Right now, there’s no better way to go into the food service business than with a food truck. Food trucks are portable, flexible and have low overhead. More people are frequenting food trucks than ever before, and even restaurant chains such as Starbuck’s, Chick-Fil-A, and White Castle are jumping on the food truck bandwagon for the same exact reason.

If you’re looking for a low-cost startup with a high chance for success, food trucks may be the way to go. But, how do you get into the food truck business, anyway?

Old trucks can be repurposed into food trucks. If you want a new food truck, it can cost less than $100,000. The business has a low overhead which means you can immediately start gaining profit.

Earnings can be as high as $250,000 to $500,000 a year. The good thing about food trucks is that you can always move to a different spot if the location isn’t great. If your recipes aren’t hitting their marks, you can easily change the menu. Flexibility makes this business model a good bet.

Steps In Getting Started In A Food Truck Business

1. Start by researching the rules

• Are food trucks allowed in your area?
• Are you able to park anywhere or do you need a permit?
• What are the rules about preparing food on the truck versus just serving from it?
• Are there regulations about how far you need to be from other trucks or restaurants?
• Can you join associations that will dispatch you to locations?
• Are you required to use a commissary?

2. Buy a truck and equipment
3. Develop a menu
4. Know where to buy supplies
5. Have a business plan
6. Develop your online presence – this can help you find customers!
7. Get all your approvals and licenses in order
8. Make sure all your equipment works and you are meeting health and safety standards

See Also: 5 Women Entrepreneurs Who Failed Before Becoming Millionaires 

The Benefits Of Having A Food Truck Business

The food truck revolution is about freedom. It’s about the freedom to work when you want, where you want and to be able to change things up at the drop of a hat. You could even choose to only work on the weekends or at festivals, giving you the ultimate flexibility over your life.

Having a brick and mortar store or restaurant means always having to be there while having a food truck means only showing up when you want to. Despite the flexibility, it is still important to maintain a schedule and show up when you say you will show up.

Food trucks can be a great way to test the waters to see if opening a restaurant is for you. It could be a good lifestyle choice for parents with kids who need flexibility in scheduling and a place for the whole family to work. It can also be a great way to have a change of pace after college as well as some real world experience as a business owner.

See Also: Staying Motivated as an Entrepreneur – Top Tips from Some of the World’s Most Successful Entrepreneurs

Getting Started

So, when you’re ready to take the plunge, how do you get started?

You can’t exactly go to your local car dealership to buy a food truck. Buying a used food truck is the easier way to go. These trucks are readily available on eBay, Craigslist, and through your local food truck association classified ads.

Buying a used food truck also give you the advantage of buying one that is already fully outfitted instead of having to buy a truck and retrofit it.  Many operators choose to shed their food trucks and they find much of their mobile equipment just don’t translate.

Learn more about what it takes to start your own food truck business from this infographic. You might find this flexible business model as the perfect fit for your professional needs. After all, who doesn’t love a great food truck?

Compliments of Food Truck Operator

The post How To Get Started With Your Own Food Truck Business appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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A high self-esteem means you know what you’re worth and can hold your head high when others are losing theirs. This definition is relatively basic but, in life, so many people still don’t understand what they are worth.

Building self-esteem is like forming a new habit. It takes small incremental efforts before it can become second nature. To help you out, here are some of the tips you can use.

Learn To Improve Yourself

Cherish opportunities to improve yourself. Start by acquiring knowledge and living through life experiences. This way, you’ll be able to appreciate your abilities and make good judgments that can inspire other people. Building self-esteem requires you to constantly experience self-improvement.

Know What You Want

Most people who have low self-esteem do not know what they want. They look to other people and wonder how others can be so successful.

If you want to boost your confidence, you should know what you want. Set clear goals and be passionate about meeting them. Even just one cleared goal should improve your self-esteem dramatically.

Believe In Something Worth It

What do you stand for? What do you believe in that is worth protecting and, if need be, dying for?

To build high self-esteem, you need to answer these questions. Unless you believe in something worth it, you will be swayed by anything. As soon as you believe in something worth it, you will be able to understand your limitations and know what to avoid when your belief is challenged.

Exercise Regularly

Those who engage in regular physical exercise will experience a remarkable improvement in self-esteem. Regular exercises will help you stay in shape and boost your confidence.

See Also: 19 Ways to Get Motivated to Exercise

Learn To Be Yourself

I have seen so many people try to live their lives as others do, without considering exactly what they want. This is a prelude to unhappiness.

To start building self-esteem, you need to learn to be yourself and not someone else. Those who have high self-esteem are unique people. They do, see, think and act differently. Their uniqueness comes from within.

