Parenting - 10 Things to Avoid

Getting along well with your children is a wonderful and happy thing in life. In order to be successfully connected with your children you must avoid the following ten things:


1. Worry too much: Don’t think too much about your children, about their health, about their safety, about their academic success, about… Your anxiety will show on your face and it will affect your children negatively. You can plan for their future but live each day as it comes and offers them the freedom to grow.

2. Do too much: You bear too many responsibilities for the children. Allow your children to take care of themselves. Let them shoulder some of the things that they can do by themselves.

3. Scold too much: Out of concern, you reprimand your children too much and too often. When you are too critical of them, you are feeding your children negative thoughts. It is detrimental to the development of a positive self-image.

4. Give too much: You pamper them by giving them too many material things to enjoy. It sends a signal that things come easy.

5. Expect too much: You have very high expectations of the children and you send them to too many tuition classes. Remember that all work and no play make Jack a dull boy. Don’t pressure them too much; let them lead a balanced life so that you allow your children to develop mentally as well as physically.

6. Play too little: They enjoy very little outdoor activities because they are tied up with homework, tuition classes and when they have done with, they are too tired to do anything else but to rest.

7. Communicate too little: Working parents spend very little quality time to connect with their children. Remember that your presence is more important than your presents. Your children don’t talk to you because you talk to them not often enough. You need to spend time listening to your children.

8. Know too little: Parents should keep themselves up-to-date with the information technology so that you can catch up with your children. They are very adaptive to the Internet and other latest gadgets and you are not.

9. Love too little: Because you spend very little time with your children you can’t demonstrate fully your love for the children. Give them abundant love so that they will love you in return.

10. Too little flexibility: You are unable to change your role to suit different situations. You are always playing the role of parents. From time to time try to be their friends and get into their world to understand them better. Change your role to get closer to your children.


The ultimate aim of child-rearing is to bring them up so that they will be able to live independently.


Happy parenting!

Related Articles:

Help Your Child to Manage Emotions – 7 Effective Tips
10 Ways to Teach Manners to Your Young Child

21 Ways to Relax

Relax

When you are under stress the body releases a stress hormone called cortisol. Moreover, prolonged stress may suppress the immune system. It pays to relax. Here are some ways to combat stress:


1. Meditation: Tai Chi is a form of meditation in motion. It consists of 108 very slow and continuous movements. It relieves stress and it gives you peace of mind and calmness.

2. Massage: Pamper yourself with a body massage to release your tension and your tensed muscles.

3. Sauna: The dry heat of the sauna is one of the ways to relax both body and mind. There is no need to prolong your stay past the point when you are truly relaxed.

4. Exercise: We all know the many health benefits of physical exercise. One of them is that after an exercise you will feel calm and you are able to concentrate better.

5. Nap: I enjoy my usual Sunday siesta in the afternoon. For about an hour my body and my mind are fully relaxed.

6. Sleep: Do not sacrifice your sleep to do more. Our body is designed to get about 8 hours of sleep to rejuvenate and to recover from a hard day’s work. You will notice when you don't get enough sleep you are easily irritated

7. Listen to classical music: Let the soothing music of Beethoven, Mozart, or Bach to calm your mind and soul.

8. Do nothing: Sit in a quiet place and just relax your body and mind and think of nothing else.

9. Think of your achievements: You will find happiness and satisfaction when you think of your successes in life and things that you have done well.

10. Take short breaks: Always take short breaks at work. It allows your brain to sort things out. When you come to your workstation after a short break you can easily settle the problem you have encountered earlier.

11. Excursion/travel: Take a day trip to somewhere you have never had the time to visit. Going away for a few days with your loved ones is a great way to break away from the rat race.

12. Organize your day well to avoid stress: Use your to-do list for the day and do your work accordingly. There is no emergency or urgency. Just get over the work from the most important ones to other minor tasks smoothly.

13. Display positive emotions: You are in control of your thoughts. Generate more positive emotions such as happiness, kindness, and forgiveness. You will find peace of mind. When you fill your mind with negative emotions like hatred, jealousy, and vengeance, your mind is disturbed and your blood pressure goes up.

14. Eat your breakfast: As the name implies, you break the fast after 8 hours of sleep. You need to nourish your body to provide energy for the whole day. A nutritious breakfast help start the day right. It also gives you better concentration and productivity at work. In a way, you start a new day calmly.

15. Drink water: Drink plenty of water to quench your thirst and hydrate your body. Water regulates your body temperature so that you are comfortable at work.

16. Don’t bring work home: Life is more stressful when you bring work home. Your family members need your attention just as much as you pay attention to your work. A balanced lifestyle is the best way to fight stress.

17. Deep breathing exercise: It is the fastest way to invoke a relaxation response to calm the mind and body.

18. Go back to nature: Go to the beach to watch and listen to the waves rushing to the shore. Drive to the countryside to be delighted by the greenery and the birds chirping on the trees.

19. Yoga: The yoga postures and breathing exercises help you to improve flexibility; reduce stress as well as awareness of your body.

