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Image via superbwallpaper.com

I’ve tried something completely new this week. There are a lot of things going on in my life right now and I’m in a period of challenge and growth.  I’ve been needing to get my centre back.

I attended two meditation classes this week. I had no idea what to expect.

I went to Yoga Public and the instructor Bonnie, was the perfect amount of warmth, caring and real. I was comfortable with her, I liked the sound of her voice and her demeanour.

We went through a guided meditation imagining scenes of nature. Sounds a bit odd out of context, but Bonnie made it feel so easy. Eventually, we arrived at the visualization of a mountain. Our souls are the mountain. Seasons of change come and sweep over the mountain, and the mountain withstands the changes. It is true, unchanging and rooted in the earth.

It might sound weird, but as a very small child I was aware of my soul in my body. I always new my body was just a physical vessel to carry my soul. I remember being five years old lying in bed thinking I could be in any different body but still be myself. I’ve always felt connected to who I am.

Meditation reignited my soul. This visualization, breathing and relaxing brought me back to myself.

I feel more grounded and connected this week. The stresses of the future are still unknown and challenging, but coming back to this place has been very helpful.

Meditation- don’t knock it until you try it.

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Winnipeg is emerging as a food city worth noting. When it comes to our food cred, Winnipeg may be small, but we have heart. And talent. And creativity. Oh, and drive too.

That is all thanks to the efforts of many of the city’s passionate food leaders who put their money where their mouths are and in turn put it to our mouths.

Here are just a few of Winnipeg’s outstanding food folks and where to find the fruits of their labour. PCG will profile more Winnipeg food movers and shakers in upcoming posts.

Mandel Hitzer: co-owner and chef at Deer + Almond, co-creator of RAW/ Almond dinner on ice, secret dinner host, no-is-not-in-his-vocabulary.
Hitzer is one of Winnipeg’s most exciting chefs. Most days you’ll find him at Deer + Almond, an immensely popular fusion-food diner in the Exchange District. (Check out PCG’s review here.) On his off days he’s cooking up big schemes to bolster Winnipeg’s food scene and its reputation nationally and internationally. With architect Joe Kalturnyk, Hitzer created RAW/ Almond, a pop-up restaurant at the forks the frozen Red and Assiniboine Rivers.

Nils Vik: design-guru and coffee aficionado behind Parlour Coffee and Little Sister Coffee Maker
Nils Vik started a trend in Winnipeg. He introduced Winnipeggers to a new kind of coffee and coffee shop culture. His Main Street (Exchange District) coffee emporium—a beautiful, high-gloss meeting place set inside a century-old building— attracts the city’s creative and business classes. There’s no wi-fi and limited seating inside Parlour and that’s the point. It encourages conviviality with friends and strangers. And the coffee is fantastic too. His new venture, Little Sister Coffee Maker (with his sister-in-law Vanessa Stachiw) in Osborne Village reflects the same sensibilities. Check out PCG’s reviews on Parlour Coffee and Little Sister.

Nathalie and Gilles Gautier:  France ex-pats, purveyors of pastries, masters of macarons and owners of L’Epi de blé
Every day, this husband and wife team get up before sunrise to make some of Winnipeg’s best breads, pastries, croissants and their signature macarons. Their north Main Street patisserie L’Epi de Blé is a hopping hot spot for folk who think nothing of coming from all corners of the city to snatch up fresh-from-the-oven goodies. The chocolate croissant with almond cream is beyond fantastic. Insider’s tip: Don’t leave your bun run until afternoon. The pastries are baked fresh daily and can sell-out by mid-to-late afternoon. Check out PCG’s review here.

Peg City Grub is your ultimate source for everything foodie in Winnipeg. From the hottest chefs to the best new restaurants to the most delicious events, we’ve got you covered. Follow us on Twitter @pegcitygrub and visit www.tourismwinnipeg.com for more on the city’s fabulous dining options. 

Peg City Grub is a Tourism Winnipeg culinary initiative.

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A trip to the carnival: Apple beignets with cardamom caramel, anise ice cream and cinnamon cotton candy at Chew.

Chew
Address: 532 Waterloo Street (at Corydon Avenue)
Phone Number: 204-667 2439
Neighbourhood: River Heights
Website: chewcatering.ca
Facebook: facebook.com/chewcatering

If we had ordered dessert first at Chew, there’s no way we would have had another single dish from the menu.

Fantastic. Heavenly. Delightful. Delectable. Those are all just words.

The ”carnival on a plate” was a whimsical, time travelling romp to the fairgrounds of childhood where cotton candy, caramel apples, ice cream and donuts powered the fun.

That was the magic of three apple beignets sitting in a smear of cardamom caramel sauce and accompanied by a billowing cloud of shocking pink cotton candy and a scoop of smooth and sophisticated anise ice cream. (With apologies for adjective overuse.)

My lunch partner and I shared this plate, bite by bite. No one got a single additional morsel. Even-stevens all the way.

