Monthly Archives: October 2014

8 Strange Candies You Won’t See Trick-Or-Treating

By Mike Majlak

We all remember the excitement that built up around Halloween when we were kids. Trying on costumes, carving pumpkins, maybe even a haunted hayride- all added to the anticipation surrounding many children’s favorite holiday. Now as adults, much of that excitement comes from “manning” the door and handing out candy to children that might remind us of a time when life was just a little more carefree than it is now.

Carving pumpkins is just so hot right now.

The night of Halloween itself, when most kids go trick-or-treating, holds the highest level of tradition, ritual, and intrigue. Every time the doorbell rings and we must pry ourselves off the beloved couch, we feel just a little bit of that youthful energy so freely exhibited one crisp night each and every autumn.

Much of the excitement for adults on Halloween comes along with choosing which candy we will hand out to the kids of the neighborhood. We all remember being kids and how we loved Old Miss Winters for giving out King Size Snickers bars- or how we skipped right past the next-door neighbor Frank’s house because he just gave out those stupid Smarties that nobody could possibly like. There have always been the Halloween mainstays- the Snickers bars, the candy corn, the Sweet Tarts. But here are 8 strange candies that you may not have ever seen- and maybe for good reason…

8. Sigmund Freud Head Pops
Lollipops shaped to look just like Sigmund Freud and taste like watermelon- but operate free of any of those pesky copays or sticky coinsurance situations.

Sigmund Freud Lollipops

7. Chicken Sucker Candy
A lollipop in the shape of a rotisserie chicken that has a very strange orange flavor and eerily offers none of the same protein advantages as your normal chicken breast.

Chicken Sucker Candy

6. Forked Eyeball Suckers
Not really sure who’s idea this one was, but it’s pretty gruesome. Cherry and raspberry flavored eyeballs on the end of a popular kitchen utensil begs the question- “What the fork?!”

Hey man, you got something in your eye. It's a fork.

Forked Eyeballs Candy

5. Idaho Spud

Ok, so this one really isn’t that strange. A chunk of chocolate filled with marshmallow and sprinkled with coconut. I could actually go for one of these right now…

Idaho Spud Chocolate

4. Zombie Food Chocolates
Small morsels of milk chocolate molded in the shape of human brains, feet, and anatomically correct hearts that ooze red caramel when bitten into. These are sure to satisfy the Walking Dead fan in the family.

Zombie Food Chocolates

3. Box of Boogers Gummies
A terrifyingly disgusting box of gummies that pushes the envelope of what is even edible. They even feature three distinct flavors: Snottermelon, Sour Green Boogy, and Lemon Loogy. If you somehow have these for Halloween, you picked a real winner! If gummies are your thing but you’d prefer something a bit more healthy and beneficial for your body, you might want to shop at Green Roads for their edible CBD collection.

Box of Boogers Gummies

2. Gummy Flesh Fries
Watermelon flavored gummies made to resemble sawed-off human fingers. You may want someone to offer you a “hand” with eating these. I guess that’s not really that funny. Whatever.

Flesh Fries Gummies

1. Meatball Bubble Gum
And coming in at the number one spot is bubble gum that tastes like bubble gum- but looks like meatballs. Yes, like meatballs.

Meatball Bubble Gum

Thanks to guest contributor Mike Majlak for bringing these ridiculous candies to Lifeonacouch.org. Would you ever try any of these? Let us know!

–Shawny
Founder, Lovesac & Life on a Couch

The Coziest Way to Change Your Couch…and Your Life

Get Off the Couch!

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A Shawn Nelson entrepreneur & motivational speaking event; Long Beach Convention Center, October 2014. Congrats to Jason Knight of Fredericksburg, VA, for winning a brand new Lovesac Supersac upon joining the Lifeonacouch.org email list!

I got to spend this past weekend in Orange County, California-one of my favorite places on the planet (having lived in Huntington Beach, opening up Lovesac stores circa 2002). I’m flattered to have been invited there to deliver a speech to the NGLV (Next Generation Laser Focused Visionaries) a group of young entrepreneurs, some of who are already making six-figure incomes while still in their teens! Events like these often require the services of individuals who make motivational speeches for a living, much like sports speakers.

Speaking in Long Beach at the NGLV gathering.

I call this speech, “Get Off the Couch.” This is because I believe that the big divide-the major difference between entrepreneurs and people who wish they had their own business is that entrepreneurs actually get off the couch, usually right then, and go make something happen. Whether it be that they buy snapchat shares, or meet that start-up company, they have the motivation to always be thinking about their next move, their next deal. They do this by getting things like Your Virtual Office London yourvirtualofficelondon.co.uk for registered offices, researching their product and the other brands that do the same product, and going out and pitching their ideas to big companies and businesses. Entrepreneurs do this over and over again in business and in life. They’re always (actually) doing something-not just talking about it. For example, most of the technology that hides behind businesses – you never hear of it. Take Zenefits and their software to ensure ACA Compliance. I hate to imagine how many businesses are not ACA Compliance, but you never hear it spoke about in entrepreneurial circles.

I typically incorporate a whole slew of “Shawnisms” into the telling of “my Lovesac story” with the purpose of making the entrepreneurial journey real and actionable for everybody. I think that the Lovesac story really resonates with just about anyone because it is so simple. I am not a computer programmer or even industrial engineer. I just thought it would be funny to make a really big beanbag, and I did it. Anyone can do that.

