A buddy walking down the beach in San Diego and stumbled across a beached baby dolphin. There happened to be people working for Sea World passing by at that moment and said that the dolphin was okay. My buddy took the dolphin and walked it out to sea and released her back into the wild.
We’re constantly mesmerized by the surreal images produced by Canadian photographer Joel Robison who continues to expand his imaginative portfolio. His fairy tale-inspired works feature the photographer himself charmingly playing in his dreamy world where preconceived notions of size ratios fly out the window. Robison’s creative mind takes us all on a journey to a land where books are made for reading and physically living in.
The photographer’s surreal sensibilities are echoed throughout his body of work. Though he doesn’t have one single focal point in his vast portfolio, he certainly does seem keen to exploring domestic and nature themes. Robison’s work often features the great outdoors as his backdrop juxtaposed with a homey cup of coffee. Alternatively, his images have also been known to bring nature indoors, whether that’s reflected in the floral patterns of his cozy wallpaper or an endless line of paper cut trees.
1. Surrealist photographer sensuality echoes in his work.
2. While his portfolio is not united by any common sense, it definitely attracts nature and all homemade.
3. In the works of Robinson’s common to see huge gardens or, for example, a great cup of coffee.
4. And his picture brings nature home, where it is reflected in the cozy floral pattern wallpaper or infinite number of paper trees.
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Bring you the best selection of photos of outdoor pools in winter resorts. Just right on the first working day after the holiday 
. Enjoy!
1. Perhaps the most impressive indoor swimming pool located at the Villa Honegg in Switzerland.
2. It offers breathtaking views of Lake Lucerne. Located at 912 meters above sea level.
3. Portillo, Chile. Here is one of the best ski resorts in the world.
4. Pool heated by geothermal sources.
5. The Westin Trillium House, Canada.
6. The pool is located between the mountain tops Niagara Escarpment and Blue Mountain.
7. Cliff Lodge & Spa, Utah, USA. Small Hotel of the beautiful hills.
8. The hotel pool LeCrans Hotel, Switzerland. It is considered one of the most comfortable and beautiful pools in the world.
9. Hotel Chalet le, France. Pool overlooking the valley Veneon is very popular, it is almost always rented, so get to it easy.
Five-star Conrad Maldives Rangali Island – is an unprecedented luxury and unforgettable holiday in the Maldives, the two surrounded by turquoise waters and colorful coral reefs. He twice stole the “Best Hotel in the World ‘and several times’ Best Resort’.
1. The most amazing place of the hotel is a restaurant Ithaa Undersea, located under water at a depth of five meters. The world’s first underwater glass restaurant that for a value can be converted into a suite with a champagne dinner and breakfast in bed.
2. The hotel is represented by 50 luxury villas on the water, 79 exotic beach bungalows and 21 fabulous spa villa with a private massage room and beauty treatments.
3. On the territory of Conrad Maldives Rangali Island is located seven world-class restaurants and 4 bars, impeccable service and hospitality offered that will impress even the most demanding guests.
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You just started a weight loss journey, or maybe you’ve hit a plateau. You desperately need some inspiration, but you loathe the quotes for losing weight on Pinterest — they’re so cheesy, all they do is make you burn a few calories giggling before you go back to thinking about eating a donut. Where can a girl find a little motivation, some inspirational weight loss quotes to give her a kick in the butt and a new passion for fitness? Keep reading! Here are my picks for the top 10 motivational quotes for losing weight… bonus! Some of them can straight up be applied to forming just about any new healthy habit… let’s go!
I wouldn’t normally consider Winston Churchill to be an icon in the world of weight loss or fitness, but his inspirational words form one of my favorite quotes for losing weight… and for anything else, really. He’s right, of course. Never give up! Keep going!
“… My grandmother, she started walking five miles a day when she was 60. She’s 97 today and we don’t know where the hell she is.” I love Ellen Degeneres… and who says motivational quotes for losing weight have to be serious? They can be funny, too!
Benjamin Franklin is not, any more than Winston Churchill, a weight loss hero, but this quote can definitely be applied to starting a diet and fitness plan. Go ahead. Delay all you want. But the longer you wait, the more difficult it’s going to be… so why not start now? Put down that donut, lace up your trainers, and go NOW!
Motivational speaker Jim Rohn is spot-on with this quote for weight loss, diet and fitness. The only body we have is the one we’re born with… and we, ourselves, have a lot to say about how long it lasts, and how healthy it is.
