I had the opportunity to share a couple fantastic meals with some friends this weekend in NYC. Classic American Steak dinner. Nothing like breaking bread, potatoes, a gigantic porterhouse, a bacon steak (only in America) and swilling some vino with friends. The second was a casual Peruvian spot (serving what they call Peruvian Street food). The ambiance (busy, musical, energizing, very polite and helpful staff), along with amazing mouth watering cuisine is what makes you happy you tried a new restaurant. There was something about the way the whole operation was put together, starting with very helpful and accommodating staff in a very busy hip spot, that started the night off on the right foot. In addition, the open kitchen, with bar (or as they referred to counter seating), High Tops for eight people (sharing with friends of strangers) and large party booths for ten, created a very open, entertaining and fun vibe. Of course, the noise level was high, but what would you expect from a Latin restaurant. Embrace the noise and music and revel in it.

http://gosouthamerica.about.com/od/cuisine/a/PeruBolivia.htm

So I feel like a continental lobby group today. I have enjoyed some fine South American culture in the last week and its on my list to visit this year. So if you have recommendations, please send over or post. A few staples of the Peruvian palate below in closing.

# Ceviche: cold raw seafood marinated in lemon juice, peppers and onions, served with cold potatoes
# Lomo saltado: fried chopped steak with onions, tomatoes, potatoes and rice
# Palta a la jardinera: avocado stuffed with cold vegetables or salad
# Sopa a la criolla: roasted suckling pig
# Escabeche: fish with onions, peppers, prawns, eggs and olives
# Chupe de camarones: shrimp stew
# Papa a la huancaina: potatoes with a spicy sauce and cheese
# Causa: potatoes with lemons, peppers, hard-boiled eggs, olives, sweet potato, lettuce, cheese. served with onion sauce
# Cuy: guinea pig
# Anticucho de corazón: shish kebabs with beef hearts
# Locro: soup with potatoes, corn and avocado
# Rocoto relleno: green peppers stuffed with beef and vegetables
# Choclo con queso: corn on the cob with melted cheese
# Tamales: ground corn stuffed with meat or cheese then steamed in a leaf

As often happens, when you think you know best or know all (which I never claim to do), you are shown a life lesson, in a couple different ways. As mentioned before, its been an up and down year, and over all life seems to be trending in the proper direction. Single life is good. Nothing to hold me down. Very little resistance to do what I want, spontaneously. I’ll be be writing from the Winter Olympics in Whistler in a couple weeks. A semi last minute decision to take advantage of an amazing opportunity to spend time in one of my favorite places in the world, where I have friends at a special time in our countries history.

But on to the point of this post. I have also had time on my recent work road swing through NYC and Boston to spend time with good friends. Friends with family, or perhaps on their way to family. Watching and participating with others in the depth of family, long term commitment and the challenges and compromise of everyday life is inspiring, if not a little bit scary…and gives a glimpse into why we do what we do.

Relationships are work, kids are cool, kids seem like to this author a lot of work! I have many friends entering parenthood for the first time, and some heading into the second, and some that have been there for a little while. Examples of sacrifice are abound, yet not since really they would rather be no where else. It looks like work, looks like fun, looks like the essence of what life is made of.

So to end this post with part of the inspiration where it began, and representing the quote from Erma Bombeck, watch the new sitcom “Modern Family.” In three back to back DVR episodes, one of my favorite new shows. From a new page on Al Bundy’s career (Ed O’Neil formerly of Married with Children), as the patriarch of this family, down to the entertaining Latino fire, out of closet couple and confused/normal kids, this is a show the represents the best of us…and shows the rest of us that there is no normal.

To all a good weekend.

Talking the IPad, Kids, Making Money and Video
Jan 28th 2010 7:34PM
by Mark Cuban

I cant wait to get my hands on the IPad. Its going to be a HUGE hit.

You can book it right now that it will be the product that kids of this generation grow up with and look back on with affection just like we did with the first video games. Video games changed how we grew up. The IPad will change how kids grow up.

Apple was brilliant in how they cultivated apps for the IPhone and Touch. With so many apps for kids, any parent with young kids and either of these 2 devices will tell you that their kids use and love them. In fact, it was this very reason that I helped create Puzzle Palace for the IPhone. It allows my kids to take the pictures they take and turn them into puzzles. My 3 year old loves it.

The IPad will take this to the next level. I recognize that its very expensive for most families right now. Hopefully that will change over time. If it does, you can bet every home with kids will have an IPad. And the first person to create the “kidproof” covering will make money as well (Hint to entrepreneurs) On the flipside, the minute these devices hit critical mass in families, the DVD market for kids, who watch the same movie over and over will end as we know it. Download Scooby Do one time and the need to hassle with all those DVDs for the kids at home or on trips becomes a distant memory. A relic of an older generation.

Thats big.

