Overcome Your Fears

What is your ideal life? How would you describe the life of your dreams?

Big dreams give our life a sense of worthiness. However, most people just keep their dreams in their minds, because they don’t see how they can achieve it. Then they end up living a mediocre life and settling for less.

They live a half life. They are not willing to take risk. They choose staying in their comfort zone over living the life of their dreams.

Why is that? Why do people tend to act that way? Why do YOU tend to act that way?

People kill their dreams when they start living in fear!

“A Life lived in fear is a life half lived.” –Proverb

You might be facing the fears of…

The unknown

Failure

Rejection

Criticism

Or even success.

But let me ask you this question: “Are you willing to live a half life?” Doesn’t your dream deserve that you do whatever your can to live it?

Life is short, so why living a life that you hate. When you live in fear, you will keep on living the same dull life. But when you pursue your dream, you will have the chance to achieve it, as long as you never quit.

Face your fears and believe in the beauty of your dreams. You are going to live anyway, so why not to pursue a life that enlightens your heart and mind. The world needs your contribution, so don’t be coward and keep on staying in your cage.

No more fears.

It is time for your greatness to be unleashed. Do it for yourself and for the people around you. Life is full of opportunities and abundance. Don’t let your fears turn you blind.

You were meant to live a full life not a half life!

Overcome your fears and take your first step now.Imagine the results you will get.

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Improve Your Concentration Powers with Seven Easy Steps

The power of concentration is a skill that is easy to master, that is if you have the willpower to do so. 

“If there is a will, there is a way” according to one saying, the same goes with concentration.  Popular television newscaster and personality Diane Sawyer was once asked about her secret to professional success. Her response was that paying attention was her secret.

The question therefore remains, “How does one basically maintain focus and concentration?”

The following are helpful tips to improve your ability to concentrate in the best way possible. These suggestions apply whether you are in the office busy with work, school, business meeting, or if you are trying to finish a particular project.

1. Do five more

There are actually two types of persons in the world: those who know how to go through in eliminating frustration and those who wish they are able to work through it. 

Focus and concentrate in doing just five more things. This sort of mantra is best said when you feel like giving up. 

For instance, if you feel like you no longer want to read or write any more pages, tell yourself to do just five pages more. Finish just five more math questions. Stay five minutes more on the treadmill.  Take note that athletes build their own physical prowess by pushing their bodies to the point of exhaustion while they develop mental stamina.

2. Take one step at one time

There are instances when you feel like your mind is loaded with many ideas like that of a scatterbrain. The key is to control your brain. 

Rather worrying on many matters, prioritize tasks and do only those that are needed.

For instance, you cannot help but think of mounting debt problems and this causes you to lose focus on the presentation that you need to do in five minutes.  Tell your mind that you will think of ways to pay off your bills after your presentation. Your mind will then establish closure and allow you to focus on the presentation.

3.  Train yourself to have a tunnel vision

You could actually cup your hands around your own eyes.  This could serve as a trigger to tell your mind to focus on a particular responsibility.

For example, you are in a room and you need to study but there are many things prevent you from concentrating. Cupping your own hands around your own eyes could help your brain to switch to focus mode and keep it on its track. 

4.  Have a handy pad

When a thought pops inside your head and this causes you to lose focus, jot down this thought immediately.

Writing it down is an effective way to get it out of your mind.  After which, consciously focus on the task that you need to accomplish at the moment.

5. Have a break

Remember that you are not a machine.  You need to take a break to be able to focus on the task that you have to do. 

Taking breaks is a good way to break down the tasks into parts that are a lot more manageable.  You may take a walk outside or eat lunch out. 

6.      Record your start and end time

When doing work, try to record the time you began and the time when you mind begins to drift. 

Doing so helps you know just how much time you spent doing actual work and the time when you start losing your concentration.  Being aware leads to enlightenment.

7.  Vary your activities

It is advisable to vary the activities you do in order to keep your mind active and not bored. 

