Tag: Put

  • 12 Unique Ways To Ask Your Partner to Marry You Using the Internet

    12 Unique Ways To Ask Your Partner to Marry You Using the Internet

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    Asking your partner to marry them should be a memorable experience, but what if you don’t have enough cash to hire a plane and pop the question in the clouds? If you’re feeling the pinch, but still looking for something a pretty special, then turning to the internet and social media may just be the solution. The internet provides a vast scope of opportunity when it comes to asking someone to stay with you forever, but by far the most difficult challenge when using the internet is to make the experience feel romantic. Face to face is by far the most romantic way to propose but with some extra effort and thought it can still be achieved. A romantic experience by definition can mean different things to different people, so weather you’re a pizza fanatic, love New York, brilliant at building WordPress sites, or have great persuasion skills, the internet may just be your key to rocking your partners world.

    Create A Website

    Build a website that holds all of the pictures and videos of your relationship together. Use it as a record of all your time together and as a special touch, make a video asking for their hand in marriage.

    Get A Video To Go Viral

    This could be a tricky one and you will need to be very inventive. You could specifically say in the video that if it finds it’s way back to your partner through social media, then you will ask for their hand in marriage. This might give other people more incentive to share it.

    Use Fiverr.com

    There are some really good gigs on Fiverr that you can use to ask for someones hand in marriage. Billboards are pretty popular. You could use someone with a billboard in New York or next to a famous landmark.

    Status Update

    If you’re in ownership of some epic persuasion skills then you could ask your partners favorite celebrity to pose the question via a status update on Facebook or Twitter.

    Create an Game

    Create an online game or android app that ends with you asking for their hand in marriage. You’re going to need some great programming skills for this, or you can use an app that incorporates a treasure hunt theme that they use it to track down the ring offline.

    Create a Picture

    Pictures are by far the most shared thing on the internet. You could create one seriously funny marriage proposal picture and get it to go viral.

    QR Code

    Create a really cool QR code that they can scan. You could set one up in your local pub so they had no idea that it was related to marriage.

    Use a Band

    Pay a band to record a video and get them to devote a song to your loved one. Right at the end you could get them to tell your partner that you have a question to ask you.

    Video Star

    More persuasion skills needed here. Get your partners favorite celebrity to upload a video message asking them to marry you.

    Surprise Delivery

    If your partner orders products online regularly, ask the company to create a special package to send next time as a surprise. If you’re looking for really cheap idea, then why not ask you’re local pizza delivery service. Whilst not the most romantic experience ever, no one is ever about to forget the time the pizza delivery boy delivered a love pizza with a ring in whilst singing your favorite love song.

    Facebook Ads

    Set up a Facebook page asking your partner to marry u with a unique cover and logo. Then create an advert to be displayed to her/him. You will need to advertise using only friends of friends and then narrow the advert down to your partners age group and sex so that they have every chance of seeing it.

    Start Blogging

    Create a blog style story and get it published in an online magazine or newspaper. The story will need to be interesting enough to read as an article though. Maybe if you met in interesting circumstances or your partner has done something amazing with their life then you can tell their story over the media waves, popping the question right at the end.

    There are many ways that you can ask someone to marry them over the internet. The best part is that the cost can be kept to a minimum; however to make something truly amazing and memorable, you’re going to need a mixture of average tech skills, a bit of cash, and one seriously inventive personality. If you do happen to be a fledging in all these departments, then fear not, put a list together of your most useful friends and revert back to this list. We’re sure that one of you’re friends at the very least will have a skill that matches one of the above ideas: failing that, who doesn’t love pizza?

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    Source by Lydia J T

    Views: 0

  • MLM Success – Is Your Content Valuable, or a Waste of Web Space?

    MLM Success – Is Your Content Valuable, or a Waste of Web Space?

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    If you're looking to create MLM success, which I know you are … then there's one thing that you better make sure of.

    That one thing is that you're putting out great content.

    Now what do I mean when I say great content? You see there's only one secret to great content and that's that the content is valuable. When content is valuable it simply means that your readers will be able to use that content and make some sort of use of it.

    If your MLM success is dependent on you having valuable content, what are some of the ways that you can ensure that your content is usable by your readers.

    Here are 3 Ways to Create MLM Success by Making Your Content Valuable and Usable

    First … Give Tips That Are Immediately Useful – If you give your readers a tip that they can use today, to see some success, then they're going to look at you as someone that they want to know more about and work with .

    Of course, this assumes that you're marketing to people who are already in the home business arena. This is a huge way to bring some heavy hitters into your downline, simply by showing them that you too are serious and know what you're talking about.

    This also brings the people who are looking for mentorship into your downline. These are the people who have put their faith in another sponsor with another business with high hopes, only to find out that this sponsor knew little more than they did about creating MLM success for themselves.

