Five Ways To Strengthen You Online Identity

Ashish Dubey recently joined a Gurgaon-based telecom software developer as marketing manager for Asia Pacific, from nVidia, a chip maker, where he worked as product manager. He was hired through a professional networking site. As in Dubey’s case, social and professional networking online can open up a myriad of career opportunities. Companies keep an eye on potential employees online and are increasingly using this new tool for their recruitment purposes. Here’s how you can make the best use of such opportunities by creating an online identity, says Mahima Puri.

Bring your profile up to speed
Make sure your online profile on such networking sites is complete, and list all the roles you have played in your existing and previous organisations. “You are 12 times more likely to be viewed for potential opportunities if you have more than one position listed on your profile,” says Hari Krishnan, country manager, LinkedIn India. Uploading a photograph is also advised as it makes the individual look more confident and gives the benefit of a better recall value,” says Yogesh Bansal, founder & CEO of ApnaCircle.com.

List out all your recommendations
Get views, reviews and recommendations from your teachers, professors, former bosses and peers. It will help a lot of enhancing your profile online and giving you an edge over the others. “If two candidates have the same qualifications and experience, HR is more likely to choose the one whose profile has more recommendations,” says Bansal.

Cut out the clichés and generalisations
Phrases like ‘extensive experience’ and ‘proven track record’ can appear immaterial to a potential employer and may do more harm than good. According to Krishnan, such terms are among the top 10 terms that are overused by professionals in India.

Check if a company is hiring in the first place
Use the ‘follow’ company feature on sites like LinkedIn to track recruitment exercises of companies you are interested in. Some companies also keep posting jobs on social networking sites like Facebook. Keep an eye on these.

Connect with the relevant HR personnel
In some cases, networking sites provide the facility to search for any kind of job one desires and also allow one to see the individual in charge of such hiring. “It would be appropriate to find people you have in common and if suitable ask them to introduce you,” suggests Krishnan. Sites like LinkedIn also allow one to save searches and keep a record of careers and people that interest you. Utilise such tools to the best of your ability.


(08-04-2011, Mumbai, Economic Times)

Five Ways To Sharpen Your Communication Skills (By John Baldoni)

We need people who can communicate!

Raise your hand if you have heard this line at least a thousand times. In fact, you've likely heard it so much that it's become meaningless. Communication, as I teach and coach, is the glue that holds an organization together. It is the means by which we exchange ideas, learn from each others, and perhaps most importantly, connect to each other.

"Communication and interpersonal skills remain at the top of the list of what matters most to recruiters." That's according to the most recent Harris Interactive/Wall Street Journal business school survey published in September 2007.

So why do we ignore the relevance of communication until it becomes an issue? One reason may be because we don't take the time to quantify what we mean by it.

That's why I found Adam Bryant's New York Times interviewwith Richard Anderson, CEO of Delta Airlines, refreshing. In the interview Anderson proceeded to define his expectations for effective communication.

1. Know the fundamentals. "People really have to be able to handle the written and spoken word," said Anderson. Express yourself well verbally, as well as on paper or through email. Failure to communicate coherently leaves people unsure of what is expected of them.

2. Think clearly about what you will say. Anderson is not a fan of PowerPoint. Bullet points without a "subject, a verb and an object" do not convey "complete thoughts." With respect to Mr. Anderson, PowerPoint itself is not the problem; executives who use it as a short-hand for thinking are. Too many managers use it to sketch out thoughts rather thanflesh them out.

3. Prepare for meetings. Documents for meetings should be distributed in advance and made clear and concise. Anderson also wants meetings to "start on time." That's all part of the preparation process. So often meetings go off track before they begin because managers and employees do not take the time to think about what they will say before they say it.

4. Engage in discussion. "I want the debate," says Anderson. "I want to hear everybody's perspective, so you want to try to ask more questions than make statements." All too often, either due to the press of time or perhaps a feeling of over-importance, executives do not make it clear that they want to hear alternate points of view. Such an approach leads to "groupthink" because no one speaks up.

5. Listen to others. Discussions are meaningless if no one is listening. Anderson does not like to see his managers checking their BlackBerrys in meetings. Doing so shows lack of "focus" and is akin to reading a newspaper during the meeting, says Anderson. As little as we may tend to oral and written skills, we spend even less time on listening. For that reason, too many managers end up ill informed and, in turn, ill prepared to deal with issues that subsequently morph into problems. Time spent listening might have headed off such disasters.

