This marvelous and imposing structure is one that heavily employs the use of exterior areas, from an enormous pool with stone walls from where we can see the breathtaking waterfall nearby to the jacuzzi and wide-open terrace with distinct areas, each with the appropriate outdoors furniture laid out. Located in the deep creeks of the southern coast of Texoma Lake, in the United States, the so-called Legacy Lakefront Estate covers..
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Preventing Blue Light-Related Health Problems
Blue light is everywhere. In addition to radiating from the sun, blue light also emanates from those buzzing fluorescent lights in your office, from your computer screen, cell phone and television.
No matter what time of the day it is or what you are doing these days, it seems that you are getting exposed to massive amounts of blue light. But, what’s the big deal?
Blue is a pretty color, right? Sure, but that’s not the point.
What Is Blue Light?
Blue light waves are shorter and emit higher energy levels than all other light in the visible light spectrum. A full third of all visible light is blue light, so there’s a lot of it. Most importantly, it can cause severe medical problems when you get too much exposed to it.
The list includes:
- Headaches
- Cataracts
- Macular Degeneration
- Pterygium
- Sleep Disruptions
- Eye Strain
Flickering lights can cause eye strain and glare. These things can make your eyes work harder.
Apart from that, blue light exposure tells your brain it’s daytime and this can prevent you from being able to sleep. And all that light can deteriorate the physical structures of your eyes. No big deal, right?
See Also: 5 Night Time Mistakes That Will Keep You Awake
People Are Spending Too Much Time Looking At bv Screens
Thanks to the digital revolution, people are spending more time than ever staring at screens. Sure, they simplify our lives, but didn’t humans live for thousands of years without them?
Unfortunately, in this day and age, you won’t be able to get a job without a computer and a cell phone. And if ever you do get a job, you’re very likely to spend a great deal of time staring at both in almost everything you do.
Back in 2014, the average American adult spent 7.4 hours looking at screens. Today, that figure has climbed to well over 10 hours a day. Think about it. You spend all day at work staring at a computer screen, you play games on your phone during your lunch break and then you go home and turn on Netflix. Where’s the downtime for your eyes?
Kids aren’t immune, either. Most parents report that their kids spend over two hours a day in front of a screen. Kids have their own mobile devices, so it’s even harder than it was back when our parents just had to turn off the TV and tell us to go outside.
Despite this and despite the fact that most parents are concerned about the amount of time their kids spend on electronic devices, only 29% of parents take their kids in for their annual eye exams.
Protecting Your Eyes Is Key
Preventing the damage from occurring in the first place is the key to ensuring you won’t suffer severe health problems related to blue light exposure. Over the first twelve years of this century, there was a 25% jump in the number of Americans with severe Macular Degeneration and prevention is the only decent treatment option for that crippling disease, unless you really like getting needles stuck in your eyeballs.
Wearing sunglasses every day protects your eyes from UVA and UVB rays, which is crucial for preventing cataracts. But, blue light can also contribute to many of the same maladies that UVA and UVB light can cause and your sunglasses offer you zero protection against it.
See Also: Eye Safety In The Workplace: Effective Ways To Protect Your Vision
If you wear glasses, consider investing in a blue light blocking coating for your next pair. Even if you don’t wear glasses regularly, you can also invest in computer glasses that will block the light while you stare at your computer screen all day.
Other tips for protecting your eyes from blue light:
- Follow the 20-20-20 rule. Every 20 minutes, look away from your screen for 20 seconds to a distance of 20 feet.
- Don’t forget to blink! Post a note to your monitor if you need a reminder.
- Adjust the lighting of your surroundings and your computer screen to match. This will help you avoid eye strain.
- Use anti-glare screens for your computer monitor.
- Use a blue light filter setting on your phone and other digital devices whenever possible.
- Avoid screen time for two hours before bedtime.
Learn more about the perils of blue light from this infographic. Are you protecting yourself from its harmful effects?
The post Preventing Blue Light-Related Health Problems appeared first on Dumb Little Man.
3 Things to Keep in Mind When the Going Gets Tough
Your startup is barely getting off the ground.
Or maybe you’ve been working your butt off for that promotion and you don’t see any progress.
It could even be your last semester in college and you’re struggling to review for your very last finals ‘til you’re off applying for jobs.
We all have our own battles.
And it’s extremely tempting to give up when nothing seems to go right.
