether you have a permanent office, you move around a few times a year, or you change offices constantly, I have taken into account the varied lifestyles and work environments of creative professionals to provide what I consider the essential ‘must-have’ items I recommend every single person invest in if they want to live a more active lifestyle at the office. In short, if I were moving to a new office (even for one day), I would go crazy if I didn’t have these essential items with me. 1. A Height-Adjustable Desk Working at a seated desk is simply a deal-breaker for me. Not even a question. I just won’t do it. Knowing how detrimental it is to my health and creativity to be sedentary (especially if I’m also not getting any sunlight), I adamantly refuse to sit all day long. Therefore I ALWAYS work at a desk that gives me the option to both sit and stand throughout my day. Ten years ago it wasn’t possible to request a height-adjustable workstation, and if you did, people looked at you cross-eyed because they didn’t know it was even possible to stand at a desk. For those companies and rental houses who were aware that standing desks existed, they would instead play the “budget card” and tell you they couldn’t afford to provide one. Today practically every company has access to height-adjustable workstations at an affordable price, so my first suggestion is simply to ask. If you don’t have a permanent workstation and you move around every few months like me, request a height-adjustable workstation from the rental house equipping your office. They all have them. If you’re successful, your budget for the most important component of your healthy workstation is exactly $0. If you work from home, or if you’ve been told it’s not possible to provide you with a height-adjustable workstation, my #1 recommendation for a budget-friendly yet high quality motorized desk is the ‘SmartDesk2’ from Autonomous.ai (starting at $348 including shipping). -- More Affordable Standing Alternatives -- If a height-adjustable desk is not a possibility either because your company won’t provide you one, they won’t allow you to bring your own, you can’t afford one, or if there simply isn’t space, below are five different options for transforming your existing sitting workstation to standing, no matter your budget (or available space). The Varidesk The Varidesk is the most professional-looking, durable, and most permanent solution. But it’s also the most expensive. If you know you’ll never be provided with a height-adjustable workstation at your job, this is the best investment. If you’re looking for shorter term solutions that cost much less, see below. Milk crates Clearly these are not the best permanent solution, but as a short-term option milk crates are durable, modular, and most importantly...cheap. Bed risers If you’d prefer not to modify the top of your existing workstation and instead raise the whole surface higher, these inexpensive bed risers are the perfect solution. Adjustable laptop table (and paper reams) Another good short-term solution is using an adjustable laptop table to raise up your keyboard and then using paper reams (or cardboard boxes) to raise your monitors to eye-level. Not super pretty, but still a solution. If you want to make it look more professional, throw a little black duvetyne over the boxes and you’re client-ready. The $22 Standing Desk Ikea Hack For less than $25 (and a little elbow grease) you can build platforms for your monitors and your keyboard using a few simple tools from Ikea. Here’s the EXACT shopping list with Ikea part numbers and names (that I usually only provide to my Move Yourself program members). The ‘Spark’ from Ergodriven The ‘Spark’ is definitely not a permanent solution (nor is it terribly pretty), but man is it useful in a pinch. It’s simply a cardboard fold-up version of a Varidesk that folds to roughly the size of a laptop case. Below are some very creative options for converting your workstation from sitting to standing (special thanks to all of my friends who submitted these). It doesn’t have to be pretty...it just needs to get you moving. 2. The ‘SitTight’ Office Chair Despite being known as “The Standing Desk Guy,” I make it a point to change positions constantly throughout my workday, and I still sit at least 25% of the time. But when I sit, I still prefer to stay as active as possible which is why I have literally spent over a decade myself searching for ‘The perfect desk chair,’ and until recently I had to settle on a few different options (all of which I still recommend below). Then I discovered the SitTight (use the coupon code ‘OPTIMIZE’ for 10% OFF), and my world changed overnight. The SitTight turns sitting into an activity that can actually improve your health instead of damaging it. Because of its unique design (think of it like a really comfortable bar stool on top of an inverted Bosu Ball), the SitTight activates the postural muscles in your spine that atrophy when you sit all day long. The activation of these muscles over time can drastically decrease the chronic aches and pains you feel in your lower back. Furthermore, constantly balancing all day increases your heart rate, improves core strength, and most importantly increases your brain activity, ultimately boosting your focus. In short, the SitTight makes sitting at your desk a fun activity! Perhaps the greatest feature of all about the SitTight that makes it my #1 chair recommendation is its versatility. 