They are not moved by ephemeral things. They do what they think is right and they do not listen too much to what others might say.

Learn Perseverance

You need to learn to persevere. This will help you go through those periods when the flood of discouragements, failures and opposition mounts.

Failures and setbacks will surely come, but your ability to persevere is what will see you through. Perseverance will help you appreciate hard work and gain confidence.

See Also: Don’t Be A Quitter: Perseverance Is One Of The Most Underestimated Skills of Successful People

Understand Life

To build high self-esteem, you should fully understand life, its purpose and what it truly means. Many people consider acquiring many cars, houses, jewelry and other material things as being successful. Your inability to understand life will make you hold onto things that do not matter. It’s like chasing shadows and going after the wind.

Avoid Discussing People

Avoid discussing people if you seek to boost your self-esteem. People who put others down or work to discredit others are insecure beings. As humans, it’s normal for people to commit mistakes. This, however, doesn’t mean that they’re bad.

Look at yourself before criticizing others. Will you be happy when people discuss you behind your back or discuss your mistakes in a way to ridicule you? If you will not be happy, then don’t do it. Focus on issues and use your time wisely. Instead of wasting time discussing people, work on achieving your goals.

Help Others Succeed

There is so much competition in the world today and people are competing with one another in almost every aspect of life. As much as possible, do not take part in this trend.

Instead, think of ways to help others. Most people with high self-esteem are adding value to people’s lives and inspiring them to succeed. They are always thinking of how to make the world a better place. When you help others succeed, you will also succeed.

Learn Something New

One way to build your self-esteem is to constantly update and build your knowledge. Reading is a good example. When you read, you learn something new and you improve yourself in the process.

Another way to learn something new is to accept feedback from mentors and colleagues. You can use what they have to say to improve, grow and gain more self-confidence.

Be Generous

What are you giving to others?

Being generous to others can help boost self-esteem. Remember, givers never lack.

These are the ways I have gained high self-esteem over the years. Practice them consistently and you’ll find building self-esteem a lot easier.

The post 11 Secrets To Building High Self-Esteem To Find Happiness appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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If you take a look at the most successful people in the world, you’ll quickly notice that they all have something in common. These people have conquered their limitations and they don’t follow the norm.

If you would like to achieve the same status, here are some of the best tips on how to overcome limitations.

Be Fearless

Most people want to get rid of their fear of failure. It’s the one thing they think is holding them back from being successful.

You may find that the real reason you have yet to succeed is because:

– You fear all the hard work that must be done
– You fear the commitment necessary both during and after you have succeeded
– You fear going out of your comfort zone

On some level, that’s totally understandable. But, if you truly want to succeed, you must work harder than everyone else. And to do that, you’ve got to get rid of anything holding you back.

I got rid of my fear by simply jumping into it and never looking back. I recommend you do the same.

Let Your Creativity Blossom

The second rule to becoming limitless is to always be original.

I am not talking about thinking in an original way. Anyone can do that. What I am talking about is having the courage to act on your plans. It’s going out there and implementing your ideas so that you can succeed faster.

That’s how successful people operate. They let their mind free and then support their amazing ideas by taking action.

My advice would be to promise yourself that the next time you get a brilliant idea that can help you succeed financially, think it through thoroughly and then go for it!

Don’t hesitate. That’s what losers do.

Asking Questions Is a Waste of Time

If you really need to know the answer to something, you should ask, right?

Wrong.

Personally, I avoid asking people questions, especially if I could easily find the answer to them if I did some research myself. By asking others for answers, you start to rely on them. Relying on others limit you, which is exactly what you want to avoid if you want to overcome limitations.

Another reason you should stop asking questions is because the answer is probably within you already. Oftentimes, we ask questions only because we seek others’ confirmation and not the answer itself.

That’s why I say, if you dig deep down within yourself, you’ll be able to find the answers. Therefore, follow your guts and trust no one but yourself. You are the only one who truly knows what you want.

Stop Doing What Others Do

Let’s say you got 2 choices:

1. Get hired by a company
2. Create a company yourself and hire others

Most people would choose option 1 because that’s the norm and that’s what the majority does. This is exactly what I want you to completely stop doing. In fact, I recommend that you start playing around by doing one or two things each day that go against what the majority does.

As an example, If I were to say if I like Donald Trump or not, I could play around by saying “yes” when everyone else answered “no”. Of course, I will have to argue about my choice after, but that’s part of the game.

Playing against the norm is a great achievement because that means you’ll no longer be limited by the rules society places on your shoulders.

