December 2021 - Page 3 of 13

The Best Exercise To Lower Your Blood Pressure

The exercise that can reduce your blood pressure by 10 percent.

The most effective type of exercise for lowering blood pressure is a combination of endurance exercise, like running, with lifting weights, research finds.

When it comes to lowering high blood pressure, exercise is as useful as drugs.

There is good evidence that systolic blood pressure — which is the highest number of any blood pressure reading — can be lowered by exercise.

The higher systolic blood pressure, the greater the risk of a heart attack or stroke.

We can easily lower high blood pressure by combining endurance training like running, swimming, cycling, jogging or even walking with strength training such as using kettlebells, doing push-ups and working out with dumbbells.

Researchers compared 194 medication trials with 197 exercise intervention trials to see the impact of drugs or exercise on lowering systolic blood pressure.

After analysing these trials, they found that exercise lowered blood pressure as much as most drugs.

They also noticed that people with higher blood pressure were benefiting more from exercise.

Replacing exercise with drugs is challenging, but blood pressure can decrease up to 10% by doing regular physical activities such as fast walking.

Start with doing 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity including gardening, dancing, walking briskly, mowing the lawn, playing tennis (doubles) throughout the week.

Symptoms of high blood pressure include a pounding in the chest, blood in the urine, and severe headaches.

More than 40% of adults in the US and many European countries are physically inactive.

About 30% of American adults suffer from high blood pressure.

Dr Huseyin Naci the lead author of the study, said:

“It’s one thing to recommend that physicians start prescribing exercise to their patients, but we also need to be cognisant of the resource implications and ensure that the patients that have been referred to exercise interventions can adhere to them and so really derive benefit.”

The study was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine (Naci et al., 2018).

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What Marketers Need to Know About NFTs

NFTs are more confusing than the latest iOS updates.

How JPEGs could sell for hundreds of thousands, and sometimes millions of dollars, just doesn’t click in our marketing minds.

Getting someone to buy a $50 ecommerce product requires a perfectly formulated funnel, market research, marketing strategies, seemingly endless content, and sometimes, just darn good luck.

Yet, people are selling images online…to other people…for 6+ figures without any of that?! If you’re trying to figure out how the NFT world works and falling flat, it’s not your fault. It’s a new type of Internet that we’re all getting acquainted with. And, just like there was a time where Instagram felt new and foreign—chances are NFTs will become a lot more common in our industry.

That’s why marketers need to know the foundations of NFTs and start thinking about how to market such a new product.

What is an NFT?

NFT stands for non-fungible token. Non-fungible means that each NFT is unique, just like your dog is a unique individual. Even if your pup is a golden retriever, they’re still a special, individual golden retriever that may look like the other goldens but have a unique personality. It’s not interchangeable—which is exactly what an NFT is. Just like your golden retriever is unique because of its personality, an NFT is unique because of its data.

NFTs live on the blockchain. The blockchain is a ledger that keeps track of an NFTs activity (like when it was bought, how much it was bought for, and how much it was sold for). This means that when you buy an NFT, that purchase goes on the blockchain (instead of kept as a receipt in your filing cabinet). If you wanted to see who owned an NFT or even how much the person before you bought the same NFT for—you could just check the blockchain.

Because of the complexity of the blockchain, it’s impossible to manipulate the data stored on it. And this is why cryptocurrency relies on it. NFTs live on the blockchain, and the currency used to buy and sell on the blockchain is cryptocurrency.

Here’s a quick recap:

An NFT is a non-fungible token that is unique (just like your golden retriever).

NFTs live on the blockchain that stores information like who bought it, how much they bought it for, and how much they sold it for (kind of like Zillow for houses, but with real numbers and no way to manipulate the data).

To buy NFTs on the blockchain, you need to use cryptocurrency (Bitcoin, Ether, or if you’re feeling bold, Dogecoin).

If I Bought an NFT, What Would I Get?

NFTs have become popular in mainstream media as graphics (photos, videos, GIFs). But, this is just the tip of the iceberg for what NFTs really do.

NFTs have a utility which means each NFT comes with perks. For some NFTs, the perk is just owning a digital asset you believe will go up in value…

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How to Find Business Ideas

We think of and are surrounded by brilliant business ideas every day.

The trick is to notice them.

That’s right—notice. You don’t need to be exceptionally creative, innovative, or original (though it’s great if you are) to find good, viable business ideas.

You just have to pay attention to what’s going on around you.

Once you get into the habit of looking for business ideas, you’ll find it hard to stop. Soon, you’ll find the idea that’s right for you.