20. Go slow in life: Doing things at a fast pace means you have to tense your body and mind. Just slow down to listen, observe, and to appreciate the things around you and you will feel less stressed.

21. Indulge in your hobbies: Look at your aquarium, admire your bonsai collection in your garden. Play your favorite tunes at the piano. Enjoy doing something you like to do to bring back the balance in your life.


There is a Chinese saying, “You take frequent rest because there is a long journey ahead of you.”

16 Healthy Habits

Healthy Habits

Health is the most precious possession you can have in life. With health, you enjoy and live life fully. Cultivate the following healthy habits for robust health and well-being. 

 1. Get up early: Early risers know the benefits of starting a new day early. He can take the time to plan for the day without being disturbed if he has not done so in the previous day. He can also do exercise or meditation in the morning. Most important of all he can enjoy his breakfast in a leisurely manner.

 2. Eat breakfast: Breakfast is the most important meal in the day. It kick-starts your day on a high note and helps you to remember, concentrate, and perform better at work and in school. Moreover, according to researchers at the 2003 American Heart Association conference breakfast eaters are less likely to be obese and get diabetes. 

 3. Eat more fruits and vegetables: Eating plenty of vegetables and fruits protect you from heart disease and stroke, control your blood pressure, prevent some types of cancer and vision problems. 

 4. Physically active: One crucial factor that determines the vitality of your life is whether you do exercise every day. Daily exercise keeps your body and mind in top form and you will be calm and you work with full concentration. 

 5. Positive thinking: Positive thinking generates positive emotions such as happiness, confidence, calmness, concentration, and satisfaction. And positive emotions promote good health. 

 6. Enough sleep: A good night’s sleep of about 8 hours is to recharge your battery and that you can work energetically the next day. Sleep also reduces stress and boosts your memory. Insufficient sleep increases your risk of depression.

 7. Meditation: Tai Chi and yoga are meditation in motion. The benefits are that you are more relaxed and you will have better concentration.

 8. Walkabout: Take the stairs instead of the lift. Walk to the neighborhood mall instead of driving there. In the office go to your colleagues instead of using the phone. Walking, one of the best forms of physical activities is good for your health.

 9. Drink water: Drink a glass of water especially when you wake up in the morning. Keep drinking water throughout the day to keep your body hydrated. 

 10. Deep breathing: Deep breathing increases your energy level. It boosts your health and reduces stress. 

 11. Eat fish twice a week: Fish is high in omega-3 fatty acids. They help maintain cardiovascular health, reduce depression, and halting the mental decline in older people. 

 12. Be connected: Your partner, your friends, and relatives are the sources of your emotional support. The contentment of being among loved ones will impact your health positively. 

 13. Your interest and passion: Doing things that you are good at and better than others boost your confidence and make you happy. These positive emotions contribute to your health and well-being 

 14. Green tea: Apart from containing cancer-fighting antioxidant properties, it may boost metabolism and help burn fat.

 15. Preventive maintenance: Do an annual check-up to arrest any problems early to get healed faster. Always protect your skin from the scorching sun. You may not like to visit the dentist but for the sake of your dental hygiene and health visit him regularly. 

 16. Hobbies: According to Peter Lichtenberg. Ph.D., director of the Institute of Gerontology at Wayne State University, “People who have a hobby are generally healthier.” What do you like – stamp collecting, photography, or gardening? The list is endless. I enjoy article writing. It is a hobby, it is a passion and it gives me a sense of purpose in life. 

 Cheers to your healthy habits!

Boost Your Self-Confidence – 12 Assuring Ways

Self-confidence is about accepting yourself as what you are and a healthy assessment of your self-worth. As you are in control of your actions and thoughts, you can transform yourself from low self-esteem to self-assured. Here are 12 tips to develop your self-confidence:


1. Dress smartly and appropriately: When you dress appropriately for the occasion and you look smart, you instantly project an image of self-confidence. Not only that, others will perceive you as a person of self-assurance.

2. Smile: Always wear a smile especially when you meet people. You send a signal to others that you are OK and on top of things.

3. Be active physically: Physical exercise such as jogging is not only good for your body but it is equally good for your mind. You will feel calm and collected after an exercise. You will feel good and your self-confidence is elevated.

4. Love yourself: No one is perfect. Accept your strengths and weaknesses. Don’t worry about what others are thinking about you. Be your usual self and act normally.

5. A good posture: Sit and stand upright. Look into the eyes of the person who is talking to you. Be attentive. People will appreciate and respect your undivided attention. It is good for your image and your self-confidence in dealing with others.

6. Think of your success: There is no better way to boost your confidence than to think about your achievements. Appreciate yourself for the things that you have done well and are able to do better than others. These positive thoughts will bring your self-confidence to the next level.

7. Positive mental attitude: Positive thinking is a positive emotion. You send positive thoughts to your mind that you think you can do it. This in turn will boost your self-confidence.

8. Random acts of kindness: Helping others means you can look after not only yourself but others. It impacts your self-image and your self-confidence positively.

9. Be happy: Like positive mental attitude, happiness is another positive emotion. It is a state of the mind. When you feel happy you will feel confident about yourself.

