Waking up to thunder, lightning—and snow recently, I realized that here in the midwest, we are experiencing the in-between time.

Not quite spring. Not quite winter. But a time when lines blur and shadows form. As the head of a LOHASian (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) advertising agency based near Minneapolis, I realize that this in-between time moves through business in rhythms that mimic nature.

Those times when projects sit in limbo due to budgetary review. When new hires are postponed until venture capital is raised. And when proposals for new initiatives are passed  back and forth through decision making chains.

So as I sat at my desk listening to thunder and watching snow fall while organizing files, I came across this photo from last summer. It was a bit of a shock to see leafy green trees and Russian sage just outside my office door, when the trees now are still bare and ground is covered in snow.

It was such a perfect reminder of new growth that awaits. Winter is a time for rest. And spring carries the knowing that what was frozen will once again flow.

We all know that the Hispanic population in the US is growing, and that they are changing every market they touch – from politics to grocery to banking – and everything in between.  But, have you considered how this growing demographic affects the LOHAS market, and your brand?

According to NMI’s most recent LOHAS Consumer Trends Database®, Hispanics* share a number of green-minded attitudes and behaviors.  For instance, they are more likely to be active in a number of areas:

• Consumer Packaged Goods: More likely to report using natural products, such as natural home care products and natural personal care products
• Energy:  More likely to state willingness to pay for renewable power, currently use renewable power, and to own an energy meter
• Habits: More likely to take reusable bags to the grocery store, remind others to be environmentally-friendly, and contact their politicians regarding environmental issues

Aside from their above-average engagement, it is notable that these attitudes and behaviors span the gamut of sustainability – a range of product categories and behaviors spike for them.  In other words, they aren’t cherry-picking their involvement, it is more broad-based. 

There are implications for both Hispanic-focused and “green” brands.  Brands targeting Hispanics should be addressing their target consumers’ sustainable interests.  For instance, Dove has worked hard at attracting Latinas.  Unilever also has a very strong sustainability platform.  However, the two efforts seem to work independently, rather than synergistically. 

The flip-side is that “green” brands should ensure their marketing communications resonate with Hispanics.  Expect to tailor your communications to this audience in both copy and creative (not just drop your existing ads in Hispanic media outlets), but if executed well, this demographic could significantly expand your brand’s reach.

Both the Hispanic and sustainability markets are changing rapidly, and this appears to be an opportunistic time to understand how these two cultural forces interact.  NMI will be further exploring this market in collaboration with The Shelton Group in a joint study later this year.  For more information, please contact Gwynne.Villota@nmisolutions.com.

*English-speaking Hispanics only

On June 18th LOHAS will have several pre-event, day long workshops focusing on impact investing, LOHAS marketing, social media and leadership. These workshops provide a deep dive into insights, strategies and best practices that attendees will be able to apply directly to their personal and professional lives. All workshop attendees will also be able to attend the opening sessions and reception of the LOHAS conference. Pricing varies and discounted for LOHAS attendees. Limited space for each.

Impact Investing Collaboratory
The LOHAS Conference in cooperation with The Boulder HUB , will provide a unique opportunity for investors and entrepreneurs to connect, learn and collaborate around the funding challenges and successes in the emerging sector alternately defined as impact investing, social entrepreneurship and sustainable venturing. As the market has matured, and investors are more educated, This workshop provides more sophisticated investors with an experience of unquestionable value, while treating aspiring investors to a dip into the deep end, and supporting qualified entrepreneurs to a rich environment.

What Marketers Need to Know About LOHAS Consumers
This hands-on intensive workshop provides insights for attendees on best marketing and communications practices relating to both conscious consumerism and mainstream markets. Leading edge data will be presented along with case studies of successes and failures on leading LOHAS companies communicating valuable messages including authenticity, transparency and social responsibility. Attendees will gain key insights and ideas to implement into their companies immediately.

High-Impact Digital Marketing for Challenger Brands
For many LOHAS brands, “digital marketing” has become just “marketing” as campaigns increasingly live solely online. Yet many young companies have found it challenging to build a solid digital strategy with limited time, budget and creative resources. This workshop will equip savvy marketers and entrepreneurs with high-impact strategies for best representing their brands on social media along with the trends shaping the way we communicate online. Digital novices and veterans alike will come away with the tools to efficiently drive brand awareness and engage their fans across the major social media platforms.. Get ready to share in a day of digital marketing inspiration!

Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself
Break free from old patterns and emotions, and create a life with creativity, and more happiness, health and abundance, simply by changing how you think. Renowned author, speaker, neuroscientist, researcher and highly-successful chiropractor, Dr. Joe Dispenza combines the fields of quantum physics, neuroscience, brain chemistry, biology and genetics to show you what is truly possible. Now you can access these remarkable techniques in Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself. Rewiring your brain is grounded in scientifically proven neuro-physiologic principles that he explains that is entertaining and easy to understand.

We encourage both LOHAS attendees and other professionals interested in the insights we plan to share to attend one of these events. Register HERE today!

Ted Ning is renowned for leading the annual LOHAS Forum, LOHAS.com and LOHAS Journal the past 9 years Ted Ning is widely regarded as the epicenter of all things LOHAS leading many to affectionately refer to him as ‘Mr. LOHAS’. He is a change agent, trend spotter and principal of the LOHAS Group, which advises large and small corporations on accessing and profiting from the +$300 billion lifestyles of health and sustainability marketplace.  The LOHAS Group is a strategy firm focusing on helping companies discover, create, nurture and develop their unique brand assets.  For more information on Ted visit  www.tedning.com

Check out the iconic sculpture, The Hand, a work of art I saw in Uruguay recently, by Chilean artist Mario Irarrázaba. Installed in Punta del Este in 1982, this sculpture was originally envisioned by the artist as a warning to swimmers about the rough surf just steps away. But to me, this iconic sculpture is more about hope. Humanity. Our connection with nature. And our ability as humans to keep reaching for the sky.

