My Dad Puts the World in SYNC

It's my dad's birthday, so I thought my post for today should be about how my dad makes the world healthier. My dad is a Doctor of Oriental Medicine and a master practitioner of Qigong. Simply said, he puts people "in sync". What is sync and why does it make you healthier, you ask? Sync is when everything works together in perfect harmony. It's the body's natural, optimal state! Sync is an energy healing and performance enhancement technique developed by my father. It's really quit brilliant (and I am not just saying that). I have watched athletes of all ages perform better when my dad teaches them to synchronize themselves'. I have witnessed a golfer, my own age, hit the golf ball twenty-yards further when my dad taught him the technique. When you are in sync, you are simply healthier because your body is effortless, everything is working together! Happy Birthday, Daddy! I love you loads and hope you have a wonderful day!

To learn more about my dad or to schedule an appointment, check out his website: http://www.jeffreyczimmerman.com/

What's for dinner?

I often am the one cooks dinner because I am so cautious as to what I put in my body. I am able to prepare dinner the healthiest way (which sometimes takes longer). It's also good because then my entire family is eating well, too. Today I made pasta primavera super healthy. I recently found Ezekiel Sprouted Grain Pasta. Sprouted grains are the best because sprouting is the only way to release all of the vital nutrients in whole grains. Not to mention it's got nine gram of protein, seven grams of fiber, and zero grams of sugar (per serving). You can find this awesome pasta in Stop and Shop and Whole Foods. I mixed this pasta with zucchini, squash, broccoli, and tomatoes from the local farmers market. Add a bit of olive oil, garlic, black pepper, and parmesan cheese. This is a great dinner for the entire family! Make your parents proud and cook dinner!

This picture is a bit blurry, but this was what I made for dinner! 

Gotta Love a Good, Long Walk

Sorry I haven't posted in a bit; I am currently posting from the Hilton lobby at Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C. (only spot with wifi in this massive hotel). I am on a little girls break for the weekend. Today we walked like there was no tomorrow (and now my legs and butt are suffering). Walking is a low-impact workout that surprisingly was tiring after a good few hours in the heat. Some benefits of walking include: lowers bad cholesterol, raises good cholesterol, lowers blood pressure, reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes, manages your weight, improves mood, and helps you stay strong and fit! All these benefits is the result from routine brisk walking. A long brisk walk was a nice break from my interval/bodyweight workouts and runs with Kayla. My body is 'thanking me' right now and yours could be too-just walk! Walking is a 'gateway exercise' to more intense workouts (in my opinion)! We also went paddle boating and that surprisingly was a butt workout. The harder my feet paddled, my butt sure felt it. You'll be surprised at how many activities can give you a bit of a workout! Below are some pictures of my trip (taken on my iPhone):

I just loved those paddle boats!

 At the World War Two memorial and the monument!

Washington National Cathedral 

Everyone knows who this is...

My sister, Olivia, and I enjoying our walk! 

Quote Dork

Yes, I consider myself to be a quote dork! I can't help but love quotes, especially when I find ones that make me smile. I also like to start each month on a quote (or maybe few-it's so hard to choose). I like the quote to set the mood of the month. Lately. I am becoming an E.E. Cummings's fan. So I have two quotes by him that I absolutely in love with, that I couldn't choose between the two. My first choice is, "The earth laughs in flowers." I really can't explain why I love this quote so much, but it just makes me smile. I think the more beautiful the flower, the harder the earth laughed. My second quote is, "It takes courage to grow up and be who you really are." Currently, I am working on something that I love, but is very nerve-racking because it's who I am. I think the hardest thing in the world is to own who you are and just be yourself. I have gotten to a point now, where I can't be nothing but myself. If I wasn't who I am, I would be even more lost and nervous. I think once you are able to accept yourself and live by your standards; your world just expands in ways you thought weren't possible. The reason I chose this quote was because I wanted to acknowledge how hard it is to just be who you are, but hopefully I am able to encourage you guys to be courageous!

I love it when the earth laughs:)

Interview with Jack Lui, cofounder of the Teen Business Summit

Once I heard about the Teen Business Summit, I had to learn more. Sometimes I find it hard to be a teen entrepreneur. I usually get told to focus on my education and wait. But what if my ideas can't wait? My business needs to be started now, not put on hold. Luckily my parents are supportive and I have a business advisor, who is remarkable. But now I have the opportunity to ask the questions that apply to just teen entrepreneurs at the Teen Business Summit! I want to thank, Jack Liu, for taking the time to answer my questions concerning the summit. Below is my interview with Jack; where you will find more information on this incredible summit:

How did you come up with the idea?

I first want to thank you, Tessa for this opportunity.

I can't take any credit for the idea.  It was all my business partner, Paul's doing.  He had just come back from SXSW (South By South Wes) and told me he learned so much.  He thought it was such a great time for entrepreneurs.  At the same time, I was thinking of ways to reach more teen entrepreneurs in the world.  And then he said "What if we did a global conference for teens, done entirely online.  That would be HOT".  It was so crazy and ambitious enough that I thought yeah that could work.  At the time, it was just me so I had to think about whether I could pull it off.  