1) You can sit on it similar to a regular chair: 2) You can also sit on it “Saddle style” if this is more comfortable for your lower back and hips: 3) You can also remove the seat from the base if you find the balance too difficult (or you just want a break): 4) And the coolest combination of all is the marriage of the SitTight base with the Topo Mini (more about the Topo below). This takes your standing workstation to a new level: Learn more about the many benefits of the SitTight in my podcast interview with SitTight creator Scott Bahneman. -- More Affordable Sitting Alternatives -- If the SitTight simply isn’t an option either for budgetary or health reasons, below I have provide my other top recommended “active sitting chairs”: The ‘Mogo’ The Mogo is great for leaning or “perching” so you can remove much of the pressure from your lower back. It’s like having a portable bike seat with you. It breaks down small enough to fit in a backpack so it’s great for traveling, and it’s also very affordable. But it isn’t comfortable enough to use for longer periods throughout the day. The ‘Pivot’ The Pivot is a significant upgrade from the Mogo. Like the Mogo it functions similar to having a portable bar stool that allows you to “perch” in front of your workstation and remove the pressure from your lower back, but the cool part about the Pivot is it allows you to spin, balance, and constantly move around. But it also gets uncomfortable after long periods during the day. A Kneeling Chair Until I discovered the SitTight I kept a kneeling chair by my side as a replacement for my desk chair. It’s super affordable, but more importantly it allows you to sit upright for longer periods of time because it’s so difficult to slouch while in a kneeling position. But the main drawback is the extra pressure it puts on your knees, hence why I don’t use it as often as I do my SitTight. Curious why I don’t list an exercise ball as an option? Because sitting on an exercise ball as a desk chair is actually worse for you than a regular desk chair15. Sure, it’s “supposed to” help you engage your core muscles more, but let’s get real. After 10 minutes we just end up slouching over 5 times more than we would with a regular desk chair. Expectation vs. Reality. You know you’re guilty of this too. My recommendation is NOT to introduce an exercise ball as your primary desk chair...but it doesn’t hurt to have one in your office to bounce or stretch on throughout the day. 3. A Topo Mat Hands down, the Topo Mat is the #1 product I recommend to every single person who asks me, “If you could only buy one thing for your office, what would it be?” There’s a reason the Topo Mat is listed as #2 on my list of top ten tools. The Topo Mat is not your boring, flat “antifatigue mat.” Those mats might make you marginally more comfortable by giving you a softer surface to stand on, but anyone who uses one regularly knows you often find yourself stuck in one position not moving...which means you’re still sedentary. In addition to being super cushy and comfortable like most other mats, The Topo Mat is specifically designed to not be flat which encourages more movement throughout the day at your standing workstation...and the best part is you move a lot more without ever having to consciously think about it (or set reminders that you’ll eventually ignore anyway). This increased movement promotes more blood circulation, less pain in the lower body, and ultimately more focus and creativity. If you’re standing at your desk, don’t do it without a Topo Mat. End of story. Learn more about how the Topo encourages movement throughout the day in my podcast interview with the Topo Mat creators. 4. An Apple Box As the companion to my Topo Mat, I never move into a new office without an apple box. If you spend the majority of your day standing instead of sitting, even with a Topo Mat encouraging more movement, you’ll still find that your lower back gets stiff, your calves get tight, and your feet get sore. Rather than spending tons of time & money chasing these symptoms with expensive massages, orthotics, or even making Advil a staple of your diet (all of which I’ve done in the past), the simplest solution is to put an apple box in front of your Topo Mat. Doing so allows you to relieve the pressure on your lower back and one leg at a time by simply shifting your weight and standing in what’s often known as “The Hero Pose.” The apple box can also be a great exercise tool for simple stair-steppers while reviewing material or reading, and it can even serve as a makeshift backless desk chair if you’re in a pinch. BUDGET UPDATE: Assuming you chose the most expensive options available above for both standing and sitting (i.e. the Autonomous height-adjustable workstation + the SitTight), and your original all-in chair budget was $1500, you’d still have roughly $400 available to surround yourself with a multitude of tools to keep your more active after also buying a Topo Mat and an apple box. So far we’ve barely scratched the surface. Let’s see how deep the rabbit hole really goes... V. Tools to Reduce Chronic Discomfort & Pain Now that I’ve covered my essential ‘Must-Haves’ for both standing and sitting throughout the day, I want to share the many tools I’ve discovered throughout the years to help me reduce (or outright eliminate) the many forms of discomfort and pain we all experience when working in front of computers for long hours. 