365DOLF

DECEMBER 25 – Merry Christmas

Remember that the 365DOLF advice starts with an *

Everything else is general information on our 6 famous birthdays. Unfortunately Baby Jesus is not one of them today.

Was Jesus born on December 25?

There is no evidence for this date. So then, who decided that Jesus’ birth would be celebrated on that date? The early Christian church did not celebrate Jesus’ birth. It wasn’t until A.D. 440 that the church officially proclaimed December 25 as the birth of Christ. This was not based on any religious evidence but on a pagan feast. Saturnalia was a tradition inherited by the Roman pagans from an earlier Babylonian priesthood. December 25 was used as a celebration of the birthday of the sun god. It was observed near the winter solstice.

https://www.allaboutjesuschrist.org/was-jesus-born-on-december-25-faq.htm

MIND

Robert Ripley 1890

https://www.ripleys.com/keywest/

https://www.ripleys.com/our-story/robert-ripley/

Take care of yourself. A fitness nut in his youth (he avowed that handball was the solution to stress), Ripley was also a heavy drinker and, as his business empire grew, he stopped making time to exercise. In 1949, at just 59 years old, he collapsed during the filming of his last venture, a TV show, and died of a fatal heart attack.

https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/openforum/articles/believe-it-or-not-12-success-lessons-from-unlikely-millionaire-robert-ripley/

*None of what you’ve been doing with 365DOLF this year matters unless you are taking care of yourself. If you have been enjoying the food but ignoring the workouts, it’s not going to work. Remember balance. Remember mind, body, soul. Believe it or not.

BODY

Rickey Henderson 1958

https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/henderson-rickey

“I can probably do about 65 or 100 push-ups in a row, but usually I probably do about 50 at a time,” he said. “I might do 500 while looking at a movie.”

http://transformetrics.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6013

*Do 500 push-ups while watching The African Queen

SOUL

Clara Barton 1821

https://www.nps.gov/people/clara-barton.htm

https://www.truthaboutnursing.org/press/pioneers/clara_barton.html

http://www.clarabartonmuseum.org/bio/

Barton risked her life to bring supplies and support to soldiers in the field during the Civil War. She founded the American Red Cross in 1881, at age 60, and led it for the next 23 years. Her understanding of the ways she could provide help to people in distress guided her throughout her life. By the force of her personal example, she opened paths to the new field of volunteer service. Her intense devotion to serving others resulted in enough achievements to fill several ordinary lifetimes.

http://www.redcross.org/about-us/history/clara-barton

Whether helping one displaced family or thousands, providing care and comfort to an ill or injured service member or veteran, or teaching others how to respond in emergencies, it’s through the efforts of ordinary people that we can do extraordinary things.

FIND OPPORTUNITIES & APPLY

https://www.redcross.org/volunteer/become-a-volunteer.html

*It doesn’t matter your age, understand that you can provide help for people in distress. Follow Clara Barton’s path to volunteer service. Have an intense devotion to serving others. Give yourself a Christmas gift of signing up to volunteer with the Red Cross in your area.

MONEY

Conrad Hilton 1887

https://secure3.hilton.com/en/tm/travel/index.htm

Reportedly Barron was all set to leave his entire $4.5 billion estate to his family but changed his mind in 2007 after being so embarrassed by what Paris had done to the Hilton name. This move will effectively double the holdings of the foundation named for his father, Conrad (who built the hotel empire from nothing), when Barron dies. Great for humanity, bad for Hilton heirs at large. Thanks to Paris, they just lost out on $4.3 billion.

http://www.celebritynetworth.com/articles/entertainment-articles/paris-hilton-isnt-really-much-heiress/

*Christmas is a great day to let your family know what you will be leaving them one day. Remind them that it’s not too late to change their ways… and you your will.

**Also let them know about the vacation you’ve booked at a Hilton Hotel in Key West as their Christmas gift. While in Key West next Christmas you will take the African Queen cruise, visit Ripley’s Believe it or Not museum, and celebrate at Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville. That’s hot!

