Harvard researchers have found that children who sit down and eat dinner with their families are more likely to eat fruits and vegetables.

Eating dinner at home means kids are less likely to consume junk foods that are high in fat, salt and sugar.

The study included more than 16,000 children between the ages of nine and 14.

Every home office space has the potential to help us stage our own success. According to the simpleshui website, here are eight ways to feng shui your office:

Assume the power position. The ideal placement for a desk is to face the doorway– a little off to the side instead of directly in line with the door. Ideally, when arranging an office, we want the solid support of a wall or heavy furniture behind us, like it’s “got our back.” This also allows you to see anyone entering your space.

Have your own back. A high-back chair says executive; a lower-back chair suggests managerial. In fact, these are often the design terms for filtering the stylistic difference - so choose accordingly.

Boost support. Horizontal patterns and shapes hold energy in place so use this to your advantage when starting a new project or job. Hang horizontal art and use square baskets or trays as a catch all. If you have an affinity for stripes, make sure they run horizontally to unify your energy.

Keep clutter off the floor. Whether or not the feng shui belief that a messy floor weighs down new business holds any truth, it is also a tripping hazard.

Climb the career ladder. Flank tall bookcases behind your desk, if possible. In addition to being a form of protection and support, their shape suggests upward mobility.

Go the distance. An open landscape print on a facing wall brings in nature and can be liberating.

Find your flow. Moving water represents prosperity, abundance, and steady flow. You can bring this idea in with actual water: fresh flowers, a fountain, a coffee maker, or even imagery of moving water. Make sure the water moves into your space. If the water “flows” toward the door, so will all that potential.

Clear the desk every day. When a workspace is bogged down by paperwork, guess how we feel? Always leave your desk looking organized at the end of the day. Take one guess as to what ritual top entrepreneurs around the world have in common? Yep... a clean desk!

I consider myself to be fairly successful in life. I've worked hard, I’ve been smart, and I’ve pushed through when the going got tough. I know that success is not always a straight road and that along the way, there can be unexpected changes.

Three months ago, none of us would have guessed the extent to which all our lives have changed and reorganized. I still believe that success occurs when we learn something different and do something different.

Sure, I know that sometimes there are detours... but we need to keep going towards our destination, rather than turning back or quitting. I believe that failing at something is merely a setback, and that failing is not the same as quitting!

You might be familiar with the quote by Thomas Edison, inventor of the light bulb, who said: "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."

I think one of the greatest gifts we can give our friends and family members, including children, is the capacity to publicly endure difficult change. They witness our strength to persevere, so they aren't allowed to quit... and they begin to recognize the capacity for resilience within themselves.

As I look back on the first half of 2020, I am satisfied that I've succeeded overall, but recognize that I’ve also failed a few times. I've learned things I didn't know before and am a better person--and a better resource for you.

In a small mountain town, one family was finding it harder and harder each month to make ends meet. One day, they came up short at the register so the youngest, a little girl about eight years old, was sent to put a couple of items back on the shelves. While she did so, her mother apologized to the person behind her in line, but the gentleman just smiled and replied that he was in no rush.

About a week later, the family was notified that their receipt had come up as the winning number in an ongoing drawing for a $200 shopping trip. Shocked, they turned up at the store the next morning, still disbelieving their good luck, but ready to stock up on some much needed groceries.

When they reached the register and told the cashier that they were there to use their winning receipt, a look of confusion came over her face. She said she was unaware of any ongoing drawing, but stepped away to check with the store manager.

The manager returned along with the clerk a few minutes later and cheerfully swiped a gift card through the register till. The mother breathed a sigh of relief, had the children pack up their groceries, and repeatedly thanked the manager as she left.

It was only after the family left that the manager told the cashier the truth: the man who had watched the family struggle to pay for groceries a week earlier purchased the gift card out of his own pocket. He had asked the manager to present the situation as a store drawing, with the understanding that their full bags of groceries would be thanks enough.

Three of the most common herbal preparations are teas, infusions and decoctions. Do you know the difference?

Tea: When you make tea, you usually brew it for just a few minutes and the herbs are generally soft, like flowers, leaves and stems, that make for a gentle, soothing drink.

Infusions: An infusion extracts more nutrients, vitamins, and minerals from hard, woody stems or bark than a tea. To make an infusion, add one cup of dried herbs to a quart jar of boiling water, cap it and let it sit for four to eight hours.

Decoctions: A decoction can be prepared once you have an infusion. Simply steam your infusion very slowly, letting about half the liquid evaporate for a more concentrated product.

There are endless ways to incorporate herbs into your kitchen, but the use of teas, infusions and decoctions are a really easy way to get started.

The Richest Man in Babylon is a book by George Samuel Clason which dispenses financial advice through a collection of parables set in ancient Babylon.

Through their experiences in business and managing household finance, the characters in the parables learn simple lessons in financial wisdom. Originally a series of separate informational pamphlets distributed by banks and insurance companies, the pamphlets were bound together and published in book form in 1926.

At only 44,640 words (approximately 145 pages), it’s a quick read, filled with simple, time-tested advice, such as save a portion of all you earn. Give this gift early to your kids so they have time to read the book before heading out into the world on their own. Or better yet, read it to them!

I hope you and your family are all safe and sound as communities around the world face these challenging times. I’m going to be very honest with you: April was a bit hard for me. I don’t mind telling you that because I think it is important to admit when things are challenging. The question is: what do we do when we’re challenged?

Typically, I’d say that I try to rise to the occasion and come up with a plan for how I’m going to forge ahead. However, given the uncertainty we’ve all been feeling, I can see that we all need to pause and un-plan.

From grocery shopping apps to strict gym routines, from lunch meetings to obligatory events— I’ve put everything on pause and I’m living in the moment, here and now. While I am heartsick for all that the world has recently endured and continues to overcome, I want to honor the life I have been given by making sure my days are well-spent.

Today is the day to simply pick up the phone and call a friend to check on how they’re doing, to indulge in a little online daydreaming on a home design site, or sit with a good book and read indefinitely without ever once glancing at the clock to check on the time. Whether you feel like snuggling down in cozy clothes or dressing up your table with a formal dinner setting that only comes out during special occasions, I hope you will enjoy the time you spend at home.

One thing I’m doing to enjoy this sudden surge in free time is organizing photographs. I am having a great time, reliving precious memories, as I run across captured moments I haven’t thought of in years. I’m so glad I have these photos to put things in perspective and remind me there are definitely more good times ahead once our world begins to heal.

We will heal, my friend.

Until next month, I wish you the best.

Yours,
Gino Pezzani