    So, putting out great content that people can use pronto will grab these people and have then knocking down your door to join you and your business opportunity.

    Second … Be Inspiring – Creating inspiration will go a long way in creating raving fans that want to work with you. This is because we're all dying to be inspired. We read books that inspire us, we buy posters with inspiring quotes, we watch inspiring movies over and over again, basically we'll walk over hot coals for inspiration.

    If you're the one providing that inspiration then you're going to win a lot of friends and well … influence a lot of people to steal the title of the great book.

    Inspiring people means giving them a kick in the pants to get them to act. Helping them see the reasons and the ways to reach their goals, and achieve their dreams. When they're inspired they'll be looking for your mentorship to get them closer and closer … and in the situation of MLM success, or home business success this means very likely joining your MLM business opportunity.

    Third … Be Entertaining – Sure, people want inspiration and they want great tips, but what they also really want is to be entertained. The proof is simply looking at movie sales, music sales, sports stadium seating, concert halls, Broadway, and television. People want to be entertained, and so if you can provide that entertainment along with the two points above, then you've got yourself a heck of a captivated audience.

    This means an audience captivated by your voice.

    So, as you can see, creating MLM success isn't that difficult as long as you're creating valuable content that people flock to … and now you know exactly how to do that.

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    Source by David L. Feinstein

    Views: 0

  • 10 Reasons Masturbation Is Good for a Man’s Health

    10 Reasons Masturbation Is Good for a Man’s Health

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    Nope, it doesn’t cause blindness or hair to sprout wildly from a man’s hands. Masturbation is actually a very healthy hobby to have, affecting all areas of a man’s health and wellness from the top of his head to the depth of his heart. Ranging from everything from cancer prevention to self-love, masturbation is a free, easy hobby that yields powerful results for a man’s wellness.

    #1: Body Confidence

    Getting sexy with oneself is a great way to get in touch with erogenous zones and feel pleasure. Masturbation has also been shown to help people be more in touch with and feel better about their bodies, promotes intimacy, and improves communication regarding likes, desires, and dislikes with a partner. It’s a pathway to accepting oneself as well as being a confident lover.

    #2: Feel-Good Hormones and Relaxation

    Unlike partner play, masturbation is generally all about the orgasm. When a man orgasm, his body is flooded with dopamine, oxytocin, and endorphins. These are the “love and bonding” hormones that create a feeling of safety and warm fuzzies. They also lower cortisol, the evil stress hormone, which leads to less inflammation, weight gain, and stress-eating. Masturbation has also been shown to lower blood pressure, creating a relaxing mood.

    #3: Cheeto-Fighting Powers

    Remember that oxytocin? It keeps a man happy which stops emotionally-triggered food cravings for things like cheese, sugar, and other comfort goods. So put away the Ben & Jerry’s and pull out the lube instead.

    #4: Improves Sperm Quality

    Give swimmers an extra boost. Like anything else perishable, the fresher, the better. There are less motility issues and DNA damage when sperm is regularly turned over.

    #5: Improved Microbiome

    Who knew the key to bloating and gassiness was masturbation? The regular flood of pleasure keeps the guts in check and balances digestion. It’s due to the bloods increased circulation and positive hormone balance.

    #6: Reduced Pain

    Orgasm circulates the blood through the body which naturally help soothe aches and even headaches because pain can frequently be caused by dehydration and low oxygenation. Also, what feels better than an orgasm. Try for a P-Spot orgasm to extend the good vibes.

    #7: It Makes a Man Mindful

    Nothing requires a man to be in the moment like masturbation. Solo play is a form of erotic meditation, reducing stress and a racing brain. Sometimes it’s just the break a man needs.

    #8: It Wards off Cancer

    An Australian study found that men who ejaculated more than five times a week were a third less likely to develop prostate cancer. This seems to be because toxins build in the urogenital tract. When a man orgasms, it flushes the toxins from the system.

    #9: Tones the Love Muscle

    It’s like doing dead lifts for your dick. Everyone loses muscle tone with age; however, masturbation keeps the pelvic floor muscles strong which also help keep ED and incontinence at bay.

    #10: Mood Booster

    Back to those love chemicals. Masturbating releases dopamine and oxytocin which not only destress, but also lift the spirits, boost levels of happiness and satisfaction, and activate the reward circuits in the brain.

    Of course, a man needs to keep his member primed and ready for action at all times. That’s why it’s important to use a penis health creme (health professionals recommend Man 1 Man Oil , which has been clinically proven safe and mild for skin) which is created especially for delicate penile skin and contains all the nutrients and vitamins essential to a strong, supple penis. It’s a quick and easy piece that should be included in every man’s grooming regimen that not only is good for him but feels amazing too.

