How to live life in lockdowns

Some people take out the rubbish dressed as dinosaurs amid a shortage of facemasks, others play music or sing from their balconies to cheer up their neighbours; and zoo or aquarium employees have allowed some animals to have a field day by letting them roam around empty buildings.

Another side effect of countries around the world imposing complete lockdowns is that air pollution levels are now considerably lower.

Wild animals have returned to the much clearer waters of Venice’s canals, usually packed with tourists, after Italy closed the country to foreign tourists and imposed a lockdown.

One thing that I think has been sorely underestimated is how serious a mental strain the virus puts on each and every one of us.  The uncertainty is relentless. Attempting to protect yourself and your loved ones when the science is changing and while you're worrying about your work, your children's schooling, and your day-to-day life is exhausting. You will find yourself at home trying to read a spreadsheet when your kids are fighting in the living room day after day after day. In my own residential complex, I have seen people break out into shouting matches with security guards. Couples quarreling. A woman wandering aimlessly in her pajamas carrying a vacuum cleaner.  Everyone is on edge. Everyone is trying to manage their own situation.  And there is no respite.

So find ways to nourish your mental health and not feel overly confined. If you have a backyard, sit outside. Take a walk if you can.  Call your family and friends. Know that your patience will be tested. 

How to earn income online

Earning money has always been associated with traditional 'offline' ways found in the real world.

With the Internet taking over a large part of our lives, more people are looking to ways to earn money online to increase their financial inflows.

However, you have to be careful of the platform that you opt for. While there are numerous ways can help you earn money online, some of these could end up being scams, hence you have to be careful. Also, do not expect to earn a huge amount quickly when using online avenues to earn money.

Here are few such online platforms, websites, and resources that can help you earn money online.

1. Freelancing
Freelancing has always been a popular way to earn money online and the Internet has a plethora of options. There are several websites offering freelance tasks for people with varying skills. All you need to do is to create your account, browse through the listings, and apply for the task that suits you. Some websites may even require you to create a personal listing with the details of your skillset, so that interested clients can contact you directly. Outfiverr.com, upwork.com, freelancer.com, and worknhire.com are some websites that provide freelance jobs. You can earn anywhere between $5 and $100 through these websites.

But remember, you will only be paid once you complete your task and it has been approved by your client. This may even mean revising the work several times unless the requirements of your clients are not met. Some sites may ask you to set up a PayPal account, as most clients prefer to make payments through it.

2. Start your own website
There is enough material available online to help create your own website. This includes choosing the domain, templates, and the design for your website. Once ready to service the visitors with the relevant content, sign up for Google Adsense, which when appear on your website and clicked by visitors help you make money. The more the traffic you get on your website, the more will be the potential for higher earnings.

3. Affiliate marketing
Once your website is up and running, opt for affiliate marketing by allowing companies to insert web links on to your site. When visitors to your site buy products or services by clicking on such links, you earn out from it.

 4. Surveys and searches and reviews
There are several websites offering money to undergo online surveys, carry out online searches, and write reviews on products. To get the credit, one needs to disclose certain information to them including one's banking details. This is why you should use this route with utmost care. Some of them may even ask you to register with them before working on projects. The most important watch out in such projects is to stay away from websites offering money that appears too good to be true. Be careful while evaluating the reputation of the website as many of them could be a scam. Most sites promote businesses showing copies of cheque payments which may have been given to the middlemen only.

5. Virtual assistantship
Doing all the corporate stuff from one's home is what a virtual assistant (VA) does. VAs basically work remotely with their clients and manage the aspects of their business that they are too busy to handle themselves. When you work as a virtual assistant, you can choose to work as an employee or you can set up your own business.

VAs are skilled, home-based professionals that offer companies, businesses, and entrepreneurs administrative support. Some of the major areas of work includes making phone calls, email correspondence, Internet research, data entry, scheduling appointments, editing, writing, bookkeeping, marketing, blog management, proofreading, project management, graphic design, tech support, customer service, event planning, and social media management.

How to overcome bad habits

Habits become hard to break because they are deeply wired, by constant repetition, into our brains. And when you add pleasure to them — like you have with drugs or porn, for example — the pleasure centers of the midbrain get fired up as well.

But habits are also patterns of behavior and it is the breaking of patterns that is the key to breaking the habits themselves. Usually there is a clear trigger to start the pattern. Sometimes the triggers are emotional — the wanting a drink or cigarette or nail-biting driven by stress. Other times the trigger is more simply situational and environmental: You see the TV and couch as soon as you hit the front door, and now your brain connects the dots, and eating dinner in front of the TV on the couch is not far behind. More often it is a combination of both — the mix of social anxiety and the party environment leads to your heavier drinking.

But these patterns are also usually wrapped in larger ones: This is where routines come to run our lives. Here is where, as soon as you hit the front door after work, the dumping the shoes, the grabbing a beer, the sitting in front of the TV with dinner flow together without much thought, just as your morning work-break automatically leads to you and your friend Kate going outside and chatting while you each have your mid-morning cigarette.

Overall these routine behaviors are evolutionary wise and practically good. They keep us from having to reinvent the wheel of our daily lives by making an infinite number of decisions all day long, which in turn provides us with more brain-space to think about other things. The downside of these routinized patterns comes when those patterns land more in the bad column than the good one.

Customer success stories

In many ways, customer success stories are a marketer’s dream form of content. When used effectively, they merge the qualitative power of storytelling with the evidence-based pillar of hard data. They allow you to present real-world use cases and results that shift your product from abstraction to physicality in the minds of the readers.

However, in order to accomplish these goals, a customer success story must be well composed and positioned to provide the most value for the intended audience. Unlike some marketing and sales collateral, which can be assembled with a few hours of graphic design work, customer success stories generally involve several days or weeks of research and composition, making it paramount that they are optimally used to service your organizational goals.

Creating customer success stories has been a time-honoured tradition in marketing for decades, but the digital revolution has created opportunities for companies to take their case study materials to a new level. Currently, nearly two-thirds of B2B marketers indicate that customer case studies are effective tools in their content marketing toolbox.

The main source of their efficacy is their position as a powerful form of social proof, taking a prospect through a journey that features a real-world problem and presenting a concrete solution. When these compelling narratives are backed by reliable data points and finished with a strong pitch and call-to-action, they provide the client with a compelling list of reasons to move to the next stage in the buying funnel.

Broadly speaking, there are a few different types of customer stories that you can use depending upon the specific business realities of your situation. You may choose to employ only one type of success story, or you may incorporate multiple categories. You may reserve one type for certain product lines or even mix and match for a single product to present a range of stories.

Text-based stories
The most traditional form of customer success story is the text-based narrative. These accounts generally read like normal case studies by laying out a problem, describing the solution that the customer implemented, and detailing the results to frame the narrative. In most situations, it’s preferable to include graphical representations of data at strategic intervals throughout the piece, as they draw the reader’s eyes to relevant information and provide memorable touch points through the course of the story. Text-based customer success stories are typically (but not always) written as third-person accounts.

Share yout secrets

You keep secrets from each other; you keep secrets from yourselves. Secrets bond you; secrets drive you apart. Keeping a secret can be a burden, or it can delight you. Sharing secrets can be a relief, whether it’s with your old friend or new therapist.

For children, learning to keep secrets is a vital developmental milestone. In one study, researchers asked kids who were three, four, and five to play hide-and-seek and to keep a secret about a surprise. Abilities to do the two tasks correlated strongly with each other, and with the kids’ social cognition. At three, the kids were fairly hopeless at these tasks; by five, most of them could keep a secret, and had the cognitive development to match.

Which secrets should you not be entirely alone with? Secrets motivated by shame. The research is clear: shame is highly correlated with addiction, depression and violence. The first step away from shame can be as close as a shared secret and the words “me too.” As explained so eloquently in 2012, “If you put shame in a Petri dish, it needs three things to grow exponentially: secrecy, silence and judgment. If you put the same amount of shame in a Petri dish and douse it with empathy, it can’t survive.”

If no trusted confidante comes to mind, then it may be appropriate to share that “shameful” secret with someone new. Just being listened to by a kind and empathetic stranger can sometimes provide relief, says suicide prevention counselor Kevin Brigg. And if you’re not yet ready to share your secret out loud, the act of writing it down and turning it into shared art can sometimes be transformative.

Infographics

When a complex piece of information needs to be described quickly, precisely and clearly, a graphic is suitable. Infographics are used for signs, maps and data presentations. Scientists, technical writers, mathematicians, educators and statisticians ease the process of developing, organizing, recording and communicating conceptual information by using infographics.

Infographics are used for the following reasons:

To communicate a message,
To present a lot of data or information in a way that is compact and easy to comprehend,
To analyze data in order to discover cause-and-effect relationships,
To periodically monitor the route of certain parameters.

