Happy Monday! 
Ya’ll ready to start your Re-silly-lutions today? I am!
In case you missed it:
You can find my Training Plan HERE
I worked this past weekend, but on Saturday Nate and I managed to fit in some bowling:
I can’t really say either of us did quite well. Although Nate used to be in a bowling league. I think we’re both getting over a NASTY cold that I have no idea where I picked it up from-which I’m going to use as an excuse for failing. Miserably.
…and then I proceeded on winning yet, another game of WAR. (8-0)
Any other takers?
Then on Sunday, we managed to fit in a hike before I headed off to work.
It’s amazing how some of the rivers and lakes are still not completely frozen over.
I spent this morning at:
Organic food at a NonOrganic Price? Winning!
Organic Blueberries for $2.99 instead of the normal Non Organic $3-4.99?-plus they’re on The Dirty Dozen list. -Yes,Please!
I love Trader Joe’s. I will probably be doing a separate post on this place luego.
GymPact
I really want to share with you guys an awesome new phone app that just came out!
Yifan is one of the co-creators of an AMAZING iPhone app (coming soon to the Android) called GymPact.
Basically, GymPact is an incentive-based program to motivate you to go to the gym. Each week, you pledge to hit the gym a certain number of days a week (one to seven) and you ‘stake’ a cash amount (starting at $5 for every workout you miss). If you meet your goal, you get paid via PayPal by the other GymPacters who didn’t meet their goal.
GymPact works by using the GPS in your phone to ‘check in’ to the gym. And it doesn’t have to be a traditional gym, either. You can also check in at any fixed fitness location, like a tennis court or track. Yifan is working on creating a way you can log outdoor runs, but as of right now, it has to be a fixed location.
I think GymPact appeals to me because it’s kind of a mobile version of star chart.
So-for example if I earned $4 each week for the past two weeks for meeting my goal. If I keep it up, I’ll make $16 from GymPact in a month – nearly half the cost of a pool membership (you don’t make more if you pledge more; all GymPacters who reached their goal make the same amount). Pretty neat, huh?
Yifan’s story is pretty neat. Check it out:
“I was born in Nanjing, China and immigrated to the US when I was 7. I grew up in Indiana and had always done the ‘right’ thing – good grades, varsity lacrosse, first chair flute, valedictorian, etc etc. During college, I studied international politics and finance before joining the Entrepreneurship Forum and really finding my fit. I was Co-President of the Forum my senior year, and at the same time I started a fashion nonprofit called Styleta that created a online market for designer clothing donations. I ended up turning down two prestigious jobs from JP Morgan and Boston Consulting Group to work full-time on Styleta for a year after graduation.
My parents thought I was crazy at first because as an immigrant, a stable, high-paying job is always top priority. Styleta was never any of that. But my parents had brought me up to be independent as well – they were the least strict of any of the Asian parents I knew! I was a real go-getter, and my parents trusted me and supported my decisions. Styleta taught me a ton about managing a team, streamlining customer processes, and the general logistics of running an organization and living an entrepreneur’s lifestyle. I freelanced as an SAT/GMAT tutor for spending money on top of the meager stipend I received from Styleta.
Meanwhile, my friend Geoff and I started to develop the idea for GymPact. The initial idea for GymPact came from my last behavioral economics class at Harvard, where we were looking at ways financial incentives could motivate difficult actions. Geoff was a gym buff; on the other hand, I had always struggled to stick with a fitness plan. We came up with the initial GymPact concept and presented it to our class. And then, a few months after graduation, we decided to take GymPact from academic theory to reality, with a 1-month pilot in Boston with some brave trial users from Craigslist… When the story got picked up by the Boston Globe last year and we received worldwide attention, it was such a shock to both of us!
After our second 6-month pilot, we needed to build the mobile platform so GymPact could scale nationally. We got the awesome opportunity to go to Chile and were given $40,000 in resources to build our product. Although we worried a bit about being left our of the US startup loop, we decided to take the leap because when else do you have the opportunity to be paid to live in a foreign country and build your own company?
Being an entrepreneur has definitely not been a completely smooth ride. Sometimes I forget how crazy my life sounds when I explain it to other friends from Harvard, most of whom pursued a more normal career path after graduation. But I have absolutely no regrets! They say you’re either challenged or bored, and while building GymPact has been the most challenging thing I have ever done, I love my never-a-boring-minute life, especially as a young 20-something with way too much energy for my own good!”
Breakfast:
Plain Greek Yogurt
Granola
Bananas
-And the best utensil ever, SPORK!
Lunch:
Trader Joe’s Veggie Burger
With a side of Blueberries and Soymilk.
…and I’m off to the gym!