ENTERTAINMENT

Humphrey Bogart 1899 – watch The African Queen

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003F3ITNE/ref=atv_feed_catalog

The newly restored African Queen is again plying the waters of beautiful Key Largo offering daily canal cruises which depart from the Marina Del Mar marina which is part of the Holiday Inn Complex at mile marker 100 in Key Largo.

http://africanqueenflkeys.com/

Buzz started early that Bogart would win a much overdue Academy Award for his performance in The African Queen, which Bogie shrugged off. He publicly expressed his distaste for actors competing against each other, but deep down, according to Lauren Bacall, he did want to win.

http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/24323/The-African-Queen/articles.html

*Start a new Christmas day tradition of watching Humphrey Bogart finally win an Oscar in The African Queen. Remember to do 500 push-ups while watching.

FOOD

Jimmey Buffet 1946 – “cheeseburger in paradise” and a margarita

https://twitter.com/jimmybuffett?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

https://www.margaritavillekeywest.com/

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/jimmy-buffetts-cheeseburger-in-paradise-recipe.html

Although they tend to be too sweet for me these days, every now and then I still like to have one on the rocks, no salt. I’ve had great ones and I’ve had bad ones over the years. But the very best margarita? That will always be the one that somebody else buys for you.

https://www.instyle.com/lifestyle/food-drink/jimmy-buffett-margarita-recipe

http://www.margaritaville.com/radio-player

*Start a new Christmas night tradition of  making “cheeseburgers in paradise” and margaritas while listening to Jimmy Buffett.

Who is the market for 365DOLF?

Self-help books take a decent share of the best-sellers in bookstores, and sales have been on the rise. At the Washington, DC Public Library, for example, 11 of the top 50 titles with the highest circulation are “self help.”

The self-help book shelves at Strand bookstore in New York City have a mix of religion (365dolf – SOUL), self-improvement (365dolf – MIND, BODY, SOUL, MONEY) and fitness (365dolf – BODY) books.

Michael Santangelo, the Assistant Director of Acquisitions at the New York Public Library told Quartz, that there’s no formal catalog called “self-help” at the library. Some self-help books can be categorized as applied psychology (365dolf – MIND), some can be considered personal finance (365dolf – MONEY), and some even business management (365dolf – MONEY).

Self-help books tagged with biography, memoir, and autobiography (365dolf – FAMOUS BIRTHDAYS) have more female readers. Those tagged with psychology (365dolf – MIND), business (365dolf – MONEY), science, philosophy (365dolf – MIND) and religion (365dolf – SOUL) have more male readers. Books tagged with self-help (365dolf) alone see highest percentage of female readers.

In the study, researchers from University of Calgary conducted 134 interviews with self-help book readers and found that men and women read self-help books for different reasons. Men are more likely to read books relating to careers (365dolf – MONEY), while women are more likely to read books about interpersonal relationships (365dolf – SOUL). Overall, women read self-help books more frequently and more intensively.

https://qz.com/1106341/most-women-reading-self-help-books-are-getting-advice-from-men/

Looking specifically at the Self-Help category, we find the following:

• Readers tend to be younger, with 73% under the age of 45.
• Overall sales of print books are fairly consistent throughout the year, with the exception of the holiday jump in December (365dolf will make an excellent Christmas gift to start the New Year), which carries over into January.

https://www.booknetcanada.ca/blog/2014/5/26/whos-buying-self-help-books.html

Shifting demographics.

Traditionally, the Baby Boomers (365dolf celebrates the birthdays of historical figures) have been the main consumers of self-improvement. They still are an important group, but the tide is shifting. Millennials (365dolf also celebrates the birthdays of current celebrities) now are the largest population group and represent the future for this market, but there are few experts now catering to them.

The Internet is playing a larger role.

More content (such as MP3 downloads, e-books, webinars, online courses, “academies,” “universities,” and masterminds, etc.) is being delivered online, and self-help apps (365dolf will one day be an app) are starting to take off.

Convenience and cost are key.