Infographics are used in many fields: government, the corporate sector, medicine, engineering, research and development and so on. Certain types of infographics are targeted to people with specialized knowledge or expertise. It is possible to classify infographics according to five categories.

Infographics need to convey information clearly, but they can still be creative. Likewise, infographics that capture the imagination of readers can also be comprehensible.

Infographics surround us: we see them on TV, in books, in newspapers, on road signs and in manuals. The Internet is flooded with infographics related to a range of fields—from science and technology to society and culture.

Gift ideas

A gift or a present is an item given to someone without the expectation of payment or anything in return. An item is not a gift if that item is already owned by the one to whom it is given. Although gift-giving might involve an expectation of reciprocity, a gift is meant to be free. In many countries, the act of mutually exchanging money, goods, etc. may sustain social relations and contribute to social cohesion. Economists have elaborated the economics of gift-giving into the notion of a gift economy. By extension the term gift can refer to any item or act of service that makes the other happier or less sad, especially as a favor, including forgiveness and kindness. Gifts are also first and foremost presented on occasions such as birthdays and holidays.

For couples, gifting can be especially enjoyable. You know what your partner loves, what small daily annoyances of theirs that you can solve with a thoughtful gift, and how much they'll appreciate knowing the gesture came from you.

Odds are you want to give them something wonderful — whatever your price range is. All you need is a little direction, and a few great options to choose from.

The top 5 best gifts for your girlfriend:
A beautiful candle from Otherland, a cool startup
A personalized gourmet coffee subscription from Driftaway Coffee
An Aquis towel that makes her hair dry faster
A gourmet Cozymeal cooking class with a renowned chef
A pair of Apple AirPods wireless earbuds

Tech support

Technical support (tech support) refers to a range services companies provide to their customers for products such as software, mobile phones, printers, and other electronic, mechanical or electromechanical products. Technical support services usually provide users with help in solving some common problems rather than providing training on how to use the product.

Technical support is usually delivered over telephone, via email, over chat (IM) or using special software or software extensions that the user can employ to directly contact tech support. Technical support representatives are very familiar with the ins and outs of the products for which they provide support. If there is a problem that cannot be solved by the tech support, it is escalated to the development team and logged as a bug that should be fixed by a future product update or the next product iteration.

There are a few key types of technical support:

Time and Material: This type of support is common in the tech industry. Also known as "break-fix" IT support, the payment of the materials and technician service charge falls upon the customer for a pre-negotiated rate.

Managed Services: This is usually given to large-scale customers rather than individual consumers. A list of well-defined services and performance indicators are provided to the customer on an ongoing basis for a fixed rate, which is agreed upon on contract. Services provided could be 24/7 monitoring of servers, 24/7 help desk and the like. This may include on-site visits when problems cannot be solved remotely.

Block Hours: This is a prepaid support system where the customer pays for a certain amount of time, which can be used per month or per year. This allows customers to use the hours flexibly without the hassle of paper work or multiple bills.

Internet stars

Someone who is known (either world-widely or nationally) through the internet, though mainly from Youtube. Many get hated especially if they breakthrough and be part of Hollywood business (Justin Bieber, Rebecca Black), but a lot are admired.

Most internet celebrities are comedians, singers, bloggers and, nowadays, pranksters. The singers part is where some haters grow, but the comedians get a lot of praise.

They usually start out good and funny, but after a few videos, they start to do anything they want and lose ideas/creativity. But people still like them. I admit, I'm one.
Janoskians, Chris Crocker (one of the first, most influential), Shane Dawson, Smosh, Nigahiga, MrTeddy, Kevjumba, Ray William Johnson, Perez Hilton, Jenna Marbles, Community Channel (Natalie Tran)...are examples of an internet celebrity.

An Internet celebrity (also known as a social media influencer) is a celebrity who has acquired or developed their fame and notability through the Internet. The rise of social media has helped people increase their outreach to a global audience.

 Internet celebrities may be recruited by companies for influencer marketing to advertise products to their fans and followers on their platforms. Internet celebrities often function as lifestyle gurus who promote a particular lifestyle or attitude.

In this role, they may be crucial influencers or multipliers for trends in genres including fashion, technology, video games, politics, and entertainment.

GIF's and memes

A GIF, or Graphical Interchange Format, is a bitmap image format that was invented on June 15 1987 by a US software writer called Steve Wilhite for CompuServe.

Gifs are highly compressed images that typically allow up to 8 bits per pixel for each image, which in total allow up to 256 colours across the image.

For comparison, a JPEG image can display up to 16 million colours and pretty much reaches the limits of the human eye.

Back when the internet was new, gifs were used extensively because they didn’t require much bandwidth.

A single gif file can feature multiple frames which are displayed in succession in order to create an animated clip, these can either be looped endlessly or just stop at the end of the sequence.

We tend to use animated gifs today as “Reaction Gifs”, they act as fun replies for conversations on apps like Facebook Messenger.

The main difference between an animated gif and a meme is that memes tend to be static images that make a topical or pop culture reference and animated gifs are, more simply, moving images.

You can find all the animated gif memes that your heart desires at website such as Giphy and Awesome Gifs.

As with most things, gifs and memes work better together. Grab an animated gif and stick some topical words on it et voilà, you have an animated meme.

History

In the past history has been justified for reasons we would no longer accept. For instance, one of the reasons history holds its place in current education is because earlier leaders believed that a knowledge of certain historical facts helped distinguish the educated from the uneducated; the person who could reel off the date of the Norman conquest of England (1066) or the name of the person who came up with the theory of evolution at about the same time that Darwin did (Wallace) was deemed superior—a better candidate for law school or even a business promotion. Knowledge of historical facts has been used as a screening device in many societies, from China to the United States, and the habit is still with us to some extent. Unfortunately, this use can encourage mindless memorization—a real but not very appealing aspect of the discipline.

History should be studied because it is essential to individuals and to society, and because it harbors beauty. There are many ways to discuss the real functions of the subject—as there are many different historical talents and many different paths to historical meaning. All definitions of history's utility, however, rely on two fundamental facts.

History Helps Us Understand People and Societies

In the first place, history offers a storehouse of information about how people and societies behave. Understanding the operations of people and societies is difficult, though a number of disciplines make the attempt.

An exclusive reliance on current data would needlessly handicap our efforts. How can we evaluate war if the nation is at peace—unless we use historical materials? How can we understand genius, the influence of technological innovation, or the role that beliefs play in shaping family life, if we don't use what we know about experiences in the past? Some social scientists attempt to formulate laws or theories about human behavior. But even these recourses depend on historical information, except for in limited, often artificial cases in which experiments can be devised to determine how people act.

Major aspects of a society's operation, like mass elections, missionary activities, or military alliances, cannot be set up as precise experiments. Consequently, history must serve, however imperfectly, as our laboratory, and data from the past must serve as our most vital evidence in the unavoidable quest to figure out why our complex species behaves as it does in societal settings. This, fundamentally, is why we cannot stay away from history: it offers the only extensive evidential base for the contemplation and analysis of how societies function, and people need to have some sense of how societies function simply to run their own lives.

Productive tips

Don’t overwhelm yourself. To-do lists often fail because we make them way too complex or the tasks are unequal. Some tasks will take a long time, others won’t take any time at all. This creates an unbalance in the way we distribute our time. What happens then is that our to-do list then becomes a procrastination tool. Yes, that’s right. Because then we do the easy stuff, and then become really distracted on the hard stuff.

Before you read one more article on how to be more productive, remember this:  Be kind to yourself and your mistakes.

You can’t expect to be more productive overnight.

You’ve probably spent years cultivating your work habits–both good and bad, consciously or subconsciously–and those won’t immediately change.

Small adjustments can lead to more lasting changes, but those may take time and discipline. It looks really easy when you’re reading a productivity article like this to think it’s easy. But it’s not. I’m not writing this from an expert point of view, but from a fellow worker in the fight against distraction.

So be patient and kind through the rough patches and try again. Okay, now we’re ready:

How To Be More Productive
1. Make a reasonable to-do list.
Don’t overwhelm yourself. To-do lists often fail because we make them way too complex or the tasks are unequal. Some tasks will take a long time, others won’t take any time at all. This creates an unbalance in the way we distribute our time. What happens then is that our to-do list then becomes a procrastination tool. Yes, that’s right. Because then we do the easy stuff, and then become really distracted on the hard stuff.

Don’t lie, you’ve done that before. So then you need to …

Your Daily To-Do List is Failing. Here Are 3 Strategies To Make It Better & Improve Productivity.

2. Set small goals for the tasks.
With every new project or assignment, the scope may seem too large. But once you start breaking it down and realizing what can be accomplished, you’ll notice how each part builds upon the other.

One of the easiest and most practical things you can do is to break down your marketing project or deliverable into smaller goals. What are the pieces and assets needed? Who do you need to talk to first? Break up these pieces before even setting timelines, and then estimate how long they’ll take you to accomplish. Understanding the scope of what’s being asked, putting the steps in place and then estimating the time needed will help you get a grasp of what’s being asked. Sometimes what seems like a big project won’t take much time at all, or vice versa.