Moving on: Chew is the work of Kristen Chemerika-Lew and Kyle Lew, a young couple who met at cooking school in Toronto a few years back. The couple moved to Winnipeg (Kristen’s home town) to open their own bistro. They took over the original location of Santa Lucia, a pizza institution in Winnipeg that opened more that 28 years ago.

The couple hopes that longevity karma works in their favour too. The menu is locally focused, as it should be, on in-season vegetables and grains, locally raised meats and regional fish. While the menu is posted online, the menu changes with the availability of ingredients.

We started with seared scallops with lemon preserve. Three luscious bites, spiked with the intense citrus tang of lemon lay on a mild-tempered cauliflower-saffron pureé. Yummo. Ricotta gnudi with walnut pesto sauce and shaved parmesan were decadent melt-in-mouth mini-parcels. The winner among savoury dishes was roasted chicken with a Mediterranean-style, tajine-type quinoa dotted with dried apricots and golden raisins. I haven’t tasted a better quinoa in the city. The leg-attached chicken breast was finished on the grill for a fire-roasted finish.

Cappuccinos perfectly completed this afternoon getaway to Chew.

Reservations are recommended given there are just seven tables. Chew is open Tuesday  to Sunday.

Seared scallops with saffron cauliflower, beet chips and preserved lemon at Chew.

Roasted Chicken with quinoa at Chew

Peg City Grub is your ultimate source for everything foodie in Winnipeg. From the hottest chefs to the best new restaurants to the most delicious events, we’ve got you covered. Follow us on Twitter @pegcitygrub and visit www.tourismwinnipeg.com for more on the city’s fabulous dining options. 

Peg City Grub is a Tourism Winnipeg culinary initiative.

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Chaise Café’s The Frenchman looking all delicious and snooty.

The Burger Club Winnipeg
Website: burgerclubwinnipeg.blogspot.ca

Chaise Café and Lounge
Address: 271 Provencher Boulevard
Phone Number: 204-504-4012
Website: https://www.facebook.com/ChaiseCafe
Neighbourhood: St. Boniface

The first rule of burger club: burgers are made of beef.

That rule is more like the holy grail of Burger Club Winnipeg, a collection of burger lovers who have made it their mission to find the city’s best burger.

The eaters/burger testers are friends, co-workers, and friends of friends of Tim Turner, an engineer who started the club about two years ago.

The group meets at a different restaurant about once a month, sometimes more often, to taste test a new burger. There are about 30 or so members. They score each burger based on quality, flavour, assembly, quantity and presentation. The restaurant is scored on its comfort, service and price.

They maintain a comprehensive website listing, ranking and critiquing all the burgers they’ve tried at Winnipeg restaurants. They even post spreadsheets detailing scores. It’s the city’s most comprehensive resource for the burger scene.

On a recent Tuesday, Peg City Grub joined the club at Chaise Café and Lounge in St. Boniface to scarf down The Frenchman, a spicy beef burger with arugula cheese curds and a fried egg on top. Others tried The Behemoth, a beef burger with grilled onions and mushrooms sandwiched between two grilled cheese sandwiches loaded with smoked provolone, bacon and jalapeños.

A third burger, The Super Burger, was constructed with ground in house AAA hanger steak stuffed with haloumi cheese topped with bacon.

Being a guest at a food club is a great way to get to know your fellow Winnipeggers. Within minutes of sitting at a table of strangers I became a “burger buddy” with April Wozny. We cut our burgers in half, my Frenchman and her Behemoth, and shared with each other.

At the table, burger club members discuss taste and flavour, criticizing sandwiches that fall apart or have too-crusty buns, for example. The burger is serious business here. Catching up, personal conversations also slip into table talk.

As for The Frenchman and The Behemoth: both were serviceable burgers that had yummy elements and fell a little short in other areas. I like a regular bun; no foccacia or grilled cheese business. Grilled onions, mushrooms, bacon and a spicy cheese are toothsome additions to any burger. All burgers were served with fantastic shoe-string fries and a yummy house salad. Despite the photographic evidence below, both the salad and fries made great supporting characters to the burgers. But I was there for the meat, not the veggies.

Burger Club Winnipeg is a fantastic resource for locals and visitors to the city. Check out their website for great advice on Winnipeg’s burger scene.

In the meantime, the title of Winnipeg’s best burger currently goes to Sonya’s, a no-frills, Elmwood diner that’s been in business for decades.

Ranking card from Burger Club Winnipeg.

Chaise Café’s The Frenchman burger looking less snooty.

Peg City Grub is your ultimate source for everything foodie in Winnipeg. From the hottest chefs to the best new restaurants to the most delicious events, we’ve got you covered. Follow us on Twitter @pegcitygrub and visit www.tourismwinnipeg.com for more on the city’s fabulous dining options. 

Peg City Grub is a Tourism Winnipeg culinary initiative.

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Artistry in flour and yeast at Tall Grass Prairie at The Forks.

