Category: lifestyle

1. Trying to do it alone.
Even if you can pull it off, it’s twice as much work and half as much fun when you do it alone.

2. Making empty promises.
Make your promises rare and 100 percent reliable.

3. Fixating on your weaknesses.
We all have our weak points. Work on them, but focus on your strengths.

4. Blaming others.
It’s cowardly and it costs you respect.

5. Overlooking your negative thoughts.
You may believe that you are responsible for what you do but not for what you think. The truth is those things can’t be separated.

6. Living in the past.
Your future starts now.

7. Trying to please everyone.
The surest path to failure is trying to please everyone. Work to please only yourself and those who are important to you.

8. Small goals.
Small goals yield small results; big goals, big (and sometimes huge) results.

9. Holding on to grudges.
They’re a waste of time and a thief of contentment and happiness.

10. Avoiding change.
Change will happen with your permission or not. Manage it when you can and always make the best of it.

11. Trying to never make a mistake.
Avoiding risk and never daring is the biggest mistake you can make.

12. Saying “I can’t.”
Don’t give up just because things are hard, and don’t talk to yourself in negative terms.

13. Minimizing yourself.
Being a shrinking violet doesn’t help you, it doesn’t put anyone else at ease, and it’s a bore.

The way I see it, there are five qualities that every successful leader embodies. Some of my biggest inspirations share all five traits, achieving unprecedented success in their fields. These characteristics aren’t magical or inaccessible. They’re qualities you can work on and apply to your own leadership style.

1. Vision

It takes guts to start something completely new. When Bill Gates began his career in technology, computers were earmarked for the wealthy and required a lumbering, 6-foot-wide machine to complete even a simple task.

But when you have a vision, you see things based on how they should be — rather than how they are. Gates saw that these machines could be household products, and with hard work and intelligence, transformed that vision into Microsoft.

Find something you’re passionate about, and ask yourself how it can be improved. When you can answer that question, make a move — no matter how bizarre. Gates dropped out of Harvard to pursue his vision. You don’t have to be that extreme, but it demonstrates how a clear vision can drive you to take a big leap of faith to bring it to fruition.

2. Resilience

Oprah Winfrey was born in the Deep South during the civil rights movement. She was sexually abused as a child, had a child as a teenager, and was raised by a single mother. But she bounced back from crippling poverty to become one of the world’s most successful women in entertainment.

Tony Robbins was raised by a single mother and lived in extreme poverty; he washed dishes in the bathtub of his 400-square-foot apartment. Still, he was determined to succeed. He became a life coach and motivational speaker and now has a net worth of more than $30 million.

What do these two people have in common? They’re resilient. Life did not deal them an easy hand, but they rose above their problems and found success. In business, you’re bound to encounter pitfalls, but without them, success wouldn’t be nearly as sweet.

You can’t just give up when you lose an important client or your market share plummets. Look at your failures through a different lens, and use them to fortify your next endeavor.

3. Intelligence

Richard Branson never went to college, but he’s a very intelligent man. Virgin America, Virgin Mobile, and Virgin Records — among other enormous enterprises — all flourished under Branson’s tutelage despite very little cash. In fact, Branson started Virgin Records from the trunk of his car.

Your level of formal education doesn’t necessarily indicate your intelligence. Branson took calculated risks by asking the right questions of himself and creating a plan. That’s all intelligence is: smart risks at the right time. Don’t judge yourself — or others — by the degrees you have under your belt.

4. Action

All the intelligence in the world will go to waste unless you act on your vision. Gates knew how to act. He saw a gap in the market that no one else did and put his vision in motion, which made him one of the most famous entrepreneurs of the home computer revolution.

Taking action isn’t as simple as it sounds. Procrastination or fear can easily paralyze you, but it’s important to remember that nothing great ever happened on its own. Connect with the present, block out emotional resistance, and carefully time your next move. Knowing the best time to act is something most successful people have mastered.

5. Intensity

I love my job. I get to help people realize their fitness and spiritual goals every day. To see a student of mine shine after months of hard work is a huge payoff, but I wouldn’t be a very good stockbroker, gardener, or mechanic. Why? I’m simply not interested in those things.