Believe With All Your Heart

If you stop believing in what you preach and practice, it’s just a matter of time before you meet the wall. You have to believe in your ideas so strongly because when the going gets tough, your mind will do one thing and that is to lie to you.

Ignore your thoughts and say “I believe!” instead.

Every big star, every big name, and every successful human being on this planet used to be big believers as well. In fact, don’t take it from me. Take it from one of the most successful people.

“You don’t become what you want, you become what you believe.”
– Oprah Winfrey

As you may have noticed, all these rules have something in common. They appeal to you on a personal level because success is an individual process.

There are no limits when you don’t limit yourself. Use these tips and start learning how to overcome limitations from now on!

The post 5 Rules To Overcome Limitations appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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For some people, traveling is about getting an authentic experience. It’s about learning genuine things about a place and its people.

While there are various ways to achieve that, every method provides a different level of exposure to people. Some prefer to go around a place in groups wearing matching outfits and led by a tourist guide with a flag. On the other hand, there are people who prefer to be low-key tourists when traveling.

Tourists must be at terms with the fact that they can never be locals when they are just visiting. This, however, doesn’t mean that they can’t experience a place as authentically as locals know it to be. To give you an idea, here are some tips to help you travel like a local.

Get to know the place in advance

It is handy for travelers to go to the library or use Google to research about the place they are planning to visit. Find blogs, reviews or comments from people who have been to the area and try to learn from their experiences. Knowing an area in advance is probably the most important preparation any traveler can do.

Don’t do a bus tour for the entire journey

If you really want to get more out of your trip, it’s best if you don’t fully rely on tours to take you everywhere that’s on your itinerary. Although bus tours are informative and entertaining, it will cause you to miss out on handling transactions on your own.

Some might think that’s a good thing since negotiating with other people and dealing with foreign currencies is intimidating and confusing. With package tours, a tourist will need not worry about itineraries, meals, tickets, transportation and stops. What they just need to do is join the tour.

Make friends with a local

It is common for travelers to visit a foreign land and not know anyone from the place. It is also quite difficult to befriend a stranger there since there isn’t any assurance of their trustworthiness. Despite this, you should still give it a try. Like with any type of interaction, being open while remaining alert and cautious will help.

Having a local friend is better than just going around with a tour guide. A local can help you find the best places in the area that can give you more than the usual tourist encounter.

And even though the world can sometimes be a scary place for people who wander, keep in mind that there are still people who won’t hesitate to lend a hand.

Find a host family

Staying in a hotel will put you in an area with a high concentration of tourists. Although convenient, this will not give you a legitimate feel of the place.

If you want to live like a local, even for just a short period, then you should consider living with the locals. As a solution, you can try looking for a host family. There are travel packages that can arrange your request. They will find willing and registered host families who can accommodate you while you’re in their area.

If you find it difficult to meet a reliable host, your next best option is to look for an Airbnb rental or anything similar to that. This kind of arrangement will provide you the opportunity to interact with the locals better.

See Also: 4 Smart Ways to Travel The World For Free

Take the public transportation

Some countries have confusing and even risky public transportation. That is why it is best for travelers to get to know a place beforehand so that they can have a good idea on how to go about the city. After all, it is better to use public transportation if you really want to experience what locals do and how they go about their everyday lives.

Dress the part

Another important reminder for anyone traveling to a different country is to dress the part. Get a feel of how it is to live locally by wearing something that fits the environment and the culture.

If a place is rather conservative, then dress conservatively. If it is alright to walk around the city in a plain t-shirt, a pair of slippers and shorts, then do that. Otherwise, a traveler would stick out of the crowd and look more like a tourist.

Learn key phrases and local customs

To facilitate better communication, learn some important local customs or even just a few words in the local tongue. Doing so will help you connect better to the people in the area.

Takeaway

Be ready to wander. Sometimes, it is good to take a little detour, change something in your itinerary, get lost a little or be spontaneous. Doing these things, however, does not mean you have to be reckless. Be cautious, but be ready to wander. That adds to the whole experience of traveling like a local.

See Also: Strange International Laws Every Tourist Should Know

The post 7 Important Things To Do To Travel Like A Local appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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Sounds funny, right? Why would you want to make the life of your dreams boring?

There’s just so much to do these days. You can take in a live sporting event, enjoy fine wine, dine on international cuisine or even travel to exotic destinations.

But, do you really want those things? Does a fast-paced, entertainment-filled life bring you real happiness?

My guess is it leaves you feeling depleted.

Yes, you want the best travel, food, entertainment and lifestyle, but you want to enjoy them at your pace. And right now, you just feel exhausted. So, how can you find time to breathe while getting the most out of life? The “boring life” of your dreams may just be the answer.

