In Need of Practical Brain Stimulation

New research published today suggests that brain-stimulating activities such as writing and reading books slows down our cognitive decline as we age. The sooner you start, the better, as cognitive decline can begin as early as 27. Also, some reading and writing is better than none at all. It looks like I am in an excellent line of work, where I am easily writing 1500 words a day. I am currently working on my summer reading list, and am forcing myself to read one chapter per day so I can get through the book I am reading now (and can move on to other interesting books that I've been wanting to read for some time). Once I finish this book, I'll only have one more book left to read. Once I finish that book, I'll create my fall reading list.

About Those Findings

I would be interested in seeing if there would be difference in cognitive decline among reading paperback/hardcover books, reading eBooks, and reading articles and blog posts online, with all else being equal and accounted for. I would think there would be difference, as I would presume that someone using an electronic device to read something will be much more prone to distractions than someone with an actual book. I mean, email notifications don't pop up in those hardcovers. I also think that because of the versatility, those reading on the electronic devices might also be much more likely to multitask, which has to affect our brains somehow. Then again, I am just taking a few wild guesses here. I am not an expert in neurology.

Speaking of Brain-Stimulating Activities

I need a lot of good ideas for a lot of things coming up, primarily good content and article ideas for my clients, my blog, Stirring Media, and Gateway Grounds. The end of the month is coming up, which is when I put together my editorial calendar for the next month, or several months, depending on how often the blog publishes. You need to do these things ahead of time, so that you aren't stuck the day of or the day before trying to come up with something good to write about.

One of the most pressing ideas is content for Insight2Incite Magazine, a St. Louis up-and-coming publication. They need a lot of help, and one of my ideas for creating content on a regular basis is start a column of my own (I know that the last thing I need in my life is more commitments and more stuff to write, but this is a good opportunity to build my personal brand.) I have no idea what this column would be about, which is where I need to spend my time first. I have other options and ideas on how to fill in what's missing, but the column takes precedence since I have the most control over the column.

Rogue Legacy is So Awesome!

In the meantime of all this important thinking stuff, I think I will play some Rogue Legacy. It's a really awesome game that you should get if you haven't already. It's available on Steam, or you can get it directly from them for the PC. It's a pretty straightforward game, but what makes it fun is that every time you play is different. You have a choice of characters, but your choices are always different because different classes and abilities are offered to you. The castle changes every single time you die, so it's not about memorizing the level but on memorizing how the enemies attack and on how rooms are set up. I seems easy, but it's not. Fortunately, you get stronger each time you die.

5 Top Priorities in Life Right Now

For today's SuperBetter quest, I am to list the three to five top priorities in my life right now. There are things that, today, are the most important to me in the world. So, I'm doing that, and here are my top five life priorities right now, in no particular order.

My Business

This is a top priority (and the top time suck) in my life right now, if not the number one priority. Every day, I am doing one thing to continue moving Stirring Media into the direction of a digital media company. I finally ordered a few roasts from my affiliate partners yesterday, so once those come in and are reviewed, I can finally open up that avenue for income. My goal is to be ready for August 22. There's an amazing networking event happening that night, and I've already bought my ticket, so my plan is to make that the first night that I network and present Stirring Media in person as a digital media company.

Eating Healthy

Naturally, this is a huge priority right now since I am doing my daily quests to get better at eating healthier and to knock two things off of my life goals/bucket list. I am currently focusing on abstaining from eating out for an entire month (eating out includes restaurants and fast food as well as frozen dinners. It does not include buying a coffee). I am a week into that one and still going strong. I have tons of food ready to be made into meals, and it's going to be delicious and exciting. Once this month is over, I'm going to then focus on going vegan for an entire year. Part of the reason why I didn't commit to both at the same time is that I needed to eat all sorts of meat and dairy products that were already in the house. Since they will be gone by the time the month is over, going vegan will be easier and I won't have to waste food to do it.