"Measure what you treasure" is a saying used by compensation professionals in reference to aligning rewards to corporate goals. The same philosophy can be applied to communication. If you value communication skills you will recruit, train and hire for it. Oral and verbal skills are a baseline; organizations also need to look at the broader context of how such skills are used to inform, persuade, coach and inspire. That requires years of practice and example. It is up to leaders to show the way by communicating clearly — but also teaching others to do the same.

About the Author

John Baldoni is a leadership consultant, coach, and speaker. He is the author of eight books, including Lead Your Boss, The Subtle Art of Managing Up.

Source: http://blogs.hbr.org/baldoni/2009/04/five_things_leaders_can_do_to.html

Five Ways To Building A Committed Team (by Drew McLellan)

ke6etweet 

If you want a powerful, profitable company — create a powerful team.  If you want to create love affairs with your customers — create a passionate team.  If you want to leave a legacy — create a committed team.

Your team.  Nothing reflects on a business owner/leader more than the team they build around them.

So in this world of disposable everything — how do you, with genuine intention, bring that mythical team to life?

Let them have a voice:  There are few things more frustrating than having no control over your environment.  Whether it's how to handle summer hours, what charities your company will support or how a customer service policy should be amended — ask them.  Ask them and listen.

At MMG, 90% of the company decisions are made collectively.  I toss the problem/opportunity on the table and we talk about it.  When we think we've covered all the bases, we find consensus and move forward.  About 10% of the time, it's a decision I feel I have to ultimately make — but I want the team's input first.  So I ask.  And listen. 

Don't be afraid to use the "L" word: My friend Steve Farber teaches us in his brilliant book Radical Leap that the word and the emotion love belong in business.  That there's nothing wrong with loving your team, your clients and your work. In fact, I'd worry if you don't.

Make it mean something:  I don't care what you do — it has a higher purpose.  Jim Collins calls it a big, hairy audacious goal. A true BHAG is clear and compelling, serves as unifying focal point of effort, and acts as a clear catalyst for team spirit. It has a clear finish line, so the organization can know when it has achieved the goal; people like to shoot for finish lines.  If you don't have one….your team needs you to create one.

Celebrate the big and little wins: This doesn't have to be "send the sales force to Vegas" sort of celebrations although there's nothing wrong with those either.  It can be as simple as gathering everyone together for a quick high five.  At MMG, we have a drum that when someone has big news (new client, big project successfully completed etc.) — we bang the drum and everyone comes to the conference room to hear what's up.  It's about taking the moment.  (And we're not always good at it either, so cut yourself some slack…but make it part of your culture!)

Thank them in surprising ways: Again — this doesn't have to be a grand gesture.  Part of the fun of it is the surprise element.  One of the goofier ones that I've done is this simple.  Go buy gift cards for various places (iTunes, restaurants, your local grocery store etc.).  Get enough so you have one for each person on your team.  Then go buy the same number of Pringle's cans of chips.  On the bottom of each Pringle's can — write a number 1- how many ever you bought.   Spread the gift cards all over the conference room table and put all the Pringle's cans in the middle of the table, so no one can read the numbers.

Call in your team and tell them (with love) how proud you are of them or congratulate them on some client accomplishment or whatever.  But…set the mood and tell them why you're doing this.  Then, let each person randomly pick a Pringle's can.  Whoever got the #1 can gets to pick among the gift cards first, etc.

It will take you 10 minutes, but they'll remember it for much longer than that.

Bottom line — building a rock solid team doesn't happen by accident.  It is borne from love, gratitude and sharing a vision that matters.  The good news is — it costs very little and the rewards for you, your team and your clients — is huge!

Source: http://www.drewsmarketingminute.com/2010/02/5-ways-to-building-a-committed-team.html

Five Ways to Help Save the Planet in 30 Minutes or Less (By Larry West, About.com Guide)

Invest half an hour to protect the environment by changing how you live each day

You may not be able to reduce global warming, end pollution and save endangered species single-handed, but by choosing to live an earth-friendly lifestyle you can do a lot every day to help achieve those goals.
And by making wise choices about how you live, and the amount of energy and natural resources you consume, you send a clear message to businesses, politicians and government agencies that value you as a customer, constituent and citizen.
Here are five simple things you can do—in 30 minutes or less—to help protect the environment and save Planet Earth.