1. The TheraGun Without question, the most powerful tool I’ve ever discovered to eliminate pain in my neck, shoulders, and lower back is the TheraGun. I cannot emphasize enough that this product is simply a GAME. CHANGER. If you’re balking at the price, take a minute to add up the chiropractor, physical therapy, and massage appointments you’ve scheduled throughout the years...then add up the additional cost to your health from living off Ibuprofen or pain killers. The investment in this product is worth it because there’s quite possibly nothing more detrimental to your focus and creativity than chronic pain. I originally discovered this product because I was searching for a way to reduce the pain I was experiencing from a heavy load of American Ninja Warrior training. But trust me when I say the TheraGun is not just for athletes. This is an incredibly simple-to-use tool that can sit right on desk next to your keyboard that virtually eliminates muscle knots in minutes. Foam rollers and la crosse balls (see below) are tools I’ve recommended and used for years to reduce knots and tightness in my neck, shoulders, and lower back throughout the day. But the Theragun eliminates the knots completely. In like 60 seconds. Seriously...I say this with zero hyperbole….the TheraGun is a miracle. Learn more about the TheraGun in my podcast interview with TheraGun inventor Dr. Jason Wersland. 2. A TriggerPoint Foam Roller An additional essential item I can’t live without in my office when it comes to mobility and pain relief is a TriggerPoint foam roller. Even if you invest in a TheraGun, a foam roller is a fantastic tool. But if you choose not to invest in a TheraGun, a foam roller is a must-have. Having a foam roller by my side (it can also easily be stored under a desk or table out of sight) allows me to roll out any area of my body from head-to-toe that might be chronically tight or sore from being sedentary (or if I’m sore from athletic training). A foam roller is great for taking quick stretch breaks, and if I’m spending long periods of time reviewing footage or watching cuts, I’ll spend upwards of an hour on my roller (I do the same watching TV at night to literally “unwind” before bed). Here’s an example from my Move Yourself Activity Video Vault of how to use a foam roller to loosen your “Glute Medius” (the outside of your hip/butt), a common area that gets tight when you sit all day long. Here’s a bonus example for using a foam roller to loosen your shoulders, specifically the area right behind your armpit called the ‘Teres’ muscle. Looking for a more advanced version of a foam roller? For true masochists like me, give the Rumble Roller a try. 3. Lacrosse Balls Once you’ve hit every spot you can with a foam roller, if you’re interested in getting into smaller, harder to reach areas that a blunt object like a foam roller can’t reach, you’ll then need at least one lacrosse ball. Think of a lacrosse ball like a masseuse's elbow. It’s not a terribly pleasant experience, but the relief you get is absolutely astounding (if you know the right places to put the ball). Here’s an example from my Move Yourself Activity Video Vault of how I use a lacrosse ball to the teres muscle to further reduce the discomfort in my lower back.Here’s an example from my Move Yourself Activity Video Vault of how I use a lacrosse ball to further reduce the discomfort in my lower back. And here’s another video for those of you who experience constant discomfort and pain in the forearms (e.g. carpal tunnel syndrome). 4. Tools Specifically For Wrist & Forearm Pain Repetitive stress injuries (RSI) and carpal tunnel are two of the most common types of pain people ask me about. When you spend all day long typing away at a keyboard, holding a pen, and/or clicking a mouse, you are putting a tremendous amount of strain on very specific muscles in your fingers, hands, wrists, and forearms. Think of it this way: Just imagine bending a clothes hanger back and forth over and over and over until it finally breaks....that’s repetitive stress. At one point in my career I had wrist pain so bad in my right hand (my mouse hand) that I couldn’t do a single push-up from the pain, and I was told my only option was surgery. I instead chose to do a little research and discovered a grip strength regimen had an equally high likelihood of long term success...but without surgery. While you are drastically overusing certain muscles and tendons day after day, you are also allowing equally important muscles to atrophy because you never use them at all. Often times the solution to eliminating pain the wrists and forearms is simply strengthening all of the muscles you are underusing. Here are the tools I keep right next to my keyboard and use every day to improve grip strength and lessen wrist & forearm pain: Captains of Crush Grip Strengtheners Captains of Crush Extensor Bands Finger extensor bands Gripmaster (for individual fingers) Variable