“… or rejoice that thorns have roses.” Bald, squat, but wise beyond his comic-strip years, Ziggy once “said” one of my very favorite inspirational weight loss quotes. He’s right, you know. Rather than be disappointed that you “only” lost two pounds this week (when you were aiming for five), why not celebrate that you lost two pounds this week? It’s an accomplishment, no matter how small, if it keeps you moving in the right direction.
Author and public speaker Dottie Walters nailed it with this quote for weight loss. It can be taken quite literally, too… taking the stairs will help you far more than simply stepping through the elevator door… but even more inspirational is the figurative way she was speaking… that success comes in small steps, with hard work.
American inventor and all-around visionary Charles Kettering said this, and it’s true, whether used as an inspirational weight loss quote or as a personal motto… or both! Attitude and actions make all the difference between failure and success.
“… it’s what we learn from them.” Children’s author and playwright Donna Guthrie is absolutely right! Okay, so you gave in to laziness and skipped your workout for one day, then two, and then two weeks. You started again and now you’re sore… but you learned from it, so don’t dwell on the mistake… revel in the fact that you moved on, and won’t make that mistake again.
“… but no one thinks of changing himself.” This may be hard to hear, but Leo Tolstoy is right. Rather than declaring that your weight issues are someone else’s fault (the fast food industry, your family’s genetics, the media with its focus on too-thin women), it’s time to take responsibility for your choices and yourself! Don’t complain that the world is making it too difficult for you tolose weight. Embrace the challenges and use them as a springboard for your own change.
Love her or hate her, you have to admit, Cher was right with this quote for losing weight. Fitness doesn’t come in a bottle. There’s no magic diet pill. Despite what those banner ads say, there’s no “one food to eat to melt belly fat.” Fitness takes hard work. But it’s worth it, isn’t it, to look and feel healthy? Heck yes!
Now that you’ve read all of these inspirational weight loss quotes, do you feel a little more motivated? I sure do! Which of these quotes for losing weight do you like best? Or do you have another quote or saying to share?
For practical reasons, you have set your work-space to be at your kitchen table (that’s where your laptop is).
Since you work before your family wakes up, you are forced to be located in the kitchen: That’s the only available space to do work during those hours of the day. Although you get your work done when they are still sleeping, it’s a different story when your family is awake.
Since you still keep your laptop in the kitchen, you are kind of mixing two activities together: Working and socializing with your family at the same time. Even though you are working, you are still giving the impression that you are available for others, since you work in the same space.
When you work in a place where others are spending their time too, they think you can be disturbed. They also think that you listen to them whenever they are talking to you.
But by being in the wrong location at the wrong time, you’re sending a false message to your family members, and this causes friction.
Since you also pretend to be present while in reality you are not (since you are working), it’s the best way to get others annoyed and confused: They don’t know if you are in work-mode or in socializing mode.
The location is the key to your confusion, but there is also something deeper that causes this friction with you and other family members.
All this comes down to an illusion that you have inside your head: That you can do work, while being fully present with your family. In other words, you feel you are capable of multitasking.
Of course, this isn’t so and you can probably tell by the reaction of others and the work results you are getting.
This multitasking happens between roles. On the one hand, you are a business owner doing your work while at the same time; you are a father/mother, who is trying to spend time as much time as possible with his/her family.
Although in normal circumstances these roles are fine, you shouldn’t be mixing them. The fact is that you can only focus properly on one role at a time.
Since you now understand what the root cause behind the confusion is, you can start looking for some advice on how to prevent this from happening in the future.
To clear up this situation, you have to be completely honest with yourself: No matter how much you’d like to do so, it’s just impossible to handle two things (roles) at the same time.
You’ll also have to “isolate” yourself when you are working.
In this context, the isolation means that you need to set up a dedicated workspace when you work. You need to physically be in a different location, so that it’s easier for your family members to recognize when you are available and when you are not.
This also prevents you from socializing with your family members while you work and they are less likely to distract you, since you are in a different physical location than they are.
Finally, you should define clear times and schedules when you do your work. This ensures, that others know when you are in work mode and when you shouldn’t be disturbed.
With these steps, you can clear up the confusion, focus on your work, but also be fully present with your family when you are not working.
The next thing to do is to put all the pieces together into step-by-step instructions that you can follow right away.
The steps are as follows:
Understand that you cannot multitask and be effective at the same time. In other words, don’t try to do two things at once, even if you think that’s a great idea.
Simultaneously socializing with your family and focusing on your business just doesn’t work.
Decide on your working location carefully. If you have your own room, then try to do your work there whenever possible.
If you don’t have any dedicated place in your home to do your work, then seek out places outside your home, such as:
Finally, you can also work without any dedicated space in your home, but this means that you can do it only when your family is away or sleeping.