What is a “boring” dream life?

Simply put, it means living your life at a steady pace- not too fast or too slow. It means to counteract the exciting moments with the quiet, more “boring” ones. But, how exactly can you do that?

Below are 5 ideas to help you get started.

Start a meditation practice

As someone who’s been meditating for 13+ years, meditation gives me time to process my experiences, think more clearly and make better choices.

When life at the office is stressful, my schedule is jam-packed with activities or I just feel too exhausted, meditation provides me the time to catch my breath and reflect.

On a hot summer day, meditation is the cold glass of water that revitalizes me. It helps soften the blow of all the intense experiences, and it can do the same for you.

See Also: Questions and Answers: A Beginners Guide to Meditation

Schedule unscheduled time

Remember having more “free time” as a kid? You know, that block of time you were given at camp or some other event to do whatever you want? Unscheduled time is similar. It’s time where you don’t plan anything, and you can do whatever you feel.

Unscheduled time is similar. It’s the time where you don’t plan anything, and you can do whatever you feel.

The funny thing about unscheduled time is you have to schedule it—or it’s likely not to happen. Personally, I schedule it in two-hour blocks, and I leave one entire day a week (usually Sunday) as unscheduled.

I never work on Sundays. Instead, I hang out with friends, explore the city with my girlfriend, catch a movie, exercise or simply do what I feel. And without fail, that one unscheduled day revitalizes me, recharging my batteries for the week ahead.

Chill out on the stimulants

Consuming booze, coffee, sugar and even fatty meals on a regular basis can have a dramatic effect on how you feel and your perspective.

Too much coffee can leave you wired and irritable. Boozing frequently can keep you perpetually in hangover-recovery mode, and too much sugar can leave you feeling depleted.

So, I recommend balancing your stimulants.

Drink more water. Eat more fruits and veggies (with less butter and dressing), and don’t overdo it with the stimulants. Yes, these changes can be dreadfully boring, but your body and mind will surely thank you later.

See Also: How To Develop Awesome Eating Habits Without Failing

Stay grounded with habits

Personally, my habits help keep me sane. I meditate every day, exercise 2-4 times a week, eat 2 vegetarian meals a day and go to bed at 10 pm on weeknights. These habits make me feel like me, and they remind me of who I am.

In other words, habits provide stability in your life.

They keep you planted when the going gets tough. If you have a bad day, your habit, whether that’s exercise, meditation, reading an hour in the evening, will be right there waiting for you. No matter how much the circumstances in your life change, your habits won’t. They can be your rock when life gets insane.

Balance your life

Last year, I took a total of 4 vacations, lasting a total of 6 and a half weeks, in the span of 5 months. How did that make me feel?

Awesome at first but, by the last trip, I was sick of vacation. I felt unproductive and bored with the sights I was seeing.

In hindsight, it’s obvious I overdid it. I should have spread out my vacation time more evenly throughout the year. If I had, I would have enjoyed the experiences a lot more.

Whether it’s vacation, dining at nice restaurants or knocking back some beers with your buddies, I recommend adopting the same attitude in every area of your life. Don’t overdo it, and don’t underdo it. Find a balance between the quiet times and the exciting times so you can live the life of your dreams.

But, how do you find that balance?

Well, that answer is for you to discover yourself. Experiment and find out what works best for you.

And here’s a tip.

If you feel like you’re overdoing it in one area of your life, ask yourself, “How does this make me feel? Does doing this activity so often make me happy?”. If the answer is “no”, then try cutting back on it to find a happier medium. You may just discover a new love for another activity.

The challenge of enjoying the “boring” dream life

There’s no use sugar-coating it.

It can be scary to slow down, especially when your friends start to take notice. Some of them might think you’re acting weird and you may even lose some friendships along the way. Even worse, taking some quiet time for yourself may cause you anxiety.

Why?

Well, you’re not used to it. And that’s okay.

There’s no need to rush though. Take baby steps as you slow down towards the life of your dreams. Once you find time to breathe and balance the adrenaline with the quiet, I guarantee you’re going to feel 10x better. You’re going to enjoy time with friends. You can go out for vacations and parties to eat out and drink.

Start today and take some time for yourself. Start a new habit, like meditating. Do whatever you need to do but just make sure you schedule some time for yourself.

Put YOU first and ask yourself, “Will this activity make me happy?”. Let that question be your guide, and you’re sure to find yourself smiling a bit longer.

