Learn to Concentrate

Do you believe you can't study because you can't concentrate? Actually, concentration is a SKILL you can learn! Learning a new skill works better with practice, so plan to practice the steps below. You'll see a difference within a very short time, and soon you'll concentrate anytime and anyplace.

1. Teach your mind not to wander. This is the easiest and most effective thing. When you lose concentration, remind yourself: "BE HERE NOW." Focus back on your task. You'll probably have to do this over and over in the beginning…that's OK. Just "BE HERE NOW." Practice ignoring. Don't look for who just dropped lots of books, or at the wiggling person next to you. Make a Mind Tunnel between you and the task or the person you are supposed to be listening to. Paying attention is a decision!
2. Plan your worry time. Sounds odd but works great! Schedule time during each day when you can think, worry, makes lists, and focus on thoughts and concerns. If you slip into worrying or planning when you are supposed to be concentrating, put it on your Worry List; then keep that appointment with yourself. Return to your task and "BE HERE NOW."
   
3. Get some air. Breath deeply from your abdomen, get up and move around, change your position intermittently. Keep your brain and body oxygenated!
   
4. Change the topic. Switch tasks every hour or so to keep your alertness fresh.
5. Keep your mind active. Actually consider what you are reading, ask yourself questions about it, anticipate what your teacher will think is important about the information. Take notes.
6. Unfreeze your body. Sit in an upright but relaxed position. Check your muscles and body parts-including fingers and toes-and make sure they're not clenched.
7. Reward yourself. Finished studying a chapter? Call a friend. Finished a written
   assignment? Read a chapter in a novel. Finished a term paper? Go out to dinner. You choose what works for you.

AND SOME MORE

PLAN TO STUDY USE GOOD LIGHTING SIT IN A COMFORTABLE CHAIR TURN OFF THE TV AND THE PHONE MUSIC? ONLY IF IT WORKS FOR YOU HAVE A SNACK

BELIEVE YOU CAN DO IT GET ENOUGH SLEEP REMEMBER THE REWARD WEAR COMFORTABLE CLOTHES DO THE HARDEST WORK WHEN YOU'RE MOST ENERGETIC HANG "DO NOT DISTURB" SIGNS

Source
Woodford, Kansas State University

Harmful Effects of Sugar

(NaturalNews) Most of us have heard the good advice that we need to eat less sugar - and rightly so. However, despite the numerous warnings by health authorities of the ill effects of sugar, the majority of the population is still consuming sugar on a daily basis in some form or other. "Sugar" is both a broad category and a misleading one. Let's examine it for our health's sake.

We do not have to consume white, refined sugar to be consuming sugar. Sugar includes glucose, fructose (as in fruit sugar), lactose (as in milk), sucrose (as in table sugar), maltose or malts (as in rice malt and honey), jam (contains concentrated juice, which is high in fruit sugar), maple syrup, corn syrup, palm sugar (traditionally used in macrobiotic cooking), and the very deceiving organic brown sugar, which is not all that different from white sugar. Even alcohol is a sugar. All of these sugars are problematic in many different ways.

The sugar industry is not in decline and obesity is on the increase. Sugar is a major culprit in the case against obesity. For obese individuals, consuming even a teaspoon of sugar a day would cause metabolic imbalances that contribute to obesity. Sugar is to be avoided, not only by the obese but by healthy individuals.

Is there rationale behind the statement, 'Sugar is to be avoided'? Definitely!

Nancy Appleton, PhD, clinical nutritionist, has compiled a list of 146 reasons on 'how sugar is ruining your health' in her book Lick the Sugar Habit. Here are some of them:

* Sugar can decrease growth hormone (the key to staying youthful and lean)

* Sugar feeds cancer

* Sugar increases cholesterol

* Sugar can weaken eyesight

* Sugar can cause drowsiness and decreased activity in children

* Sugar can interfere with the absorption of protein

* Sugar causes food allergies

* Sugar contributes to diabetes

* Sugar can contribute to eczema in children

* Sugar can cause cardiovascular disease

* Sugar can impair the structure of DNA

* Sugar can cause hyperactivity, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, and crankiness in children

* Sugar contributes to the reduction in defense against bacterial infection (infectious diseases)

* Sugar greatly assists the uncontrolled growth of Candida Albicans (yeast infections)

* Sugar contributes to osteoporosis

The body changes sugar into 2 to 5 times more fat in the bloodstream than it does starch. With 146 proven reasons why sugar is bad for us, is there perhaps one single reason as to why we might need it? The only interesting thing about sugar is that it tastes good and makes us temporarily feel good. This is an area worth exploring.

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), a 5000 year-old wisdom of self-contained knowledge of healing, we all need sweetness in our life. We need six tastes: sweet, sour, salty, astringent, bitter and pungent to stimulate the taste buds on our tongue at main meals, in order to experience satiety.

Satiety and cravings are the result of imbalances in brain chemistry and have nothing to do with fullness of the stomach. When foods hit our tongue, our taste buds relay the bio-chemical information to the brain, stimulating various parts of the hypothalamus – the 'satiety centre'. The tongue is also a mini representation of the body, just like in reflexology, and contains points that stimulate all the organs in the body. Avoiding sweetness would be unnatural and unnecessary, as this will inevitably lead to imbalances and sweet cravings. This is why people have such a hard time giving up sugar; it is almost impossible to get children to stay away from it.

Many people really try hard to avoid sugar, and do not sweeten their tea or coffee, yet they crave sugar in some other form, such as chocolates, cakes, ice cream or even fruit - dates and figs. Dates are 99% sugar, in the form of fructose. When a person is in metabolic balance they do not crave sugar. If they do, it is a sign of a metabolic imbalance and it can be corrected without having to consume sugar.

The wonderful thing is that we do not have to give up the sweetness of sugar in order to be healthy; we just need to replace it with better alternatives. While giving up sugar is very difficult, replacing it is now very easy.


Source
Teya Skae

Why the news is a waste of your time

Why do people follow the news? This may seem like a dumb question, but think about it: Why do we watch, read or listen to the news? Many of us check the news several times a day. We have other things we want to spend time on. So what is it that we hope to achieve?

There's a quick answer: It is just plain important to follow the news. We have a responsibility to pay attention to the world we live in, just as we have a responsibility to vote and to contribute to society. It is part of being an adult, and a citizen.

This is not a satisfying answer. Why is it important? What is it that makes a news item important? Its popularity, the fact that everybody else knows about it too? That's shaky ground to build importance on.

Or is it the objective truth and relevance of a news item that makes it important? But most news are inaccurate and irrelevant. Really paying attention to the world we live in is not a normal part of being an adult, but something rare, something most of us do without. How can we say that it is "important" that everybody follows the news, when the world clearly does fine without?*

There's also an honest answer to why we follow the news: We want to be entertained. The news tell us a good story, and we want to know what happens next. The belief that this story is real has the same emotional effect as when we're told that a movie is based on a true story. It gives the story emotional resonance. "Wow, this really happened."

A news story is fairly real, but it is still a story, and it is appreciated as a story. What we want from the news media is good stories based on real life, this is more important than their being perfectly accurate or relevant.

This answer explains why the news take the form that they do. The news we want to hear about are like the stories we enjoy: Fun, titillating, frightening, infuriating. It may seem odd to say that news about war, death and crime is a form of entertainment, but think about it: our favourite stories are also about war, death and crime. Think of the movies you've seen the last year. It seems natural to me that there is a connection here.

Yes, war, death and crime is relevant, but if relevancy is what matters most to us, why do we pay attention only to certain of these events, and not to others? Because they're good, familiar stories. We talk about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and devour all news about it because it is a good story*, a continuing saga we follow from day to day like a favourite soap. We ignore African wars where the suffering is orders of magnitudes higher because they're bad stories: Confusing and unfamiliar, like a soap from a different culture in a language you can't understand.

But this too is an incomplete answer. Our desire to be entertained explains the choices we make as news consumers, which again explains why the news media behave the way they do: They want to make money, so they obey our attention. But it is not fair to say that what we want to achieve by following the news is to be entertained.

Just as you can want to lose weight and still eat too much, it is possible to want something useful from the news, and still reward the superficial with your attention.

I think most of us do want to learn about the world, learn how things really are. We don't go about reaching this goal very well, but we're curious and we want to know.

Our level of curiosity varies: I want to know everything, it is my Great Plan. Others are less curious, but I believe that most of us want something more than entertainment from the news, something useful and relevant, even when our behavior says otherwise.