I’ve been having hardships getting my online business to its goals, but I know that if I put in the work, make mistakes early, learn from it right away and go from there, I’ll be closer to the success I want to achieve.
The same goes for everybody reading this too.
I know it’s difficult.
So here are three things to keep in mind whenever you feel like everything’s a burden on your heart and shoulders:
1. Success Doesn’t Happen Overnight
You’ve heard this countless times, but you’re reading this for a reason. We’re human and it’s perfectly natural to be impatient.
But oftentimes we allow it to get to our hearts, then later on we find ourselves unable to function to our full potential after again being faced with that fact.
Even right now as I write this, I’m still a bit upset that I remembered that it will take more loads of work to be done to get where I want to be.
However, the sooner we accept that success doesn’t happen overnight, the better.
Whether you believe it or not, that’s still the harsh truth.
I could spew content here and there all day, every day, but that doesn’t mean I’ll wake up the next day with my desired lifestyle.
In fact, avoid working all day every day! That could be detrimental to your health and decrease the chances of seeing the results of your labor (I mean death due to unhealthy practices here).
So take it one step at a time.
Slowly but surely.
You have to fall in love with the process, dear reader.
If you’re not already in love with what you’re doing, better think of doing something else or looking at your work with a new perspective.
It makes the long days and nights a little more bearable.
2. Mistakes Are Normal but You Need to Learn from Them
If it happens once, it’s a mistake. If it happens twice, it’s a choice.
Heard of that quote?
You see, mistakes are encouraged by the most successful people because it gives you something to learn from.
But there’s no point in committing the same mistake over and over.
If you’re going through rough patches right now because of your mistakes, don’t take it too personally.
There are always other factors why mistakes happen, and the ultimate thing is they already happened and we can’t do anything about them anymore except to learn from them.
Make sure they don’t happen again in the future.
Whether it’s choosing the wrong business partner or investing in the wrong company, it’s done.
It’s in the past.
But the past isn’t meant to be forgotten, it’s meant to gain lessons from.
3. The Fruits of Hard Work Are Sweet
Keep going.
Don’t worry if you’re on the right path or not.
It will reveal itself to you when it’s time, as long as you’re consistent with your work.
Compare yourself today versus last year.
Amazing how one year can change a lot of things, right?
Guess what? The time will pass anyway, so might as well do what you need to do.
I hope you never ever find yourself saying this a lot, “I wish I started last year! Imagine what I could’ve accomplished by today.”
When I was starting out with blogging last year, I didn’t even know what domain names are.
I read their definition over and over until I got it, and how hosting works to get websites on the internet.
I felt dumb and uncomfortable, but I persisted because I knew what I wanted to achieve.
Nobody in my family has any background with online business, so in terms of looking for mentors in real life, I didn’t have anyone but myself.
Thankfully, along my journey, I’ve discovered more people within reach who I could relate to.
It took a lot of networking and branding yourself for people to find out about you, but the fruits are oh, so sweet!
I’m part of a community of like-minded people who share the same goals now, and it wouldn’t have happened if I never put in the work needed.
I’ve had niche changes along the way, but I continued working until I found one that was fit for me and there was a market for.
Don’t be intimidated by the work needed to be done.
It will all be worth it in the end.
– About the Writer –
Nicah Caramba is an entrepreneur who is passionate about public speaking, travel and Japanese food. Aside from chasing the next adventure, she is constantly looking for ways to help people communicate their ideas better in her blog todayimchanging.com
Greek Home with Beautiful Views of the Mountains
This marvelous home, where the most extensively used materials are stone and wood, is located in the eastern suburbs of Athens, the capital of Greece, in the mountainous region of Pikermi—named Drafi in Greek—where pine trees densely populate the land. It has a total area of 350 square meters and was constructed in 2017, undertaken by architectural firm Schema Architecture & Engineering, and supervised by architect Marianna Athanasiadou. This design’s..
The post Greek Home with Beautiful Views of the Mountains appeared first on HomeDSGN.
10 Proven Ways To Build Your Personal Branding in 2018
Admit it or not, if you want to do business, you’d want to do it with other people- not companies. Putting up a strong personal branding allows you to reach out to your clients more which, in effect, can dramatically boost conversion rates and sales.
But, how exactly do you build a personal brand?