Tall Grass Prairie Bread Company (two locations)
Address: 1 Forks Market Road
Phone Number: 204-957-5097
Neighbourhood: The Forks/Downtown

Address: 859 Westminster Avenue
Phone Number: 204: 783-5097
Neighbourhood: Wolseley
Website: tallgrassbakery.ca

Tall Grass Prairie Bakery is a Winnipeg institution. That’s not hyperbole, it’s the truth.

The first seeds of the bakery took root in 1981 when a group of people living in Wolseley (aka Winnipeg’s granola belt) decided that living as neighbours included sharing their lives in the “spirit of peace” and with a devotion to the earth. From there, the group formed the Grain of Wheat church, a multi-denominational congregation.

The bakery was born from conversations amongst church members.

That’s the Coles Notes version. (For the full story, click here.)

Here’s what you need to know:

• Tall Grass Prairie makes fantastic bread.

• The grains are organically grown with no pesticides and sourced from farmers in Manitoba.

• The grain is ground into flour onsite at the bakery.

• TGP makes Folk Festival cookies, an oatmeal, sunflower seed, coconut and chocolate laden treat that is infamous in these parts.

•TGP’s whole wheat cinnamon bun is also a Winnipeg specialty. (Staff, especially at The Forks location on weekends, pull sheet upon sheet from the oven, selling them sometimes faster than they can bake them.)

• The lemon pound cake and the lemon sugar cookies are diet breakers.

Those are some highlights. The bakery, and in particular The Forks location, is a great spot to take out-of-towners for a true taste of Manitoba.

TGP is committed to supporting local farmers and producers. And, lucky for us, that translates into some outstanding bakery staples.

Checking out the counter fare at Tall Grass Prairie at The Forks.

Stock up on organic breads made with locally grown wheat at Tall Grass Prairie at The Forks.

Peg City Grub is your ultimate source for everything foodie in Winnipeg. From the hottest chefs to the best new restaurants to the most delicious events, we’ve got you covered. Follow us on Twitter @pegcitygrub and visit www.tourismwinnipeg.com for more on the city’s fabulous dining options. 

Peg City Grub is a Tourism Winnipeg culinary initiative.

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Falafel Place owner Ami Hassan makes breakfast but he doesn’t do dishes.

We’ve all heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Inside loads of Winnipeg restaurants, it’s also the tastiest meal of the day. There are many great local eateries that dish up a mean plate of eggs, bacon and all the fixings. This list is just the beginning. It’s short and sweet, but definitely not comprehensive.

With that in mind, here are Peg City Grub’s picks for five breakfast and brunch standouts in Winnipeg.

Falafel Place
1101 Corydon Avenue
204-489-5811
Neighbourhood: Crescentwood/ Corydon Avenue
Website: http://www.falafelplace.ca

Falafel Place is one of Winnipeg’s busiest breakfast spots. The Mediterranean breakfast with eight falafel balls, tahini, hummus and potato pancakes topped with grilled onions, garlic and banana peppers is a breakfast beast that must be tasted to be believed. This Corydon Avenue hotspot enjoys a very loyal following. Expect short line-ups for weekend brekkie. Table turnover is fast as customers are encouraged to eat, pay and get on their way. Insider’s tip: FP only takes cash.

Dessert Sinsations
505B St. Mary Avenue
204.284.4661
Neighbourhood: Downtown
Website: dessertsinsations.com

The breakfast menu hits all the favourites (eggs any way with all the fixings), three kinds of eggs Benedict (ham, veggie with asparagus and smoked salmon), huevos rancheros, buttermilk pancakes and French toast. But even those standards have no resemblance to your average, neighbourhood diner. Everything is house-made right down to the jam and cinnamon spread.

For meat-free breakfast fare, try the vegetarian brekkie. Eggs any style, toast, and crispy, fried potatoes are joined by a dense, bean- and grain-laden patty. Hints of curry lace this moist but crispy patty. The star of the plate are crispy fried leeks that you will hoard. Insider’s tip: Don’t share them.

UPDATE: Breakfast is only available Saturday morning as of November 2013.

Come n’ Eat (Neechi Commons)
865 Main Street
204-949-1338
Neighbourhood: Point Douglas/ North Main
Website: neechi.ca

Neechi Commons and its Come n’ Eat café serves an all-day breakfast and lunch featuring a multicultural menu with aboriginal fare and local ingredients front and centre. Bannock French toast with wild blueberries is a scrumptious example of how to meld cuisines. The all-day breakfast is served in a sunlight dining room with views of downtown Winnipeg and urban life on North Main.

Star Grill
2069 Portage Avenue
204-837-7827
Neighbourhood: St. James
Website: http://www.stargrill.mb.ca

All-day weekday breakfasts and a fantastic weekend brunch makes this St. James eatery a popular spot. Fresh and local ingredients lead the way here, including the innovative brunch menu of sweet and savoury waffles, eggs Benedict, omelettes and breakfast pizzas. Word to the wise: You will have difficulty picking one dish.