The post How To Find The Boring Life Of Your Dreams appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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As offices become paperless and more form-centered, we receive more and more PDF files in our inboxes. And the more PDF files we receive, the more headaches we experience.

If you’re not interested in buying an expensive license for Adobe software but you’d still like to edit PDFs, here are a few tips that will quickly make you the office MacGyver at converting, editing and mastering this popular file type.

Edit PDF files

Have a PDF with text on it that you need to edit?

Happy news: you don’t have to retype the content on a separate document to be able to change it.

Who’s got time for that? Do yourself a favor and convert the PDF to Word, so you can edit the text in a Word document before resaving it as a PDF. You can do this by uploading to Google Docs, which is a fast, free and fairly painless option for converting PDFs to a .doc or .docx file.

One note, some converter software will alter the spacing and formatting of your PDF file, so always double check before you upload to make sure it creates accurate conversions.

Sign a PDF

Need to add a signature to a PDF?

The old school method was to print out the PDF, sign it, rescan it and send it back. Unfortunately, that’s not cost or even resource efficient. With so much paperwork being sent and completed over email or file-sharing services, you don’t want to delay finalizing a business transaction or filing important legal or financial paperwork, all for want of a printer. Save trees and time by adding your signature electronically.

To add your John Hancock to a PDF, you can use a paid service like Docusign which is good to consider if you need to do this in a professional capacity. You can also check out this How-To Geek article with free options.

See Also: The Freelancer’s Guide to PDF Management

Turn a PDF into an image

If you’re frequently sharing image files or you’re a web developer working with PDF images, you may have already run into problems using PDFs. While PDFs offer sharp and high resolution, they can be heavier to send by email than a standard image file. This can make them difficult to open and view on mobile devices.

For website developers, using a PDF on a website requires that visitors have an external plugin installed. This can cause additional document download time and could prevent thousands of visitors from viewing the content.

Alternatively, you can skip the headaches and convert PDF to JPG format. While the image resolution will be visibly lower, as long as the file doesn’t need to be printed or enlarged, converting to a JPG file is a solution that works for nearly everyone. JPG files are easy to open, save and access on mobile phones and tablets. Most office applications are better equipped at handling image files rather than PDFs, too.

Another option for converting PDFs to images is a PDF to PNG converter. This is an especially useful feature for graphic designers who frequently need to edit logos or images with text.

Merge PDFs

At first glance, this doesn’t seem like a trick you’d need to use often, but it’s much more useful than it appears at first glance. The ability to merge PDF’s relates to how you can make impressive and comprehensive presentations to impress the management, your colleagues and even your clients. If you’ve ever wondered how to merge Excel spreadsheets, pie charts, graphic imagery and text into a document – and make it easy to share – this is the tip for you.

To merge multiple files, you’ll need to convert each file to a PDF first. Ideally, you’ll want to find a PDF editor that not only provides converter tools for the most popular file formats but also supports file merge so you don’t have to shuffle between different sites and tools.

Erase Existing Text

The ability to erase existing text and add new content is useful if you’re frequently filling out e-forms. It’s also important if you need to redact or mask sensitive information on a document before sharing.

Some PDF editors, like PDFfiller, offer editing tools that add shapes and images, in addition to customizable text. For example, if you’d like to highlight a particular section on the PDF, you could use an arrow or draw a box around it for visual reference.

Conclusion: Becoming a PDF Master

Today’s cloud-based PDF editing services offer a wealth of tools and information to help you manage and customize a variety of online PDF documents. Plus, many of the options featured here allow you to create your own account. This gives you the freedom to sign in and access your files on any device.

Working with PDFs isn’t just good for efficiency, saving you the time, cost and hassle of printing, annotating and rescanning documents, it’s also great for the environment. Whether you need to work with PDFs on a daily basis or rarely, you’ve now got the skills and know-how to master this popular file format.

See Also: 55 Bulletproof Productivity Hacks

The post PDF Like MacGyver: 5 Ways To Work With PDFs That Save Time, Money And Paper appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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Did you know that you can only be productive for about 3 hours in an 8-hour work day?

One good reason is the limited concentration of humans. Aside from that, there are other factors that can eat up your time at work. Just think about meetings, lunch breaks and having small chats with your co-workers.

If you aren’t careful, those 3 hours of productivity can easily go down the drain.

While there are plenty of methods and tools which you can use to organize your work and enhance your focus, not all of them are effective in generating positive results.

Increasing Productivity Through Visualization

Human beings are visual learners. In fact, they can process visuals 60,000x faster than text. This is why a visual tool can truly boost your productivity, especially when you need to organize your work and increase your focus.

But, first, why would visual methods or tools work better?