Resistance Grip Strengthener Wrist & Forearm Blaster Needless to say at this point I’ve developed ninja-warrior-level grip strength, largely because I make it a habit to use these tools throughout my workday. Another item I travel with to every job that I can’t go a single day without is my Anker vertical mouse. Yes there are tons of different mouse options, Wacom and graphic tablets, trackballs, and entire gaming consoles that replace a mouse...but I’m a simpleton. I just want a device I can effortlessly hold in my hands so I can move my cursor around the screen...without causing shooting pain or numbness in my wrists and forearms. Once I made the simple transition from a regular mouse to a vertical mouse, virtually all of my discomfort and pain disappeared. To learn more about WHY working at a keyboard causes chronic pain and repetitive stress injuries, listen to my podcast interview with Dr. Sadie Sanders. 5. Tools For Lower Body, Leg, Ankle, & Foot Pain If you choose to stand for long periods throughout your workday (especially if you choose NOT to invest in a Topo Mat), you are going to experience lower body pain, specifically in your calves, shins, and feet. Here are a few of my favorite portable tools I keep handy for when I experience lower body & foot pain (especially plantar fasciitis which I battled for a couple years before discovering these options). Half foam roller Plantar Splints Frozen Foot Roller BUDGET UPDATE: With the exception of the TheraGun, every single tool I mention above costs $50 or less (most options are significantly less than $50 each). So if you spend $1100 on a height-adjustable workstation, a SitTight office chair, and a Topo Mat..then you choose 4 items from the list above...you’ll still have at least $200 remaining in your original $1500 “healthy chair budget.” Let’s see what other options there are to spend your remaining budget wisely. VI. Tools to Increase Strength (and Burn Calories!!!) Now that I’ve covered my essential ‘must-have’ tools for both sitting & standing as well as all the tools I use to eliminate chronic discomfort and pain, it’s time to start getting stronger right at your desk...and even start burning some calories! Yes...it’s possible to actually get stronger every single day and get in better shape, even if you spend your entire day stuck in front of a computer. Here’s how. 1. Doorway Pull-Up Bar A staple of my home office is a doorway pull-up bar with several variations of “Ninja holds” so I can continue to strengthen my grip (which as you read above helps reduce and eliminate RSI injuries and carpal tunnel). And if I’m lucky enough to work in an office space with normal doorway arches, I bring my pull-up bar to work as well. Even if you have no interest in hanging from ridiculous obstacles, a doorway pull-up bar is an inexpensive and easy-to-install piece of equipment that anyone can use throughout the day. Don’t get overwhelmed thinking you have to do maximum reps every single day, and don’t freak out if you can’t even do a single bodyweight pull-up. Simply put a chair under the bar and make it a rule that in order to walk through your office door you have to do one pull-up (with or without the chair). That’s it: One pull-up. Those tiny actions add up throughout the day. And I guarantee you’ll experience a lot less brain fog in the afternoons if you’re periodically doing bodyweight pull-ups. 2. Kettlebells Kettlebells are an absolutely staple in my office (I prefer the Onnit brand but you can get them at pretty much any store that carries exercise equipment). Occasionally lifting heavy things helps build strength, increase circulation, and most importantly keep away the dreaded afternoon brain fog. My go-to moves are kettlebell swings, goblet squats, deadlifts, shoulder presses, and I’m working right now on perfecting my Turkish getup. The best thing about kettlebells is they are easy to move from office to office (if you have light ones), and they’re super small so you can hide them under tables or under your desk. 3. Jump Rope A jump rope is a fantastic tool to keep at work in a drawer or under your desk to very quickly elevate your heart rate and respiration. That quick jolt of oxygen to the brain can quickly get the creative juices flowing again, and according to multiple experts can help reduce anxiety, depression, brain fog, and over time even make you smarter. And if you don’t have enough space for jumping with a real jump rope (or you don’t want the noise to disturb others), try a cordless jump rope instead. 4. Resistance Bands If giant heavy chunks of iron (i.e. kettlebells) aren’t your thing, there are several different varieties of resistance bands you can roll up in a desk drawer that can still give you a very efficient workout. This resistance band kit is one I’ve travelled with for years that allows me to do many types of exercises that I could do with a full set of dumbbells but without all the extra equipment. And the variety of colors give you a wide spectrum of resistance levels. If you’d prefer a smaller option for more therapeutic purposes instead of simulating dumbells, I also have a set of Therabands within arm’s reach. 