Human Rights Activism

Twice a month, I meet with the St. Louis Amnesty International chapter to plan events, to write letters on issues, and to build awareness for human rights issues. Three times a week, I write a blog post for the chapter's blog covering chapter activities, the latest human rights news, and tips and tricks on how other human rights activists can be more effective activists. I am also currently reading the book Pathologies of Power: Health, Human Rights, and the New War on the Poor (It's a good read, but not an easy one). My human rights activism is my way of helping others and giving back to the community. It also can be very marginalized and stigmatized work, which means that it's work that needs to be done but that few people want to take the initiative to do.

Poker

Poker is a definite life priority, as once I finish my current goals in SuperBetter I'm going to set a few quests, bad guys, and power ups to help me get better at poker and to commit to building my bankroll. Once I finish the healthy eating bucket list goals, I'm going to work on the poker ones on the list. I think these goals will take the longest and the most work to accomplish, as no one gets to play in Bobby's Room or win a World Series of Poker bracelet over night. That level of skill takes a lot of time and discipline.

Reading Books

I'm making it a point to finish my summer reading list and to continue reading books on topics that interest me. It's been a LONG time since I've read for fun regularly. I am pushing myself to finish Pathologies of Power, since it is a long book that's very dense and somewhat long-winded. The content is interesting, but the book is designed to be a college textbook and not a good old non-fiction book that you can get through in a few days. I have tons of books waiting for me, and I'm pushing myself to get through this book so I can read all my other books. There are so many things I need to learn!

Bonus Priority: Playing Rogue Legacy!

As I've been saying this whole week, I finally purchased Rogue Legacy today! I redeemed my points and was able to get it, as well as The Cave and the Grand Theft Auto pack. I was able to get three games instead of two (well seven games instead of five since the pack came with five games) because the pack had an additional discount today on Steam. This made enough room in the budget for one more game. I have enough gaming to last me the rest of the year. So, I'm going to get to work on that gaming and play more Rogue Legacy!

Anyone Know Anything About this Wiki Stuff?

Last night, I was looking at the Rogue Legacy Wiki and the Plants Vs. Zombies 2 Wiki when I wondered if there were some awesome wikis on things other than video games. Are there wikis on politics and/or current events, so that it's a lot easier to keep up with what's happening, to sort fact from fiction, and to learn the back story behind what's happening? Are there some good wikis on business and/or marketing topics, so there's something neutral and definitive on how marketing is changing and how to use those marketing tactics effectively? I did a little bit of research, and I didn't find much at all. Most of the wikis are about video games, TV shows, movie franchises, and other pop culture things. Although, the coffee wiki only has over 284 pages. It could use a lot more.

I Want to Create Wikis Now

I want to fill in all those gaps, but I have no idea how! It's one of those things where the idea is lofty and complicated, so it needs to be boiled down. It needs to be taken one page at a time. What you probably have to do is come up with your Wiki topic, and then come up with the first 20 pages that you are going to create. As my former business coach suggested, what you have to do is make it incredibly simple. Boil the idea down into 10 action steps, and then it's not so difficult and overwhelming.

I also want to become one of those editors/contributors to Wikipedia. There's the Wikiproject Globalization that needs lots of help. If anyone needs a resume boost and wants to position themselves as having expertise as well as great communication skills, then I think becoming a Wikipedia contributor and/or part of Wikipedia project is a good idea.

Has anyone tried to do the wiki about wikis? It would be a wikiwiki :)

Full of Ideas

My fiance told me today that I am full of ideas and that I am difficult to pin down because I am very creative person who just shoot from one idea to the next. My former business coach would agree with this statement, except that she would push me to choose just one idea and to stick with that. This is very practical advice, and its advice I'm struggling to follow as I commit to the coffee review site and turning that into something special. My fiance says that because I am a lateral thinker, choosing one idea and sticking with it is nearly impossible. It's almost always going to be five ideas going at once. I wish there was a way I could just do everything in the whole wide world and help the world and all that good stuff. I wish I could do all the things that I wanted so I wouldn't have to choose; I could do it all while doing what suits my fancy.