And this is where I get to a counterintuitive point: If you're one of these people, if you want to learn about the world, and this is why you follow the news, you're wasting your time. If all you care about is reality-based entertainment, then the news is a good investment of your time. But if you want to learn about the world you live in, following daily news is probably misspent time.

Not because the news media do a bad job. They do, but not all of them. Let's say you read only the best news sources in the world. It is still a waste of your time.

How so? Think of the world as a painting. Every day that painting grows by one millimeter in length. You like this painting and you want to appreciate it, but you go about this in an odd way: Every day you go up to the painting, and for a whole hour you scrutinize only the most recent addition to it. Once in a while you cast a glance at the rest of the painting, but you spend most of your time looking only at that last millimeter.

To learn about the world primarily through the news is like studying a painting one millimeter at a time. To understand an event you need to understand its background and context, and the news give you little of that. News stories are time-biased: Nearly all their attention is given to today and yesterday, some to the last week and month, and anything beyond that gets a paragraph at the end.

You may think you already know the background of the news you read about, that the background is simple and obvious, and not worth your time. But it is the other way around. The background of an event is always complex and full of important details. Knowing a summary is not enough. Compared to their background, today's events are simple and - often - obvious.

The bright side of this is that understanding does not come at a fixed price: There are some real bargains to be had if you look in the right place. Background information is such a bargain, it's like one of those movie classics you can buy at a third the price of last year's crap blockbuster.

Let's say a big event has been unfolding over the last week. You have spent ten minutes every day for six days reading about its latest developments. That's a total of sixty minutes spent understanding an event.

Imagine that we plot the growth of your understanding on a Y axis, and time on an X axis. The first minute you spent reading about this event, you gained a lot of knowledge, and also the second minute, and the third. But as you move up to fourty minutes and fifty and sixty, the graph begins to slope, until your understanding hardly increases at all. Your first five or ten minutes were a good investment of your time, the last five or ten were not.

Imagine instead that you spend ten minutes on the first day reading about this event, and then you spend ten minutes on each following day reading about the background of the event. Who are the people involved? What have they done before? What kind of place did this happen in? Have similar things happened before? What is the background of the background, and the context of the context?

This time, the graph goes straight up. It doesn't slope, in fact the fiftieth minute you spend reading may teach you as much as the first. It doesn't slope, and it doesn't end. There is no upper limit to knowledge, there is no point at which more background knowledge does not give you a better understanding of the subject, does not change your perception of it.

"But history is boring." Then we're back to news as a form of entertainment. I don't judge, I don't say "you should want to learn about the world you live in". I only say that if you do want to learn, following the news is usually a bad investment. Stay up to date, certainly, but spend most of your time learning about the background and context of current events.

You don't need daily snapshots of the world, weekly is just as fine, and makes it easier to filter out the noise. See the news not as your primary source of information, but as suggestions for further reading.

"Umm, learning isn't that important to me." Fine by me. Like I said, I'm not judging anyone. Think of this as time investment advice. Your goals are your own, but there are bad ways and there are good ways to reach those goals. And if your goals are like mine, those 10, 60 or 120 minutes you spend every day on news are a rotten investment.

Source
BearStrong

From a Beginner to Expert

Your desire to become an expert at something could mean that you already have a goal in mind. You are now looking to find effective ways to become excellent at it. It can vary from knowing how to feel good instantly or to become skilled and competent at handling things or people.
Here are a few tips on becoming an expert.

Set your goal
It all begins with a decision. Once you have set your goal, you will draw yourself to get the information, learn the skills and find the answers.

Study thoroughly.
The next thing to do to is to study it. To become great at something you need to gain more knowledge on the particular subject. The knowledge and information will lead you to an understanding. The understanding will lead you to take actions. You can learn from books or audio programs or get a coach or mentor.

Plan your strategy.
Write down your step by step plan and the options to achieve your goal. Planning your action steps gets you prepared and will increase your chances of succeeding.

Perform diligently.
Once you have acquired the knowledge, practice it diligently. Repeat it over and over again. Discipline yourself to allocate time each day to practice the skill until you become good and get it right.

Strengthen it by visualizing.
can increase your ability to become superb by visualizing or creating the mental pictures in your mind. You practice on the inside before you do it on the outside. Your performance will improve with mental practice.

The Silva Method is a great tool to learn how to use your creative imagination.

Add positive emotions.
Your emotions will affect your learning, thoughts and your actions. Your ability to create, manage and control your emotions will avoid you from getting lost and frustrated when progress is slow.

Ask for help and accept feedback.
Ask yourself and ask others. Think through and evaluate how you have been thinking, learning and doing things. Ask others the same questions. Mistakes and failures are feedbacks. Getting feedbacks allow you to move ahead or change your direction. Keep an open mind.

Choose your environment.
Go to places and surround yourself with people where you will gain benefits and challenge your abilities. When you associate with people who are action and success oriented, you will tend to become like them. A positive environment will change the way you work, think and interact with others.

Commitment is essential.
To become an expert at something, you need to commit yourself to see it through. Write down your needs and intentions on paper. Expect the best from yourself. Put maximum attention and tolerate temporary discomforts that come with doing something new or repeating things.

Persist.
Don't give up when you are tired or frustrated. Rest and give yourself time to evaluate and then try new things. Affirm to yourself with positive winning thoughts, words and pictures to bring back the drive and override the negativity. Recall successful attempts and dwell upon them. When you start to doubt yourself and fear creeps in, fight your resistance by bringing forth your desire.

Source
About Personal Growth.com

Eight Fearless Questions

How do you call yourself? How do you identify yourself? And have you chosen a name for yourself that is big enough to hold your life's work?

I have a colleague who first suggested this to me. And he said, "So many of us choose names that are too small for a whole life." So, we call ourselves, 'cancer survivors;' that seems to be a very bold name, but is it big enough to hold a life? Or, 'children of abuse.' Or, we call ourselves 'orphans,' or 'widows,' or 'martyrs'.... are these names big enough to hold your life?

And the second question that just occurred to me as I was doing this is, Are we choosing names that demand fearlessness? You're a coach. You're an executive. You're a consultant. You're a teacher. You're a minister. You're a hospital administrator. You're a civil servant. Are those names demanding fearlessness of us? I don't know what the names are that would create fearlessness, but I think this is a very important question.


What's so bad about fear?

Fear has a lot of positive attributes when you think about it. First of all, it gives us adrenaline. So it gives us the energy we need, the surging we need, to really do things that, then, look courageous. So, fear could be a good thing.

The second thing about fear is that it's instantly available. You don't have to do any work here; you just have a thought and suddenly you're afraid.

And the other good thing about fear is that it's a constant companion. Day and night. Waking and dreaming. It's always there.

So, what is there to fear about fear? I don't know the answer to that question yet. So, I just ask you to consider it. But, it seems to me that a lot of our fear is based on wanting to protect and defend ourselves. And a lot of fear arises when we're so focused on ourselves that we lose our engagement with the world. If the way out of fearfulness is to stop identifying so terribly with ourselves and with the self that we're trying to protect and defend and nourish, then this leads us into the possibility that the way out of fearfulness is to connect with the greater world.


Does the world need us to be fearless?

What's going on in the world, and does it require a different response from us? Does the world need us to be fearless? Here's a poem that I wrote a while ago, that also expressed my views on this:

The flags are flying at half-mast. Again.
This one drapes across the highway as I drive toward it.
It's over-sized, the type of flag that became popular when patriotism
needed to be more visible.
It suffocates the road, limp, lifeless.
Wind attempts to lift its spirit but
the flag refuses so
laden with sorrow.

This flag is for Katrina.
I remember another massive flag that
flared-out defiantly in the fierce wind after 9-11.

The world I see will soon be lost in lifeless flags.
We are only at the beginning.

Last night, I threw out a salt container that still had some salt in it.
I wanted to clear out space in my crowded cabinet.
As I tossed it in the garbage, it came to me. There will
come such scarcity that even those few grains will be treasure.
I still threw it out, but I vowed to remember this night.

Now, how do I live whole-heartedly?

Every time a flag gets lowered, I tell myself:
This is what it feels like as a culture dies.
This is what it feels like in the age of destruction.
This is what groundless feels like.
Don't grasp for ground.
Don't grasp.

Groundlessness has to be learned.
I am teaching myself with these terrifying mantras.


What if we can't save the world?

What if our efforts come to nothing? What if, at the end of our lives, we die having watched destruction and not been able to create any good effect?

What, really, is available to us if we can't save the world? What do we fund our work for? Where do we gain energy if we don't believe that we're going to be successful? How can we do our work without hope that we will succeed?