5. Push-Up Stands If you’d like the option to practice handstands against the wall or take your push-up game to another level (or if regular push-ups are hard on your wrists), these Power Stands are the perfect piece of office equipment to stash under your desk. 6. Trampoline If you’re looking for a super quick way to elevate your heart rate, quickly shake up and clean out your lymphatic system, and give your creativity a boost, I highly recommend putting a trampoline somewhere in your workspace. Perhaps the best side effect of having a trampoline in your office is all the conversations it starts! Just beware of finding random people coming into your office and using it as soon as you step out (trust me...this happens to me all the time). BUDGET UPDATE: At this point if you’ve invested in a motorized desk from Autonomous, a SitTight, a Topo Mat/apple box combo, 4 items from section 2 (averaging at around $50 each), and then invested in another few items from section 3 at an additional $200 total, you’ve most likely hit your original “healthy chair” budget of $1500. But now you have at least ten different items for the price of one that promote more movement throughout your workday. Below I have provided bonus options for taking daily activity to the next level, but with the caveat these are an additional investment that exceeds your original $1500 budget of buying “the perfect chair.” 7. Under Desk Treadmill For several years while working on the shows Black Box and Empire I worked with a treadmill desk all day long, my favorite brand being the Lifespan Under Desk Treadmill. While it seems difficult to type and walk at the same time, I got the hang of it in mere minutes, and everyone that gave it a try was able to pick it up in less than five minutes as well. Having an under desk treadmill is a great way to burn calories continuously throughout the day and keep your metabolism elevated, as well as your heart rate. If you have trouble “getting in your steps” every day but really want to earn that 10k badge in the Fitbit app, a treadmill desk is your next best option. Note: The reason I no longer have a treadmill desk is not because they don’t work, it’s because I wanted to continue experimenting with multiple pieces of sitting & standing equipment...and it’s simply too difficult to move a treadmill back and forth all day long when you have five other pieces of equipment around you. 8. Under Desk Bicycle If you’re not a treadmill person, there is also the Lifespan Under Desk Bicycle which like the treadmill offers the option to move continuously throughout the day and burn far more calories than you would if sedentary. I’m not a big bicycle person so I haven’t tried one of these myself, but for those who enjoy bicycles I know this is a great option. 9. Under Desk Elliptical Trainer A third and equally good option for burning calories consistently at your desk is the In-Motion Elliptical Trainer. What I love about this option (besides the insanely reasonable price) is that it’s super small but packs a big punch. You can literally hide this right under your desk and nobody would ever notice. I often use the elliptical while either reading scripts, watching raw footage, or while writing. PART 3: It’s Not Just About the Tools...It’s About Using Them Consistently VII. How to Modify Your Daily Habits to Make Activity Effortless If you’ve stuck with me so far, you’ve exhausted (and perhaps even exceeded) your original “healthy chair” budget of $1500. But which would you rather have...ONE fancy office chair that reduces fatigue and discomfort...or TEN different pieces of equipment that keep you more active, make you stronger, more focused, creative, and all but eliminate your fatigue and discomfort? That’s what I thought. Now that you’ve surrounded yourself with the proper tools and educated yourself a bit about the benefits of moving more, it’s time to modify your behaviors throughout your workday to avoid being sedentary as much as possible...without requiring any additional time in your day. Here’s the great news about this section: Modifying your habits and behaviors is 100% FREE On a normal day I spend a minimum of 12 hours in front of a computer, on a busy day upwards of 16. Maybe it was 4 years of living & breathing Michael Westen while editing Burn Notice that inspired me to figure out a way to hack my surroundings and behaviors like a super spy, or perhaps it’s just sheer survival instincts given that I’m raising two small kids and trying to make a living in Los Angeles in one of the most competitive industries on the planet. No matter the initial inspiration, without much effort I’m now able to get between 10,000 and 15,000 steps on a normal workday. This is an example of a fairly normal day of activity for me while working (I generally average about 10k steps...so this was a good day). If you’re interested in building healthy habits to pair with all the new office equipment you’ve invested in to be more active, here are seven different options for modifying habits you’re already doing every day so you can be more active (without even thinking about it). 