January 2020
TESTER
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Dave Tester Is Vegan ?
Feb. 4, 2019. It was the day after the Patriots beat the Rams in Super Bowl 53. My wife, Claudia, and I were visiting the winter recreation town of McCall, Idaho. Due to a local power outage, we missed the entire first half of the big game and spent a cold night in our hotel room. Making our way back to Boise the next day, I surprised Claudia with a bit of startling news: For the rest of the year, I was committed to eating an exclusively vegan diet. You’re probably thinking the same thing that Chris Spates, one of our clients in Austin, Texas, uttered after I broke the news to him. Chris, my favorite barbecue chef, was astonished that I was indeed no longer eating anything that has eyes on it. Yes, that even included his world-famous ribs and brisket. In fact, the headline of this article is a direct quote from Chris as his jaw dropped to the floor: “Dave Tester is vegan?” Before you jump to any conclusions, perhaps a little context is in order. Claudia was diagnosed in 2018 with a connective tissue disorder called Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. It was frustrating for both of us to receive this unwelcome news, but it was also incredibly painful for Claudia. The most challenging part of it, however, was the lack of potential cures for the problem. Most doctors would only prescribe pain pills and sleeping medications for her. This methodology was far from a cure, and Claudia was not a fan. She began researching plant-based diet plans for better body health. A book called “Forks Over Knives” proved to be the beginning of her journey toward becoming vegan. My dad always told us when I was growing up, “If you don’t like what one doctor tells you, look for another one that tells you what you want to hear in order to get healthy.” In this case, we didn’t like the prescription from the doctors, so we looked for an alternative answer. At the time of my decision to go vegan, I had no idea that it was to become the foundation for my goal setting. This month, 300 million Americans will set goals for 2020. By the first week of the month or by the time most of you read my newsletter, 41% of those who set out to reach goals will have already given up or stopped trying altogether. It’s not because we don’t have good intentions. Rather, it’s because we don’t have a plan . Remember, first and foremost, our goals must be S.M.A.R.T. goals. This is part of discovering what your WHY is. The process looks like
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this: You must first determine WHAT your goal is. Secondly, you must figure out HOW you will reach that goal. Next, you must set a timeline for WHEN you will reach the goal. Finally, ask yourself, “WHY is this my goal?” This is a very simple process. If your WHY is strong enough, you will find your way. My father is a veterinarian. My grandparents and great-grandparents were all homesteaders, farmers, and ranchers. I grew up on eggs, bacon, steak, milk, and cheese. It’s a rite of passage in the Tester family to eat beef and drink milk. Raising chickens is part of the cherished Tester tradition, as well. You’re probably beginning to see why this whole business of becoming vegan was nothing short of an entire paradigm shift for me! What I discovered, however, was that my WHY was greater than my want to eat meat. Claudia’s health was my WHY. She wasn’t on the verge of death, thankfully, but the level of pain and distress she endured was heartbreaking for all of us. In the midst of it all, I discovered my WHY. I was committed to supporting Claudia as she changed the direction of her health with a plant-based diet. Her pain level was nearing a 10 by February and averaging a 7 or 8. With the vegan diet and help from our friend Jim Zamzow’s product called
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GET YOUR SALES GOALS RIGHT THE FIRST TIME
AND MAKE 2020 YOUR BEST YEAR YET
No matter what industry you are in, you can’t build a successful business without sales. Making a sale establishes a relationship, almost always yields a profit, and lays the foundation for future growth. When your sales fall flat and you fail to meet goals — or even set them — your business suffers negative consequences. As we head into a new decade, follow these suggestions for short- and long-term goals to guarantee your sales success. THINK LIKE GOLDILOCKS The problem with goal-setting is many people aim too low or shoot too high. Instead, you need your sales goals to be just right. The key is to find a goal that is challenging for your team to reach, but also attainable. Here’s one way to go about creating that Goldilocks goal: Look at the number of sales you made each month for the past two years. Identify the months with the highest and lowest sales and find the average of those numbers. Use this figure as the starting point. KEEP IT PERSONAL There’s no hard-and-fast rule on setting sales goals other than this: The goals need to fit your business. For car dealerships, for example,
setting individual goals for your employees may be ideal. For physical therapy clinics and chiropractors, however, it may be best to develop company-wide goals. Regardless of your industry, you must make sure sales goals support the overall growth goal of your business and keep employees engaged and challenged. SHIFT, SHIFT, SHIFT Think about the beginning of 2010. Were you the same person then as you are today? There’s a good chance you are not, which means you’ve set different goals for yourself each year to reflect your growth. The same principle applies to business. It’s perfectly okay to shift your sales expectations and end results to better suit your current success and what you need — no matter what you did in previous years. Be flexible and make changes in your sales goals as you see fit. To start off the 2020s strong, you need to create attainable goals that improve your business. Don’t model your goals after another business that seems to be thriving; focus on what you need to achieve success! It all starts with setting the right goals to get there.
Tester-
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Are you ready to better yourself and your business? Have Dave secret-shop your front desk today! Call 208-707-9807 or visit GoDaveTester.com for more details.
“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” Corner Post MINISTRY
“Dave Tester is an expert at customer service. The Idaho Press was very impressed with Dave’s program, and we have adopted many of his suggestions into our day-to-day operations. If you are looking for someone who can engage with your staff and move the needle in the right direction, you can’t do much better than Dave Tester.”