I Looked Up Lateral Thinking

And this is what I found on the Wikipedia page:

Random Entry Idea Generating Tool: The thinker chooses an object at random, or a noun from a dictionary, and associates it with the area they are thinking about. For example, if they are thinking about how to improve a website, an object chosen at random from the environment around them might be a fax machine. A fax machine transmits images over the phone to paper. Fax machines are becoming rare. People send faxes directly to phone numbers. Perhaps this could suggest a new way to embed the website's content in emails and other sites.

Does anyone if this random entry idea generating tool exists somewhere (I Googled the search term "random entry idea generating tool and just go more about the idea and about the Edward de Bono guy)? Is there a website where I can type in my problem, and then it gives me a random item, and then I can come up with a solution based on that item? That would be so cool and if this website exists, then it would be the coolest tool ever. Is there a way I can make it if it doesn't already exist?

I also like the idea of solving global problems with fax machines. Is there a way to send faxes to a mobile number? You know, kind of like a text except you can fax a document, photo, or something larger? This might be very helpful in developing nations, where many people might have mobile phone access, but those mobile phones aren't necessarily smart phones. This method could also circumvent the need to connect to the Internet, where sending something via email or posting it online could still be difficult to access in developing nations, whether it's accessed with a smart phone or a computer (because Internet connection isn't as consistent and/or prevalent).

I'm Back into Playing Poker

And Other Things that Are Happening This Week

I feel like I don't have one big thing to talk about today, but several little things. As I write this and prepare to do this blog post as a weekly roundup, I also feel like this post will also end up as one big post about how a lot has happened this week and there's no way I can talk about just one single thing. I think all those previous words are just a long-winded way of saying I am very crazy.

About the Poker

I have played four nine-top sit-n-gos over the past week. I have made the money in three of them, and in all four of them, I got my money in with the best hand only be to be outdrawn by my opponent. It happens. It's only a matter of time before my hand holds up and that I win a sit-n-go. I've won them before, don't get me wrong. It's just that the trend for me lately has been to do real well, only to lose it all (or most of it) in one key hand where my opponent gets there by the river. It's really the reason why I haven't taken a first place yet. I haven't made any huge mistakes. I will play three more sit-n-gos tomorrow and see if this changes.

I Need a Dining Table

My next quest for SuperBetter is to commit to eating at a table for the next two days. No eating in front of the television. No eating in front of the computer. No eating in the car (although I don't have a car so I can't ever do this). I'm supposed to help myself by making this table more inviting. The only problem is that I don't own such a table, unless I want to eat outside in the summer heat, quite possibly with Oden.

There is some decent patio furniture on our porch that was here when we moved in, which I could theoretically clean up, move into the apartment, and use as a dining table. The only problem with that is that I don't have anywhere to put it. There's no room for it. I might have room for it in my office if I didn't have half an l-shaped desk (kind of a long story on that one). There's also no place to make more inviting as each room has a computer and/or television. I could eat in the bedroom, but that's kind of awkward. I don't know what I'm going to do for this quest.

Two More Days Until I Can Redeem Points for Video Games!

I am so excited! I really want to get Rogue Legacy, and I saw on Steam that there is a Grand Theft Auto pack that has four or five of the Grand Theft Auto games! I have a $30 budget for the video games, and those two things might take up the whole budget. That's okay though, because that will be five or six new games that I can play, and that's plenty to keep me occupied. I've been really productive this week too, earning about 12 points each day. This will put me in a good position to continue for my file cabinet after I redeem the points. I think I'll break even once the week is over, the points are tallied, and I redeem the 60 points needed to purchase video games. I might even be about 10 points ahead of last week. I'll take it for the sake of a few new games, especially since Rogue Legacy and Grand Theft Auto are awesome!

Getting My Fabulous Fat A$$ in Gear

I've barely done anything today, so I really need to do something to get me started and to make me productive. I understand that it's a Sunday and that I don't have to be productive, but if I don't get a few things done then all those things will be put off until tomorrow. I really don't need to put off more things to tomorrow. I also need to accumulate points so that I can get my file cabinet. I had to dip into my point stash a few days ago because I needed to head to my Amnesty International meeting and I haven't had dinner yet. I needed my points so I could eat out for my meeting.