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    Source by John Dugan

    Views: 0

  • New Book Removes Fear From Sales With Practical, Easy-To-Implement Techniques

    New Book Removes Fear From Sales With Practical, Easy-To-Implement Techniques

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    As a small business owner, I found Greg Andersen's Small Business Sales, WTF (Without the Fear) full of practical advice, new ideas, and down-to-earth common sense to help me rethink my sales approaches. Andersen has been in sales for many years in the printing business, but the advice he offers is applicable to anyone in sales, especially small business owners who may be wearing all the hats themselves or unable to focus on sales because they're too busy looking after everything else.

    Small Business Sales, WTF is divided into two sections: Pre-Sales Planning, in which Andersen discusses products, going to market with products, creating a sales environment, and then The Sales Process, in which he explores how to find customers, make contact , get the opportunity to sell to the customer, execute the sale, and then follow up with and retain the customer long-term. Andersen walks readers through each step of the sales process, providing practical and personal examples of what has worked for him that readers can easily model or put their own spins on.

    Andersen writes in a humorous but tell-it-like-it-is style to dismiss myths about the sales process and cut through sales jargon to get to what the reader really needs to know. For example, early in the book, he has a list of "Words / Phrases you will not hear in my book." Among the phrases included is "Belly-to-Belly" to which he responds, "Gross. How about face-to-face." Another phrase is "Low Hanging Fruit," which he says does not really exist, and still another is "Hook," which he finds insulting because it assumes customers are suckers or fish. Instead, Andersen prefers to treat his customers like human beings and rather than "close the sale" come to an "agreement" between two parties who trust and respect each other.

    For most people, sales can have a bad name. No one likes being sold to, and people who reluctantly take on a sales role are aware of that and often fearful of selling. Andersen teaches readers how to remove the fear of sales by rethinking what sales really is. Most people dread the "cold call," so Andersen talks about instead viewing sales as "demand generation." It's about looking for where there is a demand for your services and then providing the product or service to fulfill that demand. It's also about listening to customers.

    Andersen states: "When all is said and done, only a few methods of outreach will really get you in contact with a prospective new customer-the phone, letter writing, a trade show, and email. What really counts is the technique you employ . " He then provides creative examples of how to handle sales through each of these approaches, as well as discussing social media as a sales strategy. His examples are drawn from personal experiences, from his days as a shoe salesman at Nordstrom to his current sales role in the printing industry. Best of all, he even includes copies of letters he has sent to clients. His techniques are simple and straightforward, so anyone, no matter how scared of sales, can implement them.

    Of course, there will be difficult clients or people who don't want to hear how you can help them. Andersen provides strategies for getting past the gatekeepers to the decision makers. He reveals his research techniques, which are quite clever and even include looking at prospective customers' job postings to determine who in a company is or will be in a buyer position for his product.

    When facing resistance from a potential client, Andersen realizes it's not always about him, his approach, or his product. I loved the following invaluable point he made: "Another way I like to approach these challenging situations is to remind myself that all these excuses mean the customer is probably protecting his current vendor. If he is being loyal to his current vendor, some day he will be loyal to me. Stay positive. " Personally, I know this is true as a business owner. If I have a vendor providing me with a good service at a good price, I feel loyal to that vendor and am not willing to change. Such clients may be resistant to change, but they are the ones you want because they are loyal. Andersen shows how persistence pays off in these situations. Sometimes he makes contact with customers who are not in need of his services right then, but years later, he secures business with them, and even if at first he doesn't get the level of business he wants, they often will give him some business as a trial and then he can work his way in to larger sales with them.

    Perhaps what I liked most about Andersen's approaches is that he truly believes in being responsive to clients. I cannot stress enough how frustrated I feel when I send an email to someone who does not reply to me for several days. I am personally always very responsive to my clients and usually reply within hours if not minutes. Andersen points out that even if you don't have an answer to a client's problem or you can't take the time to respond to a question at that moment, a simple response like, "I'm on it," lets clients know you will get back to them and then they can quit worrying about their problem and go on to the next item on their to-do list until you do get back to them. In other words, Andersen is always in favor of reassuring the client that you will do what you say and provide reliable and quality service.

    Altogether, Small Business Sales, WTF does take a lot of the fear and stress out of sales. I believe most readers will be pleasantly surprised by this book; they'll read Andersen's stories and examples and say to themselves, "I can do that," and even find ideas of their own popping into their heads as they build off of Andersen's advice. Whether you are a small business owner with absolutely no sales experience, are just starting out in sales, or have been in sales for years, there are plenty of nuggets of advice here that can make your sales process easier, more lucrative, and all around more enjoyable.