Drive Less, Drive Smart
Every time you leave your car at home you reduce air pollution, lower greenhouse gas emissions, improve your health and save money.
Walk or ride a bicycle for short trips, or take public transportation for longer ones. In 30 minutes, most people can easily walk a mile or more, and you can cover even more ground on a bicycle, bus, subway or commuter train. Research has shown that people who use public transportation are healthier than those who don’t. Families that use public transportation can save enough money annually to cover their food costs for the year.
When you do drive, take the few minutes needed to make sure your engine is well maintained and your tires properly inflated.

Eat Your Vegetables
Eating less meat and more fruits, grains and vegetables can help the environment more than you may realize. Eating meat, eggs and dairy products contributes heavily to global warming, because raising animals for food produces many more greenhouse gas emissions than growing plants. A 2006 report by the University of Chicago found that adopting a vegan diet does more to reduce global warming than switching to a hybrid car. Raising animals for food also uses enormous amounts of land, water, grain and fuel. Every year in the United States alone, 80 percent of all agricultural land, half of all water resources, 70 percent of all grain, and one-third of all fossil fuels are used to raise animals for food.
Making a salad doesn’t take any more time than cooking a hamburger and it’s better for you—and for the environment.
Switch to Reusable Shopping Bags
Producing plastic bags uses a lot of natural resources, and most end up as litter that fouls landscapes, clogs waterways, and kills thousands of marine mammals that mistake the ubiquitous bags for food. Worldwide, up to a trillion plastic bags are used and discarded every year—more than a million per minute. The count for paper bags is lower, but the cost in natural resources is still unacceptably high—especially when there is a better alternative. Reusable shopping bags, made of materials that don’t harm the environment during production and don’t need to be discarded after each use, reduce pollution and save resources that could be put to better uses than making plastic and paper bags. Reusable bags are convenient and come in a variety of sizes and styles. Some reusable bags can even be rolled or folded small enough to fit into a purse or pocket.

Change Your Light Bulbs
Compact fluorescent light bulbs and light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are more energy efficient and less expensive to use than the traditional incandescent bulbs invented by Thomas Edison. For example, compact fluorescent light bulbs use at least two-thirds less energy than standard incandescent bulbs to provide the same amount of light, and they last up to 10 times longer. Compact fluorescent light bulbs also generate 70 percent less heat, so they are safer to operate and can reduce energy costs associated with cooling homes and offices. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, if every U.S. household replaced just one regular incandescent light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb, it would prevent 90 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, the equivalent of taking 7.5 million cars off the road. On top of that, for every incandescent bulb you replace with an approved compact fluorescent light bulb, you will save consumers $30 in energy costs over the life of the bulb.

Pay Your Bills Online
Many banks, utilities and other businesses now offer their customers the option of paying bills online, eliminating the need to write and mail paper checks or to keep paper records. By paying your bills online you can save time and money, lower the administrative costs of companies with which you do business, and reduce global warming by helping to prevent deforestation. Signing up for online bill paying is easy and doesn’t take much time. You can either choose to have certain bills paid automatically each month or elect to review and pay each bill yourself. Either way, you will receive outstanding returns on your small investment of time.

About the Author
Larry West is a professional writer and editor who has written many articles about environmental issues for leading newspapers, magazines and online publications. He has been a guide at About.com since 2004.

Original Link: http://environment.about.com/u/ua/greenlivingdesign/green-living-ideas.htm

Five Ways To Create High-EQ Workplace

People from different geographies, communities, religions, social values form part of today’s organisations, making it more diverse than ever. In this scenario, it is crucial to have leaders who understand employee needs. Instead of random HR initiatives, focused policies create an emotionally intelligent workplace which responds well in crisis and stability. Shreya Biswas explains how to cultivate such a culture. 

Make them feel secure
Emotionally secure people can be the biggest asset for a business. Make them feel wanted, give them the respect they deserve. “Tell them how much they are valued in the company, acknowledge their contribution on public platforms and they will not change jobs for a meagre salary rise, spread negative energies in office or involve themselves in politics. Instead, they try to raise their performance bars,” says K Sudarshan, managing partner, emerging markets, Asia, EMA partners International.

