Last week was our August National Sales Meeting. A couple of times a year, we bring in our outside sales team together with our inside sales team, buying team, marketing team, and finance and management teams to share ideas and learn new things. We also do some fun things in the evening. One night, we went bowling—randomly selecting the teams so everyone had a chance to get to know employees from other departments.
During the three days, we had various presentations from clients and industry experts. We always ask for suggestions for topics to cover and training ideas. One of the members of the sales team suggested the topic of “growth mindset.”
What’s that? I really had never heard of it, so I started to do some research.
Essentially, having a growth mindset means that, with learning and dedication, you can be or do anything. In a growth mindset, “people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point,” according to Carol Dweck of Mindsetonline.com. “This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment. Virtually all great people have had these qualities.”
The opposite of a growth mindset is a fixed mindset.
The old adage “You can’t teach the old dog a new trick” is what sums up the fixed mindset. People with a fixed mindset believe that they cannot change, that “their basic abilities, intelligence, and talents are fixed traits,” says Dweck.
You can imagine that having a growth mindset would be key to growing in one’s career and growing professionally in a company like ours, where one of our core values is “Staying Curious.”
Our guest speaker started the day by asking our team: What do you think is a growth mindset? We went around the room and people shouted out their ideas:
No limits
Confidence
Perspective
Positive
Resilience
Collaborating
Optimistic
Goal-oriented
Adaptable
No fear of the unknown
Focused
Organized
Self-belief
Open-minded
Creative
When asked if attitude, skills, and knowledge were required to be successful within these qualities, our group said, almost 100 percent of the above qualities required a good attitude.
And that’s when I realized how brilliant my coworker was when she suggested the topic.
If everyone at our company realized it was within their own control to achieve their goals, with simply a change in attitude, or by having a growth mindset, the sky would be the limit.
Of course, we have heard sayings like “Attitude is everything” or “Visualize the glass as half-full.” But it came alive for me and everyone in our training room that day as our speaker took us through several group exercises. Who are the most successful people in their careers? Those with a positive attitude, a can-do attitude.
So, instead of talking about having a “positive attitude,” I’m going to start saying, “Great job of having a growth mindset!”
Love of learning and resilience can really create a mind shift. And sometimes, that’s what we all need.
Karen
The trending, sweet and tangy citrus is available from Frieda’s earlier than ever
Los Alamitos, CA – (August 2018) – Fresh from Chile are in season starting in late August to fill the demand for the popular tangy and sweet, bite-size citrus.
“Shoppers are asking for kumquats year-round, not just in the winter anymore,” said, assistant sales manager at Frieda’s Specialty Produce. “Even Oprah recently mentioned her kumquat trees and sharing the fruits with her friends.”
Kumquats are trending. “When there’s a wide gap between awareness and trial, we know that item is getting ready to take off,” added Berkley. According to a Datassential report, 62 percent of the U.S. population know about kumquats and 23 percent have tried them.
Frieda’s worked with its grower partners in Chile for several years to develop production that is permitted for importation into the U.S. market. Chilean kumquat season now accounts for 25 percent of Frieda’s kumquat sales in volume. This percentage increases year-over-year as retailers and foodservice companies learn about the Chilean season, and as Frieda’s grower partners plant more fruit to meet the demand.
“Thanks to the contra-seasonal production from the Southern Hemisphere, we are able to fill the supply gap when California kumquats are not in season, making them more accessible to retailers, as well as foodservice providers,” said Berkley. “Retailers who take advantage of our Chilean kumquat season will see the incremental sales lift. We will have Chilean supplies from late August through December.
“We offer the same pack sizes for our Chilean as our Californian crop: 10-lb. bulk and 12/8 oz. branded pouch, which is easy for merchandising and ringing up. Our retail clients love our pouch pack, as it increases the sell through while reducing ‘shopper grazing’ shrink.”
In addition to kumquats, Frieda’s offers extended season and availability from grower partners around the world for many specialty citrus items to answer shoppers’ demand, including blood oranges, Meyer lemons, and more. Call a Frieda’s account manager today to have fresh citrus specialties available year-round.
About Frieda’s Inc.
Frieda’s Specialty Produce has been inspiring new food experiences for friends, families, and food lovers everywhere since 1962. From kiwifruit to dragon fruit and from Stokes Purple® sweet potatoes to habanero peppers, Frieda’s has introduced more than 200 unique fruits and vegetables to the U.S. marketplace. Founded by produce industry trailblazer Dr. Frieda Rapoport Caplan, subject of the 2015 documentary “Fear No Fruit,” the family company is owned and operated by Frieda’s daughters, Karen Caplan and Jackie Caplan Wiggins, in Orange County, California. Find Frieda’s on Facebook, @FriedasProduce, and Friedas.com. Inspire. Taste. Love.