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    Source by Tyler Tichelaar

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  • Understanding Love's True Nature

    Understanding Love's True Nature

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    Since the dawn of homo sapiens, we have been investigating, experiencing, and trying to crack the secret code of love. Many of us seem to have forgotten that in the earlier days, free love was a scarcity. From aristocrats to slaves, marriages and relationships were often given as commands and choices of individuals in higher power and authority for political, religious, material and personal gains. Thus, there are the great love tragedies of "Romeo and Juliet" and "Abelard and Heloise", as well as countless others who were heedlessly persecuted for their innocent expression of love. These tragic love stories left many of us wondering, why is it so hard to love and what is like to experience that depth of love?

    Free will love has made much progress in the 21st century through the evolution of humans' love experiences, technological advancement, and cultural changes. In today's more liberal societies, people are given the freedom to choose and express their admirations and desires to the subjects of their affection with little or no consequences. However, in societies where we can freely choose whom we want to love, we have witnessed an increase in divorce rate, a decline in marriage rate, and more people delaying marriage for different reasons.

    Duality of Love

    But regardless whether we follow the "Abelard and Heloise" love model of 'following one to the end of the Hell' to 'you are just one of the 100 people that I am seeing and what is your name again?', We experience the universal conditions of pleasures and pains, the coming together, and the ultimate disintegration of love and relationships, no matter how little or how much we love. No matter how much wealth and power one possesses, one is still subject to others' emotional and physical transgressions.

    So, if we know the ultimate end to any love and relationship, why are we still relentlessly pursuing love, whether it is in the form of a committed monogamous relationship or sleeping with as many people as we can? What is it that we pursue in our teens, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, and up to the moment of our death? And if we are to look back at our lives, would we regret the times we did not try harder, the people we have hurt, and most painful of all, we easily let go of that person who awakens our soul, only to learn so too late.

    Pleasures and pains are the twin brothers of love. We cannot expect one and not the other. We think we deserve God-like love and it is someone else's responsibility to make us happy. If we want God-like love, then we should put in God-like work. If we are not willing to open our hearts to experience judgements, disappointments, and pains in experiencing love, how can we ask for a love that brings us happiness? If we are not willing to overcome our egos and karmic conditionings, how we can manifest a love that brings us meaning? If we are not willing to heal our souls' deepest wounds, how can we expect to live without pain?

    Love's True Nature

    Perhaps we can think ourselves as individuals who have came together to help each other learn and master the experiences of love and separation in different forms: commitment, marriage, infidelity, rejection, betrayal, and abandonment. So, in facing repetitive failures, disappointments, and hurts, we don't easily give up, and we continue to seek, learn, and understand love's true nature. In doing so, we can look beyond the rise and fall of constant changes in our everyday interactions and relationships.

    We learn to not waste energy on trivial questions like why he / she never responded to my text or never called me back. We don't doubt our values ​​because the person we love chooses someone else and we respect his / her choice and will. We don't live the rest of our lives in disappointment and hurt over people's betrayal. We don't take the easy route of love at the expense of others.

    When we transcend our experiences and learnings, love is no longer an idea of ​​you, me, he, she, or us. To love is to release us from our pains, fears, regrets, shame, guilt, and delusions, so we can transcend beyond our limited perceptions of ourselves and what love is.

    We can overcome our conditioned desires that dictate our thinking, beliefs, and behaviors in relationships. We develop the wisdom and courage to stay true to our hearts and not give in to our fears and pains for short term pleasures and gains.

    In experiencing the beginning and end of all human love relationships and their associated pleasures and pains, we learn unconditional acceptance, forgiveness, and love.

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    Source by Wendy Lin

    Views: 0

  • 3 Lazy Ways To Make Money Online

    3 Lazy Ways To Make Money Online

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    Okay I get it. You’re lazy. Not only are you lazy, you’re ridiculously lazy but you want to make some money. So I’m going to go over what I found to be literally the laziest methods to making real money online that actually works. So follow along. We’re going to go over

    3 lazy methods to make money online.

    Let’s focus on how you can be super lazy and make money online. So the first method is kind of an obvious one which is taking surveys, okay? Just sit around and basically fill out you know, answer personal questions about stuff, a really simple site that you can actually start taking surveys on.

    It’s through Amazon. So if you see on Amazon, there’s a lot of different jobs that you can do to make money online. They don’t pay all that much. They’re very simple, basic tasks you can… You know like spot objects in image and it will pay 30 cents. I mean it can’t get more lazy than that. You’re just spotting objects images to see what’s going on there. That sounds super lazy. So here’s another basic, lazy task you can do which you know you can describe a fact.

    Describe a fact and you get paid 20 cents, 3000 people have done this already. They give you instructions on how to do these things. So pretty lazy stuff. Again, these are basic tasks. You don’t get paid much for but you can make a couple bucks an hour doing this and just be totally lazy sitting out, mind numbed at your computer.

    Let’s go over a second lazy thing. So playing video games is another super lazy task that really requires very little thought time or money to do.

