A Career As A Lifestyle Entrepreneur

What is a 'Lifestyle Entrepreneur?

All work and no play are making too many entrepreneurs a rather dull bunch in this day and age. With their careers taking up a major part of their time, they have very little time and energy left for their friends and family, and even their personal well being.

The term "lifestyle entrepreneur" is given to anyone who starts a business not for financial gains, but for lifestyle rewards. The biggest motivation for all lifestyle entrepreneurs is an overwhelming desire for independence. They dream of working for themselves, and running a business that is in tune with their lifestyle. Therefore, practically anyone with an independent bent of mind can take up lifestyle entrepreneurship.

Running Your Business

Most lifestyle entrepreneurs start businesses that they are passionate about. Any business, even if it is in pursuit of a passion or interest, still requires all the essential elements of a successful set-up, like a plan, a service or product, funding, and a market to sell the service or product. To start a successful business, lifestyle entrepreneurs have to pay attention to four main factors:

• Choosing suitable people to work with

• Selecting and managing technology to keep up with competition

• Attaining the perfect blend of control and growth

• Gaining profits

Whether it is closed, passed on to a family member or sold, every business has an end. Lifestyle entrepreneurs need to make sure their business is profitable. By maintaining good financial records, and using good business tactics, the business can generate a good income and profits.

Ways To Create Success As A Lifestyle Entrepreneur

The success of a rewarding lifestyle is by far one of the greatest achievements you can attain. Lifestyle entrepreneurs strive to achieve such a success. Here are some ways to become a successful entrepreneur:

• Define Your Values - To become a successful lifestyle entrepreneur, you must define certain values and principles and honor them in both your personal as well as business life. Successful lifestyle entrepreneurs are required to know exactly what is important for their business.

• Create A Vision - Visualize what you will be doing three years down the line. Realistic conceptualization is one of the key factors of becoming a successful lifestyle entrepreneur. Not only will this provide a goal, but can also be useful in formulating methods of achieving it.

• Make A Plan Of Action - Knowledge is not enough, application is more important. Top performers will tell you that lasting success can only come through hard work. The more you work, the better results you reap. Create a plan of action that is result oriented. Your plan must work within a specific period of time.

• Hire Support - It is advisable to hire support in areas that do not fall under your expertise. Hiring people to do your work will provide you with more freedom and time to focus on gaining profits for your business. This way, your business will be your main concern, and not other lesser tasks that form an intrinsic part of any business.

• Generate Passive Income - Generating a stream of passive income will build your brand name. Passive income involves referral programs, affiliate programs, and pay-for-inclusion committees.

Whether you are a lifestyle entrepreneur, or dream of becoming one, following these guidelines will prove useful. Lifestyle entrepreneurship eliminates the usual drawbacks that apply to traditional entrepreneurship, which will provide the motivation and scope for growth, to achieve success. Therefore, if you are ready to live a more meaningful and interesting life, becoming a lifestyle entrepreneur could be the right choice for you.

Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solutions - Six Sigma Online ( http://www.sixsigmaonline.org ) offers online six sigma training and certification classes for lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts.

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By Tony Jacowski

Diet and Lifestyle Recommendations and Fish Oil as a Supplement

Just recently the American Heart Association (June of 2006) released new diet and lifestyle recommendations. The recommendations intended for healthy Americans age 2 and older replace the guidelines issued in 2000. Now recommended are:

• Further reducing saturated and trans fatty acids in the diet;

• Minimizing the intake of food and beverages with added sugars;

• Emphasizing physical activity and weight control;

• Eating a diet rich in vegetables, fruits and whole-grain foods;

• Avoiding use of an exposure to tobacco products; and

• Achieving and maintaining healthy cholesterol, blood pressure and blood glucose levels.

Although the previous recommendations stressed a healthy dietary pattern, these new recommendations broaden that concept to include the importance of a healthy lifestyle pattern. The chair of the American Heart Association's Nutrition Committee and Gershoff professor of nutrition science and policy at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, at Tufts University in Boston, Alice Lichtenstein, states: "The two go together - they should be inseparable."