Getting Real about Weight Loss

What I really need to do is to plan my meals out for the next week so that I can make sure that I'm getting that plate full of fiber and am on my way to making my own meals and being vegan (the two life goals/bucket list items that I am working on for the SuperBetter project). This way, I won't be tempted to eat out or to eat more of those dreadful taquitos. Maybe I will do this today, even though I won't go shopping until Wednesday because this coming Wednesday is the day when everything is 10% off at Local Harvest Grocery. You can't pass up 10% off on your entire bill.

Part of my SuperBetter quest for today is to write an honest paragraph about being above your ideal weight. I am much closer to my ideal weight than I was before I went vegan, and I really think I can lose another 10 to 15 pounds and get myself to what I weighed in high school. That would be amazing, since in high school there were P.E. classes, 10K runs, band, and athletics, although I wasn't eating all that well at all. It would be great to get there simply by changing my diet and eating better, without adding any exercise regimen or daily gym visits or anything like that. I think it would also be great to be at my high school weight almost 10 years out of high school, which is something a lot of people can't say.

What You Can Do When You Lose Weight

Also part of this quest is thinking about what you can do once you lose the weight, or what losing weight could help you achieve. Here's what I think it can achieve, besides the obvious things of better health, improved body image, boosted self-confidence etc. etc.

1. Eat All You Want Once You Know to Eat the Right Foods - Dieting and weight loss is always associated with skipping dessert, smaller portions, and exercising all the times. Although those things aren't bad, it does make the idea of losing weight one that involves a lot of pain and sacrifice, when it doesn't have to be that way. Once you know what the right foods are to eat, you can eat as much as you want and never have to worry about gaining weight or burning off all those extra calories. Once you are eating the right foods, you don't have to think about smaller portions or even skipping dessert. You can have a full plate and still eat dessert. It's just that the dessert and that plate will look a little different from before.
2. Get New Clothes - This is the best part because once you lose a significant number of pounds, you're old clothes won't fit and you'll have a very good excuse to get new clothes. It's always nice to get clothes that are smaller, instead of having to shop because you need clothes that are bigger. Also, since you've made it a necessity to get new clothes, this little shopping spree doesn't turn into a luxury or into something you're doing to make yourself feel better. You already feel better because you lost the weight, so you feel better while already looking better.

Curse You Taquitos!

Part of my eating healthier, SuperBetter, goals is to avoid the amazing taquitos from El Monterey. It's so hard to abstain! They're really delicious, and it doesn't help that there are two whole boxes in my freezer right now. This is one of my bad guys that I need to fight and to defeat, and today I was the one who was defeated. This one is going to be tough; at least until all the taquitos are gone. Then, it will be easy because all I'll have to do is to stop buying them.

I Have Books to Help Me

Books, books, books! I do have several books that can help me eat better and to do a better job of planning my meals so I don't resort to eating out or microwaving something. One of those books is The China Study Cookbook: Over 120 Whole Food, Plant-Based Recipes (if you're all about books with pictures and short paragraphs, then cookbooks are your style. I don't really have anything to compare this too, but I think this book has a lot of short and easy recipes, with rather easy ingredients to obtain. It also looks like I could easily make meals for one or two people. I have another plant-based diet cookbook, called The Engine 2 Diet: The Texas Firefighter's 28-Day Save-Your-Life Plan That Lowers Cholesterol and Burns Away the Pounds. I do like that it's a 28-day plan, but it's also written by a male firefighter, where one serving for him is really enough to fee four people. I made a lasagna out of this book, which was really good, but was gigantic when I was finished. The recipe said this fed four people, but it looked more like 10 to me. It provided my fiance and I, like, six meals between us and I couldn't even use all the ingredients because they didn't even all fit in the lasagna pan.

Plant-Based Diets

One of the toughest parts of the plant-based diets is getting all the ingredients and having affordable access to some of these foods. The China Study cookbook seems a little bit more helpful in where to get certain ingredients and also uses ingredients that are more accessible. For example, as part of the first week of the Engine 2 diet, you need to have Bragg Liquid Aminos and agave nectar. I don't know what those things are and what they look like, let alone where to get them. The China Study doesn't have anything as unusual. It's also not as strict as the Engine 2 diet, although the China Study doesn't advocate for too much of a diet except whole, plant-based foods.