There's something very interesting to understand about hope. That is, that hope and fear are one. Any time we're hopeful, we don't know it necessarily, but we're bringing in fear. Because fear is the constant, unavoidable companion of hope. What this simply means is that I hope for a certain outcome and I'm afraid I won't get it. I hope for a certain result and I'm fearful it won't happen. This is the way that hope and fear are wedded together. There is a place called, "beyond hope and fear." It is to be free from hope, so that we are free from fear.

So, it might be that the road to fearlessness is only found by giving up hope. By giving up outcomes, by giving up goals.

I find this to be an intolerable posture, by the way. If we don't have hope, where will we find our motivation? If we don't have hope, who will save the world? If we go down in despair - which seems to be the alternative to hope in many peoples' imaginations, who will save the world?

What if your work achieves nothing? Thomas Merton, a great writer and contemplative in the Catholic tradition, said, "Do not depend on the hope of results. You may have to face the fact that your work will be apparently worthless and even achieve no result at all, if not, perhaps, results opposite to what you expect.

"As you get used to this idea of your work achieving nothing, you start more and more to concentrate not on the results but on the value, the rightness, the truth of the work itself. And there, too, a great deal has to be gone through, as, gradually, you struggle less and less for an idea and more and more for specific people. The range tends to narrow down, but it gets much more real. In the end, it is the reality of personal relationships that saves everything."

What would it feel like to find our fearlessness with each other? For those relationships to be enough? For us to feel we would have made a significant contribution, and led a good life, just because we cared for, loved, consoled a few people? This is quite a frightening thought; to shift from saving the world to loving a few people? Doesn't seem like that will do it, does it?


What is it like to live in the future now?

I was given a passage by the Brazilian theologian, Ruben Alvez, who described hope in this way:

"What is hope? It is the presentiment that imagination is more real and reality less real than it looks. It is the suspicion that the overwhelming brutality of fact that oppresses us and represses us is not the last word. It is the hunch that reality is more complex than the realists want us to believe, that the frontiers of the possible are not determined by the limits of the actual, and that, in a miraculous and unexpected way, life is preparing the creative events which will open the way to freedom and to resurrection.

"But, hope must live with suffering. Suffering, without hope, produces resentment and despair. And hope, without suffering, creates illusions, naiveté, and drunkenness. So, let us plant dates, even though we who plant them will never eat them. We must live by the love of what we will never see.

"This is the secret of discipline. Such disciplined love is what has given saints, revolutionaries, and martyrs the courage to die for the future they envision; they make their own bodies the seed of their highest hope."

I'm finding this to be a very provocative exploration of hope, not comfortable at all. I don't actually want to make my body the seed of the future I hope for, or the seed of my own highest hope. I don't really want to have to sacrifice that much. I don't think I really know what "disciplined love" is. I don't understand that.


Why do we imprison ourselves? Why are we so afraid?

The American poet, Robert Bly, wrote:

"If we don't lift our voices, we allow
others (who are ourselves) to rob the house.
Every day we steal from ourselves knowledge gained over a thousand years."

Why do we imprison ourselves? And what's the nature of the bars? What's the nature of the prison?

I think some of the prison bars that we have constructed for ourselves are our fear of losing our jobs. Our fear of not being liked. Our need for approval. Our desire to make important changes but not have to risk anything at all. So, we still want the comfort of this life and it feels like a bigger risk to step out and say, "No," or to say, "You can't do that to me." It feels like a larger risk, because I think the real prison we're in is our affluence, and our focus on our affluence or our hypnosis around material goods. I offer you this to think about: what is it that keeps you from acting fearlessly?

I'm quite perplexed by how fearful we are as cultures now in North America, and in Europe: we're so damned fearful of losing what we have, we're not noticing that we're losing what we have through our silence.

Why do we put up these bars that keep us back from doing what we know needs to be done? What impedes us from standing forward for those things that nurture us, our hearts, and our spirits? Bernice Johnson Reagon, who was very active in the civil rights movements and also a wonderful singer, co-founder of Sweet Honey in the Rock, tells the story of looking back at those days of the civil rights movement, now from the safety and comfort of a successful life and career. She said, "In those days, we used to go out onto the streets, we used to protest. They would shoot at us, and someone would get killed. And then we'd go to their funeral and then we'd mourn and we'd grieve. And then the next day, we'd go back on the streets and protest some more." And she said, "When I look back, now, I think we were crazy to do that." But, then she said this. "But, when you're doing what you're supposed to do be doing, it's somebody else's job to kill you."


Can we work beyond hope and fear?

Can we find a way to be motivated, to be energetic, to be happy; to take delight in the work that we're doing that isn't based on outcomes, that isn't based on needing to see a particular result? Is that even available?

What if we could offer our work as a gift so lightly, and with so much love, that that's really the source of fearlessness? We don't need it to be accepted in any one way. We don't need it to create any certain outcome. We don't need it to be any one thing. It is in the way we offer it, that the work transforms us. It is in the way we offer our work as a gift to those we love, to those we care about, to the issues we care about. It is in the way we offer the work that we find fearlessness. Beyond hope and fear, I think, is the possibility of love.


What would it take for us to just deal with what is? To not need to be always engaged in changing the world?

Yitzhak Perlman, the great violinist, was playing in New York. Yitzhak Perlman was crippled by polio as a young child, so the bottom part of his body doesn't work well and he wears these very prominent leg braces and comes on in crutches, in a very painful, slow way, hauling himself across the stage. Then he sits down and, very carefully, unbuckles the leg braces and lays them down, puts down his crutches, and then picks up his violin. So, this night the audience had watched him slowly, painfully, walk across the stage; and he began to play. And, suddenly, there was a loud noise in the hall that signaled that one of his four strings on his violin had just snapped.

Everyone expected that they would be watching Yitzhak Perlman put back the leg braces, walk slowly across the stage, and find a new violin. But this is what happened. Yitzhak Perlman closed his eyes for a moment. Yitzhak Perlman paused. And then he signaled for the conductor to begin again. And he began from where they had left off. And here's the description of his playing, from Jack Riemer in the Houston Chronicle:

"He played with such passion, and such power, and such purity, as people had never heard before. Of course, everyone knew that it was impossible to play this symphonic work with three strings. I know that. You know that. But that night, Yitzhak Perlman did not know that. You could see him modulating, changing, recomposing the piece in his head. At one point, it sounded like he was de-tuning the strings to get new sounds from them that they had never made before. When he finished, there was an awe-filed silence in the room. And then people rose and cheered. Everyone was screaming and cheering and doing everything we could to show how much we appreciated what he had just done. He smiled. He wiped the sweat from his brow. He raised his bow to us. And then he said, not boastfully, but in a quiet and pensive and reverent tone,

"'You know, sometimes it is the artist's task to find out how much music you can still make with what you have left.'"

Sometimes, it is our task to find out how much music we can make with what we have left. What is the name that is big enough to hold your fearlessness, that is big enough to call you into fearlessness? That is big enough to break your heart? To allow you to open to the suffering that is this world right now and to not become immobilized by fear and to not become immobilized by comfort? What is the way in which you can hold your work so that you do feel free from hope.... and therefore free from fear?

Excerpt from "A Call to Fearlessness for Gentle Leaders" address at the Shambhala Institute Core Program, Halifax, June 2006

by Margaret Wheatley ©2006

How to Make Work Feel Effortless

Sometimes work can be a drag. You get caught up in trying to be more productive and suddenly your life turns into a series of to-do lists. You gauge your measure of success by how much you accomplish. You even determine how happy you allow yourself to be by how much you’ve gotten done in the day.

We spend a lot of time trying to find ways to be more productive. To do things faster, better, cheaper and spend our time more effectively. But instead of just doing more in less time, maybe we should focus on actually enjoying the work we’re doing instead.

