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How Yoga Has Improved My Jiu-Jitsu Game

Doing Yoga at SSCI’ve been doing Jujitsu off and on for about 4 years now but only started doing yoga about 9 months ago and I can honestly say it has had a profound impact on my jits practice and performance.  I do yoga almost everyday now and I  can’t imagine how I ever made it this far without it.

Here’s how Yoga has improved my Jiu-Jitsu practice…

1. Spinal health- Jujitsu is hard on the spine. Thrashing around, trying to rip each other’s limbs off and choking each other out can destroy the spine but yoga seems to safely and comfortably put my vertebra back in line while strengthening, massaging and smoothing out the supporting muscles and tendons.   More importantly,  yoga actually lubricates and replenishes the discs and can even help to rebuild damaged or deteriorated discs. I used to have the worst back problems, muscle spasms, knots and even pinched nerves that would completely decapacitate me for days.  Yoga has also been helping to restore the natural curves of my spine as well as pelvic tilt which, both of these problems left untreated, can lead to chronic disabilities.

2. Core strength- Jits requires serious core strength, from sprawling to bridging to shrimping and other tactical ground movements, your core will be fired up and I have found no better way to condition the core muscles for jiu-jitsu than yoga.

Zack Doing BJJ at SSC

3. Stabilizers- Many body builders and athletes from various disciplines are shocked to find out how physically taxing yoga is for them despite being strong, fit and well conditioned. They sometimes think just because they are good at lifting weights or football or Muay Thai they will be able to keep up with your average yogi but the problem is,  they are not well rounded enough and usually their stabilizers are not prepared to handle the strain. Sometimes certain muscles can become disproportionately stronger than their surrounding counterparts like stabilizing muscles, tendons and ligaments; And this is where most sports injuries occur.

4. Balance- Good balance and a strong base will give you a superb advantage on the mats. Usually, when a struggle ensues between two fighters, the one with the better balance is going to end up exerting less energy and end up in a more dominant position.

5. Mobility- Having a good reach, flexibility and increased mobility while grappling is key.  Not only can you pull off more attacks that may be hard to obtain or hard to reach from certain positions but you can also defend better and have a much higher tolerance to withstand and fight off submission attempts.

6. Breathing- The higher belts will tell you that the way you breathe during a fight can determine your fate. You must be able to regulate your breath during explosive moves but more importantly, when in a compromising  position where you’re gassing out but you’re also being crushed and you can’t breathe well. If you can learn diaphragmatic breathing through challenging yoga flows, you’ll reap the benefits in your jujitsu as well.

3 Person Yoga Pose

7. Mitigate injuries- After becoming proficient in yoga, you move and exert your body differently and in more ergonomic ways. Knowing the healthy range as well as the strengths and weaknesses of shoulders, hips, knees and other joints will help you naturally prevent contorting your body in ways that could lead to injury. Having a a stronger foundation of core and stabilizing muscles along with the increased flexibility also helps to prevent injuries.

8. Rehabilitation- Yoga doesn’t make you invincible or bulletproof so you’re still bound to get injured at least once on your path from white to black belt. And when this happens you can bet that yoga will be the best way to rehabilitate and recover from your injuries. So far, I have been able to strengthen a partially torn MCL and ACL in my knee, repair rotator cuff  tear in my shoulder, straighten out my crooked fingers and much more.  I refused knee surgery after having 3 different doctors tell me its the only way I’ll be able to train again. I’m really starting to think Yoga can cure anything!

Thanks for reading, OSS and Namaste!

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Gaano.com Clark Airport & Angeles City Car Rentals

I’m very happy to announce my newest business venture, Gaano.com.  After years of being frustrated with the local rental companies and paying exorbitant prices, Russell Meiselman and myself,  decided to partner up to open a new rental company located inside the Clark Freeport Zone of Angeles City, Philippines!

Market Demand

According to the Angels City Department of Tourism, foreign tourist arrivals are up 17%  in 2016 to reach 2.56 million tourist per year. That being said, there’s only a few, poorly managed car rental companies in the area and they are usually fully booked and often charge unreasonable prices for sub-par vehicles.

