The Teen Green

I’m in the process of building a studio set in my basement! You can watch live at .alldayshow.com but heres the video to sum it up!

Philosophy, Politics,
Drugs,Art, People,Movies and Music! what ever comes up it will be discused!

When I was 16 I wish someone had taught me some food basics. In this Food 101 I will be talking about how to reduce your spending and also a few tips to get you on your way!

As a teenager paying their own way through the world you don’t want to have to be wasting your precious video game/alcohol/socializing money on food do you? Here are some foods that you should always make sure to have in your cupboard!

Rolled Oats – Oats are great the have a low GI which means they release their energy into you slowly keeping you more alert for longer. Make porridge, put them into baking, or even into milkshakes! Rolled Oats are a great breakfast food! (Which really is the most important meal of they day, make sure to get into the positive habit of never skiping it!)

Rice – Particularly Brown rice its not that much more expensive and its 100x better for you! Rice is a great way to stretch out meals! Replace the pasta in certain recipes with brown rice, for a way to make it much more healthier ad nutritious!

add Canned Tomatoes (important for their Lycopene a powerful antioxidant said to help prevent the risk of cancer ) to the rice along with some Mixed Herbs and maybe a diced onion and you have a super quick easy meal! With lots of ingredients left over and plenty to eat!

Big sacks of potatoes are a lifesaver  and should become a staple carbohydrate in your diet! They can be cut up and fried,easily and quickly baked in the microwave and if you chop them up ( which helps them boil quicker) and then mash them and then stir in packet mixed vegetables its a great way to get your 5+ a day!

Canned Chickpeas are a great food to buy when starting out in life! You can toss them through Salads, Stir-fry,Soups and Stews! The are an excellent meat free Protein alternative!

Its easy to fall into bad habbits when your living on the cheap here are three quick tips:

1. Try not to eat to many packets of ramen/mi goreng noodles, they are real bad for you and have no nutritional value!
2. Don’t buy microwave popcorn buy your own kernels and pop it yourself in a pot or popcorn maker!
3. Takeaway foods and microwave meals are money killers! Take the money and spend it on bulk ingredients, learn to do new and interesting things with them!

In my next post im going to be talking about superfoods and nutrion advice! Bookmark this site and be sure to tune back in

Sean Green

I am now also on twitter so follow me @TheTeenGreen I follow everyone who follows me!

When I was 16 I wish someone had taught me to write a decent CV! In my previous post “You can’t fire me ’cause I quit!” I talk about the importance of always getting references for your resume.

As a high school student it is important to get a job and start earning and saving money as soon as possible! A smart teenager is already thinking about their future, and any sort of job will give you well needed life skills and experience

In this post I will talk about a few things you can do to improve your CV or resume.
These points of advice will make your resume more compelling and will help you land a job.

Your CV is your first point of marketing when you are trying to sell your self to an employer make it stand out! The main purpose of a CV is to get the employer to call you back and book an interview!

• Make each CV unique depending on what position you are applying to, one generic version will not cover everything!
• Include a cover letter explaining why you want the job!
• Make sure your CV is formatted properly you want it to look professional, keep it to 2 pages maximum!
• Try not to use the words I and My. The person reading your CV knows you are talking about yourself!
• Talk about things you have achieved and accomplished
• What life skills do you have that could be used in the work place?
• Include buzzwords to catch the employers eye!
• Get someone to go over and check your resume for mistakes! Ask for their opinion!

Here is an example CV layout of the things you should include!

1. Name and Contact Details
2. Short Personal Profile
3. Experience
4. Education
5. Industry Skills
6. Interests
7. References

If you apply this advice to your CV it will bring you one step closer to landing your dream job!

Do you have any resume tips or advice? Feel free to comment and share it with everyone!

When I was 16 people gave me lots of advice, I wish I had paid attention. I’m sure one of them told me not to take other peoples medication!

4 days ago at the age of nineteen – 3 months from my 20th birthday I almost died. My heart was ready to give out… After mistakenly swallowing and overdosing on “Tegretol” an anti-epilepsy drug thinking it was a pain killer “Tramadol”

I thought I would be OK because a few days earlier I saw a few friends take it with no ill effects.  But you never know if you have an underlying condition or if you may have an allergic reaction to the medication.