Compensate people fairly
Compensation plays an important role in forming a just and fair environment at the workplace. Money might not be the sole motivator for work but it is an important component of people engagement. “People will start believing it is everything else but work that gets them a better place at work. You need to be just and transparent in distributing such resources,” says Sudarshan.

Don’t push too hard
It’s always good to motivate people to better themselves, but extremes can hurt. Stiff and impractical targets create an unhealthy environment and people tend to blame others if they are not able to achieve them. There is burnout and even good performers start losing confidence. In the long run, this can be disastrous for the employer. “Lines between professional and personals lives get blurred and people tend to get into depression. This never helps a company that is trying to attain a certain height,” says Ronesh Puri, MD, Executive Access.

Communicate effectively
Communicating feedback by empathising and understanding the emotional reaction of subordinates is one of the key challenges faced by leaders today. “The first step in achieving this is to understand your environment and employees, finding the common ground and then building rapport. While giving feedback, ensuring confidentiality, coupled with a high level of scientific assessment and followed by a roadmap chalking out the employee’s growth path is the approach to adapt,” says Anand Sharma, CFO, CPA Global.

Succeed together
Develop a sense of common responsibility in achieving goals. When a project has been executed successfully, attribute it to the team, and not to individuals. The same goes for failures. “Show them the results of pulling the load together. Play on their collective strengths instead of highlighting individual weaknesses. They will value you as a leader and will follow the cue. They will never try to pull each other down but will co-operate to better each others’ performance,” reasons Sharma.

People from different geographies, communities, religions, social values form part of today’s organisations, making it more diverse than ever. In this scenario, it is crucial to have leaders who understand employee needs. Instead of random HR initiatives, focused policies create an emotionally intelligent workplace which responds well in crisis and stability. Shreya Biswas explains how to cultivate such a culture.

Five Great Ways to Re-energize Yourself (by ANNE MELNYK)

There are lots of wonderful ways to boost your energy.  But as always, follow your intuition and your own wisdom about what works for you.  What is wonderfully energizing for one person might be extremely draining for another.

As an introvert, I can be incredibly juiced with energy and inspiration, but if I were to pump my arms triumphantly,  yell yahoo, or do a happy dance, I would just feel phony, embarrassed and out of integrity with the feeling.  Yet the energy that simmers and burbles quietly in the core of my being, is just as powerful as any overt display of energy.  It still feeds my soul and sparks my ability to take action in my life.

Get in touch with your energy.  How does it behave?  Where does it come from?. What does having energy look like or feel like to you?  Is it highly charged?  Is it a quiet and satisfied glow?  Does it make you feel like jumping up and down and shouting woo hoo?  One sort of energy is not better or more powerful than the other.

Pay attention also to your energetic rhythms, and work with them.  Is it low key and steady, or do you sometimes soar with energy and other times crash?  If you need more sleep in to be at your best, find a job that accommodates your sleep pattern.  If your energy is either full on or full off, consider working on project work that will take advantage of your natural rhythm.  Or schedule your work so that you are doing your most challenging and demanding tasks when your energy is high.  When your energy dips, opt to do less challenging tasks like catching up on email.

Here are a few ways to re-energize yourself when you find your energy flagging.  I’ve got to admit, they are not rocket science, but in the rush of life, we sometimes forget the simple things, so hopefully this will serve as a good reminder to keep you present to your power to manage your energy.

Don’t dismiss the value of doing the obvious - Okay what follows is simple, and obvious, but its true all the same.  We are biological beings.  If we want  to be energetic, we must take care of ourselves – mind, body and soul.  It makes sense to take care of our physical foundation so that we are working at our optimum.  For starters, do what your mother always told you to do.  Eat right, go to bed earlier, get more sleep, get some fresh air, turn off the TV, eat your veggies and take your vitamins.

Get Moving – Your body is a conduit for your energy.  If you want to prime the energy pump, you gotta get moving.  I hesitate to say exercise, because that sounds too medicinal for my taste, however our bodies were made to be moved.  Spending too much time plunked in front of computers, or televisions or behind the wheel of a car commuting makes you feel sluggish.

The best way to get the energy flowing again is to move.  Wake your body and your energy up. Dance to the golden oldies, ride a bike, do some yoga, swim, hike, ski, climb, bounce a ball, juggle frying pans and bowling balls or learn to ride a unicycle.  Or just keep it easy and strap on your shoes and take them out for a walk.