Tracking your time, even if no one is asking you for it can help you understand your work habits and the time of day when you finish work most successfully. Tracking your time efficiently, knowing what your tech habits are, from when you check your email to how often you check your favorite websites or social media can affect your workday in a big way.

By re-arranging some of those things, you may be able to get more done. Tracking your time for a week or two will help you see where you spend your time, and will help you better estimate your goals from #1 a little bit better the next time around. The next time you’re asked to repeat a task, you’ll have a better sense of the amount of time needed.

You’ll also notice problem areas, where you tend to be less productive, or identify certain scheduling quirks that you can work around–such as weekly meetings or appointments or even when that one coworker comes by to chat for a few minutes.

Contests

A contest may require entrants to submit a photo, answer questions, respond to short writing prompts or complete any other action or task that can be judged on performance.

A contest is essentially a game of skill, and alongside sweepstakes they are the ideal type of promotions for businesses and brands to run.

The key difference between contests and sweepstakes, which are often referred to as giveaways, is that a contest is a skill-based promotion where winners are chosen on merit, while a sweepstakes or giveaway is a luck-based promotion where winners are chosen at random.

Prize promotions in the US and most other countries are regulated by no purchase necessary laws that essentially state that if promotion winners are randomly drawn you cannot ask users to make a purchase or provide other forms of consideration in order to enter your promotion.

Since contest winners are drawn based on merit instead of randomly, no purchase necessary laws are not applicable to contests and you are free to require the purchase of your product for entry. This includes getting users submit photos of themselves with your product, or write testimonials about their experience with it.

Troubleshooting guides

Troubleshooting is a systematic approach to problem solving that is often used to find and correct issues with complex machines, electronics, computers and software systems.

The first step in troubleshooting is gathering information on the issue, such as an undesired behavior or a lack of expected functionality. Other important information includes related symptoms and special circumstances that may be required to reproduce the issue.

Once the issue and how to reproduce it are understood, the next step might be to eliminate unnecessary components in the system and verify that the issue persists, to rule out incompatibility and third-party causes.

Continuing, assuming the issue remains, one might next check common causes. Depending on the particular issue and the troubleshooter’s experience, they may have some ideas. They may also check product documentation and/or conduct research on a support database or through a search engine.

After common causes are ruled out, the troubleshooter may resort to the more systematic and logical process of verifying the expected function of parts of a system. One common method is the split-half troubleshooting approach: With a problem resulting from a number of possible parts in series, one tests half-way down the line of components. If the middle component works, one goes to the middle of the remaining parts, approaching the end. If the test finds a problem at the mid-point, one does a split towards the start of the line until the problem part is found. The split-half process can save time in systems that depend on many components.

Once the problem part is identified, it may be adjusted, repaired or replaced as needed. Evidence of effective troubleshooting is indicated when the issue is no longer reproducible and function is restored one. 

The success of troubleshooting often depends on the thoroughness and experience of the troubleshooter. That said, the majority of those who develop tech savvy are likely to have friends, coworkers and family who call on them for help.

Automation

Automation is the creation of technology and its application in order to control and monitor the production and delivery of various goods and services. It performs tasks that were previously performed by humans.

Automation is being used in a number of areas such as manufacturing, transport, utilities, defense, facilities, operations and lately, information technology.

Automation can be performed in many ways in various industries. For example, in the information technology domain, a software script can test a software product and produce a report.

There are also various software tools available in the market which can generate code for an application. The users only need to configure the tool and define the process. In other industries, automation is greatly improving productivity, saving time and cutting costs.

Automation is evolving quickly and business intelligence in applications is a new form of high-quality automation. In the technology domain, the impact of automation is increasing rapidly, both in the software/hardware and machine layer.

 However, despite advances in automation, some manual intervention is always advised, even if the tool can perform most of the tasks.

Myth debunking

Debunking myths requires an understanding of the psychological research into misinformation. But getting your refutation out in front of lots of eyeballs is a whole other matter.

Here, I look at two contrasting case studies in debunking climate myths.

If you don’t do it right, you run the risk of actually reinforcing the myth. Fortunately, there are a number of steps you can take to avoid any potential backfire effects.

First and foremost, you need to emphasise the key facts you wish to communicate rather than the myth. Otherwise, you risk making people more familiar with the myth than with the correct facts.
That doesn’t mean avoid mentioning the myth altogether. You have to activate it in people’s minds before they can label it as wrong.

Secondly, you need to replace the myth with an alternate narrative. This is usually an explanation of why the myth is wrong or how it came about. Essentially, debunking is creating a gap in people’s minds (removing the myth) then filling that gap (with the correct explanation).

Breaking news

Breaking news, also known as a special report or news bulletin, is a current event that broadcasters feel warrants the interruption of scheduled programming and/or current news in order to report its details.

Many times, breaking news is used after the news network has already reported on this story. When a story has not been reported on previously, the graphic and phrase Just In is sometimes used instead. Its use is often loosely assigned to the most significant story of the moment or a story that is being covered live. It could be a story that is simply of wide interest to viewers and has little impact otherwise.

Breaking news, interchangeably termed late-breaking news and also known as a special report or special coverage or news flash, is a current issue that broadcasters feel warrants the interruption of scheduled programming and/or current news in order to report its details. Its use is also assigned to the most significant story of the moment or a story that is being covered live. It could be a story that is simply of wide interest to viewers and has little impact otherwise.

Many times, breaking news is used after the news organization has already reported on the story. When a story has not been reported on previously, the graphic and phrase "Just In" is sometimes used instead.

Product reviews

Product reviews are an essential part of an online store’s branding and marketing. They help build trust and loyalty, and typically describe what sets your products apart from others.

Today we’re going to learn how reviews help your store increase sales, and how you can convince customers to leave more of them. Read on to get started.
Savvy shoppers almost never purchase a product without knowing how it’s going to work for them. They read the good, the not-so-good, and the downright ugly to make the all-important decision: should I pull out my wallet and take the plunge?

The immediate benefit of reviews is that they can make your future customers feel that much more confident. The more reviews you have, the more convinced a shopper will be that they’re making the right decision.

Reviews can help increase a store’s online presence, too. Since customer feedback appears on each product’s page, reviews can help pages be found on search engines via unique keywords.

Additionally, if customers share products they’ve reviewed across their social networks, it’s more exposure for those products and your brand.
Reviews can also help you better understand your products. You can spend hours using a product, but chances are customers will notice things you never would. That means your customers can give you great feedback, ideas for improvements, or even incredible marketing ideas!

The best way to get customers to review items they own or have purchased is to just ask them. Be direct — it’s not as if your customers don’t want to leave reviews, but they often don’t remember!

Ask the customers who have made a purchase from you for a review about a week after their order would have arrived (or later, if your customers aren’t likely to use your products right away).

Personal stories

One effective strategy for personal storytelling involves finding a challenging time in your life and talking about how you got past those challenges. By offering up your real challenges, and sharing stories of both successful and unsuccessful attempts to meet them, you can engage your followers while allowing them to learn new ways to overcome obstacles in their own lives.

Such stories are both educational and motivational, arming your fans with both useful information and the feeling that the struggles they themselves are facing are struggles that others have overcome.

This, in turn, can help them believe in their own eventual success.

A great example of this strategy would be the old story of the truck that got stuck in a too-short underpass. Every solution all the experts on the scene proposed to get the truck out would damage either the truck or the underpass. Finally, a young child asked why they didn't just let some of the air out of the tires then back the truck out, and the child became a hero for seeing the problem differently than all the adults.

Stories like this, like fables, illustrate simple life lessons in ways that personalize the learning, which can lead to deeper understanding.

The essence of this strategy is to take a few key nuggets of learning, wrap them up with a few tasty morsels of who you are, and create a kind of mental appetizer that gets your followers thinking - and connects them in genuine ways to your brand and story.

Interviews

"Tell me a little about yourself."
If you're the interviewer, there's a lot you should already know: The candidate's resume and cover letter should tell you plenty, and LinkedIn and Twitter and Facebook and Google can tell you more.

The goal of an interview is to determine whether the candidate will be outstanding in the job, and that means evaluating the skills and attitude required for that job. Does she need to be an empathetic leader? Ask about that. Does she need to take your company public? Ask about that.

If you're the candidate, talk about why you took certain jobs. Explain why you left. Explain why you chose a certain school. Share why you decided to go to grad school. Discuss why you took a year off to backpack through Europe, and what you got out of the experience.

When you answer this question, connect the dots on your resume so the interviewer understands not just what you've done, but also why.

 "What are your biggest weaknesses?"
Every candidate knows how to answer this question: Just pick a theoretical weakness and magically transform that flaw into a strength in disguise!

