Be Savvy With Your Liquid.......

I love ice, almost to the point that a drink is not worth drinking if it’s above 38 degrees (that’s 3.33 degrees Celsius for those of you still using the antiquated metric system). The struggle for me has been real! Not only did I spend 2 years in South America consuming lukewarm Coke, but the ice maker on my freezer has a love hate relationship with me. The pure fact that ice does not enjoy staying in its solid phase of matter has all the more increased my personal beverage misery. Being that I am not one to settle, I set on a quest. Like an explorer of old searching for Eldorado, I set out on a quest to keep ice in a water bottle throughout the day.

As I started my journey, I heard rumblings that such a water bottle existed. My only fear is that overtime facts become stories, stories become myths, and myths become legends that become too good to be true. I mustered my faith, and sat down in front of the great oracle Amazon. The scene played out much like moment in “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.” As I scoured over my possible selections the line, “you must choose wisely” kept playing over and over in my head.  I may be slightly over dramatic in recounting this tale, but when parting with my coin I like to know I am getting what I am looking for. So I had it narrowed down to a few when I found this gem recommended to me by a fellow Justifier of the F Word http://www.liquidsavvy.com/ . Not only was this member of our middle aged tribe enjoying hours of near freezing hydration, he and his wife decided to start their own company with said goal in mind.

The selling point you ask? First and foremost the ability to keep ice! I drive around all day for work and really wanted to be able to keep cold water in my vehicle. The double walled metal bottles were rated to hold ice all day! This realization moved me to my core and made me question what kind of devil magic is infused within this carrier of hydration delight. What truly sold me above all others on the Liquid Savvy Bottle?  Here’s the answer…. Wait for it…… It comes with three different lids and has one of the best price points out there. Three lids you may ask? Why is that important you ask? I happen to have three little people that have infiltrated my house and excel at the destruction of my personal property. I have had numerous water bottles that they chewed through the cap, dropped, or lost a crucial component leaving the bottle worthless. That is why I was all over buying the Liquid Savvy bottle (3 lids at no extra charge… count me in.)

After senior Amazon prime showed up my door, I went to work seeing if it was everything it promised and I hoped it would be. My review you ask? Let’s add some earth science for perspective. If the last ice age occurred roughly 100,000 years ago during the Quaternary (part of the Pleistocene geologic period) I have one going on currently inside my Liquid Savvy bottle. That’s right, if we basically sealed the earth in the same material as this bottle is made of I would not have had to say adios to my ski season this past weekend.

Moral of the story, I have found being an F’er I get great joy out of the simple pleasures in life. Ice being in my water bottle 4 hours puts a smile on my face and almost makes up for the years of consuming beverages at room temperature. I know there are a lot of choices out there, but hook up the folks at Liquid Savvy. By purchasing one of these bottles you will no longer be part of the tepid drink problem, you will be part of the solution. Not only do the fine folks at Liquid Savvy “Justify the F Word,” but they have us one step closer to ending the global travesty that is the “lukewarm sip”. 

Oh, almost forgot…. If you want to keep you drink as piping hot as a pyroclastic cloud rolling off of Mount Vesuvius (ask the folks at Pompeii) it will do that as well. Stay classy and stay hydrated! The fine folks at Liquid Savvy have been so kind to offer a $5.00 off discount code to the F word nation through Amazon. So if you decide to pull the trigger put in “thefword” (leave out the quotes) in the discount box at checkout time. Buy a bottle and enjoy the goodness of ice, and support the fellow F’ers at Liquid Savvy!

Link to the 32oz bottle…..

http://www.amazon.com/Liquid-Savvys-Stainless-Insulated-Bottle/dp/B019PB88R6

Link to the 18oz bottle…..

http://www.amazon.com/Liquid-Savvys-Stainless-Insulated-Bottle/dp/B019PEGSN4

How do you cut an apple?

I recently had the opportunity to provide sales training at a regional meeting. For those of you that fall into the camp of “I’m more scared of public speaking than I am of DYING”, get ready for something that will blow your mind.  I have a disorder that some may deem masochistic….. (Ready for it?) I really enjoy getting up in front of people and presenting. I am sure this stems from my narcissistic alter ego as a musician, but none the less I love presenting and more so educating on topics that I feel strongly about.