Another book that I have to help me is the Full-Plate Diet, which isn't at all about having a plant-based diet. It's simply the idea of adding more fiber-rich foods (which are essentially fruits, vegetables, beans, grains, nuts, and seeds). It's called a full plate diet because it encourages you to eat your fill, but to switch out foods that low in fiber with those that are higher in fiber, or even just adding the fiber-rich foods to what you're already eating. Since the foods that are higher in fiber also tend to be those with lower calorie counts, you can easily lose weight without having to restrict yourself or to go hungry. So, instead of not having any ice cream, with this diet you can have the ice cream. It simply suggest to maybe add bananas and/or blueberries to your ice cream. Not a bad trade off. On top of that, this book is very informative about these fiber-rich foods and also offers a lot of tips on how to "power up" your meals and how to switch your foods. I like that it's so helpful.

Well, my poker tournament has started, so I'm going to do that now.

The Texas Senate is Back in Session

And I Am Prepared to Stay Up All Night to Watch the Shenanigans

The Texas Senate reconvened at 2 p.m. today, and have been debating since then about HB2, the anti-abortion bill that received national attention for Sen. Wendy Davis' filibuster a couple of weeks ago. It's been two-and-a-half hours since I started "watching" (I'm more listening and getting other things done), and the Senate has just finished going through 20 amendments to the bill (all of which have been tabled, although some of them were very good and sensible amendments). Nothing is happening right now, but a vote is expected to happen today, and this session is predicted to end "late in the evening". It's possible debate could continue into Saturday, but it's unlikely that any filibustering or parliamentary maneuver could stop it this time.

I Think This Stuff is Quite Fascinating

It really is, and it's also very productive too. It's neat to hear all the different sides of the issue, all the little points you need to think about when putting together and passing a bill, and all that happens when our representatives convene in session to get something done. I just finished Citizenville: How to Take the Town Square Digital and Reinvent Government (great book, and another book off of my summer reading list), and the closing argument in that book is that it will be up to local governments to collaborate amongst each other to improve transparency and to utilize data and technology to make government better and to make it engaging. It's events like this that bridge this gap and make government engaging. It'll be the local issues, state governments, and city governments that are going to be the ones to take the town square digital and to reinvent government.

I wouldn't say entertaining. There's a lot about this that isn't entertaining, but I'm not here to be entertained, even on a Friday night. Even though this bill and this issue is only about Texas right now, it's very likely it will go beyond Texas. It's projected that abortion-rights groups will file a federal lawsuit as soon as Perry signs the bill into law. I'm interested in seeing how this issue will progress as it moves to the national level, as well as how the technology and the activism will remain as well. So many previous cases and issues have moved from the city and all the way to the Supreme Court, but if this lawsuit and this issue does get to that level, I'm interested to see how social media and technology play a part in relaying what's happening.

What Can We Do About Women's Health and Women's Rights?

Although the big issue here is abortion, I can't help but think about what else needs to be address when it comes to women's health and women's rights. There are many other issues, such as maternal health, domestic violence, economic empowerment, and equal pay, that matter as well and still need to be addressed (I came across this article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch from April. Pretty good stuff. I like the points on women with chronic conditions, because I don't think this has been studied or tracked all that much. I also like that St. Louis is being proactive about this.). What to do? What to pick? How do you address it?

This whole thing is actually tiring. My guess it will end in two hours, probably more, but my guess is that it will end at 1 a.m. my time. But, I am learning stuff and feeling productive and I still think this whole thing is pretty awesome. It's also pretty awesome that they've been at it this whole time and they didn't even take a much of the break.