For example: "My biggest weakness is getting so absorbed in my work that I lose all track of time. Every day I look up and realize everyone has gone home! I know I should be more aware of the clock, but when I love what I'm doing I just can't think of anything else."

So your "biggest weakness" is that you'll put in more hours than everyone else? Great...

A better approach is to choose an actual weakness, but one you're working to improve. Share what you're doing to overcome that weakness. No one is perfect, but showing you're willing to honestly self-assess and then seek ways to improve comes pretty darned closed.

 "What are your biggest strengths?"
I'm not sure why interviewers ask this question; your resume and experience should make your strengths readily apparent.

Even so, if you're asked, provide a sharp, on-point answer. Be clear and precise. If you're a great problem solver, don't just say that: Provide a few examples, pertinent to the opening, that prove you're a great problem solver. If you're an emotionally intelligent leader, don't just say that: Provide a few examples that prove you know how to answer the unasked question.

In short, don't just claim to have certain attributes -- prove you have those attributes.

"Where do you see yourself in five years?"
Answers to this question go one of two basic ways. Candidates try to show their incredible ambition (because that's what they think you want) by providing an extremely optimistic answer: "I want your job!" Or they try to show their humility (because that's what they think you want) by providing a meek, self-deprecating answer: "There are so many talented people here. I just want to do a great job and see where my talents take me."

In either case you learn nothing, other than possibly how well candidates can sell themselves.

For interviewers, here's a better question: "What business would you love to start?"

That question applies to any organization, because every employee at every company should have an entrepreneurial mind-set.

The business a candidate would love to start tells you about her hopes and dreams, her interests and passions, the work she likes to do, the people she likes to work with ... so just sit back and listen.

Politics

Some scholars define politics in their own different ways, some of these scholars and their definitions are as follows.

David Easton defined politics as the as the authoritative allocation by the political system of values for society. Easton, in A Framework for Political Analysis, uses the term "political system" to designate the pattern or system of human inter- actions and relationships in any political society through which authoritative allocations are made and implemented allocations that are binding on all members of the society and are recognized as such by the great majority of the members (Pettegrew) .

Easton defines a society's political system as "those patterns of interaction through which values are allocated for a society and these allocations are accepted as authoritative by most persons in the society most of the time." Allocating society's values and obtaining widespread acceptance within the society of the authoritative, or binding, nature of the allocations, according to Easton, constitute the basic functions of any political society.

Politics is truly one of the greatest developments that mankind has ever had the notion to make.  Can you imagine our lives without?  I really cannot see our lives operating as smoothly without the existence of politics in one form or another.  Almost everything we do in our lives is somehow linked either directly or indirectly to some sort of political ideology.  Whether you are buying a candy bar at the store or negotiating international business mergers, politics has had a hand in it. 

Inspire boot strappers

By definition, bootstrappers have a lot of responsibility and a lot on their plate; there are many variables being juggled at once. The best of the best keep an uncanny sense of calm amidst the surrounding chaos by keeping things in perspective. This way, they can execute on many important tasks without compromising their creativity, enthusiasm, and ability to inspire others.

When you're bootstrapping a business, you need to wear many different hats, and that usually means learning some new skills. Because of this, bootstrappers are great at picking up new skill sets, teaching themselves how to do new things, and learning more about their line of business.

Many successful bootstrappers trade services to get what they need to build their business. Whether it's designing websites in exchange for legal advice or an in-kind sponsorship in exchange for free accounting, bootstrappers know how to get creative when trading services for what they need.

Almost everything is negotiable. As a bootstrapped startup, you have to make a habit of always asking for a better deal, free bonuses, additional "extras" thrown in, longer payment terms and more. Read a couple of books on negotiation such as "Getting To Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In"—they'll pay for themselves a hundred times over.


As a budding entrepreneur that wears many hats, there are simply not enough hours in the day to get everything done. Especially when you're bootstrapping and finances are tight, time is vitally important. Most successful entrepreneurs wake up early in the morning with excitement and dedication.

Q.R. codes how to best use them in small business marketing

Here are a few ways that you can use QR codes to spruce up your small business marketing strategies.

On business cards: A fast and simple way to use QR codes for your own professional purposes is to place them on business cards. Generate a barcode that directs scanners to your online resume, small business Facebook Page or your website to help new contacts find you or your business faster.

On marketing materials: You've got fliers, brochures, programs, handouts, whitepapers and a myriad of other materials in your media kit. Add QR codes to direct viewers to a particular how-to video, send them to a Flickr photo set, get them to follow you on Twitter, or point them to a mobile-friendly landing page that promotes a new campaign. For inspiration, check out what the Detroid Red Wings did with QR codes in their arena programs.

In storefront windows: Google is sending out QR code window decals to top local businesses with Google Place Pages. If they don't send you one, steal the idea and generate your own QR code to place in your window. You can use this code to encourage Fousquare checkins, point scanners to your Yelp profile, or simply invite customers to share memories in photo, video or text form via Stickybits.

For freebies: If you really want people to pay attention to your QR codes, make them good for something fun. Say you've placed a QR code decal in your storefront window, why not reward those who scan it with 10% off their purchase or a free pastry? Give them something small to thank them for their patronage. Simply create a custom QR code for the freebie you want to offer. You could even get creative and hide the QR code offers online, like on your Facebook page or website, or somewhere inside your store.

The world of virtual conferences

A virtual conference is an interactive online event that brings together a group of people with similar interests or expertise so that they can learn from one another. Similar to live conferences, they are very engaging but occur entirely online rather than in a physical location.

Many virtual conferences (or, as I like to call them, virtual summits) involve a series of sessions with several thought leaders in the field, which attendees and watch and participate in.

There are various different models that you can follow according to what your goals for the virtual conference are but here’s what I’ve found to work particularly well. You can offer a limited-time (e.g. 24-48 hours) free viewing period to anyone who registers for the conference with their name and email address. Every attendee is then presented with an option to upgrade and receive lifetime access to all the conference session recordings when they purchase the All-Access Pass.

This is very effective because of three important aspects of the model:

It attracts natural attention and people want to share it with others because it’s an insane amount of value.

It builds your email list and audience very quickly when thousands of people sign up to view the expert sessions.

It generates revenue for your business via All-Access Pass sales whilst you build an audience and email list (most other similar strategies cost you money but this way you end out in front!)

Sometime a virtual conference can be confused with a webinar but it is so much more than that.

Eco tourism

When we think of the joys that come with the adventures of traveling, we often envision exciting trips to beautiful places fit for a perfect photograph, unique foods you won’t find at home, and encounters with people who are much different from those we are accustomed to. Tourism allows us to do more than just learn facts about various locations. It allows us to immerse ourselves into the cultures and lifestyles of others and leaves lasting impressions that aren’t likely to be forgotten.

The rewards that come with the newness and the satisfying learning experiences of travel are irreplaceable, and these benefits can be enhanced through ecotourism. As an eco-tourist, you travel with more than personal satisfaction in mind. You help the planet and you enable people to lead a more fulfilling life.

Local communities, especially those that do not thrive by industrial means, could benefit greatly from tourists who respect their lands while providing additional funding. In unspoilt regions, we are offered a touring experience that reminds us of nature’s enchanting qualities and we are commonly introduced to welcoming residents.

The impossible doesn’t seem as impossible anymore. There are so many places we see that are beautiful and they seem so far away. When you finally reach that dream destination, you are showing yourself that the impossible can be achieved and you can make your wildest dreams come true.

A good cause site successful non profits charities

Here are some of the best funding sites that leverage social networks.

Causes.com is a campaigning platform that empowers individuals and non-profit organizations to collaborate and take action together. Its Supporter Network is a social networking platform that connects likeminded, socially conscious people.

For Donors: Create a cause-related profile that identifies your campaign for action: to donate, to pledge, to petition or even a larger campaign within the Causes.com platform.

For Non-profits: Create organization profiles (brands can do the same) as destinations, through which the professional organizer can share updates and engage supporters. Profile pages aggregate all of an organization’s campaigns in one place. Non-profits can also access free analytics. In order to accept donations through Causes.com, a non-profit must be 501(c)3 verified through GuideStar. Non-profits pay a 4.75% per transaction processing fee directly to Network for Good, but Causes.com does not take any percent of the donation.

Crowdrise offers online tools for personal fundraising, event fundraising, special occasion fundraising, team fundraising and sponsored volunteerism. Star power from co-founder Edward Norton and social media-powered, high-profile fundraisers have helped set this crowdfunding tool apart from others.

For Donors: In addition to starting a fundraising campaign, giving to one, volunteering or interacting within Crowdrise, you can accumulate points for your activities. You'll earn 10 points for every dollar raised or donated and double points for giving to a featured charity. Top point winners get prizes such as electronics, clothing and giftcards.