So it goes with art or any creative endeavor.  Meaning and interpretation contain as many layers as we have words to express. The same is true with marketing, messaging and branding. As the head of a global and mobile, Minneapolis/St. Paul-based advertising and marketing agency, I know that messaging that resonates with one person may not with another.

That's the beauty of brands. Part art, part science,  brands that try to be a lot of everything; amount to a lot of nothing. Brands are unique. They speak a language all their own. They are how we connect emotionally to products, services and businesses. And of course, while a luxury brand might convey the quintessential aspiration for one person, the same brand could smack of needless excess to another.

Like art, we all see things a bit differently. And at the end of the day, perhaps branding is fundamentally all about offering a little helping hand. Connecting. Reaching out. Of being held. And holding.

Many small business owners ask this same question, whether they are a plumber, lawyer or landscape architect, they want to know why they need a brand. To them, it seems like a waste of time and money. They are too busy finding customers to focus on building a brand!

In this increasingly crowded business world, it is very difficult to stand out from other companies. Access to the internet coupled with next day shipping has removed most distribution barriers and many products have become commodities.  To the consumer, many companies provide similar products or services, so they just search for the lowest price.

A company's brand ensures their value can stand out out from their competitors. It also helps that the company can "get found" when a customer is shopping. It makes them memorable to the consumer!

In any economy, people buy when they are in pain and have the money to solve that it. Any marketing activity a company does ensures that the business can get found when the customer is ready to buy. If the company can't be found by the customer, they have no chance of being chosen. A consumer has to consider that company (i.e. put them in the “maybe” pile) to get a sale. Most successful companies get chosen over 33% of the time they are considered by a customer. The key to growing a business is to get considered by more shopping customers.

Some small-businesses confuse a brand with a logo. A brand separates the company from their competitor. It is an emotional experience. What will the customer see and feel when interacting with a company?  The brand is what the company is known for, the pain it solves and its values. Alternately, a logo is just a graphical representation of the company's name. While the logo can be recognizable, it is not the brand.

Consumers will pay more for brands that add value. For example, what comes to mind when a consumer thinks of Apple? The company is known for innovative, hip, easy to use, and expensive technology. This is evident in all Apple's products and stores. For consumers, the Apple brand clearly adds more value since Apple is one of the most valuable company in the world. Similarly, the Starbucks' brand is not just about selling coffee, they are seen as a warm and friendly atmosphere where customers can stay awhile.

Brands help companies connect with the consumer's pain. Remember, a valuable service is what a customer seeks, not what the company wants to provide.

Developing a brand is an investment process. Consumers stay loyal to brands they buy and remember.  It makes it harder for them to switch to a competitor. In this social media connected world, eventually satisfied customers will promote the company's brand making it even more powerful.

Article By Barry Moltz - Barry is a nationally recognized expert on small business who has given hundreds of presentations to audiences ranging in size from 20 to 20,000. Barry Moltz gets business owners growing again by unlocking their long forgotten potential.  With decades of entrepreneurial experience in his own business ventures as well as consulting countless other entrepreneurs, Barry has discovered the formula to get stuck business owners unstuck and marching forward.  Barry applies simple, strategic steps to facilitate change. Details on Barry can be found on his website www.barymoltz.com.

Attend the  Get Found and Be Chosen  presented Barry Moltz hosted by Dex Digital on June 19^th during the LOHAS Business Conference in Boulder.  For more information on your business’ findability score please visit: www.HowFindableAreYou.com/LOHAS

Get your Findable Score™. It's fast, free and easy! Learn how consumers search for businesses in your industry and get advice to improve your visibility. Your score is free and so is the marketing insight.

German traditional Dr. Hauschka has been my favorite cosmetic brand for many years due to its fine organic products as well as its philosophy "to support the healing of humanity and the Earth". Its practices reveal how Dr. Hauschka firmly walks its talk. 

While enjoying great popularity of its long established products worldwide, Dr. Hauschka innovates constantly. Their freshly launched Almond, Lavender Sandalwood and Lemon Lemongrass Body Moisturizers are a soothing delight hard to resist. Formulated with biodynamic and organic ingredients, Dr. Hauschka’s invigorating shower and bath natural skin care make one’s shower a blissful ritual, pampering the skin and seducing the mind.

Make-up lovers may indulge in Dr. Hauschka’s limited edition collection, Spring 2013.

Other, what I call European “natural super brands” do not stay behind. Take young Latvian MÁDARA or much older French Melvita.

Although I have been avoiding make-up, MÁDARA’s Moon Flower Tinting Moisturizer seduced me. Tinting fluids are a fresh alternative to traditional foundation make-up that tends to be dense and heavy. Much thinner tinting fluids illuminate the skin and cover imperfections while keeping a natural look. They do not block the skin’s metabolic processes. So before the sun comes up for an all-natural tan, this is a great alternative.