Whats also big is the exclusion of flash. The reason is obvious. No flash. Far less streaming over 3G. Less streaming over 3G means less bandwidth consumed. Less bandwidth consumed means ATT can offer a GREAT price on the 3G data service. I personally have never had problems with the ATT Network. The limits on 3G streaming probably means I wont going forward either. Thats a good thing.

Its big that there is no USB port. As a content producer thats not a good thing. It means that Apple wants to force us through ITunes to sell content. It will be the path of least resistance for consumers to add content to the IPad and a HUGE source of revenue for Apple. Im sure there will be work around alternatives, but they wont be able to match the simplicity of the ITunes Store.

Outside the Apple Universe, the company that should be licking its chops is Dish Network. Their SlingBox product just became a grand slam. I absolutely LOVE the sling box app I run on my IPod Touch to watch NBA League Pass games, HDNet in a hotel room and other shows that I record on my DVR. I cant wait to put it on the IPad and its big screen.

And finally, if i was just out of school and fluent in all things Wi Fi , networking and wireless, I would immediately go door to door offering to fine tune your home’s wireless network. With new HDTVs coming out with Wi FI, the IPad, SlingBox, Netflix Streaming and other applications consuming tons of bandwidth in the home, it is an ABSOLUTE certainty that 99pct of home networks can be improved and perform significantly better. Be that kid in your neighborhood that comes in and fine tunes everyone’s wi fi in their home for 50 or 100 bucks (or more if you live in a fancy part of town) and you will make some good money.

So in spirit of some self reflection, I was reading some David Deida last night “Blue Truth” and author of “Way of the Superior Man.” I recommend his books to guys or girls. Great stuff. I will not do his words justice, but will give my interpretation.

People move from being closed minded to self improvement, but still really not accomplishing what they want. Like diets you will start and later misfire, this happens in many aspects. We really do not have much control or our lives, we are born to certain DNA, but we can open our minds to everything and that will change all. Openness is the next stage beyond self improvement.

When you find fear, anger, negativity….stew in it, don’t try and push it away. What you push away persists. (I know this too be true on fear already, 2009 learning for CN). “Take on and revel in negativity, breathing deeply, really feeling this emotion, how it resides in your body, full experience it, and will master you no more.”

So from Deida’s view his thought for you whether you are very high or very low, from this past year or at this particular time, is stew in whatever emotion presents itself. Stew in negativity if it’s there, remember the feeling, do not fear it, so that you learn from this experience to take a different path in the future. In addition, abundance presents itself all around you, from other people doing amazing things. Stew in this positive abundance, realizing it is there for your future, the economy is turning around and your time will come. You do not measure yourself through others, the race is only against yourself. If you are experiencing excitement and success, revel in your joy, as things can change quickly. Share your success with other people in an authentic way.

For me I would love to meet:

Robin Sharma – author and professional coach
David Brashears – Mountain climber and cinematographer
Bon Jovi – you had to know that one would be in there

Hit the site to comment with yours or reply back by email.

Have a great week!

Compiled by Michael Dalton Johnson
Taking Care of You
Drink plenty of water.
Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper.
Eat more fruits and vegetables and eat less that is manufactured in processing plants.
Avoid eating food that is handed to you through a window.
Live the 3 E’s — Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy.
Play more games.
Read more books than you did in 2009.
Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
Sleep for 7 hours.
Take a 10-30 minute walk daily. And while you walk, smile.

Your Outlook
Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
Don’t have negative thoughts of things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
Don’t overdo. Keep your limits.
Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip.
Dream more while you are awake.
Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
Forget issues of the past. Don’t remind others of their past mistakes.
Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present.
No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
Learn a new word every day.
Smile and laugh more.
You don’t have to win every argument.

Your Relationships
Call your family often.
Each day give something good to others.
Forgive everyone for everything.
Spend time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6.
Try to make at least three people smile each day.
What other people think of you is none of your business.
Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

Your Life
The worst promise you can break is one made to yourself.
Do the right thing!
Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
You don’t have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body.
However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
The best is yet to come.
When you awake alive in the morning, thank God for it.
Your Innermost Self is always happy. Follow it.
No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

Notes:
Keep these rules handy and review them often. Follow them and small, almost imperceptible, changes will accumulate into something big. Your life will change.

CAREEREALISM-Approved Expert, Debra Wheatman

How much value does sending your résumé to a hiring manager on the bottom of a shoebox, or in a lipstick tube add? Creativity might be the way to land that desired interview. Especially in today’s tight economic market with jobs becoming scarce, applicants are using creative measures to get in front of hiring managers. I found an article on CNN some time ago about extreme approaches to landing the interview. Some of them, while clever, can be construed as unprofessional.