The Nook (two locations)
43 Sherbrook Street
204-774-0818
Neighbourhood: Wolseley

3106 Portage Avenue
204-889-1611
Neighbourhood: St. James
Website: none

Picture an old-school lunch counter/ diner with well-worn booths and open grill behind a long counter and you’ve got The Nook in Wolseley. This locals hangout serves a fantastic, stick-to-your-ribs breakfast that prides itself on no-frills. That attitude works just fine for all-day eggs and bacon lovers. A few Eggs Benedict mash-ups are worth a taste too.

Dessert Sinsations’ Vegetarian Brekkie with crispy, fried leeks.

Peg City Grub is your ultimate source for everything foodie in Winnipeg. From the hottest chefs to the best new restaurants to the most delicious events, we’ve got you covered. Follow us on Twitter @pegcitygrub and visit www.tourismwinnipeg.com for more on the city’s fabulous dining options. 

Peg City Grub is a Tourism Winnipeg culinary initiative.

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Where I’ll be for the next week. Image via www.travelsupermarket.com

Man, short weeks are just the best. Aren’t they? Seriously, a four day work week is where it’s at. I think people would have more time to exercise and eat well if they only worked four days a week. It just seems so much more balanced.

This week has been bananas. All in a good way. I’ve been putting the final touches on my presentation for the Manitoba Farm Women’s  Conference on Monday. I’m so excited.  After that, it’ll be a whirlwind of a couple of days because I leave for Mexico at 6 am on Thursday morning! My family is going to spend some quality time together. I will be offline for the week, but will be taking LOTS of pictures that I’ll share when I’m back. I’ve got my clients covered while I’m away, this guy will be taking over.

Lots of big changes happening in December. Looking forward to a new month. And don’t even get me started on a new year. Looking forward to growing and learning more. Spending time on the things that count. Oh, life!

In the meantime, here’s some cozy fireside reading material:

• Granola that’s better than a cinnamon bun.
• Russia is showing some progression.
• Tired? Unmotivated? A great post about adrenal fatigue.
• Need food in a fix? Make these and put them in your purse.
• What 200 calories looks like.
• 8 scary sounding ingredients that are actually safe.
• The real deal on artificial sweeteners.
• 30 crazy good cauliflower recipes.
• Some of my reading material in Mexico.
• Protein for a healthy heart.
• AN INVISIBLE BIKE HELMET?!

Have a wonderful couple of weeks! Smile.

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The Steamers. Photo by Ruth Bonneville

What a week. I’ve made a couple of big decisions concerning my somewhat chaotic life that are all pointing in the direction of AWESOME. I’ll fill you in more next week.

I’ll be using the extra day this long weekend to work on my upcoming presentation for the Manitoba Farm Women’s Conference. I’m also heading out on Saturday night to the Thirsty Lion Pub to hear my friend Sabrina’s all 80s cover band play. I’m ready for a good Charleswood dance party!

Here are 11 links that caught my eye this week:

• 10 things to do to relax in less than a minute
• Oh boy, this is singledom in 2013?
• Stop worrying and start sleeping.
• Just say no to chemicals in your foods kids!
• The sitting disease.
• Would you do this to relieve stress?
• 5 superfoods that prevent cancer.
• Alec Baldwin on depression.
• Lulu nono.
• Bring a powerful mind to your next workout.
• I made this for dinner and it blew my mind.

Smile. Be grateful. Live.

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I’m excited for this weekend. Dinner with fun friends tonight and a sleepover with some pals at the Hotel Fort Garry. Spa, yoga and their infamous brunch! I’ve never had the brunch there, but I hear it’s INSANE. Then a family birthday bowling party on Sunday. All great things.

A few fun links for your weekend:

• The latest New York fitness craze.
• No equipment? No problem. A full body workout.
• This is healthcare.
• How yoga changes your body. (INFOGRAPHIC)
• Brussel sprouts, chanterelles and BACON.
• Six ways to kickstart your metabolism.
• Nice work, Europe.
• Read this before you dip into Sally’s Halloween treats.
• 22 of the best TED talks that inspire wellness.
• My Mom made this easy soup, and it was delicious.

Have a great weekend, enjoy the extra hour of sleep. I’ll be enjoying it in my feather topped bed at the Hotel Fort Garry!

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Cozy nights call for my favourite Hudson’s Bay blanket. It’s been my winter blanket since I was 7.

Happy Friday! I have a busy  weekend ahead. Tomorrow morning I’m heading out to the Manitoba Association of Home Economists conference. Looking forward to hear Mairlyn Smith speak and get some great recipe ideas! I also have a dinner and a movie date with my Mom. It’s going to be a great weekend.

Here are 11 of my favourite links from this week:

• What actors will do for a role.
• How cereal transformed American culture.
• Zzzzzzzzz’s are so important for health.
• Get bored running? Try this!
• Excellent news for preventative health.
• You’ll never guess why people are happy in Denmark.
• Winnipeg: let’s get on this. It’s good for you.
• Is marriage good for your health?
• 25 websites that will make you S-M-R-T.
• 8 salmon recipes that even fish haters will like.
• Feeling lazy? Here’s a workout for you.

Have a wonderful weekend.

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OPENING DAY!