10. Read uplifting material: On a regular basis feed your mind with positive thoughts by reading articles, books and magazines that boost your self-esteem, your self-confidence and your self-worth. Knowledge enriches your mind and your soul

11. Associate with winners: Join people who are confident of themselves. Observe the way they behave and talk, and inadvertently you will imitate them to act and talk confidently.

12. Be prepared: As an example, you have self-confidence when you have fully prepared for an examination.


Self-confidence is a positive emotion. One positive emotion leads to other positive emotions. With self-confidence you will believe in yourself and you will see a positive image of yourself. You will feel satisfied and happy about yourself.

10 Ways to Get Extra Cash

Extra Cash

Where do you get extra cash when you have exhausted your emergency fund?

Look into your own sources of the fund before you get outside help:

1. Children’s savings accounts: Here is a good source of funds that you can tap into quickly with no hassle.

2. Your fixed deposit: Here is yet another source of quick cash but you have to sacrifice your interest income for premature withdrawal.

3. Cash value of your insurance policies: You don't have to surrender a policy, but you just get a loan against the cash value. You can get your cash in just a few days. You can also redeem your investment-linked insurance policy just like you liquidate your unit trust. There is no need to make repayment

4. Sell your investment: Dispose of part of your shares or your unit trust holding to meet your cash requirements

5. Pawn your valuables: Another quick way to get cash is to pawn your gold rings, gold chains, gold coins, or other valuables but don't let your friends or relatives spot you at the pawnshop.

6. Cash advance from your company: You can get your salary advance without interest easily from the place where you work.

7. Credit card advance: You will definitely incur substantial interest but it is a quick source of cash and is better than getting the money from Ah Long or a loan shark

8. Borrow from your friends and relatives: You have to be thick-skinned and it may not look good for you financially but what to do when you need the cash. Perhaps you can be kind enough to repay the loan with an extra amount to make your lenders happy.

9. Personal loan or a secured loan from the bank: It may not be as fast as you think but it is a way to secure the needed sum. You may not require collateral for a personal loan but you can secure an overdraft facility with your own house.

10. Loan shark: This is the last resort. If you can, avoid it. If you must borrow, make very sure that you pay back promptly or the debt will be snowballed into a sum beyond your means to settle and that is the beginning of your nightmare.

One good thing about getting a loan from financial institutions is that you can establish your creditworthiness by making timely repayments. You are better than someone with no credit history

20 Useful Tips to Keep Your Job

How do you look after yourself when what you often hear nowadays are financial crisis, retrenchment, pay-cut, and bankruptcy? Check out the following tips to hold your position in the company:


1. Self-confidence: You know your self-worth, your expertise, and your contributions to the company. You are aware that you can do things better than others and people respect you for that.

2. Consider other people’s points of view: When you offer a suggestion think about the repercussions for others. Your ideas will always be acceptable when you take into consideration others.

3. Keep your promises: Always under promised and over delivered. Be a trusted person and always deliver on time.

4. You have a bright idea: Write it down and carry it out. Just do it. An idea is useless without acting on it

5. Lifelong learning: Keep yourself up-to-date by continuous learning. The extra knowledge could be a competitive edge over other staff.

6. Accept the challenge: When you are given a new assignment, accept it, and do your best. Your boss is observing you. If you can make it you will be promoted

7. Do more: Surprise your boss such as giving him the extra valuable information in your routine reports.

8. Be an expert in your own field: It does not matter what position you hold in the company, be the best in your area of expertise.

9. Keep improving yourself: Do not be complacent. Adopt a learning attitude, be curious, and be alert to new ideas.

10. Manage your boss well: Able to understand his needs, his worries, and his expectations and offer him some bright ideas. Be proactive and don’t just be an order taker.

11. Be a solution provider: When there is a problem do not throw it at your boss. Play an active role and come up with a solution to the problem. Your initiative will be valued by the boss.

12. Building better people skills: Respect others and keep your promises. Go to other staff and speak to them. Be humble and be friendly.

13. Improve working efficiency: Efficiency at the workplace means getting things done in less time and able to do more. Always think of ways to do things with less cost and create higher value.

14. Smile: Always wear a smile. When you smile at the people you meet, you are giving a positive impression to them and they feel good about it.

15. A balanced life: Don’t bring your work home. Look after the family just like you look after your job. A happy home life means you will go to work with a peaceful mind. and 100% undivided attention

16. Active networking: Always be in touch with your colleagues after working hours. You never know when you will need their help. Don’t call them only after you get retrenched. Be in the good book of those people who are capable of deciding your future in the company.

17. Play your part to look after the company: Help to achieve the company’s goals. You may be just a supervisor but you can play your role and contribute towards the aims of the company. Think of ways to improve the image of the company, cut down expenses, or boost sales. When you look after the company you look after yourself.

18. Maintain your health and fitness: Your energy and your youthfulness are derived from your daily exercise. Physical activities such as jogging and swimming give calmness to your mind and you are able to concentrate better at work

19. Your personal brand: Project an image to others that you care a lot about yourself and you have a positive image of yourself by dressing smartly and appropriately.