A bored mind will just easily float and drift away to oblivion. 

All in all, these activities and tips need to be practiced regularly to be able to concentrate and focus in the things that really matters most for you.

 We all need to improve our concentration….

How to Get out of Your Nut shell in 4 Easy Steps

Coming out to the world on your own is probably one of the most nerves wracking scenarios you need to experience. Overcoming shyness does not happen overnight, but like they say, practice makes perfect once you overcome your timidity. Read on and start the process of getting out of your nutshell now.

• Look your best. Shop for the dress you have been eyeing for so many weeks, treat yourself to a salon or take time to fix your hair every morning so you look and feel great once you step out of your house. Looking your best will help boost your self-esteem. If you look good, you will feel good.

• Rejection is normal. All people experience rejection. Even John F. Kennedy failed the bar exam twice before he passed. Failing is a part of life. So what if the organization you planned to join did not accept you? Even if they did, there will still be other organizations willing to accept you. Being turned down does not mean that you have to down yourself by making yourself aloof from other people. You cannot please everyone; stick that in your mind. However, be likeable at least.

• Engage yourself in things you excel. If you are good in singing, you can join your church choir. If you have an extraordinary skill in painting, you can share your talent in the art club at your school or volunteer to teach art to underprivileged children. Sharing your talent with others will certainly make you feel good. When you feel good in the inside, it will wash away your low self-esteem, brushing off the introvert in you.

• Learn from others.  If you find it hard to follow the other tips, try this one. When in a gathering or a party, watch how those extroverts start a conversation and how they act. However, this does not mean that you have to be their clone. Just learn a thing or two from them and you’re off. Just a little reminder, just because a certain thing or action looks good on them  doesn’t necessarily mean that it fits you too, find and experiment which best suits you or else you will end up looking like a trying hard.
• Give it a go and enjoy the results.
• Remember Live Your Life By Choice, Not By Chance.

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Effective Techniques to Improve Your Performance

People always want to improve themselves - physical fitness, a better outlook in life or simply enhancing interpersonal skills. These help you perform better and achieve more. Who would not want that?

For example, you may not be a very athletic person, but engaging into sports is something that you know your body needs. Improving your physical fitness will definitely give your body and the heart a good boost. Playing sports is more than just physical consideration. Being good in sports helps one feel good about him or her self.

You may also consider yourself as not that competent when it comes to solving math problems or finishing trick puzzles. These are ordinary activities that can frustrate you when left unaccomplished. Improvement on these matters will definitely help your performance.

Deciding to improve your self is definitely a good first step. However, there is more to know. To do this, you must know just exactly how.

How to Improve Your Performance

Improvement basically means making better of something. This needs serious considerations to utilize something for a good purpose.

There are various ways by which you can improve on yourself.

1.      Focus

There may be facets in your life that you want to enhance. However, you may not be able to improve on all of them at the same time. You may have to settle for one or two things at a time to accomplish something.

For example, you can practice your math skills and physical prowess at a given period. However, you may end up getting confused later if you add another hobby to the menu like learning to play an instrument. Take one endeavor at a time. You may want to be holistic as much as possible, but do not sacrifice the quality of learning with the quantity of things you want to improve.

2.      Determine Your Weak Spots

Another thing you can do to enhance your performance results is to know your weak areas. You cannot improve completely unless you know the aspects that pose a problem to your situation.

3.      Discipline Yourself

You will also benefit from developing a good sense of discipline. This entails coming up with a set of rules so that you concentrate on your actions to those that will lead you to your desired goal.

Discipline yourself. Improvement does not happen overnight but you can at least make sure that you maintain yourself in the right path.

4.      Explore Ways to Learn

You can also consider other ways to learn about a particular field. Reading books may be helpful but there are other options to stimulate the mind and challenge the body. Try looking for a mentor to help you. You can also find a challenger to whom you can exercise your skills with, like having a friend to compete with when you do sports activities.

