Tema: Sabedoria
O conhecimento vem e vai, mas a sabedoria permanece
via @notiun
domingo, outubro 04, 2015
Valéry, Paul
A «felicidade», ideia animal. Essa palavra só tem sentido animal. O organismo feliz ignora-se
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Ludwig, Otto
A felicidade é como o sol, e a sombra tem de ser, para que o ser humano se sinta bem
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Top 10 Signs You’re Lying to Yourself as a Manager
All of us are at times tempted to lie — tempted by the lure of both deception and self-deception. But when you as a manager fall to that temptation, it’s especially evil.
Here’s how to spot your self-deception and overcome it — and why you need to.
Why We Lie
We lie to manipulate how others will respond to our actions and behavior.
If we think their response to the truth will be unpleasant, so we’re tempted to provoke a nicer response by providing that person with outright falsities, selective facts, or selective omissions.
Why We Lie to Ourselves
Lying to oneself is a special category of lie. We primarily lie to ourselves for these reasons. Self-deception makes it easier to:
- Lie to others
- Ignore unpleasant facts
- Postpone scary decisions and actions
Since all humans face the temptation to lie to others, and to lie to ourselves, who cares if you lie to yourself as a manager?
Lying to yourself as a manager is especially evil, for two reasons:
- Managers, due to their role, have a unique combination of high power and low accountability.
- Managers are the ones who must confront unpleasant facts, make scary decisions and take action.
High Power and Low Accountability
Managers are unique among all professions, says Henry Mintzberg in his classic Structure in Fives: Designing Effective Organizations, because managers have the broadest and least clearly defined jobs, compared to all other professionals. Managers both define work for those below them, and judge its quality.
This is a potent combination that gives a manager potentially huge power over their own work, the success of the company, and the work experiences of their subordinates.
Power Creates Self-Focus
Experiments show that the more powerful we feel, the less we regard other people’s opinions and feelings. We also (based on the Fundamental Attribution Bias) judge others on their results, but ourselves on our intentions.
Moreover, the powerful are often disconnected from reality.
If we lie to ourselves and then judge ourselves on our supposed intentions, we can give ourselves as managers permission to do things we’d never tolerate in others — anything from dominating meetings, to humiliating subordinates, to theft.
Common Signs of Managers Conducting Harmful Forms of Self-Deception
1. It’s Not That Bad
You’re putting off an uncomfortable change that is necessary. You’re saying things like “it’s not that bad” and “I think it’s getting better…”
2. Judging Yourself on the basis of Motives, Others on Outcomes
This is also called Fundamental Attribution Error, a classic cognitive bias. It is toxic when you as manager pass judgment on your subordinates without bothering to learn the details of a situation; this is worsened when it comes time to interrogate your own decision-making process, and you are unwilling to accept responsibility for failures.
3. Blaming the Worker for the Results of the System
W. Edwards Deming famously said 95% of the variability of a worker’s output was caused by the worker’s system and were totally beyond the worker’s control. When you as a manager blame workers for variation you haven’t investigated, and tell them to “try harder” or “pay more attention”, and so forth, you’re falling into this error. It destroys morale without fixing the problem. Solution: systems thinking.
4. Assuming Low Performance Means Low Motivation
When a worker isn’t performing, never immediately assume it’s connected to a lack of motivation. (For example, Iiagine someone put a gun to your head and told you to jump to the moon. You’re motivated; you just have no way to comply.) This assumption is toxic and distracting: you’re blaming the blameless while NOT focusing on things that could help, such as: training, templates, job aids, a shared definition of “good work,” samples of good work, and a comprehensive understanding of the system of production.
5. All Your Subordinates Are Idiots
This unhelpful managerial attitude is characterized by thoughts like “I can’t delegate” and actions like ignoring all employee ideas. When you treat people like idiots, you rob them of the ability to be anything else. This is on you.
6. You Have All the Answers
Insecurity and power can lead you to get your emotional needs met through being (or feeling) like you have all the answers. If you’ve created or inherited an environment of low emotional safety, workers may be hunkered down into a “tell me what to do” mode that makes you feel like you have to have all the answers. Don’t fall for it. Get out of this by using a structured system like that set forth in the excellent book Turn the Ship Around! by L. David Marquet. (I’ve interviewed David twice: listen here and here.)
