Kimberly Fowler

When I buy a franchise, what do I get for my money?

In the course of my business, I am often asked "When I buy a franchise, what do I get for my money?" The short answer is "a business model." A business model is a framework for creating economic value, in other words, it´s a system for making money.

 

Many first time entrepreneurs confuse the investment in a franchise as a purchase of physical property, when what a franchise represents is intellectual property. The capital equipment, inventory, furnishings, fixtures or the cost of building out the location is part of any business be it franchised or not. The real value in a franchise is that you get a fully formed, proven business model. An effective business model is the difference between success and failure in a business.

 

The old maxim that most businesses fail because they are under capitalized is just not true. Most of these businesses wouldn´t have been considered under capitalized if they would have had an adequate business plan. Every year thousands of well capitalized startups with brilliant ideas for a product or service fail. This not for lack of money, it is because they eventually burn up all of their cash while trying to develop a system for delivering their product into the hands of a paying customer. All business models are initially perfected by trial and error - this is a very costly process that most small businesses cannot afford to live through. That is why so many private startups fail where franchises succeed.

 

The costs associated with perfecting a business model will almost always eclipse the cost of paying a franchise fee. The average franchise fee is about $35k. Most starts up waste more than that in advertising costs alone while they experiment with different marketing strategies. The advantages of having the learning and cost curves reduced to a fraction of the "learn as you go" method, are very significant to say the least.

 

The other cost component of a franchise is the royalty. This is a fee paid for on-going support which of course includes continuous improvement of the business model, access to vendor discounts, product R&D, marketing and advertising programs, etc. Typical support royalties are between 6% and 8% of revenue. This fee usually pays for itself due to the savings realized when the franchisee purchases goods and services for the business at below market, national account rates. Additionally, most franchisees will experience much higher sales than they would as a private company - greatly in excess of 8% higher - because of the franchisor´s well designed marketing strategy.

 

A franchise may not be right for everyone and they are certainly not all created equal, but a good business model can lower the risk factor and accelerate one´s potential for long term success. As always, the key is finding the right match between the model and the operator.

Have you been hiding your Goals?

It’s interesting, with the economy today, it seems the subject of Goals/Dreams have been put on the back burner. It’s very different from years past when I would do Goal Setting Clinics. During “Good Times”, Goals are out in the open & actually bragged about. It's ironic because in order to achieve a Goal, a key element is to enlist the assistance of people that can help. Yet, in the current economic climate, discussions about Goals have almost disappeared. It's like we feel guilty to have such discussions at this time. Or, that we should just be thankful for what we have.

NOW is definitely the time to put all the negatives aside and re-ignite the passion behind our Goals. It's the perfect time to pull out your lists (which I hope you finished?) and remember why we wrote them down in the first place. Why they're important. How they're important to people close to us? And, how our lives would be positively affected upon achieving our Goals. Certainly, it's time to face the realization that it's up to us to make our Goals a reality. To paraphrase a quote I've seen many times "There are people that make things happen, some that watch things happen, and others that wonder what the hell happened?" Can you tell which group of people are most successful at achieving their Goals?

Let’s make your Goals happen in 2010!!

How to get Health, Happiness & Prosperity in 2010?

Do you have a vision in mind of how you want your life to be, as well as a clear plan on how to get there?  It is surprising how many times I ask students this question, only to discover that they are simply wandering along just letting life happen to them, all the while wishing that their dreams would come true.

This is where I can help!  Why should we sit back, waiting for life to happen as it will, when we have the power to set our own goals and the energy and desire to make our dreams a reality?  Setting goals puts you squarely in charge of your own life.  That is why I have decided to share a few simple tricks I have found helpful in making goal setting even easier and more successful.

1. The physical act of writing a goal on paper helps to anchor it in your mind, so write your goals down and keep your goal focused on you-not someone else. (What do YOU want?)
2. Be sure to state your goal in positive terms, positive statements draw positive things your way.  For example, "I am always on time" is preferable to "I am never late."
3. Our subconscious only understands present time-the now.  So, if you create goals that are set in the future, your subconscious will keep those goals in the future.  It is best to always write your goals as if they were already happening or had already happened.
4. State your goals clearly and precisely so that your subconscious knows exactly what YOU want.  Using strong words that evoke emotion and command action helps you with energy needed to accomplish your goals. Set a date for your goal, “I want to make a million dollars, by June 1^st, 2010.”
5. When you write down your goals, imagine yourself already being, doing, or having the things that you are dreaming about.  This will help activate your subconscious.