Hang with Energetic People – Studies have shown that humans are incredibly perceptive. We can recognize people who are disguised simply from clues such as their gait or mannerisms.  In the same way we are also perceptive about other people’s energy.

Some of us have honed this ability to a fine art, however, we all have had the experience of walking into a room and being able to notice if the atmosphere was charged or especially tense even if no one was speaking.

Energy is contagious.  Start to notice the energy of the people that you spend your time with.  How does their energy make you feel?  Does it lift you up or does it further drain you.  Choose to spend your time with people that radiate positive energy.  Soak in their energy, so that you in turn will radiate.

Stop being a control freak (oh yes you are!)- You are likely familiar with the oft repeated fable of the frog who is boiled to death when the temperature of the water is increased so slowly that it doesn’t notice and never jumps to safety.  In the same way, we can become control freaks as life slowly gets more complicated and hectic and we attempt to control the chaos.  We seek to manage a myriad of tasks, responsibilities and challenges painlessly as possible, by planning, scheduling and developing efficient ways of responding.   When we are stressed we tend to go to this default response over and over again, and before we notice it our control systems have become rigid.

In the short term control can seem like efficiency, but there is a price to be paid for staying in control of life.   Maintaining tight control over chaos is difficult.  It takes time and attention.  It takes effort and energy. And it is hugely confining.  So quit trying to paddle upstream all the time, just turn and go with the flow for a change and trust that it all will work out.  It’s easier and way more fun.

Step out of your comfort zone -  If you’ve fallen into a rut, it might be time to make a change in your life, just for the fun of it.  Routine, boredom and lack of challenge can sap your energy.  You can recharge your batteries by stepping out and trying something new.  Engage your brain.  Learn something new.  Take a class.  Do something that scares you just a little bit.  Take a risk that gets your blood pumping.  (And by risk, I don’t mean do something dangerous, I mean an emotional risk that will open the door to growth!  Something like speaking in public, or writing a book.

Find Out What Juices You and Do It – Nothing will energize you more than discovering who you are at the core and taking action to live in integrity with that insight.  Knowing who you are, understanding your gifts, your purpose and your path in life is an energetic elixir.  It is the fountain of youth.  Following that path of discovery to  what you love and immersing yourself in it is key to living an energetic and juicy life.

Some people resist focusing on the inner journey, and think spending that time on themselves is selfish.  The truth however is, that until you do, you will never discover and fully release the gifts and greatness that reside within, and you will deprive yourself, and the world of the best you have to offer.

When we are living in integrity with our gifts, we have a powerful impact on others, because gifts are things meant to be shared for the benefit of others.  Discovering what feeds and energizes you is essential for you and gift to the people you love and spend your time with.  Go for it!

Original link: http://www.juicylife.ca/2010/01/07/5-great-ways-to-re-energize-yourself/

Five Ways To Write Faster (By Ali Hale)

Whether you need to clear a backlog of emails, write an important document at work, finish a short story, or do your homework, spending hours staring at a blank screen and struggling to come up with words won’t help.

If you know you could get twice as much done if only you could write faster, try some of the following methods.

1. Don’t worry about the quality of your first draft
   Whether you’re writing fiction or non-fiction, many experts recommend just getting the first draft done before starting to edit. That means keeping the momentum going as you write, rather than going back to change words or delete sentences. If you’re a perfectionist and write slowly because you worry about getting every little detail right the first time round, giving yourself the freedom to produce a “rubbish first draft” can triple your writing speed.
   Once you’re done, go back and edit: often, you’ll be surprised that your first draft really isn’t too bad!
   In his book Do It Tomorrow (which I strongly recommend for anyone who struggles to manage their time and attention), Mark Forster recommends writing a series of quick drafts:

   When I first learnt the techniqute of writing in a series of rapid drafts, my first draft would usually consist of nothing more than a few words jotted down. My second draft would add a bit more and I would go on revising it until I had it in the form I wanted.

   There are two great advantages to doing it this way. First of all it gets rid of the perfectionist feeling that it has to be got right first time. If I think a sentence is a bit clumsy, what does it matter? There’ll be another draft along in a moment. The second advantage is that engaging with the material in this way allows new thoughts and insights to appear.