5.      Read Your Progress

Finally, you must be able to read your actions and see how you are progressing according to your goal. This way, you know how well or how bad you are doing and you can make adjustments to your performance. Give yourself a push if you are lagging behind or give rewards to yourself whenever you do well.

Conclusion

Aiming for a better performance means that you are on your way to excellence. This is a good thing as you get to become a better person. Just take these techniques seriously and you will go far and succeed in your endeavor.

Effective Techniques to Improve Your Performance,You can do this…give it a try and keep going…ok.

10 Tips to Becoming an Effective and Engaging Public Speaker

You are an expert in the field of forest management and resource conservation.

As guest speaker at the Boy Scouts’ jamboree however, you now find that despite your expertise and the importance of your talk, your audience seems uninterested; even slightly confused.  Here lies the big difference between knowing a subject matter well and communicating it to others effectively.

These 10 helpful nuggets should help you get your message across.

1.      KNOW YOU AUDIENCE 

Be aware of the general demographic of your audience.  The factors of age, educational attainment and economic background should dictate the level at which to design your talk.  Your doctorate gobbledygook won’t be helpful to the rural agricultural workers waiting to hear you.  In the same light, a graduate school audience may become bored with a simple linear presentation.   Younger audiences may need conceptual statements to be broken down into concrete examples they can relate to. 

2.      LEVEL-OFF AT THE BEGINNING

·        As you begin your talk, spend some time introducing the subject matter and your personal involvement in it. 

·        Use the introduction as an opportunity to define terms and spell-out any acronyms that may be specific to your field.

·        Try to gauge topic awareness among members of your audience by asking for a show of hands on questions that begin with “How many of you have heard of…” or “How many of you have ever wondered about…”.  This is also a good way of breaking the ice and engaging your listeners.

3.      MAKE USE OF VISUAL AIDS WISELY

·        In some instances, an image can speak more clearly than words.  When appropriate, present photos to depict important aspects of your topic.  When dealing with abstract ideas or the relationship between processes, show them a diagram to physically represent the interactions involved. 

·        Allow a slight pause, for the audience to absorb a visual.  Once they’ve had a few seconds to take it in, you can continue speaking and they’ll be ready to listen to you again while mentally connecting the visual aid to your point. 

·        Avoid wordy PowerPoint slides that mimic verbatim what you’re already saying in your speech.  Instead of enhancing the talk, the visual aid becomes redundant and tempts students to just read the slide instead of listen to you.

4.      USE NOTECARDS WITH BULLET POINTS, DON’T MEMORIZE

·        Outline the flow of your key points on note cards.  Small index cards are better than whole sheets of paper because it’s easier to keep track of where you are in the talk.

·        Use bullet points to highlight your ideas.  Don’t write out entire sentences on your notes that you might be tempted to memorize.  It’s easier to remember your outline and expound spontaneously if you memorize the ideas instead of the exact words

5.      USE HUMOR IF SUITABLE, BUT BE TACTFUL

Everyone loves a laugh, so it may be helpful to inject some humor into your speech.  Before doing so however, analyze the subject matter and check if it won’t be inappropriate. 

If you choose to employ humor, make sure to remain tactful.  Stay away from slanted jokes that may offend certain sub-sectors within your audience, such as gender, religion, race, politics and economic status.

Keep the comedy in check.  Well-timed snippets may help you establish rapport with your audience, or make monotonous stretches a bit lighter.  Too many laughs however may divert the audience’s focus from your key points. 

6.      MAINTAIN EYE CONTACT 

Looking at members of the audience in the eye keeps them involved in your talk.  Research has shown that information is more easily received when the listener has both visual and verbal contact with the speaker.  Make sure to distribute your attention to audience members in different parts of the room. 