Alice Lichtenstein also states: "The key message of the recommendations is to focus on long-term, permanent changes in how we eat and live. The best way to lower cardiovascular risk is to combine physical activity with heart-healthy eating habits, coupled with weight control and avoiding tobacco products."

The American Heart Association continues to stress achieving and maintaining a healthy body weight. At this time, however, they are starting to put more emphasis on balancing the number of calories eaten with the number of calories burned. They are more concerned with how our food is prepared. We should avoid adding saturated fat, sugar or salt and portion size control.

The new American Heart Association recommendations statement also has new sections of practical information for consumers which includes:

• Knowing your caloric needs;

• Food preparation tips;

• Examples of dietary patterns consistent with the new; recommendations.

The new recommendations address special groups such as:

• Children;

• Older adults;

• Individuals with metabolic syndrome or chronic kidney disease;

• And certain socioeconomic groups at high risk for cardiovascular disease.

Since environmental factors strongly influence how Americans eat and exercise there is a new feature of the 2006 American Heart Association Diet and Lifestyle recommendations that includes:

• A list of ways that practitioners, restaurants, the food industry, schools and local governments can help the general public adopt the new recommendations.

Examples include:

1. Displaying caloric content prominently on menus;

2. reducing portion size;

3. limiting trans fatty acids;

4. And using low-saturated-fatty-acid oils in food preparation.

Another major change in the dietary recommendations is a lower goal for saturated fat: from less than 10 percent to less than 7 percent. The goal for trans fatty acids is less than 1 percent of total calories.

The American Heart Association recommends making changes in how we eat and move slowly and maintaining those changes over time.

There is a free brochure about the new recommendations called "Making Healthy Food and Lifestyle Choices: Our Guide for American Adults." You can call 1-800-AHA-USA1.

Many health care professionals and scientists also recommend supplementing your diet with Fish Oil. In recent years, scientists discovered two types of LDL cholesterol. One type appears to have no potential to cause health problems. The other type is strongly associated with arterial plaques and can increase the risk of heart disease. Now we have what they call: Good and Bad Cholesterol. Scientists now tell us that the more bad "bad" Cholesterol a person has the more likely they are to have a heart attack.

So....how do we know what kind of Cholesterol we have? Your health care professional will have to do a cholesterol screening for you, and interpret the results for you.

According to the studies of some scientists you can improve your bad "bad" cholesterol levels in two ways:

1. First, decrease your insulin levels.

2. Another way to decrease the bad "bad" cholesterol is to supplement your diet with high-dose pharmaceutical-grade fish oils.

The fastest and most effective way is to do both simultaneously.

References: The American Heart Association; The Omega RX Zone written by: Dr. Barry Sears

*Disclaimer: The information contained in the articles are not meant to diagnose or treat any kind of a health problem. All health symptoms and problems should be addressed by a Medical Professional of your choice.

Statements in the articles have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Products mentioned in the articles are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

The articles are offered as Nutrition and Health Resources and Information.

Please consult your Health Care Professional for all Nutrition and Health Care related issues.

This article is FREE to publish with the resource box.

Author: Connie Limon. Visit http://smalldogs2.com/NutritionHealthHub and http://www.camelotarticles.com

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By Connie Limon

Gain Muscle and Weight From Lifestyle Changes

A well-sculpted muscular look is one of the hottest things nowadays, thus all the rage about how to gain muscle and weight. Perhaps this is due largely to a generation obsessed with great physical looks. Moreover, more people have chosen an active participation in their fitness routines due to health reasons.

Whatever underlying reasons you may have for wanting to gain muscle and weight, you should understand that this process will not be a short term endeavor. Gaining weight and muscle building are meant to be a continuous process; you cannot merely stop just because you have gained a pound or two. There are also a lot of questions of what to eat and exercise to perform in order to achieve the right muscle and weight desired.