For Non-profits: Non-profits can benefit from Crowdrise's turn-key solution meant to complement their existing fundraising and volunteer activities. Basic accounts are free, Featured accounts are $49 per month and Royale accounts are $199 per month. All accounts require annual commitments. Crowdrise deducts a 5% transaction fee on donations made through its site for Basic accounts, 4% on Featured accounts and 3% on Royale accounts. A standard 2.9% plus $0.30 credit card processing fee is charged for any type of account.

DonateNow/Network for Good
This site provides a secure donation system that powers the online fundraising efforts of many non-profits. It provides donation tools to individuals, non-profits, companies and even software developers.

For Donors: You may never come into contact with Network for Good until you make an online contribution to a non-profit that uses DonateNow behind the scenes. But you can go to the Network for Good site and make donations and manage your giving history directly. You can also set up automated monthly giving, buy a charity gift card, or download a badge for your favorite charity to add to your website or blog.

For Non-profits: Using the DonateNow service, select from three plans: DonateNow for $59.95 per month; DonateNow Plus for $79.95 per month or DonateNow Unlimited for $149.95 per month, with a 3% transaction fee for all accounts. All prices require an annual contract. They also offer a service called EventsNow powered by givezooks with transaction fees of 5.5% and $0.99 per ticket or donation and a fee-based e-mail service powered by Constant Contact.

The DonorsChoose team vets every classroom project request submitted by teachers and processes donor transactions. When a project reaches its funding goal, the company purchases all related classroom materials, ship the items directly to the schools and notify the principal of the pending shipments. They close the loop by providing photos of each project taking place with a cost report showing how donations were spent.

Running a small business

After all the work you've put into starting your business, it's going to feel awesome to actually see your idea come to life. But keep in mind, it takes a village to create a product. If you want to make an app and you're not an engineer, you will need to reach out to a technical person. Or if you need to mass-produce an item, you will have to team up with a manufacturer.

A major point the article highlights is that when you’re actually crafting the product, you should focus on two things: simplicity and quality. Your best option isn’t necessarily to make the cheapest product, even if it lowers manufacturing cost. Also, you need to make sure the product can grab someone’s attention quickly.
When you are ready to do product development and outsource some of the tasks make sure you:

Retain control of your product and learn constantly. If you leave the development up to someone else or another firm without supervising, you might not get the thing you envisioned.
Implement checks and balances to reduce your risk. If you only hire one freelance engineer, there’s a chance that no one will be able to check their work. If you go the freelance route, use multiple engineers so you don’t have to just take someone at their word.
Hire specialists, not generalists. Get people who are awesome at the exact thing you want, not a jack-of-all-trades type.

Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Make sure you don’t lose all of your progress if one freelancer leaves or if a contract falls through.
Manage product development to save money. Rates can vary for engineers depending on their specialties, so make sure you’re not paying an overqualified engineer when you could get the same end result for a much lower price.
To help you have peace of mind, start learning as much as you can about the production, so you can improve the process and your hiring decisions as time goes along.

This process will be very different for service-focused entrepreneurs, but no less important. You have several skills that people are willing to pay you for right now, but those skills can be hard to quantify. How can you establish yourself and your abilities? You might consider creating a portfolio of your work -- create a website to show your artwork if you’re an artist, writing if you’re a writer or design if you’re a designer.

Also, make sure you have the necessary certificates or educational requirements, so that when someone inquires about your service, you’re ready to jump at a good opportunity.

Car maintainance

 Basic Car Maintenance Tips:

Taking care of your car is, in many ways, like taking care of your health. While it is important to take your car to the shop for regular maintenance, as well as obvious emergencies, it is equally important to develop some basic habits for keeping your car in top shape at home. Here are 10 car maintenance tips for beginners.

Machinery has moving parts, hot parts, hot fluids, fluids under pressure and high voltage. Serious injury or death can occur when working on or around machinery. Do not attempt certain things without proper training. The reader assumes all liability for his/her safety.

Keeping the motor oil, power steering fluid, and coolant topped off is an easy way to maintain your car’s performance. Refer to your owner’s manual or Ask your mechanic to show you how to check your fluid levels and where to pour in more if needed. Fluids are the life blood of cars. Without certain fluids – expensive things happen. If you are consistently adding a fluid to your car there is a reason for it and you should discuss the situation with your trusted auto care person.

Periodic references to your owner’s manual is extremely valuable. There is so much going on with our vehicles that no one can be expected to remember all of it. Crazy stuff like child seat installation or air bag safety might seem intuitive but it actually gets fairly complicated. Never be afraid to ask your auto care professional questions

Cars have elaborate systems of sensors and warning lights that will tell you everything from whether you forgot to replace the gas cap to the fact that one of your tires is low on air. Learn what each of your warning lights means and how to resolve it. Your owner’s manual is your friend. If any light comes on and you cannot immediately pinpoint and fix the problem, take your vehicle to a trusted mechanic right away.

Correct tire pressure is absolutely essential for proper vehicle handling, and to minimize the risk for premature wear and even complete tire failure (blowouts). Yet tires lose air every day. Your car might have a tire pressure warning system, but it will engage only when a tire drops down to a dangerously low pressure level.

To keep your tires in top shape, check the pressure once per month and add air if needed. Check your owner’s manual or look for a placard attached to the inside of the driver’s door to determine the correct pressure. Never overinflate your tires, which can be just as dangerous as under inflating them.

Pay attention to the way your car feels when it is operating normally. Once you understand this baseline, you can begin to notice when something is wrong. When a new “feel, vibration, shudder, jerk, bump or hesitation sets in these are all signs that something has changed. Make specific note of times and conditions when the abnormal symptom occurs and carefully communicate this information to your trusted service advisor when you take it in for diagnostics.

Machines do communicate audibly – they make all sorts of “Normal” sounds so when abnormal sounds begin to appear this is your car telling you to take it to your trusted car care center. Pay close attention to conditions, temperatures and times the abnormal sounds appear – your mechanic is going to ask you these questions. Accurate information is very helpful in getting to the root cause of the noises.

Inspect exterior and interior lighting once a month. Also refer to your owners manual for a proper understanding of all lighting systems used in your car. This might seem simple and intuitive but some lighting systems only come on under certain conditions. For example Daytime Running Lamps (DRL) have become common so understanding when and how they work is important.

The end of world and the maya prophecies of Dec 21, 2012.

The Maya who developed the Long Count calendar believed the end of one cycle would simply signal the beginning of another. According to this logic, a new Grand Cycle would start on December 22, 2012. However, some people in the U.S. and Europe came to believe that the calendar would not reset itself. Instead, they said, the end of the cycle would bring the end of the world. Some of these doomsayers claimed that there was a scientific explanation for their prediction: On December 21, they said, the winter solstice and the Milky Way’s equator would align. For their part, scientists pointed out that the coincidence of these two events would actually have no effect on the Earth–and furthermore, without 20th-century radio telescopes the Maya could not have known that the galactic equator even existed, much less where it would be in 2,000 years. Other prognosticators had more outlandish theories. Some believed that the Maya were following extraterrestrial instructions when they developed their calendar, for instance, while others fear that aliens would use the Long Count calendar to time their takeover of our planet. Either way, this vision of the future was an unpleasant one, combining Biblical plagues like fires and floods with more cinematic catastrophes like planetary collisions, extreme global warming and mass extinction, and explosions large and small.

Today, there are more than 6 million Maya in Mexico and Central America, and very few of them are expecting Armageddon in 2012. In fact, scholars say that Mayan communities call the end-of-the-world stories “gringo inventions.”

Building an I-phone App

Every app starts with an idea. It doesn’t need to be big, ground-breaking or clever. Just an idea is good enough.

Sketch out your app idea with pen and paper. The goal is to make the idea tangible. You define how your app works and what its features are, before you start developing the app. It’s as simple as that!

You don’t need any special tools to sketch your app idea. A pen and a notepad is enough. Start sketching, make a list of features, and see if the idea comes to life on paper.

I like to separate the features of the app into two groups: Must Haves and Nice To Haves. The Must Haves are features that your app can’t do without, and the Nice To Haves are features that are great but not crucial.

When you make an app, you want the app to be as lean and mean as possible. That’s called a Minimum Viable Product (MVP), and it’s the first, simplest version of your app. When you focus on what matters most, you speed up your app development process and make your app more resilient against setbacks.

A few questions you can ask yourself:

What features can you leave out?
Which feature is a unique selling point or money-maker?
Are there any features that make your app bloated, or slow building it down?

The great recession

The Great Recession—sometimes referred to as the 2008 Recession—in the United States and Western Europe has been linked to the so-called “subprime mortgage crisis.”

Subprime mortgages are home loans granted to borrowers with poor credit histories. Their home loans are considered high-risk loans.

With the housing boom in the United States in the early to mid-2000s, mortgage lenders seeking to capitalize on rising home prices were less restrictive in terms of the types of borrowers they approved for loans. And as housing prices continued to rise in North America and Western Europe, other financial institutions acquired thousands of these risky mortgages in bulk (typically in the form of mortgage-backed securities) as an investment, in hopes of a quick profit.