7.      SPEAK CLEARLY AND MODULATE YOUR VOICE

While the topic is all too familiar to you, it may be a new subject to your audience.  Speak slowly and clearly, at a pace that allows your audience to follow your meaning.  Make sure you speak loud enough to be heard by the person at the back of the room.  For emphasis, briefly pause before and after important ideas or say key points twice before elaborating.

8.      KNOW THE SUBJECT MATTER

Nothing beats knowing what you’re talking about inside and out.  Research your facts and make sure you have a good grasp of the issues involved.  Have a comprehensive understanding of your topic.  Where it applies, be aware of both sides to a polarized discussion about your subject.  Anticipate questions the audience might raise.

9.      ENCOURAGE  Q & A

To further nail down the message behind your speech, encourage questions and clarifications through an open forum after your talk.  Before you begin the forum, set a time limit or a predetermined number of questions you can accommodate.  You may want to discuss this beforehand with the organizers

to make sure that you can fit everything within the time allotted for you.

10.     SUMMARIZE and DISTRIBUTE HAND-OUTS AFTER TALK

Before you end, summarize your most salient points and repeat the ideas you want your audience to take home with them.  You can outline a summary in the form of a hand-out to be given to the audience afterwards.  Don’t pass the hand-out into the audience before or during your talk t because you want them to listen to you first and not just be reading distractedly.

With these 10 pointers in mind, you’re on your way to becoming a much sought-after resource person, known both for your expertise in your field and your skill in communicating.   More importantly, you can be sure that your message is getting across to your public loud and clear.

SELF IMPROVEMENT AND SUCCESS

Everything that happens to us happens in purpose. And sometimes, one thing leads to another. Instead of locking yourself up in your cage of fears and crying over past heartaches, embarrassment and failures, treat them as your teachers and they will become your tools in both self improvement and success.

I remember watching Patch Adams – its my favorite movie, actually. Its one great film that will help you improve yourself. Hunter “patch” Adams is a medical student who failed to make it through the board exams. After months of suffering in melancholy, depression and suicidal attempts – he decided to seek for medical attention and voluntarily admitted himself in a psychiatric ward.  His months of stay in the hospital led him to meeting different kinds of people. Sick people in that matter. He met a catatonic, a mentally retarded, a schizophrenic and so on. Patch found ways of treating his own ailment and finally realized he has to get back on track. He woke up one morning realizing that after all the failure and pains he has gone through, he still want to become the a doctor. He carries with himself a positive attitude that brought him self improvement and success. He didn’t only improved himself, but also the life of the people around him and the quality of life. Did he succeed? Needless to say, he became the best damn doctor his country has ever known.

So, when does self improvement become synonymous with success? Where do we start? Take these tips, friends…
*Stop thinking and feeling as if you’re a failure, because you’re not. How can others accept you if YOU can’t accept YOU?

*When you see hunks and models on TV, think more on self improvement, not self pitying. Self acceptance is not just about having nice slender legs, or great abs. Concentrate on inner beauty.

*When people feel so down and low about themselves, help them move up. Don’t go down with them. They’ll pull you down further and both of you will end up feeling inferior.

*The world is a large room for lessons, not mistakes. Don’t feel stupid and doomed forever just because you failed on a science quiz. There’s always a next time. Make rooms for self improvement.

*Take things one at a time. You don’t  expect black sheep’s to be goody-two-shoes in just a snap of a finger. Self improvement is a one day at a time process.

*Self improvement results to inner stability, personality development and dig this …. SUCCESS. It comes from self confidence, self appreciation and self esteem.

* Set meaningful and achievable goals. Self improvement doesn’t turn you to be the exact replica of Cameron Diaz or Ralph Fiennes. It hopes and aims to result to an improved and better YOU.

*Little things mean BIG to other people. Sometimes, we don’t realize that the little things that we do like a pat on the back, saying “hi” or “hello”, greeting someone “good day” or telling Mr. Smith something like “hey, I love your tie!” are simple things that mean so much to other people. When we’re being appreciative about beautiful things around us and other people, we also become beautiful to them.

