Don’t lose your data

I was talking to one of my customers this morning who had to evacuate her home in San Diego due to the fires. She mentioned to me that even though she was relatively well prepared as to what to take with her – she had gone through a similar experience 4 years ago – she realized that she had too much stuff she wanted to keep and not enough room to put it in her car. She mentioned that she barely had room to bring her computer.

I asked if she had a backup of her data stored online somewhere and she said that she didn’t. I then shared that I have my data backed up in two places: at home on a separate drive (in case my computer’s hard drive dies) and on-line (in case there is a fire or some other disaster that destroys my data at home.) She suggested that I should post this here since there may be others who can benefit from this.

I have been using a service called Carbonite to store my data online. It is a very inexpensive service that automatically backs up my data every day. That’s the best part – that I don’t have to remember to do anything and the program does this automatically. You can check them out and take a free trial.

While I understand that there is a risk that data online could be compromised, I’m willing to take that chance since the risk of me losing it all in a fire or other disaster is there too. There is ALWAYS a risk.

While we never think something like losing a home to a fire is going to happen to us, this past week has reminded us that it can easily happen.

Technorati Tags: online backup, data protection, Xtraordinary Living, www.productivelearning.com, Rick Itzkowich

How to Achieve Your Childhood Dreams!

Professor Randy Pausch of Carnegie Mellon University gave a lecture last September that ranks up there with the greatest speeches ever given.

Below is a 4 minute video about the lecture.

I invite you to watch the entire Dr. Pausch’s lecture after watching this short preview. It is incredibly powerful! Click here to view it.

Technorati Tags: Randy Pausch, Carnegie Mellon University, Greatest Lecture Ever, , Xtraordinary Living, www.productivelearning.com, Rick Itzkowich

Blog Action Day

Today is Blog Action Day – a day where bloggers around the world are writing posts related to the environment. I wanted to join in and do my part.

Earlier this Summer I wrote this post as it related to picking up trash while walking on the beach.

This post contains two very simple and easy ways to conserve water.

1) The next time you’re waiting for water to heat up or cool down, keep a pitcher or empty milk carton nearby to catch all of that runoff. The water that you were previously just letting go down the drain can easily be redirected to your pet’s water bowl or the flowers in your garden. The same is true for water used to cook pasta.

2) Turn your faucet off while brushing your teeth.

Technorati Tags: Water Conservation, Blog Action Day, Water Savings, Xtraordinary Living, www.productivelearning.com, Rick Itzkowich

Do Not Call Registry – Act now to renew your listing

The Federal “Do Not Call“ list reaches its five-year point next summer, meaning those who signed up early will begin to be dropped from the list in mid-2008. The result is more unwanted telemarketing calls.

If you don’t wish to receive these unwanted interruptions, be sure click here and re-register up to three of your phone numbers. It only takes a minute and by acting now, you can avoid the annoyance later.

Technorati Tags: Do Not Call Registry, Telemarketers, Xtraordinary Living, www.productivelearning.com, Rick Itzkowich

Donate to Charity while you search the Internet

Click on Green Options to see how you can easily do something that will make a difference in many people’s lives. Today’s “QuoteAction” talked about looking at our habits and doing something about improving on of them. This is an opportunity to improve on your web search habit (without sacrificing performance) and make a difference at the same time.

Technorati Tags: Charity Search Engines, Goodsearch, Searchkindly, magic taxi, Xtraordinary Living, www.productivelearning.com, Rick Itzkowich

Thousand-hand Guanyin dance

PL&L client Karen Sachs pointed me to this incredible example of Xtraordinary Living. Turn your sound on. This video is a little under 6 minutes long.

There is an awesome dance, called the Thousand-Hand Guanyin. Considering the tight coordination required, their accomplishment is nothing short of amazing, even if they were not all deaf. Yes, you read correctly. All 21 of the dancers are complete deaf-mutes.

Relying only on signals from trainers at the four corners of the stage, these extraordinary dancers deliver a visual spectacle that is at once intricate and Stirring. Its first major international debut was in Athens last year at the closing ceremonies for the 2004 Paralympics. But it had long been in the repertoire of the Chinese Disabled People’s Performing Art Troupe and had traveled to more than 40 countries.

Its lead dancer is 29 year-old Tai Lihua, who has a BA from the Hubei Fine Arts Institute. The video was recorded in Beijing during the Spring Festival this year.

Technorati Tags: Thousand-hand Guanyin dance, Xtraordinary Living, www.productivelearning.com, Rick Itzkowich

Fun way to meet new people and increase traffic to your blog

Something that is fun about blogging is that you get to meet new people that you wouldn’t have otherwise met. If you happen to have your own blog, here’s a way to increase traffic to your blog.

