As a consultant and professional speaker, I often travel by myself and frequently dine alone. This affords me the opportunity to combine two of my favorite pastimes: eating great food and watching people.

One night at dinner in an ocean-side resort, I noticed a man and a woman seated across the room. It was a beautiful image and it caught my attention. The couple sat in silhouette, framed by a large picture window, while the setting sun turned the background shades of yellow, orange, magenta and deep purple. 

Then I began to observe the couple’s body language. During the course of the meal, I watched the man lean toward the woman—and saw her respond by pulling away from him. He leaned toward her again—and again she pulled away. The more the man leaned forward, the more his dinner companion would tilt back. By dessert, he was almost sprawled across the table and she was practically falling off her chair. I couldn’t hear a word they were saying, but it was perfectly obvious that whatever he was proposing—she wasn’t signing on!

The funny part was, the man seemed totally oblivious to the nonverbal signals the woman was so clearly sending. He would have been much more successful if he had (literally) backed off.

Last month I was reminded of this episode as I sat at another restaurant watching two men at the bar. This time I was close enough to overhear their conversation, so I knew that one man was in sales and the other was a potential client. By the time they’d finished their drinks, I also knew the deal was dead. And it wasn’t anything that was said. In the midst of a normal “getting-to-know-you” conversation, I watched the salesman move so close to his prospect that the client began, very slowly, to inch away. This went on for some time, but finally the client could stand it no longer. He excused himself to make a phone call – and left the restaurant shortly afterward.

One of the easiest mistakes to make during a business encounter with someone is to misjudge how much space the other person needs.

“So, what does ‘sustainable’ actually mean?”

When asked this, I always pause to consider my response, as there are so many things that live beneath the “sustainable roof.” In fact, I believe everything has a sustainable counterpart: transportation, electricity, clothes, vacations, and yes, especially food. 

My passion for environmental stewardship led me into a career in the “green” industry – and to become an expert in sustainability! To share my passion and learning experiences with you, below is my personal glossary of terms when it comes to sustainable food:

Antibiotic free: Animals that are given antibiotics to promote growth and compensate for unfit living circumstances rather than for therapeutic purposes like they were developed for.  There are negative repercussions for people and the environment. The use of antibiotics in animals is now causing a resistance to antibiotic treatment in humans.  Due to runoff, antibiotics are now showing up in water systems throughout the U.S. 

Hormone free: Animals are given hormones to make them grow to market size much faster than they would naturally.  There are negative repercussions for people and the animals.  These hormones are ingested by humans.  People are growing increasingly concerned the hormones are causing cancer and early puberty, though little research has been done.  The animals that are being pumped with hormones are growing at an unnatural speed.

Artisanal: This term is meant to imply that a product is made in a non-industrialized, small scale type production.  As there is no legal definition for this term, it can be applied to any item - regardless of how it was produced. 

Being under the burden of debt can be very difficult most of the times. Constant creditor calls at different times of the day can be quite harassing. Apart from this the constant idea of paying back your debts can be stressful. Not paying back your debts in proper time can also affect your credit score negatively.  You should start taking some steps on your own to facilitate debt relief with the help of debt advice. These are mentioned below.

1. Plan a budget and follow it – The first and foremost thing you should do is plan a budget. Spending unnecessarily can lead to an increase your debts. You should make a weekly or monthly list of the items that are required to buy. You should take this list with you when you are going for shopping so that you don’t spend extra money on anything else.
2. Categorize the immediate necessary items – Even amongst the items that are necessary you may not need to buy some of them immediately. Say an air conditioner is a necessary requirement for the summer months, but if it is the end of winter you can still wait a month or two before you buy that. Instead buy the things that you require at the present time.
3. Reduce your trips to the mall – This is one of the best ways to save money. If you cut down on the number of times you go to the mall, you won’t end up buying too many clothes, accessories, shoes or other such items. Don’t buy any garment that you don’t need, but just think looks very appealing. Also lesser trips to the mall mean you can save on transportation costs.
4. Avoid eating outside – If you eat outside in restaurants too much, or order food from outside then you tend to overspend. Try to eat at home as much as possible. Also when you go for grocery shopping take a list of the items that you need and go with little time in hand. In this way you won’t have the time to consider other items to buy.
5. Try to find a second source of income – Increasing your income can also help a lot in paying off your debts faster. The more monthly payments you make, the faster your debt is paid off. You can scan your house and auction the items that you don’t require anymore for people to buy. Also you can try out online money making options such as affiliate marketing, blogging, online tutorials and so on in your free time.
6. Try to use cash or debit card – Most of the times when you use credit cards you tend to lose the track of how much you are spending because of which you end up in a debt. Try to use cash or a debit card whenever you are shopping for anything so that you can keep an account of your expenditure.

If you follow the above mentioned tips you can save enough money and also earn money to pay back your debts and assist in debt relief.