Being that paying mortgage revolves around my ability to close a deal, I am extremely passionate about becoming better at what I do. I have read countless books and listened to hundreds of hours of sales training, so when the prospect came along to present I jumped at the opportunity. Just as it is important to justify the F word through finding fulfillment outside of work, it is equally as important to find that same fulfillment inside your chosen profession. I have had several friends ask me if I would share what I discussed in my training, so for those friends, and for those of you interested in sales, business, or negotiating, I will break down different concepts and share them over the next couple months. For those of you who couldn’t give two hairs off a dogs butt about Sales, these concepts will not only be beneficial for your work, but if properly applied the concepts presented will aid in all aspects of one’s life.

So, I propose the question…….. How do you cut an apple?

Simple question, right? Like the picture above, it is possible to cut an apple with a hammer and it is possible to cut that same apple with a scalpel. The difference in the two methods if easily noted in the amount of fruit retained in the end.  If you cut an apple with a hammer you end of with a smashed piece of fruit with very little left over to enjoy (pretty sure Gallagher has cornered that market, but then again we are talking apples and not watermelons).  Cut an apple with a scalpel and the amount of fruit you can share will be comparably on par with a biblical miracle.

Everything we engage in can be refined. Why I feel that the “apple” concept is so important is because as human beings, we have the tendency to learn how to complete a task by taking the easiest road possible. Once we basically know how to get down the road our growth and development for that task stops, thus we complete the task over and over by “cutting an apple” with a hammer. Why do we do this? The answer is-it’s easy, or, possibly because this is how everyone else around me does it. By using the “hammer” we are accomplishing the assigned task in a menial rudimentary manner.  To better describe this action ask yourself, “have you every fixed something with the wrong tool?” I have (on more occasions then I would like to admit) fixed things around the house by using the wrong tool for the wrong application. Have I accomplished the task I set out to complete? Yes, but by using the wrong tool the task took much longer than it should have, I end up reaching into the dark recesses of my vocabulary, scaring my kids, and typically break or damage something.  

The “apple” concept truly begins to become difficult when you realize there is a better way to cut the fruit that Jonny Appleseed planted. There is a cost involved in obtaining finer implements of precision, and the only person who can pay that cost is you. The question posed is, “are you willing to pay the price to find a scalpel?” Think about how many things in each of our lives, careers, health, and families we could refine. Ask yourself; “How many things in my life, career, health, and family am I cutting with a hammer?” If you are honest the length of that list may surprise you.  As you change the way you go about cutting the “apple” seek out those already who have a scalpel in hand. This can be done finding mentors or as simple as reading a book on the subject you are looking to refine. By surrounding yourself with red delicious or granny smith surgeons, your desire to go back to the hammer will border on the absurd.  There will be those along the way who will question what you are doing, or even mock you for your pursuits. Remember at the end of the day you choose to be better, and those choices have an immediate effect on you and your direct sphere of influence.

This concept to me is more important than ever. I am turning the “F” word in a little over a month, and have spent the last year trying to reach for the “scalpel” in every aspect of my life (with the exception of loose skin, not there yet).  The pursuit of changing how I “cut an apple” has had an effect on everything I do.  The result is, I am slowly becoming better at everything from the acceleration into my ski turns, closing rates at work, as well as challenging and refining my Dad skills.

Boiled down, I am gleaning more “fruit” and it’s delicious. There are mornings when my alarm goes off way too early and I reach for the hammer. I am in no means perfect or trying to claim that this easy. In fact it’s really hard, but doing things wrong or inefficiently will not make life any easier. In fact, it will really only just delay the pain.  The quest to become better at whom I am and what I do has yielded a sense of soul-busting contentment that was absent for a chunk of my 30’s. I am striving to avoid having another midlife crisis by filling my mind, soul, and life rather than trying to figure out what is missing. 

So there it is “F” word nation! Let’s spend our days creating glory years as opposed to trying to relive them. My challenge to you all is to spend this next week looking at how you cut an apple. Start with one area of your life and then move onto to the next.  F’ers I am looking forward to a grandioso manzana feast. 

Happy cutting…………


Like what you have read?  #justifyingthefword or follow me on Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/justifyingthefword/timelin