I recently discovered a way to exchange links via the Technorati favorites feature. Dosh Dosh & Beta Blog for Dummies started this link exchange program.

Here’s the fastest way to join the exchange program: Favorite my blog by clicking here and then please leave your Technorati username as well as a similar link to your blog in a comment below this post. Click the Post a Comment link at the bottom of this post.

To make things easy, I suggest using a Technorati favorite link or button. You can get the buttons and links easily at this Technorati page. Please leave a link to one blog only.

When you add my link to your Technorati favorites, I will do the same for you. This way we can both benefit for additional exposure.

Technorati Tags: Technorati Favorites, Increase blog traffic, link exchange, Xtraordinary Living, www.productivelearning.com, Rick Itzkowich

The Joy of Learning and Discovery

A key ingredient in Xtraordinary Living is constant learning and discovery. One of the best aspects of having started blogging and podcasting, is the amount of learning and discovery I’ve experienced over the past year. Not only have I met incredibly talented and interesting people, but I have been exposed to things that are quite exciting. This post is about using technology as a way to help us become more connected.

I recently joined two networking sites: LinkedIn and MyBlogLog. LinkedIn is primarily designed to help you connect with business associates while MyBlogLog helps you connect with other bloggers.

I remember reading a book by John Naisbitt called Megatrends where the author talked about how the more “high tech” we become, the more “high touch” we crave. Twenty years later that certainly seems to be the case.

As humans we crave a sense of connection. And with technology becoming more entrenched in every area of our lives, that need for connection with other humans gets amplified. While many people use technology as a way to isolate themselves – after all who needs people with so many exciting gadgets – the choice can be made to use technology as a way to get more connected. My experiences in both these networking communities validates the latter.

I have recently been introduced to someone whom I wanted to meet for some time as a result of a LinkedIn contact. And thanks to MyBlogLog I have not only learned about many new and exciting features and information on blogs and podcasting, but the traffic to this blog has increased by 20%. In addition, I’ve met some truly friendly and helpful people.

Don’t be afraid to check out some of these sites and see if they may be a good fit for you. You can check my LinkedIn profile on the right sidebar and MyBlogLog’s community on the left.

Technorati Tags: MyBlogLog, LinkedIn, social Networking, Connecting, Networking, Xtraordinary Living, www.productivelearning.com, Rick Itzkowich

Swimming with Whales

One of the most rewarding aspects of my job is that I get to travel to incredible places and experience some things that few people in the world ever get to do. One of my most Xtraordinary experiences ever was swimming with Humpback whales in Tonga.

I’ve had the privilege of sharing some incredible moments with these beautiful animals in two different Learning Vacations.

Warning! The following videos may cause you to get so inspired that you’ll want to experience this yourself! Should that be the case, we’ll be going back to Tonga in 2008 and you may want to join us. Enjoy!

Technorati Tags: Swimming with Whales, Humpback Whales, Adventure Travel, Xtraordinary Living, www.productivelearning.com, Rick Itzkowich

Structure – One of the 3 pillars of change

Earlier this month I wrote a post about the 3 necessary elements – Vision, Structure & Support – to have a fighting chance of succeeding when trying to change something in our lives. This post is about Structure.

The dictionary definition of structure is: anything composed of parts arranged together in some way; an organization. A synonym for Structure is: System.

What this means is that unless you have a system in place for you to achieve something, you probably won’t. Examples of systems include: automatic withdrawals from a checking account into a savings or investment account (to build wealth), working out with a trainer or enrolling in Yoga classes (for fitness), automatic backup (for your computer data), email auto-responders (to notify people you’re out of the office), etc.

Our new “QuoteActions” program is designed to provide a fast, easy and inexpensive Awareness Structure to keep our mind focused on positive things during the day and reinforce conscious thinking.

As the name states, “QuoteActions” consists of a quote that is either inspirational, motivational or introspective and a recommended supporting action that helps make the quote “come alive”.

When you think about how most of us start the day – by either reading, watching or listening to the news – you realize that our day typically starts by being exposed to a barrage of negative news. After all, that is what the media sells. The “QuoteActions” program is a great way to offer an alternative to that and start the day on a positive note.

If you are a PL&L client and you are really committed about making some of the changes you need to make to help you create an Xtraordinary Life, then you ought to at least give this program a try. I’m quite certain you will find it to be a very nice addition to your course curriculum.

If you’re not a PL&L client, then this is the least expensive & most convenient way for you to see whether what we offer is a good fit for you in your life.

If you are already a “QuoteActions” user, I would love to hear from you about how you are liking the program and what kind of impact has it had in your life.

To find out more about this program, you can click on any of the “QuoteActions” links or on the logo above.

Technorati Tags: Structure, Change, Xtraordinary Living, www.productivelearning.com, Rick Itzkowich