20. Respond positively: When there is a pay-cut, accept it gracefully. Do not complain about it. Do your work as usual. Your positive attitude will be noticed and appreciated by your boss. Continue to contribute. The company survives and you also survive.


A successful career is a continuous process of improving and upgrading oneself. Do not slack off and the chances are that you will be more than capable of keeping your job.

10 Office Efficiency Tips

Working efficiently in the office means getting things done in less time and boosting productivity. I would like to share some tips with you so that you can be a more efficient worker.

1. To-do list: This list should be prepared on the evening of the previous day. The plus point is that you can go to bed with ease of mind because you have already taken care of the things to be done the following day. The other good point is that the next day you can go straight to work without wasting any time

2. To-do file or follow-up file: It is a file similar in nature to your daily to-do list. The things to be done in the file are mostly recurring at fixed dates. It has two sections. One section is divided into 31 slots to cover 31 days of each month. The other section has twelve slots for twelve months in a year. At the end of a month, say, December, you transfer and file items relating to January into their respective dates. Upon completion of the to-do list for the day it is, again, filed in the January folder and ready to be used next year. This file complements your daily to-do list. You don’t have to remember the things you have to do but you will get things done by checking the file every day.

3. Keep your desk neat and tidy: A cluttered desk gives an impression to others that you are not organized. You work better with only items relating to the task at hand. A clean desk gives you a feeling of calmness. A desk full of files and documents makes you feel stressful

4. Effective filing system: Proper filing means you are able to retrieve a document easily and quickly when needed. A thick file with related documents is better than keeping related papers in many individual files

5. Handle a document only once: Go through the in-tray quickly means going through the documents only once. By looking at each document decide at once to file, to reply or to act on it in due course.

6. A time frame to complete a task: According to Parkinson’s Law, “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” It is prudent to set a deadline to complete a task. You avoid procrastination and you get things done in less time.

7. Do the most important task in the morning: By looking at the to-do list for the day, tackle the most important task in the morning. As your mind is fresh and your energy is at its peak, it is sensible and efficient to do the most difficult task first.

8. Keep fit and be healthy: When you are fit and healthy it gives you the energy and the vitality to work efficiently in the office. Not only that, you are calm and able to concentrate better at work

9. Handle interruption immediately: If it is something that can be done right away, do it immediately. Things like faxing a confidential document or making a copy of a letter. It can be forgotten when you decide to do it later.

10. Delegate: When you delegate you have more time to attend to other important issues. Not only that, the person who is given the task is also motivated because he feels that the boss has the trust in him to do the job. It is a win-win situation

Your effectiveness in the office will be noticed by your boss because you always deliver a completed assignment in a timely fashion. Over time, you will be trusted by your boss to get more important things done.

11 Habits to Avoid at Work

Habits to Avoid at Work

“Make each day your masterpiece.” —John Wooden

Building a meaningful career is not a one-off thing. It is a long-term affair. Take note and avoid the following bad habits at work: 

 1. Without a clear career path: He is not certain of what he wants in life. He has landed on a job and he just goes to work without mapping out his future career path 

 2. Just work alone: He makes no effort to connect with people at the workplace. He comes and he works and then he goes home. 

 3. Doing personal things at work: He makes personal telephone calls and he surfs the net and visits social networking sites to exchange messages. Things could be worse if he had visited porn sites. 

 4. Do not do self-development: As he is not aware of his future direction, he takes no initiative or interest to develop himself for his career advancement. 

 5. Try to cover up blunders: When a mistake is made he tries to hide it. He does not understand that honesty is the best policy and he should own it up and fix it as soon as possible. 

 . Pay no attention to detail: He does not check carefully and often submits a report in haste. It is later discovered that some important items in the report are missing and he has circulated the report to those who should not be receiving it. 

 7. Irregular attendance; He may be late or he may knock off earlier. His lunch break can be extended to more than an hour. He is at the workplace but you are unable to locate him. Often he takes off without advance notice. 

 8. Unable to keep promises: He is always over-promised and under-delivered because he is not able to do a proper estimation of the time required to complete a task. 

 9. Missing in action: He is sent out to do work but he takes longer than usual and you are unable to contact or locate him. 

 10. Gossiping: He is fond of talking behind people's back and the peaceful atmosphere in the office is disturbed. 

 11. Ineffective working habits: He is unable to prioritize his work. Often an important assignment gets done at the last minute in a panicky situation causing unnecessary errors and further delay to complete a job. 

 Avoid these bad habits and cultivate effective working methods to grow your career.

Affiliate Programs and My Blog

Affiliate Marketing

According to Wikipedia affiliate marketing is an Internet-based marketing practice in which a business rewards one or more affiliates for each visitor or customer brought about by the affiliate’s marketing efforts. It is using one website to drive traffic to another. In this case, I am putting banners, supplied by the advertiser, on my blog to attract readers to click the link to the advertiser’s home page. When a sale is concluded, I receive a commission. It is a form of passive income. 