The main reason why you are not gaining weight is that you are not taking in more calories than you can burn. If you're metabolic rate is high, or the manner with which your body burns calories from the food that you take in, then it is very unlikely that you will gain more weight with your present eating habits. In order that you will start to gain muscle and weight, eat a protein and carbohydrate rich diet, and add generous helping of fiber rich stuff as well.

A protein rich diet should not be taken to mean as one high in red meat as this often has adverse effects in health when taken often and in high amounts. To gain muscle and weight, white meat like fish, chicken, and other sea foods are excellent sources of protein as well as beans, soy, and egg whites. As for carbohydrates, complex carbohydrates are better than simple ones. Complex carbohydrate rich foods include brown rice, yam, sweet potatoes, squash, and potatoes. Simple carbohydrates which can be derived form flour rich stuff like breads and cakes, have no nutrients and are loaded with trans fats.

Physical bodybuilding routines are very important so as to gain muscle and weight. With the right weight gaining exercises, you burn more calories so you eat more during the day. Muscle toning routines like lifts and squats, plus employing the use of a variety of machines, will build up muscles and tone an otherwise shapeless body. Just remember not to overdo exercise routines.

Eating too much high calorie stuff will certainly result in the build-up of fat. While this is considered fine in weight gain, too much fat can cover up the muscles and result in more strain when exercising. A balanced healthy diet is best and of course maintaining a set of thrice per week body building exercise can be very helpful.

After all, the goal is to build up on muscle and weight, not fat. The more muscle and the less fat there is in your body, the lesser is the risk for debilitating disease. The body will also be used to heightened workout in due time.

If you want to rebuild your skinny frame into a finely-toned and brawny one, you should be prepared to take on some lifestyle changes. Improve your lifestyle and gain muscle and weight in the process. Browse through my site to keep you posted for tips about body and muscle building.

Find out more about natural and effective tips on how to gain weight and muscle mass quickly. Also read this interesting article on how to gain muscle mass and weight fast.

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By Davion Wong

A "Right Lifestyle"

Have you ever wondered whether "having good living with a nice house, a dream job or a luxury car would be enough to consider that you live your life with the so called "right lifestyle"? Or why is it necessary for us to have the right lifestyle? What could that be consisted of, and how is having that going to, not only affect you, but also benefit you?

What is a right lifestyle? Some people use the words "healthy "or "good" when describing a positive conducted lifestyle. Some people think that a heart-healthy lifestyle is healthy eating. Studies show that a life-long commitment to exercise and not smoking are of great importance to consider also.

But how often do we think of having the right lifestyle? According to some medical experts, very often people just are not attentive to how important a healthy lifestyle is until they have a medical emergency or serious health problem. And the choices the doctor asks you to make may also include actions such as: quitting smoking and becoming more physically active:

Going back to the above asked questions "why is it necessary for us to have a "right lifestyle"?" and "how is having that going to benefit you?" we will single out some of the numerous benefits that you can expect when you make healthy choices the way to eat, exercise and live:

• You lower your risk of heart attack and sudden cardiac death
• You make it easier to control your blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and weight.
• You improve your overall health.
• You get increased stamina
• energy
• less fatigue
• more productive sleep
• better confidence and higher self-esteem

Simon Sekhleyan
27 years of age
BA Degree of French and English languages, literature and linguistics
Likes writing, reading, blogging
http://rightlifestyle.blogspot.com

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By Simon Sekhleyan

Healthy Lifestyle and Mental Stress

One of the most prominent features of modern living is the difficulty of escaping the mental stresses of daily life. Technology continues to drive the pace of work and living to faster and faster speeds. The cost of living, the pressure of competition for material wealth, and the challenge of balancing family, professional, and community ties all contribute to increasing daily pressures. Finding time to relax, unwind, and savor simple pleasures becomes a rare treat.

In addition to the specific stress-related disorders that this daily pressure causes, stress makes it all the more challenging to actively pursue healthy eating and activity habits. At the end of a long, hard day, it's much easier to grab a fast snack, sit on the couch, and do what you need to do to get through the rest of the day. It takes much more discipline and motivation to spend time meal-planning, shopping carefully, strategizing on how to be more active, and creating time to relax in refreshing and restorative ways.