Once you are finished writing out your goals, and make sure they are BIG goals, put them where you can see them every day.

May all your goals/dreams come true in 2010!!

 

Kimberly

Author and yoga expert Kimberly Fowler featured in "Bouncing Back—Thriving In Changing Times"



Venice, CA - December 29, 2009 - Kimberly Fowler—author, yoga expert, cancer survivor and creator of Yoga for Athletes® and YAS Fitness Centers—is a contributing author for the just-released book Bouncing Back—Thriving in Changing Times. The latest in the best-selling series Wake Up...Live the Life You Love, Bouncing Back is a collection of essays from successful people who share their stories of persevering in difficult times to achieve ultimate fulfillment.



Fowler, whose own compelling story of overcoming brain cancer and life-threatening climbing injuries to go on to lead a fitness revolution, is joined in Bouncing Back by others who have fought back from adversity to succeed as never before. "Thriving is more than having all your material needs met or enjoying success in the eyes of others," says the book's publisher, Steven E. "It is the growth of personal spirit; it is a sense of joy in life that can't be taken away by bad times, bad luck, or bad people."



"I'm proud to be included among some really inspiring people in Bouncing Back," says Fowler, whose DVD Overcoming Obstacles delves more deeply into the subject of bouncing back from adversity. "I'm dedicated to seeing that my experiences help others."



Robert Valentine, publications director of the Wake Up...Live series, says of the book: "If there is a single lesson in this unusual collection, it is that when life knocks you down—whether it be financial hardship or personal tragedy—finding the passion within yourself to bounce back and thrive is vital. Each (author) may take a different road, but somewhere in this collection is an example of living that will resonate with you."



Fowler's writing has been featured in Yoga Magazine, LA Yoga, Franchise Times and at iyogalife.com and thenoomzone.com—her new blog. Her highly anticipated newcomer's guide to yoga The No OM Zone: No Chanting, No Granola, No Sanskrit arrives in bookstores this August (2010) from Rodale Books.



Wake Up...Live the Life You Love is published by Wake Up Print. It is available online at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million and www.wakeupstore.com .

How NOT to GAIN weight during the HOLIDAYS

 The average person gains 5 to 10 pounds between Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day, they are the same ones who have “Lose 10 pounds” on their New Year Resolutions list.  It’s easy to see why we gain weight during this time-we eat more, we drink more and we work out less, this is a bad combo.  So let’s try not to be one of those people who gain weight during the Holidays, use your New Year Resolutions for “Conquering the World’, or “Finding the Love of your Life”, instead of “Losing the 10 pounds”.  

TIPS to keep your shape during the Holiday season.

1.   Drink More Water: Before you have that 120 calorie glass of Wine, drink a 0 calorie glass of water.  When you drink water before you eat or drink, you will eat less because you will feel full; it will also help flush your kidneys and liver from drinking.

2.   Stick to your Workout Routine: This is probably the most important thing to do, because if you are eating and drinking more, than you are consuming more calories than normal, so logically you should workout more. If you don’t then you will gain weight, it’s a fact.

3.   Do Yoga for Stress Relief: Sometimes we eat when things get stressful, the pressure of Holiday, gift buying or you may just have issues with the Holidays-a lot of us do and we head for the comfort food which is readily available during this time of year. Another reason to do more yoga is that it also help with your digestion i.e.; helps you process all the food you eat.

4.   Get a Workout Buddy: I don’t know about you, but I’m more accountable to other people. If I say, “I’ll meet you at YAS to workout” I will be there, no matter what. See if that works for you.

5.   Do the Math before you Eat & Drink: I’m not telling you not to “indulge” during the Holidays, there is nothing I love more than a piece of pumpkin pie with a cup of eggnog, but I do have to realizes I just consumed over 1000 extra calories, which equals 1 Spin class and 1 Yoga class, so I know if I have to do 2 extra classes in order not to gain weight. I have included a Calorie Counter below, so you can “Do the Math”.