I’m not saying don’t do drugs. In fact I endorse the legalizing of marijuana globally. Just be very aware of what your putting into your body!

Having chest contractions,trouble breathing, no balance and blurred vision are certainly not fun. If my sister had not been home to call me an ambulance I could very well have died then and there…

I arrived at the hospital and found my heart was racing up to 3 times the average speed. Faster than an elite athlete at the peak of their performance.I was severely disorientated as well, had tubes stuck into my arms, blood samples taken and was given pure oxygen that I must have been breathing for hours.

I feel a lot better now, but have decided I am majorly going to cut back my recreational drug use. After a new lease on life turning 20 seems like as good a time as any to grow up.

I was not quite sure if I wanted to blog about this, but decided if it could help one person it would be worth it!

Be Healthy

Sean

This is a guest post by Leo Babauta from Zenhabbits! Well not Really Leo has an uncopyright on his blog which means anyone is allowed to use it!  When I was 16 I wish I had known about Zenhabits!

“Everything has been figured out, except how to live.” - Jean-Paul Sartre

I’m nearly 35 years old, and I’ve made my share of mistakes in my life. I’m not a big believer in regrets … and I have learned tremendously from every single mistake … and my life is pretty great.

However, there are a few things I wish I had known when I was graduating from high school and starting out as an adult in life.

Would I change things? I’m not so sure. I might never have gotten into a mountain of debt, but then I wouldn’t have learned the amazing satisfaction of getting out of it. I might have made better career choices, but then I wouldn’t have all the work experience that makes me the blogger and writer that I am today.

I might not have gotten married that first time, so that I would never have gotten divorced … but then I wouldn’t have my first two beautiful wonderful incredible children from that first marriage.

I don’t think I would change any of that. However, looking back, there are some lessons I’ve learned that I would probably tell my 18-year-old self. Do I share them now to share my regrets? No, I share them in hopes that younger men and women, just starting out in life, can benefit from my mistakes and my lessons.

What follows isn’t an exhaustive list, but it’s one that I hope proves useful to at least a few people.

“I hope life isn’t a big joke, because I don’t get it.” - Jack Handey

1. How to control impulse spending. If there’s anything that got me in trouble financially, it’s impulse spending. Buying clothes when I don’t need them. Buying gadgets because I gotta have them. Ordering stuff online because it’s so easy. Buying that new shiny SUV because … well, because it was going to help me with women. I’m not proud of any of that. I’ve learned to control my impulses, at least a little better. Now, I give myself some time to breathe. I think over my purchases, see if I’ve got the money, think about whether it’s a need or a want. That would have been a useful tool 15 years ago.
   
2. You gotta stay active. I was in track, cross country and basketball in high school, but once I started college, the running and basketball began to slowly fade away. Not right away — I played pick-up basketball for years after high school. But even that went away, until I became sedentary. Playing with my kids outdoors winded me. And I began to get fat. I’ve reversed that trend, and am very active now, but I’m still trying to burn the fat I gained in those inactive years.
   
3. How to plan finances. I always knew that I was supposed to budget and track my spending, when I became an adult. I just was too lazy to do it. And I didn’t have a good idea of how to actually do it. Now, I’ve learned how to plan, and how to stick to that plan. Sure, I deviate from my plan, but I’ve learned how to handle that too. Maybe that’s not a skill you can learn from book reading. You just gotta practice. Well, I hope to teach it to my children before they go out on their own.
   
4. Junk food will come back to bite you in the butt. Yeah, it wasn’t just the sedentary lifestyle that got me fat. It was all the damn junk food too. I would eat pizza and burgers and Twinkies and sugar cereal and desserts and donuts and … well, you get the picture. As someone used to being able to eat whatever I wanted, it never seemed like it would be a problem. Bad health was something to worry about when you got old. Well, my jeans began to get way too tight, and to my horror, I climbed several pants sizes and developed a gut that only now is going away. I wish someone had shown me an “after” picture when I was young and downing the Big Gulp sodas.
   