2. Outline the piece before starting
   With bigger projects, it’s easy to get stuck because you’ve come to a standstill or gone off on a tangent. Jot down some notes before you begin: that might be subheadings for a blog post or article, paragraphs for an essay, or plot points for a short story. Type these onto your computer screen – you’ll no longer be staring at a blank document, and seeing the next subheading or paragraph point ahead will help keep you on track.
3. Set a timer for ten minutes and write non-stop until it goes off
   Have you noticed how much faster you write when you need to finish something before a set time (perhaps lunch, or an essay deadline)? It’s amazing how much your brain can focus when you’ve only got a few minutes. Mark Forster calls this the “end effect” – speeding up at the end of a piece of work – and recommends using a timer to produce it consistently. Challenge yourself to see how much you can produce in ten minutes.
4. Do your research and preparation separately from the writing
   Something that can really slow things down is stopping to look up a fact, find a quote, or check a figure. When you write the outline for your piece (see #2), you should have a good idea of what references you’ll need to make. Look these up before you start writing, and have them all to hand.
   Alternatively, if the process of writing sparks off ideas of websites, books or people you want to refer to, don’t stop to find them part-way through writing the piece. Leave a note in the text to remind yourself of what you want to include; you might want to highlight this in some way so you don’t forget to go back and put it in! For example, in the first draft of this article, I wrote –
   [Quote from Mark Forster on drafting process]
   – and looked it up when I revised the first draft.
   The same applies if you’re unsure of how to spell a word, or if you can’t quite think of the right phrase: highlight it in some way, and come back to it once the first draft is complete.
5. Turn off distractions (instant messenger, Twitter, email.)
   If you’re constantly interrupted by friends wanting to chat on instant messenger, by incoming emails, by new posts coming through to your RSS reader – turn everything off. I can write at least twice as fast – and often even faster – without any distractions. You might think it only takes a few seconds to read each message, but every time you turn your attention away from what you’re writing, you lose momentum.
   I’m great at procrastinating when I should be writing and so I write most of my blog posts first thing in the morning, before I even connect my computer to the internet. This also helps with #4 – I’m not tempted to stop and search for some missing piece of information on Google every few minutes.

Have you got any great tips on speeding up your writing? Can you dash off an essay in an hour, or race through your inbox with ease? Let us know what tips and tricks you’ve discovered – or, alternatively, if you’re a slow writer, tell us where you think you’re going wrong!

Original Link: http://www.dailywritingtips.com/five-ways-to-write-faster/ 

Five Ways You Can Make a Difference

Heather Plett is the founder of Sophia Leadership, a website, a blog, a movement that “is about ALL of us (women and men) learning to trust our feminine wisdom more and letting it change us and change the world.”

Heather’s courage, leadership, and compassion inspire me every time I read one of her blog posts, Tweets or Facebook updates.

In her post 100 Years :: 100 People :: 100 Changes she challenged us by asking “100 people (women AND men) to come up with 100 ideas (in honour of 100 years of International Women’s Day) that reflect their thoughts around the following question:”

How can women change the world and how can we change the world for women?

My contribution to her call to action is more general than specific when it comes to changing the world for women, but I think these small things will make the whole world a safer, happier, more peaceful place to raise our children, sons and daughters.