MÁDARA’s novelty is in the use of a birch (Betula Alba) juice instead of water. Juice extracted from the birch tree helps to protect skin against aging, stimulates cell growth and repair. Time Miracle Night anti-aging cream is one of the new products containing birch juice. This all-skin-types cream carries organic cellular repair complex Galium7 with Madara (Galium Verum) extract and active northern plants.

MÁDARA’s new Time Miracle Night Cream contains G7 complex, a rejuvenating northern plant complex. The cream works overnight to rebuild collagen and elastin tissue. This helps to replace old skin cells. The visible effect is that wrinkles and lines look smoother and the skin feels suppler and firmer.

Melvita, on the other hand, has been always calling my attention with men’s products. Soothing and repairing after-shave balm, eye contour or men's woodsy, spicy shower gel that I have used myself, perhaps for its irresistible odor. Besides, any environmentalist will appreciate Melvita's nature-friendly production philosophy. 

I'm not an especially patient person—and often find myself wanting to leap ahead. Yet like the parable of the farmer who tries to tug at tiny, green shoots  in hopes that they'll grow faster, only to kill the entire crop—the same is true for much in life. Especially branding.

As the head of a Minneapolis-based LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) advertising and marketing agency, I find that the extraordinary process of building a brand is much like planting seeds. While brand architecture and strategy is being created through process, meetings, collaboration, refinement and data-weaving, for those looking in from the outside, nothing much seems to be happening.

Like seeds buried in dark rich soil, this is where brands take root. It seems that the fundamental and foundational aspects of branding take place below ground; yet provide all the essential components that bring forward the colors, text, brand ID, web presence, e-blast campaigns, direct response, print and web ads, brand voice, community and full-on experience that brings businesses to life.

So at this time of year, when the ground is still frozen, yet the light and longer days hold the promise of spring, remember to honor the below-ground time. Be disciplined about rushing the process. Allow the seeds you've planted so carefully and so strategically to work their magic before tugging at their shoots to bring them to the surface.

You'll be rewarded as your brand comes into bloom.

Who Cares WIns is a leading CSR Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark April 16^th, 2013 9am – 6pm GMT

I am often asked to share my knowledge and insight regarding the cutting edge of sustainable lifestyle and business practices in the Nordic Countries with my USA LOHAS peers. Particularly Copenhagen is heralded for and mentioned as a case-study for sustainable living worldwide.  I therefore wanted to share with you the opportunity to participate free of charge through a live-stream link, when WHO CARES WINS again opens it’s doors for a full day of keynote speakers, debates, panels and workshops on April 16^th in Copenhagen, Denmark.

“The most significant CSR event in Copenhagen” says CSR Magazine.

The sold out CSR conference Who Cares Wins in Copenhagen wishes to emphasize, once and for all, that CSR and sustainability can lead the direct way to a more solid bottom line.  To debate this controversial subject, Mohan Munashinge, who shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 with former Vice President of the United States Al Gore, the CSR-guru Wayne Visser, Josephine Fairley (founder of one of the world’s first Fairtrade brands and Derek Abell (professor at Harvard Business School) among other interesting guests will be key note speakers at the conference.

FREE LIVE STREAM of the entire conference here. The broadcast will be free for everyone interested, and the event will be streamed in English: http://stream.whocareswins.dk

Timezone Converter here.

Sandja Brügmann is managing partner of Refresh Agency, a leading specialist PR and communications agency focusing on the sustainable lifestyle market [LOHAS – lifestyles of health and sustainability] in the USA and Europe.  She has served leading brands at the cutting edge of the LOHAS phenomenon such as GoodBelly, Crocs, Sterling Rice Group, Ticket to Heaven, Addis Creson, Clementine Art, Vickerey, ITO EN, TEAS' TEA, Neve Designs and Chocolove.  Sandja was born and raised in the fashion-centric and sustainability-minded Denmark. She grew up on the island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea in a household run mostly on solar power by an entrepreneurial mother and an eco-conscientious father. 

Connect with Sandja Brügmann sandja@refreshagency.com www.refreshagency.com  

Twitter @sandja www.Facebook.com/RefreshAgency  www.Pinterest.com/Sandja  Instagram @sandjabrugmann 

Sanskrit teachings dating back 5,000 years tell us that life is an illusion. So if all is an illusion. We have the opportunity to perceive  whatever illusion we're living as either very, very good...or a prison of our own making.

Austin Vickers, a former trial attorney and now documentary filmmaker, is presenting just that case in his film People v  the State of Illusion playing in select venues nationwide.This film explores the frontiers of neuroscience, the nature of reality and our infinite capacity to imagine the kind of life we want to live into. "Imagination" Vickers says, "Is one of our few renewable resources."

As the head of a progressive advertising and marketing agency that specializes in working with clients who create positive change in the world, my team and I get paid for our ability to engage our imaginations. To see beyond lines that have already been drawn. To discover new color and life in images and words. And to uncover powerful ways of engaging hearts and minds. Fortunately for us, when it comes to imagination, there truly is an infinite supply.

Imagination opens doors to different ways of thinking. And new ways of connecting with each other. In our world of instant communication, the internet has become a neuro inner-net, working like the brain to transform thought into action. It's become a gateway for acts as ordinary as purchasing a package of peanuts—to as extraordinary as bringing  millions together in peaceful protest.

Whether through neuro-wiring or electric, we are all connected. The way we perceive the world is a choice. The illusion is believing all that we think we see.

I think you'll love this film. So go see for yourself!