 The first affiliate program that I joined was Amazom.com. I selected Amazon because I love to read books. After a while, I removed all the banners from my blog because it was a fruitless attempt. Recently

 I was invited by Jay Marsh, Assistance Affiliate Manager at Hexpress Ltd to join their affiliate network. I gladly accepted the offer. I like the program because its products are about online health care which is in line with my niche. Moreover, when you join your account is credited with 25 pounds upfront. Like AdSense, you have to accumulate 100 pounds in order to get paid. 

 I have also taken the opportunity to join another affiliate program, myhelphub.com. They promote products relating to self-development and writing skills. I have chosen this network because my blog is about self-improvement. Their products complement my articles. The reasons why I was invited are because my blog is a niche blog and most important of all, the Traffic Rank of my blog offers potential business opportunities.

 I will write another article in the future to brief you about these two affiliate programs.

Live Life Fully – 13 Lively Tips

You only get one chance to live your life fully

“Live life fully while you’re here. Experience everything. Take care of yourself and your friends. Have fun, be crazy, be weird. Go out and screw up! You’re going to anyway, so you might as well enjoy the process. Take the opportunity to learn from your mistakes: find the cause of your problem and eliminate it. Don’t try to be perfect; just be an excellent example of being human.” - Anthony Robbins

Life is short. Life is unpredictable. Do not despair; you can live life fully because you are in total control of your own life. It is up to you to live the life of your choice. Here are some tips that can help you to lead a fuller life:

1. Take charge of your own life: Live the life you want because you can control your own thoughts and actions. Be responsible for your own life. Just remember “If it’s to be, it’s up to me.”

2. Live with your passion and interest: Do things that you enjoy doing and especially you are able to do it better than others. As for me, writing articles allows me to be creative and lively because my articles are able to solve readers’ problems and uplift their mood.

3. Enjoy the outdoor: Go jogging or cycling. Breathe in fresh air. Bathe under the setting sun. When you enjoy the outdoor you are also looking after your health and fitness

4. Be curious and inquisitive: Be like a little boy who is very interested to know everything under the sun. A quest for knowledge is a never-ending process. It stimulates your mind and gets you the power to be creative

5. Take delight in every moment of your life: Slow down to enjoy whatever that you are doing. Eat slowly to savor each mouthful. Stop by the river to marvel at the full moon. Listen to the rhythm of the falling rain. Be observant to capture the beauty of nature.

6. Spread kindness around: Smile at people you meet. Say a few kind words to people who serve you. Your kind gesture will be appreciated and you will be happy as well

7. Be financially independent: Having sufficient funds means you can enjoy the material life you want. And more importantly, you will not have money problems

8. Happy at work: You may not like the work that you do, but just think of it; it is where you get your paycheck every month to support you and your family. Holding a full-time job impacts your self-image positively.

9. Connect with friends: Strike a lively conversation among friends. Crack a few jokes to laugh out loud.

10. Be yourself: Love yourself as what you are. Accept your strengths and weaknesses. Nobody is perfect. Express yourself freely; do not worry about what others think about you.

11. Love your family: Spread your love for every member of your family. When they are happy you are happy too and life is meaningful and wonderful.

12. Be happy: Happiness is from within. Just be happy and you will develop more positive emotions like self-confidence, enthusiasm, and optimism.

13. Appreciate things of beauty: Develop in your admiration of the finer things in life such as poems, work of art, and music. Visit the museums, art galleries, and attend classical music concerts. A thing of beauty is a joy forever.

Remember that you only live once. While you are alive and kicking why not live life to the fullest?

“I think the purpose of life is to be happy, to be useful, to be responsible, to be honorable, and to be compassionate. It is, above all, to matter, to count, to stand for something, to have made some difference that you lived at all,” - Leo Rosten (1908-1997) Writer.

Imagination and Creativity

Imagination and Creativity

According to the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, imagination is the ability to create pictures in your mind while creativity is the use of skill and imagination to produce something new or a work of art. 

 It looks like first, you imagine and then you create. It is confirmed by a quote from George Bernard Shaw,” Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will.” 

How do we develop the power of imagination? Here are a few tips: 

 1. Something for the mind to focus on: Do not allow your mind to wonder about. Direct your mind to a particular point to start working on. 

 2. Carry a note pad with you: Whenever an idea flashes across your mind, jot it down quickly so that it will not be forgotten. 

 3. Interest and passion: When you are passionately interested in something, your imagination works better. There is a flow of ideas to excite the imagination. 

 4. Writing: The daily habit of writing is a source to stimulate the development of imagination. Imagination leads to creative writing. 

 5. Hobbies: Hobbies such as drawing and painting inevitably employ the faculty of imagination. 

 6. Memory and imagination: The images that are stored in the memory are used as tools to generate imagination. Be curious about things and allow the brain to absorb new ideas and in turn, the information feeds our imagination. 

 7. Learn from creative people: Associate with people who are creative. Talk to them and get insights from them. 

 8. Reading: According to Alex Osborn, author of ‘Applied Imagination’ says,” Reading supplies bread for the imagination to feed on, and bones for it to chew on.” Read widely to stimulate the development of imagination. 

 Albert Einstein says. ”Imagination is more important than knowledge. For while knowledge defines all we currently know and understand, imagination points to all we might yet discover and create.” 