So what do you do? Start educating yourself about what a healthy lifestyle requires and the rewards and benefits of the extra effort that it is going to take. Start acknowledging that, all things being equal, it is more difficult to live a life that nurtures and supports your health. Be patient and gentle with yourself, and congratulate yourself for taking any time and making any effort in the direction you want to go.

The Process of Change

As you get ready to embark on your own path toward healthful living, it is useful to familiarize yourself with the process of change. In the field of behavioral medicine, researchers are examining how to support the process of change toward more positive habits. As it became more and more evident that people have all the information that they need to know that they should be eating more fruits and vegetables and exercising more regularly, the question for scientists then became, "Why aren't more people doing it?" Researchers realized that changing behaviors is a very difficult task, and they sought to understand how to improve the process to maximize people's odds of success.

A leading behavioral scientist, James Prochaska, Ph.D., along with Carlo DiClemente, Ph.D., developed a psychological model for behavioral change that divides the course of action into five stages of readiness that are very useful for analysis. Understanding this progression can help you to be successful in achieving your goal to living a healthier lifestyle. The five stages include precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance.

These phases are meant to describe the process of becoming more ready for change and, therefore, of being more likely to succeed. In other words, you must become truly ready and motivated to change a behavior first, before you start to take action. And, if the process is cultivated in that order-motivation first, action second-the odds of ultimate success in achieving the lifestyle changes are much higher.

Precontemplation

Congratulations! Anyone who is reading this book has already progressed beyond the precontemplation stage. A person in the precontemplation stage is not making any behavioral changes and does not intend to make any changes. A person at this stage is not motivated and does not have the tools and information necessary to make a positive change. This person feels that it is easier to stay in his or her situation and even risk poor health and a shorter life than it is to make any changes. You may have friends or loved ones who are at this level.

Contemplation

In the contemplation stage, a person knows that it is better to live a healthier lifestyle. Although the person is thinking about it, he or she has not yet taken any action toward making this change a reality. During this stage, a person is engaged in information-gathering and weighing the pros and cons of taking any action. This person has not yet made any commitment to change but is instead just thinking about it. This, however, is a very important stage.

If you feel that you are in the contemplation stage, then you are doing exactly the right thing by reading and learning more about the benefits of making positive modifications toward a healthier lifestyle.

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By Robin Brain

What is Lifestyle Design?

Lifestyle design was a concept recently made popular by the Author Timothy Ferris who wrote the "4 Hour Work Week" An exciting book that explains how some people he refers to as the "New Rich" are creating systemized business ventures that allow the owner or owners to live, work and play from any place in the world.

He goes on to explain strategies for systemizing virtual businesses to achieve almost total freedom from the day to day operations thus allowing a tremendous amount of free time and automated income for the owner. This is where the Life Design part comes in. When one achieves this rare combination of time, financial and geographic freedom they are able to focus on the things that he or she is passionate about and loves. Like experiencing long term travel, learning about other cultures or simply fulfilling personal dreams whether material or experiential.

He challenges the typical thinking of many mainstream Americans who think that they are successful to the degree that they are busy in a career working for money and saving for retirement, only to retire when the best years of their lives are over. Instead he suggests that we make the best of our lives now doing things that excite us and add adventure to our lives.

He explains that it's easier than we think to achieve by leveraging currency to obtain one's desired lifestyle and freedom even quicker. This is done by creating dollars in your business, outsourcing mundane as well as professional tasks to highly educated people in developing countries who happily work for less and then live in places where ones money goes much further. This allows one to essentially make less money and potentially live a far richer life in exotic places around the world.

Although there is much more to learn outside the book about launching and developing a successful business that you can operate from any place in the world, this book will give you a gigantic step in the right direction. It will clarify many things for you and worst case its fun as hell to read.

