Contribution

Today, on the dawn of a new year, I am full of gratitude for my impeccable wife, loving children, wonderful parents who gave me my strength and compassion, my unconditional friendships, extended family, and amazing teammates and clients (many of whom are my dear friends). But today I am also equally mourning the fact that I won’t ever see one of my best friends, my father-in-law, Surindar Ambardar, again.

Instead of wallowing in sorrow, I’d like to spread a message of hope based on his character. First, I need to give you some backstory. There are many people out…

While I don’t eat carbs, I still cook a couple staples that my kids and friends love. Here’s one of the recipes.

I don’t bother with quantities because the “Magic” of this recipe is timing, just use logical quantities of the ingredients to taste. I put an * next to what steps I think makes this work so well.

Ingredients

• Basmati Rice
• Peas
• Corn
• Diced Chicken
• Soy Sauce
• Himalayan Salt
• Garlic Powder
• Onion Powder
• Olive Oil

Process 1: Chicken

• Heat the plan
• Add olive oil
• Put diced chicken in
• Immediately put in salt/garlic/onion
• Cool partially
• Add soy
• Fully cook
• Add…

Background

I’m part of a local group of entrepreneurs called Krewe de Nieux (KDN). We’re all passionate about growing our businesses, improving our community (the Greater New Orleans area) and learning from each others’ challenges and successes.

We decided to do something a little different for our Christmas party. Members that were bringing a spouse/life partner sent in notes of appreciation which we stuffed in personalized stockings for the event. …

1. Donate to Rainforest Action Network to protect an acre of the Amazonian rainforest.
2. Donate to the Rainforest Trust to help buy land in the rainforest. Since 1988, the organization has saved over 23 million acres.
3. Reduce your processed beef intake. Beef found in processed products and fast-food burgers often comes from the rainforest
4. Reduce your paper and wood consumption. Double-check with Rainforest Alliance that what you’re buying is considered rainforest-safe. You can also purchase rainforest-safe products from the alliance’s site.
5. The World Wide Fund for Nature (known as the World Wildlife Fund in the US and Canada) works to protect…

As much as we hate it, stress is a part of life. It’s a powerful mechanism we evolved to prepare our body to run away from a predator (flight) or to hunt a prey to feed our families (fight). It shuts down activity in our prefrontal cortex (PFC) to focus mental energy on the immediate physical threat.

The challenge (or blessing) we face in the modern developed world is that it is rare that we need to actually physically fight or flee to resolve problems in our lives. We need to be able to think clearly so we can make…

“When you repeatedly do what you’re afraid of, you don’t get less afraid, you get braver. That’s better, because there’s plenty of things to be afraid of, but you can get braver”

Jordan Peterson

I think this distinction is extremely important. There have been many times in my life where I have quit on a new effort, despite making progress, because even though I was getting better, I still felt apprehension each time I would tackle that task. Learning to just do it anyway despite how I felt has been critical for maintaining forward motion.

Some examples come to mind…

At Susco, we discuss growth frequently, as its core value #1. We define growth as changing for the better or as becoming the best version of ourselves. While it’s easy to say growth is important, change can be very difficult.

I have found that one thing that provides me comfort during the process of change is to remember that each time we act like the best version of ourselves we’re making the next time easier.

Some examples that come to mind of situations that give us the opportunity to behave as our best selves.

• Tackling that very important yet hard…

Our emotional response in any given situation is a function of (1) the stimuli itself, (2) our beliefs, and (3) our mood. We can change our beliefs and mood, therefore we are the masters of our emotional response, not the outside world.

For example, I have a belief that “Friends care about me”. So if a dear friend isn’t nice to me when I see him/her, my emotional response will be concern because something must be going on with them that maybe I help with.

Let’s say I also have a belief that “People that aren’t nice are bad people”

…