7. High Turnover Isn’t My Fault
It’s almost entirely your fault. Gallup found that 68% of voluntary turnover is caused by that person’s direct manager (also known as: you). Look at indirect influences and it rises above 80%.
8. They Won’t Get It Right Unless I Review It
Also known as “They Don’t Care About Quality As Much As I Do” approach. Re-doing someone’s work can rob them of pride in their workmanship. Is the quality standard clear, documented, and buttressed with samples and a step-by-step process for reaching it? That’s another example of the system determining outcomes. Of course you can and should review work — enough to ensure it meets a quality standard that your people are trained and equipped to reach without your redoing it.
Also, the negative expectation that “they won’t get it right” will corrode their self-esteem.
9. My Style Got Me This Far
Your strengths inevitably become your weaknesses, as amply documented in the excellent What Got You Here Won’t Get You There by legendary executive coach Marshall Goldsmith. (This book is itself a compendium of managerial self-delusion, and worthy of a close reading.)
10. I’m Not Them (Management)
Also known as the “My Direct Reports and I Are Friends” approach. No, you’re management. To paraphrase the gurus at http://ift.tt/KJ3SiM (my favorite site for management advice), when you’re management, you are “the company” to your directs. Don’t ever tell your team how you disagree with “those people” above you. You’re them. If you try to build solidarity with your people by throwing your boss or senior management under the bus, all you do is make the team afraid. Your role power as a manager makes you ‘The Man’.
How to Fight Self-Deception
Given these risks to your success as a manager, what can you do? There are actually a number of things, and they include:
- Developing Self-Awareness
- Focusing Less on Goals, More on Prevention
- Becoming a Servant Leader
- Becoming a Systems Thinker
Develop Self-Awareness
The number one cause of a failed management career is a lack of self-awareness. Develop greater self-awareness through developing mindfulness and by regularly conducting anonymous 360-degree assessments. You could also hire a professional executive coach.
Focus Less on Goals, More on Prevention
Research by Professor Andy Yap shows that if you feel powerful, and are focused on prevention (of harm and loss) instead of ambition, you’re more likely to do the right thing. (On the other hand, the combination of feeling powerful and focusing on personal goals leads to rule-breaking, cheating, and corruption.)
Become a Servant Leader
Excellent guidance abounds for those who are willing to embrace the values of the Servant Leader. Such leaders bring out exceptional performances from their teams, which leads to personal advancement and promotions — not to mention the other benefits of building up others (instead of tearing them down).
Become a Systems Thinker
The ultimate in self-awareness and contextual awareness comes when you realize that you are embedded in a system, and that you are responsible for the system that your subordinates are embedded within. When you become a systems thinker, take ownership of that system, and begin to act on it intentionally, you’ll deliver outstanding results to your boss, and create a motivating and enjoyable work environment for your subordinates.
Featured photo credit: Bury your head in the sand by Sander van der Wel via commons.wikimedia.org
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10 Amazing Fashion Brands That Give Back
We’re a world of shoppers. We like to keep up with the latest trends. But do we ever really think about what damage our shopping habits are having on the planet? Do we ever stop to think how buying that $10 dollar t shirt has affected the person making it? We’ve become accustomed to fast fashion that’s extremely accessible and cheap. But it comes at such a greater cost to others. Think of who made that shirt, how much they were paid, and their working conditions. It’s a subject we simply cannot ignore any longer.
But things are changing. Slowly but surely. There’s a load of amazing fashion brands out there that are upping their game and helping to change the face of fashion. These are the brands that value sustainability, ethics and helping others as their main ethos. Whether it be through sourcing sustainable materials or donating profits to charity, these brands are making changes. So next time you go shopping for a new tee, pair of glasses or even shoes, check out these amazing companies that are giving back:
1. Ivory Ella
Ivory Ella is a fashion brand which donates a portion of their profits to help the elephants. 10% of your purchase goes straight to savetheelephants.org which aids the research, prevention and awareness of the ivory trade. The brand has currently raised over $135,000 dollars, impressive huh! Delivery is currently only available within the U.S but the brand say they will be opening up to international orders soon. I hope so because I’ve got my eye on this cute necklace!