It’s harder to get consumers to take a flight to a seminar or retreat, get three days off from work, and pay the registration fee and hotel stay. This costs thousands. Consumers today want 24/7 access to personal development programs, at home (365dolf is 24/7-365 at the touch of reader’s fingertips), with no travel. Especially Millennials, who generally have limited budgets. That’s why the internet has become the preferred distribution method. It’s also good for gurus, who can reach more people more cost-effectively and more profitably.

Accountability will be more important.

The personal development field has had a rocky past. Many personal coaches are not qualified. Suze Orman’s financial advice has been criticized, Robert Kiyosaki filed for bankruptcy for one of his companies. People died at James Ray’s sweat lodge programs. The Ubiquitous infomercial pitchman Kevin Trudeau is in jail. His widely seen infomercials promoting his books were filled with unsubstantiated health, diet, and financial remedies that earned him a fortune.

Consumers are jaded and are questioning guru credentials more often. Future gurus will be held to a higher standard, and must produce real, measurable results and practical skills. Much of the past self-help marketing created unrealistic expectations. And, self-help may be most useful for people who don’t actually need self-help (365dolf consists of advice from six different famous people every day – not one set guru).

https://blog.marketresearch.com/whats-next-for-the-9-9-billion-personal-development-industry

Millennials, whom we define as ages 20 to 35 in 2016, numbered 71 million, and Boomers (ages 52 to 70) numbered 74 million. Millennials are expected to overtake Boomers in population in 2019 as their numbers swell to 73 million and Boomers decline to 72 million.

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/03/01/millennials-overtake-baby-boomers/

Millennial women may be on a collision course with financial disaster

• Millennial women seriously lag men in their financial aspirations, compared with data from the same study two years ago.
• The reasons for this gulf include social media, career goals and family priorities.
• This financial gap could mean women are setting themselves up for financial derailment in the future.

“Men tend to value money and feel more pressure to provide for a family,” Bohlsen said. “For women, it’s time and flexibility. The long-term goal is having that work-life balance.”

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/08/millennial-women-lag-men-in-their-financial-aspirations.html

“There are now 5.5 million women in the US versus only 4.1 million men who are college graduates aged 22 to 29. That’s 33 percent more women than men.  (This is the demographic of 365dolf)

https://www.wlky.com/article/theres-a-reason-why-so-many-millennial-women-are-single/8566463

OVERVIEW (What the book will be about and why someone would want to read/buy it)

Most people want to improve their lives. Especially around the Christmas holidays, gearing up for a “New Year – New Me!” Unfortunately these same people don’t go into the New Year with a set plan or any guidance. They might catch some random ideas on-line or from a magazine, but there is nothing out there to guide them every day of the year – until now. 365dolf is currently a website that does exactly that, through the focus of famous people. People can now improve their mind, body, soul, money, entertainment, and food through 365 days of living famously.

If you’ve ever waited in line and perused the magazine section, you get inundated with headlines of celebrity advice. If you’ve ever spent hours in a bookstore or online looking for self-help, you may have had to settle for a workout journal or a daily prayer log. 365dolf is truly the first of its kind to take daily famous birthdays to help guide people towards self-improvement.

Through six famous birthdays each day, people will be able to expand their minds, tone their bodies, warm their souls, improve their financial situation, escape from reality, and answer the most daunting question of each day… what’s for dinner? The finished manuscript will contain approximately 187,500 words, or 750 pages.

Every day, my readers will be able to

• Use a famous birthday to help expand and stimulate their mind
• Use a workout or helpful tip from a famous birthday to improve their body
• Use a famous birthday to warm their soul
• Use tips from a famous birthday to save or invest money, with a focus on being their own boss
• Be entertained by a famous birthday
• Be inspired by a famous birthday to nourish their body

Each day, my readers will receive

• a daily life lesson to make you think
• a daily workout or advice on better health
• a daily dose of inspiration
• a daily tip to improve your finances
• a daily form of escape from reality
• a daily recipe that can answer – “What’s for dinner?”

