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Mambo Health Gaming, Inc - Our introductory video

Here's a video Tim Schmidt and I put together for the TechStars competition! Please share and let us know what you think.

Download now or watch on posterous

MamboHG_Intro_-_Medium.m4v (30014 KB)

Esquire's Sexiest Woman Alive - Spicing Things Up a Bit!

What Have I been Working on Lately?

I have spent the last few months pulling together a bunch of thoughts and ideas to help people lead healthier and more active lives using online social networks and gaming dynamics. I want to encourage people to take small steps to improve their lives and have fun doing it. Almost five years ago I took a few small steps to change my life. I admitted I needed to change and asked for help. I took a few small steps that led me to a rich (i.e. full not wealthy!) and fulfilling life. Realizing that so many people want to make a change but don’t necessarily have the tools and encouragement to do so,  I founded Mambo Health Gaming with a former Capstone Partners colleague, Tim Schmidt, this past summer Here’s what we’re working on:

 

What does Mambo do?

MamboHG develops and markets online and mobile health games that entertain, challenge, encourage and motivate people to take incremental positive steps to lead healthy lives. Our portfolio of products combines well-researched health behavior change theories with recent developments in online social networks, social media, and gaming tactics to sustain engagement and build healthy habits. Our products utilize goal setting and tracking tools, peer support, competition, education, entertainment, visualization and rewards to produce positive long term behavior change.

 

We have a number of products at various stages of development. Our goal is to have a portfolio of products delivered over various platforms targeting different demographics and, potentially different chronic diseases. Our products range from simple reminder applications for mobile devices incorporating geo-location elements to casual social games played on Facebook. Each of our games will be designed to encourage small positive actions as the building blocks of developing healthy habits.

 

Below is a brief summary of some of our product initiatives:

 

MamboWalk – An Everyday Walk-a-thon

MamboHG plans to quickly develop and launch a social networking product aimed at

complementing the fund-raising capabilities of thousands of non-for-profit organizations and help millions of volunteer fund-raisers to improve their health. The platform is a virtual walk-a-thon called MamboWalk where fund-raisers raise money for the charities of their choice for each step they take every day. The MamboWalk website will connect with Facebook and will allow users to sign up to choose their organization, recruit sponsors, create teams, report their progress and view their accomplishments.

 

Participants will log their steps using either connected pedometers (e.g. iPhone apps) or manually entering their steps recorded on an unconnected pedometer. Fund-raisers will be rewarded with points and badges for achieving certain milestones, such as building teams, raising funds and accomplishing walking activities.

 

HabitMaker- Small actions to build healthy habits

HabitMaker is a mobile device application designed to encourage healthy behavior changes through simple reminders throughout the day. Users receive tasks and reminders to take small actions that improve their health and create awareness to build healthy habits. Users receive points for completion of the tasks. Users can customize their reminders for specific goals or even to break bad habits. Think of it as the digital string on the finger.

 

FutureMe - A Facebook game for health

FutureME is a comprehensive online, interactive health platform consisting of two major

components: a consumer facing website and an online social networking game. The FutureME platform includes an interactive social networking game that links the accomplishment of real life goals with a reward system based on the accumulation of virtual currency with value in a virtual online gaming world. The FutureME program is intended to require the user to post and record real life activities in order to play the

game online thus encouraging positive behavior changes.

 

Crystal Ball - Creating your own Self Fulfilling Prophecy

Crystal Ball uses the power of creating a Vision Board to see the types of results you are interested in attaining through small changes in behavior. It will engage a player to create a picture of the future healthy lifestyle they want to attain.

 

 

What's new, interesting, or different about what your company will do?

MamboHg is positioned at the intersection of three important trends: social media, gaming and health information to collect and use this data in a positive way. MamboHG’s approach is to focus on changing health behavior by capitalizing on the dramatic changes in the way people connect and interact with each other using social media. Now, more data can be captured, analyzed and shared in ways that were unimaginable just a few years ago. While there is no silver bullet to change health behavior, we approach health behavior in a fun way. We talk about people and games and rewards and encouragement from friends. We talk about entertainment and celebration. We don't talk about patients and compliance and protocols and requirements. We bring games to health.