The Easy Parts of Finding Business Ideas

The good news is that there are business ideas all around us. Find a problem to solve and enough people willing to pay you to solve it for them, and you have a business idea. And the “problem” doesn’t have to be huge and overwhelming. If you can make an experience faster, cheaper, more pleasant, or more efficient, chances are there’s a business opportunity there.

Once you get going with the exercises below, we think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the way experiences, conversations, activities, and skillsets combine to spark ideas. In a few of the stages, we ask you to make various lists. You can write these down on cards or in a notebook, or keep track of them in a mind-mapping app like Miro.

Miro lets you put ideas on the same page, move them around, look for connections, take notes, and share your concepts with friends and colleagues. It offers a number of different templates for brainstorming, mind-mapping, ideation, and, when you’re ready for it, workflow, storyboarding, and analysis.

It’s a great way to store ideas as they come up, then move them around and play with them later to see what kind of connections you can make.

And trust us—finding business ideas is all about making connections.

A Surprising Thing You Can Do for Yourself

Self-centered people are anxious and unhappy.

Research shows one source of self-centeredness is loneliness. A lonely person turns inward. Feeling isolated motivates people to focus on their own self-interest. What’s worse? Lonely people have higher risks of physical and mental health problems.

The title of this post isn’t an encouragement for self-centeredness.

Self-care:

When self-care is an excuse for self-centeredness, it’s destructive.

Self-care is more than a day at the spa or a quiet walk.

You take care of yourself when you care for others. When you pour-out for others, even in small ways, you pour a little into yourself as well.

Pouring out is pouring in.

When done appropriately, generosity is good for you. Of course, there’s a limit. You burn-out when you consistently pour into takers. (Read, “Give and Take,” by Adam Grant.)

You need good books, quiet walks, or a Sabbath to rejuvenate. You may also need to learn to receive. (Read, “The Go-Giver,” by Bob Burg and John David Mann.)

The purpose of self-care is restoring your ability to care for others.

A surprising reminder:

Yesterday, while running an errand, I took a wrong turn. I get lost in thought when I drive. I ended up a few miles out of my way. By accident I drove past ‘our’ garage. Don services our vehicles.

On a whim I stopped. Don’s head was in a car when I walked in. As he turned, I reached out and said, “I just wanted to stop and say thank you for the good service you provide.”

We exchanged pleasantries. I hopped back in my truck.

My visit to Hudson’s Garage cost me three minutes. But I noticed something when I drove away.

I felt happy. It reminded me of Martin Seligman’s book, Learned Optimism. Gratitude increases your happiness.

What can you do for yourself?

The Mental Sign Of Vitamin D Deficiency

Up to 50 percent of people may be deficient in this vitamin.

Depression can be a sign of vitamin D deficiency, research finds.

The vitamin is also thought to play a role in regulating serotonin, a neurotransmitter important for mood.

One study has linked vitamin D deficiency to a 75 percent higher risk of depression.

Symptoms of depression include moodiness, lack of motivation and tiredness.

Depression is also linked to physical symptoms such as headaches, stomach aches, dizziness and muscle pain.

Foods that are rich in vitamin D include oily fish and eggs, but most people get their vitamin D from the action of sunlight on the skin.

That is why levels are typically lower in the body through the winter months in more Northern climes.

Up to 50% of young women may be deficient in this vitamin, other research has shown.

One small case study involved 3 women who were given vitamin D replacement therapy for 12 weeks.

All had previously been diagnosed with depression and were taking antidepressants.

The results showed that all three women felt their depression lift significantly.

Dr Sonal Pathak, the study’s first author, said:

“Vitamin D may have an as-yet-unproven effect on mood, and its deficiency may exacerbate depression.

If this association is confirmed, it may improve how we treat depression.”

Although only a small study, other much larger studies have pointed to a link between vitamin D deficiency and depression.

One study included 12,600 people, who had their vitamin D levels and any symptoms of depression tested.

The results showed that people who were more depressed had lower vitamin D levels.

Dr Pathak said:

“Screening at-risk depressed patients for vitamin D deficiency and treating it appropriately may be an easy and cost-effective adjunct to mainstream therapies for depression.”

The study was The Endocrine Society’s 94th Annual Meeting in Houston (Pathak, 2012).

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How to Create An Email Strategy

Creating an email strategy feels like you’ll need a whiteboard, 5 different colored pens, your entire team, and 4 cups of coffee each.

It feels like a *big* task—something that your team needs to work on at *just* the right moment.