While the practice of sending your résumé in a cardboard cake is not as uncommon within highly creative environments, it is definitely more unconventional when applying for a position within a professional services firm or within the IT industry, for example. Initially this approach might yield some results; but this is only the first step. Once in the interview, you still have to demonstrate you can add value, understand the needs of the company, and the position. Getting noticed is only the first step in what can be a long process – especially now.

While some of these ‘gimmicks’ might land the initial interview, the real work begins when you have to present your qualifications in a personal meeting – or more likely, many personal meetings. I recommend using a network of contacts and professional memberships along with using LinkedIn, Facebook, and even Twitter to promote you; this will increase your network base. Follow-up with a handwritten thank-you note after a meeting. This demonstrates interest and sincerity. It is easy to quickly send off an e-mail thank-you note. A card shows that you are willing to go the extra mile.

Ultimately, it is nearly impossible to find a place for the shoebox résumé! Where can you store such a thing?! Certainly, you cannot put that in a personnel file! Keep it professional. Highlight your accomplishments and remain focused on your search to yield the results you desire.

To read this and other great articles from Careeralism.com, click below:

http://www.careerealism.com/creativity-lands-the-interview/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Careerealism+%28CAREEREALISM.com%29

“We lose ourselves when we compromise, the very ideals that we fight to defend. And we honor those ideals by upholding them not just when it is easy, but when it is hard.”

msnbc.com
updated 9:15 a.m. ET, Thurs., Dec . 10, 2009

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34360743/ns/politics-white_house/

OSLO, Norway – Your Majesties, Your Royal Highnesses, Distinguished Members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, citizens of America, and citizens of the world:

I receive this honor with deep gratitude and great humility. It is an award that speaks to our highest aspirations – that for all the cruelty and hardship of our world, we are not mere prisoners of fate. Our actions matter, and can bend history in the direction of justice.

And yet I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the considerable controversy that your generous decision has generated. In part, this is because I am at the beginning, and not the end, of my labors on the world stage. Compared to some of the giants of history who have received this prize – Schweitzer and King; Marshall and Mandela – my accomplishments are slight. And then there are the men and women around the world who have been jailed and beaten in the pursuit of justice; those who toil in humanitarian organizations to relieve suffering; the unrecognized millions whose quiet acts of courage and compassion inspire even the most hardened of cynics. I cannot argue with those who find these men and women – some known, some obscure to all but those they help – to be far more deserving of this honor than I.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34360743/ns/politics-white_house/

By Liza Mundy
Thursday, January 21, 2010

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/20/AR2010012004844.html?wpisrc=nl_tech

This is the end of the article, but I thought especially revealing in the advancement of electronics in the last 10 years. See the link below to read the entire article on some challenges parents are having these days with policing Internet/FB/Gaming time and setting a good example.

…Then there is the tricky question of what kind of an example parents themselves set. Lots of parents have jobs that involve a great deal of screen time, not to mention BlackBerrys and other smart phones. “I’m cognizant that I’m probably setting a bad example for the kids in some regard,” says Jeff Steele, who with his wife, Maria Sokurashvili, administers the parenting Web site D.C. Urban Moms and Dads. Steele sets timers on his two boys’ computer sessions, deliberately did not buy a game console and limits the amount of time the boys can watch television or TiVo.

Even so, he can’t deny that his kids are constantly seeing him on the computer; after all, that’s not only his avocation — it’s the family vocation. “My wife gets on me sometimes about that, but sometimes she’s just as bad,” he says. And the proliferation of devices makes it hard to control. Both parents have laptops for work, and recently they got the kids a Macintosh Mini. Then Steele upgraded his laptop, and his older son wanted to know if he could have the old, beat-up one.

One day he and his wife were sitting around, and she nudged him. Steele looked up to see that “I was sitting with my laptop, and my wife was sitting with hers, and my older son was sitting with his laptop, and my younger son was on the Mac Mini.”

“All four of us were sitting there, using computers.”

In honor of Dr. King’s recent birthday, some thoughts related to a year not many are sorry to see go and a new start. This past year has been particularly tough for many, losing jobs, losing confidence, losing health and losing time. The tole will be different for every one; some will take a long time to recover. Few have found greatness, and those that were great, may not be advancing or celebrating as much as usual.

However, some have dug deep during the downturn, after being turned out on the unemployment line. Booms and busts are interesting things. The Oil boom in Alberta earlier this decade brought big profits for some, short term highs and educational lows, and unpredictable side effects for others. The financial crisis of late has brought financial ruin, unemployment, loss of identity, yet when all the outer is stripped away, sometimes you find the truth, the bare ugly truth…or simplistic purpose.

I can’t tell you how many people who have been out of work short, long, part time or sabbatical that I know have shed a skin, that did not bring joy, fulfillment or passion. An accidental rebirth. A pause to start over, a second chance to do things they always wanted to do, were afraid to do or were pushed to attempt.

Only when it is dark enough, can you then see the stars.