Deer? Oh, DEAR!

             Chess grand master, author and new riding buddy Jesse Kraai shares this rather dramatic video of a deer/bike interaction.

            It’s every rider’s nightmare, especially this time of year when cool evening rides coincide with the deer’s favorite time to wander…

            I’ve had couple of friends meet deer this way and it is no fun.  I try to enjoy watching them in the fields rather than letting them become ANTs (automatic negative thoughts) that might limit my riding.  It’s all about good intellectual energy!

NO Computers in Class?

“Should computers be barred from the classroom?”

            That question triggered a spirited discussion the other day at a faculty meeting at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.  Prompted by a Wall Street Journal story headlined “I’m Banning Laptops from My Classroom,” professorial opinion ranged from “computers MUST be in the classroom” to, well, me.

            Since I started teaching several years ago at Bloomberg, ranked the #1 public health school in America, I have flatly prohibited any 21^st Century technology in my class.  No laptops, no smart phones, and no iPads or assorted “tablets.”

            Although I spell this out in my syllabus, few students bother reading a syllabus, and so there is usually shock and awe at my first class of the semester.   I have to dole out paper and pens because many students no longer carry such ancient writing implements.

            Interestingly, several of my students were in the faculty meeting and they spoke out in favor of computers…in some classes.   Nobody was nervy enough to suggest computers should find their way into my marketing class.

            Why do I ban these devices that have essentially become one with our bodies?  Here’s what the author of the Wall Street Journal piece, Rutgers law professor Stuart Green, said he experienced when he walked to the back of his classroom while a guest lecturer taught his class:

            “What a revelation to see what the students are up to. While virtually all of them have open laptops and most are taking notes, many seem more intent on emailing and texting, posting on social media, reading news sites, shopping online, or looking at YouTube videos. I recently saw one student systematically checking out law-firm websites for summer-associate salaries. Another spent an entire class streaming an NHL hockey game.

            “If this is what the students are doing while I’m sitting behind them, observing the class, I can only imagine what they’re doing when I’m up front, lecturing.”

            What do you think?  Computers in the classroom -- or not?

To be continued…the impact of technology on our energy.

Want A Free Midsummer Energy Boost?

            You can now download for free the ebook version of Getting Up! Supercharging Your Energy.  My new book details the strategies of my popular energy seminars that will help you reduce stress, accomplish more and improve work-life balance.  But hurry: the offer is only good until August 4 at 11 am EDT.

            The book’s focus on energy management -- and not just time management -- can help you, your team or your organization dramatically increase performance.

            Lots of books promise better performance…Getting Up! proves it.  Using its energy techniques, last year I rode a bicycle across America in just 18 days -- averaging 150 miles a day.  Not bad for a 66-year-old with a heavy training, consulting and teaching schedule!

            What could you do with that kind of energy?

            You (and your employees, friends, clients and family) can download the Kindle version of Getting Up! (normally $5.99) for free only until this Thursday at 11 am at

https://www.amazon.com/Getting-UP-Supercharging-Your-Energy-ebook/dp/B01G5TUKQ8

            Have a higher-energy summer!

Life Imitates Long Distance Cycling

            PAC Tour is a great way to spend 18 days…if you’re planning to write a book on energy …because life imitates riding across the country.  Just ask Einstein, who knew a bit about energy.  He said, “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” And, on PAC Tour…

§  Each day brings its own challenges;

§  The external obstacles, like mountains and traffic, are unchanging and uncaring;

§  The internal obstacles are tougher: pain, exhaustion, anxiety, confusion, discouragement, irritation, distraction;

§  Sometimes, you ride with friends; sometimes, you must ride alone;

§  You must decide how to spend your energy; how to save it; how to recover it;

§  It’s a little dangerous;

§  Tomorrow, you ride again.

            At 66, Medicare card in my wallet, I became the oldest rider to complete this event since it began in 1995.  Some folks think it’s pretty impressive that an old fart like me could ride that long and hard.  In this book and my courses, I’m going to argue that it’s no big deal compared to the amazing things YOU could do with more energy.

            To learn how to do that, stay tuned or check out my website, http://www.MorePersonalEnergy.com.  Or, buy my book, Getting UP! Supercharging Your Energy.

Energy Lessons the of Long Road: The Challenge of Elite PAC

          

         The question “Who are you to write about energy?”  flicked through my mind as I stood in a San Diego motel parking lot in May 2015, working hard on Getting UP.  Fifteen other cycling lunatics and I were set to embark on Elite PAC Tour. 

            Humbly promoting itself as “The Toughest Two-Week Bicycle Tour in the World,”  Elite PAC is the brainchild of Lon Haldeman and Susan Notorangelo, two former Race Across America champions and holders of coast-to-coast cycling records.  The pair’s company, PAC Tour, has shepherded more than 80 rides across America over three decades.

            Elite PAC is a 2,700-mile-plus dash from San Diego, California to Savannah, Georgia in just 18 days -- or an average of about 150 miles a day.  Designed for the strongest and most manic distance riders, it is not for the faint of heart.  Short of Race Across America itself, it is the ultimate test of a road bike rider’s cross-country energy and endurance.

            The United States is a big country, full of mountains, deserts, endless farms and un-remitting tar-and-chip-covered rough roads.  It demands UP over and over again.  To ride Elite PAC, I would have to work at Getting UP every time I got side-swiped by a speeding logging truck and in every pelting rain storm.  I had to Get UP to fight blast-furnace headwinds and to nurse my rickety knees over saw-tooth hills.

            To read how I did that, stay tuned.  Or, buy my book, Getting UP! Supercharging Your Energy.

My Getting UP! Energy “Chops”

Racing in Alaska

                    “Who are you to write about energy?”  would be a perfectly good question for you to ask. 

            I am not:

§  An Olympic gold medalist;

§  A coach of Olympic gold medalist;

§  A promoter who has hired a coach of an Olympic gold medalist to sell diet supplements, exercise equipment and yoga vacations.

            I am like you:

§  Not as young as I used to be;

§  Dealing with the stress of too much to do and too little time to do it;

§  Striving to bring balance to a demanding life and career.

            One difference between us is that I may have way more energy than you do.  And I’d like to tell you how you can get more energy yourself -- so you can do amazing things, better manage stress, and improve balance in your life. As I have told thousands of others in my energy seminars, you don’t have to be Einstein to figure this out. And you don’t have to buy anything.

            Except, of course, unless you want to buy my book, Getting UP! Supercharging Your Energy.

            Stay tuned to this blog and we’ll explore the amazing world of high energy!

More Energy … More Blog!

                For several years, I have blogged about marketing and energy at my other blog http://blog.goodgroundconsulting.com/.  That blog will stay active, but much of my energy will go into this new blog based on my new book, Getting UP! Supercharging Your Energy.

            The book is available in both paperback and ebook formats and, frankly, makes great summer reading!   You’ll get a little extra energy just when you need it to enjoy the super summer weather.