2. ASOS Africa
ASOS are the e-commerce giants of fashion, and home to hundreds of amazing brands. It’s no surprise then that they introduced a line that appeals to those with more ethical values when it comes to their clothing. ASOS has now released eleven collaborations with SOKO, Kenya. Proceeds from the collection help to boost the workforce, which is predominantly women, enabling them to afford schooling for their children. Their latest range is currently on sale!
3. Elagantees
Selling great quality basics, Elagantees is on a mission to employ 500 women from Nepal to manufacture their clothing. So why Nepal? Sex trafficking is a huge problem there, and thanks to the Nepali Rescue Project, over 20,000 women victims were returned last year. Help to fight the trafficking by supporting this brand and their mission to put a stop to human sex trafficking and get more Nepal women into legitimate work.
4. Toms
This is one that will be on most people’s radar, but also one that is definitely worth mentioning! Toms has pioneered the way as a sustainable, giving brand. Their unique business model works on a ‘one for one’ basis. For every pair of shoes Toms sell, they donate a pair to someone in need. So next time you want a guilt free pair of casual shoes, you know where to head. You can find out more about the brands incredible charity work here.
5. People Tree
Sustainable clothing and fair-trade fashion are what stands at the heart of UK brand People Tree. They aim for their supply chain to be 100% ethical and fair trade. People Tree collaborate with groups such as the Bombolulu workshop which empowers physically disabled people. People Tree also partner with a group in Nepal, which provides jobs for more than 2,500 women. Check out their latest Eco Edit.
6. Miki Moko
Miki Moko is a relatively new fashion glasses brand. They operate with a unique business model where the customer chooses the price they want to pay for their frames. Pretty cool huh? From the chosen price, 50% of that goes straight to charity! Miko Moko currently supports the Nepal Youth Foundation which helps to rescue indentured girls and return them to their families. The brand has loads of fashionable prescription glasses online but these are my personal favourite!
7. Sevenly
Sevenly is an apparel brand which ‘exists to bring funding and awareness to the world’s greatest causes’ now if that’s not a reason to buy a new tee, what is? Each week Sevenly supports a different cause, and you can even see how much has been raised on the live homepage counter! Check out the brands new arrivals section which is updated regularly.
8. FEED
Known for their amazing collection of bags, FEED was founded in 2007 with the simple idea of creating a brand that could engage in fighting world hunger. Just one of their Feed Kenya Bags can provide 370 school meals for children in Kenya. So far, the brand have provided an outstanding 87,683,710 meals.
9. H&M Conscious Collection
It’s a good sign when the high street notices and adopts the call for sustainable fashion. The H&M conscious collections feature garments used from organic materials which support sustainability. Prices still reflect H&M’s affordable fashion, but without sacrificing the planet. This jumper is a must have for autumn!
10. Made
For unique Fairtrade jewelry, Made is your answer. Each piece is hand crafted by artisans, dedicated to using environmentally friendly materials. Sustainability is important to Made and they extensively use reclaimed metals. Investing in employees is also extremely important to the brand, they employ over 60 men and women from developing communities in Kenya. They’ve also collaborated with some pretty big names, Tommy Hilfiger, Louis Vuitton and Topshop to name a few. The dainty trio necklace is top of my wish list!
So what are you waiting for? It’s time to get shopping! It’s helping a good cause after all…
Featured photo credit: Feed Projects via feedprojects.com
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7 Ways to Score a Free Hotel Upgrade
Read on to find out 7 different ways to score a free hotel upgrade that you can use during your next trip:
1. Be really nice. Dress well
Front desk staff and hotel managers deal with lots and lots of people. Be polite, friendly and act nicely when dealing with them. Dress nicely- hotels don’t want to give away free room upgrades ‘just because’. Sometimes the way you look and act can go a long way when aiming to score a free hotel upgrade.
2. Join the loyalty programs
You will have a better chance to score a free hotel upgrade if you are loyal to the hotel and provide repeated business. All the big chains have loyalty programs, make sure to join them. Let the hotels know that you are a rewards program member. Also, make sure to let the hotels know if you have stayed there before (or you can just say that you did). The reasoning behind this is that it is hard to acquire new customers and consequently hotels will give you special treatment if you are a returning customer. This will increase your chances of scoring a free hotel upgrade.
3. Check in late
Timing is key. Do not check in early in the morning. Wait to check in later, the best is between 4-6pm because this way the front desk can see the cancellations and no-shows of the day. Booking dates can also have a huge influence on your chances of scoring a free hotel upgrade. Aim not to book your stay during busy dates because upgrades cannot be given if the hotel is at full capacity.