Drinks:	Calories
1 mixed drink	250
1 glass wine	120
1 cup eggnog	343
Snacks:	Calories
1 cracker with cheese	70
½ cup mixed nuts	440
1 ounce tortilla or potato chips	150
1 tablespoon dip for chips	75
Salads:	Calories
3 cups salad with diet dressing	100
1 tablespoon ranch dressing	75
Main Course:	Calories
6 ounces cured ham	300
6 ounces turkey	340
6 ounces prime rib	330
½ cup stuffing	180
½ cup cranberry sauce	190
½ cup mashed potatoes	150
½ cup gravy	150
1 baked potato with sour cream	150
½ cup green bean casserole	225
½ cup sautéed green beans	50
½ cup candied sweet potatoes	150
1 dinner roll	110
1 pat butter	45
Dessert:	Calories
2 chocolate mints	60
2 small chocolate chip cookies	150
1 piece apple pie (1/8 of 9-in pie)	410
1 piece pecan pie (1/8 of 9-in pie)	480
1 piece pumpkin pie (1/8 of 9-in pie)	180
½ cup whipped cream	75
½ cup ice cream	145
Leftovers:	Calories
1 turkey sandwich with mayo and cranberry sauce	450

 

Have a Happy & Healthy Holiday Season!!

Kimberly

Wake Up Live the Life you Love…..

Well, my “Wake Up Call” was more of a “Wake Up Fall”. Unfortunately for me, I have always learned my lessons the hard way!

Have you ever had a feeling you were meant to do something different with your life, different then what you are doing right now? I always had that feeling, but I had worked really hard to get where I was.  At the time, I was the COO of a 200 million dollar vitamin company.  I was making a lot of money, had a lot of power and for someone who grew up in poverty, whose father had died homeless at the age of 40.  It was hard to think, “Let’s give this all up and just do what you love.” It’s not like I didn’t enjoy the success, but throughout my career I had always felt that I was meant to do something different, something more meaningful with my life but I had worked so hard to put myself through college and law school, why would I ever give it up?  Honestly, I thought it was a little “Airy Fairy” to think you could just “Do what you Love” but the nagging voices persisted “You are meant to do something different.” I just ignored the voices, put my head down and worked even harder. Now, I have had a lot “Wake Up Calls” in my life, in fact I was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor in my last year of law school. You would have thought, hmmm maybe you should take a look at why you’re here, what is your purpose? But “NO”, instead I threw myself into sports, first running then biking, I was actually hit by a car in a race outside of Dallas Texas, another “Wake Up Call”? I began to compete in Triathlons, then I moved to Las Vegas and I got into “free climbing” without ropes, why, because I was afraid of heights “Face your fears”. Well, one day while climbing at Mount Charleston, I fell. I hit a patch of ice with my foot, it was June in Las Vegas and I wasn’t expecting an ice patch. I fell about 30 feet, it’s only a couple of stories high but, unfortunately for me, I impaled myself on a stump! All my ribs broke off and punctured my internal organs, sounds fun, right?  I had popped my kidney in 6 places, punctured my lung and I was laying there thinking “Oh shit, what are you going to do?!” I had been in worst situation, I had already lived thru a brain tumor, I had actually lived 16 years longer than anyone expected me to. I was in a lot of pain and I was having a hard time breathing. At this point I didn’t know I had punctured my lung, boy that takes me right back there. So I got up and started climbing down the mountain. While I was going down, I was totally out of my body, sort of behind myself and to the left. Now I’m not a “Woo Woo” person but if you don’t believe in divine intervention, you should, because this was definitely an out of body experience!

So I’m in the hospital, it took me about 6 months to recover, which gives you a lot of time to think. I had been through enough in my life at that point to know “This too shall pass” I’ve never been a “Poor Me” type of person, I’m an “Okay lets figure this out” type of person. Bottom line, I believe everything happens for a reason, for me this happened because I wasn’t listening to my intuition, to that nagging little voice in my head that had been nagging me all my life.  But what was the nagging voice trying to tell me? What do you “Really” want to do with your life? What are the things that you are “Passionate” about? I have always loved fitness, my ability to play sports was a big factor in getting into college, and it helped keep me be focused and “Sane” when I was growing up in an abusive, alcoholic family. I didn’t get into drugs like the rest of my friends, I played sports instead. For years I used to drive around with Yoga and indoor cycling schedules from different clubs in my car. Trying to go from one to the other and always asking “Why doesn’t anyone just put the two together?!” I was sort of annoyed someone hadn’t done this.  For me it really was the perfect combination. I didn’t have to do weights the Yoga kept me strong the cardio helped me get my anxiety out and my body never looked better or felt better for that matter. And then it came to me in the shower one day why don’t you put the 2 together and open a Fitness center, I know dah right? Yes, in hindsight it seems pretty obvious but at the time it was one of those “Erika” moments!!

