Here's a few tips for you to find ways to be more positive. Follow the link to lifehack.org for more detail:
You might be getting yourself all organised online, but what about offline? Here's a few tips to get your offline life easier.
Thanks to lifehack.
There's a lot of myths about introverts, and many introverts even start to believe those myths. Here's a few tips to help you get past the myths.
I met an old friend of mine the other day, for the first time in about 8 years, meeting him by accident in Woolworths where he works. He told me that he'd just quit his job on a Helpdesk because Woolworths paid him more. Apart from being highly sceptical about that, I asked him a few questions and ended up finding out that he just couldn't handle the IT life.
I know it can be pretty tough, and it's not for everyone. I've spent around a decade in IT, and I've learnt a few things over the years about how to get along in the office. Here's a few of them - if you work on a helpdesk or in systems administration then maybe these rules will help you too.
1: Don't be the user's friend!
Don't share any of your personal life with them, because if you do they'll start thinking you're their friend. This is bad, ok? Because what happens when someone who isn't actually a friend thinks that you're their friend? They call you personally, bypassing procedures, and ask for special favours to help fix their problems. Being their 'friend' just gives you more headaches and more work. So Rule 1 - don't be their friend.
2: Forget about being too polite.
Sure, be civil and all that, because you don't want to annoy them. But 'brown nosing' politeness can be perceived as a sign of insecurity or weakness. You're the one in control, not them. They need you - you don't need them. So don't be too polite, or you could end up being someone's 'bitch'.
3: Never be always available.
This is very important. If you always drop everything in order to help someone, then that's what they'll come to expect. This doesn't do you any good, because then they'll get annoyed at you for not always being there for them. You have a job too, and you have your own responsibilties and tasks. The less you're available, the more they'll respect that you're a busy man, and then when you DO make yourself available to them, the more they'll appreciate it. Give yourself some space.
4: Don't accept a job without the proper process being followed.
If someone bypasses the helpdesk and calls you to ask for something to be fixed, ask them to log it with the helpdesk first. You'll fix it when it comes to you through the system, and that's all. Don't accept or encourage shortcuts, as this only encourages them to take advantage of your 'friendship' (see Rule 1).
5: Document everything that you do.
Users don't always tell the truth, and some of them will lie or speak with ignorance. If you haven't documented what you've done or why, then it's your word against theirs. Electronic documentation about what you do with a job helps cover your arse.
6: Don't make eye contact with those you don't want as your 'friend'.
Making eye contact with someone is a great way to encourage them to talk to you. You don't want to do this, because what will they talk to the IT support guy about? That's right - the problems they're having with their computer. Or they'll chat with you for ages, preventing you from getting back to doing some real work. If you can't avoid making eye contact with people, try going a different route where others don't go.
7: You are your manager's equal.
You're all human beings, and they were once in the same situation as you - being on the lower end of the ladder. Don't let their egos take control. Treat them like you would any other workmate. Call them 'man', 'mate', or even 'dude'. Don't put them on any pedestals and encourage them to believe they're better than you. Don't take any crap either. If they want to be a power tripping Nazi all over your arse, tell them to back off. Of course, make sure you're doing a good job. Which leads me to....
8. Do a great job! You have to make sure you're doing a bit better than just 'average' with your work if you want the respect from your managers and colleagues that will allow you to follow the above tips. Use your initiative to see where things can be improved and try to improve them. Make sure all your work is done within deadlines, and offer to do the work of others, as long as you know you can do it easily. The more you do, and the more you're noticed doing it, the more respected you'll be. This leads to promotional opportunities, allowing you to get more money and move away from doing the stuff you really don't like to do.
9. If you don't like it, do something else. This is another golden rule. If you're not enjoying your work, quit before they fire you, because your lack of enjoyment or enthusiasm is only going to show up in the quality of your work - or, more likely, your lack of work. Find a different career, or a different department where you'll be doing different work. It'll save your mental health, and it can save your career too.
I hope you've found some value in these tips. They're things that have worked very well for me over the years. All the best with your own attempts to follow them.