 Related articles:

Creativity - 7 Sparking Tips to Get It

How to be Creative – 7 Bright Ideas

Persistence – Success in the Long-term

Persistence

A little more persistence, a little more effort, and what seemed hopeless failure may turn to glorious success. ELBERT HUBBARD

Success means going for the long-haul. It means you must be able to sustain your effort at least for a few years to see the fruit of your labor. How do you develop persistence?

1. Interest and passion: One of the surest ways to maintain persistence is to do something that you are passionately interested in. Your passion will bring your full attention to it. I enjoy blogging and I am happy and delighted to write and post an article a day and I have been doing it for more than 19 months.

2. Value to others: When you do something which is beneficial to others, you find meaning in it and it is a motivating factor to keep you going on. Like blogging, my articles are able to solve readers' problems and it encourages me to write more and better articles.

3. Monitor your progress: It is important that you should be able to check your progress. When you see improvement as you go along you are happy and you work harder. For me, I am able to check the progress in blogging by looking at the figures at statcounter.com and the Traffic Rank. My self-confidence and my self- worth are elevated because my Traffic Rank is going up all the way. There are times when the Traffic Rank takes a dip but it does not affect me negatively. I continue to work on my articles.

4. Take the challenge: Whatever you do, take it as a challenge. Succeeding at doing something by itself will give you satisfaction even without reward. Like blogging, it is very competitive. When my Traffic Rank is going upward I know I am doing things right. It gives me happiness, excitement, and delight.

5. Rewards: Are you being rewarded for your efforts? The reward will spur you to do more and put your energy at a higher level. To me, my reward is the favorable comments by my readers, links to my blog, and subscriptions to my feed. The support from my readers is more than enough to stimulate me to carry on.

Success is not a destination. It is a journey and it is a long and winding road.

You have to stay on course all the way and success will be yours.

Bring Excitement to Your Life – 7 Stimulating Tips

As we grow older we are more and more cocooned into a comfort zone. Our outlook in life is getting narrower and narrower. We do the same routine every day and our senses are getting bored and dull. How do you bring excitement to your life? How do you renew yourself so that life is more meaningful? Here are 7 stimulating things that you can do to bring back the spark into your life so that your life is filled with happiness and fun.


1. Continuous Learning: Be keen to acquire new knowledge. The latest information stimulates your mind. It sparks creativity in you. Fill your time profitably by reading and learning.

2. Travel: One sure way to widen your horizons is to visit new places. Your mind is more receptive when you go to unfamiliar places. Learn the way of life of other people and compare them with your life.

3. Connect with more people: Don't limit yourself by seeing the same old people every day. Talk to new people to bring new insights into your life.

4. Break away from your habits: Do something that you normally do not do. Instead of driving, perhaps, you take a bus to town. Instead of staying at home on Sunday, take an excursion to the beach or to the country.

5. Be curious, excited, and enthusiastic about life: As a good example, you visit the mall to do window shopping. Be alert about the latest fashion by looking at the people there. Check out the latest products on display. Find out how products are launched and promoted at the mall. Do you think the way they do marketing is effective? Is the mall well-managed? There is a lot to learn by visiting the mall.

6. Stay fit and healthy: Your energy comes from your physical activities. Exercise every day so that you are in top form. You will be able to concentrate and stay calm.

7. Develop your potentialities: Do something good for you and others. As a good example, I have taken up blogging and I find that it is very meaningful. As I write every day I polish my writing skills and at the same time, I post useful articles to solve readers' problems. I also post topics on happiness to uplift the mood of others.


Life is about movement. Be alive and bring more life into your life and start living again.

Emotional Intelligence – 7 Tips to Manage Emotions

Emotional Intelligence

According to Wikipedia, emotional intelligence is a term that describes the ability, capacity, skill, or a self-perceived ability, to identify, assess and manage the emotions of one’s self, of others, and of groups. Here are the tips to manage emotions:

1. Self-awareness: Be able to recognize your own emotions as they occur. Get to know how the emotions are affecting you.

2. Self-control: Able to manage your own emotions to avoid the outburst of negative emotions such as anger and violence Research shows that chronic anger and anxiety create a health risk.

3. Understand the emotions of others: Identify the feelings of others will put you in a better position to understand the behavior of your fellow beings

4. Take care of your health and fitness: Positive emotions are generated when you have sufficient sleep and you exercise regularly. You are able to stay calm and collected and will not be easily disturbed by outside events. Having a balanced diet will also affect your emotions positively.

5. Be connected: Building lasting relationships and trusting each other at home, at work, and among friends are ways to display your positive emotions. These positive emotions will be reciprocated.

6. Harness the power of positive emotions to motivate oneself: Positive emotions such as enthusiasm, optimism, zeal, confidence, persistence, and hope will propel you to success and happiness in your life. When you are able to pay 100% attention to the task at hand you are able to enter into a “flow” state. You will be highly productive and your performance will be outstanding.

7. Positive emotions generate more positive emotions: Negative emotions lead to more negative emotions. Likewise, positive emotions will vibrate into more positive emotions. When you feel happy, you are excited, your spirits will be high, and your self-confidence will be boosted.