On a daily basis, my readers will

• Use the MIND birthday, at the least, as a topic of conversation with coworkers, family, and friends
• Use the BODY birthday for a suggested workout or a tip for healthy living
• Use the SOUL birthday to keep an open mind, beyond their set religion and focus on becoming a better person
• Use the MONEY birthday as advice from the very best at saving, investing, entrepreneurship, and philanthropy
• Use the ENTERTAINMENT birthday as an escape from reality each day with a movie, TV show, or music
• Use the FOOD birthday to help with at least one meal, dessert, or snack with a recipe from a celebrity chef or famous person

With the start of a New Year, a lot of people are looking for change. Most people want to improve themselves and be a better person. Starting on 1/1/19, 365DOLF will be unlike any other game plan for that self-improvement. Each day you will use 6 famous birthdays to help guide you for improvement with your MIND, BODY, SOUL, MONEY, ENTERTAINMENT, and FOOD.

I have provided an example of each below to give you a snapshot of how it works and a preview of 6 birthdays coming up next year.

MARCH 14

MIND

Albert Einstein 1879

https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1921/einstein/biographical/

Create Value: “Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.”

How would you define success?  What will make your life a success?  These questions can be great ones to ask yourself.  It can be raising healthy and happy children, having meaningful and fulfilling relationships, being authentic in conversations, writing a book, loving a career, and feeling good everyday— whatever it is for you, that’s where to place or continue to place your focus.  What we focus on truly expands.

https://www.virtuesforlife.com/10-great-life-lessons-from-albert-einstein/

http://einstein.biz/

Write down the following…

Your definition of success

What will make your life a success?

What makes you valuable to others?

If you don’t know, today is the day to seek out answers to these questions.

JULY 7

BODY

Lisa Leslie 1972 – squats while brushing your teeth

https://www.biography.com/people/lisa-leslie-12816766

“My favorite workout involves an electric toothbrush and whole lot of squats. If you get an electric toothbrush it usually runs for two minutes [and] you do four quadrants of your mouth. While at the same time, you can do your squats. So I do my squats probably for a minute, which gets me about 50 squats in a minute and then I do leg lifts and raises for the other minute. That pretty much gets my teeth cleaned and my butt toned.”

http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/07/lisa-leslie-does-a-leg-workout-while-brushing-her-teeth

Tone your butt while brushing your teeth. This is a suggestion that you should do today and carry on doing it every day. * A life changer *

NOVEMBER 7

SOUL

Billy Graham 1918

https://billygraham.org/

The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy . . .
—Zephaniah 3:17

The world’s millions could come down to the beach and reach out their hands to be filled with sea water. They could each take as much as they wanted, as much as they needed-and still the ocean would remain unchanged. Its might and power would be the same, the life in its unfathomable depths would continue unaltered, although it had supplied the needs of every single person standing with outstretched hands along its shores.

So it is with God. He can be everywhere at once, heeding the prayers of all who call out in the name of Christ; performing the mighty miracles that keep the stars in their places, and the plants bursting up through the earth, and the fish swimming in the sea. There is no limit to God. There is no limit to His wisdom. There is no limit to His power. There is no limit to His love. There is no limit to His mercy.

Prayer for the day

Almighty God, how glorious are my thoughts of You, for You are everywhere—loving and caring for the minutest details of our lives!

On Billy Graham’s website you can get a daily devotional and a prayer for the day. This may be something that you want to put in your daily routine.

AUGUST 30

MONEY

Warren Buffett 1930

http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/

Watch Small Expenses: Warren Buffett invests in businesses run by managers who obsess over the tiniest costs. He once acquired a company whose owner counted the sheets in rolls of 500-sheet toilet paper to see if he was being cheated (he was). He also admired a friend who painted only on the side of his office building that faced the road. Exercising vigilance over every expense can make your profits — and your paycheck — go much further.

http://www.warrenbuffett.com/warren-buffett-10-ways-to-get-rich/

Exercise vigilance over every expense today – make it a habit. Check on your toilet paper too.