A tool or a method that is based on visualization has the power to engage both sides of the human brain. Such tools require the skills of the left brain for letters, sequences, lines and numbers as well as the right brain for color, spatial awareness, image and rhythm. This does not only enhance the thinking process, but it also stimulates creativity.

To help streamline your work and increase your productivity, you can use the following visual tools.

Mind Maps

A mind map is a tool that you can use to visualize an idea that is sprouting in your head. It provides a framework for gradually developing a concept or a strategy.

At the center of the mind map, you put down the main idea and, as you develop it, you can add the related information on the branches that fork out from the center.

A comprehensive mind map makes it easier to identify and analyze links between details that make up the concept. It is a great tool to use when planning out a strategy, event or a project.  Use a mind map to schedule your day at work first thing in the morning, and you’ll see how it helps you estimate and organize your work properly.

Flowcharts

With a flowchart, you can graphically illustrate the sequence of steps in a process, be it the hiring, sales or the manufacturing process.

How does this help you increase your productivity?

Imagine you are working on developing a new sales process. With the use of a flowchart, you can easily picture how it should work out as well as identify the areas that need more careful planning. Plus, when it comes to pitching your idea to your team or seniors, a flowchart can explain at a glance what you will have to explain in a thousand words.

Flowcharts are also an effective decision-making and problem-solving tool.

See Also: 5 Key Steps That Will Improve Your Decision Making

Gantt Charts

A Gantt chart is a project planning tool. It helps a team visualize the project schedule and monitor and record the progress you make. It can also be useful when allocating resources or setting up deadlines.

A comprehensive Gantt chart provides you a quick overview of all the important details of a project, such as the due dates, task names and those who are in charge of them. When estimating your tasks and tracking their progress, a Gantt chart could be a handy productivity tool.

Organizational Charts

Traditionally, this type of chart is used to graphically illustrate the structure of an organization. While it illustrates job titles and responsibilities, it can also clear the reporting structure within or between departments. It can also be used to identify ideal employees when allocating resources and help new employees in understanding company hierarchies and departments better.

Fishbone Diagrams

Fishbone diagrams (a.k.a. cause-and-effect diagrams) help identify the root cause of an issue. It can be considered as a visual problem-solving technique. Drawn like a bone of a fish, the head of the fish represents the issue that needs to be solved. The bones, one the other hand, can be used to jot down the potential causes.

A fishbone diagram can be considered as a time-saving tool when used to structure a brainstorming session or a thorough analysis of an issue.

See Also: 55 Bulletproof Productivity Hacks 

The right work strategy can help you improve your output by 25% and, with the right tools, you can definitely further the outcome.

Created with Creately.

 

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In 2000, Reed Hastings met with Blockbuster’s CEO, John Antioco, to propose adding another video rental delivery system. Antioco rejected the proposal and ignorantly followed the path that eventually led to the closure of Blockbuster. Reed Hastings, the CEO of Netflix, achieved success while Antioco missed the opportunity.

In 1999, Mark Cuban sold his publicly traded company, Broadcast.com, to Yahoo for $5.7 billion and proceeded to further expand his successful empire. By 2002, Yahoo shut down its broadcast services and also discontinued Broadcast.com. Cuban sold at what seems to be just the right time.

Antioco and Cuban were successful businessmen at the time and each made an important move at a critical time in their businesses. Antioco’s move led to the eventual closure of Blockbuster and Cuban’s move further propelled his successful career as an entrepreneur.

Those moves involved one thing: awareness. It’s a critical element in strong emotionally intelligent people. While emotional intelligence focuses on personal and social awareness, contextual awareness is just as important. The act of being aware can predict whether someone succeeds or fails in his career.

Awareness Exposes Past Shortcomings

Failure without learning is a missed opportunity.

People who have the ability to recognize why and how the failure occurred in the past can gain insight into ways to grow. Unfortunately, failures or shortcomings are not always easy to identify.

If you only chalk up failures as when something catastrophic happens in your life, you are going to miss on the opportunity to grow through them. Failures are priceless and far too many people would rather ignore failures in order to feel like they are successful.

As much as possible, do not ignore your failures and use them instead. If you are more worried about being right or winning in all situations, you will miss those losing moments where experience has a valuable lesson to teach you.

See Also: 5 Ways To Make The Most Of Failure

Push back from your present situation and reevaluate those moments where you messed up, where you did not meet up to standards or where you did not meet a goal. These are the failures that can leave you with a valuable set of lessons.

Your awareness in the past will help you succeed in the future. Truthfully recognizing your past successes and failures will open the doors to a successful tomorrow.