Effective management of emotions means you are more attentive, more conducive to creative thinking, more affectionate to others, and most important of all, your positive emotions override your negative emotions.

Think Positive and be Successful

Source:http://www.webthoughtspot.org/stories/positive-thinking/

“The positive thinker sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible.” –Winston Churchill

After reading many books and articles about successful people, I have found out that the most important factor of their success is that they think positively and they feed their minds with positive thoughts. These positive thoughts create positive action and the outcome is a success. Why positive thinking can bring about such tremendous power? Here are some of the reasons:


1. Self-image: They think highly of themselves. They carry a healthy image of themselves and they feel good about themselves.

2. Good habits: Once they have arrived at a decision. They do not hesitate; they swing into action right away. They don’t have self-doubt to hold them back

3. Belief in themselves: They are confident in themselves. When they do something, they believe they can get it done and they just do it. When they face setbacks along the way they take them as a learning experience and they move on.

4. Positive emotions: As positive thinking is a positive emotion it leads to more positive emotions such as happiness, cheerfulness, calmness, energy, kindness, friendliness, mindfulness, and patience.

5. Be themselves: They accept their own weaknesses; they show their true selves without feelings of guilt or embarrassment. They behave normally with no thoughts of what others think about them.


When you think and feed your mind with positive thoughts you elevate your self-worth. You project a positive image of yourself in your mind. You are confident in yourself and you feel happy.

Think positive to propel you to greater success.

What is Your Online Personality Grade?

According to Hubspot’s Inbound Internet Marketing Blog, you can benchmark your online personality. Their Personality Grader clusters analyze and measure the width and breadth of your online footprint across thousands of different social sites. The tool uses this data to calculate 4 variables that serve as input for a Personality Grade:

   Frequency – This is a measure of your rate of content production and social interaction.

 Sentiment – Using computational linguistics they are able to analyze the tone of the content you produce for the Web. 

Reach- This is a measurement of the size of your social network, in terms of both first and Nth-order strong and weak connections. 

 Intelligence – The intelligence metric uses a combination of several different methods. 

 I did a cheek and the following are my scores: Frequency 50 Sentiment 69 Reach 93 Intelligence 90.

 My grade is 75.5 out of 100 (50+69+93+90)/4 

 What is yours? Go to personality.grader.com to check it out.

Looking after Your Personal Brand – 8 Crucial Tips

Personal Brand

The financial crisis means cost-cutting. Cost-cutting means retrenchment. How do you maintain your position in the office so that you still can keep your job? Here are some relevant issues that you must look into to sustain and strengthen your personal brand: 

 1. Personal Packaging: Always dress smartly and appropriately. If you don’t you are perceived by others that you don’t care too much about yourself. A smartly dressed person tells me that he is full of confidence and very sure of himself. 

 2. Personal finance: Don’t get yourself into unnecessary debt to the extent that people are looking for you at your office to demand outstanding payment from you. Manage your personal finance well. If you don't, how will you manage the finance of the company when you are the CFO? 

 3. Update yourself: Keep abreast of the latest development in the area of your expertise. Learn new things and gain valuable knowledge so that you are on top of things.

 4. Positive image of yourself: Behave yourself in such a way that people can count on you to get things done. Make yourself likable by getting along well with others. 

 5. Promote your brand: There is no better way to advertise your personal brand than by having a blog. A blog gives you an opportunity to write articles on subjects relating to your expertise. When you are in a management position, write about topics on effective management. Who knows you may be noticed and get yourself hired in a better position. 

 6. Maintain your trustworthiness and honesty: Your honor is very important to you. Don’t ever make a wrong move or your future will be ruined. People notice others more of what they have done wrong than right. Uphold your trustworthiness and your honesty. These virtues are indispensable at work. 

 7. Health and fitness: Project yourself as a person full of energy and vitality. The only way is to exercise every day to maintain the youthfulness in you. 

 8. Personal network: Be connected online and offline. Sign up with LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter and be connected to those with similar interests. Extend your web of influence by joining trade associations and enlarging your circle of friends. Build yourself into a trusted brand. 

A trusted brand will go a long way in your career. Happy branding!

Be Yourself and Be Happy – 11 Positive Tips

Best Self

Do not think negatively about your self-image. Just be yourself and be happy. Here are some ways to be what you are and have fun and enjoy yourself: 

 1. When you wake up: Tell yourself that it is going to be a wonderful day and you are going to have a great time and be happy throughout the whole day. 

 2. Smile: Smile at the people you meet. You will be greeted with a broad smile in return. You will feel good. If someone does not smile at you, pity him that he has not learnt the art of smiling at others. 

 3. Be confident: Don’t discount your true value. Have faith in yourself. Act and feel confident. Believe you can and just do it.

 4. Join in the fun: Mix around, loosen yourself, and join in the fun and have a good time. 

 5. Be able to laugh at yourself: Don’t take yourself seriously. When you make a mistake and people laugh at you, you laugh at yourself too. 