Here are 8 ways to make work seem like less of a chore and more like a gift:

1. Follow your natural rhythms. A lot of the time I resent working is because I’m trying to force myself to do something I don’t feel like doing. Naturally there will always be some things you’re not crazy about doing (like cleaning the toilet). But how often do you force yourself to work more, when you really want to relax? When you force yourself to work when you’ve promised yourself a break, you’ll likely just end up distracting yourself with other things and put off working. Then you get stressed and end up resenting work. Instead, follow your natural rhythms. When you feel like working, work. When you don’t, don’t. Don’t over complicate things.
2. Do, don’t think. I’m going to stay true to this point and not think about writing something elaborate. Just do, stop thinking about it. Fail, make corrections later.
3. Don’t put sugar in your tank. You wouldn’t put sugar in your gas tank right? It doesn’t make much sense to fill your body up with unhealthy fuel either. If you don’t have the energy to get the work you need to done, work will feel forced.
4. Remove hidden roadblocks. What’s making you avoid working? What’s making your work seem like drudgery rather than joyful? It might have something to do with your beliefs about yourself. Maybe you believe you’re not good enough, smart enough or don’t have enough experience. Question your beliefs about what you can and can’t do.
5. Only do your best. Work can easily become a chore when you’re trying to constantly be perfect. The truth is, some of your ideas might not be so great. Others will be mind blowing. If you can accept that and just do your best, you stop judging yourself. Guess what it feels like when you’re no longer picking over everything you do with a fine toothed comb? It feels extremely liberating. It feels like you can actually enjoy your experience, rather than worrying about how everything is going to turn out. That is working effortlessly.
6. Act from your gut. When you think you have a great idea, believe it. Follow it. Chase it until you’re out of breath and can barely hold yourself up. Because if you don’t trust yourself, you’ll regret it later. The best way to live is to follow your intuition and trust life. If nothing else, trust yourself. Because if you can’t trust yourself, how can you trust your mistrust? That’s not very smart is it?
7. Focus on what matters. Our minds are constantly pulling us in different directions. We have to wash the cat, buy more apple cinnamon oatmeal, finish writing that resignation letter to your no-longer-boss at your dead-end job, and all sorts of other things. We have a tendency to follow what’s urgent instead of what’s important. In order to get the important things done, we have to be ruthless at removing distractions. If it takes bringing a laptop (or notepad) to a cafe to write your grandiose novel, then do that. Avoid the vacuum of minutiae urgency. Remove all distractions so you can focus on the important things. I would much rather spend 4 hours working on an important project, then 4 hours spinning my wheels and scratching my head trying to figure out what I did today.
8. Refuse to do what you don’t want to do. I often avoid working because I’m trying to do things I think I “should do.” I think I should read more because it will make me smarter. I think I should buy new clothes because it will make me cooler. I think I should work on this project because it will be good for my resume. Forget what you think you should do (except maybe… paying your rent). Do what you want to do. Other people will understand. In fact, they’ll probably envy you.

Source :Karmicmantra

Bill Gates on 11 things which a school never taught!

Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!

Rule 2: The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

Ten greatest health myths

Compiled by Karan Agrawal

The following experts were consulted to help bust these myths: Dr Cyres K Mehta, consultant ophthalmologist, Masina, Breach Candy and Parsi General hospitals Dr Vasundhara Atre, consultant cardiac anaesthesiologist, Bombay Hospital Naini Setalvad, nutritionist Namita Jain, fitness expert Using antibacterial soap is the best way to kill germs and prevent infections. Dr Atre: Although antibacterial soap is the most effective way to kill germs, it is not the best. The soap not only kills the harmful bacteria present on the skin, but also the beneficial bacteria. Furthermore, the effects of the antibacterial soap are limited; as we pick up newer germs every time we touch something, sweat, etc. Reading in dim light ruins your eyesight Dr Mehta: There is no evidence to show that reading in dim light will affect eyesight. There are many diseases such as cataract and glaucoma, where reading in dim light is difficult; however it will not make the diseases worse. Eating carrots improves your eyesight. Dr Mehta: Carrots are a good source of beta-carotene (Vitamin A), which is important for the health of the eye and retina. If the diet is deficient in Vitamin A the cornea and retina degenerate. So old people, malnourished children etc would benefit from carrots in their diet. However normal healthy adults will not improve eyesight by eating carrots. Cracking your knuckles gives you arthritis. Dr Mehta: It is unlikely that joint cracking is a significant cause of arthritis. Joint cracking is usually painless, and so long as it does not cause pain, most doctors agree that you are unlikely to be doing any harm. It’s usually due to the tendons or ligaments passing over the prominences of the bones. Also the slow accumulation of gases around a joint can cause the formation of tiny bubbles of gas. Joint cracking may occur when these gases are released. Of course if you have joint pain already and if you have arthritis, it could lead to more inflammation. Using sun lotion protects you from skin cancer. Dr Atre: Sunscreen is not very effective as most people do not follow the correct method of applying the sunscreen, and also do not reapply it after the correct time interval. Further, all commercially available sunscreens do not guard against all types of UV rays, which are responsible for causing skin cancer. Further, the chemicals present in commercial sunscreen products have also been found to be toxic and said to actually promote some forms of cancer. Cholesterol is bad for you. Dr Atre: Cholesterol is required in certain limits for normal body functioning. It is of two types – high-density lipoproteins (HDL) and low-density lipoproteins (LDL). HDL is considered ‘good cholesterol’, and should be present in high concentration in the body. LDL on the other hand is considered ‘bad cholesterol’ and should be present in low concentration. Thus, cholesterol is not bad for you. It's OK to skip breakfast Naini Setalvad: It is not advisable to skip a meal, especially after 12 hours of fast, when the body metabolism is low. Skipping that meal can lead to giddiness, nausea, low energy, fainting spells and low performance at work, irritability, anxiety and symptoms of gas in the body. One should eat proteins in excess to gain muscle mass Naini Setalvad: It is not safe to eat more than 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. One can lose weight by eating low-fat foods Naini Setalvad: Eating low fat foods in excess will not help in weight loss. Weight loss can be achieved by cutting down the intake of sugars, fats and processed food. I must sweat when I exercise Namita Jain: Sweating only occurs when one undergoes strenuous weight-training or cardiovascular exercise. Light weight-training or stretching does not lead to sweating. Source: Times Wellness

Action Habit

Despite the simplicity of this concept there is a perpetual shortage of people who excel at getting results. The action habit — the habit of putting ideas into action now — is essential to getting things done. Here are 7 ways you can grow the action habit:

1. Don’t wait until conditions are perfect - If you’re waiting to start until conditions are perfect, you probably never will. There will always be something that isn’t quite right. Either the timing is off, the market is down, or there’s too much competition. In the real world there is no perfect time to start. You have to take action and deal with problems as they arise.

2. Be a doer - Practice doing things rather than thinking about them. Do you want to start exercising? Do you have a great idea to pitch your boss? Do it today. The longer an idea sits in your head without being acted on, the weaker it becomes. After a few days the details gets hazy. After a week it’s forgotten completely. By becoming a doer you’ll get more done and stimulate new ideas in the process.

3. Remember that ideas alone don’t bring success - Ideas are important, but they’re only valuable after they’ve been implemented. One average idea that’s been put into action is more valuable than a dozen brilliant ideas that you’re saving for “some other day” or the “right opportunity”. If you have an idea the you really believe in, do something about it. Unless you take action it will never go anywhere.

4. Use action to cure fear - Have you ever noticed that the most difficult part of public speaking is waiting for your turn to speak? Even professional speakers and actors experience pre-performance anxiety. Once they get started the fear disappears. Action is the best cure for fear. The most difficult time to take action is the very first time. After the ball is rolling, you’ll build confidence and things will keep getting easier. Kill fear by taking action and build on that confidence.

5. Start your creative engine mechanically - One of the biggest misconceptions about creative work is that it can only be done when inspiration strikes. If you wait for inspiration to slap you in the face, your work sessions will be few and far between. Instead of waiting, start your creative motor mechanically. If you need to write something, force yourself to sit down and write. Put pen to paper. Brainstorm. Doodle. By moving your hands you’ll stimulate the flow of ideas and inspire yourself.

6. Live in the present - Focus on what you can do in the present moment. Don’t worry about what you should have done last week or what you might be able to do tomorrow. The only time you can affect is the present. If you speculate too much about the past or the future you won’t get anything done. Tomorrow or next week frequently turns into never.

7. Get down to business immediately - It’s common practice for people to socialize and make small talk at the beginning of meetings. The same is true for individual workers. How often do you check email or RSS feeds before doing any real work? These distractions will cost you serious time if you don’t bypass them and get down to business immediately. By becoming someone who gets to the point you’ll be more productive and people will look to you as a leader.

It takes courage to take action without instructions from the person in charge. Perhaps that’s why initiative is a rare quality that’s coveted by managers and executives everywhere. Seize the initiative. When you have a good idea, start implementing it without being told. Once people see you’re serious about getting things done they’ll want to join in. The people at the top don’t have anyone telling them what to do. If you want to join them, you should get used to acting independently.

Art of Time Management

Five Time Management Mistakes that Wastes a lot of Time

Have you heard people say
“Time Flies”,
“There is no Time”,
“Where is the Time”
and sort of pharases.

Some of the major flaws that people do which becomes an excuse for the above mentioned pharases.For all those who would like to master their time management skills, must avoid these 5 major Time Management Mistakes.