Awareness Brightens Present Situations

Awareness has the ability to let you see your current situation accurately. With all the distractions fighting for your attention every day, it’s easy to feel overloaded and even burned out. They can stop you from seeing life clearly. And the less clarity you have, the harder it is to successfully pursue your dreams, plans and goals.

Recognize your present situations, their benefits and consequences. The more awareness you have in the present, the better you’ll be in making decisions. Awareness helps you decide what you should and shouldn’t pursue. Your decision in these matters will be a deciding factor to your level of success.

Mark Cuban saw his present situation within his company as a good point to sell high. Without this present awareness, he might have missed the opportunity to sell high and build his empire off of his company being sold.

John Antioco missed his current situation because he was blinded by his current success. Blockbuster was very successful when Reed Hastings approached Antioco, but Antioco didn’t see the true colors of Blockbuster’s present success. Blockbuster was making most of their money on people’s late fees and Hastings and Netflix eliminated this pain from customers. While Blockbuster was successful on other people’s failures to return their movies on time, Netflix grew in success because they solved customers’ problems.

Do not be blind to your current situation. A true reality check will allow you to see if you are in a healthy situation or not.

Awareness Sheds Light Into The Future

People who can honestly identify past successes and failures and see their present situations accurately will have the advantage to see into the future. Things today are changing constantly and those who are able to identify the changing tides have the upper hand.

See Also: How To Maximize Your Potential While Embracing Your Weaknesses

A surfer, for example, will sit in the water to wait out on his desired wave. He must be aware of the movement of water and the timing of the wave before he jumps. That is awareness.

Mark Cuban didn’t miss his success wave. In fact, he caught it just in time.

Awareness Will Predict Your Future Success or Failure

Step back and exercise your ability to be aware of yourself, your relationships, social environment and context. The stronger your awareness of the past, present and future, the greater your chances of being successful.

Use awareness in business to learn lessons, measure conditions and plan for growth. These things can surely set you on the right track to achieving your goals.

 

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Gaining financial independence won’t happen overnight, nor will it happen only by knowing how to cut costs. But, those are great ways to start.

As many sports fans say, defense wins championships.

Playing great defense with your money is the best way to rack up small victories and quick wins in your quest to achieve financial security. It’s the first thing you should think of. Defense is where you learn what you truly need and hone your sense of discipline.

Some people might first think of trying to earn more money to keep more of it. That’s great–nothing wrong with making more!

I’m all for that, but defense comes first. Simply trying to bring in more money won’t make you rich if you don’t know how to use it.

If you can’t manage $500 well every month, you won’t manage $2,000 any better.

“The really good business manager doesn’t wake up in the morning and say ‘Today I am going to cut costs’ any more than he wakes up and decides to practice breathing.” -Warren Buffett

Think about what’s under your control. Choosing to play great defense is almost entirely up to you. It’s unlike getting a raise at your job, returns in the stock market or clients hiring you as a freelancer. These aren’t bad things, but they aren’t as much of a sure bet.

If you cut costs, you immediately keep that money. It’s a guaranteed win for you.

Think about how to cut costs and which areas you can do it. Here are a few quick suggestions from my own life.

The Gym

Do you use it? Is it worth your money?

For many gym members, it’s not worth the expense, especially if it’s more of an aspirational statement rather than part of an actual routine. I gave this up. I run almost every day, and it doesn’t cost me anything.

See Also: How To Train For A Marathon

Car

Drive the kind of car you need, not the newest or the biggest. Don’t get caught up in those TV ads with cars doing all sorts of rough-and-tumble things you would never actually do. What it does on a closed track with a professional driver is completely irrelevant to you. Don’t get taken in. You may not even need to own a car.

TV & Cable

Spending lots of time and money on TV is a good way to be less healthy and keep less of your money. The same is true of many entertainment choices. Try this new lullaby: “Netflix and chill / kill the cable bill.”

See Also: 5 Ways to Cut Down on Your TV Costs

Add 25%

Remember that everything you buy is bought with after-tax income, meaning that you should add 25% to account for your tax bracket. 25% is easy math, even if it’s not your bracket. Keeping this in mind can only help you cut spending.

Timing

Most things have some element of timing built into the price. Restaurants with happy hours or special deals, stores offering time-sensitive deals, vacation spots with off-season discounts…you get the idea. Use it to your advantage.

Lifestyle creep

Avoid it. Stay away from spending more on luxury goods, like high-end gadgets or designer clothing just because you can. That’s a good way to end up owing more than you own and spending more than you keep. It’s what you keep that will matter more.