5. Smoking is just dumb. I didn’t start smoking until I was well into my adult years. I won’t go into why I started, but it didn’t seem like a problem, because I knew I could quit anytime I wanted. Or I thought I could, at least, until several years later I gave it a go and couldn’t do it. Five failed quits later and I realized with horror that my addiction was stronger than I was. Sure, I eventually beat the habit (quit date: Nov. 18, 2005) but it took a piece of my soul to do it.
   
6. Fund your retirement, son. And don’t withdraw it. This piece of wisdom, and probably all the ones above, might seem blisteringly obvious. And they are. Don’t think I didn’t know this when I was 18. I did. I just didn’t pay it serious attention. Retirement was something I could worry about when I was in my 30s. Well, I’m in my 30s now and I wish I could slap that little 18-year-old Leo around a bit. What money I could have invested by now! I had a retirement plan, but on the 3 occasions when I changed jobs, I withdrew that and spent it frivolously.
7. All the stuff you’re doing that seems hard — it will be of use. This is the first one that might not be as obvious. There were times in my life when work was hard, and I did it anyway, but hated it. I did it because I had to, but boy did it stress me out and leave me exhausted. Hard work isn’t as easy as I wanted it to be. But you know what? Every bit of hard work I did without knowing why I was doing it … it’s paid off for me in the long run. Maybe not right away, but I’m using skills and habits I learned during those times of high stress and long hours and tedious work — I use them all the time, and they’ve made me into the person I am today. Thank you, younger Leo!
   
8. Don’t buy that used van without checking it out closely. I thought I was being smart by buying used, but I didn’t check it out carefully enough. That dang van had loads of engine problems, a door that nearly fell off when I was driving, a door handle that snapped off, a side mirror that fell off, no spare tire despite three tires that were ready to blow (and did), windows that didn’t roll up, rattling noises, an eventual blown radiator … I could go on and on, but let’s just say that it wasn’t my best purchase. I still think buying used is smart, but check things out closely first.
   
9. That guy you’re going to sell your car to? On a gentleman’s agreement? He’s not gonna pay you. I sold another car to a friend of a friend, who I was sure would pay me even if I had nothing in writing. That was smart. I still see the guy once in awhile on the road, but I don’t have the energy to do a U-turn and chase after him.
10. Make time to pursue your passion, no matter how busy you are. I’ve always wanted to be a writer, and get a book published. I just never had time to write. With a family and school and a full-time job, there just weren’t enough hours in the day. Well, I’ve learned that you have to make those hours. Set aside a block of time to do what you love, cut out other stuff from your life that take up your time, and don’t let anything interfere with that work. If I had done that 15 years ago, I could have 15 books written by now. Not all would be great, but still.
11. All that stuff that’s stressing you out — it won’t matter in 5 years, let alone 15. When things are happening to you right now, they mean all the world. I had deadlines and projects and people breathing down my neck, and my stress levels went through the roof. I don’t regret the hard work (see above) but I think I would have been less stressed if I could have just realized that it wouldn’t matter a single bit just a few years down the road. Perspective is a good thing to learn.
12. The people you make friends with are so much more important than your job or the things you buy. I’ve had a few jobs, I’ve bought a lot of things, and I’ve made a few friends over these last 15 years. Of those, the only thing that still matter to me are the friends. And I wish I could have spent more time with friends (and family) than on the other things.
13. All that time you spend watching TV is a huge, huge waste of time. I don’t know how much TV I’ve watched over the years, but it’s a crapload. Hours and days and weeks I’ll never have back. Who cares what happens on reality TV, when reality is slipping by outside? Time is something you’ll never get back — don’t waste it on TV.
    