*When you’re willing to accept change and go through the process of self improvement, it doesn’t mean that everyone else is. The world is a place where people of different values and attitude hang out. Sometimes, even if you think you and your best friend always like to do the same thing together at the same time, she would most likely decline an invitation for self improvement.

We should always remember that there’s no such thing as ‘over night success’. Its always a wonderful feeling to hold on to the things that you already have now, realizing that those are just one of the things you once wished for. A very nice quote says that “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.”  We are all here to learn our lessons. Our parents, school teachers, friends, colleagues, officemates, neighbors… they are our teachers. When we open our doors for self improvement, we increase our chances to head to the road of success.

Rememer Live Your Life By Choice Not By Chance.

Impossible is Just a Word

Everyone, at some point of his or her life, has dreamed of being somebody special, somebody big. Who hasn’t fantasized about being the one who hits the game-winning homer? Who hasn’t dreamed of being the homecoming queen? And how many times have we dreamed of being rich, or successful, or happy with our relationships?

Often, we dream big dreams and have great aspirations. Unfortunately, our dreams remain just that – dreams. And our aspirations easily collect dust in our attic.

This is a sad turn of events in our life. Instead of experiencing exciting adventures in self actualization, we get caught up in the humdrum of living from day-to-day just barely existing.

But you know what? Life could be so much better, if only we learned to aim higher.

The most common problem to setting goals is the word impossible. Most people get hung up thinking I can’t do this. It’s too hard. It’s too impossible. No one can do this.

However, if everyone thought that, there would be no inventions, no innovations, and no breakthroughs in human accomplishment.

Remember that scientists were baffled when they took a look at the humble bumblebee. Theoretically, they said, it was impossible for the bumblebee to fly. Unfortunately for the bumble, bee no one has told it so. So fly it does.

On the other hand, some people suffer from dreaming totally outrageous dreams and not acting on them. The result? Broken dreams, and tattered aspirations.

If you limit yourself with self-doubt, and self-limiting assumptions, you will never be able to break past what you deem impossible. If you reach too far out into the sky without working towards your goal, you will find yourself clinging on to the impossible dream.

Try this exercise. Take a piece of paper and write down some goals in your life. Under one header, list down things ‘you know you can do’. Under another header, write the things ‘you might be able to do.’ And under one more, list the things that that are ‘impossible for you to do.’

Now look at all the headers strive every day to accomplish the goals that are under things ‘you know you can do’. Check them when you are able to accomplish them. As you slowly are able to check all of your goals under that heading, try accomplishing the goals under the other header-the one that reads ‘you might be able to do.’

As of the items you wrote under things I could do are accomplished, you can move the goals that are under things that are ‘impossible for you to do’ to the list of things ‘you might be able to do.’

As you iterate through this process, you will find out that the goals you thought were impossible become easier to accomplish. And the impossible begin to seem possible after all.

You see, the technique here is not to limit your imagination. It is to aim high, and start working towards that goal little by little. However, it also is unwise to set a goal that is truly unrealistic.

Those who just dream towards a goal without working hard end up disappointed and disillusioned.

On the other hand, if you told someone a hundred years ago that it was possible for man to be on the moon, they would laugh at you. If you had told them that you could send mail from here to the other side of the world in a few seconds, they would say you were out of your mind. But, through sheer desire and perseverance, these impossible dreams are now realities.

Thomas Edison once said that genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. Nothing could be truer. For one to accomplish his or her dreams, there has to be had work and discipline. But take note that that 1% has to be a think-big dream, and not some easily accomplished one.

Ask any gym rat and he or she will tell you that there can be no gains unless you are put out of your comfort zone. Remember the saying, “No pain, no gain”? That is as true as it can be.

So dream on, friend! Don’t get caught up with your perceived limitations. Think big and work hard to attain those dreams. As you step up the ladder of progress, you will just about find out that the impossible has just become a little bit more possible.