 6. Be good to other people: Help others. The fact that you can lend a hand to others shows your worth in this world. 

 7. Think of your achievements: Be proud of yourself. Think of the things that you are good at. And you will feel good about yourself. As an example, I feel great when I think of my blog because my Traffic Rank has been going up and up. It’s a feat for me. 

 8. Appreciate yourself: Accept your strengths and weaknesses. We all have our good points and bad points. Nobody is perfect, why worry about your shortcomings? 

 9. Exercise regularly: When you are physically active every day, you will stay calm. You will be able to concentrate and think positively. You are in control. 

 10. Never stop learning: Always update yourself with the latest information. Learn new things, acquire new knowledge. The more you know the more confident you will be.

 11. Act naturally: Don’t bother about what others think about you. Feel, act, behave, and think the way you normally do. Be relaxed and express yourself freely. 

 According to Denis Waitley,” It’s not what you are that holds you back. It’s what you think you are not.” 

 Related article:

Self Image and Autosuggestion

Create, Establish, Maintain and Manage Your Brand

Brand

There are 4 stages to develop your brand in the blogosphere. Here are the steps you should take:

Create your brand

What are your interest and passion? What are the things that you can do better than others?

What are the things that you always do without being asked to do? Answer these questions to discover and create your niche. As an example, my niche is self-improvement. I enjoy writing articles on topics relating to personal development.

Establish your brand

When you have identified your niche, the next thing to do is to establish your brand.

The best thing to do is to start a blog. Write and post articles about your interests. The subjects that you know better than others and you find it meaningful. Next, you create your profile at Google Profiles. You also add your profile at Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Plaxo. Be sure that your profile is consistent with your niche.

Maintain your brand

You should always update your profile on LinkedIn and other social media sites. However, the most important thing is to write and post articles about your niche on a regular basis. Consistency in posting your articles will boost the confidence of the readers in you.

Manage your brand

You should monitor your brand in the blogosphere by signing up with Google Alerts to protect your brand and your name. You will be notified, as instructed by you, say, on a daily basis, if your blog or your name is mentioned on the Internet. This is very important if someone has smeared your name you can quickly react by asking the site to stop it. On the other hand, if there are favorable comments about your brand you should also acknowledge immediately. As an example, at any time when my name 'Charles Chua C K' or my blog 'All About Living With Life' is mentioned on the Internet, I will be informed by Google. You can also do a search on Twitter to find out what others talk about you and your brand from time to time.

The most essential thing to build your brand is consistency. Writing and posting articles relating to your niche according to your posting rhythm will make your brand trusted by more and more people over time.

13 Memory Tips

Memory

Image source:https://www.nbcnews.com/better/health/how-get-better-remembering-things-according-neuroscience-ncna882426

There are many ways to help you to remember and here are just some of them: 

 1. Use all your five senses: Use all your senses to study an object and you will be able to remember better. As an example you look at an apple, you smell the freshness of it, you feel it in your hand, and you taste it and hear the crispy sound when you bite into it. 

 2. Undivided attention: The first impression is the real key to memory. The first time you learn something new observe and concentrate fully. Your 100% attention means you will remember it later deeply and clearly 

 3. Repetition: It is boring to repeat something over and over again but it is one sure way to remember it. 

4. When you are interested: It’s easy to remember something when you are interested. You pay full attention to it and you remember distinctly. 

 5. Understand: When you don’t understand you don't remember. Make sure you are able to comprehend the issue so that you can remember well.

 6. Sufficient sleep: When you sleep, you allow your brain to store the things that you have just learnt. 

7. Drink enough water: Dehydration disrupts your normal thinking and remembering process.

 8. No smoking and drinking: Too much drinking will damage your short term memory. Smoking will reduce the level of oxygen in the brain 

 9. Be relaxed when you are learning: Your mind is more receptive to new ideas when you are at ease. You don't remember well when you are under stress. 

 10. Say it and write it down: To remember a person's name, listen to the pronunciation carefully, write it down, and say the name and repeat it often in the course of conversation. Study the person‘s face, his expression, and his mannerisms so that you can relate his features to his name. 

 11. Link with old memory: Associate with what you know when you learn new things so that it can be linked and remembered easily 

 12. Rehearse: For long-term memory, it is better to go over the material at regular intervals. It will reinforce what you have learned before. 

 13. Remember lists: Using 10 different locations of your room to remember 10 items: 1. The door 2. The corner on the right 3. The next wall 4. The next corner 5. The wall facing the door 6. The next corner 7. The next wall 8. The corner on the left side of your room 9. The ceiling. 10. The floor of the room All you need to do is to place the first item of your list (1. a book, 2. a chair, 3. a cat, 4. a pen…) by the door and item No. 2 on the right corner until you’ve assigned all 10 items to 10 different locations of your room. You will be able to remember all items in your list in the correct sequence, in revere order, randomly, or given the item you will be able to tell the number. You can create 10 rooms to remember 100 items. Try it, it works. 

 Memory can be trained and improved. Learning new things can stimulate your brain so is creative thinking. Exercise your brain more often for better memory. 

 Related articles: 

  Brain Fitness - 5 Fun and Easy Ways

Memory and Sleep