Honestly, there’s no single formula that can make you successful overnight. It will take a lot of hard work and commitment before you can make it big in this kind of business. But, to help you out, below are 10 easy yet proven ways on how to build your personal branding.
Ready?
Get a logo
If you want to build a personal brand people can easily identify, you’ll need a logo. It’ll be the visual representation of your brand so you have to pay close attention to how you’re going to make it. You can go simple or complicated, depending on your style and the people you want to connect with.
Logotypes are highly effective, despite being simple and plain at times. You can create your brand name and print it on your preferred typeface. This choice can save you time and money, especially if you don’t have enough moolah to spend on hiring a good designer.
While designing a logo used to be a costly and time-dependent process, logo makers have come a long way in recent years, and are rapidly overtaking humans as the go-to tools for creating affordable and eye-catching logos.
Be you
In creating a personal brand, it’s understandable why a lot of people work so hard to impress their target audience. After all, the more you impress them, the more they are likely to patronize your brand, right?
Well, that isn’t always the case.
You see, consumers prefer to see the real personality behind a brand. And if you come across as NOT authentic, they are likely to leave you. So, show your true personality. Use social media to bring forth an honest profile your consumers will be able to relate with.
Make friends online
When it comes to personal brands, having influencers around can be one of your greatest assets. These people can share your brand, stories and posts to their respective target audience and this can greatly extend your reach.
Apart from that, you should also be more active online. Join forums that are related to your niche and engage in online conversations that are relevant to your business. Create a personality that people trust. Take advantage of social media in making your presence felt online.
Meet friends offline
Although online influence is essential, you can’t just limit your connections within the boundaries of the Internet. Go out and actually meet people offline. Attend local events within your industry and start building friendships with everyone you meet. Expanding your circle and networking means expanding your influence.
Start a website
If you want to make a name online, there should be a place people can go to if they want to know more about you and your brand. This is where a website plays a major role, particularly the About Me page.
There are tons of tools you can use to create a decent website. You can get them for free or for a fee but make sure to get only what you’ll need. Purchasing complicated tools and not using them will only be a waste of resources.
Provide your consumers with value
Your personal brand should reflect the true you, but it shouldn’t be all about you. Instead, focus on your audience and what they really want. Create content not just to satisfy their needs but to keep them coming back for more.
Make sure to provide them with something unique so you can set yourself apart from your competitors. Research about what your readers are interested in and what products and services they are talking about more. Finding areas of unique perspective will put you one step ahead of the competition.
And don’t forget to be relevant. Be your consumers’ source of information and you’ll easily grow your authority in the industry.
Work consistently
Being consistent can take a lot of work and commitment but it’s one good way to ensure the growth of your personal brand. If you are inconsistent, you’re just likely to confuse and bore your audience to the point that they’ll look for something better.
Be focused
The initial stage of building a personal brand can be discouraging, especially if you only have a few followers. If you want to make it big, don’t focus on the number and pay more attention to your purpose.
Talk as if you are speaking to hundreds of people. Write as if the whole world is reading your content. You’ll be surprised with how this kind of dedication and focus can change your business.
See Also: Finding Out the Best Time for Posting on Social Media Sites
Learn how to say no
In your quest to establish authority, it’s likely that you’ll meet other people and businesses that’ll want to work with you. Before you actually agree, think first. Make sure those people and businesses are in line with your brand, vision, and personality.
Your work, as well as your actions, will reflect your brand so be careful in what you do and what decisions you make.
Just give it a go!
Although preparation is key, too much planning can get in the way of you actually starting. In fact, if you wait too long to get started, you may end up not starting at all.
So, don’t wait for everything to be perfect before you start. With your limited resources, start building authority, reach out to people and be consistent with your job. After all these things, success will surely follow.
In Summary
Building a personal branding isn’t that easy, particularly with so many people aspiring to create their own. If you want to be successful, you have to know exactly what you want to achieve.
Be you in creating your personal brand but remain relevant and focused on your consumers. Take advantage of technology and use tools that can make the process a lot easier. Be consistent and don’t wait too long before getting started.
The post 10 Proven Ways To Build Your Personal Branding in 2018 appeared first on Dumb Little Man.
August 16th
How to Setup Your Personal Development Plan in 3 Simple Steps
You’re reading How to Setup Your Personal Development Plan in 3 Simple Steps, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’re enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.