August 15

ENTERTAINMENT

Jennifer Lawrence 1990 –watch Silver Linings Playbook

http://jenniferlawrencefoundation.com/

Volunteer with the Jennifer Lawrence Foundation

The Jennifer Lawrence Foundation supports a variety of organizations and causes.

https://www.amazon.com/Silver-Linings-Playbook-Bradley-Cooper/dp/B00A81MV3U

Whatever you do, you’ve gotta find that silver lining – whether it’s the people in your life, or a change in your own mindset, or an imperfect and realistic and human combo of both.

http://www.livingly.com/Things+We+Love/articles/5JNAg1JyNLb/Real+Life+Lessons+Learned+Silver+Linings+Playbook

Find that silver lining by watching JLAW win an Oscar in Silver Linings Playbook. Think of volunteering with her foundation.

FOOD

Julia Child 1912 – Napoleon’s chicken

http://www.pbs.org/food/julia-child/

Recently, a cooking channel featured Julia’s popular napoleon’s chicken recipe. She related the fable of the Chicken Marengo recipe’s origin as created by Napoleon’s chef from the ingredients he had with him when they were at the battle of Marengo.

http://juliachildsrecipes.com

http://juliachildsrecipes.com/chicken-recipes/julia-childs-napoleons-chicken/

In honor of Napoleon (1769) and Julia Child’s birthdays, make her Napoleon’s chicken. Enjoy it while watching Silver Lining’s Playbook.

The first week of 2019 will start on Tuesday, January 1 and end on Saturday, January 5.

365 Days Of Living Famously (365DOLF)

Starting on January 1, 2019 the birthdays of 6 famous people will be highlighted each day to help you live famously throughout the entire year.

It is truly a game plan for life.

MIND                                    Every day I will use a famous birthday to help expand and stimulate my mind

BODY                                     Every day I will use a workout or helpful tip from a famous birthday to improve my body

SOUL                                     Every day I will use a famous birthday to warm my soul

MONEY                                Every day I will use tips from a famous birthday to save or invest money, with a focus on being my own boss

ENTERTAINMENT             Every day I will be entertained by a famous birthday

FOOD                                    Every day I will be inspired by a famous birthday to nourish my body

 

NOW: 365DOLF.com and @365DOLF on Facebook, twitter, and Instagram

By 2020: 365DOLF the app and a hard cover book with a daily journal/workbook

 

MIND                                    a daily life lesson to make you think

BODY                                     a daily workout or advice on better health

SOUL                                     a daily dose of inspiration

MONEY                                a daily tip to improve your finances

ENTERTAINMENT             a daily form of escape from reality

FOOD                                    a daily recipe that can answer – “What’s for dinner?”

 

Helpful things to have:   a gym membership, Amazon Prime, internet, an open mind

 

MIND                                    at the very least use this birthday as a topic of conversation with coworkers, family, and friends

BODY                                     If there is a suggested workout – try it. If there is a tip for healthy living – use it, and have a rest day or do a previous workout that you like

SOUL                                     Try to keep an open mind, beyond your set religion. Focus on becoming a better person

MONEY                                Get advice from the very best at saving, investing, entrepreneurship, and philanthropy

ENTERTAINMENT             Escape from reality each day with a movie, TV show, or music

FOOD                                    At least one meal, dessert, or snack will be taken care of each day, with a recipe from a celebrity chef or famous person

 

CROSSOVER                       Throughout the year (and 365DOLF), several times, the lines will be blurred. The best example is donating money. This may be the advice for money, but would absolutely help with your soul.

DISCLAIMER                       I was born in Northwestern Pennsylvania and lived in a trailer park. I was raised by very conservative and religious (Wesleyan Methodist) parents. By some miracle I graduated college and moved to Florida. I have been a public school teacher since 1995. I have 6 1/2  years until I can retire. I was married in 1999 and divorced in 2001. I remarried in 2017 to Kate – 21 years my junior.

 

Some of my life experiences as a 46-year-old, white American male, will come through in my writing, but the majority of this daily journey will be dedicated to improving myself, and hopefully you as well.