A few days later, I read this post on Quora on how the tech community can be improved in DC.  Someone I knew responded saying organizations need to do something remarkable.  I had read Seth Godin's book, Purple Cow a month earlier and I remember his definition of remarkable.  It was "something so good that someone had to make a remark about it".  I knew that if anyone was going to spearhead the movement of teen entrepreneurship, it was going to be us.  To us, we were thinking of how we can change the world through entrepreneurship.  

Why are you doing this now? What in the world has inspired you to start something like this?

I wished I had been a teen entrepreneur.  I miss out so much now that I been an entrepreneur for a few years.  And it's not all about business- there's so much more.  All the life skills you learn while being in business for yourself you just can't learn in the corporate world.  We were both really inspired to see some of the things the teens in Teen Business Forum were doing.  There's one teen, Ryan from the UK who had more eBay feedback than my parents who were full-time eBay sellers.  Then there was a teen, Lukas telling us that since he joined the community, he had started reading all kinds of business books.  The one he was reading at the time was the 4-Hour Work Week.  His dad was so impressed by him that he said, "Son, can I read it after you?"  Keep in mind he was only 15 at the time.  There are adults who still haven't read that book and don't understand how time and money go together.  The same person now is outsourcing things.  At 15!  

We looked at the community and thought if they are doing these things now, how much more when they are older.  And that's where we come in.  We have a real opportunity to build up successful and ethical entrepreneurs that will change the world.  We also know there are a lot more teens out there who don't know they are entrepreneurs yet.  But once they get the bug, they're in.

Why is the summit targeted for teenagers?

Very simply, because teens are going to be the next generation.  Our vision was to be able to impact the world through entrepreneurship realizing our dream that successful and ethical entrepreneurs will make the world better.  So to be able to influence the people who will make an impact, we want to provide it for the next generation.  

However, anyone can benefit from the summit.  We just saw some figures on the age demographic of the people attending.  We have people as young as 16 and as old as 52.  I think these people "get it".  They get that a powerhouse lineup of speakers we lined up for the summit just doesn't happen.  

Why did you choose your particular speakers?

In the beginning, we started with people we knew.  We had been doing interviews for many months prior.  And through those interviews, we were able to get to know them.  Some of them had the same vision we did- that youth entrepreneurship was the future.  And many of them were teen entrepreneurs themselves who are now very successful.  One example of that is Matt Mickiewicz who founded Sitepoint, 99Designs, and Flippa.  We thought his experience would give a lot of teens excitement to see what they would be like 10 years from now.

The speakers we chose feel into 3 categories- veteran, young, and teen.  The veteran entrepreneurs are going to talk about big issue topics like how to win over your customers, job economy, getting media attention.  The young entrepreneurs are ones who have previously been entrepreneurs in their teens and are now very successful.  And then the teen entrepreneurs have businesses that current teens can start right away.  It provides a very very practical answer to "how do I get started?".

What are your hopes for the Teen Business Summit? What impact are you trying to make?

That every teen watching will know what's possible, be inspired, and get a business up and running.  Indirectly, I think we will change the way how conferences will be done in the future.  We are the first ones to host a conference entirely online, live, and free.

Here is a new video we put together:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWznWqMUFjY

The link to the website is: http://www.teenbusinesssummit.com/

Yum...Kale Chips!

Today, Kayla and I ran our best time ever! We have been working so hard to get better at running and it's really starting to show! After my fantastic run, I went home and was on a mission to make kale chips. Yesterday, my dad was at a farmer's market and a man was selling kale chips. He claimed that he had the best kale chips. My father mentioned that I was making kale chips and the man immediately said mine would never be as good. Well, this is not the first someone has turned me down in life and said I would never be able to do something. This has now happened to me so many times in life, it now encourages me to just prove them wrong! So, today, I washed the kale. Then tossed it with olive oil, garlic powder, parmesan cheese, a dash of salt and black pepper. First I baked them for 15 minutes at 350 degrees and they completely burned. So I then made a second, smaller batch and baked them for 5-7ish minutes and they came out perfect! My mom and I could hardly stop eating them!

Quote and a Pair of Shoes

"Be the change you want to see in the world."-Mahatma Gandhi

This is my favorite quote of all time. I try my best to live by this quote, particularly "Be the change..". There are so many things in the world that we could follow along, but what if they are not right? What if they are not morally sound? Or just plain crazy? Just because everyone else is doing it, doesn't mean you have to. Be the change, be what you see the world needs. Take a risk and do something positive for the world and yourself. There are so many things in life that I can follow along with and go the route that people have chosen for me. Or I can take a risk, and make a change, and show people there are other things. Even though, taking risks are scarier and more uncertain, there is so much more of reward. Don't just see the change, BE THE CHANGE!

For my birthday, all I wanted was custom running shoes and I got the opportunity to pick a few words for my shoes. And so that I can always be reminded, I chose "Be the change"!