Every day for more than 20 years, Robbins would practice public speaking. With that much repetition, his fear of speaking dissipated, and he could focus on being passionate, intense, and driven for his audience.

Without intensity and passion for what you do, you won’t be very good at it — at least not as good as you could be. You may already be passionate about something, but for those who aren’t, experiment, ask questions, and explore new areas. You may find your interest in a place you never would have expected.

Each of these leaders had a vision to change the world and the determination to take action with passion and resilience. They wanted to see their vision become a reality, regardless of the obstacles or challenges they faced. It wasn’t great education or luck that made them successful, and it certainly wasn’t money.

With clear focus and determination, we’re all capable of achieving our greatest potential. Success is an inward step. Don’t look around you for validation for what you do. Get inside yourself and find the vision you want to create.

Source: Getmotivation.com

Yes, you can  and should  exercise during pregnancy.

Here’s how to stay fit while keeping your baby (and yourself) safe and healthy.

The research is pretty clear: Exercise during pregnancy offers tons of health benefits to you and your child, both now and down the road.
That said, it’s not good if you choose the wrong workouts, or to mistakenly overdo it.
Here’s a simple guide to the safest, most effective ways to stay fit and lean — and support your baby’s health and your own at the same time.

Exercise benefits during pregnancy

There are a myriad of benefits attributed to exercise during pregnancy; here are just a few:

~~ Lower risk of developing gestational diabetes

~~ Weight control

~~ Less water retention

~~ Larger placenta and more
nutrients for your baby

~~ Decreased likelihood of varicose veins

~~ Less likely to require a caesarian delivery

~~ More rapid return to pre-pregnancy weight

~~ Increased fitness for delivery.

The evidence in favor of exercise during pregnancy is so strong that the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) encourages pregnant women to do moderate exercise for 30 minutes or more every single day.

Studies have even shown that very physically active women can benefit from continuing their high volume exercise routines, as much as 9 hours per week, into pregnancy.

Think you’ve got what it takes to run a small business or freelance operation? While on the surface it may look like an easy thing to do, it’s not quite as simple as it looks. To truly be an effective and efficient business owner, there are several key skills you need to learn and hone. Not only will this ensure compliance with business legalities in your local area, but it will make sure you’re also using acceptable business practices, regardless of your products or services.

According to the Freelancers Union, more than 53 million Americans are working as Freelancers. That’s about 34% of the entire workforce. Annually, freelancers are contributing $715 billion to the U.S. economy.

Freelancing comes with its own set of difficulties, such as finding steady clients, getting paid on time and at the rates you deserve, finding time to work on a regular basis, meeting the demands of family life and creating the ideal work/life balance, and more. Many freelancers struggle to find balance between everything, however, for those that do, freelancing can more lucrative than working a traditional job.

bills

Accounting

As a freelancer or another small business owner, you’re tracking income and expenses. You’ll have to deal with filing taxes, and though you can outsource that to an expert, online accounting help is available. The more you can do on your own throughout the year, the easier it will be when it is time to file quarterly and annual returns.

Human Resources (HR)

Small businesses, even one-person freelance ventures need to stay up to date with current HR trends. It’s a good idea to learn about trends larger businesses are using to keep themselves productive and efficient, so you can do the same types of things in your business, especially since staying motivated and finding the time for a consistent work schedule are important.

Banking & Finance

To make your accounting easier, you need to be aware of various banking policies, payment processors, fees, etc. This is especially true if you are working with international clients where wire transfers, PayPal payments, and various other payment methods are an issue.

Startups & Investing

Though you may not have any plans to grow and expand your business right away, you never know what the future holds. Learning about startups and investing allows you to be ready to grow your business if demand arises. You’ll know more about your financing options, so you can decide if you want to bootstrap the entire operation, or if you’d rather seek investors to assist you.