Seriously, Yo. Creative Work is Hard Work

I'm a writer, not a graphic designer, but I empathize with this graphic designer's attitude. I've come across my fair share of job posts wanting blog posts and articles for free, offering experience, exposure, or (the worst), a piece of the pie when the money starts rolling in and the online publication turns into the next Huffington Post (or something equally lofty). Of course, no one wants amateurs, even though the "payment" offered for these services are exactly what amateurs are looking for. Why this hasn't gone viral yet, I have no idea. With a tumblr like Clients from Hell, this attitude is a common experience among creative professionals.

I've also come across my fair share of clients who don't think this work takes any effort at all, who think that us writers and content creators are able to write 20 articles per day. Because they think we can write 20 articles per day, they also think that $5 or $3 an article is a fair price. Or, the worst, when clients only want to pay upon acceptance, or use those crowd sourcing strategies to give their own customers choices in content. These tactics often shaft writers because if our pieces aren't accepted, we're stuck with hard work that didn't get paid for (and that we might not have another use for) and, oftentimes, we are stuck without feedback to understand what it would take to get accepted the next time around.

What most people don't realize with this line of work is that you get what you pay for. If you're only offering $5 an article, then someone who typically charges $25 or $50 an article isn't going to be interested in doing work for you. The money isn't there for their time (and their skill and expertise). By offering $5 an article, you're only going to get those who are interested in working at $5 an article, which means you get those who blast through content to make a quota so the work is worth while, or you get someone who isn't all that good and needs whatever work they can get to earn a few dollars.

Creative Work is Hard Work

It differs from other services because it's very subjective, and it's not just a matter of picking and choosing a pre-manufactured product.  If that were the case with blog posts and logos and such, then there would be a lot more copyright infringement and plagiarism than there is now because it would mean that you are purchasing something that someone else is already using and claiming as their own. This work isn't as simple or as easy at seems because you've watched someone use Photoshop or you write a blog yourself, or you think you could do it yourself if you have another 30 minutes in your day. If this were the case, then you wouldn't be needing PROFESSIONAL HELP to get this done. This is why us writers and graphic designers TAKE TIME to create something new from scratch and something that is customized to your brand and your needs. WE CHARGE FOR OUR TIME because we don't just sit and whip something together. We think about what we need to accomplish. We do drafts before we hand something over, and most of the time, we are willing to do more drafts. Believe it or not, we don't want to put the 'starving' in "starving artist."

Creative work isn't free, and shouldn't be free, because it's a process. You can't pick up web designs and white papers at a garage sale or at the nearest Target. If you're not willing to pay for the process, then you should expect a horrible process. Much like in any other process or business: if you aren't willing to pay, then we aren't willing to deliver.

I am Back at Lab1500!

After almost a two-month hiatus, changing the direction of my business, giving my laptop a bath, and accommodating my night owl habits, I'm finally back in Lab1500 working again! It's so nice to be back in downtown St. Louis, typing away at my favorite table and getting more things done than ever before. I get lots more done here than I do at home, and that is still the case today as it was in the beginning of the year when I first joined Lab1500. This is exciting because, as of yesterday, I was one-third of the way to my file cabinet (which I understand costs, like $25, if I know where to look, but the point is to work for it so it's a huge achievement and my home office is that much better when I finally get it). At this rate, I'll have that file cabinet in another month. Perhaps I'll be able to get a bookshelf or a dresser too.

Being SuperBetter is Super Amazing

It's only been one day of me playing SuperBetter, and I'm already having a blast and feeling extra motivated to do everything! It' so easy to get caught up doing quests, using power ups, and killing the bad guys. I also love how all this can be incorporated into my day and into my own Inferno of Productivity game. I get a point when I complete my SuperBetter quests for the day, and what I plan to do over the next few weeks and months is incorporate other goals and tasks into SuperBetter i.e. poker goals, business goals etc. In SuperBetter, you can create your own Power Packs, with its own set of bad guys, power ups, and quests. It would be really cool if I could eventually do this with my own goals, and then write blog posts on how to set these up so others can do them as well. It's exciting because I am essentially talking about a game, but I am also talking about building identity capital and helping others. It would also be really neat to create a Power Pack that works in conjunction with one of Stirring Media's digital content sites. I don't see how coffee would work for this, unless a lot of people really want to increase their daily coffee intake, but it's a good vision nonetheless.