Shop Hours
Tues to Fri: 11-6 
Sat: 11-5

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Thanks to everyone for liking, commenting, and following along as we prepare to open.

Renovating, importing, building business relationships, and dealing with the city has not come without obstacles and setbacks.

We’re currently waiting for the city to grant us occupancy. We’re making lemonade, figuratively, in the meantime - bringing in more rad products, and working hard behind-the-scenes to make it worth the wait!

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Waiting on permits, and playing behind papered windows in the meantime…

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Things have been moving at an accelerating and exhilarating pace lately, which is why I haven’t posted much here. Between multiple client projects, ramping up The Distillery, and my now usual involvement with various community initiatives like WordCamp Winnipeg (nice recap by Reid Peifer of Tri.be here) and Actif Epica, I’m ringing in my 5th year in business with some team expansion and planning for the future.

I’ve been posting quick little bursts on my little experimental site and playing with some ideas that I’m quite excited about. You’ll hear more from me here soon, and in the coming months, I’ll be redesigning this site, merging my experimental site here and adding a client portal.

Onward.

What’s up, David Pensato? was written on David Pensato. Check it out for more.

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Getting closer!!

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If there are such things as secrets in network marketing, this one is right up there. Learn to ask the right questions. And for some of you, stop and just ask questions! Your goal is not to make people want to run for cover! So it blows my mind that most network marketers will spend months going through their warm market, just to murder all of their best leads!

What Most People Do When They Get Started With Network Marketing

When most people get involved with network marketing, they get a case of verbal diarrhea. It’s a natural progression on the journey. They get excited about this new life changing opportunity with network marketing, and they want to tell everyone about it! Down to every last detail. They spend time learning the compensation plan, learning the back office system, and learning about placement. They buy products and start figuring out how they all work.

So what do they do when they meet up with someone for a lunch or a coffee? They start talking the poor persons face off about the products, the company, and the opportunity. The poor guy or lady that they invited out to “catch up” has to sit there listening to a walking, breathing, talking advertisement that wont stop! If this is you, you have just committed network marketing murder and murdered your prospect.

Become an Influencer, Gain Trust

Your number one goal when you talk to people is to gain their trust and become an influencer. Why? Because once someone trusts you, and looks up to you as someone that is an expert in their field, they will do whatever you want. Well almost whatever you want. So how do you gain someone’s trust, and become an influencer as quickly as possible? You need to show them that you genuinely care for them, and their well being both mentally, physically, and financially.

Stop Talking, Start Listening

The best way to become an influencer is to ask questions and get your prospect talking. And not just talking about how the weather is. You need to learn to ask Powerful Network Marketing questions. For now, lets get you started with 6 questions that can drive your conversation for hours, and at the end of the conversation, you will be well positioned as a Trusted Influencer.

The Right Questions

1. I haven’t seen you in ages! I’m so excited to fill you in on my last year, but I’m fired up to hear about you. Tell me how has life been treating you?
2. How has your summer been? What have you been up to?
3. How is your job at Widget Company X? I remember you were doing payroll there correct?
4. So do you still travel a lot for work? Man I’d love to travel like you once in a while.
5. Do you ever get a feeling that you were put here to do something else?
6. Have you thought about what school John is going to go to in high school? I’m fired up about *Insert Private School Name Here*. Would be awesome if our kids went to school together.
7. You know I should really tell you about this cool thing I’ve been working on lately but it was awesome catching up. We should meet up again soon and I’ll tell you all about it.

Be Genuine

People can smell a fake a mile away. Here is the thing about these questions: You must be genuine and ask follow up questions as they respond to you. You need to take interest in them, and truly want to connect with them at a deeper level to get to know them. The goal needs to be when they walk away from your initial meeting, they should be thinking:

Miguel cares about me. What a nice guy! Was so great to talk and share with him. Sounds like he is doing really well. I wonder what he is up to, he has always had my best interests at heart. I wish I had more time with him to pick his brain on what he is working on.

As clever as you may think you are, if you are representing a shady company that has a bad product, nothing will work. If you are being fake and reading a script to them from your memory, nothing will save you. Network Marketing is the most incredible opportunity in the world, but you must be genuine, and want to help people.

The post Learn to Ask the Right Questions appeared first on Miguel Carrasco | Canada's Top Beachbody Coach.

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Write on!

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Here is a big secret I want to share with you. There are only 3 ways you can decrease the time it takes you to achieve your goals in network marketing. As a network marketing trainer, I’m constantly talking to network marketers about “Achieving Their Goals”. However, everyone seems to make everything so complicated! In this video, I explain exactly how I go about achieving incredible success in Network Marketing.

Set Your 90 Day Network Marketing Goal

First things first: Do you have a 90 day goal? If you don’t have one, you need to stop right now and set a 90 day goal that you want to achieve with your network marketing business. The video above explains this in more detail, but the basics are to set a 90 day goal, set weekly checkpoints, and ensure that every 30 days you are on target. If you aren’t on target, then you need to dial up one of the three key factors below that will determine if you are successful with network marketing.