We have some news for you…it’s actually the opposite. An email marketing strategy is less about an over-the-top, “started from the bottom now we’re here,” type of strategy and more about taking one step forward. Then, another. And, another.

There are 5 steps to creating an email strategy that encompasses your organic, newsletter content (that isn’t overly promotional), and your promotional content (that sells products).

And each one can be situated within a week (maximum!).

Your email marketing strategy doesn’t have to wait until things slow down, you “know more,” or you’re finally ready. It just requires taking the first step…choosing your type of newsletter.

Step 1: Choose Your Type of Newsletter

Our favorite part of email marketing is the relationship we can build with our audience without selling them anything. Using a weekly newsletter, we can create 52 touchpoints a year with our subscribers with the goal of giving them useful marketing information that helps their launches, campaigns, and business endeavors.

There are 4 types of newsletters to choose from:

#1: “Letter-from-the-editor” or “Featured Article” Style

This type of newsletter is best suited for:

Brands with something to say and/or points to make
Companies wanting to take a stance on something happening in their industry (have an opinion, provide tactical advice, etc.)
Businesses willing to dedicate more resources and time to create a valuable newsletter

#2: “Link” or “Curated Content” Style

This type of newsletter is best suited for:

Brands and businesses who want to provide quick value to their customers
Companies strapped for time and people power

#3: “Blog” Style

This type of newsletter is best suited for:

Brands with a dedicated blog and/or content repository
Companies that want to drive A LOT of traffic to their content

#4: “Hustle” Style

This type of newsletter is best suited for:

Brands with a dedicated content team that can really put pen to paper
Companies that are big on the affiliate side of marketing
Businesses that want to establish themselves as THE AUTHORITY in their industry

Action: Choose the type of newsletter you’ll send out on a regular basis (1-3x per week). If you’re having trouble deciding what your audience would like most, ask them!

Step 2: Create an Editorial Calendar for Promotional Content

Your promotional calendar is a big part of your email marketing strategy. We’re not saying you need to have your entire year planned out without any room for flexibility. You just need at least 3 months of a *decently* solid idea of what you’ll be promoting. Of course, as those weeks play out and if anything needs…

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The Beginners Guide to Pay Periods

How do you figure out whether weekly, bi-weekly, semi-weekly—or even a combination of the three—would be the most optimal pay period schedule for your business?

Factors like employee preferences and labor laws are obvious considerations. But you also want a frequency that attracts and retains top performers and balances administrative costs with talent management goals.

Don’t worry, it isn’t as complicated as it sounds. Read on as I discuss the basics of pay periods, as well as tools and tips to help you improve your payroll.

What Are Pay Periods?

Pay periods are recurring lengths of time over which employee wages are calculated and paid.

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) has made it mandatory for businesses to pay employees on their “regular payday.“ But it hasn’t specified how often these paydays must come. States have taken matters into their own hands and set standards through payday frequency laws.

The most common pay periods are weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly, and monthly. While paying semi-monthly is still deemed acceptable, no state allows bi-monthly pay schedules at the moment.

How often you pay employees is a crucial decision because it directly affects recruiting and retention. It also means you should always be able to deliver paychecks consistently based on the schedule you select.

Missing payday, even by a day or two, can lead to employee resentment and opens you up to FLSA complaints. Additionally, penalties and fines related to wage violations are pretty steep.

The Basics of Pay Periods

Pay periods have several nuances. Once you understand them clearly, choosing the right schedule for your business will become considerably easier.

The Four Pay Period Types

There are four types of pay periods:

Weekly
Biweekly
Semi-monthly
Monthly

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) found biweekly pay periods are the most popular, with 42%…

Dear Dan: I Feel Burn-Out Because Administration Promotes Unqualified People

Dear Dan,

First, I really enjoy your leadership tweets.

Second, I’m currently at a job, where the administration seems to be promoting ‘yes men’ and not qualified people to supervisors. Not leaders.

This has caused me to become somewhat burnt out in a career that I love. That being said, as a person striving to grow as a leader, how does one follow someone who is not a leader, when following is required?

I’ve struggled to wrap my mind around this. Thought I’d reach out and hopefully get your thoughts.

Thanks,

Frustrated and Burnt Out

Dear Frustrated,

Thank you for the good word. It feels good to contribute through the work of our hands.

You are wise to strive for growth as a leader. Self-development multiplies contribution. Think of it as unselfish selfishness.

You may be in a perfect place to grow.

In a disappointing world, it’s easy to justify self-defeating behaviors. We reason, if ‘they’ are going to be idiots, I’ll do a lousy job to spite them.