Getting your life in order can seem pretty tricky sometimes, but as you are about to see in just a few lines down below, it is actually pretty simple if you have a solid plan.
I never truly understood what I want to do with my life until just about 12 months ago when I listened to an interview of Bob Proctor about goal setting and changing habits. It was then when I became aware that all you need to do in order to design your own personal development plan is to know where you are and where you want to go.
Once you have that sorted out you just need to start implementing, take action and put in all the effort in achieving your goals.
Step #1 Find out where you are
The very first thing you need to do is make an in-depth assessment of all the aspects of your life. Take a really open and honest look at where you are in your life right now.
Are you happy with how much money you are making? Are you happy with the direction your career is going? How about your relationship with your friends and family?
These are just a few examples of the aspects you want to look at. You might find that you have your own specific things that are important to you which might be different from the ones outlined here.
Take a look at those things and see where you are standing. As you are creating this really honest assessment of your life, you will actually become more aware of the things that you might feel like they need some change or a little bit of extra work.
Me personally, when I made this assessment for myself I was actually doing pretty badly. I was not happy with my job; I was not happy with my health and definitely not happy with my personal finances. That’s what determined me to quit my full time job and dedicate by life to video editing – one of my biggest passion in life.
Now I am doing something I love, I can work whenever I want with whoever I want, and I make more money than I ever did when I was working 9 to 5.
Becoming aware of your current situation is the very first step towards achieving success, so don’t rush through this and be totally honest with yourself.
Step #2 Find out where you want to be
Once you have identified the areas you want to improve, set specific goals for each and every one of those areas. Set just one major goal for each area of your life and make it very specific. It should be something that you can easily measure.
Then put a deadline on it. I like to set a relatively short deadline on my goals – something like 6 to 12 months. By focusing on the shorter term goals you will be more likely to take action right away. And, on top of that, it will also be much easier for you to actually see measurable progress.
It will also be much easier to course correct as you learn new things about yourself and as you evolve into a better person. Setting the right goals might be a little bit tricky to do at first. You will know when you have set a good goal when you will feel both excitement and fear.
You will feel excitement because you will be doing something that you love, something that brings you to life. And if the goal is big enough you will also feel a little bit of fear, because you know that achieving that goal is going to be difficult and it will require a lot of work.
I remember I was scared to death when I quit my job to start editing videos for a living. But I was also very excited to get started on following my dreams.
Another thing I found to be very effective is to write down your goal on a piece of paper. Create a goal card that you carry in your wallet or pocket and that you read a couple of times every day. I know I was reluctant about this method, but reading out loud your goal often enough will keep you focused on achieving that goal. By reading it over and over again, your mind will start to work on achieving it even without you consciously realizing it.
Step #3 Create an action plan
The third and final step is to write down some clear action points. These actions should take you from where you are right now to where it is that you want to be. What does it take to achieve your goal?
You might not know every single step but there definitely are a few things that you do know. Most of the times these will be sufficient to get you started. You just need to start somewhere. You don’t need to have the whole plan outlined beforehand.
Start with a draft and add new actions to it along the way. Learn as you go, don’t be afraid to try out new things, experiment. Some things will work, some will not. Each failure will just get you one step closer your goal. I remember I made a ton of mistakes when I started my business. But each mistake taught me a new thing and so on and so forth.
Just start, don’t wait to have the perfect plan!
Over to you
I challenge you to go over this 3 step process and share with us what is it that you’re committing to do for yourself. Where do you want to be 12 months from now? What are the actions that you know you’re going to need to take in order to move your life forward?
Cristian used the exact same steps outline above to figure out he wants to run a video editing company. Right now he is in charge of the operations of Veedyou Media, a business which is offering video editing services to customers all around the world.
You’ve read How to Setup Your Personal Development Plan in 3 Simple Steps, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’ve enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.
How to Setup Your Personal Development Plan in 3 Simple Steps
You’re reading How to Setup Your Personal Development Plan in 3 Simple Steps, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’re enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.
Getting your life in order can seem pretty tricky sometimes, but as you are about to see in just a few lines down below, it is actually pretty simple if you have a solid plan.
I never truly understood what I want to do with my life until just about 12 months ago when I listened to an interview of Bob Proctor about goal setting and changing habits. It was then when I became aware that all you need to do in order to design your own personal development plan is to know where you are and where you want to go.