14. Your kids are going to grow up way faster than you think. Don’t waste a minute. I just had an Oh My God moment recently. My oldest daughter, Chloe, is 14 going on 15 next month. I have 3 years left with her before she leaves my house and becomes an adult. Three years! I am floored by that single fact, because it really doesn’t seem anywhere near enough time. I want to go back to my younger self and whack that younger Leo on the head and say Stop working so hard! Stop watching TV! Spend more time with your kids! These last 15 years with Chloe (and my other wonderful kids) have gone by much, much too fast.
15. Forget the drama. Focus on being happy. There have been many things that have happened to me, professionally and personally, that seem like the end of the world. And while these things were bad, they get blown up in our heads so that they become major drama. They caused me to be depressed from time to time. What a waste of time. If I realized that it was all in my head, and that I could be happy instead if I focused on the positive, on what I did have, and what I could be doing … I could have skipped all the moping about.
16. Pay more attention to blogs when you first hear about them. They’re more than just journals. I first read about blogs 7-8 years ago, but when I took a look at them they didn’t seem like anything of interest. Just some people’s journals about stuff they read on the web. Why would I want to read those? I have my own thoughts about the web, but I don’t need to share them with the world. I spent a lot of time on the Internet, on various sites and forums, but every time I happened upon a blog I would brush past it without interest. It wasn’t until a couple years ago that I discovered what wonderful things they could be (I mentioned some of my early favorites in my list of influences). If I had gotten into blogging years ago … well, I wouldn’t have been wasting all that time.
17. Speaking of which, keep a journal. Seriously. Your memory is extremely faulty. I forget things really easily. Not short-term stuff, but long-term. I don’t remember things about my kids’ early years, because I didn’t record any of it. I don’t remember things about my life. It’s like a lot of foggy memories that I’ll never have access to. I wish I had kept a journal.
18. Tequila is seriously evil. I won’t go into details, but it should suffice to say that I had some bad experiences, and I’m not sure I learned very much from them or benefited in any way except to learn that tequila is the drink of the Devil.
19. Yes, you can do a marathon. Don’t put this goal off — it’s extremely rewarding. Running a marathon had always been a dream of mine, since high school … something I wanted to do but thought was out of reach. Or if I ever did it, it would be years and years later. Well, I learned that it’s not only achievable, it’s incredibly rewarding. I wish I had started training when I was young and light and fit … I could have had some good finishing times!
20. All these mistakes you’re going to make, despite this advice? They’re worth it. My 18-year-old self would probably have read this post and said, “Good advice!” And then he would have proceeded to make the same mistakes, despite good intentions. I was a good kid, but I wasn’t good at following advice. I had to make my own mistakes, and live my own life. And that’s what I did, and I don’t regret a minute of it. Every experience I’ve had (even the tequila ones) have led me down the path of life to where I am today. I love where I am today, and wouldn’t trade it for another life for all the world. The pain, the stress, the drama, the hard work, the mistakes, the depression, the hangovers, the debt, the fat … it was all worth it.

“Let us so live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry.” - Mark Twain

When I was 16 I wish someone had told me to go “Green”

If everyone on the world enjoyed the same level of natural resource consumption as a typical UK citizen, we would need three planets to support us. This is clearly unsustainable.

As a teenager who wants to live a long and fruitful life you should be concerned about our world and surroundings!
We are the ones inheriting the problem from the older generation, our parents and grandparents, who lived their lives ignorant to the effect they had on the world.
In the future OUR children will be the ones who have to live here once we are gone! Lets not leave them with the mess we have been given!

Transitioning to a green lifestyle in the long run will be cheaper for you and your parents. The power bill will be cheaper by using energy efficient bulbs and switching off electronic devices at the wall!
By reducing your food waste, starting a compost and growing your own organic vegetables you will greatly reduce the amount you spend on food every week!
One Third of all grocery items bought by families a year just end up getting thrown out! Remember what they taught you when you first started school?

Reduce
Reuse
Recycle!

Humans by nature are intelligent and the smart thing to do is live a more sustainable life! Depending on how you look at it teenagers of this decade “Generation Z” have been born into a cotton coated Mcdonaldized world! Everything is expected right here right now, spoon feed in every way! Remember Little things do add up and make a big difference!

• If your the only one home and its cold put some extra clothes on and wrap up in a blanket rather than being so quick to turn on the heater!

• Don’t leave the water running when you brush your teeth and try to reduce the length of your showers!

• Take the money you would spend at Burger King or KFC and try to cook your own meal instead, Not only is it healthier but you are developing a life skill! Think of it like the Sims or Runescape getting your cooking level up!

• Get a library card, learn to enjoy reading! It is a great way to expand your intelligence and your views on the world!

Being frugal and sustainable is the cool thing to do!

I want to live longer and I believe living green is one way to do that!

Finding natural alternatives to cleaning products rather than exposing yourself to harsh chemicals is one example!

Reducing your meat intake is another ( I don’t eat any meat at all) Removing as little as 10% from your diet can have a great effect on yourself and the environment!