Like many people you might be drifting through life, doing what you think you should be doing, but deep down inside you know you're not doing what you want to do. You're not even sure if you KNOW what you want to do!
Inside of you there’s like to be a state of confusion about what you want. The confusion goes something like this:
“I want A. But these other people think that B, C and D would probably be best for me. They know me pretty well, so maybe I should listen to them. And then my work wants me to do E... They know me pretty well too. But now I’m not so sure if I want A, B, C, D or E. And then there’s this whisper of F over here by another of my friends…”
And by the time you get to F you’ve forgotten about A.
Here's what you need to do to get past this confusion. You need to sit down with yourself, by yourself, and write down all the things that are important to you. Be honest with yourself - maybe for the first time in your life. Do it alone so that no one else can distract you or give you suggestions about what they think is good for you. Be honest with yourself in order to write down all the things that are important to YOU.
When you can work out what is important to you, you can then start working on a plan to bring those things into your life. And remember - you need to do this for yourself, not for anyone else. They're not the ones living your life. They're not the ones who are getting nowhere with their suggestions. You are. So start taking back control of your life.
You’ve been doing things other people want or suggest because you want to ‘fit in’ and be ‘liked’ or ‘appreciated’ or ‘respected’. But where has it gotten you? It’s gotten you nowhere, that’s where.
It’s time you started working on doing things differently. If the way you’ve been doing things – and the reasons why – hasn’t been working so far, then you need to start creating the discipline to do things differently.
Make the decision to start now.
1. Give people more than they expect, and do it cheerfully.
2. Marry a man or woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.
3. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have, or sleep all you want.
4. When you say "I love you," mean it.
5. When you say "I'm sorry," look the person in the eye.
6. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.
7. Believe in love at first sight.
8. Never laugh at anyone's dreams. People who don't have dreams don't have much.
9. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt, but it's the only way to live life completely.
10. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.
11. Don't judge people by their relatives.
12, Talk slowly, but think quickly.
13. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, "Why do you want to know?"
14. Remember that great love and great achievemetns involve great risk.
15. Say "Bless you," when you hear someone sneeze.
16. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.
17. Remember the three R's: Respect for self, Respect for others, and Responsibility for all your actions.
18. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
19. When you realise you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
20. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.
21. Spend some time alone.
A true friend is somene who reaches for your hand and touches your heart. Share this message with your friends.
Everyone wants to be rich, but is everyone doing what they need to be doing to get there? What are the rich doing that you aren't? Well, here's a few reasons you aren't rich... if you start doing the opposite of these, then you'll start doing what the rich do, and you'll become one of them before you know it.
1. You care what your neighbours think. Keeping up with them wastes your money. Is it really that important to have better things than them? What could you save by putting it into the bank instead?
2. You aren't patient. Using credit cards to get today what you could save up for and get tomorrow costs you interest. This is money which you could have saved if you'd paid cash - or chose not to get it.
3. You have bad habits. Smoking, drinking, gambling... these cost money to maintain. Smoking increases your insurance rates, and causes other health risks which cost you money. Have a good hard look at what you're doing and see if you can work out how much money you'd save if you stopped doing it.
4. You have no goals. I once had someone say in a wealth building seminar, "If you fail to plan, then you're planning to fail." It's that simple folks. If you don't have anything to aim for, you're going to drift through life achieving nothing. You need goals to attain your wealth, with savings, investments, etc. And then you need to do what it takes to achieve those goals.
5. You haven't prepared. When you don't have any goals, you show that you're not thinking of your future. This is also reflected by not being prepared for bad things happening. If you don't have savings or an emergency fund in case of emergencies, what are you going to do when you actually have an emergency?
6. You try to make a quick buck. The desire to get rich quick will be the same as the desire you have to invest: if it doesn't give you instant rewards, you lose interest. Hello! This is the rest of your life we're talking about. If you don't think long term, you lose. Stop looking for quick bucks that don't work, and start looking for the slow millions that'll be there for you when you retire.
7. You rely on others to take care of your money. Because you have no money, you believe that those who do have money have more knowledge about it, so give it to them to invest for you. Unfortunately, the only reason they have money is because they take yours and use it for themselves. Listen to people's advice, by all means, but in the end you need to make your own decisions about your money and where it's going to be invested. It's your money - manage it wisely.