4. Make it a special occasion
Just make it one- it doesn’t really matter what is it. Let the hotel know prior to your booking if you are going to be spending your birthday or anniversary there. If you are not celebrating anything, make sure to make out of your stay a special occasion. Whether it is an anniversary or a divorce, let them know you have something to celebrate. This way you’ll boost your chances that they’ll treat you to a free hotel upgrade.
5. The $20 trick
Ever heard of the $20 trick? It goes like this: slip the person that is checking you in at the front desk a $20 bill between your credit card and passport and ask if they have any “complimentary” room upgrades available. It is no secret that the front desk folks are not making very much money. This is an old trick that you can learn more about online. It even has multiple websites dedicated to it such as Frontdesktip and Twentydollartrick.
6. The business card trick
This is fresh out of Justin Ross Lee’s collection of tricks on how to maximize what you get for your money when traveling.This is an easy trick that only requires some research and preparation prior to your trip. Many large companies have agreements with hotels to get their rooms at discount rates. For example, a room might be $1k per night usually, but Remington gets it for 199$. You just need to conduct research and print your business card for $4.99 prior to your trip to become a Remington employee for the night. You can learn more about this trick from its creator Justin Ross Lee.
7. Do some research
Make sure to do at least 45 minutes of research prior to your check in at the hotel. If everything else fails, you will be able to leverage this research to obtain a free upgrade. Find out about the nearby hotels, the different room types the hotel you are staying at has to offer and the name of the managers on duty at your hotel. Once you check into your room, carefully scan the whole room in search of something that might not be working (you can even pretend something isn’t working if you don’t find anything, as Justin Ross Lee suggests; for example, lighting a match in a non-smoking room). Once you find the issue, call front desk and let them know you wouldn’t like to have to change to the nearby hotel XYZ just because this issue is going on in your room. They will offer you a change of room and it will most likely come with a complimentary upgrade.
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10 Best Tools To Optimize and Audit CSS Code
CSS stands for ‘cascading style sheet’ and is a formatting language used to define the layout of webpages and blogs. While HTML is sufficient for very basic formatting, such as the implementation of colored text and tables; CSS allows for far more creative layouts and saves a lot of time in the coding process.
But as with any formatting language, CSS is only as effective as the person using it. If your code is awkward and ugly, or if you simply have no eye for design, then your website is still going to be slow and ugly.
That’s why it’s always a good idea to employ the best tools to help give you an edge. These CSS tools can save you a lot of time, while at the same time ensuring that your code runs smoothly and quickly. Read on for some excellent apps that will give you a boost.
1. Notepad++
While you don’t really need an IDE for CSS, Notepad++ will make it much easier to write and edit your CSS code. This notepad replacement is used by coders from all walks of life thanks to its color coded formatting, its ability to open multiple tabs at once, its handy line numbers and its powerful search and replace functions.
2. Stylizer
That said, coding in Notepad++ without seeing a preview of your work can be a little fiddly as you’ll keep having to refresh your browser… Stylizer is specifically designed as a CSS editor on the other hand. It runs on Windows or Mac and has 8 built-in browsers allowing you to ensure it looks good across all of them and it has a nice live preview while you’re working. Stylizer is simple enough to use that it can even be helpful for learning CSS as a beginner.
3. Blueprint
Blueprint is a CSS framework that is designed to save you time by handling a lot of the fiddly aspects for you. It’s employs an easy-to-use grid and has a number of useful plugins. It’s popular among those who already know what they’re doing.
4. Procssor
Procssor is a tool you can use to clean up your CSS and to keep everything nice and consistent. It’s particularly useful if you have multiple people editing the same website, all with different opinions on line indenting and starting new lines. If your CSS is messy to look at, this will tidy it up nicely.
5. CSS Compressor
In reality though, it doesn’t matter so much what your CSS looks like; it’s how it performs that really matters. This tool promises to take care of that though, by reducing the size of your CSS code and helping your website to load much faster as a result. All you need to do is paste your code into the box and click ‘compress’ and you can select from four different compression levels before you do!
6. Replace Genius
If you write your CSS well, then you should have a single style sheet that you can edit to trigger changes across your entire site. Sometimes though, that’s not the way it ends up going down. In those scenarios, Replace Genius will allow you to use far more advanced search and replace rules across multiple documents to make your changes en-masse.