1. Procrastination: Those things which have to be done now are being procrastinated of being postponed. This is one of the traits which is not outside but within us. We have made up a habit that we will do it later as it is not urgent now, we keep on delaying it till one day it becomes burning and urgent, and then we have no choice to act on it. At this point of time, we have to leave aside something that was important but not urgent to complete this task.Many of the corporate executives also get a kick from doing something that is urgent, they love to take pressure, their common phrase is “ohh, don’t worry there is still a lot of time”.
2. Do it Myself Attitude:"This is too important. Better let me do it." "By the time I show them how to do it, I will finish it myself." There are these executives and managers who always want to be in the thick of the things. They also get a feeling of threat if some one else starts doing what I do. Some have this misconception about their indispensability.
3. No Clearly Defined Goals:Because we do not know what to do, we keep on doing whatever comes our way. We keep on working very hard but still do not get results or the sense of achievement because we never have defined what we want to achieve. “A journey of thousand miles begins with the first single step.” We all want to take the first step and we are ready to take it, unfortunately we have not defined our journey so we do not know in which direction to take the first step.
4. Not taking Decisions:One of the major mistakes which waste a lot of our time is in-decision. We keep on procrastinating our decisions. We do not take the right decision at the right time be it with our professional life or our personal or social life or be it related to our health. And unfortunately many of our decisions are not our decisions at all. They are being imposed on us by our boss, colleagues, family and friends. We also have this urge to be perfect at time and we need a lot of data and testimony to justify our decisions and also always we want to be right at all the time so we remain in-decisive.
5. No Action:This one is the giant of the time waster which waste chunk of our time. We do not Act on our Goals, we do not take any action on the decisions we make. Many a time people decide to change their habits and behaviour but seldom they take any action step on their plan. So no action – no results.

Some times people who do not have clarity of goals, do not see the destination, so, if this set of people act today and cloud sit with a book and pen and start writing down their goal, probably this action step will bring them closer towards their goal.

So if you want to start managing your time, start managing the above five mistakes. So here is your short brief powerful action plan:

Step 1: Stop Procrastination

Step 2: Empower people around you

Step 3: Write down your goals of paper

Step 4: Make those tough decisions

Step 5: ACT now on the above 4 steps.

Time management is all about self management. The better you manage your self, automatically your time is managed.

Personal Effectiveness Skills

Communicate effectively
Ability to write
Ability to express thoughts clearly
Ability to relate with co-workers, supervisor(s)
Ability to provide excellent customer service
Ability to listening
Ability to speak in public
Ability to make an oral presentation
Ability to write a report or critical summary
Ability to learn and use the terminology of the industry/organization

Work and lead groups
Ability to ask questions
Ability to learn and understanding work culture
Ability to delegate authority if necessary
Ability to take the lead on issues or projects
Ability to work with others on a common project or issue
Ability to maintain self-control
Ability to respect diversity
Ability to be tactful and diplomatic in difficulty situations
Ability to keep information confidential
Ability to be flexible and adaptable when working with others
Ability to use mature, sound judgement when addressing issues
Ability to be dependable and reliable
Ability to understand and practice good business etiquette

Problem-solve with innovation
Ability to think creatively
Ability to analysis critically
Ability to identify problems
Ability to solve problems
Ability to research using a variety of resources
Ability to initiate and complete projects
Ability to analysis quantitatively

Be proficient with technology
Collect and organize information
Understand uses of software/hardware
Adapt to new hardware and/or software
Teach others to use hardware/software
Learn new hardware/software
Enhance or improve currently used software programs
Create or develop databases, webpages, etc.

PERSONAL QUALITIES REQUIRED FOR LONG-TERM SUCCESS
Entrepreneurial drive
Take initiative
Be curious
Suggest ideas
Work independently
Be dependable
Be responsible
Practice good time management
Effectively prioritize tasks
Be self-motivated

Integrity and personal responsibility
Practice good business etiquette skills
Tact/diplomacy
Respect diversity
Practice confidentiality
Maintain self-control
Flexible
Mature
Dependable
Reliable
Trustworthy
Accept constructive criticism
Use good judgement based on facts
Utilize conflict management skills

Improve Writing Ability.

by Bruce Saddler


Academic progress in school depends on students' ability to write fluently (Martlew, 1983). Furthermore, writing is the principal medium by which teachers evaluate performance (Christenson, Thurlow, Ysseldyke, & McVicar, 1989; Graham & Harris, 1988). Unfortunately, many students struggle with the complexities of written expression (Saddler, Moran, Graham, & Harris, in press). Writing well requires a great deal of cognitive energy. As one young writer profoundly observed, "In order to write a compound sentence, a person must have at least one comma." (Linkletter, 1962, p. 8)

Teachers often face the daunting task of helping students grow as writers. We may feel unsure of how to nudge our students up the ladder of writing ability and even less comfortable with our ability to assist students who have great difficulty with written expression. Following are 20 ways to improve your students writing ability.

1. Invest time. To write well requires time. Show your students the importance you place on writing by allocating time daily to compose. Make your mantra, "No days without lines written." Writers need to work at the craft often for their skills to improve. Give students many opportunities to engage in the various stages of writing, such as planning, generating content, reflecting and revising, and editing. For students to improve their writing skills, they will need more than just increased opportunities, but without these opportunities, there is little chance of growth. Writing instruction should not be something that is accomplished when time permits but should be planned as a daily ritual.

2. Model writing. Writing is considered a problem-solving process in which writers attempt to produce visible, legible, and understandable language reflecting a knowledge of their topic or thoughts and feelings (Berninger, 1993). Because this is a complex process, young writers need to observe how it unfolds and need to be shown how a good writer might navigate the complexities they face. You can facilitate this process by helping students see how you compose. Tell them your thought processes as you pick topics, set goals, solve problems, and maintain a positive attitude while writing on the old, trusty overhead projector. While modeling, show students how an experienced writer would plan, formulate a draft, revise text to match his or her ideas and audience needs, and edit.

3. Weave writing and content areas together. Writing helps students reflect and reveal what they have learned about a topic; therefore, use writing to monitor students' learning in content areas. For example, instead of asking your students multiple-choice questions on a test, have them write a short summary of what they have learned about a topic. They might also write a persuasive piece from a certain historical perspective or viewpoint.

4. Use reading to build writing competence. Consider reading the fuel that powers good writing. Many good authors are voracious readers. They use reading as the cognitive input that helps them produce better writing. Use reading to spur responses or commentaries, as information to summarize or expand, or as a springboard to create something new or different.

5. Teach students that writing is like telepathy. Help your students realize that writing is making their meaning known to others and that the endgame is conveying ideas and emotions to someone else, most likely an absent other (Graham, 1982). Explain to your students that as they write, they must ask themselves "How might what I have written sound to my audience? How will it make them feel?"

6. Improve skills. Writing is primarily a mental activity, but it is reliant on physical tools. Make sure lower-level skills such as handwriting and spelling do not interfere with higher-level skills such as planning, content generation, and revising. Teach skills in context when possible. Use minilessons when necessary.

7. Improve vocabulary. Just like a symphony is built on notes, a story is built on words. Expose students to vocabulary choices by displaying word banks of transition words, synonyms, antonyms, and colorful (million dollar) words.

8. Teach sentence construction skills. A first sentence that causes a reader to want to read the next and so forth is one element of structuring a well-developed essay. Sentence combining is one way to directly teach sentence construction skills (cf. Strong, 1986).

One simple way to include such practice is to take a writing selection and break it into short, simple sentences; then have groups of writers reconstruct the passage in their own way. Ask students to share their ideas on the overhead. The class can then compare the different versions for rhetorical impact.

9. Let students know what is expected. Provide rubrics to guide grading and analysis. Rubrics should be created for the different genres the students will produce. Make the requirements as specific as possible. Provide examples to model what to do. You might also have students develop their own rubrics for certain pieces as a way to promote their critical thinking about the necessary components of a well-written piece.

10. Promote independence. Skilled writers often use self-regulatory behaviors to guide their writing (Harris, Graham, Mason, & Saddler, 2002). Teach your students to use self-regulation skills (goal setting, goal monitoring, reinforcement) to manage their own writing behaviors just as skilled writers do. Model how you would use these skills to direct your own writing process.

11. Create a community of support. Make sure the students have ample opportunity to see and hear what their fellow classmates are composing. Have students assist each other with planning, revising, and editing.

12. Make writing tasks shared and authentic. Share writing orally or through a classroom display. Find opportunities for students to write for real purposes outside of the classroom. Use dialogue journals.

