【推荐2】It’s common nowadays for people to schedule a fitness plan. Whatever the drive behind it, whether health-related, performance-related or just plain vainglory (虚荣心), it is not uncommon for people to take regular exercise.

But if you’ve never done it before, what’s the best way to go about it? Well, many people make use of a PT — that’s a personal trainer. This might be because they’re wet behind the ears or maybe they just don’t want the trouble of designing their own workout plan. A PT will create a plan based on the aim of an individual. They will tailor it to your current abilities and, better still, they will teach you how to move in a proper way.

However, the trade-off with a PT is the price. Each hourly session can be steep considering the double whammy of having to pay both the PT and membership of the gym. If you are at all strapped for cash then regular sessions might be out of your budget.

So what’s left? Well, if you have the grit for it, you can make your own plan. It’s relatively easy to do if you have the know-how. But before you do, here are some basic pointers.

First, keep your fitness goal in mind. Are you looking to slim down, bulk up, or get shredded? Whatever it is, make sure you choose to be in pursuit of that goal. Next, do your research. Social media is full of fitness videos and advice. Watch as many as possible, but make sure to be critical of them — everyone has a different body. Finally, keep your feet on the ground. Be patient with yourself and set realistic goals — it takes at least three months to see realistic body changes. A good workout is difficult and challenging, but never painful. Pain means you are damaging yourself.

【推荐1】Whether it’s for a promising job interview, first date, or chance meeting, making a good impression is important in just about every situation.    1    

Arrive Early. Actor Billy Porter said it in his book Unprorected: A Memoir, “Fifteen minutes early is on time, on time is late, and late is unacceptable.”    2    If you’re giving a presentation, arriving early gives you a moment to test the equipment you’re using. If you’re early to a job interview, you’ll have time to go over your elevator pitch to yourself, adjust your tie, or make sure your hair isn’t out of place.

Actively listen. Active listening is giving the speaker your undivided attention and paying attention to what’s said and the intention behind it.    3    Asking the right questions shows you’re engaged, but just don’t ask something the speaker already answered.

    4    When you’re meeting someone for the first time, don’t try to be someone you’re not. If you don’t know the answer to something they ask, don’t fake it. The ability to learn into your weaknesses shows that you are self-aware. However, don’t overemphasize your shortcomings, either.

Know your audience.     5    If your meeting is planned in advance, you should know plenty about the person or business you’re meeting with before arriving. Google the people you’ll meet, the company founders/co-founders, their history, their competition, their main products, and any other relevant information before you walk into the room.

【推荐2】I work as a waiter in a café and love the job most of the time. I spend the morning hours with all the coffee and see the friendly customers (顾客) every day. But there’re always those mornings when a few unwanted customers come in. Maybe they are late for work, or simply wake up on the wrong side of the bed. They often make a short loud request (要求) for coffee without looking at me directly. It is hard to stand. And some customers are just discourteous and they believe that customers are always right, even if they act like fools. Things like good manners (礼貌) are often unseen in such situations.

Just like me, Austin Simms of Cups Coffee and Tea has had enough of this. Taking matters into his own hand, to help some customers with their manners, he placed a sign outside showing their new pricing method.

His new sign shows the cost of a coffee as $5. If a customer walks up to the server and simply says, “Small coffee,” he/she will need to pay $5 for that small coffee. The price of a “small coffee, please” goes down to $3. In other words, a nice “please” with a request for a small coffee will drop the price by $2. The coffee only costs $1.75 if the customer says, “Hello. One small coffee, please.” So you can see that customers that show the most manners get the largest discounts (折扣).

The new strategy (策略) certainly has got some people to rethink their manners given that the news has spread across the world. We can be sure that at least some customers have changed their behavior, and that’s a good thing, even if they do it to get discounted coffee. The more you do something, the more you get used to it. So, this little strategy that the business owner used could actually end up causing many people to be more polite all the time.