It’s also important to define your working schedule and communicate this to other family members.
You can even put the schedule visible in a calendar where others can see it. In that calendar, try also to include a place where you work – especially if it’s outside your home.
This way everyone knows when and where you work and there isn’t any confusion over that matter.
It’s very easy to think that you can do productive work while socializing with your family at the same time.
However, multitasking with two roles at once makes others confused and you can’t dedicate yourself to either one of the roles 100%.
That’s why it’s important to have a dedicated space where you can work with the defined working hours.
This way you are sending the right signal to your family and there is much less confusion and annoyance all the way around.
Over to you: How do you make sure you are 100% with your family?
Today I want to share ten life lessons with you. I learned them when I was young by reading and re-reading some of my favorite books and quotes. And over the years I have validated each of them gradually with firsthand experience. Together these lessons have positively changed my way of thinking and my life. I hope they do the same for you.
You feel the way you feel right now because of the thoughts you are thinking, and you are where you are right now because of the thoughts you have thought over and over again. If the thoughts running though your mind are pure, positive and empowering, you will create positive and empowering beliefs about yourself and about life; and your actions, habits, and daily routines will be a reflection of these thoughts and beliefs.
“Watch your thoughts, for they become words. Watch your words, for they become actions. Watch your actions, for they become habits. Watch your habits, for they become character. Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.” (Read Change Your Thoughts
The things you didn’t do when you had the chance. That priceless relationship you neglected. Those important words you left unspoken… Every one of us hasexperienced feelings of regret. But it’s not too late to set things straight. You’re still here breathing. Right now you have an opportunity to change your future. Right now you can choose to erase regret from your later years.
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” –Mark Twain
What does this mean? It means that no matter how hard you try to avoid change, doing so is simply impossible. Period.
“Without accepting the fact that everything changes, we cannot find perfect composure. But unfortunately, although it is true, it is difficult for us to accept it. Because we cannot accept the truth of transience, we suffer.” –Shunryu Suzuki
The more you fight against life’s circumstances, events, people, ideas, etc., the more you will be contributing to their growth and persistence into your daily life. Learn to shift your focus from that which you are against to that which you are for, and to that which you wish to attract into your daily life. Over time you will watch your life transform.
“By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try. The world is beyond the winning.” –Lao Tzu (Read The Art of War
The traits you dislike in others are mostly just a reflection of the traits you dislike in yourself. This concept can be difficult to grasp, and you might even be irritated by me mentioning it – especially when you are ‘certain’ that you are right and the other person is wrong, and that you are surely better off than they are.
“Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to a better understanding of ourselves.” –Carl Gustav Jung
Isn’t it funny how the closer you are to a person the higher your expectations are, and the more rights you think you have to control their time and behavior? Don’t let your bad judgment get the best of you; the only thing you can control is your attitude towards them and their behavior. Nothing more, nothing less.
“Never underestimate your power to change yourself; never overestimate your power to change others.” –Wayne Dyer (Read The Power of Intention
When you are happy and satisfied with yourself personally, you act in kind, happy and loving ways toward the people around you. Because you are comfortable inside, no matter how negative people might act toward you at times, you stay calm and collected, responding out of love and confidence to their behavior – for that is who you are on the inside, and you give out that which is within.
“When you squeeze an orange, orange juice comes out – because that’s what’s inside. When you are squeezed, what comes out is what is inside.” –Wayne Dyer
Love between two people comes because both people want to share their love, not because YOU want it from the other person. Your family, friends, co-workers, lovers – they all love you because they choose to, not because you want them to. Love is meant to be felt, enjoyed and lived, not to be forced on anyone.
“You can’t force love, I realized. It’s there or it isn’t. If it’s not there, you’ve got to be able to admit it. If it is there, you’ve got to do whatever it takes to protect the ones you love.” –Richelle Mead
When the time comes to move beyond certain things, ideas, or people, don’t resist it. Allow yourself to experience life. Allow yourself to grow, learn, and evolve. Allow yourself to move beyond the past on your path to happiness.
“There comes a time in your life when you have to let go of all the pointless drama and the people who create it and surround yourself with people who make you laugh so hard that you forget the bad and focus solely on the good. After all life is too short to be anything but happy.” (Read The How of Happiness
Nothing lasts forever, and this is exactly why you need to learn to detach from things, places and people in your life. When the time comes to say goodbye, let them all go and to do it with dignity and grace.
“Nothing lasts forever; so live it up, drink it down, avoid the negativity, take chances and never regret because at one point it was what you wanted.” (ReadThe Road Less Traveled
Source: Marc & Angel
I’ve been fascinated with the study of endurance for years. I am always amazed at people who are able to endure and outlast more than anyone else.