What Make us Different?

When starting a new company, you must always ask yourself what sets you apart from the competition. The answer is simple… Better wheels, better price and better customer service.

Better Wheels- We invested heavily in brand new cars fresh off the lot. We started with 2 new Kia Picanto compact cars, 1 new Hyundai Eon compact, 1 new Ford Ecosport and 1 slightly used E-350 Ford passenger van.  We have plans to add 1 brand new car to the fleet every two months and we will choose which class of vehicle to buy based on our customer’s demand.

In addition to the cars, we also have a nice fleet of motorcycles that include a Suzuki GSXR-1000, Suzuki TL-1000,  Husqvarna TR-650,  KTM SRM-450, Yamaha WR-250f, two Yamaha Mio scooters and more.

Better Price- We’re about 30% to 50% cheaper than anyone in town! While the competition charges from 1,200php to 2,000php for a used beat up houptie, our rates start off at 990php for a fresh brand new ride. Big bikes can go for as much as 1,800php per day for a (Thailand built) 650cc Ninja, while we rent our 1000cc Suzuki or Husqvarna (authentic imports) for only 990php.

Better Service- We go above and beyond the competition in the customer service department. Not only do we offer free pickup and delivery anywhere in Angeles City or Clark but more importantly, we do so with a smile. When you go to one of the other car rental companies in town, they act like you are bothering them by using their services and wouldn’t dare smile or go out of their way to make sure you have a friendly experience. Here at Gaano we are always friendly and strive to make the customer feel welcome, important and well attended to and the best part is we do it with a  pleasant attitude and big ol’ smile!

What’s the Next for us?

Once we have a solid base of clientele, we want to expand to offer various Gaano Adventure Tours like helicopters, sailboats, Jetskis, off-road 4x4s, limousines and maybe even an RV or two. Gaano is a tourist and travel based company so we want to cater to the industry and make sure our customers get the most out of their visit to the Philippines!

 

 

 

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The 3rd World is Poor Because They are Bad, Stupid People

3rd World Poverty
I hate to start this article with such a provocative title but it seemed like the best way to summarize my thesis in the simplest of terms while, getting your attention. Now if you’re finished being offended, please allow me to explain.

Growing up in politically correct America, I was told the reason people in 3rd world countries were so poor is because Westerners (The White Man) exploited and oppressed them while stealing what little resources they had. I’ve spent over a decade traveling to dozens of underdeveloped countries, engaging in charity, learning about their cultures and in some cases, even speaking their languages and I have found absolutely no truth to this dogma.

It took years of traveling with an open heart and an open mind to look past the cultural Marxist indoctrination that the West was responsible for all the suffering in the world and realize the truth about the situation. 3rd world countries are 3rd world not because of the West but under their own accord. They’ve been that way for hundreds (in some cases, thousands) of years before any Westerner ever showed up and as far as I can tell, it could take hundreds of years more before they catch up.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’ve made some great friends in underdeveloped countries who are extremely kindhearted and very intelligent but they are a minority and herein lies the problem.”

In all my travels, I have noticed the same patterns regardless of race, religion or geography. In every impoverished country I’ve been to, I have found these same two main causes. Although I listed them in my title, I will lay them out once more in a more diplomatic manner…

Catalyst # 1. Culture

From my experience, the overwhelming majority of people in 3rd world countries lie, cheat, steal and treat each other so bad to the extent that it stifles everything, everywhere in every day life, all the way from public and business interactions to domestic relations between friends and family and of course the biggest perpetrator of them all, the government.

Even after spending over a decade in 3rd world countries, I still find myself appalled almost daily with the occurrences of barbarity and great disregard to fellow human beings not to mention, animals and the environment. Integrity, honesty, empathy, common courtesy, individual rights and even altruism are all very critical to build a society where the people can prosper and flourish but those characteristics are just not common in the 3rd world.