    And the way you would make money if you’re just going to play video games is you actually want a live stream yourself, okay? You’d want to livestream yourself on Twitch and you can make donations from people. So go to twitch.tv and here you see you can play poker on Twitch as well but a lot of people watch for Fortnite.

    You know Fortnite is the popular thing. And as you see, there’s some of the big, big people have thousands, thousands of people watching them play video games. Now to become big on you know twitch or any of these platforms, YouTube, YouTube live stream, you have to be lazy consistently you know.

    So that is the kind of annoying part is you have to consistently be lazy and just play video games and livestream yourself or else, you won’t get an audience and you know, the more animated you are the better but if you’re just a couch slob and you’re doing nothing, unless you’re a super hot chick wearing some really cute anime type gear, you’re not going to get a lot of viewers. Again, like all of this stuff, there are ways to be effectively lazy but playing video games online at least gives you the opportunity to get people to donate or ad revenue on twitch TV.

    So the third way to make money online being super lazy, just play poker. Play low stakes poker. Screw it. You know you could play poker online. Obviously, you can make money playing poker in real life but you could also lose money too and what I’m going to show you is just a super simple way of making money playing poker without really any chance of losing. And that would be to actually be an affiliate marketer for poker programs and livestream on YouTube. You can live stream on YouTube just like you do on Twitch.

    So you see poker party millions you can live stream yourself playing poker. And how you would make money, you could make money on Twitch through ads but what I’m going to show you is more effective way is live stream on YouTube. I don’t see many people doing this and I actually think this would be really effective. I don’t know why people don’t do this. But you’ll see right here is that you can get people to sign up to play poker online themselves and this company 888poker has paid out over $207,700,000 to affiliate marketers who have referred new players.

    You know, you can get anywhere from a 100 to $250 per player that signs up to play poker on 888poker. So it’s almost like they’re a sponsor of you playing poker but on a performance basis. And look at that money figure. That is a big, beautiful number right there. So really easy way play poker online and refer other people to play poker online as well.

    there you have it 3 Easy, lazy way to make money online. Sorry took a little long with that last example. But I hope this was informative, 3 super lazy ways to make money online. Again, if you don’t want to put in a lot of time, thought or money, I just gave you 3 super easy ways to get started.

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    Source by Troy D. Johnson

    Views: 0

  • Entrepreneurship Knowledge Services

    Entrepreneurship Knowledge Services

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    When an entrepreneur is starting a business he or she is faced with the requirement of several functions in which they might not be experts. They may know, for example, all there is to know about wholesale distribution but have no idea how to build a website.

    Since most companies are started with very limited funds, many entrepreneurs are reluctant to set money aside to pay for consulting services to fill in their knowledge gaps. For example, many create a website from the many templates available. Some are even free.

    Where the company website is concerned I feel that the use of existing templates is a false economy. The website functions as an online calling card and needs to put your best foot forward. For site visitors, seeing a format that they have seen before can reflect badly on you.

    The amount of time required for the entrepreneur to become proficient enough to develop a quality website takes time away from tending to functions relating to product knowledge, operations and management. Contracting with a website development company could be the solution.

    Websites, to be noticed, must go through the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) process. The purpose of SEO is to improve your website’s chances of ranking high in a search. The mechanism for doing this is complex and dynamic. This again is a very specialized function that is often beyond the capability of the business owner.

    There are functions which may be grouped under the heading Entrepreneurship Knowledge Services that will present the company at its best. In addition to the website and SEO examples these can include Business Strategy Planning and Business Valuation Services.

    Entrepreneurship Knowledge Services is a rich term covering what one needs to know to be a successful entrepreneur. There are other issues to be considered besides knowledge however. Do you have the right temperament? Do you have enough tolerance for risk? Can you acquire the funds to be a success?

    My recent experience is that the cost of business services for the self-employed is going down. One of the reasons is the quality and economy of services from Indian consultants. My experience with two firms in India has been positive. This is simply my experience, and yours can be vastly different, but I got a substantial amount of website design for about $4,000 and SEO for about $2,000.

    Your reaction may be that adding $6,000 to your startup expenses is prohibitive, but by farming this out the entrepreneur should find a quicker path to profitability.

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    Source by John Vinturella

    Views: 0

  • Ready for a High Impact Mindset Reset?

    Ready for a High Impact Mindset Reset?

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    Your mindset, your thoughts, can buoy you up, inspiring you to take courageous action, or they can drag you down, keeping you up at night with worry and paralyzing you with fear. Even though our brains are wired to dwell on the negative, on past mistakes, how we think in this moment is something we can control.

    Changing our minds in the present moment can be hard work! I know from experience that when things aren’t going well, one of the toughest things to do is to turn your mind from impending doom to what is possible and what can be done.