Marketing and Negotiation

To deal with the feast or famine challenge of work, it’s a good idea for freelancers to understand the principles of marketing. Until a reputation for quality work in your field is established. it’s difficult to expect the work to come to you. While you can spend time every day looking for work and applying for various jobs, it’s a better investment of your time to market your skills to the employers who are looking for freelancers like you.

And to keep yourself from being paid according to your worth, mastering the art of negotiation. While you can’t always win every battle, at least know your bare minimum demands. If you can’t get the pay you’d ideally want, see if you can make other concessions, in regards to deadlines, deliverables, etc. Create a win-win situation for yourself and the client, and you can foster a successful long term relationship.

As a freelancer, it’s okay to ease yourself into learning each of these skills. Focus on making improvements to how you run your business, and you will see dramatic gains in productivity and efficiency. With these gains, you’ll be able to contribute more to the economy and keep your freelance enterprise running for years to come.

SOURCE: Business blogs

Business success is never easy. It’s especially difficult for a young company. While luck certainly plays a part – having the right product at the right price at the right time – success is often a result of setting clear goals, creating realistic plans, testing the marketplace, and reviewing what worked and what didn’t work as expected. In the final analysis, then, business success is about getting things right.

Businesses that develop an effective process will prosper, but sometimes, they run out of time or money to learn from their mistakes.

Here are 3 common mistakes new businesses make:

Mistake #1: Inexperience with Raising Capital or Managing Cash Flow

A company needs a constant circulation of money to stay in business. Money can be said to be the life-blood of a business. Before a business can expect to receive a steady stream of revenue, it has to consider the cost of business. These costs range from overheads to unexpected expenses.

Insufficient Starting Capital

In many instances, banks, lenders, or the SBA will not offer 100% financing. If they do offer financing at all, the business owner may still be required to invest their own funds, have a great credit score, and show substantial evidence of a predictable way to pay the borrowed money back.

Due to these stringent lending conditions, many businesses do not start out with adequate funding, but only with a shoestring budget. So, since a new business may not be able to attract enough financing from lenders, some or all of the money to start the business has to come from the business owner’s personal savings. However, starting a business with insufficient capital is rather like an anemic runner planning a long-distance running event: the chances of success are slim from the beginning. In fact, all other factors pale in comparison to capital: the brilliance of the business idea, the talent of the team, or the efficiency of the business process. Without enough money, it can be hard to lubricate the wheels of industry.

Poor Money Management

Even if a business starts out with more than enough money to cope with any setbacks and build economic momentum, it can still go under if the cash flow is not properly managed. Essentially, income should exceed expenses, and vendor bills may need to be settled before customers pay their invoices. So a delicate balance of inflow and outflow has to be maintained, as well as getting the timing correct. Fortunately, robust cash management solutions can alert the business owners to any threats to cash flow early enough to take preventative action.

Mistake #2: An Employee Mindset

When starting a new business, many people come from a background as employees. Working for someone else, they did not see the many aspects of running a business that occurred behind the scenes. Other people figured out the best schedule, assigned the work, and reviewed the results.

As an employee, you merely did what you were told and exercised initiative only when you had permission. While you may pride yourself on your courage and vision in starting a new business, many aspects of an employee mindset may still influence your behavior. For instance, when you run your own business, you are not accustomed to setting your own hours and working without supervision or cooperation. As a result you may not put in 8 hour days or work 5 days a week. Worse still, you may be forced to work more than 40 hours a week and get paid less than a salaried employee who works much less. Moreover, running your own business or running a business with partners makes work-life balance difficult, and your work may even encroach on evenings, weekends, and holidays.

Mistake #3: Poor Management Skills

A business owner needs two management skill sets to do well: strategic planning and interpersonal skills.

Strategic planning skills focus on the ability to set clear goals with clearly defined milestones, plan for the short and long term, implement effective action, and review progress.

Interpersonal skills focus on proper leadership with employees and excellent customer service skills.

While these skills are learnable, it takes experience to do them well. Poor planning processes or tactless leadership is enough to destroy a new business. Poor planning can result in shortsightedness and blundering while tactless leadership can result in unproductive employees and a high employee turnover.

Source: Business blogs