I finally listened to the nagging voice and actually figured out what it was saying to me, but that was just the beginning. I didn’t have any positive feedback for my big dream of owning a gym, my friends thought I was crazy! I was a lawyer, I had had my own firm, and I was a “Big Cheese”. My friends were saying to me, “You’re going to do what?!” They thought opening a gym was beneath me, it wasn’t the picture of what they thought I should be doing with my life. They thought I should go back to being a lawyer and one of my close friends actually said “You can’t do that, you’re too old!!” Okay, I was 42 years old at the time, not exactly the age you get into the Fitness Industry. I actually have to thank him because the best way to get me to do anything is to tell me I CAN’T do it!! Hmmm, well what do you think happened next? The stock market crashes, do you remember when the stock market crashed in 2001? All the dot com stocks went from being worth millions to nothing. It reminds me of what’s happening now in 2009 with the stock market. I thought at the time, “Enough already”, just when you thought you were on “The Right Path”, that you were doing “The Right Thing” bang, no money. So what do you do? Do you give up or do you say, ”I must be on the wrong path because this just isn’t easy?” I have to admit, I went there for a second, but no, you do it anyway, you just figure it out! I know a lot of people are struggling and I can completely empathize with you, but I want you to realize, if you truly believe in yourself, anything is possible.

Now my love is my life’s work. Don’t get me wrong, I work just as hard as I did when I was a lawyer and in the corporate world, actually I work harder, but I absolutely love what I do, so it doesn’t matter, I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s 2009, my company YAS is now a national brand and growing rapidly, it has expanded to 7 locations, a clothing line and a production company, I even have a philanthropic arm called YAS Gives Back. Life is good. I hope my story inspires you to Wake Up and Live the Life you Love, it’s never too late!!

Is Yoga the “Fountain of Youth”?

 I am here to tell you that you can honestly slow the signs of aging-“stop the clock”-with just adding a 15 minute Anti-Aging routine a few times a week. Believe me “a little Yoga goes a long way.” Yoga gives you more energy, strength, flexibly and of course the main benefit-stress reduction. Yoga is like a “Spa Treatment” for your body when it comes to the relaxation poses.

Now according to “Yoga philosophy”, it's the flexibility of the spine, not how old you are, that determines a person's age. I would have to agree with that, think about it-as we age our body-the spine-starts to curl forward. Our shoulders start to slump, it’s harder to stand up straight our hips and lower back get tight, we move slower. So to counter balance the aging-process Yoga is actually “The Secret” because it slows down the aging-process by giving flexibility to the spine, firming up the skin, removing tension from the body, strengthening the abdominal muscles, poses like Fish help eliminate the possibility of a double chin. Correcting poor posture, with poses like Bridge, by opening your shoulders and your chest muscles, will instantly make you feel and look younger. Yoga basically lets you trade in characteristics of old age for characteristics of youth.

Anti-Aging Yoga Routine: 10 Minutes

1.    Easy Spinal Twist

2.    Bridge Pose

3.    Plow Pose

4.    Shoulder Stand Pose

5.    Fish Pose

6.    Corpse Pose

Kimberly Fowler gave up her briefcase and legal pad for a yoga mat and spin shoes. At the age of 42 she decide to take a new career path, one that lead her into the fitness world, this time as-a living-not just to stay in shape. She is competing with 20 and 30 year olds in an industry that holds most prominent “youth” over experience.

How to get Lean & Mean?

 Since I’m in the fitness industry you’re probably thinking “Oh she’s going to talk to us about working out” right?? It’s funny because most of the time, when I’m asked to speak it’s usually about marketing, or being a female business owner. “Marketing” has always been my favorite part of my business, coming up with creative angles to get press and separate YAS from other companies in the fitness industry. Its fun for me, I take the Donnie Duetch approach, when asked why he was so successful, he said, “I market to myself and I know myself well.” I do the same thing. Now in this economy, “Creative Marketing”-Stepping out of our traditional boxes is key. In this economy, you have to get creative!! In the past you might have spent money on advertising and if it worked great, if it didn’t, oh well, but now it’s all about the ROI, your return on investment!! Basically, how much money can I get out of this?