A few weeks ago, I was having coffee with a friend, and she said to me, “I sure hope all these good deeds I am doing come back to me in good karma in the future.”
I was kind of puzzled by that comment because I think it’s important to be authentic when you do good deeds, not because you hope you will get something for doing them.
That is the essence of being authentic: Doing good because it’s the right thing to do.
Have you ever done that? You see someone who would benefit from your help, whether it is helping them unload their grocery cart at the checkout (because that giant bottle of water looks a bit too heavy for them to lift themselves), or giving some money or food to a homeless person. Have you helped a fellow businessperson connect with someone you know who could help them without getting anything out of it?
Have you had the chance to do a good deed lately? Or, were you in too much of a rush, working through your things to do or running errands?
I have found in this dog-eat-dog world, where everything seems to happen at warp speed, that there is even more satisfaction when you do something nice for someone with no expectation of recognition or reward.
It’s refreshing to think about others instead of yourself for a while.
So, when you are feeling stressed or rushed, why not take a deep breath, and do something good for someone else, even a complete stranger. You could be the person who makes their day a little bit better. And you may get that warm fuzzy feeling in your heart.
It’s called “kindness.” And I think we need a lot more of it this world.
Karen
With all my travels and running my business, I’ve tried a lot of things when it comes to physical relaxation. (And it seems I’m not the only one.)
Of course, I get massages. In fact, I used to ask my masseuse, Aaron, to text me on the first of every month to remind me to schedule a two-hour deep tissue massage. With long flights, walking through airports and standing in security lines, different hotel beds and pillows, a massage sometimes makes all the difference in the world for my stiff muscles.
I’ve also tried craniosacral therapy, which involves applying gentle pressure and manipulation to the joints in the skull, spine, and parts of the pelvis. From “Your Inner Physician and You,” I learned how proper alignment of the spine can help create a more relaxed and centered self. In fact, when a good friend of mine was having headaches and tension, I recommended she go to my CST therapist, Katja, for some relief. My friend now sees her on a regular basis. She said, “Even though I didn’t feel bad per se, I feel so much better after the therapy.”
When I was in Hawaii a couple of years ago, I tried Reiki (pronounced RAY-kee). Reiki is a healing technique based on the principle that the therapist can channel energy into the patient by means of touch to activate the natural healing processes of the patient’s body, and restore physical and emotional well-being. I like to say that my Reiki practitioner “moves the energy” in my body, focusing on whichever of my seven chakras needs attention. Sherrel rarely touches me, but I always find myself going into an almost meditative state during our hour-long session. I get up feeling mellow, calm, and centered.
And of course, almost a year ago, I started meditating daily. The 20-minute guided meditation each morning really grounds me for the day. As I have heard from other meditation practitioners, when you meditate regularly, you experience the ability to listen better, to be more present, and to find an inner peace.
OK, readers, if I haven’t lost you by now and you’re not thinking I’ve gone cuckoo with all this “woo-woo” stuff, I’d like to share my latest discovery with you.
Rolfing.
A few weeks ago, my good friends Mark and Vicky introduced me to Christopher, their Rolfing practitioner, whom they have been seeing for over 10 years. Rolfing is a form of deep tissue massage that helps realign your muscles to improve movements and posture to relieve aches and pains, and creates an overall sense of well-being.
So, this past Monday, I went for my first session. Christopher asked me if anything was bothering me that day. I told him my left ankle seemed out of sorts. He worked on the muscles all over the left side of my body. My forearm. My calf. My rib cage (which was apparently out of alignment). I wore a sports bra and yoga shorts so he could see my breathing and my muscles. He did a little work on my right side, but said it is part of Rolfing to do small areas at a time, so the body can adjust.
Christopher told me that many people describe Rolfing as body muscle sculpting. Through soft tissue manipulation and movement education, Rolfers affect body posture and structure over the long term. Unlike massage, which often focuses on relaxation and relief of muscle discomfort, Rolfing is aimed at improving body alignment and function.
The results: I find myself standing straighter and taller. Breathing seems easier. All the tension is gone in my shoulders and neck. And of course, my ankle does not hurt.
The only limitation after the Rolfing treatment is no weightlifting for 24 hours. I’ve scheduled my next appointment for next Monday. I’m looking forward to another session of getting in alignment.
If you travel a lot like me and want to get rid of the aches and pains, you’ll do whatever it takes to feel well. I hope you’ll give these alternative therapies a shot. You might find just the right touch and come out feeling amazing.
Karen
Join Frieda’s Specialty Produce in celebrating on August 10 with #ThanksFrieda
Los Alamitos, CA – (August 2018) – Frieda’s Specialty Produce will celebrate the 95th birthday of its founder and produce industry pioneer, Dr. Frieda Rapoport Caplan, on Friday, August 10.