I’ll spare you all of the Shawnisms that I preach and live by-you can find them in the book (someday). But I will offer up my two summary pieces of advice that, in my mind, are the key to success for any would-be entrepreneur in any field:

1. Read, Read Read (see my post from last week!)

2. Network!

I know that this advice perhaps seems vague and not specific enough. But every business, every industry, every person, every idea and every situation is so different that the actual strategies and tactics that worked for me are very unlikely to work for you.

Tiffany and I with Branson on Necker Island.

But, there has been so much written on the subject (hence my “Read, read, read” advice from last week) and there are so many accomplished people in this world who have done “it” before, that I truly believe: if entrepreneurs would just do these two things, religiously, they will most likely find success-or at least avoid so many mistakes and so much heartache.

As for networking, a good friend of mine wrote the book on that one. Check out “Up Your Game,” by David Bradford. But put simply, I recommend that you find someone smart, everyday, to take to lunch and learn from. Through this process you will find yourself a mentor or two…and mentors will change your life. To be totally honest, I have always been very bad at the networking part of things. I am classically too self-reliant. I am too headstrong. Some might call me cocky. Because of this I have a hard time asking for help. I recognize this, and at this point I almost force myself to reach out, ask for lunches and seek out people who are smart and successful.

Richard Branson and my ridiculous hair.

One of the most influential mentors in my own life, of course, is Richard Branson. Having spent two months with him, traveling around the world filming The Rebel Billionaire, and then a few more months as President of Virgin, Worldwide, I got to know Richard pretty well. In fact, at the time, I don’t think that I realized how rare it was to spend so much time with him. I wish I would have appreciated it more. Speaking to this group of young entrepreneurs, I couldn’t help but wonder who among them might make the effort to connect with me, and try to learn whatever they might from all of (the many) mistakes I have made. In case your wondering: How does it make someone like me feel to have young or inexperienced people pump me for information, or try to connect with me? The answer is-I’m always flattered, and I would be a hypocrite if I didn’t support them. I’ll always go out of my way to take a phone call, an email, or make a personal connection with anyone who is truly ambitious. So thank you to tall of you in attendance and thank you to The Dillons at NGLV for having me out! I had a great time and I always learn just as much from these experiences as I might have to share.

Deep thought on Necker Island.

In the end, the reason that these two basic principles are the absolute best and most comprehensive advice I can give to entrepreneurs is because they are all-encompassing. Between the best books and the best people are all of the advice and answers you will ever need. No matter what the industry or what the situation, elements of it have all been done before and it is simply cheaper to learn from other’s mistakes instead of your own.

Make it happen!

– Shawny

My Top 10 Business Books of All Time (so far)

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As an entrepreneur, I’m pretty happy with my career so far. I have made sensible decisions and researched everything I do with care. I looked into the demand in the market before starting my business. I read an avatrade review before going into investing. I have saved money, just in case any of my ventures go wrong. And I get asked all of the time for advice, or words of wisdom-how did I do it? I have a lot to say about what I think for business, leadership and design…but what is the single best piece of advice I can give prospective entrepreneurs? Drumroll please…

…Read. Read from the best books. Read from the best business books. The next time you sit on your couch to watch some TV or play a game-read instead.

“Steve Jobs” by Walter Isaacson

Ugh. What a buzz-kill. It almost seems like a cop-out right? But, in all honesty, business is complicated. It is multi-faceted and requires a lot of different skills and abilities to navigate. It is also very different from industry to industry and there is really just no getting around that. When it comes to investing, something like forex apps uk can be a great resource to make informed investments, but it still requires knowledge. But believe it or not, there is very little that is new. There are very few things that people haven’t done-in one form or another, and then gone on to write about it. Apply this one piece of advice, and you will certainly have enough information and even motivation at your fingertips to build something great, and even avoid many of the pitfalls that would otherwise beset you. Make sure to learn as much as you can before starting your own business, this will allow you to have a much higher chance of being successful. However, business owners don’t need to know everything. There is always the option of outsourcing help as and when it is needed. For example, a lot of businesses tend to outsource their IT support when their systems go down. By using an IT company like https://sphereit.uk/it-support-london/, businesses can ensure that these technical setbacks don’t last long, allowing them to get on with their work shortly after.

So on with it. Shawn Nelson’s top 10 book list:

10. Steve Jobs, by Walter Isaacson
9. Ben Franklin, by Walter Isaacson
8. How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie
7. Influence, by Robert B. Cialdini
6. Switch, by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
5. Good Strategy, Bad Strategy, by Richard P. Rumelt
4. 22 Immutable Laws of Branding, by Al Ries
3. Purple Cow, by Seth Godin
2. The Advantage, by Patrick Lencioni
1. Good to Great, by Jim Collins

Shawn Nelson’s favorite business book of all time

Honestly, I could probably create 10 different “Top 10” lists of my favorite books depending on which industry we are talking about. But I feel that this list is my most general one. Reading (and applying) the wisdom found within the books on the above list will be game-changing to anyone in business, entrepreneurship, leadership, or management in any capacity.

So find a nice couch to curl up on (I recommend one of mine) and read! Reading these days can come in many forms. I’m mostly a real book kind-of-guy. I like to underline and write notes. I like to collect them and fill shelves with them. And I am a painfully slow reader, by the way. But small flatscreen TVs are so cheap now that I bought one to mount at eye-level in front of my treadmill with my laptop connected, and I now can read at a full jog, no problem. Its amazing how quickly a workout goes when your mind is on something else. I am a TV and movie freak-but with a bit of discipline, I am always happier when I choose books instead. And if real books or Nooks aren’t your thing, then get the audio version and listen while flying, driving, or jogging. I do it all.

— Shawny