8. You invest in things you don't understand. You hear that Bob's made a lot of money from something, and you want to make some money too. If Bob can do it, so can you. Right? Wrong. Bob knew what he was doing, and researched it for months. He understood what he was getting into, and how to maximise his returns. You're not going to have a clue, and that's why you'll lose the money.
9. You're financially afraid. You're so afraid of losing your money that you avoid all possible scenarios where you might end up losing it. The result is that you don't lose what you have, but you don't make any more either. In order to make money, you have to risk losing it. Success comes from understanding what your risks are and minimising them so you benefit from the results.
10. You ignore your finances. You believe that if you make enough money, the finances will take care of themselves. If you currently have debt, you believe that making more than you spend will eventually resolve those debts in the future. By ignoring your finances, you have no control over them. How are you going to get anywhere? It takes planning to become wealthy, and when you plan, you need to be in control of all factors so that you can ensure your plan succeeds.
It's probably not just one of the above that's prevented you from becoming wealthy... it's more likely a combination of some of them. You need to take a long, hard look at the list and your own life, and see where you can improve what you're doing.
Being a millionaire requires you to start thinking like one now. How would a millionaire act? How would they manage their money? What would they be doing?
Start doing it.
Thanks to TheStreet.com.
I talk a lot about doing what you're passionate about, but you might have some concerns about how to find what it is you're passionate about. Maybe these tips will help you.
1. Is there something you already love doing?
A lot of people are already doing what they're passionate about, but they don't realise that it's something they could possibly turn into a money-making venture. I work in IT with computers and software, for example. I got into this field because I love playing with computers and software, so working with them is, as far as I'm concerned, working my hobby. I love what I do, and I do what I love.
If you can list all the things that you love doing, that you're passionate about, then you've just completed the first step in finding out how to make money from something you love doing. If you love reading comic books, for example, then maybe you could think about opening a comic book store. The possibilities are endless - but you have to start by looking at what you already love doing.
2. What do you spend hours reading about?
Whatever it is that you enjoy reading is something that you could possibly turn into careers. It's said that if you read a topic for half an hour a day, within a year you're an expert on that topic. Look at how you can turn your expert knowledge into something that can make you money.
3. Brainstorm.
If you're stuck working out what you're passionate about, then start writing down all the things that you do or have done in the past. Anything that comes to mind, write it down. And then, when you've finished that, write out another list of all the things that you would love to do but never had a chance to do. Look around you for inspirations in what you read, what you do as a hobby or your current career, or even what you enjoy on tv. Write everything down, and evaluate them later.
Once you've written down everything you can think of, go through the list and do the same as in #1. Start exploring how you can turn some of these things you enjoy into passions that you can make money from.
4. Ask around. Get some feedback from other people about what they think you'd enjoy doing. You can get some good ideas from how others perceive you and what they think your passions are.
5. Google is your friend.
Search Google for websites or topics related to your interests, your hobbies, even any of your money-making ideas. Once you start searching, you'll be amazed at the amount of information out there that can help you learn more about ways of turning your passion into your career.
6. Don't quit your job yet.
If you find your passion and you get excited about the possibilities and the opportunities, don't hand in your resignation straight away! It's always a good idea to stay in your job while you research the possibilities available to you. If you can do your passion as a side job and build up the income from it for a few months or a year, then that's what you should do.
7. Give it a try first.
A good plan is to try it for a while until your passion is consistently, month after month, earning you the same amount as your job. When that happens, you can choose to give up your day job and focus on your passion.
You might find that you'll be passionate about it for a few days or a few weeks, but then after a while, you'll find something else to do. This will show you whether or not it's a passion or just an exciting idea. So you can disregard it and continue looking. That's why you shouldn't quit your day job!
8. Do as much research as possible.
You'll need to know as much about your passion as you possibly can. If you've been doing it for a while, you might already know all that you need to. But still, do more research. Work out how you can turn it into a career, and discover everything you need to know to make that happen. Learn about others who already do it. How much do they make? What do they do to succeed at it? How did they get started? What skills have they needed to develop? What tips do they have for you? You'll often find people quite happy to give you information and advice about what they do and how you can do it too.