How to Fix it

The solution is cultivation of a healthy society through advocacy. This must be taught starting at home at a very young age and then reinforced throughout everyday society on all levels and it must be backed by a fair justice system. Unfortunately, the changes are gradual and can require several generations to really take hold.

Thousands of years of Western history is riddled with periods of turbulent times followed by reformations and revolutions where these lessons were learned, deteriorated, reinforced again and then finally became fully ingrained in every aspect of our culture all the way from kids fairy tales, to basic Western morals, to forms of laws and governments. Its all around us and some even say Western brains are now hardwired with it already built in from generations of selective breeding.

Catalyst # 2. Intelligence or IQ 

Not to be mistaken with education, intelligence is almost entirely hereditary but many claim that it can be improved by good nutrition and early childhood  development. That being said, if you have a 70 IQ score (which is below what we consider mentally disabled in the West) not even the best diet, child rearing nor even the fanciest private school in the world is going to get you anywhere near the Western average of around 107. Rancid inbreeding which is common in the 3rd world, doesn’t help this situation either.

Before the industrial age, usually only the smartest and wealthiest people out bred the poor and stupid. Even then, people used to have 10 or more children in hopes that just a few of them would survive to adult age. Now people with the lowest IQs are out breeding the smart 10 to 1 and due to modern technology, all 10 survive to adult age. To make matters even worse, many higher IQ individuals escape their impoverished countries which creates brain-drain while many of the other smart people left behind choose not to reproduce at all.

This was much easier for the West in the past because the West cultivated it’s peoples at a time before modern technology and at a time when social Darwinism was not taboo but perfectly normal. This created an environment of selective breeding and survival of the fittest in which, the fittest were the smartest, most well behaved and most productive. War and famine also played a role in thinning out the population from the bottom up leaving only the cream on the top.

How to Fix it

The IQ of a country can be gradually increased from one generation to the next through selective breeding, good nutrition and stimulating child rearing. The solution is simple; Cut support and make it socially unacceptable.

Most people agree that its inhumane to limit breeding rights as is done in China and its especially inhumane to force sterilization on people who don’t have the means to support their own offspring. That being said, it isn’t a human rights violation to NOT support them and encourage and enable their rampant breeding, nor does it make you a bad person. I actually argue the contrary, that you are indeed a bad person if you knowingly provide support enabling neglectful and delinquent child rearing. Especially, if the motives are to raise charity money, for cheap labor, votes or tax revenues as is the case with most international aid and welfare.

In addition to cutting this enabling support, the society as a whole must discourage and stigmatize people who are too lazy or stupid to support their offspring from having children in the first place. If you can’t afford kids, don’t have any, that simple and if you do, expect to fall on hard times and become an outcast in society!

Do you Agree?

Whether you agree with my statements or not, I can assure you that many people living in the 3rd world are well aware of these problems and strongly agree.  That being said, they feel powerless to do anything about it and end up accepting it and even help to perpetuate it.

Will the West Follow?

The West is now in decline for similar reasons. The welfare state, ultra-liberalism and in the influx of hundreds of millions of migrants from 3rd world countries seems to be having a regressive impact on Western culture. I’ll address each separately.

First, the welfare state allows and even encourages the poorest and most unintelligent people to breed at much higher rates than the rest of the population. While in an impoverished neighborhood in America, I once overheard a young teenage girl who was griping about her mom say, “I can’t wait until I have a baby so I get my own welfare check and then she can’t tell me what to do anymore.”

“The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

Next, ultra-liberalism prevents the truth about our situation to come out and punishes and censors people like me for talking about it openly and honestly. I know the liberals mean well but as they say, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” And as I have outlined here, their polices are often hurting more than they are helping.

Lastly, immigration. If a country takes so many immigrants from 3rd world countries at a rate so fast that the local population cannot absorb and at a rate that makes the local population a minority, then you can expect that country to decline and become more 3rd world as well.