    The good news is that the more you practice these mindset boosters, the easier they become. They do, in fact, become habits that kick in when you need them the most.

    The even better news is that the more you practice them, the more impact both you and your company will have. Staying on track and not allowing yourself to be pulled down will save you a lot of time and energy. The time and energy you free up can be spent on your company’s financial performance and having impact.

    S0 let’s look at ways you can do a mindset reset and the practices that will support you in doing so:

    The Future Doesn’t Just Happen – You Shape It Every Day

    Have you ever seen or read about people in the direst of circumstances who are transcendent, happy? And others who seem to have everything, and yet feel deprived? The way you choose to think about a situation, the parts of yourself that you call on, even dig deep for, are what determine your present and your future. Your thinking is integral to your character.

    When things look negative, question it. There’s always a way to think about a situation that includes a gift, an opportunity. This may seem contrived at first, but think about situations where you’ve suddenly had a shift in perspective and a solution appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. That’s the effect you want to be able to call on.

    “Circumstance does not make the person,

    it reveals the person to himself or herself.”

    ~James Allen

    People become leaders of successful, impactful companies by becoming the people who can lead those companies first. They walk with integrity. They make smart decisions. They step up and into opportunity with courage. They acknowledge their fears, but don’t indulge them. They learn and grow.

    You are becoming the leader of your high impact company right now, in how you show up every day. Treating people with respect. Listening to ideas. Choosing how you use your time and energy. Making decisions with your mind AND your heart.

    You can shape your future by consciously developing the mindset of the leader who leads your company in these ways.

    Doubling down on mission is one way to ensure that your company moves more in the direction of your impact. New Belgium Brewing became a benefit corporation in 2018, ingraining its commitment to internal and community impact in its legal framework, and is now the fourth-largest craft brewery in the US.

    Fear and Getting Through the Storm

    We all have fears. Fears about how the company will do financially this year, about that crucial new hire who looks promising but is unproven, or about how your new offering will fare in a busy market. Fears can abound, especially if nurtured and given attention.

    “The future you constantly worry about

    Is nothing other than a projection of fear and desire from the past.”

    ~Thich Nhat Hanh

    Fears can instead be a tool, an indicator. They can lead you to research, to ask good questions, and to explore options. As long as you don’t allow fears to take over the present, they can actually be valuable.

    One way to be vigilant about fears is with mindfulness. Mindfulness, that focus on the present, is more than a business fad. It’s a practice that decreases stress and increases productivity.

    The leaders of outdoor apparel maker Patagonia are committed to using their successful company as a vehicle to put mindfulness into action. Patagonia founder Yves Chouinard describes navigating what could be a terrifying Class 4 rapid as a teaching:

    • look ahead and prepare

      • be proactive
      • don’t ignore what is coming
      • think through scenarios
      • do what is necessary to get ready to the best of your ability
      • trust that you can handle whatever happens

    • go into a drop

      • take calculated risks
      • once you decide, follow through wholeheartedly

    • read the river

      • be vigilant
      • be perceptive
      • adjust as needed.

    That intuitive process has helped guide his business for the last 50 years. Chouinard believes that if the process isn’t sound, if your intentions don’t come from the right place, the outcome, even if profitable, doesn’t matter.

    Practicing wisdom by making decisions from a place of love rather than fear can open the door to creative solutions. When Patagonia’s CEO Casey Sheahan was faced with laying off 150 employees during the financial crisis, shortly after he took over from Chouinard, he was torn up about the decision. His wife asked him, “Are you making this decision from a place of fear, or from a place of love?” When he realized that it was fear driving the layoff decision, he found another way, leading to unheard-of sales levels after a few rocky quarters.

    Fear can be a driver of decisions and actions, but they don’t have to be. Elizabeth Gilbert in her book, Big Magic, tells the story of treating her fears like an inevitable passenger on a road trip. Fears can and will be there, but they can Never. Ever. Drive.

    Focus on Your Impact

    Do you find your Impact Purpose, a clear statement of the impact you want to have, inspiring? Does it fill you with energy? If it doesn’t, at least most of the time, you might be on the wrong track. Your clarity about the impact you want to have, whether it’s social or environmental or both, can serve as the rock on which you build your impactful business.

    When you steadily focus on your Impact Purpose, you’ll find your thoughts turning from short-term pain to what you could achieve in your business and community. This thinking about others, and not just yourself, is a way to bring you out of the doldrums or away from unhelpful divergent thinking, and back into focus on your impact.

    Reinforce this by having your Impact Purpose statement in front of you, every day. Have it on your desk or screen. In your wallet. On your fridge. Wherever you will be regularly reminded of what you intend, personally and with your company.

    Plan your day and week with your Impact Purpose in mind. Include it in your decisions about how time, money, and resources will be spent, and with whom. Thoughts aligned with purpose are a powerful creative force. Fill your attention with something worthwhile.