Achieve Your Goals: Increase Time

Many people tell me they don’t have money, so they might not be able to get involved right now in Network Marketing. The reality is, if you can increase the time you are spending on your business, you will need less money, and generate more money! Spending more time on prospecting, working with your network marketing team. Spend more time on creating your own logo, your own web site, setting up your own blog for your network marketing opportunity.

Achieve Your Goals: Increase Money

Now if you are low on time, then you need to increase money. It doesn’t have to be a lot of money, but here is the thing: You cannot expect to build a multimillion dollar network marketing organization by spending $100 a month on an auto-ship, and on top of that, having very little time to invest. Pack your bags and move on right now. Increasing money can mean a number of things:

1. Pay someone to make you a great logo.
2. Get a great blog or website setup.
3. Buy more products from your network marketing company to give as samples.

Achieve Your Goals: Increase Personal Development

The big difference with successful network marketers that hit the ground running fast, and those that require more time, is personal development. Some people have spent years reading Tony Robbins, Brian Tracy, and John Maxwell. So when they join a network marketing opportunity, they are ready to rock and roll and all they need to learn is a little about network marketing, and a little about the compensation plan, and they are ready to rock. However many of you just need to realize that the best way to have long term success is to increase your personal development!

The post 3 Ways You Can Achieve Your Goals in Network Marketing appeared first on Miguel Carrasco | Canada's Top Beachbody Coach.

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35 Minutes That Will Explode Your Business

Did you know that 95 % of the people that join Network Marketing Business Fail and quit within the first 3 to 6 months? Isn’t that insane? The main reason for this? They make all, or some of the mistakes that I will reveal to you in “10 Mistakes Network Marketers Make That Cause Them To Fail”.

Get The Webinar Absolutely FREE

In this 35 minute presentation, I want to provide with incredible value, and finally reveal to you what nearly every single network marketing company will never tell you, and what your up line is scared to share with you. To get it, simply fill in your name and email below, and you will be sent to the FREE Webinar.

The post Unlock Your Network Marketing Potential appeared first on Miguel Carrasco | Canada's Top Beachbody Coach.

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On a recent trip to Chicago I was introduced to the Cupcake ATM. I love technology and marketing, and I’m always looking for new inspiration for my clients, and Sprinkles Cupcakes really stood out in my mind as company that just gets it! Here are 6 tips to keep in mind before you launch your next great product!

1. Make a Great Product

You can do everything right, but if you don’t make a great product, your business is going to bomb very quickly. Sprinkles Cupcakes understands this! In fact, they don’t just sell a cupcake, they sell “The Gourmet Cupcake”. They offer hundreds of delicious handmade cupcakes that are made from some of the finest ingredients in the world. I mean just have a listen to some of the ingredients they use: natural citrus zest, Belgian chocolate, Madagascar Bourbon vanilla, sweet cream butter. Are you hungry yet? These gourmet cupcakes are to DIE for. The lines just to get your hands on one of these things is INSANE. If you are working on a product that you want to sell like HOT CAKES, then you need to think about Cupcakes! Make your product THE BEST product in the industry. Otherwise why bother doing it?

2. Make It Easy For People to Buy Your Product

The lines for these gourmet cupcakes where getting ridiculous. Nobody could get their hands on these cupcakes. The issue wasn’t making the cupcakes, the issue was selling them in the store. How did Sprinkles Cupcakes get around this issue? They innovated yet again and created the world’s first Cupcakes ATM. And it wasn’t just any ATM. It was another great product. Customers could now simply walk up to the Cupcakes ATM, select the cupcake they wanted to purchase, and out would pop a gourmet cupcake. Sounds too good to be true? Why would anyone want to buy a cupcake from an ATM? That brings me to my next point.

3. Let People See How It Is Made

Sprinkles Cupcakes decided that it was critical people buying their gourmet cupcakes from an ATM would get an incredible experience. In order to do this, Sprinkles Cupcakes added cameras and an incredible interactive LCD touch screen. Customers select the cupcake they want from a massive list, and once the selection is made, Sprinkles Cupcakes shows the customer the cupcake being pushed into the ATM, pushed into a box, and then packed fresh for the customer to eat in a matter of seconds. If you are developing a product, you need to provide proof that you are the real deal. You can’t just claim you have the best ingredients, you need to show people the proof and evidence that what you say, is actually the reality!

4. Provide Great Packaging

The packaging, and the entire experience is just incredible. You just saw the video above. Everything that Sprinkles Cupcakes does is about a great package. Packing isn’t just the box the product ships in. Packaging is everything. The cage behind the cupcake ATM showing you all the delicious cupcakes. The ATM itself, the video screen, the way the cupcake door opens revealing the delicious gourmet cupcake.

5. Focus on Doing One Thing Really Well

So many people try and focus on doing 100 different things. Many service providers seem proud to offer hundreds of services and are proud to say “we are the one stop shop”. The problem with that, is you can’t really get good at one thing! How simple is cupcakes! Who would have thought you could build an empire on one simple thing like cupcakes? If you are working on a new product, a new business, or a new service offering, remember that you need to focus on one thing, and do that one thing very well. Better than anyone!