Final Thoughts

There’s over 7 billion people in the world and an estimated 5.7 billion live in utter poverty. If we continue to allow political correctness to blind us from truth, we are doomed. We can’t change the past nor the present but if we confront the problems that got us here today, we can build a better future for tomorrow.

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White Label Digital Media Services

I started building websites and doing SEO in 2007, working out of my home office at a time when working from home and hiring freelancers was common in the industry. Since then, my work has brought me all over the world and even spawned two other companies. A lead generation firm, The Lead Tree, LLC and a full service BPO company in the Philippines called Clark Outsourcing International Inc.

Now that a decade has past, I can easily say one of the things that held me back the most and caused me the most grief, was working with freelancers. I’m convinced that I could have achieved more in less time had I stayed away from the freelancer sites and just hired dedicated staff instead. This is why I am happy to announce our new White Label Digital Media Services from Clark Outsourcing!

Trying to build a digital media company is hard enough but even harder when you have to rely on freelancers and remote staff to achieve stability. I have seen well established agencies fall apart because of the liability caused by not having full-time employees under one roof. Project management, time tracking, collaborating and handling secure information becomes exponentially more difficult when relying on freelancers.

Furthermore, finding good programmers started feeling like I was picking from the bottom of the barrel. Even when I was able to find the occasional rock star, they had inherent problems like quirky personality traits,  reliability problems, didn’t work well with others and of course integrity. It started making me think that all the good programmers must have already been hired to work full-time with other companies.

In 2012, I promised myself I would get off the freelancer roller coaster and I started building my own in-house team while using a fulfillment center overseas.  Hindsight is always 20/20 and now it makes perfect sense. Career minded, responsible coders will sacrifice the freedoms of freelancing in exchange for full-time employment with full benefits like paid holidays, health care, team outings, withholding taxes and social security. They also perform much better and feel better working in a proper office environment.

If you own a digital media agency and you are still using freelancers, it might be time to give us a try. At Clark Outsourcing, you can pay per hour, per project or we can even assign dedicated coders and SEM agents to work exclusively on your projects. And the best part is, we can still offer the same competitive pricing that you will find on freelancer sites without all the hassle and instability.

You can get started small by giving us just a few hours of work to see what a difference an in-house team makes over your freelancers!

Check here for White Label Web Dev Services

Check here for White Label SEM Services

 

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My First BJJ Tournament as a White Belt

I started training mixed martial arts (MMA) at IngDojo in the Philippines at the ripe age of 34. Prior to this, I had spent 13 years behind a desk with a laptop in one hand and a phone in the other so I went in with no foundation of physical fitness whatsoever. I couldn’t run 100 meters much less run 1 mile so getting back in shape was both painful and grueling. I trained striking and bjj at IngDojo about 2 to 3 times a week for just over 1 year. During this time I visited other gyms in the Philippines as well as Canada. After a long 6 month break due to business travel and knee injury, I took the opportunity to come to Vietnam to train at the Saigon Sports Club under professor Gilberto Bottiglieri.

I initially planned on staying for a month while working remotely but when I learned about the Saigon One BJJ Tournament was just two months away, I decided to stay so I could train and compete.

I’ve now had 3 months of almost daily training and the tournament is exactly two weeks away.  I kinda feel like a  sandbagger because I frequently tap blues and very rarely get tapped by whites but in my defense I truly only have around 1 year and 3 months of training and only 1 stripe on my belt.  With fighters coming from all over the world and from a plethora of other disciplines, I’m sure I will have to go a against a true sandbagger who may have several years or even decades of training in wrestling, Judo, Krav Maga or other disciplines but since they haven’t been belted as in BJJ, they are able to come in as a white belt. But no complaints, as the cliche goes… All is Fair in “Love and War” so let the best man win.

One thing’s for sure, I aim to bring home the gold medal!

Post Competition Update

So I placed 3rd and won a bronze medal. I’ve been kicking myself in the butt ever since because I really feel like I should have won the gold but I learned a valuable lesson… competing is very different than any other setting because of the mental game that is involved. My only downfall was the mental block. I had my head up my ass and didn’t perform anywhere nearly as well as I normally do. I had the gold medal winner in a triangle coke two different times but instead of correcting the angle and closing it like I should have, I was floundering around trying other things like sweeps and kimoras. The video is painful to watch. In conclusion, I hope to continue competing so I can overcome the mental block and start winning gold medals!