    The greatest achievement was at one time a dream. Stay with your dream. It’ll be part of your becoming.

    You Are the Company You Keep

    You may have heard the notion that you are the sum of the 5 people you spend the most time with. That speaks to the influence that those around you have on your thinking and therefore on your actions.

    Some companies who are committed to having impact take this to a highly conscious level. Design firm LimeRed, led by Emily Lonigro Boylan, only works with individuals or organizations that have social impact. LimeRed only engages with clients whose values they share, who are kind and innovative, and who are also accountable to their stakeholders and communities.

    You as a business leader can also take this to another level by incorporating it into decisions about who you include on your team, your suppliers, and your partners. Do you vet who you work with every day through this lens? Do you extend this to your advisors, your pet projects, and your friends?

    You’re more likely to have impact when you devote all your energy and resources toward people and companies that also want to have impact in harmony with yours.

    Your mindset matters to your own fulfillment and well-being. It matters to your company, as you engage with your community and the larger world. Optimize your opportunity to have impact by doing this mindset reset.

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    Source by Ursula Jorch

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  • Climate Change: Its Ill-Effects on Health

    Climate Change: Its Ill-Effects on Health

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    The temperature increase in the atmosphere is more specifically referred to as global warming. But the climate change is the term currently favored by scientists, as it explicitly includes not only Earth’s increasing global average temperature, but also the climate effects caused by this increase.

    Any gas, which has the property of absorbing infrared radiation emitted from Earth’s surface and reradiating it back to Earth’s surface, is called greenhouse gas. Carbon dioxide, methane, and water vapor are the most important greenhouse gases. Other greenhouse gases include, but are not limited to, surface-level ozone, nitrous oxide, sulfur hexafluoride, hydro fluorocarbons, per fluorocarbons and chlorofluorocarbons.

    Though a naturally occurring phenomenon, the greenhouse effect results in a warming of Earth’s surface and troposphere – the lowest layer of the atmosphere. Of the greenhouse gases, water vapor has the largest effect.

    Some important causes of greenhouse effect include burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas, deforestation, increase in population, farming, and industrial wastes and landfills.

    Greenhouse gases trap heat in the atmosphere. With higher than normal concentrations, they lead to unnatural warming. The main cause of the current global warming trend is human expansion of the greenhouse effect, a warming that results when the atmosphere traps heat radiating from Earth toward space.

    Even a small global temperature increase could lead to troubling consequences like rising sea levels, population displacement, disruption to the food supply, flooding, and ill-effects on health. As a matter of fact, human health bears the greatest brunt of the consequences of the climate change.

    Ill-effects of climate change on health –

    Climate change can affect human health mainly in two ways: first, by changing the severity or frequency of health problems that are already affected by climate factors and second, by creating health problems in places where they have not previously occurred.

    Effects of temperature increase –

    Increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases lead to an increase of both average and extreme temperatures. This can compromise the body’s ability to regulate its temperature. Loss of internal temperature regulation can result in a cascade of illnesses, including heat cramps, heat exhaustion, heatstroke and hyperthermia in the presence of extreme heat, and hypothermia and frostbite in the presence of extreme cold. Temperature extremes can also worsen chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, cerebro-vascular disease, and diabetes-related conditions.

    People working outdoors, socially isolated, economically disadvantaged and those with chronic illnesses are more vulnerable to the impact of temperature increase.

    Effects of air quality –

    Climate change has modified weather patterns, which in turn have influenced the levels and location of outdoor air pollutants such as ground-level ozone (O3) and fine particulate matter. Increasing carbon dioxide (CO2) levels also promote the growth of plants that release airborne allergens. Higher pollen concentrations and longer pollen seasons can increase allergic sensitization and asthma episodes, thereby limiting productivity at work and school. Poor air quality, whether outdoors or indoors, can negatively affect the human respiratory and cardiovascular systems.

    Effects of extreme events –

    Climate change causes an increase in the occurrence and severity of some extreme events, which can have health impacts such as death or injury during an event, for example, drowning during floods. Health impacts can also occur before and after an extreme event, as individuals involved in activities such as disaster preparation and post-event cleanup put their health at risk. The severity and extent of health effects associated with extreme events depend on the physical impacts of the extreme events themselves.

    Vector borne diseases –

    Vector-borne diseases are transmitted by vectors, which include mosquitoes, ticks, and fleas. These vectors can carry infective pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, and protozoa, which can be transferred from one host (carrier) to another. The seasonality, distribution, and prevalence of vector-borne diseases are influenced significantly by climate. Climate change is likely to have both short- and long-term effects on vector-borne disease transmission and infection patterns, affecting both seasonal risk and disease occurrence over decades.