7. CSS Lint
CSS Lint does several things in one, not only helping you to fix the appearance of your code but also helping you to avoid mistakes that might slow it down or cause errors. You can choose how many rules you want to apply and even create your own and again, it’s very quick and easy to use.
8. Dreamweaver
Or perhaps all this talk of CSS optimization is making your head spin and you’d like to stay clear of it as far as possible? Dreamweaver is a web design tool from Adobe that makes this possible – allowing you to create impressive and intricate web designs without having to get your hands dirty. It includes numerous pre-designed CSS layouts you can use and you can do all your designing in the visual editor. This also contains a nice search and replace function. Just a shame that Adobe Creative Cloud is rather expensive!
9. Simple Custom CSS
Then again, the considerably more popular choice of website builder these days is definitely WordPress. If you built your site in WordPress using a theme you didn’t build yourself, then you can use this tool – Simple Custom CSS – to easily add CSS that will overwrite the theme you have active.
10. iPlotz
Wireframing software lets you create and iterate website mockups on the fly, which is incredibly helpful when you begin planning and creating your CSS code. If you’re the sort of person who prefers not to ‘design in the browser’, then iPlotz is a great choice that has a free limited option and an easy drag-and-drop interface.
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3 Things Successful Leaders Keep In Mind Even When Things Go Wrong
Nobody has a Midas touch. Even successful leaders and great teams have bad days. That is just the way it works. Sometimes things go wrong because of unforeseeable circumstances and sometimes things happen because someone in the team made a mistake.
Whatever the reason, the extent of the negative impact caused by such bad times is heavily influenced by how the leaders reacts to what happened. Successful leaders know that their team members places a lot of importance on what they say during testing times. They also know that team members place an even higher level of importance on how leaders say what they say – their body language, level of stress, tone of voice and other subtle cues mean a lot.
Here are three things successful leaders keep in mind during such situations:
1. Successful leaders know they have to bring calm and confidence
When things go wrong, not everyone reacts the same. Those that lose their calm or those that panic can set a bad precedent for those that are on the edge. When issues are left unaddressed, a team can tend to focus on the negative – so much so, that the project comes to a standstill.
Successful leaders arrest the slide quickly by bringing calm and confidence to the team.
With their experience, they can make a quick impact analysis of the damage. Since they have the trust of team members with influence, they bring the group together and get their buy-in on the next immediate steps. Once the core team members are calm and confident the rest of the team follows suit.
For more information about presenting a calm and confident manner, see this article.
2. Successful leaders know to shift the focus on what’s next
When things go wrong, spending an unreasonable amount of time on forensic analysis is time unproductively spent- the team could be focused on recovering from the problem. Every minute counts. Good leaders know that if they let things get out of hand, they will turn the issue into a bigger crisis as projects that depended on the current problematic project being completed start to slip.
Successful leaders know that the right thing to do is to focus on what to do next, using whatever resources are available at their disposal.
Analysis needs to be done in parallel with this action, or postponed to a time after the current project is back on track.
3. Successful leaders bring their learning from these experiences to future projects
Failures, crises, mishaps and other such events, teach a lot of lessons. Leaders know that it’s easy to blame someone or something else and move on. That would be a colossal waste, of course. Successful leaders reflect on what happened, what lessons are to be learned from what happened and how not to repeat the same mistakes next time around.
Even when things went wrong due to things outside of their control, they think about how to factor in such risks and account for them in their planning for future projects.
Bonus Item:
4. Successful leaders remember to refine their assumptions next time around
One of the major below-the-surface reasons for things going wrong is the presence of faulty assumptions to start with. Either the leader or an influential team member made one or more assumptions that didn’t turn out the way they wished.
When things go wrong, successful leaders go back to the drawing board and think about what assumptions were made and why they turned out to be faulty. Revisiting the assumptions will help them to refine their judgments when they are working on future projects.
Remember:
A rising tide lifts every boat. When things are going well, even mediocre leaders can come across as rock stars. When things go wrong, every leader gets tested and the successful leaders stand out from the pack based on how they react and get their teams back on track.
Featured photo credit: Steve Wilson via flickr.com
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10 Thing Successful People Do To Motivate Themselves
When I was in 20 years old and studying at UCLA, I flunked an Economics class. I was devastated. Guess what happened? I bounced back. I got an A when I retook the course.