One of my dreams has been to live in a sustainable self-sufficient house buried in pristine nature. A house with low energy consumption, low service costs, simple maintenance, no connection to municipal drains or district heating, gray water and human waste recycling. Simply, a house with a minimal impact on the environment - in its construction, running and end-life. Does that sound surreal?

Well, it is not. Sweden is where green dreams come true. When I saw their houses, I immediately fell in love with its simple design and complex environmental consciousness. 

EcoCycleDesign, however, goes beyond building new housing. They take the challenge of greening your current construction.

In Sweden, sustainability has a long history. Although dependent on heavy industry like forestry and metals, especially aluminum, Sweden was one of the first countries in the world to develop solutions that were environmentally friendly. Somewhere back in the fifties and sixties.

Lars Ling, the Chief Executive of CleanTech Region, who represents those progressive companies, would tell you that “since the early nineties, the nation has run an aggressive campaign to reduce the damage caused by climate change, and its adoption of green technologies is considered exemplary. Among others, Sweden can claim one of the largest ethanol-powered bus fleets in the world. It’s a world- leader in the conversion of waste into power – dozens of municipalities now produce biogas from sewage. And rather than wringing their hands over pollution from road vehicles, successive governments have set an example to ordinary motorists by mandating that nearly all publicly-owned vehicles are ‘flexible-fuelled’ and insisting that petrol stations offer at least one type of biofuel.”

If you look for some inspirations yourself, don't miss this crispy green online magazine - Green Solutions from Sweden. 

Ah, have I mentioned you can touch and feel the Swedish sustainable designs? There are trips organized to the CleanTech Region, so you may want to check those too.

1.    Cross section of attendees is like no other event. LOHAS brings together Fortune 500 companies with start up entrepreneurs, investors, nonprofits, thought leaders and media who all want to make the world a better place. It is a great networking event for those who want to stretch their comfort zone and meet new people.

2.    On the cutting edge of what is next. LOHAS has many cutting edge thought leaders, researchers and visionary presenters who have a pulse on trends that often become mainstream. If you want to know what will be mainstream in 2-5 years then the LOHAS conference is a must attend event.

3.    Permission to drop the armor of image is granted and expected.  Everyone at the event wants to know who each other is at heart first and then get to professional interests second. This makes the networking much easier as attendees are sincerely attentive to each other’s needs.

4.    Market data worth thousands of dollars is presented by a variety of green market trend specialists. Those that are interested on what is happening in the LOHAS space can collect a tremendous amount of insight from these highly sought presentations.

5.    LOHAS is Embedded Into Boulder. LOHAS uses distinctive historic landmarks in downtown Boulder as the venue for attendees to experience the charm of the city during the conference during June.

6.    LOHAS has a Legendary Gift Room. Rather than provide a pre stuffed conference bag of brochures that are typically dumped in the hotel room we provide a gift room of various items from LOHAS companies that attendees can pick and choose from. Attendees love this and the gift bags are usually quite stuffed when people leave the room!

7.    Program content transcends green business to include elements to connect with the human spirit and community in a way that is energetic and inspiring.

8.    Not just a conference but a community celebration! We have a variety of ways built into the event ranging from morning yoga and meditation to musical entertainment to after parties to engage the senses for attendees.

Don't miss out. We would love to see you there! REGISTER HERE.
 

Ted Ning is renowned for leading the annual LOHAS Forum, LOHAS.com and LOHAS Journal the past 9 years Ted Ning is widely regarded as the epicenter of all things LOHAS leading many to affectionately refer to him as ‘Mr. LOHAS’. He is a change agent, trend spotter and principal of the LOHAS Group, which advises large and small corporations on accessing and profiting from the +$300 billion lifestyles of health and sustainability marketplace.  The LOHAS Group is a strategy firm focusing on helping companies discover, create, nurture and develop their unique brand assets.  For more information on Ted visit  www.tedning.com

I wish we all had big yards that would let us grow huge gardens full of beautiful fruits and vegetables. Unfortunately many of us have limited garden space and some of us think we have no pace to garden at all. However that is not true. Here are a few ways that anyone can garden, even with limited space:

1.      Container gardens – Container gardens are a great way to grow many plants without a lot of space. By planting in pots you can move delicate plants out of the cold or into the sun with no problems. You can also use space like patios and balconies to grow a variety of different plants to your taste. Even some fruit trees can be grown in pots so the selection is endless.

2.      Window boxes – Another avenue for those with limited space is window boxes. Everyone has a window ad a window box can serve two purposes. Not only can you grow herbs, flower, or vegetables in a window box but it also helps to beautify your home. Who does not like a bit of greenery around? Window boxes come in many different shapes and sizes to match anyone’s needs.

3.      Vertical gardens – Last but not least is the vertical garden. You can use any wall or flat surface to plant a beautiful garden. Hang a bunch of pots from the wall to preserve precious living space or use a pallet to create your own garden that takes up no floor space. This is also a way to decorate a big, bland outdoor wall or balcony wall. How fun and easy is that?

These are just a few of the ways that you can grow a garden without a lot of space. Apartment and townhome dwellers often think they cannot have their own gardens but that is simply not true. Anyone can enjoy gardening. All it takes is a little ingenuity and the right equipment!

Author Bio

Sara is an active nanny as well as an active freelance writer. She is a frequent contributor of http://www.nannypro.com/.  Learn more about her http://www.nannypro.com/blog/sara-dawkins/.

Vacations are precious and planning for your wellness trip is part of the fun!  Here are 5 easy steps to help plan your wellness journey.

1) What's the Purpose of Your Wellness Trip?

