Visionary Business ~ An Entrepreneur’s Guide to Success

Visionary Business was a great book for anyone interested in starting a business. Although much of the information about starting a business is routine advice that you hear, the fact that it’s written more as a story makes reading it much easier and less boring then reading a regular business book.

The aspect that I really enjoyed was the fact that Marc Allen talks about the more ethical maybe even spiritual side of business ownership. In other words, always look towards adding value to people’s lives though your product and service. You should strive to excel in giving superior service. If you do this, the customer will come.

In his chapter called Practice Your Own Form of Magic, he relates a great and simple exercise that everyone should do. First, draw a five point star on a piece of paper. At the top point write God’s Will or the Universe’s Will or any similar phrase. At the point of the remaining four points write your top four goals, desires, or dreams. Then, review this star periodically.

I found the God’s Will Star totally new and a great, visional way to boil your important goals to one simple star. Awesome!

Enjoy the read!

Sensei Tim Rosanelli
Maximum Impact Karate
(215) 249-3532
www.maximpactkarate.com
timrosanelli.blogspot.com
60situpschallenge.blogspot.com

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Drawing ~ A lesson in overcoming self-limiting beliefs

I always wanted to be able to draw, but I believed that I am not an artist. I’ve always had a extremely left brain/ logical/ scientific view of life ~ no surprise from someone with an B.S. in Environmental Science.

But… I still feel this lingering desire to express my artistic side. Right before Christmas, I decided to challenge the belief that I can’t draw for 2010. What did I have to lose? I didn’t need to show anyone my artwork. The transformation in just 7 days was almost unbelievable.

First, I picked up the book The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. I expected this project to take all year and the first step was to educate myself. When I started the first assignment, a self-portrait. I thought “Oh no, this is going to be terrible.”

I was correct the picture was terrible and childish looking. At this point, I almost thought it was hopeless, but I forced myself to continue though all the exercises. Since I had a lot of time during the Holiday’s, I got to the final self-portrait at the end of the book in 7 days.

After finishing the final portrait, I couldn’t believe the results. Although the first picture is embarrassing, I am posting pictures of the before and after because the difference is astounding. Remember, this is only 7 days between the drawings and that these were done completely free hand.


I continued to drawing and my drawings just keep getting better. Mainly, the book teaches you to make the switch to using the right side of the brain to draw the picture. It has completely changed the way I see the world now.

This success has me thinking more and more about the hidden power of our right brain. Most of our education trains and develops our left brain and neglects the development of the right brain. I just finished reading, How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci: Seven Steps to Genius Every Day and in 2010, this book inspired me to develop my right brain thinking. So this will become a reoccurring theme this year.


Sensei Tim Rosanelli
Maximum Impact Karate
(215) 249-3532
www.maximpactkarate.com
timrosanelli.blogspot.com
60situpschallenge.blogspot.com

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Quick Tip for your 2010 goals

For years, I have written goals. It's inspired great success in my life. Here's an interesting thought.

Most life coaches and motivational speakers will tell you to think big ~ create stretch goals. I think it's important to dream and think big, but if we create stretch goals, it's easy to get discouraged and quit.

I like leaving more lead-way in my goals. Most people write one measure of success like "I lose 10lbs. in the next 12 weeks." I write goals with three measures of success - Moderate Success, Good Success, and Tremendous Success.

Moderate Success - requires just a little effort to achieve.
Good Success - requires regular and consistent effort.
Tremendous Success - This is the stretch goal that requires an all out effort.

For example, in our weight loss example, "I lose weight in the next 12 weeks." Moderate Success = 5lbs, Good Success = 10lbs, Tremendous Success = 15lbs.

After almost 20 years of using this method, I find that easily achieving the moderate success helps drive you towards the good success which motivates you towards the tremendous success.

Even if you only achieve the moderate success, you walk away feeling good and that you've achieved something.

Sensei Tim Rosanelli
Maximum Impact Karate
(215) 249-3532
www.maximpactkarate.com
timrosanelli.blogspot.com
60situpschallenge.blogspot.com

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Bean Soup with Dumplings

Every year on January 6, in celebration of the epiphany, my parents would have a dinner that consisted of this bean soup recipe and donuts with coins in it. The coins represented the gifts of the Magi or wise man to baby Jesus.

My family passed this bean soup recipe down through the generations. The thing I love about family recipes is that they always express the preferences of the family members. For example, my grand mom hated the dumplings so she added the potatoes instead. I believe that this recipe was originally a vegetarian soup because my mom's family lineage didn't eat pork for religious reason. Apparently, my mom add the ham to the recipe for my dad who was a real meat and potatoes guy.

Ingredients
1 lb dried navy beans
2 1/2 - 3 quarts water
1 medium onion, chopped
2 or 3 stalks celery, chopped
2 or 3 carrots, cubed
1 turnip, peeled & cubed
1 parsnip, peeled & cubed
1 14.5oz can tomatoes, diced
1/2 tsp paprika
1 Ham Bone (optional)
Dumplings (see below) or 2 - 3 potatoes, cubed

1. Sort & rinse beans. Put beans in soup pot and cover with water. Bring to boil, turn off and let sit about an hour. Drain beans.
2. Put the above ingredients into a soup pot.(Note: You can also put a ham bone in at this point)
3. Simmer for about 2 hours.
4. If you added a ham bone, remove it and let cool. Pick meat off of bone and add it to broth. Now add 1 1/2 tablespoons of salt into the soup and continue simmering for at least another hour or longer. Occasionally with spoon mash some of the beans. Note: DO NOT PUT THE SALT IN AT THE BEGINNING OF COOKING, beans may not soften if you do)
5. About 1/2 hours before you are ready to serve the soup, add potatoes(2 to 3 potatoes). You can also make dumplings. If you do dumplings, you do not need as many potatoes or you can eliminate the potatoes altogether.

Dumplings
1/2 cup flour
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
Water (about 2 or 3 tbsp)

Mix the above ingredients. The consistency should be a little thick, like thickened pancake batter, not runny. Drop a little at a time into boiling soup. (Note: To do this, I used a teaspoon and only put batter on the tip.)

Thickening the Soup

If you would like the soup a little thicker, do the following.

In a small saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons Crisco (or oil), add 2 tablespoons flour and cook for 2 minutes. Add 1/2 teaspoon of paprika. Add some of the soup liquid to the saucepan. Then add it to the soup.

If you do not thicken the soup, still add the 1/2 teaspoon of paprika to the soup mixture.

Sensei Tim Rosanelli
Maximum Impact Karate
(215) 249-3532
www.maximpactkarate.com
timrosanelli.blogspot.com
60situpschallenge.blogspot.com

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