When I was 22, I interviewed with 4 different managers at a Fortune 100 company and was ranked pretty much last in every interview. I didn’t get a single job offer. I was frustrated. Guess what happened? I bounced back. I have my dream job now.
When I was 25, I created 9 iPhone apps, all of which failed miserably. I spent a ridiculous amount of time and money building them. I felt really bummed. Guess what happened? Since then, I’ve built other 4 iPhone apps and all 4 of them hit the top 100 in the Business, Lifestyle, and Entertainment section.
When I was 28, I found out my mentor and friend Erik, who was like a brother to me, passed away from cancer. That was one of the toughest times in my life. Guess what happened? I bounced back because that’s what Erik would have wanted.
What I’ve noticed over the last 30 years of my life is a recurring pattern to successfully motivating myself. This pattern helped me get back on track, even during times that felt like rock bottom. I’ve also asked numerous executives from Cisco, MTV, Bank of America, VMware, Box, and Optimizely what their secrets to motivation are. In addition to that, I’ve also read numerous books on motivation from authors like Tony Robbins to Daniel Pink (Author of “Drive”).
I’ve put together a list of the 10 things successful people do to motivate themselves. I’ve never shared this list – until now. Here are the top 10.
1. Understand Your Why
“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” – Mark Twain
Understand your purpose and it will fuel your drive.
If I told you that it was your job to sort through a box of potatoes and to throw away the rotten ones, would you feel a strong sense of purpose? Or would you feel like a cog in a machine? Now, what if I told you that by sorting out the bad potatoes you were helping out the local food bank in supplying fresh food to needy families in the area? Would that change your perspective and your sense of purpose in the work?
Now that you understand the purpose of the work, does it potentially change your attitude or perhaps even your choice of work?
I’m not here to dictate what purpose is. Everyone’s got a different definition based on their experiences in life and their own set of values. What I do want to ask you is: What does purpose mean to you?
Find your why. If you don’t know what it is, create it. That will motivate you to make a difference.
2. Stay Focused on the Big Picture
“Create the highest, grandest vision possible for your life, because you become what you believe.” – Oprah Winfrey
Admit it. There will be days where work will feel boring, when tasks feel repetitive, or when you feel like you have 100 things to do on your checklist. There also those days when you’re just plain irritated. The easy thing to do is to feel frustrated and to give up. However, you could stay focused on the big picture.
When I worked at a Fortune Global 2000 company, I started a weekly partner training program that quickly grew from 20 attendees to well over 150 sales reps at its peak. One of my co-workers was upset because he felt like it would end up creating more work for him. For example, if Nelson is doing it, then we’ll all have to start doing this!
If I caved and stopped doing the training so that my co-worker wouldn’t feel obligated to do more work, do you know what would have happened? We wouldn’t have created $1.6M in pipeline, that’s for sure. That’s why you’ve got to keep your eye on the big picture.
3. Get Active
A lot of times it’s hard to get motivated if you’re not in a good mood. Research has shown that working out multiple times a week for a reasonable period of time can reduce the symptoms of depression. Exercising for 30 minutes can also increase levels of serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine which can help to reduce stress.
I’ve noticed that when I exercise for at least 30 minutes (especially in the morning), I’m a lot more relaxed throughout the day, less stressed out, and am able to think much more clearly.
Also, if you’re pushing yourself in your workouts, you’re testing your boundaries and this can be really healthy. For example, I had never run a half marathon before until I decided to step up to the challenge this year. It was painful, but after I finished, I immediately thought, “if I can do this, what else I am capable of?”
Pushing yourself physically will also motivate you to push yourself intellectually and in other parts of your life – like your career. #WorkoutsElevateYourGame
4. Have an Accountability Buddy
“Surround yourself with people who push you, who challenge you, who make you laugh, who make you better, who make you happy.” – Anonymous
Let’s say you set a goal of signing on 100 new customers within a year. Now, share that goal with some of your closest friends and colleagues. Guess what? You’ve just signed up for peer pressure. This is a great way to keep yourself motivated at work. Don’t believe me? Just wait until you hear someone down the hall say, “Hey (Insert Your Name Here), how are you doing in your goal of 100 new customers?”