What's the goal in taking your wellness vacation? Is it to kick start a new health regiman? Take part in a fitness challenge? Enhance your yoga pratice? Relax and decompress from daily commitments? Bond over adventure travel with friends, family or partner? Learn a new hobby like surfing in an exotic location? By identifying a goal, you'll have a clear picture of what your ideal wellness get-away entails.

2) Identifying Trip Parameters

How far from home do you want to travel? How much time do you have? What's your budget  These basic questions will narrow down the options so you can select what's right for you.

3) Ideal Accommodation Type and Environment

There's a wide range from lux wellness resorts to rustic eco-cabins and everything in between. Are you looking for a all-inclusive experience with an unlimited amount of fitness actitivies and a full- service spa?   Is being in a beautiful, remote and tranquil setting important to you? Or do you want to be able to head into town, socialize, shop and soak in the local culture?

4) Programs V.S. Unscheduled Time

What's your ideal balance of scheduled programs and activities versus free time to pick and choose as you like?  This is your vacation - to relax or challenge yourself as you see fit.

5) Food, Nutrition Workshops & Cooking Classes

One of the great pleasure in life is eating. Do you want  a calorie restricted program or options to eat as you wish while on vacation?  Do you want to learn about eating well, weight loss or particpate in healthy cooking classes and workshops?

Hope you enjoyed these 5 tips and wishing you a wonderful wellness vacation!   

If you'd like more information about wellness travel experiences, vacations and retreats delivered to your email, please sign up for the Wellness Travel Journal Newsletter by click here.

Do you ever wish you could do more to help the Earth? Do you wish there was one place you could go to discover the latest information about sustainability and learn simple, practical tools you can use to create a more sustainable lifestyle?

With the Spring of Sustainability, a FREE online sustainability conference, you will learn many simple, affordable steps you can take NOW to make your life greener while also enhancing your lifestyle.

You’ll hear from more than 30 leading sustainability pioneers including John Perkins, Joanna Macy, Francis Moore Lappé, and Andrew Harvey. I’m honored to be one of the speakers for this truly world-changing event!

If you’d like to...
•    Learn how to transform fear and frustration into hope and inspiration
•    Discover simple daily actions you can take NOW that actually enhance your lifestyle while helping to create a sustainable world
•    Be inspired to create stronger communities and a greener world by engaging your family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers in simple, fun activities
•    Learn about the latest cutting-edge research into sustainable solutions
•    And much more…

Then, please join me in creating a brighter future at the Spring of Sustainability!

Remember, the Spring of Sustainability is completely FREE. You can register here.

Let’s face it, it's easy to worry about the state of our world. There’s no denying that there is a lot to worry about. We just have to shift our focus a bit to see that progress is being made! We are beginning to shift the direction of our world toward a truly sustainable, thriving planet.

As more of us make a commitment to more sustainable choices we accelerate the process. We have the power to co-create a truly sustainable planet for ourselves, our children and grandchildren, and for all living beings.

If you’ve ever thought that living sustainably takes too much work or was too expensive, it’s time to shatter that myth.

The Spring of Sustainability will open your eyes and your mind to the many simple, affordable steps you can take NOW to make your life greener while also enhancing your lifestyle!

Please join me for this important event that has the potential to help transform our world into a truly thriving, sustainable planet for all!

Ted Ning is renowned for leading the annual LOHAS Forum, LOHAS.com and LOHAS Journal the past 9 years Ted Ning is widely regarded as the epicenter of all things LOHAS leading many to affectionately refer to him as ‘Mr. LOHAS’. He is a change agent, trend spotter and principal of the LOHAS Group, which advises large and small corporations on accessing and profiting from the +$300 billion lifestyles of health and sustainability marketplace.  The LOHAS Group is a strategy firm focusing on helping companies discover, create, nurture and develop their unique brand assets.  For more information on Ted visit  www.tedning.com

I've been working with business owners for more than three decades.  When I first got started in the business world it was with a company called the Whole LIfe Expo.  We were organizing consumer expositions for those people interested in natural lifestyles and products.  Back then, we referred to it as "new age" - as this was the post-hippie, post-love era.  

As a salesman selling exhibit booths and advertising space for the holistic lifestyle company above, I remember lots of the customers I sold to talking in terms of being more "conscious", participating in "consciousness raising" activities or promoting "higher consciousness".  It all had an airy-fairy kind of connotation to me back then.  After all, I was in business trying to sell something and I was more concerned about whether they were buying what I was selling.  

But, today, the term "conscious" is back in vogue.  I guess we can thank John Mackey of Whole Foods for bringing it back in style.  Today, I know people running organizations and events using the terms of "conscious capitalism", "conscious leadership" and "Consious Life Expo."  

So, what's this all about?

As a business leader, you must remember that the foundation of your business isn't money, it's people!  It's your people who produce your goods or services for sale and it's people who consume or use them.  When you start seeing your business as the function of many people coming together to deliver value, this will enable you to act with kindness, generosity of spirit and even love.

At a dinner I attended recently put on by the founder of Conscious Leadership, the CEO of Patagon, Casey Sheahan, shared a story of a conversation he had with his wife during a difficult period in the company's history.  Here's my paraphrasing of the conversation:

Casey to his wife: I have to layoff employees if we going to be profitable in (the slumping economy of) 2009. Even though I hate to do this, I will present this to the board next week.

CEO's Wife: Are you making this recommendation to the board out of FEAR or LOVE?

Casey: I guess FEAR.  We don't have the losses, but we're projecting them.

