When people sniff blood, they dig. And they dig deep. Check out this this conversation between a statistician and a company PR guy: (more…)

Being nice is nice. It gives you a warm glow inside helping out your fellow man. Sometimes, however, you feel that you’re too nice. A friend calls you, asks a favor, and despite the pile up of obligations, you say yes. Of course, it was nice that you came to his rescue, but you feel depressed that you failed to stand up for yourself.  So, when is the right time to say no to someone? How do you know what moment to assert yourself?

(more…)

That may sounds like Zen weirdness but for me, it’s actually an unbeatable way to win a debate. You see, the moment you agree with someone, you take away their resolve to fight. Argumentative folks thrive on resistance. Take away resistance and you take away the fight. Easily. (more…)

Fighting is actually healthy. Remember the last debate you indulged in? It helped you and your spouse air issues and reach compromises. Sure there was a bit of yelling and sobbing- but that’s better than keeping quiet and boiling in resentment. (more…)

How to you spend your free time?

Let me see. If you’re one of the millions of corporate blokes out there, you laze in front of TV, get drunk, read some old Men’s magz or just doze off. And while you’re at it, your brain shrinks while your belly bloats.

Aha! Is that a blush on your cheek? I thought so.

Leisure time that’s simply passive downtime is a monumental waste of time. It’s time that could have been spent more productively and yet enjoyably.

Consider the following activities that can get you a major rush. (more…)

Someone cuts you off. Do you holler?

The last parking slot is taken. Do you scream?

The boss fires you. Did you jump the building?

If you said yes to any, I’m sorry to say, you’re a weakling. You simply react to events instead of choosing your own response.

The real movers and shakers chose proactively. The decide on positive behaviours that serve them well. In other words, they choose to be the cause of events. Not the effects.

Here are some tips you can use to rule your reality.

1) Before you react to something, ask yourself: does this serve me well?

2) Take the initiative. If you know you’ll be fired, resign.

3) Pretend you have just 30 minutes to live. How’d you do it?

4) Take ten seconds before acting on something. This prevents brash moves

5) When you’ve made your decision, don’t look back. Be consistent! Remember: never excuse your decisions. It’s your right!

Public speaking is said to be rank higher in the global list of fears than - guess what? - death! Why? Beats me. I just know that when I stand before the audience and pretend I’m talking one on one with a single person. And you know what? I lose all fear in a second.

Do you want a standing ovation the next time you deliver your speech? Try the following

1) Focus on the crowd, not yourself. Think of entertaining them. Don’t imagine them criticizing you.

2) Walk around. A lot. Act like you’re just bantering at the water cooler. This loosens you up.

3) Crack jokes. Smile. They’ll smile back. And you create rapport.

4) Tell stories. Everyone loves a great story! Watch how their eyes stop glazing over.

5) Finally- encourage audience participation. Ask them questions. Throw them opinions. Banter. Debate. Keep it quick flowing!

Now I came across a cool blog with great tips on the subject. You’ll want to check this out:
Standing Ovations

Did you notice how some people are just so insanely happy? Sling all the insulting barbs you want or hurl impossible tasks their way and yet they keep on ticking. Blissfully. Happily.

And that makes you drip with envy all the more.

A small segment of the population come factory-built with a natural propensity for positive outlook. They’re hardwired with copious amounts of zest. This zest easily shields them from the buffets of life that normally faze the rest of us.

Recently scientists discovered how the naturally occuring-drug serotonin flows more generously in such individuals. Serotonin is magic. It’s a chemical produced in the amygdala and can give far more pleasure signals than cocaine or marijuana can. No wonder happy people are unstoppable! They’re simply cocooned in bliss that rose-tints the blight of the world!

Wouldn’t you love to experience their reality?

Try these three tips now!

1) Discover what you REALLY want and enjoy your passions. Is it drawing? Painting? Designing web pages or collecting toys? The more you do what you want, the faster you pump out serotonin and create an inner zest.

2) Give unconditional love and respect. Face it, connection with others creates that warm fuzzy feeling inside. That fuzzy feeling expands into unmitigated, explosive joy when done regularly. Imagine how unstoppable you’ll be when you feel loved- and are loved!

3) Take an inventory of your thoughts. The next time a depressing, critical or evil thought swims into view, ask yourself ‘Does this Serve Me Well?’ If it doesn’t, chuck it!

Fly high!

Cortisol apparently arises from stress and this helpful blog entry gave a clue on avoiding this deadly chemical. Here’s a snippet:

The key to escape cortisol though… is to change your voice… run from negative people… go for a walk… or find some tangible way to be good to you until cortisol stops surging in your brain and positive tone returns. What do you think?

Link to the whole article is here:
Cortisol

To this I’d like to add one special technique I use to minimize stress.

And that’s to stop the inner voice that whispers “There’s Something Wrong Here” when something does go wrong (well, according to your standards)

Okay. It’s traffic. What happens? You grumble, cuss and think “Something’s wrong here”

Your girlfriend is silent. She’s giving the cold shoulder and you think “Something’s wrong here”

Such thinking builds up stress fast. Deathly fast.

Find peace by simply accepting things at face value. And saying “everything’s ok. I can manage!”

Creating your own content can be a challenge if you publish your own online newsletter or eZine.

However, regardless of any topic you are publishing on, types of contents can be generally divided into four categories, namely factual content, short tips, mini stories and case studies.

Other than writing your own content, you can get your own unique content the quick and easy way by organizing an interview with an expert or leader in the topic.

Very often, this can be done for free and since the interviewee is writing out most of the content, there is nothing else for you to do other than giving the interviewee something valuable in exchange (maybe a meal!). (more…)