13. Give students a choice. Self-selected writing topics are often much more stimulating for students. You may want to provide a general area, for example the colonists at Jamestown, and then have your students select their particular areas of interest. You could also schedule open writing topics where students set both the genre (persuasive, narrative) and the topic.

14. Teach revising. Explain to your students the importance of revising. Many students consider a piece finished after the first draft; however, for most writers it takes multiple drafts to convey one's ideas to others in a way they will understand and appreciate. Explain that skilled writers spend considerable time revising what they have written to make the meaning clearer to others; the more skilled the writer, the greater proportion of time he or she will give to revising (Hayes & Flowers, 1986).

15. Teach the four structural levels of revision. Include practice with revising four levels of text:

1. overall text structure,

2. paragraph structure,

3. sentence structure (syntax), and

4. word structure (Rohr, 1994).

Your choice of which level to start with will be dictated by problems your students experience with their own writing. However, you could start with more global issues at the beginning of the year, such as overall text structure, and work downward through a series of minilessons.

16. Talk about writing through conferencing. Although writing is primarily a solitary activity, in that a writer may work alone, it is also a collaborative effort as the same writer needs to draw on ideas of others while using a language evolved within the greater society (Sharpies, 1999). Help your students draw on the ideas of others by establishing a system of external feedback through classroom writing conferences with you, their peers, or outside experts. Use short, frequent conferences with students to plan what to write, monitor progress of writing, discuss content, and evaluate finished products. Have students' conference with each other also. The feedback they receive through these conferences can then become the fuel for revisions your students make in their text.

17. Conduct whole-class revising sessions. In addition to peer conferencing, whole-class revising can also be a great method to strengthen your students' revising abilities and help create a community-wide support network for authors. Work through sections of sample student papers line-by-line and word-by-word if necessary on the overhead projector. Provide copies of revised stories as guides or partially revised stories that could be completed. As classmates suggest revisions and point out sources of confusion, the author of the paper learns where his or her ideas are ambiguous or where words are unclear or imprecise; the entire class benefits from the dialogue. This activity could also be conducted in small-groups or dyads that report back to the whole class.

18. Create an assembly line. Plan to have multiple pieces of writing being composed in your classroom at all times. Students should have several pieces in various stages of composition, with something always being planned, written, revised, or published, much as an assembly line will always have products in various stages of assemblage. Students may be writing a short mystery story while at the same time crafting a poem or creating a telegram to a historical character. Having multiple pieces in progress simultaneously allows your students to break from a problematic piece and clear their minds while focusing on something else. Students, however, still maintain the habit of producing text.

19. Integrate reflective pauses. By having multiple pieces at work simultaneously, you can incorporate reflective pauses between episodes of writing and revising a certain piece. Students might begin one piece, then break to start another. When they return to the first piece, their minds may be clear and refreshed, and they may be able to push the piece further along. They should review and reflect on the decisions they have made to that point, then incorporate the responses they received during conferences with teachers and other students. Before they finish a piece, they may rewrite through several reflective pause intervals until they are satisfied that the piece reflects what they intend.

20. Teach the difference between editing and revising. Help your students understand that editing and revising are related, but different. Revising includes making a message fit what you want to say and what an audience needs. Editing is actually polishing the already finished product by correcting punctuation and checking spelling. Keep these two processes distinct in the minds of your students by letting them conduct a final edit only when all revisions have been completed and checked by you or a peer.

Persons interested in submitting material for 20 Ways To ... should contact Robin H. Lock, College of Education, Box 41071, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 76409-1701.

REFERENCES

Berninger, V. W. (1993). Preventing and remediating writing disabilities: Interdisciplinary frameworks for assessment, consultation, and intervention. School Psychology Review, 22, 590-594.

Christenson, S. L., Thurlow, M. L., Ysseldyke, J. E., & McVicar, R. (1989). Written language instruction for students with mild handicaps: Is there enough quantity to endure quality? Learning Disability Quarterly, 12, 219-229.

Graham, S. (1982). Composition research and practice: A unified approach. Focus on Exceptional Children, 14, 1-16.

Graham, S., & Harris, K. R. (1988). Instructional recommendations for teaching writing to exceptional children. Exceptional Children, 54, 506-512.

Harris, K. R., Graham, S., Mason, L., & Saddler, B. (2002). Developing self-regulated writers. Theory Into Practice, 41, 110-115.

Hayes, J. R., & Flowers, L. S. (1986) Writing research and the writer. American Psychologist, 41, 106-113.

Linkletter, A. (1962). Kids sure rite funny. New York: Random House.

Martlew, M. (Ed.). (1983). The psychology of written language: Developmental and educational perspectives. New York: Wiley & Sons.

Rohr, H. M. (1994) Writing: Its evolution and relation to speech. Brockmeyer, Germany: Universitatsverlag Dr. Norbert.

Saddler, B., Moran, S., Graham, S., & Harris, K. R. (in press). Preventing writing difficulties: The effects of planning strategy instruction on the writing performance of struggling writers. Exceptionality.

Sharpies, M. (1999). How we write: Writing as creative design. New York: Routledge.

Strong, W. (1986). Creative approaches to sentence combining. Urbana, IL: ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading and Communication Skills and the National Council of Teachers of English.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bruce Saddler, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology, Division of Special Education, at the State University of New York at Albany. His research interests include writing disabilities, self-regulation, and inclusion. Address: Bruce Saddler, Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology, University at Albany, Albany, NY 12222.

Tell me about yourself

1. Start with the end in sight.
Despite the deceptive phrasing, the directive, "Tell me about yourself," isn't a polite request for your life story. What the interviewer wants to know is, "Why should I hire you?" Knowing this, your goal is to craft a convincing statement that will make the interviewer want to know more about you and what you can do for the company.
To prepare, you must develop a response tailored to the specific employer and addressing its interests, goals, and needs. You should revise, refine and rehearse your script until you can deliver it flawlessly -- with energy, enthusiasm and confidence.
2. Take the time to establish rapport.
When interviewers invite you to tell them about yourself, they're asking you to step into the spotlight, a place where extroverts and natural performers shine but where introverts can become anxious, tongue-tied and self-conscious.
If you don't feel comfortable in the limelight, look at the situation in a different way. Rather than delivering an oratorical performance, focus on establishing an emotional bond with your interviewer. Here's where body language can make a difference: Smile, make eye contact, lean toward and talk to and not at your listener.
3. Sketch the big picture.
Experienced candidates should focus on the big picture first so that interviewers will place later information in the proper context. Start by providing an overview that allows them to see your career in total. Example: "Why don't I start with the big picture? As you can see from my resume, I have more than 15 years of experience in sales, marketing and general management, primarily in consumer products. The majority of that time was in the food-and-beverage industry. Thanks to my experiences at ________ and _________, I have an in-depth knowledge of the domestic and international marketplace for the food and beverage industries."
4. Focus.
After you sketch the big picture, talk about specific experiences that are most relevant and interesting to an interviewer. Your research can pay off here. Learning as much as you can about the industry, employer and job (via the job description) allows you to zero in on your most relevant qualifications and experiences.
A senior communications manager experienced in marketing, public relations and event management knew that a prospective employer, a nonprofit, was well known in the Latino community for a successful annual conference. In previous years, major politicians and government officials had been keynote speakers.
While preparing her tell-me-about-yourself statement, the communications manager decided to focus on three major experiences:
· her success in marketing and promoting high-visibility events;
· her high-profile experience working on political campaigns; and
· her experience with the Latino community.
However, she didn't use a chronological approach since these experiences happened at different points in her career.
5. Showcase your communication skills.
Most interviewers observe how you organize and present information about yourself. If your recent experience is most relevant, detail your accomplishments in reverse chronological order, giving less emphasis to your first few jobs. Conversely, if your most relevant experiences happened in the middle of your career, you may want to start your description at that point.
Assume, for example, that your first love is training, but recently you've spent more time working as a general human-resource manager. When interviewing for a training position, your tell-me-about-yourself statement might start: "Since training is my first love and one of my core strengths, I'll start by telling you about my training experience and accomplishments. While I was working at _________, I put together a very successful management-training program that received rave reviews from participants..."
6. Highlight the benefits you'll bring to the employer.
A job search is a self-marketing campaign. Experienced marketing experts say to stress a product's benefits to the customer rather than its features, which could well be nifty but the customer might not need them. In a job search, you're the product. Toward that end, orient any discussion of your skills and experiences toward showing how they can benefit your future employer.
Example: "From the job description, it sounds to me like you're looking for someone who has strong project-management skills. My greatest accomplishment as a project manager was at _____________." From there you can describe the goals of the project, what you did to attain them and the subsequent results.
7. Spotlight the positive.
Never say anything negative about yourself or previous employers. If you decide to highlight earlier experiences instead of a more recent role, be sure to present all your jobs in a positive light. To do that, emphasize how and why your later experiences enhanced your abilities and scope.
For instance, after describing her training accomplishments, the HR executive might follow up by discussing how her success as a manager has given her a better understanding of organizational needs and naturally enhanced her credibility and performance as a trainer.
8. Provide details.
Don't expect interviewers to take your story on faith alone. Have specific examples ready to illustrate your skills. For example, to emphasize your problem-solving ability, describe a problem you faced in a past job, what actions you took to resolve it and the result of those actions. Whenever possible, choose a problem that's similar to those the prospective employer might face. To determine the type of challenge you might be asked to correct, refer to the job description or, lacking that, ask the employer to describe the position so that you can focus your presentation effectively.
9. Disclose personal information cautiously.
When it comes to disclosing personal information, there's no right answer. It depends on two factors: whether you feel comfortable using personal details and what you plan to accomplish by doing so. While disclosing personal information can be a good icebreaker and rapport-builder, it also can backfire. You never know how an employer will process that information. Will a hiring manager be glad to know you're a family man or worry that you won't be free to travel or work long hours?
Keep the purpose of the conversation in mind. Whenever possible, mention personal information strategically. For example, an executive who's interviewing for a job with a toy manufacturer might share anecdotal information about his children's experience with the manufacturer's toys. An executive who knows that a job requires extensive international travel could share about his or her personal travel experiences.
10. Finish strong.
When should you return the floor to the interviewer? Use nonverbal signs as your cue. If an interviewer seems restless and bored, ask for feedback about your presentation: "Is this what you want to hear? Or is there something else that you'd like me to focus on?" This allows the interviewer to change the flow of communication and establishes a two-way dialogue.
If the interviewer remains attentive, you'll have more leeway in how you wrap up. The best way to end your statement is to put the conversational ball in the interviewer's court by saying why you're interested in the company and position and asking for more information about current needs. Listen attentively to the response to determine what parts of your experience and accomplishments to mention as the interview progresses.
-- Ms. Hirsch is a career counselor in Chicago and author of several books on career issues, including "How to Be Happy at Work" (Jist Publishing, 2003).
"Tell Me About Yourself"