Save more than 10%

No matter your income, you’ll likely thank yourself later in life for saving more now. Compound interest needs time to work in your favor, and you need to give it a push. It’s commonly recommended to save 10%, but I see this as insufficient in a world of longer lifetimes, potentially lengthier retirements and rising healthcare costs. Try to save more if you can.

Keep the network alive

This relates more to advancing in your career than it does saving money, but staying connected with people you’ve known in the past or work with now can only help you. Even if you don’t experience the benefits right now, continue building your relationships by helping those you can. Learning how to cut costs counts, but human capital pays dividends too.

The post Playing Great Defense With Money appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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Our higher self

You can call it intuition, inner knowing, the universe, higher beings or whatever works. Everything that exists contains this flow of energy. It’s always there. When you are in that flow, you know that you are safe. You know you can do anything. You know that everything will go well and everything will work out.

There are no mistakes when you’re in the flow. You can’t do anything wrong.

It’s kind of like being in that make-believe world we had as children where we could do anything we set our minds to and nothing could ever go awry.

That’s what being in the flow is like.

We are designed to live in the flow. We are designed to live our lives as powerful beings.

Unfortunately, our minds get in the way

Our minds live in the physical world. Our minds need PROOF. Our minds KNOW…

…that we’re individuals

…we’re not connected to everyone else

…we’re separate

…other people are dangerous

…mistakes are wrong and bad and we must avoid making them or other people will think we’re really stupid

…we measure success by comparing ourselves with others

We live in a world created by our mind.

The Subtlety of Our Intuition

Our minds are so loud that we often miss what our higher self is trying to tell us because our higher self is very subtle, very gentle. In fact, it’s the complete opposite of how the mind is!

Our higher self might give us a nudge to go in a different direction when we think that we absolutely know the way. Synchronicities and coincidences map out the path that our higher self is guiding us along.

The difference between the way the mind works and the way our higher self works is like trying to compare Las Vegas and Vienna. You can bet your bottom dollar that the path our higher self will take us on will be the quickest and most beneficial one for us in more ways than we can possibly imagine.

Our higher self gives little nudges: ‘take the next left turn’ or ‘call Sam’ whom you haven’t seen in ages. Before we know it, something completely unexpected happens. It’s like landing on a ladder square in snakes and ladders: we bypass three rows of squares and catapult forwards.

Can you remember how it feels when that happens in snakes and ladders? You’re way behind everyone else then you land on a ladder square and suddenly, you’re in the first place and way AHEAD of everyone else?

You feel amazing: light, happy, gleeful, joyous.

Anything and everything become possible.

That’s how life SHOULD feel. You SHOULD feel happy, joyful, excited, safe, loved ALL THE TIME.

You’re meant to live your life IN THAT FLOW of energy.

But to do that, you must quieten the mind down to the point where you can hear those intuitive nudges.

Which is easier said than done, to be honest, because the purpose of the mind is to protect you.

And really, all it wants to do is to keep us safe from harm. It works to be KIND to your mind, to not judge it and to understand where it’s coming from.

The more you resist what your mind is trying to do, the louder it’s going to become.

Give your mind a break: its job is to protect you.

Quieten The Mind To Hear Your Intuition

Having said that, how can we quieten our minds to the point at least where we can hear our intuition?

• Doing something physically strenuous will usually get your mind to calm down: e.g. running, swimming, boxing or an aerobics class.
• Doing yoga
• Meditating
• Journaling
• Visualising

Find a method that you can do DAILY to help calm your mind to the point where you can at least HEAR the nudges from your intuition.

Get into the habit of listening out for those nudges. Look for synchronicities, the coincidences, the little hints and suggestions…

And then, FOLLOW them! Now you can hear them, FOLLOW THEM! Don’t ignore them!

When you get one of those nudges, it’s like landing on the ladder square: take advantage of it!

If you were playing snakes and ladders and you couldn’t see where the ladder was heading, you STILL wouldn’t hesitate to take the ladder square, would you?

You wouldn’t take another turn just in case you ended up somewhere you didn’t want to?

You wouldn’t take another roll of the dice just because you couldn’t see what was at the end of the ladder…

Because you’d KNOW that the ladder was heading UPWARDS and by taking it, you’re going to end up that much closer to the end square.

Your higher self wants you to win

It wants you to have everything you’ve ever dreamed of.

You just need to listen to it when it’s talking to you.

Try thanking your mind kindly for its input, give it a big hug, quieten it down and listen out for those nudges from your higher self and follow where they’re leading.

You will end up somewhere completely unexpected and more amazing than where you planned to be!

And I’d love to hear where that is!

 

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