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EXIF Data Optimization

How ironically crazy this is… I was trying to research some new image optimization techniques for an SEO report that I have to present this Wednesday for a customer. I was specifically looking techniques that would give our photosharing website a competitive advantage to outrank our competition. Just as I was looking into how-or-if Google crawls EXIF data in images, the Google Gods were reading my mind and Matt Cutts posts this video to answer my question. Nice Timing!

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The Gand Opening of ClarkOutsourcing

I am excited to announce the launching of a new full service BPO company, ClarkOutsourcing.com and with it, a new 5000sqft, 150 seat, offshore facility located in the Clark Economic Freeport Zone of the Philippines. This new office represents a culmination of over ten years of hard work and experience.

With this new facility, I have expanded to offer full service BPO at costs up to 60% lower than in America. Our verticals include inbound and outbound call center services, software development,  digital media marketing and outsourcing consulting. Our main focus is to bring global resources to our customers that were previously only available to the Fortune 500. We do this by offering flexible solutions BPO incubation services such as “seat leasing” and BOT programs to help incubate and facilitate the transition.

What Can We Do For You?

The chances are that if you own a business, there’s some where we can help you grow! Our BPO Services include but are not limited to….

  • Software development
  • In/outbound contact center
  • Digital media marketing
  • Web/App Development
  • Accounting
  • HR services
  • Back office tasks

Outsourcing Consulting Services:

  • Business organization and corporate filings
  • Commercial real estate leasing and purchasing
  • International business contracts
  • Call center infrastructure
  • Network setup and administration
  • HR recruiting and training of employees
  • Outsourcing Philippines tax code
  • Philippines import export regulations and logistics
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Hire me as Your BPO Consultant

As a BPO consultant, I strive to be at the forefront of global trends to provide the best outsourcing solutions that are customized to each customer’s needs. I’m your “Boots on the Ground”. Bill Gates, IBM and 90% of the Fortune 500 have been using BPO for over 2 decades. What has changed is the availability of outsourcing infrastructure. Previously, BPO resources were only attainable to large firms but due to technology, globalization and people like me, these same advantages are well within reach for small and mid-sized companies.

My BPO Experience

Since 2006, I have setup, managed and consulted business processes in Romania, India, South Africa and the Philippines for small and midsized companies as well as a handful of large firms including Wells Fargo, New York Life, Countrywide Financial and AIG. In addition, I also maintain my own outsourcing facility in the Clark Free Port Zone of the Philippines.

My Expertise Include…

  • database management
  • call center outsourcing
  • lead generation
  • search engine optimization
  • web development
  • software development

My services include…

  • recruiting
  • training
  • payroll services
  • corporate filings
  • global tax law
  • property acquisition
  • IT infrastructure
  • global logistics

Save Time and Money

Whether you are looking to open your own offshore branch office or just looking to outsource work overseas, hiring me and my team will dramatically lower your startup costs while getting the job done in a timely manner. Having a 3rd party consultancy firm from individuals that know the local business culture and know how to cut through the local red tape can be a valuable asset to your company. You don’t have to learn things the hard way, contact me for a free consultation instead.

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Philippines Seat Lease Outsourcing

You can open your new office in the Philippines for as little as $150 per seat! Seat lease outsourcing is an ideal solution for any small to mid-sized company looking to expand operations or lower overhead costs.  Simply put, seat leasing is the fastest and most affordable way to get your campaign up and running in a flash.

What is Seat Lease Outsourcing?

Seat leasing is when you rent or lease a workstation in an already established outsourcing facility. In this model, the lessor provides the office, work station and the necessary infrastructure to run your campaign or process. In addition, other services such as call center dialer, telco, IT support and human resources can be provided. It is up to the lessee to fill the seat and manage the staff. Most seat lease packages are charged at a flat monthly rate based on the number of seats occupied.