1. Introduce NEAT Movement Into Your Day NEAT is a term coined by James Levine, an exercise physiologist at the Mayo Clinic, and it stands for Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis. Defined in the simplest terms, NEAT movements are the small, brief, and frequent muscle movements one makes throughout the day. These frequent movements to incorporate into your daily routine can be as simple as: Standing up Sitting back down Bending over to pick something up Crossing your legs Shifting positions often Stretching periodically Think of yourself as the tortoise, not the hare. Sprinting quickly (i.e. exercising vigorously) and then sitting all day long isn’t as beneficial for you as slowly moving constantly throughout the day. In my podcast interview with Ergonomist Josh Kerst, he mentions the “10 and 2” rule, meaning every 10 minutes or so initiate a change in posture for 2 minutes, ideally standing as well (if you’re not already). In addition to having physical benefits, integrating more NEAT activity into your day will have a positive effect on your attention, focus, cognitive function, and creativity as well. Added time to your day: Approximately 0 minutes. 2. Organize Your Work Environment to Be LESS Efficient Given that I live and breath productivity, it may seem counterintuitive that I’m recommending you rearrange your office environment so it becomes less efficient, but there is nothing less efficient than being sedentary all day long. Movement is the secret to consistent levels of focus and productivity throughout the day. Forget feng shui…while you may be thinking you are saving time by having all of your essential tools within arm’s reach (e.g. your printer, stapler, file folders, trash can, etc), the lack of activity you get throughout the day by never moving actually makes you infinitely less productive. Simply assess your office layout and start rearranging frequently used items so they are out of reach. For example, my trash can is never under my desk within arm’s reach, it’s always in the exact opposite corner of the room. That way I’m forced to take 15-20 steps to throw something away (unless I want to shoot some “office hoops”). Now apply the same principle to frequently used items such as printers, pens, pencils, staplers, or bookshelves with binders. Make everything as inefficient as possible so you are forced to change positions to grab items throughout your day. This will introduce a significant amount of NEAT movement into your routine (for more on NEAT movement, scroll above to option #1). This one step alone could yield standing up 30-40 more times per day without you ever having to think about it. Added time to your day: Approximately 1-5 minutes. 3. Make Water Your Secret Weapon (And Turn Bathroom Breaks Into “Smoke Breaks”) The idea here is to use water as your ultimate weapon against being sedentary. There are two components to this strategy: Drink water like it’s going out of style Place your water just out of arm’s reach so you are forced to stand when you drink (an additional form of NEAT movement) By placing your water out of arm’s reach you are forced to stand every time you take a drink, and secondly if you drink like a fish you’ll have to pee like a racehorse. On that note...it’s been acceptable for decades to step outside several times a day and voluntarily commit suicide in the company’s back alley, now it’s time to take the same liberty with your bathroom breaks. But now instead of shortening your lifespan, you’ll be extending it! Since you’re now drinking copious amounts of water you’ll be taking bathroom breaks every couple of hours (probably more). Instead of running to the bathroom and returning as quickly as possible, use this time to focus on activity. Take the furthest path possible to reach the bathroom Find your secret place to do quick activity breaks When I was editing Empire I worked on the 4rd floor, but I would often walk down the steps to the main lobby to use the bathroom. I would then walk back up the steps, but before returning to work I would do 2-5 minutes of high intensity exercises in the stairwell. Those 2-5 minutes often bought me an additional 2-3 hours of high energy, focused creative work. Added time to your day: Approximately 1-5 minutes. 4. Park As Far Away As Possible (And then Ditch the Elevator and Take the Stairs Instead) Here is a parking lot outside one of the studios I’ve worked at in the past. Here’s where I could have parked: Here’s where I chose to park instead: Depending on how far away your parking space is from the office, you can add upwards of 1000+ steps just by making the conscious choice to park further away. And as an added bonus, your mornings will be LESS stressful because you no longer have to fight for the best space. The ‘best space’ for you will now be in the back corner on the roof of the parking structure...and there’s no need to fight for that one! Once you’ve chosen your optimal stop as far away as possible, choose to take the stairs to your office instead of the elevator. (If) Your legs work...Use them. Added time to your day: Approximately 5-10 minutes. 