6. Make People’s Mouths Water

You have to make people’s mouths water when they see your product. You have to make them want it so badly, that nothing they do will make them forget that your product is available right now, and all they need to do is give up their credit card and a few bucks. Have you ever walked by a gourmet cupcake store before? Once you see and smell and experience one of these cupcakes, you will not only buy one cupcake, you will keep coming back for more. Ok, on that note, I need to go buy a cupcake! Good luck with all your marketing efforts friends.

The post Everything I’ve Learned About Marketing, Can Be Learned From Cupcakes appeared first on Miguel Carrasco | Canada's Top Beachbody Coach.

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In June of 2011, sharing buttons were just becoming a standard thing on blog posts everywhere. I suggested that Automattic create a “Press This” button. Today, while on a WordPress.com hosted site, I saw one:

Maybe it’s been there for a while (I’m not often logged into WordPress.com, even when I’m browsing blogs there). But I’m glad to see WordPress picking up the ball and getting more social in their approach. Now let’s see them roll it out for everyone, and maybe do some of these things too.

Press This! was written on David Pensato. Check it out for more.

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THIS IS A SINGLE POST

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Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, anim id est laborum. Itaque earum rerum hic tenetur a sapiente delectus, ut aut reiciendisvoluptatibus maiores alias consequatur aut perferendis doloribus asperiores repellat. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet

Consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

The post The Road To Reusable HTML Components appeared first on Miguel Carrasco | Canada's Top Beachbody Coach.

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The title may sound facetious (“everyone’s a comedian”), but it’s a statement of fact.

If you’re reading this, you are the foremost expert at something. No one else is an expert in exactly the same combination of things and in exactly the same way as you are.

It’s as true of companies and organizations as it is of people.

The trick is to zero in on your expertise, your unique combination of style and knowledge and talent, and then focus. Celebrate what you alone can do.

Focus your expertise, find build your network around it and keep the opportunities for serendipity at a maximum. If you can do this, you will never have to worry about competition. It won’t exist.

I’m reminded of this with every project I take on. The people I work with are experts in what they do, and I’m an expert in helping them focus on it, remove the distractions and connect with the people who can benefit from it.

It really is amazing and true. You’re an expert. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

Everyone’s an Expert was written on David Pensato. Check it out for more.

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The Internet Dashboard

One of the posts on this site that continues to pull in traffic is “It’s 2010. Where’s my Internet Dashboard?” The gist of it is this:

Why isn’t there a single, web based dashboard for all my internet- based communication? It should act both as an aggregator and as a messaging centre– a singular launch-point from which I can see the latest news and quickly compose messages that can be sent to any of my connected platforms

I also suggested some requirements for what it needed to be, because we were already seeing some faux dashboards out there (there’s a burgeoning industry now of closed systems that suck up and spit out your data while mining it for themselves).

This dashboard of mine should live on a mini server on my computer, synchronizing with the cloud whenever changes happen. My data needs to be portable, it needs to be accessible anywhere, and I need to be able to own it.

There’s more, and you can go back and read it, if you want more background. The comments helped to shape my thinking further.

Blogging, Social Media and Silos.

Another post that continues to get traffic is about the Facebook Problem. I identified it long before their IPO, and there has been a lot of coverage confirming my comment since. Just today, The Ad Contrarian has an excellent post up more or less confirming that my prediction is coming to pass. Social Media as we know it has had its day. Blogging continues to drive the web, but social media has taught us new lessons and we’ve discovered an increasing problem around structuring our content and maintaining vibrant online communities. Blogging as it has traditionally been done doesn’t work for everyone or for every type of online communication, and the social media silos have become increasingly myopic and controlling.

Building Communities

What we really want is a way of building communities that can scale. It needs to be open, accessible and simple to use. It also needs to hook in with the Internet Dashboard mentioned above. Twitter shouldn’t control it. Facebook shouldn’t control it. Apple or Google shouldn’t control it. It needs to be to social media what WordPress was to Geocities. I’m not just being idealistic, either. I actually happen to think that this is good for business. It’s also important to remember that while it’s easy for advertisers to sell you a quick solution to community building, it’s actually a lot of hard work, and it takes much more than a merely digital solution. It takes some degree of authentic, human experience.

The World Outline

Dave Winer is on the cusp of this evolution. Just like he was with blogging. Over the past while, he has been actively and quite prolifically developing his World Outline Software, and it has finally gotten to a place where I am having some fun playing around with it. It also meets a lot of my wish list for an Internet Dashboard, and the direction Winer is taking it in suggests that will eventually fit it perfectly.

It’s not quite ready for everyone yet, but if you like to dig under the hood of things a bit, the system is what every “public beta” promises to be but isn’t. There’s an active community of people using it, testing it and gaining access to new features as they’re ready. People who help each other out. It’s nice.