Remember Live Your Life By Choice Not By Chance….

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“A Better You”

Your 7 days program to self-improvement

I seem to lost count on how many times I’ve read and heard of celebrity marriages failing almost left and right. Not that I care (and personally I don’t), it seems strange that we often see movie and TV stars as flawless people, living the fairytale life of riches and glamour. I suppose we all have to stop sticking our heads in the clouds and face reality.

There are many ways to lose your sense of self-esteem despite of how trivial it could get. But whatever happens, we should all try not to lose our own sense of self.

So what does it take to be a cut above the rest? Here are some of the things you can think and improve on that should be enough for a week.

1. Know your purpose
Are you wandering through life with little direction - hoping that you’ll find happiness, health and prosperity? Identify your life purpose or mission statement and you will have your own unique compass that will lead you to your truth north every time. A Better You.

This may seem tricky at first when you see yourself to be in a tight or even dead end. But there’s always that little loophole to turn things around and you can make a big difference to yourself.

2. Know your values
What do you value most? Make a list of your top 5 values. Some examples are security, freedom, family, spiritual development, learning. As you set your goals for 2005 - check your goals against your values. If the goal doesn’t align with any of your top five values - you may want to reconsider it or revise it.

The number shouldn’t discourage you, instead it should motivate you to do more than you can ever dreamed of.

3. Know your needs
Unmet needs can keep you from living authentically. Take care of yourself. Do you have a need to be acknowledged, to be right, to be in control, to be loved? There are so many people who lived their lives without realizing their dreams and most of them end up being stressed or even depressed for that matter. List your top four needs and get them met before it’s too late!

4. Know your passions
You know who you are and what you truly enjoy in life. Obstacles like doubt and lack of enthusiasm will only hinder you, but will not derail your chance to become the person you ought to be. Express yourself and honor the people who has inspired you to become the very person you wanted to be.

5. Live from the inside out
Increase your awareness of your inner wisdom by regularly reflecting in silence. Commune with nature. Breathe deeply to quiet your distracted mind. For most of us city slickers it’s hard to even find the peace and quiet we want even in our own home. In my case I often just sit in a dimly lit room and play some classical music. There’s sound, yes, but music does soothe the savage beast.

6. Honor your strengths
What are your positive traits? What special talents do you have? List three - if you get stuck, ask those closest to you to help identify these. Are you imaginative, witty, good with your hands? Find ways to express your authentic self through your strengths. You can increase your self-confidence when you can share what you know to others.

7. Serve others
When you live authentically, you may find that you develop an interconnected sense of being. When you are true to who you are, living your purpose and giving of your talents to the world around you, you give back in service what you came to share with others -your spirit - your essence. The rewards for sharing your gift with those close to you is indeed rewarding, much more if it were to be the eyes of a stranger who can appreciate what you have done to them.

Self-improvement is indeed one type of work that is worth it. It shouldn’t always be within the confines of an office building, or maybe in the four corners of your own room. The difference lies within ourselves and how much we want to change for the better.

Remember Live Your Live By Choice Not By Chance

Five Tips For You and 2009.

1. Forget about the past. Whatever failures
happened in 2008 already happened. You can
use it as a benchmark to improve but never
as a guideline why you cannot achieve
success in 2009.

2. Many people wish for a better year in 2009.
Don’t wish - wishful thinking doesn’t get you
anywhere, especially success. Commit to what
you want to achieve and go for it.

3. Be positive. Think positive about
2009 regardless of the recession because
your mind WILL influence your actions.

4. If you have to complain, DO IT NOW.
Then get over it and start a fresh in 2009.

5. Have a plan. Whether you just want to
make just a few hundreds from the internet
or build a million-dollar internet business,
plan it out and know what are the steps that
will get you closer to your goal. You can’t get
to your destination if you don’t know what
and where is your destination.

Make 2009 a year to remember, and Dream Big.

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