Only a fool justifies self-defeating behaviors. (We all play the fool from time to time.)

Personal development is essential to fulfilling your purpose in the world. Richard Lieder summarizes our purpose in two words, GROW and GIVE.

A person who neglects their own development can’t fulfill their purpose in this world.

Growth opportunities:

Lousy leaders present growth opportunities. What skills and character traits are important in your environment?

#1. Diplomacy.

If weak leaders wear you out, I suspect you’re good at speaking your mind. If that’s true, learning how to influence without antagonizing will expand your ability to contribute.

Develop the skill of presenting alternatives tactfully and creatively.

Learn to stand your ground with kindness.

#2. Positivity.

You’re probably tired of trying to see the good side. Redouble your efforts. Negativity doesn’t serve you.

Perhaps you feel passed over. Practice gratitude, even if you don’t feel grateful. Emotion follows action. Conduct produces feelings.

If you are a positive person in a lousy environment, you are a person worth following.

#3. Creativity.

I bet you don’t mind rocking the boat. No one likes a boat-rocker when the goal is going with the flow.

Explore creative ways to make improvements. It will take patience for you to do this. Patience will serve you well as you develop your leadership.

#4. Influence.

“Leadership is influence.” John Maxwell

When we’re frustrated, we’d like to kick people in the pants. There is a place in leadership for getting in people’s faces, but successful influence requires more tact than force.

Define your role as influencer, not controller.

#5. Energy management.

You’re never at your best when you feel burned-out. Frustration drains your energy. Don’t rely on others…

Episode 1582 Scott Adams PART1: The News is Slow But Extra Funny Today. Come Join Me

Content:

Hollywood people suspect all news is fake?
CNN continues dumping on VP Harris
The Drinking Bleach HOAX, was a double Rupar
NO Regeneron after 7 days of COVID symptoms?
NO Regeneron if you’re in a hospital?
Infinite COVID as a business model
If you would like to enjoy this same content plus bonus content from Scott Adams, including micro-lessons on lots of useful topicsto build your talent stack, please see scottadams.locals.com for full access to that secret treasure.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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5 Tactics to Add to Your 2022 Marketing Strategy

Are you curious to see if we mention the metaverse in this article?

The question marketers are asking themselves, as Gucci and Nike create digital products, is if the metaverse needs to be part of their 2022 marketing strategy.

The answer is no. That’s not a permanent no (who knows what Zuckerberg has up his sleeve), but for now—you don’t need to figure out how to create funnels in the metaverse.

There are a few marketing strategies you can focus on before that…

And come back to the metaverse later.

These strategies are designed for the 2022 marketer, the one who wants:

Organic reach (like it’s 2015 again)
Ownership over their data (ahem, iOS 14…)
Spend less, and make more

Here are the 5 tactics these marketers are using in 2022.

#1: Use Twitter for Organic Reach

Organic reach is dead on social media, right? That’s not what Twitter has to say (although they will make sure to say it in less than 280 characters). Twitter is a megaphone to reach your audience these days. If TikTok was the social platform of 2019 and 2020, Twitter is the platform of 2021 and 2022.

You don’t need to boost your tweet or add 30 hashtags per post to get attention. You just need to publish content your ideal audience member cares about…and they’ll find you. People are growing 30,000+ audiences on Twitter ORGANICALLY in a few months.

Here’s their strategy:

Tweet daily.
Post 2-3x threads per week.
Reply to well-known profiles in your industry with thoughtful responses.

Don’t let this opportunity for organic reach pass you by. Start tweeting today.

#2: Upgrade Your Email Content to Version 2.0

Say goodbye to the days of writing a “meh” newsletter and not caring that your open rate is less than 5%. With less organic reach on social media platforms (except for Twitter!) and the need to move your audience from social to an owned platform—your email content can’t suck anymore.

It has to be genuinely interesting to your audience. A curated list of resources probably isn’t cutting it. You need much more than that in Version 2.0 of your email content. Find ways to teach and entertain your audience through emails to get them to subscribe, and most importantly, keep them opening your emails.

Because what’s a 100,000 person email list with a 1% open rate? You worked hard to get 100,000 subscribers, and you only get to reach 1,000? Sounds like a bad deal.

Here’s how to update your email content in 2022:

Ask your audience what they want you to send them (give them specific options and a place to leave their own ideas).
Make sure your email content passes the 2-Point Audit:
1. Is it entertaining?
2. Is it educating them?
Be consistent; show up in their inbox in the cadence you promised when they subscribed.

Unless you own Facebook, Google, TikTok, or Twitter—you need to own your audience in…

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