Structured Thought

One issue with the sprawling web is organising it. Even with blogs, it is becoming a real problem. Of course it makes sense that blogs are presented reverse-chronologically: show me what’s new first! The problem is organising all that content afterwards. And then there’s all that other content that isn’t really the same thing as a post.

Like its name suggests, the core concept of the World Outline is that everything is an outline. If you’ve done any writing or planning ever in your life, you know the power and simplicity of an outline to structure your thoughts. In the World Outline, this is the basis for everything.

All the writing, all the templates, all the preferences are outlines in OPML format. It’s an open standard.

It’s the simplicity of this structure that helps you organise your thoughts, and its this basic building block that’s at play in what I see as the most promising personal publishing platform since WordPress.

Conceptually, things get a bit richer yet. Each outline can be assigned a node type, whether it’s a thread or a post or a presentation. These help structure what kind of communication you have created. A node type is to an outline what CSS is to HTML. You might think about WordPress’s post-types but one level up. Where post-types define what kind of post something is, a node type defines what kind of thought something is. It’s one level higher, taking in discussions, posts, how-tos and more (even index pages, directories and domains). This provides all kinds of flexibility, since each outline is then rendered as HTML and has CSS applied. All open. All configurable.

This even extends to community structure, with each member having their own top-level set of outlines.

Limitations of the World Outline Today.

It really is a great new way to tie together the genuine innovations in the Web 2.0 phase that is now reaching its zenith. It also solves a lot of its problems.

That said, the software really is in its early days and under active development. Which means there are still some things that Winer is working out, features that he’s adding, plumbing that he’s hooking up. Refreshingly though, he’s doing it all out in the open.

For one thing, you’ll either need to set up your own World Outline Server or join someone else’s. Neither is completely trivial. In order to do anything with it, you also need to be running the OPML editor on your local machine (especially if you’re not running your own server). This may be a price to pay for the flexibility, but I’d love to be able to create outlines on the fly from my tablet, phone or someone else’s computer—a web-based outliner.

I’d personally also like to see it interoperate with WordPress–which should be possible, since everything on both platforms is working with open standards and protocols. There are some things that WordPress are just fantastic with, and I’d love them to be tightly integrated in some way.

It’s not for everyone yet. But if you’re an early adopter who doesn’t mind rolling up your sleeves a bit, this is a great time to get in on it and help define its development.

The Next Big Thing?

Will the World Outline be the next big thing? Maybe. Maybe not. But I’ve been pretty good with my predictions about the evolution of the web, and I’m willing to say that whatever the next big thing is, it will look a lot like this.

Invitation to my World Outline

If you want to give it a shot, without setting up your own server, let me know and I’ll set you up on mine. I’ll have to limit this to a very small number of people and I’ll also have to be clear that I will not be offering much, if any, support–I simply don’t have the time–but there is an active community where you can ask questions and a good amount of helpful documentation available (though it’s not as linear as you might like, and takes some trial and error).

If you’ve played with it at all, please let me know if I’m thinking about this the right way. I’m thinking through it as I play along.

Towards a Personal Publishing Platform was written on David Pensato. Check it out for more.

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I’ve written before about how the basic building block of the web is the hyperlink. And that in turn is the beginning of its interactive nature. It’s the element that supercharges our reading and writing. The written word with a twist.

I’ve also discussed the trouble with Facebook (though anytime you see me use the word Facebook, please use it as a “fill in the blank” for all the silos that have emerged on the web in recent years). These silos are attempts at reigning things in, as though hyperlinks exist only in some manner they dictate. They call it “user experience,” but really it is an attempt to hold us in as long as possible and sell our eyeballs. As though we were eyeballs. As though the web were television.

The web sprawls because it’s open, and that makes it difficult for traditional advertising models. They don’t apply. These silos won’t last in the long term—not without adapting themselves. The trouble is that now there’s a lot of money on the line and big media is betting it all on them.

I’ve always advocated for looking at marketing in the interactive age as being best when it creates the conditions for serendipity. Instead of fighting the web from the old media lens, you should embrace it and communicate through it.

The funny thing about these silos is that they really are just blogging platforms with a few bells and whistles and with clipped wings. In some ways the only improvement is the simplicity of connecting with others that they provide. But in the end, by hemming everything in, they will eventually be usurped. It’s happened before and just because they are even bigger now, does not mean it won’t happen again.

If you care about communicating effectively with your friends or customers or community in the interactive age, don’t be fooled by the glossy tricks. Don’t trap yourself in the walled silos of 20th century thinking on top of 21st century media. Instead, think through who you are, who your network is and how you are going to create the perfect conditions for serendipity. If you do it right, you’ll build a web of your own that just keeps growing—with opportunities for serendipity multiplying over time.

I’m toying with some new software that’s being built by Dave Winer, the proto-blogger, inventor of RSS. I think it is the beginning of a true evolution of the web that will help structure thoughts and build communities. I’ll have more to write about that tomorrow, but if you want to take a peek, you can find my early experimentation here.

UPDATE: here’s my post about Dave Winer’s new software.

Building a web of your own was written on David Pensato. Check it out for more.

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