And to find out more about creating a business that can give you all the money, time and freedom you desire check out the blog by Nate Bunger at http://www.natebunger.com

He is known as the Freedom Architect and specializes in helping ordinary people create extraordinary success and freedom through strategic business design. There you'll find tons of free information and expert advice to help you on your path to success in your own business.

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By Nate W Bunger

Recession Proof Your Retirement Lifestyle

If you're getting the same economic news I am, you're probably nervous. You're not worried about losing your job because that is something you used to do before you retired. But bad economic news also means retirement worries. To sidetrack a recession our government has printed a lot more money to bail out the bad boys, pay for imported oil and more, and spur demand for everything from apples to zucchini. More money is now chasing the same, or fewer, things to buy. The inflation rocket is set for launch. Rising prices means fixed retirement income will buy less and you'll have to make adjustments. The double bogey is higher prices with lower interest earnings on your savings [looked at CD rates lately?]. Once the elections are over and your Congressperson is safe for another term, the triple bogey will be higher taxes across the board, including your Social Security benefits, to arrest a ballooning federal deficit. Not to add insult to injury, but if you happen to have your money exposed to risk - say in mutual funds, stocks, real estate, or anything else that waxes and wanes - you could be in for times-two double bogey if not a quadruple bypass. What can you do to recession proof your lifestyle?

Let's start by dividing your retirement money into three categories:

(1) money you'll need during the next five years;

(2) money you'll need during years six through about years 15;

(3) money you'll not need for at least 15 years.

Each category is special and "the time of planned use" will determine where to put the money. These categories can vary slightly between individuals and I recommend you get professional help from a financial advisor to help you determine what is right for you and your family.

The first category should be kept in "super safe and super liquid" places. The appropriate investments, or savings places, are: cash, money market accounts, bank CDs, money market mutual funds, savings accounts and high quality bonds that mature in less than five years. I know the rate of return will be depressing but if you take risk or invest in longer terms, you could lose part or all of your money. The price of the liquidity is the lower interest rate you'll suffer. I know you want a higher rate of return along with low risk, but risk and reward travel together. By working with a financial advisor you can get the proper mix of this low-rate, super-safe investments. Your retirement income is now covered for five years.

Category two is the places you need some liquidity - just in case there is an emergency - and tax deferral would be nice also and you'll want great safety. But, since market cycles can't be counted on to be less than 10-12 years, we don't want this category to be invested in investments whose value is determined by markets. At this point in history there are not many options in this category other than fixed and index-linked annuities. While you may not know anything about annuities now, you need to "get educated" by self-learning or working with a financial advisor who understands annuities. By the way, you'll want to avoid advisors who don't understand annuities because they'll recommend against them. To tell the difference, you'll need to help yourself get the basic knowledge about annuities by reading my "Is Your Annuity Good or Bad?".

The last category is, unfortunately, where you currently have most of your retirement money: market investments like mutual funds, stocks, long-term bonds, REITs and other investments that Wall Street proclaims, in a very loud voice, that you should own. All these have one thing in common: risk. To offset this risk, you should be prepared to leave your money in these investments for a minimum of ten years and probably fifteen to be cautious. For example, as this is written the last peak in the market indexes (DJIA, S&Ps, etc.) adjusted for inflation was in 2000. We are coming up on ten years and the markets have not yet recovered from the dot.com bust of 2000-2002. How long will the sub-prime and mortgage bust keep the markets depressed? No one knows - they may say they do, but no one can see the future. While you still have some risk with this category, you odds are pretty good for your longer-term retirement money you'll need fifteen year or more from now.

What was covered above is called an investment ladder for the retirement-minded. It is not sexy or risky, but it does position your money to last you for full retirement. Since each family's circumstances are different, I strongly recommend that you engage the services of a financial advisor to help you craft a personalized retirement plan. Good luck.

Shelby J. Smith, Ph.D.

April 17, 2008

Learn about safe money places - check out the Retirement Pros website http://www.theretirementpros.com/ I'm also doing free monthly video seminars online sign up at: http://www.theretirementpros.com/Tele-Seminar-MRM.php

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By Dr. Shelby Smith