Cold vs Warm Seat Lease

A cold seat is where we provide just the office workspace and infrastructure to run your campaign and a warm seat is where we provide the employee as well.

Which Option is Better for Me?

It depends on what you are trying to accomplish. If you already have staff and “boots on the ground”, you can just lease the seats and bring your own employees. If you will need recruiting and/or payroll services, you may want to lease a warm seat. That being said, both of these options give you full control over the outsourced process and the ability to sit in the captain’s chair because both options allow you to manage and monitor the operation with full transparency.

Infrastructure

We are proud of our lynx-based dialers and telco configuration with redundant backup servers.

Our connection includes E1 fiber optic connections with two backup 2 business lines to assure 99% up-time.

Our network is managed through a Juniper network router with traffic shaping to insure steady load balance.

Each workstation has 1 to 1 wiring and networking and comes equipped with 3rd generation or greater PCs with 19″ to 22″ monitors.

What’s Included?

  • Colorful 5000sqft office, biometric time cards for tamper free access and attendance tracking.
  • Spacious workstations and chairs with widescreen monitors and 3rd generation or higher PCs.
  • Outbound ViciDial phone system and 24/7 support.
  • Conference room, classroom style training rooms and dinning facilities.
  • Our business park includes a private fitness center, basketball and badminton courts, billiards tables and dining areas.
  • 24/7 security staff and CCTV.

What’s not Included?

  • The employee, but recruiting and payroll services can be provided for an additional charge.
  • VOIP charges, but we have providers as low as .008 cents per minute back to the States.
  • Transportation, but public shuttles and jeepneys provide 24/7 service delivering over 10,000 workers to Clark daily.
  • Headsets, but we have an abundant stock that you can acquire at cost. Many agents don’t like sharing headsets for hygienic reasons.
  • Food, snacks, tea and coffee.
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Call Center Outsourcing Consultant

I have been a call center consultant since 2006 working in India, Romania, South Africa and the Philippines.  This puts me in a unique position to offer superior and innovative consulting solutions that are guaranteed to improve your company’s functionality and profitability.

I currently own a 150 seat facility in Clark, Philippines. This being said, as a business owner myself, I fully understand the importance of ROI and therefore will happily provide a free consultation to make sure that will you see a generous return on your investment dollars before I accept the job. Having a good set of eyes and ears on your call center floor can increase productivity and the bottom line!

Call Center Outsourcing Consulting

I specialize in offshore call center consulting in and have helped launch new call center outsourcing facilities as well as conducted tactical business analysis on existing infrastructures.  Even though most call centers observe an EOP (English only policy) I feel that it is important to connect with your workforce on a cultural level and this is why I have gone above and beyond by learning vernacular languages and cultural differences.  I speak fluent Tagalog and mediocre Romanian. Magaling ako Mag-Tagalog si vorbesc Româneşte.

Upon my first visit to your call center, I can help find the most suitable and cost effective dialer and technology solutions, help with training and management,  optimize employee moral, increase production, assist with human relations and lastly, improve business development strategies.  With over 11 years of direct telemarketing experience and 6 years of call center outsourcing consulting experience, I can render real results that will increase your bottom line.

How Can I Help You?

  • Dialer and telephony systems
  • Training and management enhancement
  • Motivational speaking
  • Campaign production analysis
  • HR and Recruiting
  • Business development strategies
  • Foreign corporate filings
  • International tax codes

Take your Business to the Next Level

 

Where will your business be in 1 year 5 years or even 10 years?  Top business consultancy firms are predicting that 90% of all companies, whether mom & pop or enterprising will use call center outsourcing consulting by the year 2016.    The world is getting smaller and the global economy is becoming tightly interconnected.  That being said, those individuals that fail to engage and take advantage of international resources will be left behind.

Contact Zack today for a free consultation and if you have any thoughts on Call Center Outsourcing Consulting please feel free to comment below.