Five Ways You Can Make a Difference

1. Smile - No matter how you feel, or what is going on, smile. Smile when someone holds the door open for you; greet your children with a smile when they come home from school; smile when the dog pees on the floor; smile when you are standing in the checkout lane at the grocery store; smile while you are brushing your teeth; smile whenever you realize you’re not. You will be amazed at the power of a simple smile.
2. Listen – When someone speaks to you decide to really listen. Don’t think about a story you want to share that relates to what they are talking about, don’t think about what you want to talk about, and don’t drift off. Really listen, repeat back what they’ve said in the form of a question to make sure you heard them correctly, or ask a question that invites them to tell you more. Do this with your children, your spouse, a co-worker, a friend and a stranger and discover how listening makes another person feel important and special, and how it makes you feel.
3. Touch - As social beings we all crave the touch of another human being. All living creatures do. Children who are not held or touched during the first few months of their lives often fail to thrive and may die or grow up severely emotionally and psychologically handicapped. Don’t invade a person’s personal space or touch someone with any form of aggression. A touch should be quick, soft, and barely noticeable, like a gentle breeze. Don’t force it. It should be natural. Try gently touching your child’s head while beading over to see what he/she is drawing for you; reach out to hold your spouses hand while watching a movie together; touch a friends shoulder or arm while speaking; hug your Mom, your Dad, your brother, your sister. The lasting effect of a gentle hug, or touch, can feel like magic.
4. Share – Tell someone, your spouse, child, parent, sibling, friend or co-worker how much having them in your life means to you. Share with them the goodness you see in them; share how much they bring to the world just by being themselves; think of five positive things you can say about the person and share your list with them. Share by telling them verbally or in writing. The mere act of thinking of the other person in a positive way will create a shift inside your own heart and when you share how you feel with the other person, lovingly, honestly and authentically, you may be amazed at the positive shift in your relationship as a whole.
5. Be Kind – We have heard about the power of ‘random acts of kindness’, but how many of us actually practice kindness on a daily basis? Hold the door for someone; let the car racing up next to you merge in front of you; pick up your neighbors trash cans; stop to help if you see someone in distress; do something without the thought of being paid back; make a fresh pot of coffee for your coworkers. Let go of petty grievances. Accept that we are all human, we all make mistakes, we all act without thinking sometimes and that we all have ‘troubles’. Be kind and accepting of one another. Don’t judge. They are so many ways we can be kind towards one another even if it is just smiling, listening, sharing, and touching. Be kind toward yourself first, then allow your kindness to overflow to all those around you.

These are not earth shattering, splashy, ‘let’s save the world’ ways to make a difference. But, if we all adopted just one of these strategies and made it a part of our daily lives imagine what an impact it would have in our homes, our workplaces, our communities and the world.

You can make a difference. The difference starts with you. It starts inside of you. It starts small, like a raindrop, but builds and flows outward like a tidal wave.

Original Link: http://thedreamingcafe.com/2011/03/08/five-ways-can-make-difference/

Author: Sandy 

Five (easy) Ways To Improve Your Creative Thinking (By Dennis Fisher)

Take these five easy steps to improve your five senses.  You’ll  experience a remarkable improvement  in your creative imagination and your ability to think more creatively.

Step number one.

Take this step  to improve not only your sight, but your perception of what you see.

When you enter the home of someone you have not visited before, make a note of the  clothes people are wearing.  Try and judge their personality according to their choice of clothes.Examine the furniture. Is it new or old?   Not only will you train yourself to become more observant, you will improve your creative imagination. 

Step Number 2.

Improve your sense of smell. 

When you encounter an unusual smell, try and indentify it. When you visit a new restaurant  be aware of the new and different odor.

Do the same with people you meet.  Be aware of perfumes; deodorants or shaving creams they use.  Some may be pleasant; some overpowering.  Use your imagination to form mental images of the characters of the people. 

Step Number 3.

Hearing.  Listen carefully and intently to the dialects  of people you meet. When you  meet someone with a foreign accent, conjure up images in your mind  of the person’s background.  Use your imagination to form  images of the person’s exciting and interesting past.  Perhaps at one time he or she was a Russian spy or an astronaut?

When you listen to the soothing sounds of gentle music close your eyes and imagine you are sitting on the banks of a  gentle-flowing river watching children playing with toy boats.

Step Number 4.

Taste.   Taste is another sense that can be improved remarkably.  You’ve often seen examples of wine-tasting exhibitions in which a person, highly skilled in the ability to detect slight variations in wines, is able to identify the character and personality of the wine.

You can do the same with food, especially exotic new dishes you taste at restaurants. Use your imagination to give the food a distinctive personality and character.

Step 5.

Touch.  Of the five senses touch is perhaps the one most over-looked in its ability to provide feelings of extreme sensuality and arouse emotions.

But touch  is a sense that It must be cultivated and nurtured. Enjoy the physical sensation of gentle rain on your skin. 

After a tiring day, when you feel exhausted and drained, enjoy the luxury of a warm bath. But don’t switch your mind off and think of nothing.  As you feel the comforting warmth of the water against your body, close your eyes and  imagine your are floating effortlessly on a cloud to some far, distant land.  Form images in your mind.

The ability to use your imagination to form mental images is the basis of all creativity. It is an ongoing process.