Marketing creates a Brand, that’s why it’s so important!! Basically, only the strong Brands will survive. I wish I could have the Donna Summer song, “I will survive” playing in the background. The Brands will survive and since Franchising is “All about the Brand”, if you have a franchise you are in a better position than most businesses out there. Surviving is one thing, growing is another? Growing your business will take more than just “hanging in there”. I have to admit, the economy put a holt on my growth plans.  I went from selling 6 franchises in a snap to having more leads than ever, but no sales. We had to refocuses, in hindsight it’s was a good thing, since we are a new franchise, our growth could have gotten out of control.

Growing up extremely poor has always made me frugal, well, except when it comes to my cars, I won’t go into that, I’m a bit of a car nut. I have always made it a game to get the best deal, even when I have the money. Now most companies have had to cut back on our advertising and marketing budgets. I have become my own little PR agency, “YAS PR” I am not going to lie to you, it’s a lot of work, and I’m 50 years old, so the whole Social Media, Facebook and Twitter is a tad creepy to me!! I reluctantly went on Facebook, I’m still reluctantly on Facebook, and I use it because I have to. I have a personal page, a YAS fitness center page & a fan page, it’s ridiculous, and then came the Tweets form Twitter? How retarded? I just could not wrap my head around it? I went on to peoples Twitter page that I respected, like Martha Stewart, and I read it going, “What the hell is she talking about?” On Twitter you have to keep you posts to 140 characters, which is basically 25 words. So sometimes it’s hard to get your point across.

Originally why I started using Facebook was to promote my business, I started with a YAS Fitness Center Facebook page, but in order to promote it they had to be my friends first? I had all these people wanting to me “my friend” I keep thinking, who the hell are these people?  Now I figured the ones from South Jersey had to be from High School but the rest of them? But I started accepting people just so I could invite them to my business Facebook page-for me Social Media is all about business!! That’s it. Now, I started “Twittering” to promote my book, “The No OM Zone” I look at my daily Tweets as part of my job; it’s my job to help promote my book, period. (http://twitter.com/kimberlyYAS)

Now the good thing about Social Media is, “it FREE” the bad thing is, it does take time. But to stay current, all of us need to be proactively on these sites, you just don’t want to be left behind in the social media world.  The internet is key in business, 53% of all searches start with Google, that how important the internet is. Over 50% of the people looking for you or your business start with Google. Check your companies Google ranking, type in your companies name and see where it comes up. How many of you already do this? I use “Google Alerts” I get notified when someone post something about me or YAS.

The one thing that I know is, it’s easier than ever to get information out in cyberspace, but because there is so much out there it’s harder to get people attention. I am absolutely amazed how many impressions it takes to get noticed, that’s why it’s important to use “Social Media” for your business!!

Here are some facts about “Social Media”

• Facebook has 200 million active users! Up 89% this year alone
• Facebook users check their accounts three to four times daily!
• They spend an average of 19+ minutes per visit
• Facebook signs up 250,000 new users every day
• YouTube plays 75 million videos daily! That's bigger than any TV network
• LinkedIn has over 15 million business people networking
• Twitter grows at 300K new users per month
• Twitter is growing at over 40% a month (They predict it will overtake Facebook in the near future)

Now after reading these facts, it became clear to me, and I hope to you too, that Social Media is the future! All of us need to tap into this as a way to grow our businesses.

 

I am going to leave you 5 Lean & Mean Tips:

1. Give them something to talk about!! Isn’t that a song by Bonnie Raitt? “Let’s give something to talk about” I am often asked how I get so much press, in fact I was just on CNN, why? Because my tagline is “No Chanting, No Granola, No Sanskrit” Sanjay Gupta was surfing the internet looking for “Yoga without Granola” So, if you have a business, think of an angle to get people talking about you!! “Think Madonna” whether you like her or not, she always give us something to talk about!! Remember editorial is Free, but why would someone write about you? Give them a reason!!
2. Customer Service-In this economy people are looking for customer service, I guess would be “Lean & Nice”
3. Make Deals!! Ask Ask Ask!! Who cares if they say no, there are a lot of vendors and advertiser out there. The worst thing that can happen is somebody say no, but in this economy you might see a lot more yes’s than no’s. It’s a buyer’s market right now take advantage of it; it’s not going to stay this way!!
4. Diversify!! I learn this when I lived in Houston Texas, when the oil business went “Bust” it took the whole city down with it. I had guys, the oil business was all men at that time, handing me gold Rolex watches to handle their bankruptcies. It was crazy, but I really learned that lesson. You should have several streams of income.
5. Last but not Least: Social Media-If you are not on Facebook, join. Become an expert on Twitter.(It’s free) I know at first this seems like a lot work, but it’s like everything else, once you get used to it, it becomes part of your daily routine, now I’m 50 so if I can do it, you can do it.