Still don’t think that’s motivating? How about an additional 50 coworkers also asking that same question? I think that’ll motivate you. Just a hunch.
5. Motivational Quotes
I know, I’m writing a post on how to get motivated and included motivational quotes and then suggested that you use motivational quotes to get motivated. This just got meta on you.
Whatever motivational quote you decide on, print it out and tape it to your mirror. Or if you want to get fancy with it, take a marker and write it on the mirror!
That’ll get you going in the morning!
6. Create Small, Bite-Sized Goals
There’s a reason donut holes are so lovable. They’re easy to eat. Before you know it, you’ve eaten a dozen of them. This is how goals should be too. Of course you should have a really big and audacious goal.
However, make sure you break down that goal into bite-sized, consumable goals. This way you’ll feel like you’re making progress in your journey and you’ll also feel a sense of accomplishment when you complete the smaller goals. A feeling of progress and achievement is a beautiful combination.
7. Have the Time of Your Life
“There’s no fun in a perfect life. So make a risk. Take a chance. Go where the wind takes you. Have fun.” – Jenny C.
If you’re having fun, you’re going to be more motivated to do great work. This is true for 90% of the people. Okay, I have no proof that is statistically true, but I’m pretty sure for most people this holds true.
Do you notice that when you’re having fun, you’re more charismatic, upbeat, and optimistic? Do you notice that you’re more productive because you’re actually enjoying the work? Do you notice you’re motivating other team members because you’re making the work environment awesome? Thought so.
Go out there and have the time of your life! (Go to 3:19 for the good part)
8. Meditate
“Meditation is not a means to an end. It is both the means and the end.” – Jiddu Krishnamurti
We live in a world of information overload. Because of that, our brains sometimes get overstimulated, and that’s not a good thing. That’s why we need to meditate.
Calm down. Close your eyes. Lie down.
Okay fine, you’re probably sitting in front of a computer – just sit up straight then. Breathe slowly, in and out. Do you feel a sense of calm washing over you? Do you notice thoughts starting to creep in? Push them out and focus only on your breathing.
Meditation will help you motivate yourself in a few different ways:
- Focus – By clearing your mind, you’ll have a renewed sense of focus.
- Happiness – By meditating, you’ll likely feel happier since your stress will be reduced. When we’re happy, we tend to be more optimistic about the future. That optimism can often be a very powerful motivational force.
9. Brainstorm Your Ideas and Write Them Down
Not all of your ideas will be good. It doesn’t matter. Write them down anyway. I got this idea from James Altucher (the guy is brilliant!). Your great ideas will come when you least expect them.
Eventually, after you jot down 100 ideas, chances are that you’ll have at least one good idea. That’s incredibly motivating when you discover you can come up with good ideas. So start jotting them down. Now.
10. Visualize the Future and Go Make it Happen
Need motivation? Think about what you’re going to achieve. Think about the impact you’re going to make. Think of the future you’re going to create. Visualize it.
Go make it happen. NOW!
Because it’s never too late to be awesome.
Featured photo credit: Ed Gregory via stokpic.com
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5 Things to Know Before Starting Blogging
Many people perceive blogging as a dream job: no boss to push you around, you write about things you like and don’t have to lift anything heavier than a coffee mug. Unless you count the work of raking in heaps of money, of course.
The reality, however, is somewhat different. Let’s take a look at what you should know before you jump the gun and quit your job.
1. It Is Hard Work
Blogging may not be hard physically, but it is still work. There isn’t a boss to order you about, but you cannot afford to just slack off. You are your own boss, and should be a harsh boss if you want to achieve anything. Ideally you will write about things you are interested in, but once you start writing for money it doesn’t matter if you are not in the mood, or don’t have inspiration, or are tired.. If you want to stay afloat, you have to deliver high-quality copy regularly, no matter what.
2. There Are a Lot of Technical Issues to Take Care of
A blogger, especially when he just starts out, cannot fully concentrate on creative side of his/her work – there are a lot of technical problems to take into account. How are you going to advertise? What is your target audience? What will be your connections with other blogs? What platform are you going to use? The choice of the best web hosting for your particular situation, of WordPress theme you are going to use and so on – before you are be able to start blogging per se, you will have to go through a lengthy period of preparation, especially if you have no experience in this area.