 

Millions of people around the world suffer from poor health and wellness decisions and behaviors. Two thirds of Americans alone are overweight or obese. These trends, combined with an aging population are driving up healthcare costs globally. It is estimated that over 50% of all healthcare expenditures are associated with unhealthy lifestyles and are therefore avoidable. Most experts agree that a major part of the solution to rising health care costs is an emphasis on prevention and lifestyle changes.

Back Bay Walk in Snowstorm

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7 Tips to Get Started Walking for Fitness

Here’s MamboWalk’s latest blog post:

 "7 Tips to Get Started Walking for Fitness"

 See more: http://digg.com/news/lifestyle/7_tips_to_get_started_walking_for_fitness

5 Key Ways To Change the Way You Think

Here’s a link to a great post by John Assaraf entitled ‘How to Make Affirmations Work” :

http://www.johnassaraf.com/law-of-attraction-2/how-to-make-affirmations-work-for-you/

In it he summarizes key ways to recondition your brain. They are:

1) Create a new, powerful, physical and mental vision. Make your goals emotionally rich and crystal clear.

2) Create powerful declarations and affirmations in each category—health, wealth, relationships, business and spirituality—that support your new vision.

3) Use material, which may include written, auditory, visual and subliminal pieces. Through repetition—affirmations on audio, visualization and meditation—you will begin to replace your old beliefs and habits with new ones.

4) Maintain a daily routine of reconditioning techniques: For five to seven minutes, three times a day, use photos, vision boards, mental movies, self-guided imagery, real-life movies, and recorded and laminated affirmations.

5) Practice meditation daily. Meditation can increase your focus and concentration, increase your power of concentration and attune the brain to receive the answers, tools and resources needed to fulfill that vision.

We need a vision for our lives, or else nothing we do means anything. No matter what your current circumstances, if you can imagine something better for yourself, you can create it.

My Favorite Affirmation

Charles F. Haanel wrote The Master Key System in 1912 as a correspondence course and later published it as a book in 1917. In that work, he has created a step by step guide to tapping the power of thought as the means of achieving success. The principles he presents are the building blocks of utilizing the Law of Attraction.

In this book he presents an affirmation which I have used many times with great success. It calms me when I'm stressed and helps me to overcome my fears and anxieties. I don't know why this affirmation has such power for me, but it does work!

Here it is:

I am whole, perfect, strong, powerful, loving, harmonious and happy. That's it. Commit it to memory and recite when you need a boost.

Using Social Media for Positive Health Behavior Change

I’m the founder of a company called Mambo Health Gaming, which I founded six months ago to help people make positive health and wellness changes in their lives. As a veteran healthcare investment banker, I am well aware of the challenges facing our healthcare system. Many of these problems are associated with poor lifestyle decisions, accounting for over 50% of all health costs! These health behaviors can be positively altered, significantly reducing the need for costly treatments and substantially improving the quality of life of those who embrace healthy living. I also know from personal experience that it is possible to make dramatic changes in lifestyle and habits. Health change is not about willpower and incredible discipline. It all starts with a belief that change is possible, likely and achievable. Belief that you will be successful is the most important determinant of change. If someone thinks that they can’t do it, that they don’t have the ability, that it’s too hard, that for some reason they are genetically predisposed to failure, they will fail. We are designing health and wellness applications the encourage people to believe change is possible.

I started MamboHG because I believe that the solution to our healthcare crisis lies with the individual. It’s not about the next new drug or procedure. It’s not about all about cutting reimbursement or designing new devices or streamlining the administrative costs or adding more IT. We are getting fatter and sicker. It’s a fact. But I don’t think it’s because we are lazy or undisciplined. Health behavior change is complicated and well researched. There is no silver bullet. It’s a combination of factors. At MamboHg we are designing products using the tools and concepts that have helped people make positive changes in their health for decades.  What is different is that we are taking advantage of changes in the way people interact using social media and gaming.