These decisions, however, would soon prove catastrophic.

Although the Great Recession was officially over in the United States in 2009, among many people in America and in other countries around the world, the effects of the downturn were felt for many more years.

Indeed, from 2010 through 2014, multiple European countries including Ireland, Greece, Portugal and Cyprus a defaulted on their national debts, forcing the European Union to provide them with “bailout” loans and other cash investments.

These countries were also compelled to implement “austerity” measures such as tax increases and cuts to social benefit programs (including healthcare and retirement programs)—to repay their debts.

How to to travel photography/videography

Each place we visit has its own particular look, character, and ambiance. If we want photographs of our travels to be good and lasting, they should capture all of these qualities, and say as much about a place as give the literal look of it.

We are unlikely to long remember the smell and buzz of a flower garden in spring, the awe of gazing for the first time at the mountain we intend to climb, the caress of a tropical breeze, the thrill of a huge roller coaster, the wonder of our first wild bear, or the adrenaline of rafting white water. Our photographs need to bring these and other sensations back, to trigger our memories, and to communicate how we felt to others. To do this, we need to think and feel as much as look when setting out to make photographs.

First and foremost, think about what made you decide, out of all the places in the world, to choose this particular destination. Whatever it is—the beach, the rides, the mountain, the galleries, the food—obviously appeals to you. If it didn't, you wouldn't be going there. That site or activity (or inactivity) is one of the things you want to photograph. But there are probably many other interesting aspects of the place you may not be aware of. That's where research comes in.

Photographers for National Geographic spend a lot of time doing research. This helps us figure out what's there—what the place is about and what subjects we need to cover. Read brochures and travel books. Go to libraries, bookstores, or onto the Web. Talk to friends who have been there. Pick up travel information at the country's embassy. Find whatever you can that is relevant, and devour it.

Understanding the customs and traditions of a place is vital. For one thing, you want to be sure you act in a way that is not rude or offensive while you are there, and it's hard to know what's acceptable and what isn't with some knowledge. It can also help you understand things people do that at first encounter you might consider incomprehensible or even horrifying.

When you arrive at your destination, be open and try to take note of the first impressions—write them down if you have to. (A notebook is an essential accessory for a travel photographer.) When you see a place for the first time from the plane window, or when you drive around a bend and there it is, or as the ship nears some distant island—how do you feel? Where do your eyes go first? What do you notice about the place right away? A smell? The heat or cold? Blistering sunlight? Mysterious fog? A particular building or vista? The way people move? Their dress? Whatever it is, remember it. First impressions are invaluable sparks to creative interpretation, and by definition are not repeatable. You've seen the place in pictures, you've read about it. Now you're there, and all your senses can partake.

Get out there. The only way to discover the rhythm of life in a place, and so figure out what to shoot, is to experience it. Many places, particularly hot ones, are active very early in the morning and late in the afternoon but rather in a lull around midday. Get up early, stay out late. If you are on a tour that is scheduled to leave the hotel or ship at 9:00, get up well before dawn. Wander around before meeting up with your companions. If the tour goes back to the hotel or ship for lunch, don't go with them. Rather than take the bus back at the end of an afternoon tour, hang around until after sunset and then take a taxi. Use any spare time to get out and look for photographs. Besides availing yourself of more opportunities, time spent discovering the place will enrich your experience.

Best places around the world

The ten best places around the world are

1. Bali, Indonesia: “You’ll find beaches, volcanoes, Komodo dragons and jungles sheltering elephants, orangutans and tigers. Basically, it’s paradise. It’s likely you’ve seen an image of Bali on social media at least once in the past seven days, as it’s such a popular bucket list destination for 2019.”

2. New Orleans: “The lively city known for its street music, festive vibe and a melting pot of French, African and American cultures is well worth the trip. NOLA is a city packed with adventures at every turn and should be on everyone’s must-visit list.”

3. Kerry, Ireland:” All the way west in Ireland is one of the country’s most scenic counties. Kerry’s mountains, lakes and coasts are postcard-perfect, and that’s before you add in Killarney National Park. The unique small towns such as Dingle add to its charm.”

4. Marrakesh, Morocco: “This ancient walled city is home to mosques, palaces and lush gardens. It’s known as The Red City thanks to the color of the brick walls surrounding the city. The medina is a UNESCO World Heritage Centre.”

5. Sydney: “Sydney is known around the world as one of the greatest and most iconic cities on the planet. Amazing things to do aren’t hard to find; the city has gorgeous beaches, great cafes and world-class entertainment on offer wherever you look.”

6. The Maldives: “This tropical nation in the Indian Ocean is made up of more than 1,000 coral islands. It’s home to some of the world’s most luxurious hotel resorts, with white sandy beaches, underwater villas and restaurants and bright blue waters.”

7. Paris, France: “One of the most iconic cities in the world, Paris tops many people’s bucket lists. You’ll see so many famous landmarks here: the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame cathedral—the list is never-ending.”

8. Cape Town, South Africa: “Cape Town is a dream location to visit: endless natural beauty and clifftop views, pastel pink neighborhoods and turquoise waters.”

9. Dubai, U.A.E.: “The high-flying city of the U.A.E, Dubai is one of the most glamorous destinations you’ll ever visit, and is particularly popular with Big 7 Travel readers.”

10. Bora Bora, French Polynesia: “Bora Bora is Tahiti’s most famous island. How do overwater bungalows and underwater adventures sound to you? To us, it’s everything we could want from a bucket list destination.”

Simple living

When people hear “simplify your life“, they may think it means moving into a home in the middle of the woods and living off the land. But that is not necessarily a simpler life—and it may not be for everyone.

Instead, choose things that can keep you in the modern world, but still make life easier.

How to Live a Simple Life
Get a basic cell phone.
It would be nice to say that a cell phone was not necessary at all, but pay phones have disappeared and if you need to call someone in an emergency, you will need a cell phone.

Instead of getting a smartphone with data and texting, opt for a basic cell phone that only makes or receives calls. There are plans that allow you to get a phone for less than $50 and offer free minutes to talk with every month.

Cut the cable cord.
Many people are spending well in excess of $100 a month on cable television that gives them 500 different channels. Out of all those channels, most people watch 10 to 15.

Instead of having a cable bill, use over-the-air stations you receive for free. Add a streaming service and you will never miss cable. Without cable, you can go back to an old, reliable method of entertainment—talking to one another.

Get rid of credit cards.
Credit cards are nice. They allow people to buy things they otherwise could not afford and pay for it over time. They also become a burden that drags many people down each month.

Instead of using credit cards, only buy what you can afford. Stick to that plan and the fear of not being able to pay the bills will quickly disappear.

Declutter the home.
A search around the home will find many things that are not needed or are no longer used. Find different ways to declutter your life and get rid of the things that are no longer necessary. It is even possible to make some money selling these things that can be used to help in other areas, such as paying off credit card debt.

Get rid of monthly expenses that are not needed.
Many people are paying for gym memberships, mobile internet service, and many other monthly services they barely use. They have often put the monthly payments on their credit card so they do not even realize how much they are spending and not using.

There are often ways to get the same things that you get from these pay services without having to pay. Gym memberships can be replaced with exercising at a local park or walking around the neighborhood. If you need internet service away from home, look for Wi-Fi hot spots. They are found at many restaurants, hotels, and coffee shops. It might take effort to do this at first, but once it becomes a habit, it is easy to do.

Start to track your expenses.
One thing people will benefit from doing is tracking the money they spend. It is the best way to find out when you are spending money and what you are spending it on. It is possible you will find you are spending a lot of money you don’t need to. You may find that second car is an expense you may not need. You could take public transportation to work and get by without a second car and all of its headaches. When you realize that, it becomes possible to make changes.

Track your time.
Pay attention to how much time you are spending doing things. Look for ways to cut down on time you think is being wasted on unnecessary things.

Time and money are two of the most valuable resources people have. When life gets simpler, the amount of these two things that a person has available will rise. That is the benefit of a simpler life in today’s world.

The great thing about this list is that people have choices. They can choose to do one of them, all of them, or some of them. They can start out with just one and then add some others later.

Life is about choices. Choosing simple living is something that is becoming a popular thing to do.

How mobile application improve ones work productivity

When complicated business processes are translated to a few taps and swipes, though, it promotes finding and sharing information as well. Your employees are used to beautiful consumer apps to help with their personal request, and the same kind of experience will enable them to use the enterprise app from day one, drastically cutting training time or skipping it altogether.

Flexibility, Collaboration, and Time
The most obvious feature of a mobile application is that it gives a greater level of flexibility for the employees. Freed from a 9-5 schedule, your employees can benefit from individual peak times to improve overall performance. A recent survey by Vodafone found that 83% of the companies recorded improvements in productivity due to a flexible working policy.