Despite the company’s birthday paid time-off policy, Frieda plans on coming in to the office on her birthday anyway. “I already have Thursdays off, that’s enough PTO for me,” she said.
The subject of the 2015 documentary film “Fear No Fruit,” Frieda became the first woman in the U.S. to own and operate a produce company on the all-male Los Angeles Wholesale Produce Market. Starting with the unusual and new-to-market specialties including the successful introduction of kiwifruit to the American market in 1962, Frieda and her company would go on to inspire new food experiences for chefs and home cooks by introducing more than 200 exotic fruits and vegetables to American consumers over the years, including Sunchokes®, dragon fruit, habanero peppers, jicama, and Stokes Purple® sweet potatoes.
In 1979, Frieda was the first woman to receive The Packer’s “Produce Man of the Year” award, which she handed back to the organizer. The award was soon renamed “The Produce Marketer of the Year,” and she received a new plaque with that title. In 1990, the Los Angeles Times’ “A Dozen Who Shaped the ‘80s” featured Frieda alongside Steve Jobs, Michael Eisner, and Jane Fonda.
Frieda has received numerous awards and honors for her achievements over the years, including an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from CSU-Cal Poly San Luis Obispo for her achievements as one of the nation’s most successful female entrepreneurs.
Currently, Frieda serves on the Board of Dramatic Results, a nonprofit agency that solves educational challenges by providing integrated arts programs to students and teachers in over 40 public school campuses in California, Oregon, and Alaska.
Wish Frieda a happy birthday or share your favorite Frieda moment or how she has inspired you on social media on August 10, using hashtag #ThanksFrieda.
About Frieda’s Inc.
Frieda’s Specialty Produce has been inspiring new food experiences for friends, families, and food lovers everywhere since 1962. From kiwifruit to dragon fruit and from Stokes Purple® sweet potatoes to habanero peppers, Frieda’s has introduced more than 200 unique fruits and vegetables to the U.S. marketplace. Founded by produce industry trailblazer Dr. Frieda Rapoport Caplan, subject of the 2015 documentary “Fear No Fruit,” the family company is owned and operated by Frieda’s daughters, Karen Caplan and Jackie Caplan Wiggins, in Orange County, California. Find Frieda’s on Facebook, @FriedasProduce, and Friedas.com. Inspire. Taste. Love.
I don’t know about you, but for me there sure seems to be a lot to worry about these days.
To start with, I worry about getting through my things-to-do list, preparing for my upcoming meetings, if I’m getting enough sleep, and if am I doing enough for the people on my team. On a larger scale, I worry about global warming, politics, and the Supreme Court. All of these can be a bit stressful and, at times, overwhelming.
That’s one of the reasons I enjoy listening to audio books while I drive. I’ve written before about how Audible has become my best friend and how I love to read, or rather, listen to, autobiographical, self-improvement, and business books, and occasionally a novel. Listening to audio books transports me to a different place even on my short 15-minute commute home each day.
So my friend Tristan asked me if I had read “The Power of Now” by Eckhart Tolle. I admitted that I had heard of Eckhart Tolle, but I had not yet read the book. (In 2008, a New York Times writer called him “the most popular spiritual author in the United States.” So, there you go.)
“Whatever book you are reading right now, put it down. You have to read “The Power of Now” right now! It is incredible,” she said.
On to Audible I went. Eckhart actually narrates the book himself, and that’s always a special treat when the authors do their own reading, to hear all of the personality and memories through their voices!
Eckhart opens the book by telling his personal story of his struggle with depression until the age of 29 when he had a spiritual awakening. Born in Germany, Eckhart is a spiritual teacher living in Canada. He is not identified with any particular religion, but he has been influenced by a wide range of spiritual works.
After his personal story, the book is a Q&A between the publisher and Eckhart. I think the idea is that the questions which are asked are the same questions you might ask yourself.
I have to admit, Eckhart has an interesting voice and style. I had to turn up the volume in my car, since he speaks so quietly, with a mild accent. I replayed some of what he read many times as it was so thought-provoking for me.
So, I wanted to share one line that really got my attention:
“Nothing ever happened in the past; it happened in the Now. Nothing will ever happen in the future; it will happen in the Now.”
I played that over a few times.
Source: Flickr @ I Woz Ere
Think about it. Everything happens in the now. So why worry about the past or the future? Stay in the now, and enjoy the moment. It takes away a lot of the stress.
For example, this morning, instead of stressing about my to-do list as I walked up to the office, I slowed down to notice how beautiful the morning was and that we had new plants added to our water-wise landscaping. I felt much calmer. Or when I started to get anxious about not hearing back from a contact, I refocused on what I was working on, rather than worry about getting a response as it is literally not up to me. I had almost forgotten about my earlier concern when I got that response back.
We all really should stop and smell the roses. We’ll all be a lot less stressed if we do.