Not only will your senses improve to a remarkable degree, so will your ability to use your imagination.   As your imagination improves, so will your ability to think more creatively.

Visit ther following site where you’ll  find a great deal of  valuable information about creativity and creative thinking http://www.creativemindpowers.com

Original Link: http://www.articlesbase.com/self-help-articles/5-easy-ways-to-improve-your-creative-thinking-1658637.html#ixzz1ILER40uK 

Under Creative Commons License: Attribution

Five Ways To Start Your Day In A Positive Way

It is vitally important to get the right mood from the moment you wake up. The reason is that it’s far easier to determine your vibration right from the start, than trying to change it while being busy doing stuff. As everything efficient, these ways are so simple, but the hard thing is to make a habit out of them. 

1. From the moment you wake up, be thankful that you did.  I’m not going to say something like “As far as you know this might be your last” . But there is a concept I like -

Live your day as if you’ll die tomorrow, and at the same time as though you’ll live 200 years.

If you accept these two beliefs simultaneously, the change will be profound. I’m experiencing it right now, and the things that are happening are awesome. 

2. Make sure you have a job and hobbies that you love. Your job is your main motivator to get up and be productive. And if it’s Saturday or Sunday, then your hobbies will be the factor. Of course, it will be the best if your hobby is your job, as it is with me. Know that everything you believe in can become a profitable business, as long as you believe in it.

3. Treat yourself as a king right from the start. Get a shower, cook yourself a breakfast and give up reading the newspaper. You don’t have the time? Yeah, you do! Even better – you’ll have more time than before since being happy makes you much more productive.

4. Listen to audio-courses in your car while going to work. Self-development can help you be happy. Every time you are unhappy, you are just confused – nothing more. And it’s usually because you don’t know as much as you should.  If you hate learning things that will help you with your job, look at 2.

5. Always have that thing (or more than one) to look forward to. You can create it, if you choose to create it. It is possible, and it’s easy if you know how. Otherwise it’ll be hard, but not that hard.

Of course there are more than five ways, but that should be enough for now. Once you’ve put yourself in that sort of vibration, you’ll constantly thing of new ways to do it. And when you get good enough, then it all will start coming from within.

Source: http://choosingreality.com/positive-thinking/start-your-day-in-a-positive-way.html 

Five Ways To Develop A Team That Performs

No corporate can be successful till its people work together as a team and make it happen. To get everyone to work in sync may not be easy but what is important for every leader is to create a team that performs well. Teams that make a difference to the company’s success not only win accolades but also get rewarded. Here’s how to develop a performing team and be recognised, says Mahima Puri.

Set a Common Goal
According to Anil Sethi, corporate counsellor, trainer and motivator, a ‘common goal’ is the key to uniting any team. There has to be clarity on what the team has to achieve in the context of the larger corporate objective. If every team realises its job and does it well, the organisation as a whole grows. “A leader has to maintain transparency to develop this common goal,” he says.

‘ We’, Instead of ‘I
The leader should ensure every individual puts the team’s interest first, not himself. “Till all the team members share a good emotional bond and respect each other, they can never unite,” says Sethi. It is also important to work towards a common goal. Samik Basu, VP-HR & CPO, PepsiCo India says team members should know each other well, including what each one brings to the table.

Man the Team Well
A team is after all a set of individuals. Hence, it is important to understand the capabilities and competencies that one wants in each of the individuals on the team. “You have to man the team accordingly,” says Basu. It is also important to avoid misfits in order to maintain the productivity of a team.

Appreciate People
It is crucial to make sure to equip the team with the adequate quality and quantity of manpower, and it is just as important to recognise and appreciate your team. “Where you hear pride in people’s voices when they talk about their team’s work and recognise their contribution, you are creating a better performing team,” says Sethi. Let your senior management know about you team’s accomplishments, their hard work and potential. When team members realise you are taking a stand for them, they will not only have a sense of belonging but also strive to work harder and perform better.

Celebrate Together
Just like a family that eats together, stays together, a team that parties together too stays together. Basu says it is essential to reward, recognise and celebrate achievements together as a team. While people may not connect so well with each other in a formal environment, sometimes they engage better with each other in an informal one. That’s why bosses take teams out for lunch, companies have off sites and regular celebrations take place.

Source: 01-04-2011, Mumbai, Economic Times