With enterprise social apps and other channels, employees can easily update or even train each other for better outputs. This collaboration can be easily adapted to mobile. One reason to do so is the proven ability to connect workers at remote places who get to combine their expertise when it is most needed even in new ways, such as sketches and other visuals. 

Mobile also helps to get more things done when your team is out on the field for deals: the real-time input of the data (of prospective customers or of orders) results in a faster sales process.

Access to Corporate Data
Input is just one side of the equation – the output, wherever and whenever, is just as important. Mobile business applications help companies better manage their data to reach their full potential.

If everyone has access to the same dataset, regardless of whether or not they are in the office, it radically increases effectiveness and productivity. A good example is the checking of inventory before closing a deal, but knowing about the latest promotion or a recall on a product it’s also essential for the business.

More Savings
Let’s get down to business! For a new mobile tool to be considered for productivity improvements, it should prove that through the productivity gains, business gains are achieved. It could be visible as savings in time or money for the organization.

The better use of human resources through mobility apps, e.g. through converting manual processes to mobile ones, comes with significant costs savings most organizations, a recent mobile app usage survey revealed. Add streamlined business processes and again, finding the necessary information quickly, and you have also saved a good amount of employee uptime.

Wind surfing

Windsurfing is one of the most popular racing games in the world that gives you both a nailbiting excitement and a thrilling experience. Though the origin of the sport is in Pennsylvania, USA, many countries participate interestedly in this sport. This sport is fun, excitement, and thrill, all at the same time.

The history of Windsurfing sport can be traced back to 1948, when Newman Darby, a 20- year-old American created a floating board, which looked more like a watercraft with two hulls in parallel. He mounted a sail on it.

In 1964, he invented a universal joint, that he used to connect the mast of the rig to the board, which by now had a dagger board, a tailfin and a kite-shaped sail. This was the beginning of the chapter in the history of windsurfing what a lot of people see as the true birth of windsurfing.
Windsurfing is played as the sport of competition as well as recreation. Since this water sport depends on the wind element, this sport is mainly played in the area of large natural water bodies.

Types of Windsurfing
There are two types of windsurfing that are included in championships −

Indoor Windsurfing
In this kind of surfing, a massive indoor pool is constructed. Powerful fans are installed to propel the boards along the pool. The fans create wind. The competitions held include slalom style races, jumping, and more.

Indoor windsurfing competitions are held especially in Europe during winter. One of the better known, the PWA/ UKWA World Indoor Windsurfing Championships are held during the annual London Boat Show at the Excel Exhibition Centre in London in January.

Youth Windsurfing
Windsurfing is so popular in the world that, people of different age groups are taking interest in this sport. Young children and young adults between 5-18 years can participate in Youth of age also. Windsurfing is suitable for children as young as 5, with several board and sail brands producing "Kids Rigs" to provide these kid windsurfers.

In some countries, certain organizations exist to provide entry into the sport in a semi-formal or club-style environment (The RYA's Team 15 scheme). If children want to get more involved in racing, they can go to the RYA 'zone squad'.

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Getting good at tennis and qualifying for wimbledon

Even before you take formal steps to become a professional player, you need to play against people who challenge you. Playing challenging opponents will be the best way to improve your skill level and prepare yourself for the many high-level opponents you will surely face as a professional player.
Join a league or a club with players who are better than you. If you're a high school player, you might want to see if you can practice against some college players in your area. They'll surely have more skill and experience, and you'll learn from your matches with them.
Avoid playing against people you always beat. While it might be fun to win, you won't learn much from playing against the same people and beating them all the time.
Play against people who are older than you, even if they are significantly older. People who have been playing for decades might enjoy playing against younger players. The benefit is for both players: they'll enjoy having an energetic and enthusiastic youth to play against, and you'll learn from their many years of experience on the court.

Find a coach who has professional experience. Even if you practice rigorously, there's only so much you can learn on your own. Find someone who can help guide your training, whether it's a paid coach or a casual mentor (though you will eventually need to move to a paid coach if you really want to go pro).
Expect to be challenged. Having someone else guide your training means that you'll be pushed harder to improve. It won't be any easy process, but your payoff will be greater in the end.
Make your coaching time count. Pay close attention to the advice you receive while you're training. If you really want something to become a part of your technique, make it into a mantra that you repeat (aloud or in your head) as you play.
Spend the time to find good coaches. Bad coaches are out there, believe it or not (from personal experience). Your time will be paid back when you get superb coaching.

Learn about the attributes that the best players possess. The top professional tennis players in the world often share a number of similar attributes. These attributes are both natural and acquired. Ultimately, these important attributes and practices helped set them apart from their competition.
Top players are often faster and more agile than their competitors.
Top players practice less on average.
Top players do more fitness training than other players.
Top players are often slimmer than their competitors.

Becoming a wine connosseur

Depending on your level of commitment you can become a self-proclaimed wine expert in less than a year. You’ll find that your wine knowledge is like a rolling stone; you pick up wine knowledge faster and more easily as you progress. Self-motivated individuals will succeed. One of the premier American wine expert accreditation programs, the Court of Master Sommeliers, has no accompanying classes and is simply a series of difficult tests. To prepare for the Court of Masters most people either study independently or form small study groups.

Developing your Wine Palate
Wine is an acquired taste. Even professional wine experts initially started by drinking very modest wines. Master Sommelier Ian Cauble at The Ritz-Carlton in Half-Moon Bay discovered his love for wine in a bottle of Bogle Petite Sirah. While Wine Director Erik Segelbaum, of Schwartz Brother’s Restaurants in Seattle, indulged in Lindeman’s Bin 55 Shiraz and Pepper Wood Merlot before he became a wine geek. Take it from the pros and start simply with what you like; whether it be a sweet rosé wine such as white zinfandel or something savory such as French Cabernet Franc. Make sure that every wine you taste you swish around in your mouth instead of sending it directly to the back of your throat.

Once you get past the ‘wine’ flavor you’ll begin to identify interesting subtleties. There are a few tips to developing your wine palate to taste flavor nuances. It’s important to note that expanding your palate involves tasting a range of wines. Consider joining a wine tasting group!

Build a boat and cross the pacific in it

Our life, just like pacific is profound and we got to go a long way. It is full of possibilities, favorable as well as unfavorable. There is a certain quality about boats. They flow with the tide as well as against it. Their shape is such that no matter what comes, it stays afloat. It has been built to survive against the tides.

In this pacific called life, our boat is our mind and body. If we don’t shape it up to live up to the worst, how are we going to survive through difficulties? Everyone has a different boat. It teaches us to survive on our own. You need to strive for a living just life explorers finding food in the pacific. We are explorers in the path of life. A well-built, strong and stout boat will only be able to survive.
Our mind is our navigator. A powerful navigation gives a correct direction. Direction, given by our goals and aims, keeps us afloat. An oriented mind and a good decision making capability, helps in a smooth sail. But this is life, uncertain as the pacific. You might get difficulties in achieving your goal, difficulty in finding a direction. But a mind that is ready to sail even in unfavorable conditions, is the true mark of a healthy and stable mind. Train your mind to forecast winds and storms.
Often in life we suffer handicaps. Just like Phil buck. Buck had earlier attempted to make a similar trip in 2000 but his expedition was interrupted by damage to the boat. All this difficulties did not stop him from building a boat and crossing the pacific. He bounced back, this time well equipped, with a smarter plan and a sturdier boat. Handicaps doesn’t mean end of a journey. Empower yourself to bounce back after adversities. Train your mind and body to survive the storms of life.

How to get want you want without breaking the law or burning bridges

You cannot afford to be ignorant, not with the current wave of technology. Always do your research before making any major decisions, to ensure you do not end up taking any unnecessary risks which ultimately leads to breaking the law. It’s a small price to pay for your wellbeing.

A good example can be when trying to attain financial stability. We all want to be wealthy and stable such that we can go anywhere we want or buy anything without having to struggle for it. Yet, I have come to the realization that we don’t always get what we want, and to me, that’s the beauty of life.

You can achieve this stability if you decide to be smart and work hard in whatever field you are invested in. Taking the easy way out to get the money, like embezzling funds, might seem enticing but it’s only beneficial in the short term. What happens, is you risk being caught because it’s against the law. Moreover, you may end up spending the rest of your life in jail.

If you have been working hard all your life and yet you still don’t have as much wealth as you want, maybe it’s time to change strategy and look at other avenues. You can even open your own business to compliment your income gained from your 9 to 5 job.

You might have been long term friends or lovers and on waking up one day, you realized the relationship was not helping you in any way. In fact you felt miserable most of the time. More often than not, you will opt to avoid all contact with the person and hope to never see or speak to them ever again.

Here is the deal. This is probably the worst course of action you might take. Why? It may lead to hostility between you and the other person which will ultimately rob you of a peace of mind. Also, you cannot be sure that you will never need their help ever again.