In the case of endurance, the best study is through direct personal experience. In my own experiences of pushing my edge – whether through racing Ironman Triathlons, cycling 200+ miles in a day or swimming across Puget Sound – I’ve discovered more about my self than through anything else.
One word of warning though: the tips I’m going to provide are incredibly simple, but applying them will consistently in your life will not come easy, at least not at first.Yes, they are easy to grasp and put in practice, but tough to stick with. However, at the end of the day, I think you will find that the benefits will come once you push through the initial difficulties.
So what are the 5 simple tips for superhuman endurance? Here they are:
The single daily practice of nasal breathing has had a greater impact on my overall well-being than any other single technique. The ancient yogis have known this for years, and have developed an entire study to the science of pranayama to gain mastery over the breath.
It is also the most simple thing to do, and unless you have a severely blocked nasal passage, it open to anyone to apply right away. Mastering the full technique of nasal breathing while training, however, takes much more practice.
Babies are natural nose breathers. While eating, playing and sleeping they go about their businesses breathing effortlessly through their nose That means you were at one time as well! Chances are though, that you now spend much of your waking (and perhaps sleeping) hours sucking in air through your mouth and not using your lungs effectively.
Why is this so critical? Consider a few facts. First of all, the body was built to nose breath. The nasal passages act as turbines, that not only cleans and moisten air (important for healthy immune support) but also create a vortex as you breath that helps air to travel down further into the lungs. While most of us limit our breathing to the upper portions of our lungs, it is the bottom of our lungs that contain the most capillaries for exchange of oxygen into the blood and waste out of the blood. More oxygen and less waste = a cleaner body that is able to do more aerobic work.
Furthermore, mouth breathing is linked to the fight or flight response system of the body. When you breath through your mouth, you are engaging the nervous system in a manner that stimulates more stress and heart activity (raising of heart rate), whether you are being chases by a lion or not! On the other hand, nasal breathing has a cooling and calming effect on the body. While nose breathing and exercising (after you have conditioned yourself to do so) you will be able to train at a similar intensity but at a significantly lower heart rate.
The more oxygen you can get into your bloodstream, the more toxins you can remove and the more calm you keep your nerves – this will all help you to endure more, with less effort.
Note that I did not say “Low Carb Diet,” as a vegan and endurance athlete, that would be incredibly unwise. Furthermore, there is plenty of research that indicates a moderate amount of carbs are actually beneficial for health.
By Slower Carb I am referring to a diet that is structured around plenty of whole grains and fresh vegetables and a reasonable amount of fruits. The important is to eliminate completely any white starches or sugars from your diet. This includes white rice (go for wild or brown rice instead), white bread (stick to whole grain bread), pastas, sodas, juices and any other refined carbohydrate source.
Typically, “Slow Carb” diets also limit fruit intake, but this is not something condone. I think fruits (in moderation) are superb foods and important for overall health. Slow Carb dieters are also fans of animal proteins, which of course I am strongly against……for many reasons. Overall however, the point is to eat foods that are low-glycemic (i.e. don’t cause a big spike in your blood sugar) and in their natural/whole food state where possible. This is the key.
Perhaps the greatest abusers of refined carb sources are endurance athletes! Eating lots of rice, pastas and energy drinks while training a lot might be OK for a while, but ultimately (especially in the off-season or when you are done racing) your body will revolt. The pounds will pack on and in some cases you might be left with lingering health issues (especially in old age).
I remember a dramatic example from my high school cross-country team, where one of our star runners was famous for drinking at least 1 x 3 liter of Coca Cola every day (sometimes 2 x 3 liters on the weekends)! Half-way through our junior year, he hit a wall. He was running in a race and had to stop…he could barely finish. He went from the rising star of the team to almost not finishing the 3.1 mile race. What happened? The overload of sugar eventually caused his body to force him to stop running. He had chronic fatigue that lasted for weeks. Eventually…he got of the Coke and was able to run again. It was a hard and slow slog.
By sticking to slower-burning sources of fuel – primarily from whole grains and veggies – you’ll avoid the ups and downs that come with eating processed foods. While training, you’ll find that your energy will be more stable, and your recovery will also improve. I just finished reading a great book, Ultra-Marathon Man by Dean Karnazes….where he is a proponent of Slow Carbs. Dean frequently runs 100+ mile ultras and has run >200 miles at one time on several occasions….I think he knows a thing or two about endurance. 
Check out his book, especially the epilogue where he discusses the details of his dietary habits.