The Toughest Question in the Interview

By Don Straits, CEO and Dragon Slayer, Corporate Warriors
When you, as a job seeker, are asked the most common, and toughest, interview question, "Tell me about yourself," your answer can make or break you as a candidate. Usually job seekers will respond with their "30 second commercial," and then elaborate on their background. While almost every career book and career counselor will tell you that is the appropriate response, I totally disagree.
Many people fail in their job search because they are too often focused on what they want in a job including industry, type of position, location, income, benefits, and work environment. Their "30 second commercial" is centered around this premise. The commercial describes the job seeker's career history and what they are looking for. Too often, this is in direct contrast to what employers are looking for.
There are two dominant reasons why job seekers are successful in the job search. The first is focusing on the needs of the organization. The second is focusing on the needs of the people within that organization. In this article, we are going to examine how to focus on the needs of the people within organizations. This will assist in rethinking your response to that all-important question, "Tell me about yourself."
In order to learn how to respond to the needs of the interviewer, let's first learn more about ourselves. We can then apply that knowledge about ourselves to knowing how to understand and respond to the needs of others.
Most social psychologists recognize four basic personality styles: Analytical, Amiable, Expressive, and Driver. Usually, each of us exhibits personality characteristics unique to one of the styles. However, we also possess characteristics to a lesser degree in the other styles. To determine your unique style, you can take a Myers-Briggs assessment or go to the following site for a free Keirsey Temperament Sorter assessment test: www.keirsey.com
Here are the characteristics that are most commonly associated with each of the styles:
Analytical:
Positive Traits: Precise, Methodical, Organized, Rational, Detail Oriented
Negative Traits: Critical, Formal, Uncertain, Judgmental, Picky
Amiable:
Positive Traits: Cooperative, Dependable, Warm, Listener, Negotiator
Negative Traits: Undisciplined, Dependent, Submissive, Overly Cautious, Conforming
Expressive:
Positive Traits: Enthusiastic, Persuasive, Outgoing, Positive, Communicator
Negative Traits: Ego Centered, Emotional, Exploitive, Opinionated, Reacting
Driver:
Positive Traits: Persistent, Independent, Decision Maker, Effective, Strong Willed
Negative Traits: Aggressive, Strict, Intense, Relentless, Rigid
Gaining an in-depth understanding of your personality style has enormous value in your career as well as your personal life. However, our focus today is learning how to use this knowledge to make you more successful in your job search.
Once you have learned about your own style and have studied the other styles, I encourage you to have a little fun in trying to determine the styles of others. When you meet someone for the first time, try to identify his or her style within the first two minutes. You can often identify styles by observing a person's demeanor, conversation, body language, appearance, and possessions.
To demonstrate what I mean, let's take some examples from the business world. While there are always exceptions, generally speaking the styles fit the example.
Analytical Style: Financial Manager (or programmers, engineers, and accountants). They like systems and procedures. They are slow to make decisions because they will analyze things to death—but their decisions are usually very sound. They prefer working independently and are usually not very good in team environments, but they are also dependable. They buy cars with good resale value and great gas mileage. They are conservative dressers. At the party, they want to know why so much money was spent on Michelob when we could have purchased Busch. They come to the party with their laptops.
Amiable Style: Human Resources Manager. Very people-focused. They are dependable, loyal and easygoing; very compassionate. They will give you the shirt off their backs and the last nickel in their pockets. They are good listeners and value team players who don't "rock the boat." They are usually conformists and followers—rarely leaders. They avoid conflict and are not good decision makers. They drive four-door sedans or mini-vans to take the kids to sporting events. They usually clean up after the party is over.
Expressive Style: Sales Manager. Very outgoing and enthusiastic, with a high energy level. They are also great idea generators, but usually do not have the ability to see the idea through to completion. Very opinionated and egotistical. Money motivated. They can be good communicators. They prefer to direct and control rather then ask and listen. They drive red convertibles with great stereos; to heck with the gas mileage. They come up with the idea for a company party, but never help clean up. They are on their way to another party.
Driver: Corporate CEO. Intelligent, intense, focused, relentless. They thrive on the thrill of the challenge and the internal motivation to succeed. Money is only a measure of success; it is not the driving factor. They are results/performance oriented. They have compassion for the truly disadvantaged, but absolutely no patience or tolerance for the lazy or whiners. They drive prestige cars, not because the car attracts attention, but because it was a wise investment. They want to know why we had a party; what were the benefits of the party, and did we invite the banker?
Ok, now you are really getting some insight into your style and the style of others. It is time for the interviews. Throw out your 30-second commercial. Think on your feet.
You will be interviewing with the human resource manager, the finance manager, the sales manager, and the CEO. The first question each of them will ask you is: "Tell me about yourself." How should you respond? Remember the second reason for succeeding in a job search: focus on the needs of the people in the organization. Here are just a few examples of how to respond to that question:
"Tell me about yourself?"
Response to Finance Manager: "I have been successful in my career by making well-thought-out decisions based on careful analysis of all factors. I approach problems with logic and sound reasoning. I would enjoy working with you in developing the appropriate systems and procedures to make our two departments function efficiently together."
Response to Human Resource Manager: "My career has been characterized by my ability to work well with diverse teams. I seek out opportunities to involve others in the decision-making process. This collaboration and communication is what has enabled me to achieve success in my department. People are the most valuable resource of any organization."
Response to Sales Manager: "Throughout my career I have always adhered to the principle that everyone in the organization must be sales-focused. My department is always trained in customer service, providing outstanding support to the sales team and to our customers. Without sales, the rest of use would not have a job. I look forward to helping you drive sales in any way possible."
Response to CEO: "I have achieved success in my career because I have been focused on the bottom line. I have always sought out innovative solutions to challenging problems to maximize profitability. Regardless of the task or challenge, I always established benchmarks of performance and standards of excellence. I have never sought to maintain the "status quo." An organization that does not change and grow will die. I would enjoy working with you to help define new market opportunities in order to achieve the organization's goals."
In each instance, we responded to the "needs of the individual." It is almost guaranteed that, when you respond appropriately to the diverse needs of the different managers, you will become the standard by which all of the other candidates will be measured.
I challenge you to learn about your personality and leadership style, learn about the styles of others, and learn how to think on your feet when responding to questions. Whether you are seeking a job or you are gainfully employed, by understanding the needs of others you will become a more valuable person, employee, manager and leader.