 

5 “Mind-Body” Tips for starting the New Year off with an “Om”, say what?

Almost All New Year Resolution Lists have at least 1 Mind or Body Goal, most of the time it’s just the Body, “Lose Weight” or it’s just the Mind “Learn Spanish” well in this day and age, it would probably be better to learn Chinese. Here are a few Mind-Body Tips, to keep your Mind and your Body strong so you can “Conquer the World”, which I’m sure, is number 3 on your list right?

1.    Do Yoga. I know, as soon as you saw the word “Yoga” you thought, “Oh here we go some airy fair hippy is going to tell me to do Yoga”. Okay, so let’s put it in “Business terms”, what about “Yoga for Great Business Ideas”?  If you haven’t taken a Yoga class, I want you to-“Just do it”, one way or another, look for a level 1-2 yoga class at your gym or buy a yoga DVD and try it at home, but make sure you bring a pen and a piece of paper, because most of my best business ideas have come during a Yoga class.

2.    Start Mediating-I have to tell you, mediation is “All about the Brian”. Now if someone told you that you could think clearer, be less “Stressed out” and bring your blood pressure down by just sitting for 15 to 20 minutes would you do it? Of course you would. If you are a “Type A” personality, which since you are business people, I know you are, whether you want to admit it of not. Meditation is for you for a number of reasons, but the main one is it reduces your stress level. Stress creates what is called “Free radicals” in your body and they damage your brain cells. Meditation helps calm your nerves and restore the balance of brain chemicals. It will also help you have a more positive outlook, so you can better cope with your day and handle those repetitive and nagging business problems.

3.    Gear up for your “Best Year Ever” by setting a Workout Routine. This is simple, I want you to schedule your Workouts like they were important business meetings, as you step into your gym and you get a call I want you to say “I’m just stepping into a meeting, I’ll call you back in an hour”. You will be a better business person if you work out because the brain needs oxygen as does the rest of the body. Without proper circulation, fatigue and irritability cancels out the ability to remember or solve problems. Now you don’t have to sweat it out at the gym, anything that gets your heart rate up and pumping oxygen to the brain will work.

4.    Get enough Sleep- It's a crucial element for health maintenance, but many people simply do not get enough or don't get quality sleep. Waking up tired is guaranteed to keep mental ability below normal levels.

5.    Fuel your Body- to help your Mind. I have always thought of my body as a Machine-a Racing car. If your Body was a car what would it be? A Masserati, a Jaguar or a Pirus? Here are a few simple tips to help feul your Body and keep it proforming to its ultimate capacity.

· Replace 1 glass of Wine with 1 glass of Water.

· Take your Vitamins-I know I’m starting to sound like your Mother, but the brain needs the same nutrients as does the body to stay sharp. Considering that most diets consist of highly refined foods from which essential nutrients have been stripped away, the brain simply cannot function properly. Take some Ginkgo Biloba which helps circulation and speeds along oxygen to the brain. (Remember “It’s all about the Brain”)

· Watch what you eat!! You've heard this hundreds of times, but a diet of hamburger, fries and cola simply won't get the brain the nutrients it needs. Eat lots of fresh fruit, vegetables and high fiber breads and cereals. Antioxidant foods such as is found in spinach and other dark leafy green vegetables and fruits such as berries and tomatoes help to improve memory.

· Eat Breakfast. Like getting enough sleep, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. The body has fasted during the night and needs the energy from the right foods to start the day in a healthy mode.

· Keep your Brain Active. It's been shown that your brain is like a muscle. The more you challenge it, the more you use it - the longer it will stay supple and responsive.

I hope these simple Mind-Body Tips will help you make 2010 your “Best Year Ever!!”