We always like to move so fast. Rush to work, rush home. Work out quickly so we work up and sweat and can go rush back home to quickly eat dinner and then crash on the sofa. Training quickly is good if it is done deliberately quickly for a specific purpose. The problem is that when we rush we also run the risk of burning our selves out before we reach our true potential.
I experienced this first hand in high school, with races (be it running or swimming, both sports I competed in) limited to fairly modest distances. I really struggled to be competitive. I saw my peers running or swimming circles around me, even though I put in a good effort. It wasn’t until I moved on to college and started training for longer distance triathlons (with swims over 1 mile, and runs 10K and longer) that I started to see more potential. It wasn’t just the distance that was the issue, my training was done way to fast. Most workouts I would be pushing my body at 80% of my max heart rate… day after day. I wasn’t training my aerobic endurance engine by training in this way.
Every body is built differently, but I believe that we all would be well-served to take more time to train our selves to operate at a lower intensity for longer periods of time. This applies to any sport, be it running, swimming, tennis, hiking, skiing…or even yoga (yes I know…yoga is not a sport, but you know what I mean!). For running, try running at 30 seconds to even a minute slower than normal but go 20% longer than normal. Try to keep your heart rate relatively low (at most 60% of your max, if you track that), even if that means slowing down. If you are up for an extra challenge, try nose breathing while running!
It also applies to weights… next time you are in the gym, use less weight that you normally would use and slow down each rep to a minimum of 4 seconds down and 4 seconds up. See how you feel about that!
Over time, you’ll notice your endurance engine tuning in and you’ll bound to be going longer and feeling better – even as you continue to do carry on with your other/shorter/higher-intensity workouts.
When you borrow money from a bank, you not only need to pay the money back, you also owe interest. When you borrow energy… through coffee, Red Bull, colas or your other stimulant of choice…you have to pay back… in forms that are not pleasant. There is no free lunch. Sorry.
I am not saying that drinking coffee or other forms of caffeine and sugar is bad, I am just saying that when you borrow energy and stimulate yourself through artificial means, it takes its toll. Own up to that, it is a fact.
When you jack yourself up on sugar, for example, you have an inevitable crash. We’ve all experienced that, and those of you with kids can witness this effect first hand! The same thing happens when we drink that Venti Latte first thing in the morning. We can plow through the stack of papers and power meetings, but at the end of the day we’ll feel worse for wear… which is why we often recharge with more stimulants in the afternoon.
Real endurance comes from within. Detoxing from caffeine and sugar addiction is not easy, but there are plenty of tools and tips on the net to help you wean yourself (I’ll post more about these resources in another post). Even if you have no intention of completely going off stimulants, it is worthwhile to trim down your intake and witness the results. After an initial (albeit painful) detoxing period, I think you’ll find a new-found energy that lasts longer and brings with it deeper clarity and insight. Remember, life is a marathon not a sprint.
During some of the most difficult feats of endurance in my life, I’ve entered into a space where I was completely aware of the present moment. I wasn’t thinking about how many miles left to run, the heat radiating off of the pavement, or the choppy seas. In fact, I wasn’t thinking at all, I was just being.
Athletes frequently talk about “the zone,” that experience of being totally and completely engrossed in an activity. In fact, during Michael Phelps epic quest for 8 gold medals in swimming this summer, he stated that the most important thing for him was to maintain his focus on the race at hand. Thinking about the days of head would just be a distraction… and overwhelming. His intense focus was the real key to his success.
Athletes, business-people, moms, students and people from all walks of life can apply present moment awareness to improve the quality of their lives. Relating to endurance, when you are completely present, you stop telling yourself excuses about why you should stop running, riding or doing what you are doing.
Instead, you see situations for what they are – and the inevitable result is a sense of peace with what is rather than a revulsion to it. For me, cultivating present moment awareness during my yoga practice helps me to practice longer and hold even the most challenging postures without much strain.
A great way to bring this practice into your own life, is to find a comfortable seat and for a set amount of time every day (say 10 minutes – 20 minutes is even better), close your eyes and focus on your breathing (through your nose please!). If thoughts come, just let them pass like clouds overhead, and come back to your breath. This simple meditation can then be applied to any activity you might be doing – physical or otherwise.
If you want to learn more about this topic, I highly recommend reading The Power of Now by Eckhardt Tolle.
Next time you are out exercises or playing a sport, try to just focus on your breath instead of getting wrapped up in your thoughts. Over time, you’ll notice an ability to endure longer – without getting caught up in the drama of fatigue or boredom.
*To read the rest of this article @ Set Higher Standards, click here!