CEO's Wife: Well, you always talk about the business being one big family.  Would you do this to your family? What if you came from LOVE, not FEAR.  What would you do?

That got him thinking.  The CEO said that he came up with 10 ways the company could save money and cut costs (e.g., have employees wash the store windows instead of using an outside service) and keep his employees employed. He was transparent with his team about the position they were in.  Nobody was fired. And....

The result was Patagonia's best year ever...and the best 5 years in the history of the business.  

A passion for people is at the heart of business and leadership.  Let it guide your business decisions and help you reap lasting success.

If you have an example of where you let passion, not profits, guide your thinking and it served both masters, please write me.

The sharing trend that became popular with Zipcar is likely to expand to other industries such as tools and baby gear as consumers readjust their spending patterns to focus less on conspicuous consumption and more on making thoughtful choices with their money, says one leading social forecaster.

In the improving but not yet booming economy of 2013, Patricia Aburdene, author of the New York Times bestseller "Megatrends 2000" and most recently "Conscious Money" (Atria Publishing; $16 paperback), predicts priorities and values will play a bigger role in shaping spending decisions.

"Key concepts like practical, quality, meaningful, simplicity, chemical-free, local and sustainable will be what encourages consumers to open their wallets," said Ms. Aburdene, who lives in Boulder, Colo.

For the most part, people are still feeling some financial stress brought on by the Great Recession that started in December 2007, which she says is fueling the popularity of sharing trends such as Zipcar, which allows members of its sharing network to reserve cars for personal use by the hour or the day.

The car-sharing niche created by Zipcar in January 2000 is already starting to see more competitors. Hertz, Enterprise and UHaul have come up with their own versions of short-term car rentals. Regional competitors such as City CarShare in San Francisco, Mint in New York and Boston; and I-GO in Chicago also are becoming bigger players.

"Car sharing is taking off because people are realizing how darn much it costs to own a car," Ms. Aburdene said, adding that car sharing is more of an urban phenomenon.

Other new societal demands and behavior that she expects will gain more traction are transparency, fair trade and third-party verification of products.

Just as the "Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval" helped consumers in past decades put their trust in a product, Ms. Aburdene says more shoppers will be drawn to seals of approval from groups like Greenpeace and the Rain Forest Alliance. "Those product seals will let consumers know the company is socially responsible and the consumer is making a difference in the world when they buy the product," she said.

Fair trade is another growing global movement that will affect spending, according to Ms. Aburdene. Fair trade products -- ranging from coffee to chocolate to wine -- sometimes cost more so that farmers are paid fairly for their efforts.

Gerald Celente, publisher of The Trends Journal in Kingston, N.Y., said he agrees with Ms. Aburdene's analysis of 2013 trends in general. But he says the majority of Americans are on a downward economic path and may not have the luxury of making socially conscious spending choices, especially when there are cheaper alternatives.

"While they can have the best intentions, it's a stomach issue and a pocketbook issue. People are falling out of the middle class in huge numbers," said Mr. Celente, who forecast the popularity of gourmet coffee years before Starbucks became a household name and bottled water decades before Coke and Pepsi got into the business.

Mr. Celente, author of "Trend Tracking" and "Trends 2000" (Warner Books), said Ms. Aburdene's trend predictions for the new year refer mainly to a small segment of people in an affluent society, but do not apply to the masses of Americans struggling to make ends meet.

However, Ms. Aburdene has a pretty good track record of past predictions.

In "Megatrends 2000," which was published in 1990, when many economists warned of tough economic times ahead, she and co-author John Naisbitt instead predicted a booming global economy during the 1990s. The book also predicted the Pacific Rim would come to prominence in the 1990s, and it certainly did, with China and the economies of the Four Tigers (Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan) expanding at explosive rates.

"When you look at the trends for 2013, the social trends have a very strong economic flavor to them," Ms. Aburdene said. "The way consumers can begin being conscious about money is to start by reflecting on their values and priorities so they spend money in ways that feel right to them."

First Published February 26, 2013 1:15 am by Tim Grant: tgrant@post-gazette.com

Original post located on Housekeeping.org

As spring approaches, those who garden or want to garden start getting the itch to get into the soil and plant something.  Check with your local garden center to find out when the last frost date is expected, so that you know when it’s safe to start planting your garden.  In the meantime, you can be cleaning up the garden and creating new beds.  If you plant seeds inside, you will have a jumpstart on the season and save money.  Seeds are far cheaper than buying starter plants from the greenhouse.  Once you prepare the garden and plant your seeds you will need to know how to care for the plants.  These 21 blogs will take you through all of the necessary steps for creating the best spring garden.

Garden Preparation

After the winter, you may have dead plants and weeds that need to be removed from your garden.  These clean-up measures are your first step if you have an existing garden.  If you want to start a brand new garden, you will need some tips on how to find the best location for your bed.  You will want to take some time to watch how much sun the area gets and to make sure that you have access to water.  Look through these seven blog entries to learn how to prepare your garden for spring planting.

• Spring Gardening Tips: Preparing Your Garden for Planting Take care of any weeds you might have and repair any raised beds before adding compost to your garden.
• Start Your Spring Garden Prep Now Sharpen your tools and plan your beds and containers.
• Preparing for Your Spring Garden Take care of any bugs in your garden and clean up your beds in preparation for spring planting.
• List of Steps to Prepare for Your Spring Garden If you are starting a new garden, this blogger explains how you can find a place and clear the grass to till the soil.
• Get Ready for Spring Gardens with DIY Planters During the late winter and early spring you can start seeds in whatever kind of containers you might have.
• Get Ready to Garden—5 Tips for Spring Suggestions on how to determine a location for your new garden are discussed, as well as ways to prepare an established bed.
• Preparing Your Garden for Spring Tips are shared for clean-up of the beds and lawn to get the ground ready for spring growing.