Job Search

Let us see some of the changes you can make to get that job faster.

Small Changes to Your Resume Can Make a Big Difference

Sometimes during a job search you reach a point where you must ask,why am I not getting calls from decent companies for interviews? Aftersending out tons of resumes with little or no response, you need toreevaluate your position and try to make some changes.

Sometimes minimal changes to your resume and cover letter will have adrastic effect on the number of calls you are receiving. A good firststep is to search the internet for free sample resumes for the type ofposition you are looking for and see what people are putting on theirresume.

What to Change?

One you decide to make changes, you need to look at your resumeobjectively and ask yourself if you think it is a decent resume. Whatdo you like or dislike about it? Does it represent you as a smart,go-getter that can get the job done? Or does it look dry and boring?Ask yourself why anyone else would want to look at it twice if youthink it is boring.

Once you start to see areas for improvement, start making changes. Thebiggest area where most people can use changes in is the format.Approximately 75% of people who are looking for jobs still use theindented, basic style resume that looks like their grandfather put ittogether.
Change the format and use tables instead of indentions.Widen the margins to get more on a page. Overall, just make it lookgood when you hold it up and glance at it.Another area that many people need some help in is the organization oftheir resume. Long gone are the days were you need to put a careerobjective at the top of your resume that says you are looking for afast-paced job in an exciting industry.
Guess what?
Everyone knows youare looking for a job. Instead of putting in a career objective, putin a professional profile and write a short paragraph about yourself.

Modern Resumes

You also no longer need to add the last line that says referencesprovided upon request. Everyone you send your resume to knows you willprovide references when they ask for them. There is no need to restatethat. Instead, save that room and add a section to your resume ofadditional skills or civic and volunteer activities.

Finally, add some buzzwords or power words that draw attention to allthe things you have accomplished throughout your work history. Thesepower words include: facilitated, managed, administered, developed andthe list goes on and on. You can generally get an idea of the buzzwords by viewing sample resumes on the job boards.

Ultimately, you need to look at your resume objectively and decide tomake some changes to make you appear more appealing to prospectiveemployers. Once you decide to make a change, go ahead and change andstart sending out your new resume. Keep tweaking your resume until youget it right and you will start seeing the calls roll in. Don't justsit around and wait for something to happen. Go ahead and make thechanges and you will reap the reward.

Are You Ready For The Telephone Interview?

Donï't allow yourself to be intimidated by the telephone interview. Youcan sail through it easily. The phone interview is often a prelude toa face-to-face meeting and is frequently used by employers,recruiters, and headhunters to select a pool of highly qualifiedcandidates for more in-depth discussions. The preparation, conduct,method of handling questions, and even your body language are aslikely to impact the outcome as if you were sitting in the office ofthe hiring manager. Following are some useful guidelines.

1. Schedule the interview so that there is enough time to dohomework and prepare. Reschedule surprise interviews. Tell the callerthat you have a conflict and arrange a mutually convenient time thatallows you at least 24 hours to organize and plan for the discussion.Make sure to get the name and title of the person with whom you willbe speaking.

2. You should be in a quiet area where there are no distractions.That means making sure there are no disturbances. Barking dogs, cryingchildren, background stereo or TV, or any other type of noise ordisruption is unprofessional. Make sure your family knows you cannotbe bothered. If alerted by your call waiting service, ignore it � anddon�t forget to shut off your cell phone. If it is not possible toeliminate disturbances, then arrange to take the call from a locationoutside of your home or office.

3. Keep pen and paper handy to jot down an address, phone number,or the spelling of a name. It is our recommendation that you do nottake notes while being interviewed. Note taking creates uncomfortablepauses in the dialog and you will invariably miss part of what isbeing said. Write any notes at the conclusion of the interview whilethe information is still fresh in your mind.

4. Dress professionally. It will make a difference. How you feelabout yourself is almost always conveyed in a phone discussion. Assumethe same dress and professional demeanor as if your conversation wasactually in an in-person meeting. Your attitude will be more positiveand you will be more confident.

5. The things you will need to have at hand: a copy of theadvertisement to which you responded, a copy of your resume and coverletter, a copy of a two-three minute well rehearsed statement thatsummarizes your educational and professional background, a listing ofyour skills and major achievements, and a list of questions to ask theinterviewer. Remember that the interview is a forum to exchangeinformation and develop mutual interest in an enduring relationship.It makes sense to be prepared.

6. Practice your presentation with a relative or friend, or infront of a mirror. Smile, it impacts your attitude. Speak clearly anddirectly into the phone but dont rush answers. Your sincerity, toneof voice, and method of delivery will substantially impact how you areperceived. Listen carefully to what the interviewer says and if youdont fully understand a question, then ask for a clarification. Thetechnique of rephrasing or repeating a question, may allow time tobetter formulate your response. It is absolutely ok to say, I think Ineed a moment to get my thoughts together. Answer yes or no questionswith a direct response and then follow with any necessaryamplification. Dont ramble or become long-winded. Dont interrupt theinterviewer. Focus your questions on the issues that appear to be mostimportant to them, the tools or training they provide, and what isexpected of you not on compensation or benefits. Try to avoidsilence. Silence for more than a few seconds can be awkward andunpleasant for everyone. If it appears that the interviewer is unsureof what to ask or say next, be prepared with your own questions.

7. Donï't discuss compensation. If the interviewer asks about yourcurrent salary or desired income, indicate that you will be happy todeal with those questions in an in-person meeting once mutual interesthas been established. Then inquire what salary range has been budgetedfor the position. If the job requires relocation, it is important toknow the compensation range so additional time is not wasted pursuinga job in which you have no interest.

8. Finally thank the person for the interview, show enthusiasmabout pursuing the opportunity, and ask about the next step in theprocess. Write a thank you note the same day. Follow up with a phonecall within two or three days to ask questions that have surfacedsince the interview and reinforce your desire to secure an in-personmeeting.

Using Recruiters: How To Get A Step Ahead Of The Crowd

When there is an opening to fill, a company has four basic approachesat their disposal:

* Advertise the position on Internet job sites
* Network
* Probe the Internet for viable candidates
* Use recruiters

When a companyadvertises an opening on an Internet job site, theyreceive hundreds of resumes. It simply is too long of a process andfinancially prohibitive to review every resume and move through eachstep of the interviewing and selection process to fill the opening.Since decision-makers know other decision-makers, a hiring managersnetwork can be quite extensive. In time, good candidates can belocated. The problem with this approach is that the hiring manager maysimply be too busy to engage in the time and human interactionrequired to make this happen.

Employers and recruiters utilizing keyword searches scour the jobsites in search of candidates to fill job openings. A major segment ofthese openings are unadvertised. When you post your resumes to a jobsite, you gain visibility, indirectly, into the hidden job market, andhave access to a greater number of jobs.

On the downside, since most people searching will post their resume toa number of different sites, the number of potentially viablecandidates for any one particular position is huge. Employers havealso frequently found major discrepancies between candidates and theirresumes. The fine line between reality and the realm of imaginationbecomes razor-thin for creative resume writers.

Screening and reviewing hundreds of resumes for accuracy and positionviability, is time-consuming. If the job also requires a certain typeof personality, which doesn�t materialize at the interview, more timeis wasted. For this reason, more and more employers turn to recruitersfor a more efficient hiring process. A recruiter will conductexhaustive screening procedures as part of their candidate searchprocess. They will charge a fee to the employer for this service, butit is worth it in terms of time and effort.

One of the best ways to capitalize on a recruiters mission is to postyour resume to the career sites. Using keyword searches, recruiterswill find you as long as your resume comes up a match. While this maynot seem like a very strong proactive approach, it is by far the mostsensible.

Recruiters do not work for you; they work for employers. They are inbusiness to help companies find people, not the other way around.Attempting to contact a recruiter regarding a particular job will onlylead to disappointment. Do not be surprised or put off if your callsand emails are not returned. Their allegiance is to their client, theemployer who is paying their bill.Having said that, it may be advantageous for you to present yourselfto recruiters as a potential fee-paying client once you have beenconverted from candidate status. If, for example, you are a middlemanager or decision-maker, this point can be easily made. You can alsoname-drop a referral to meet with a recruiter. Recruiters stronglyfavor these types of candidates. In a letter to a recruiterspecializing in your field, make a case for yourself in the strongestand most specific way possible.Recruiters play a tough game yet serve a valuable purpose. They do notwork for you, yet you can formulate an approach for working with them.By utilizing recruiters in your overall job search efforts, you willfind yourself a step or two ahead of the crowd.