I Want to Play Poker Tonight

Because I am burning in my inferno of productivity (Completing this blog posts puts me at 1o points for the day! And it's only 4 p.m.! I am amazing!), I do believe I will play poker once I get home and have my dinner. I will play at least three sit-n-gos at the smallest stakes, since I haven't played in a while. I played one over the weekend, and I won that, but I did get lucky in a few spots. I don't see it as too much indication of my skill level.

I'm making it a point to get back into playing again and to go for some of those items on my life goals/bucket list because two women have won an open event at the World Series of Poker, and I AM NOT ONE OF THEM! Too much time is passing with me wishing I was playing more poker and being more awesome and winning tournaments. Spending too much time wishing and dreaming, and not enough time making it happen. I need to change this, and then create a Power Pack for this so I can add it to my SuperBetter.

In the meantime, I will try to make it 11 points.

I am Getting SuperBetter at Eating Healthier

As I was working on my summer reading list and making my way through Citizenville, the author discussed the idea of making government more fun by turning civic duty into some sort of game. The city of Manor, Texas did it by awarding residents a fake currency for submitting an idea on how to fix the idea. If your idea is chosen to be implemented, you got even more of this fake currency, called innobucks. These innobucks could then be redeemed for real life goods, such as being mayor for a day or free appetizers at a local eatery. I'd do more for St. Louis if it meant more Ted Drewes and Kaldi's coffee.

Anyway, while reading about this great stuff, the author mentioned the name Jane McGonigal, who had started this really awesome website/online game called SuperBetter. I remembered her from a TED talk I watched a few years ago (it's below if you want to watch it), and I didn't realize that she had started this gaming website "designed to help you build personal resistance." I had to see what it was all about and give it a whirl.

I Haven't Even Started Yet and It's Amazing

SuperBetter is SO FREAKIN' COOL. Once you sign up (which is free), it starts you off with four different exercises about the four different types of resilience: physical, mental, emotional, and social. The exercises are incredibly easy, ranging from taking three steps to looking out a window for a few moments, from thanking someone on social media to snapping your fingers 50 times. Each exercise comes with a short one-minute video about that resilience and some of the science. After you do these four things, called quests, you then move on to choosing your secret identity, choosing your challenge, and choosing a power pack to overcome your challenge (you can even create your own power pack if you want). My business coach should totally incorporate this into her coaching.

I went through this, and chose eating healthier as my challenge. I went vegan after Thanksgiving, and after a few months of keeping that up, it's slipped away. I'm no longer vegan. I'm not even vegetarian. Since I have two things on my life goals list about eating healthier (one is to avoid eating out for an entire month, and another is to be vegan for one year), I decided that this would be a perfect place to start. I've been thinking about eating healthier ever since my diet slipped, but haven't made any movement in the right direction. Now, with the help of power ups, allies, and fighting bad guys, I'm hopeful and excited to have concrete steps to move in the right direction.

I do have to admit, I LOVE the branding. The more colors something has, the better it must be. The rainbow is just phenomenal.

I Will Start Today/Tomorrow

I have downloaded my Power Pack, the Full Plate Diet, and I will start my first quest today/tomorrow. I already know that what I need to do is watch a video, sign up for a free membership, and subscribe to a newsletter. Sounds easy enough! But, of course, when you are just starting, the first step is always the easiest. It's the next 972 steps that are difficult.

In the meantime, if you want to know a little more about this concept of gamification, and whether it really works, then here it from the founder herself. Part of the reason why this TED talk is so cool is that she's a female gamer who's using games to help others better the lives of others as well as their own lives.

[ted id=1501]

OMG bonus talk! I didn't realize that she had TWO TED talks! I just watched the one above for the first time as I was putting this post together, when she referenced her first talk in this second talk. I was really trying to find and to share the one below, which is her first talk. Anyway, they are both long, but both incredibly compelling. After all, she is essentially encouraging us to play more games and to turn more of life into a game. Rock on, right?

[ted id=799]