Friday, August 31, 2007

The Setai, South Beach, Miami


Had a great weekend at the Setai in Miami. Even the tree's there look like art!

























Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Laughaholics!

Get Addicted to Yourself!

Ever hear of those “laughter clubs” in India where people gather in parks for half an hour every day just to laugh? There are over 400 of these clubs! More than 50 in Bombay alone, with a total membership of 25,000 laughaholics! Members and experienced gigglers meet in groups of 50, limber up with breathing exercises, and then egg each other on into extended bouts of hilarity! I read this and thought, wow, we could use this sort of thing in America!

Sales of anti-depressant drugs is around $40 billion. Insurance rates are skyrocketing. Cancer and stress related diseases are increasing. We need to be proactive to maintain our health and keep our immune systems strong…and if laughter is the best medicine…it’s also a great way to have some fun in between stops to Whole Foods or Starbucks! If we get addicted to coffee from caffeine, why not get addicted to ourselves from our endorphins!

Laughter triggers the release of endorphins, the body's natural painkillers, and produces a general sense of well-being. Laughing lowers blood pressure, reduces stress hormones, increases muscle flexion, and boosts immune function by raising levels of infection-fighting T-cells, disease-fighting proteins called Gamma-interferon and B-cells, which produce disease-destroying antibodies.

"A clown is like an aspirin, only he works twice as fast." - Groucho Marx

So why not “laughter spas”! I'll keep you posted!

Genius is Wisdom and Youth

Genius is wisdom and youth. Wow. A friend texted that to me the other day. I never thought of it that way before. It made me remember something I heard Wayne Dyer say as I was flipping channels and caught him on PBS...

"Wisdom is knowing we are nothing. Love is knowing we are everything."

Perhaps somewhere in there is the eternal balance. I like to believe we are all geniuses; each in our own state of becoming.

My goddaughter Allyssa is 6 years old. During a recent visit we were in the backyard playing, jumping on a giant trampoline, laughing, giggling, and reaching high for the trees. Allyssa said out of the blue, "Good fun brings good luck!"

I smiled from ear to ear and just hugged her. Genius is wisdom and youth! So I went home and bought a trampoline!

Jonathan Cainer writes, "can you remember where you were before you came here? No? Strange, isn't it. None of us can. An entire planet of people suffering from selective memory loss. Even stranger, we worry about where we go when we leave. Yet if you look at the new arrivals, you can see they clearly come from somewhere special. The smile of a baby brings in the light of another world. It is not the unknown that we need to fear. If we must be wary, look out for the world we know only too well."

So there you go. My new book, yet unpublished, will be called...

"The Meaning of Life. The Ultimate Guide to Being in the Moment"... and all the pages are blank!

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Hybrid Yachts?

So I was sitting at Capital Grill in Fort Lauderdale yesterday listening to Bob Saxon tell me a story. Bob had a New Yorker magazine folded open on the bar when I arrived.  I was intrigued.  "What are you reading", I asked.  It was an article on hybrid cars.

Bob Saxon is an icon in the yachting industry and owned his own yacht management and charter company for 15 years before he sold it to Camper & Nicholsons (A Rodriquez Group company) 5 years ago. I worked in the industry for 7 years in the 90's, and loved it...I managed a private yacht charter business for five years, and then worked at Sparkman & Stephens for two. A lot has changed since then.  So I asked Bob who is buying yachts these days.  He said, "even with a two year wait at most European yards, with an impending democratic presidency yachting may feel a pinch".

It made me think about the customer and who has $10-$150 million in their back pocket to splurge on a big yacht now. In the Northeast yachting is a traditional old money pastime.  It made me wonder if the new money digital tycoons of today will move the yachting industry in a new direction that reflects their culture.  Jeff Bezos of Amazon drove a Toyota Corolla for years even after reaching multi-millionaire status.  I also find it interesting how many luxury car owners also own a Prius.  The digital tycoons seem like a natural fit for a new market of high-tech self-sufficient yachts that can be built today. So why not build hybrid yachts? Complete with solar panels and LEED sustainable designs.

Talking to Bob, this idea came together for me because since January 2007 I've been working as a business development consultant for Ciralight. They produce what I call "skylights on steroids". It is basically a skylight that uses mirrors to capture sunlight into a building, not just at Noon, but from sunrise to sunset so you don't have to use electricity at all during the day! Amazing stuff; for the pocketbook and the planet! My kind of thing. It makes everyone feel good! By using Ciralight in their buildings big box retailers give their customers a sense of satisfaction that by shopping in their stores they are also doing their part help the environment. A win-win.

So why not apply this idea to yachts. If anyone can do it, Bob Saxon can! If you are in the market to buy, or even custom build your new hybrid yacht...call Bob Saxon.

Bridge



I took this photo while in a cab and pointing my cell phone out the back window!