Our applications incorporate key components of health behavior change drawn from a number of well-established theories:

1.            Health Belief Model

2.            Stages of Change Model or Transtheoretical Model

3.            Consumer Information Processing Model

4.            Theory of Reasoned Action

5.            Social Learning Theory or Social Cognitive Theory

6.            Social Network and Support Theories

In particular our applications incorporate the following features to effect positive health change:

1.            Recognize the need for change and that change is possible

2.            A plan of action consisting of small daily actions creating new healthy habits and eliminating unwanted habits

3.            Accountability and responsibility for one’s actions

4.            Realistic and sequential goals

5.            Encouragement and peer support

6.            Celebration of  milestones

7.            Rewards

8.            Competition

9.            Fun, engaging and entertaining

10.          Service to others

Our first product is MamboWalk, an everyday walkathon designed to encourage people to increase their daily step count while raising money for their favorite charity. Participants join teams and recruit friends to help them achieve their goals while earning points for prizes.

Please check our website: www.mambowalk.com and register to receive more information.

Eight Gifts That Don't Cost A Cent

by Author Unknown

1. THE GIFT OF LISTENING... - But, you must REALLY listen. No interrupting, no daydreaming, no planning your response. Just listen.

2. THE GIFT OF AFFECTION... - Be generous with appropriate hugs, kisses, pats on the back and handholds. Let these small actions demonstrate the love you have for family and friends.

3. THE GIFT OF LAUGHTER... - Clip cartoons. Share articles and funny stories. Your gift will say, "I love to laugh with you."

4. THE GIFT OF A WRITTEN NOTE... - It can be a simple "Thanks for the help" note or a full sonnet. A brief, handwritten note may be remembered for a lifetime, and may even change a life.

5. THE GIFT OF A COMPLIMENT... - A simple and sincere, "You look great in red," "You did a super job", or "That was a wonderful meal" can make someone's day.

6. THE GIFT OF A FAVOR... - Every day, go out of your way to do something kind.

7. THE GIFT OF SOLITUDE... - There are times when we want nothing better than to be left alone. Be sensitive to those times and give the gift of solitude to others.

8. THE GIFT OF A CHEERFUL DISPOSITION... - The easiest way to feel good is to extend a kind word to someone, really it's not that hard, to say, "Hello" or "Thank You".

We give and receive gifts each and every day. Gifts do not have to be monetary in value, the thoughts above brings out this point. How many gifts can you give this week?

Just letting someone know that you are thinking of them is truly a gift. Find quotes at thinking of you quotes to share with someone you are thinking of.

 

 

Achieve Health Benefits Simply - Measure Your Steps and Set Daily Step Goals

 

10000 STEP CHALLENGE

Health and fitness researchers are finding that people can achieve health benefits by exercising at a less intense level than previously thought. In other words, who is sedentary most of the day but who jogs over the lunch hour may expend as much cumulative energy as someone who is active the entire day.

Two studies published in the Journal of the American Medical Association have confirmed that this lifestyle approach can be as effective as a traditional exercise program. Many doctors and researchers have found that wearing a pedometer is a great way to track your daily activity and inspire you to move more on days you have been sedentary.

To achieve good health, strive to take 10000 steps a day (the equivalent of walking roughly five miles). A person who walks 10,000 steps a day will burn between 2000 and 3500 extra Calories per week, which will result in achieving a vastly better health profile and longer lifespan.

If your goal is to lose weight, start slow and gradually work yourself up to walking 12000 to 15000 steps a day. Walking is a great way to lose weight—and keep it off.

Whether your goal is to achieve good health or to lose weight, put your pedometer on when you dress in the morning, and don't take it off until bedtime (unless, of course, you take a shower somewhere in between). Every step you take throughout your day counts!

 

 

10 Rules for Maintaining a Loving Relationship (for Men)

Thanks to my friend Charlie for this excellent advice learned from his Dad:

1. Compliment her everyday - whether you want to or not; if you forget you owe her two the next day 2. Acknowledge that house cleaning is horrible - do some of the house cleaning - for me I try to do the dishes when I am around and help keep things organized in the house 3. Don t avoid an argument - she doesn t want to be married to a wimp but at the same time let her win at least some of the time 4. Make her laugh often 5. Touch her affectionately everyday 6. Fix something in the abode every week - big projects on the weekend go along way 7. Demand to be treated like a king as long as you can demonstrate you are her slave 8. Watch your waistline - this is particularly true if you were a serious athlete 9. Be a doting father to the children but in a fire get her out first 10. Make a tremendous effort with the in laws