Life has a way of humbling us. Why not take time to think it over and choose to still have those people in your life, but at a distance? That way, you still maintain the friendship, but you can now control the level of interaction you have with them, and how much their actions affect you.

Learn how to play Guitar

In order to play your favorite song, you’ll need to learn guitar chords. Use the images and instructions below to learn how to play each chord. The ChordBuddy device can be used for assistance in knowing where to place your fingers In the images the circles represent where you will be placing your fingers (I=index, M=middle finger, R=ring finger, P=pinky). The X’s represent strings that you will not be strumming while the O represents strings that will be played without any frets.

How to Play the D Chord

Place your index finger on the third string at the second fret, your middle finger on the first string at the second fret, and your ring finger on the second string at the third fret.
Leave the fourth string open.
Strum the bottom four strings.
Pay attention to the sound. That’s the D-chord!

How to Play the C Chord

Place your index finger on the second string at the first fret, your middle finger on the fourth string at the second fret, and your ring finger on the fifth string at the third fret.
Leave the first and second strings open.
Strum the bottom five strings and you’ll hear the C Chord!

How to Play the G Chord

Place your middle finger on the fifth string at the second fret, your ring finger on the sixth string at the third fret, and your pinky finger on the first string at the third fret.
Leave strings two, three, and four open.
Strum all strings. That’s the G Chord!

How to Play The E-minor Chord

Place your middle finger on the fifth string at the second fret and your ring finger on the fourth string at the second fret.
Leave strings one, two, three, and six open.
Strum all strings. That’s the E-minor Chord!
There you have it! Practice these chords and you’re well on your way to playing the guitar.

Learning the Ukulele

The ukulele is a fun instrument. Some may call the ukulele a toy, so what, toys are fun to play with! But it really isn’t a toy at all, it’s a true instrument and you can do wonderful things with it. Also don’t make the mistake by thinking that it is an easy instrument, you will need to practice a lot to master it, but even when you only know the basics it is already so much fun! Enjoy playing it and without knowing, you will improve each and every day.

When looking on YouTube and other websites you will quickly learn that amazing things can be done with the ukulele, but like every skill in life you’ll need to learn the basics first. Don’t try to play some big fancy tab when you are just starting out, learn your basic chords instead. Start with the majors, minors and then go on with other chords. The UkuChords chords chart is perfect for this, since it gives you a very decent overview of all the major chords. You will notice that once you know your chords you will be playing tons of songs without even thinking twice on how to play them. Also check out the UkuChords Chord Library to watch how to play every ukulele chord possible.

At the start you’ll probably only be doing simple up and down, up and down, up and down. But after a while you can try to add some slapping and palm muting to really get that chunky, funky and groovy feeling. I won’t explain how to strum in here, feel free to take a look at The Ultimate Strumming guide. Wondering why there aren’t any strumming patterns posted along with songs? Well, that’s a whole other story. This isn’t allowed by the MPA (Music Publishers Association) because of copyright issues. They say that it isn’t allowed to share online how to literally play a song. So strumming patterns (rhythm and tempo) aren’t allowed to be shared at all and I’m afraid that there isn’t much I can do about that. It will really help a lot if you try to figure out the strumming yourself. You will learn playing the ukulele a lot quicker and after a while you’ll come up with your own strumming patterns! Carefully listen to the song and “feel” the rhythm. I know that this isn’t easy, but once you get the basics, it’ll go real quick.

Increase creativity of kids

Many researchers believe we have fundamentally changed the experience of childhood in such a way that impairs creative development. Toy and entertainment companies feed kids an endless stream of prefab characters, images, props and plot-lines that allow children to put their imaginations to rest. Children no longer need to imagine a stick is a sword in a game or story they've imagined: they can play Star Wars with a specific light-saber in costumes designed for the specific role they are playing.

Space is also a resource your kids need. Unless you don't mind creative messes everywhere, give them a specific place where they can make a mess, like room in your attic for dress-up, a place in the garage for painting, or a corner in your family room for Legos.

Next time someone asks for a gift suggestion for your kids, ask for things like art supplies, cheap cameras, costume components, building materials. Put these in easy-to-deal-with bins that your kids can manage.

Make your home a Petri dish for creativity. In addition to creative spaces, you need to foster a creative atmosphere.

Solicit a high volume of different ideas, but resist the urge to evaluate the ideas your kids come up with. At dinnertime, for example, you could brainstorm activities for the upcoming weekend, encouraging the kids to come up with things they've never done before. Don't point out which ideas aren't possible, and don't decide which ideas are best. The focus of creative activities should be on process: generating (vs. evaluating) new ideas.

Encourage kids to make mistakes and fail. Yes, fail – kids who are afraid of failure and judgment will curb their own creative thought. Share the mistakes you've made recently, so they get the idea that it is okay to flub up. Laughing at yourself when you blow it is a happiness habit.

Celebrate innovation and creativity. Cover your walls with art and other evidence of creative expression. Tell your kids all about your favorite artists, musicians, and scientists. Share your passion for architecture or photography or that new band you want to listen to all the time. Embrace new technologies like Twitter so your kids grow to find change exciting, not over-whelming or intimidating.

Allow kids the freedom and autonomy to explore their ideas and do what they want. Don't be so bossy. (If that isn't the pot calling the kettle black, who knows what is.) Stop living in fear that they are going to be kidnapped or not get into a great college. Statistically, the odds are very low that they'll be kidnapped, and I'm here to tell you that I'm not a happier person because I went to an Ivy League school.

External constraints—making them color within the lines, so to speak—can reduce flexibility in thinking. In one study, just demonstrating how to put together a model reduced the creative ways that kids accomplished this task.

Encourage children to read for pleasure and participate in the arts. Limit TV and other screen time in order to make room for creative activities like rehearsing a play, learning to draw, reading every book written by a favorite author.

Give children the opportunity to express "divergent thought." Let them disagree with you. Encourage them to find more than one route to a solution, and more than one solution to a problem. When they successfully solve a problem, ask them to solve it again but to find a new way to do it (same solution, different route). Then ask them to come up with more solutions to the same problem.

Don't reward children for exhibiting creativity: incentives interfere with the creative process, reducing the quality of their responses and the flexibility of their thought.

Allow children to develop mastery of creative activities that they are intrinsically motivated to do, rather than trying to motivate them with rewards and incentives. 

Speaking in public how to overcome of audience

One of the most terrifying things about public speaking is the crowd. Just by looking at the crowd, all in silence just to hear you speak, will send shivers down your spine. To overcome this, you just need to speak to one person at a time.

Choose one member of your audience and dedicate your whole presentation to him or her. Just assume that everyone else is not paying attention. When someone asks you a question, change your focus to that person and answer the question as if the two of you are in a coffee shop chatting away. Isn’t that the most relaxing way to handle a crowd?

When you speak or give a presentation, try to squeeze in a few of your personal thoughts on the matter. Of course these should be prepared early on. However, you should make it as if the ideas are “just in” while you are presenting. That will differentiate your presentation from the rest, and when you see the interested look on the faces of your audience, it will elevate your presentation to another new level, a level where you start having fun.

College planning for home schoolers

Homeschooled students and traditionally schooled students also research and apply to colleges the same way.  providing simple, straightforward advice on all aspects of the college planning process, including:

How to find the right college
How to apply to college
How to get financial aid
As a homeschooling family, or as a parent considering homeschooling for a high school-age student, providing an individualized homeschooling environment can offer your college-bound high schooler a world of educational opportunity. The experiences of homeschooling can be overwhelmingly positive for families looking to provide one-on-one education and guidance to their children – even if they have hit high school.

Most homeschooling families feel comfortably confident about their ability and choice to homeschool their children during the preschool and grade school years, yet sometimes that confidence diminishes with the real – or anticipated – college preparatory educational needs of teenagers. The most common
reasons parents choose to homeschool
 their children don’t diminish once a child enters the high school years. Theses factors: individualized learning environment, enhanced family relationships, ability to accomplish more academically, ability to teach a particular set of values and beliefs, desire to provide a “safer” environment, and a chance to offer guided social interactions1 – only grow in importance as a child enters adolescence.

Some homeschooling families express concern about their ability to meet the growing educational and socialization transitions required for their college-bound children. Put your worries behind you. Homeschooling students can, and do, thrive at college. According to one study cited by U.S. News and World Report, homeschool students graduate from college, “at a higher rate than their peers – 66.7% compared to 57.5%.”2

Homeschooling with the right tools in preparation for college allows your children the benefit of customized academic support just as they are beginning to identify their passions. Have a budding computer scientist? How about a math genius? Or does your child’s path include a
career in healthcare
 somewhere down the road? As a homeschooling family, you can, and should, start taking the proper steps to prepare your child for college before your student actually enrolls. There are several things you can do today that will save you time and money for college tomorrow – and act as a springboard for smoothing the college admissions process for your child when the time comes.