–Matt Davison Publisher Idaho Press
James 1:17
If you would like to listen to Dave’s spiritual podcast, visit www.CornerPostMinistry.com
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“Free and Easy,” Claudia’s pain level now hangs out around a 3 or 4. She still has bad days, but they are now few and far apart.
Mortgage in Las Vegas for a lovely vegan breakfast. Lauren at The Newsletter Pro tells me that she is going to give the vegan lifestyle a shot. Even Jeff Cox of Right Now Heating and Air Conditioning says that the “vegan thing” gives you a new burst of energy and enthusiasm. To quote him, “Tester, I might have to give it a try.” Remember, as you go into 2020, follow the rules of goal setting by making S.M.A.R.T. goals. More importantly, find your WHY. It’s the most powerful goal-setting tool in the world.
Driving home on that February afternoon, we stopped for lunch. I had a club sandwich that included ham, beef, cheese, and mayonnaise. I remember eating that sandwich very vividly. In my mind, I made a silent vow that it would be my last meat and cheese for some time. This wasn’t to prove anything, but to team up with Claudia and begin a process of becoming pain-free. She’s not there yet, but almost. I coach goal setting for many companies every year around this time. Our story now has a WHY to serve as proof of the value of a commitment to one’s goals. Many of you ask me, “How do you feel, Dave?” Honestly, I feel great because I know that Claudia feels better. As for me, I’ve shed a few pounds and inches, dropping from a 44- inch waist to a 38-inch waist. As of the date of this writing, I have not knowingly broken the vegan habit. In fact, a number of my clients now offer vegan food when I come to train their team. Thank you, Alderus
If you find your WHY, you’ll discover your WAY.
At least for now, anyway, Dave Tester really is vegan.
-Dave Tester
GG Gretchen’s Kitchen (My mom’s secret recipes)
Directions 1. Heat oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 2. Cut tortillas into 1/4-inch strips and spread on the baking sheet. Bake until crispy, 20–25 minutes. Set aside. 3. While strips are baking, place tomatoes, bell peppers, mushrooms, onion, garlic, cumin, chipotle chiles, cilantro sprigs, and 1 cup water in a large soup pot or Dutch oven. 4. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, 20–30 minutes. 5. Remove and discard chiles and cilantro sprigs. Transfer soup to a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth, then pour mixture back into pot. 6. Add smoked paprika, chili powder, sea salt to taste, and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium and simmer until the soup thickens, about 10 minutes. 7. Add corn and peas and cook until tender but still crisp, about 5 minutes. 8. To serve, garnish each serving of soup with green onions, cilantro, avocado, tomatoes, and reserved corn strips. Squeeze lemon juice on top. Inspired by ForksOverKnives.com/recipes/tortilla-soup
Vegan Tortilla Soup
Ingredients
• 1/2 tsp chili powder • Sea salt • 2 cups fresh or frozen corn • 2 cups fresh or frozen green peas • 1/2 cup green onions, thinly sliced • 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped • 1 avocado, diced • 1/2 cup tomatoes, chopped (optional) • 1/2 Meyer or other lemon
• 6 corn tortillas • 6 large tomatoes, halved • 2 red bell peppers, halved • 8 oz mushrooms, roughly chopped • 1/2 yellow onion, roughly chopped • 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped • 2 tsp ground cumin • 2 dried chipotle chiles • 5–7 sprigs fresh cilantro • 2 tsp smoked paprika
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Tester TIME 17707 Madison Rd. Nampa, ID 83687 208-707-9807 www.dialingstrangers.com
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Dave Tester Is Vegan?
A Better Way to Think About Motivation
Tester-monial
Vegan Tortilla Soup
Enter 2020 With an Organized Computer
Ctrl, Alt, Delete Your Clutter Tips for National Clean Up Your Computer Month
dirty, you can remove them from the tower to clean them better. If you use water or liquid cleaning products on them, be sure they are completely dry before placing them back into your computer. ORGANIZE YOUR FILES Naming and arranging the files on your computer in such a way that they’re easy for you to find can end up saving you a lot of time. Declutter your workspace by creating one file for pictures, one for Word documents, one for spreadsheets, and one for programs to eliminate the hassle of frantically searching for the files you need. BACK UP YOUR COMPUTER Be sure to back up your computer before you start deleting things. This acts as a safety net in case you delete something you didn’t mean to. Additionally, consider installing a second hard drive. The extra space can help with storing important files without having to worry about how much room is left. CLEAN UP SPACE Any files you’ll never use again should be deleted. Likewise, any programs you haven’t used in a while should be uninstalled. Check your hard drive for files that might be taking up unintended space on your computer. And remember to empty the recycling bin — it’s easy to forget just how much goes in there.
Everyone relies on technology. Computers, laptops, tablets, and phones are staples of modern life. However, it’s easy for these devices to become cluttered with old photos, files, and general disorganization. Luckily, January is National Clean Up Your Computer Month and an excellent time to get your technology in order. START BY DUSTING Over time, computer towers can become clogged with dust, which creates additional, unwanted heat within your computer. Regular cleanings will increase the lifespan of your computer and protect its essential components. Compressed air is great for removing most of the dust and other particulates. If the fans or filters are too
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