Bike or walk to school or work! As well as being great excercise this is a way to stay healthy whilst reducing your carbon foot print!

“Treat the Earth well. It was not given to you by your parents. It was loaned to you by your children”
- Kenyan Proverb

When I was 16 I wish people had advised me to make sure I always, not matter what, got a reference before leaving a job!

In the harsh climate of todays market it is exceedingly difficult for teenagers to find work. You will undoubtedly be competing against skilled and experienced workers for the entry level position you want, just because the unemployment rate is so high!

If you do not have solid references or referrals attached to your CV or Resume you can be certain that it will be skimmed over then thrown straight out!

By the time I was sixteen I had worked at a local supermarket in the produce department for close to two and a half years, I had the system down!

As well as the usual duties I was responsible for ordering products, Stocktaking and training new members of the department. I did not get paid extra for performing these tasks, I took them on because they would look good on my CV!

I got on great with our manager, but suddenly after 15 years of working there he decided to leave…

My manager left, dissipated into oblivion. He was replaced by a younger less efficient model who totally changed the way our department was run.

The push came to shove and I left shortly after without getting any form of reference…
Writing on an application for a new job that you’ve worked somewhere and what skills and experience you have from that previous job means absolutely nothing to your prospective employer without the reference to back it up!

• Get one from your manager!
• Get one from your assistant manager!
• Get one from who ever trained you!
• Or even a senior member of staff who has worked there for a long time!

Anything is better than nothing! Believe me It will make a huge difference when it comes to finding your next job!

I wish at 16 someone had told me to buy an Electric Toothbrush. They are amazing screw doing it the manual way! I’m sorry if I come across sounding like a TV infomercial but I am a huge advocate of Electric Brushes!

They aren’t that expensive, I just use a cheap Braun Oral-b that I bought from the supermarket, I don’t buy the refill heads from there though I get them off Trademe the New Zealand equivalent of Ebay, you can get no name parallel imported replacement heads for a fraction of the cost of the real ones (and they work just as well)

So here you go

5 Reasons to Invest in an Electric Toothbrush

1.  The built in timer

Its easy to get caught up in a rush when your brushing your teeth. The 2 minute timer (with 30 second intervals) makes sure you pay appropriate attention to each quarter of your mouth. 2 minutes twice a day, just think of it as cheap dental insurance for your future!

2.  Better stain removal

Electric toothbrushes are proven to be more effective at removing stains on your teeth especially those caused by Coffee, Tea or Nicotine.

3.Better access to hard to reach locations.

Electric Brushes move quicker which means you get a deeper clean, they can also access under your gums, proven to be 11% better than a regular brush for fighting Gingivitis!

4. Better Breath.

Because you are brushing smarter, and removing more Bacteria you will have the benefit of fresher breath (Bacteria is what gives us bad breath)

5. A dentist fresh clean every morning!

Ok so I’m digging a little here! But its true there is nothing better than starting your day feeling like you’ve had a full dentist clean of your mouth, and unless your parents are dentists, this is as close as you will get!

Quite honestly if there was one piece of advice that I would want you to take away after reading this blog it would be to buy an Electric toothbrush! The things are awesome, there is no better time than now to start looking after your teeth, dental care is expensive and we do only get one set! So why not? its as easy as putting on your seat belt!

These books helped me more than any day at school did!  Beg borrow Amazon or steal these, but make it your mission to read them!

Number 1: DON’T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF… and its all small stuff by Richard Carlson

Just a nice simple coffee table book – easy to flick through and work on one thing a day

Number 2: Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki

Ok I lied about being 16 I first read this when I was 13, BUT i didn’t start actually paying attention to the words till I was 18.

Not just about real-estate how to find opportunities and make it work to your advantage!

Number 3: How to Win Friends and Influence People. by Dale Carnegie

This book teaches and talks a lot about common respect themes and communication aspects which a lot of teenagers go without. Read it and you will be on your way to being a better person

Number 4: The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason

This book is like the Rich Dad Poor Dad of the olden days.Your views on Saving and Money skills will be challanged with this book!

Number 5: The Last Lccture by Randy Pausch

You dont even need to read! crank the volume and sit back!