    Water related diseases –

    Climate change is expected to affect fresh and marine water resources in ways that will increase people’s exposure to water-related contaminants which cause illness. Water-related illnesses include waterborne diseases caused by pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, and protozoa. Water-related illnesses are also caused by toxins produced by certain harmful algae and by chemicals introduced into water sources by human activities. Exposure occurs through ingestion, direct contact with contaminated drinking or recreational water and through consumption of contaminated fish and sea food.

    Effects on mental health –

    Mental health consequences of climate change range from minimal stress and distress symptoms to clinical disorders such as anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, and suicidal tendencies. The children, elderly, women (especially pregnant and post-partum women), people with preexisting mental illness, economically disadvantaged, and homeless are more exposed to its mental health consequences.

    Effects on food safety and quality –

    Climate change is very likely to affect global, regional, and local food safety by disrupting food availability, decreasing access to food and making utilization more difficult. Higher concentrations of CO2 can lower the levels of protein and essential minerals in a number of widely consumed crops, including wheat, rice, and potatoes, with potentially negative implications for human nutrition. Poor nutritional quality of food is more likely to affect adversely the vulnerable sections of the population.

    The bottom line –

    Over the last 50 years, human activities have released sufficient quantities of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to trap additional heat in the lower atmosphere and affect the global climate. According to WHO (World Health Organization):

    • Climate change affects the social and environmental determinants of health – clean air, safe drinking water, sufficient food and secure shelter.
    • Between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cause approximately 250000 additional deaths per year, from malnutrition, malaria, diarrhea and heat stress.

    So, in view of the serious repercussions of climate change on human health, we all have to make concerted efforts to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases through better transport, food and energy use choices so as to improve our health particularly through reduced air pollution.

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    Source by Dr. Pran Rangan

    Views: 0

  • Smart Entrepreneurs Wear Six Hats

    Smart Entrepreneurs Wear Six Hats

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    Entrepreneurs are necessarily optimistic. You need to be, it allows you to see the possibilities around you and act on them.

    However, the downside is that your emotional attachment can blind you to problems that are otherwise obvious to someone who is not as personally invested in the project.

    This is why smart entrepreneurs learn to wear six hats: six "Thinking Hats". Originally defined by psychologist Edward DeBono, the Six Thinking Hats are a structured creativity tool to help you look at a situation from different perspectives, to solve a problem or to foresee and minimize risks before they turn into problems.

    When you "wear" a specific color hat, it gives you permission to look at your problem is a specific way:

    • White Hat: Analytical – What does the data say? Look at the available data, both quantitative and qualitative. What are past trends? What can you extrapolate? Where is the evidence to support your assumptions? Where do you need more data?
    • Red Hat: Emotional – How do you feel about this? Access your intuition, gut reaction, emotion. Talk about your feelings about the situation, where you feel good and not as good. How would others feel about this?
    • Black Hat: Pessimist – What could go wrong? Think cautiously, defensively, why it might not work. Poke holes in the idea, look for the weak spots, all with the intention to identify what needs to be addressed in order to overcome any problems.
    • Yellow Hat: Optimist – What if all goes right? Think optimistically, positively. Imagine all the opportunities, the benefits, the advantages. Reach for the stars!
    • Green Hat: Creative – How can we make this better? Use your creative juices to think "out of the box". Explore weird tangents, unexpected synergies, make it into a "purple cow" (something remarkable that stands out from the crowd).
    • Blue Hat: Process – What do we need to do now? Direct the process of creativity so avoid getting stuck. When in "Blue Hat" mode, step back from the problem and consider if you are giving all of the other hats equal time.

    Entrepreneurs seem to do quite well with the Yellow, Red and Green Hat approaches to thinking about an idea. There is more resistance to the White Hat (analytical) and definitely a big block around Black Hat thinking. Could this be because the Analytical and Pessimist are associated with external control?

    There is nothing to fear from the Black Hat – it can be your best friend. Wearing the Black Hat gets you out of cheerleader mode and forces you to examine your assumptions up close. From personal experience, I know that when a project backfires, the failure can be traced back to an assumption that was not properly tested. Black Hat thinking gives your project real traction by foreseeing the difficulties and encouraging defensive planning. This makes the plan more resilient and improves the probability of success.

    As you explore wearing the various Hats, put on the Blue Hat (Process) from time to time to see if you are considering all the perspectives of your project. Note that the purpose of this thinking exercise is not to assign fault or blame. The mindset of every Hat is to make sure the project succeeds.

    It is great fun to dream big and to reach for the stars. But if you want to make any progress, you need to keep your feet on the ground. Practice wearing the Six Thinking Hats as you plan and execute your business project. This mindset will give you the traction to power your project towards real and enduring results.

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    Source by Davender Gupta

    Views: 0