Selecting the Plants

Once your garden is weed free, the compost is added and it’s tilled, it’s time to select your plants.  You may have started seeds inside during the winter, and if that’s the case you can transplant those seedlings into the actual garden after the last frost.  For a flower bed, you will need to consider the height of the plants to make sure that you plant the tall ones in the back and short ones in the front.  Take a hint from the label that’s in the plant; if it says it would be a great border plant, then plant it in front because it will be short.  Check out these seven blog posts for more tips about selecting the right plants for your spring garden.

• Gardening Tips: Native Plants for the Home Landscape A general article about the benefits of planting native plants in your beds.
• Early Spring Flowers A long list of early spring flowers is explained, along with beautiful pictures of each flower to help you decide what to plant.
• 7 Must-Have Seeds for Your 2013 Veggie Garden Find an explanation of what seeds will grow well in your garden this spring.
• 4 Steps to Starting a Vegetable Garden Learn how to determine which seeds you should plant and how to plant them.
• How to Plant Your Own Spring Garden Germinate your seeds in a wet paper towel and let the kids help you move them into a cardboard egg carton, then into the garden.
• Starting Your Spring Garden Tips about speeding up seed germination and using starter plants in your garden can be found in this article.
• How to Plant… Just the Best Tips to Work with Mother Earth Beginner tips on how to plant a successful spring garden.

Care of the Garden

Once you have tilled the garden, chosen the plants and planted them, you must know how to care for your plants so that they grow to maturity.  Whether you’ve planted a flower garden or a vegetable garden, you will need to know how to fertilize the plants and get rid of the weeds and bugs.  These seven blog posts can help.

• Caring for the Garden in Spring Many tips are shared about fertilizing and taking care of pests.
• Caring for a Spring Garden Pruning and taking care of slugs and other pests are discussed in this article.
• Mid-Spring Garden Guide What to Do in the Yard & Garden Find a comprehensive list of what you should be doing to care for your garden come mid-spring.
• Caring for the Garden Throughout Spring Suggestions about fertilizer types based on different plants can be found on this post.
• Spring Gardening Post #3 Information about how to care for tomato plants, whether starting from seed or plant can be found in this article.
• Garden Chores for March Various spring tasks are explained.
• Indoor Seed Starting You can find a lot of information about seeds and germination times on this blog entry.

By Woody Tasch

There is no such thing as money that is too fast.

This was one of the certainties of the Old World of Finance.

But now, here we are, on the shores of a New World of Finance that none of us asked to explore — listening to the blandishments of investment bank CEOs apologizing for $6 billion mistakes and, then, to halting arguments about regulation that strike some as a bunch of pea shooters aiming at a predator drone.

It’s as if, on our way to the far-flung territories of Endless Growth and Unending Consumer Confidence and a 20,000 Dow, we’d awoken after a superstorm, stranded on the shores of R.H. Tawney’s seminal historic insight: “The certainties of one age are the problems of the next.”

There is no such thing as money that is too fast.

This certainty of our age is leaving many mounting problems for the next.

There are problems of debt.  In the foreground, government budget deficits and the national debt.  In the background, a deep structural debt that is even harder to face: fossil fuel debt, dense carbon debt—each day, on a global basis, we use petrochemical energy it took 10,000 years to make.

There are problems of doubt.  In the foreground, climate change:  Is it manmade?  Is it catastrophic?  What can we do about it?  In the background, doubt of the economic and financial kind: With $600 trillion in derivatives still hovering somewhere just out of sight, what is the connection between Wall Street and our wellbeing?  Are ever-accelerating global financial markets the best path to preservation and restoration?

We need a new kind of reckoning.  And our first bit of reckoning must be this:

There is such a thing as money that is too fast.

Money that is too fast is money that has become so detached from people, place and the activities that it is financing that not even the experts understand it fully.  Money that is too fast makes it impossible to say whether the world economy is going through a correction in the credit markets, triggered by the sub-prime mortgage crisis, or whether we are teetering on the edge of something much deeper and more challenging, tied to petrodollars, derivatives, hedge funds, futures, arbitrage and a byzantine hyper-securitized system of intermediation that no quant, no program trader, no speculator, no investment bank CEO can any longer fully understand or manage. 

Just as no one can say precisely where the meat in a hamburger comes from (it may contain meat from as many as a hundred or a thousand animals), no one can say where the money in this or that security has come from, where it is going or what is behind it. No one can say for sure whether — if it were to be “stopped” and held by someone for more than a few instants — it represents any intrinsic or real value.   Money that is too fast creates an environment in which, when questioned about the outcome of the credit crisis, former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin could only respond, “No one knows.”

The buck didn’t stop there, for sure, but we can slow a few of ours, here.

I’ll see your global financial shenanigans and raise you Local Harvest.  I’ll see your GMOs and raise you Coyote Creek Feed Mill.  I’ll see your Dodd-Frank and raise you Carlo Petrini and Jack Lazor.  I’ll see your Farm Bill and raise you MM Local.  I’ll see your CDOs and raise you Slow Money.