5. Make It a Rule to Walk If You’re On the Phone If I could choose only one strategy from this section that yields the most bang for your buck it would be this one. By simply making the conscious choice to take walks whenever you are on the phone, you could add upwards of 5-10k steps per day! For example, if I’m on a notes call or a conference call, I will choose a safe walking path where I don’t have to focus on traffic or my safety...all I have to do is walk around the block over and over and over. This helps me stay focused on the call, it gives me more energy which translates as being more passionate and attentive on the phone, and without thinking about it, at the end a 60 minute call I’ll be 7500 steps richer. If you get an impromptu phone call you weren’t expecting that will only last a few minutes, walk in circles in your office. Added time to your day: Approximately 0 minutes. (you’d be on the phone anyway) 6. Talk to Colleagues In Person (Ditch IM, Texts, and Office Phones) I have simply made it a rule that I don’t use the phone for communicating at the office. If I can walk to someone’s office, I don’t use the phone. Ever. I set the tone on my first day of a new job and let my colleagues know if they want to communicate with me they can send an e-mail, an instant message, or knock on my door. To be clear, I don’t tell everyone I’m working with they MUST communicate with me in person, but my general rule is that if I want to communicate with someone else, I make the effort to seek them out in person. When it comes to super simple requests that can be answered in a single sentence, I’m not going to interrupt my colleague’s or assistant’s creative flow by knocking on their door, I will just send a quick Slack message. But in general if the answer I’m requesting requires more than a simple answer, and moreover if communicating for 3 minutes in person avoids an email or IM chain with 20 different responses, I always make it a point to reach out in person. Trust me. If you want to build deeper meaningful relationships with your colleagues, try connecting like a real human being. The side effect is getting more steps into your day! Added time to your day: Approximately 1-5 minutes. 7. Take A Minimum of One Walking Break Per Day I have made it a regular habit to take a 15-30 minute walk shortly after I wake up in the morning to get some sun and wake myself up. This helps reset your circadian rhythm (which pays off by helping you wind down at the end of the day and sleep better). Then in the afternoons when I feel my energy slumping and my creative juices hitting a wall, I’ll also habitually take a walk around 4pm every afternoon (when I’m not in the room with a client). As mentioned in Section 1, movement activates the thinking brain, and there’s no better way to clear your head and solve creative problems than taking a walk. In fact according to research done at Stanford, simply walking versus sitting can boost creativity by upwards of 60%16. The next time you feel guilty (or downright afraid) of taking a walking break, keep in mind that you’re still working. Which do you think is more efficient, trying to solve a problem by endlessly staring at a screen while sitting on your ass, or forcing yourself into a different environment and moving around so your brain can breath? Think of it this way...where have you had more brilliant epiphanies in your life...in front of a computer, or in the shower? Yup. That’s what I thought. Added time to your day: Approximately 15-30 minutes. To Sit Or Not To Sit...That Is the Question Phew! That’s A LOT of information. Bet you didn’t know you had so many options available to you for being more active in an otherwise sedentary work environment, did you? That’s okay, I had no idea any of this stuff existed until I started obsessively researching and experimenting with everything I could get my hands on. Today, without even thinking about it, I average 10k+ steps per day (not including exercise or ninja training), I’m constantly taking breaks but still meeting my deadlines, I’m able to maintain my focus for longer periods (which gets me home to my kids sooner), and I just feel better. If you’re interested in taking “the red pill” and seeing just how deep this rabbit hole really goes, I invite you to join my ‘Move Yourself’ program to bring together all of the knowledge and expertise I’ve shared with you in this ultimate guide (plus a ton more) into a simple and repeatable daily system that will lead to: More consistent energy throughout your (long) day A heightened ability to enter a state of “creative flow” Increasing your metabolism Burning more calories Having less brain fog More bursts of creativity Arriving home at night to your family with energy to spare I look forward to seeing you inside! Appendix: Expert Interviews & Additional Articles Note that much of what you’ve read above is already contained in many of my past articles and podcasts, but if you’d like to go deeper on any specific topic, below is an appendix of every resource available on this site to get you moving. Podcast Interviews: Ep52: Taking Recovery to a Whole New Level with the TheraGun | with Dr. Jason Wersland Ep51: Don’t Just Sit…SitTight | with Scott Bahneman Ep30: How Regular Movement Makes You Smarter | with Dr. John Ratey Ep23: How Being Sedentary Is Damaging You (According to NASA) | with Dr. Joan Vernikos Ep02: Deskbound – Standing Up To a Sitting World | with Dr. Kelly Starrett BONUS: Take Your Standing Workstation to the Next Level with the ‘Topo Mat’ [Podcast] Ep109: The Magic of Postural Modification (And How It Can Cure Your Back Pain Better Than a Doctor) (Fitness In Post Archives): [Podcast] Ep106: The Cure For Lower Back Pain, Tension Headaches, and So Much More [Podcast] Ep96: How Sitting Almost Defeated This 4th Degree Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Master [Podcast] Ep70: Ergonomics 2.0, The ‘Dynamic’ Workstation Revolution [Podcast] Ep64: How to Diagnose, Reduce, and Eliminate Chronic Pains [Podcast] Ep63: The Solution to Your Sedentary Lifestyle [Podcast] Ep27: The Sitting Solution Articles: The Beginner’s Guide to Alleviating Chronic Pain In 5 Min a Day…Right at Your Desk [VIDEOS] The Magic of Postural Modification (And How It Can Cure Your Back Pain Better Than a Doctor) The Freelancer’s Guide to Building a “Dynamic Workstation On the Go” Tired of Sitting and Want to Ignite Your Energy & Creativity? Start Moving More. Ready to Blow Your Paycheck On ‘The Perfect Chair?’ Read This First. Sitting Is Killing You, But Standing Isn’t the Answer (And Neither is Exercise) Transform Your Edit Suite Into a Gym SOURCES: 1 New Survey: To Sit or Stand? Almost 70% of Full Time American Workers Hate Sitting, but They do it all Day Every Day 2 Our Modern Sedentary Lifestyle - JustStand.Org 3, 4 Sitting Too Much May Lead to Diabetes, Heart Disease - WebMD 5 Sitting Too Much Increases Cancer Risk in Women - Cancer.org 6,7 Prolonged Sitting Linked to Kidney Disease - WebMD 8 New study finds that sitting for protracted periods increases the risk of diabetes, heart disease and death - University of Leicester 9 Deskbound: Standing Up to a Sitting World - Amazon.com 10 The Magic of 10,000 Steps - Fitbit.com 11 Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain - Amazon.com 12 Everything Science Knows Right Now About Standing Desks - FastCompany.com 13 Even for the active, a long sit shortens life and erodes health - LATimes.com 14 Does Sitting Really "Cancel" the Benefits of Exercise? - RunnersWorld.com 15 Is Sitting On An Exercise Ball At Work A Bad Idea? - BuiltLean.com 16 Stanford study finds walking improves creativity - Standford.edu

The Jenn’s hosted a 2017 Year In Review Facebook Live in the Making Life Work Group. Listen in as they discuss how they said goodbye to 2017 and the processes they used to set goals for 2018. This is a Facebook Live so there is interaction with the audience which is different from our usual podcasts. Resources for this episode: Work Wonders Coaching + Consulting www.workwonderscoaching.com 5 Questions to Ask Before you Launch a Job Search  Jenn O’Neil’s World www.jennoneilsworld.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/jennoneilsworld www.instagram.com/workwonderscareers Power Sheets   (you can still get the 6 months package) www.cultivatewhatmatters.com   Gretchen Rubin The Happiness Project, Better Than Before www.gretchenrubin.com   Shad Helmstetter, What To Say When You Talk to Yourself http://shadhelmstetter.com/ Brad Yates EFT https://www.youtube.com/user/eftwizard Marie Kondo - The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up http://tidyingup.com/   Chani Nicholas http://www.chaninicholas.com/

Federal Government Disproves the Myth of Cyber Talent Shortage If the government can find and hire them - they exist What does that mean for the rest of us hiring? https://cio.gov/how-to-snag-talent-to-fill-critical-cybersecurity-positions-at-your-agency/ 5 Mistakes to Avoid to Hire Qualified Application Security Talent Not understanding current needs Ignoring existing resources Not sharing the workload Not defining the role Overly broad job requirements General Idea: We say we need security talent, but we don’t step back to really understand what we actually need given our current status and resources https://www.jardinesoftware.com/5-mistakes-to-avoid-to-hire-qualified-application-security-talent/ Obama Cyber Security Commission to [Finally] Present Its Report Seems like lots of fluff. But is there any actual substance here? Protect, defend, and secure today’s information infrastructure and digital networks Innovate and accelerate investment for the security and growth of digital networks and the digital economy Prepare consumers to thrive in a digital age Build cybersecurity workforce capabilities  Better equip government to function effectively and securely in the digital age  Ensure an open, fair, competitive, and secure global digital economy http://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/308332-presidential-commission-on-cybersecurity-to-present-final-report-friday The First Question Security Leaders Need to Ask Before the Breach Happens Article by Michael, gets to the heart of the matter Turns out, figuring out what matters is hard work http://www.csoonline.com/article/3146560/leadership-management/the-first-question-security-leaders-need-to-ask-before-a-breach-happens.html Amazon Unveils Anti-DDoS Service for Customers The company is offering two levels of protection AWS Shield Standard monitors incoming web traffic for customers and uses anomaly algorithms and other analysis techniques to detect malicious traffic in real-time The company also announced AWS Shield Advanced, a version designed to protect against more aggressive and sophisticated attacks This is big news - because DDoS has become an effective tool of cyber extortionists http://www.wsj.com/articles/amazon-cloud-computing-division-unveils-new-cyber-security-service-1480620359