9. Practice, and practice, and then practice some more.
Don't go into it with an amateur skill level. You want to make sure you're one of the best - if not the best - at what it is you've chosen to do. If you want to maximise the amount of money you want from it, then the more you know and the more experience you have, the better. Practice for hours and hours. Do it every day, as much as you possibly can. If it's something you love, you shouldn't have a problem with this.
10. Never quit.
If you can't find what you're passionate about, just keep trying. You're passionate about something, or you have been - even if you have to remember back to what you used to do at school. Keep searching for your passion, and never give up, even for months if necessary.
If you think you found a passion but it turned out to be a dud, that's fine. Cross it off the list and move on to the next one! Keep trying to turn your passions into careers. The more you love what you do, the more you'll succeed at it, and the more you'll earn from it.
There's going to be more than one passion in your life and throughout your lifetime. Don't give up trying to find it and make something from it. You're possibly going to have to work hard to find your passion, but once you do, the 'hard work' will be over. The rest of it will be a breeze!
Do what you love, and you'll never be 'working' again.
Thanks to Lifehack.org.
I believe there are 3 important qualities men need to have, and these qualities form the underlying foundations of everything that makes us who we are. Developing these qualities, if you don't already have them, will bring you success in your dates and relationships with women.
Not only am I a procrastinator, but I'm also quite often very unproductive. They go hand in hand. If you're the same, and you'd like to be more productive but not really sure how to get started, then these tips will be useful for you. I know they're useful for me!
1. Do what you're passionate about. This usually goes without saying, of course. If you're not passionate about something, then you're just not going to have any interest in it. So if you want to start being more productive, find something that you love doing, whether that's with your work or at home.
2. Get off the internet as much as you can. The internet is a huge waste of time when you have things you want or need to do. Checking your email, browsing the latest news feeds, chatting with a friend on IM... these waste your time and prevent you from pulling your finger out and getting to work. Close down your email and IM programs if you have to work on the computer, otherwise just close the computer. You'll be amazed at how much work you get done without those distractions.
3. Get the tough things out of the way first. You know what they are, they're the ones you've been dreading, that you just can't bring yourself to do. But you know you have to do them eventually... so just do them now. Get them out of the way first thing in the morning and you don't have to worry about them later!
4. Avoid unnecessary work. You're only productive when you're working on things that move you towards a goal. Anything else is wasting your time. Get rid of the unimportant tasks from your to-do list, and start saying no to new requests that don't move you towards your goals.
5. Avoid ineffective meetings. Again, if a meeting isn't moving you forward on your goals, you don't need to be there. Read more about this here: 7 tips to avoid pointless meetings.
6. Get to work earlier. Getting there before everyone else starts allows you to get more work done before they all start providing you with distractions. In the peaceful quiet of the morning, you'll be amazed at how much you can get through before everyone else arrives.
7. Clean up your workplace. If you've got a clean and tidy workplace you can focus more on the tasks you need to work on, without worrying about finding something amidst the disorganised chaos of a messy desk. You can find more tips here: 4 tips to keep your desk clean.
8. Simplify the information that comes to you. Think about everything you read - email, blogs, newsletters, rss feeds, mailing lists, magazines, and more - and edit them brutally. How much is really necessary for you to achieve your goals? Keep them and get rid of the rest. You'll thank yourself for it later when you find yourself more productive than you've ever been!
9. Wake up early. Work out what you want to do in the morning before you head off to work, and build your morning routine around that. Exercise, eat breakfast, check email.... give yourself the time to do these things when you're without the distraction of phones and other people. If you can get the most important things done as early as you can, then the rest of the day's going to be a piece of cake.
10. Take care of the most important things first. These are the things that you HAVE to accomplish that day, which take priority over anything else. Do them first, so that 1) they're out of the way, and 2) you can get to the easier and less important things afterwards. If you leave them to the end of the day, you'll run out of time and not get them done. Change your habits, do them first!
Thanks to Zen Habits.