Let’s take a few of those trillions-of-dollars-a-day that are zooming through cyberspace, financing everything from smokestacks in Chongqing to parking lots in Las Vegas to frost-resistant fish genes in tomatoes, and put them to work near where we live. There it can support the next generation of small farms, grain mills, creameries, seed companies, processing and distribution companies, food hubs, urban farms and more, improving our local economy, building soil fertility and supporting the next generation of small food entrepreneurs who are fixing our economy from the ground up.

With a little bit of gumption (and a little fun, too, because being under the tent with thousands of farmers, small food entrepreneurs, investors and activists, all working together to rebuild local food systems, is more fun than an Initial Public Offering), we can say, together,  “The buck slows here.”

–
Woody Tasch is the founder of Slow Money and the author of Inquiries into the Nature of Slow Money: Investing as if Food, Farms and Fertility Mattered.  Slow Money’s 4^th National Gathering is in Boulder, CO on April 29-30.  Since 2010, Slow Money’s 17 chapters and six investment clubs have facilitated the flow of $23 million to 185 small food enterprises around the country. Originally published by Triple Pundit. 

I’ve been practicing yoga pretty consistently since 1998 and feel it’s one of the most important tools in my life to help with work-life balance.  I recommend it to many people because it’s an activity everyone can do and everyone benefits from doing – albeit if you do it somewhat regularly.  

Yoga is one of the oldest lifestyle practices in the world. Made up of a series of poses that flow in and out of each other, it is based on the idea that through moving our bodies in sync with our breath we can achieve greater awareness of ourselves and the world around us.

Over the last couple decades, yoga has become wildly popular in America. Most people have probably even tried it once or twice. However, most of these people look at yoga primarily as a health workout and miss out on many of its benefits.

Yoga originally started out as a religious practice for ancient Hindus. Many other ancient world religions incorporate yogic practices also. At the forefront of their practice is not a stronger core or cut triceps: their practice is based on the values of discipline, meditation, and peaceful interactions with the world. Some branches of yoga actually focus strictly on meditation and do not move the body in any way that modern Americans would recognize as exercise.

These practices are excellent because they have many benefits -- things like:

·         Increased happiness

·         Fewer aches and pains

·         Higher quality sleep

·         Better posture

·         Greater levels of confidence

·         Improved flexibility

·         Calmness

Many people have found that their practice of yoga influences all area of their life. Over time, they find that practicing deep breathing while in a particularly difficult yoga pose gives them the ability to breathe deeply during a stressful meeting at work. Or they find that by quieting their minds they are better able to make choices that bring their overall lives into balance.

Yoga is more than a fitness fad.  For me, it is a lifestyle practice that will be in my life until I can longer walk.  It has proven benefits for people of all fitness levels and abilities—benefits that go beyond the gym and your bathroom scale. Some businesses are even finding ways to incorporate the practice of yoga into their everyday workings. [LINK: http://www.nosweatyoga.ca/Benefits.html]

Have you ever tried yoga? What was your experience? What would you think of doing yoga at work?

My favorite yoga teacher (Bryan Kest) is a rock star in the yoga world.  Oh, and he used to have a rock start haircut (long, black curls).  Bryan embraces all that is great about yoga.  His classes are consistently great.  He combines a meditative flow with a terrific workout.  Here's an old video of his which I practiced to many times on my own when I couldn't make it to one of his classes.  

Bryan Kest owns two highly successful studios in Santa Monica and travels the world giving workshops to yoga students

The good news for 2013 is that we didn't die in the doom and gloom at the end of the Mayan calendar on December 21, 2012.  We are still here, but how are we here?  Are you going to struggle along to just get along?  If you want more and better out of life, the natural principles of sustainability show you how.  To sustain is to be continuously happy and healthy and successful.

The core "sustain ability" for this life of ongoing fulfillment and aliveness is SYNERGY.

Synergy is the principle of exponential and renewable energy that is rooted in the Greek language as "sun ergos," or sun energy – "sunergy" into synergy.  Our sun keeps going and going because it is synergistic, meaning that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, and when the parts of this fireball go off, they are refueled by and refuel all other combustions – continuously multiplying and regenerating itself.  

Like the sun, having our own inner fire, how can we stay fired up and keep going in this world of incessant change, increasing complexity, competition, and speed?  Be the sun, synergize yourself!  Remember, energy is the bottom line of life – for continued aliveness, and sustainable success in all endeavors from health to money, personal growth to relationships.  With energy, anything is possible.  The rule of energy is that "energy rules!"

Curiously and synchronistically on an esoteric level, the year 2013 numerologically adds up to the number six, which in the ancient Hebrew Kabalah "tree of life," is represented by the letter, "Vav" that means connection, the hook that holds everything together and unified.  In the venerable tarot "wisdom map of life,"the number six is the VI Lovers archetype card.   The Lovers is all about connection, integration, unification, healing, teaming, partnering, cooperating, co-creating, collaborating.  In a word, all this means wholeness, which in turn is synergistic.

Living wholistically and synergistically is the key step for living well and living long, for surviving and thriving (sustaining) because it fulfills the holy grail of today, being able to "RE" yourself and all aspects of your life.  "Re" means able to reflect, rejuvenate, renew, restart, reinvent, repeat, re, re, re.  This is all good in theory, and it's real, it's the truth, but how do we apply these principles in our daily life?  What are you RE-peating in life today and not De-pleting yourself, the great secret!

("SYNERGY" Card from my VOYAGER TAROT DECK...www.jamesmwanless.com)