3. Money Won’t Come Quickly
Especially if it is your first attempt, so don’t be in a hurry to leave your current 9-to-5 job. Blogging may bring you enough money to support yourself and even more than you could’ve made in an office job, you won’t see this money immediately. You will probably not see it in a year or two. Or at all – it depends on your talent as a content creator, the topic you choose, your ability to attract people, the amount of effort and time you are ready to put into it, the amount of faith you have in yourself, your abilities, and your enterprise.
4. It is Time-Consuming
The image of a blogger as a person who spends half an hour every few days to write a new article and does whatever he/she likes the rest of the time is not a purely fictitious one, but probably applies to a very small number of top bloggers who have been around for a very long time. In other words, they don’t depend that much on their weekly output. For all the rest, you won’t even spend as much time writing as you will spend trying to make a name for yourself: commenting on someone else’s blogs, establishing social media presence, and so on.
5. You Have to Be Passionate about the Subject
The best way to decide if you should start a blog is to ask yourself: will I be willing to go on even if I don’t earn a single cent off this thing? If the answer is no, you shouldn’t probably waste your time. It is extremely hard to get a blog off the ground if you have no motivation other than money. Success may not come soon, it won’t come easy, and if you don’t feel pleasure from the job alone you will very soon learn to hate it just as you hate your current 9-to-5 job.
So, if you are still ready to go on – good luck!
Featured photo credit: Blog/GotCredit via flickr.com
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All Hipsters Need These Apps On Their iPhones
There are times when one has to make a special effort to get away from mainstream – and what is a better way to do so than to find quirky little apps for your iPhone? Here is the list of apps no self-respecting hipster can do without.
1. Best Travel App – Indie Guides
Indie Guides is often called the hipster of travel apps, and for a good reason. It is a series of guides covering the artistic, cultural and alternative side of a city, the side that is almost never covered in conventional guides.
2. Best Photo Editing App – Filterra
A powerful photo editing tool is more or less a must for smartphone photography, and Filterra fits the bill perfectly. You can read a more detailed description on Filterra website, but in short it combines comfortable design, a multitude of different filters and options allowing to modify photos on the go and regular free updates that keep the app in tune with the times. So don’t wait, download Filterra photo editor and enjoy your perfect pics.
3. Best Music App – Hype Machine
Created specifically for those who want to be in the know of all the songs that are being talked about. Collecting information from more than 800 top music blogs, Hype Machine shows you the all the hottest new releases every day.
4. Best Business App – Any.Do
Any.Do is a clean and simple app that keeps you on top of all your daily tasks. It is easy to get used to, and despite its visible simplicity Any.Do has a number of options that helps you remember everything you keep forgetting to do and keeps you from procrastinating.
5. Best Finance App – Spendbook
Even hipsters have to manage their personal finances, only if to be ironic, perhaps, but still. Spendbook is an excellent choice if you value the simplicity of use and cleanness of design.
6. Best Health&Fitness App – WaterMinder
For those who think that running is way too mainstream and look for alternative ways to improve their health, there is WaterMinder – a little app helping you manage and track your water intake. It shows how close you are to your daily goal, motivates you to drink more water, and is just fun to watch.
7. Best Lifestyle App – Everyday
Everyday prompts you to take a picture of yourself each and every day of your life and then maps these pictures over time. If you are afraid that something as precious as your face may be lost to posterity, you simply must get it.
8. Best Navigation App – Doughbot
Nothing beats specialization – Doughbot is a navigation app that has only one purpose – to help you find your way to the nearest doughnut shop. It doesn’t matter what your tastes are, with the assistance of Doughbot you won’t be lost without your favorite doughnuts ever again.
9. Best Social Networking App – Snapchat
Snapchat is an app that adds personality to the world of social networking. Those who believe that communication via Facebook and Twitter equals standing on a tall building and shouting your thoughts to the world in general will find comfort in Snapchat’s approach: you simply send pictures and videos to your friends. Nobody but them will see them, and they will disappear on their own accord after a short while.
10. Best Utilites App – Rotary Dialer
If you standard iPhone dialer is too mainstream for you, you can always add a touch of real retro class via Rotary Dialer – it allows you to dial like in the good old days of rotary phones, even if you’ve never seen one in your life.
So, now will be a perfect time to update your apps – before the ones from this carefully compiled list get too mainstream.
Featured photo credit: hipster/R G via flickr.com
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