Once you have that sorted out you just need to start implementing, take action and put in all the effort in achieving your goals.
Step #1 Find out where you are
The very first thing you need to do is make an in-depth assessment of all the aspects of your life. Take a really open and honest look at where you are in your life right now.
Are you happy with how much money you are making? Are you happy with the direction your career is going? How about your relationship with your friends and family?
These are just a few examples of the aspects you want to look at. You might find that you have your own specific things that are important to you which might be different from the ones outlined here.
Take a look at those things and see where you are standing. As you are creating this really honest assessment of your life, you will actually become more aware of the things that you might feel like they need some change or a little bit of extra work.
Me personally, when I made this assessment for myself I was actually doing pretty badly. I was not happy with my job; I was not happy with my health and definitely not happy with my personal finances. That’s what determined me to quit my full time job and dedicate by life to video editing – one of my biggest passion in life.
Now I am doing something I love, I can work whenever I want with whoever I want, and I make more money than I ever did when I was working 9 to 5.
Becoming aware of your current situation is the very first step towards achieving success, so don’t rush through this and be totally honest with yourself.
Step #2 Find out where you want to be
Once you have identified the areas you want to improve, set specific goals for each and every one of those areas. Set just one major goal for each area of your life and make it very specific. It should be something that you can easily measure.
Then put a deadline on it. I like to set a relatively short deadline on my goals – something like 6 to 12 months. By focusing on the shorter term goals you will be more likely to take action right away. And, on top of that, it will also be much easier for you to actually see measurable progress.
It will also be much easier to course correct as you learn new things about yourself and as you evolve into a better person. Setting the right goals might be a little bit tricky to do at first. You will know when you have set a good goal when you will feel both excitement and fear.
You will feel excitement because you will be doing something that you love, something that brings you to life. And if the goal is big enough you will also feel a little bit of fear, because you know that achieving that goal is going to be difficult and it will require a lot of work.
I remember I was scared to death when I quit my job to start editing videos for a living. But I was also very excited to get started on following my dreams.
Another thing I found to be very effective is to write down your goal on a piece of paper. Create a goal card that you carry in your wallet or pocket and that you read a couple of times every day. I know I was reluctant about this method, but reading out loud your goal often enough will keep you focused on achieving that goal. By reading it over and over again, your mind will start to work on achieving it even without you consciously realizing it.
Step #3 Create an action plan
The third and final step is to write down some clear action points. These actions should take you from where you are right now to where it is that you want to be. What does it take to achieve your goal?
You might not know every single step but there definitely are a few things that you do know. Most of the times these will be sufficient to get you started. You just need to start somewhere. You don’t need to have the whole plan outlined beforehand.
Start with a draft and add new actions to it along the way. Learn as you go, don’t be afraid to try out new things, experiment. Some things will work, some will not. Each failure will just get you one step closer your goal. I remember I made a ton of mistakes when I started my business. But each mistake taught me a new thing and so on and so forth.
Just start, don’t wait to have the perfect plan!
Over to you
I challenge you to go over this 3 step process and share with us what is it that you’re committing to do for yourself. Where do you want to be 12 months from now? What are the actions that you know you’re going to need to take in order to move your life forward?
Cristian used the exact same steps outline above to figure out he wants to run a video editing company. Right now he is in charge of the operations of Veedyou Media, a business which is offering video editing services to customers all around the world.
You’ve read How to Setup Your Personal Development Plan in 3 Simple Steps, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’ve enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.
The Books We Don’t Understand
What is going on when a book simply makes no sense to you? Perhaps a classic that everyone praises. Or something new you’re being asked to review. I don’t mean that you find the style tiresome, or the going slow; simply that the characters, their reflections, their priorities, the way they interact, do not really add up.
Terrace Overlooking the Republic Square in Mexico City, Mexico
This fabulous terrace has a privileged location, as it is situated just in front of the Republic Square and the Monument to the Revolution in Mexico City, Mexico. It was designed by Eduardo Gorozpe, Arturo Olavarrieta, Greece Ramos and Daniel Che of the architectural firm A-001 Taller de Arquitectura in the year 2016, and covers an area of 325 square meters. The construction of a rooftop terrace reconciled the interests..
The post Terrace Overlooking the Republic Square in Mexico City, Mexico appeared first on HomeDSGN.
Sig Nordal 