Self-awareness means living freely and being connected to the present. It means discovering our true selves and being conscious of the reasons behind our actions. It is a step towards evolution and an open gate to mindfulness. While many believe that mindfulness only means feeling mentally fulfilled, there is more to that definition.

Mindfulness means connecting our bodies to our souls and finding peacefulness. It is letting go of the material and relying on the spiritual. There are many ways in which we can do that. Some prefer to meditate, others rely on religion while many choose yoga and physical activity. I personally believe one of the best tools for reaching a mindful mindset is writing. Take a look at the following mini-guide on how to achieve mindfulness by writing.

Journaling

While it is true that digital devices make our lives easier, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they make it better. Typing is so common nowadays yet we rarely understand that it does not replace a paper and a pen.

“I’ve been treating people for a long time,” shares psychologist Mario Jordan, “and one of the most common techniques we use to share emotions is writing. But I don’t allow my clients to use computers. I’ve had in the past, but it did not work. For some reason, handwriting makes it easier for them to express their feelings. It feels closer to their hearts and souls.”

Getting started on a mindfulness journal is the hardest part. You will constantly find excuses. You’ll lie to yourself and you’ll procrastinate. If you wait for the “perfect moment”, you are never going to do it because there is no such thing as perfect. Now is the perfect time.

Remember, “now” can slip through your fingers. All of a sudden, you’ll find yourself living the next “now”. So, do not search for the best moment. Take every opportunity you have to get a step closer to your goal. Start mindfulness journaling as soon as you can. Why not even now?

See Also: How To Overcome Negative Emotions Using 5 Writing Techniques

Taking Breaks

Having the right mindset and owning a pen is enough to get the process started, but it is not enough to succeed at it. I sometimes sit at my desk having millions of thoughts wandering in my head. When I want to write them down, they seem to disappear. So, I leave the page blank and I go out for a walk.

While walking, I try to keep an empty mind. As much as I would like to think about work, family or friends, I choose not to. I focus on myself and I take deep breaths to keep the pressure down. When I go back to my desk, gates start to open and I can concentrate better on my writing. Sometimes we need breaks and we have to know when to take them without judging ourselves for it.

Brainstorming

Including mindfulness journaling into your daily life has many benefits. One of them is that you get to brainstorm ideas!

You get to think about your days and evaluate whether you took the right actions or not. You get to expose your views on certain people (even frustration and anger) without taking it out on them or gossiping about them. As a result, you become wiser and more aware of your surroundings.

There are so many things you can write about. All you have to do is brainstorm ideas and write them down. Isn’t that cool?

To Share or Not to Share

Many times you will find yourself amazed at your writing. When you are being honest about what you feel, your thoughts flow and your mind blows (in a very positive way). Truth exposes you as you really are – no social masks, no anxiety, and no fears.

When you have nothing to lose, exposing yourself seems normal. And when we write for ourselves, we have nothing to lose and that is what makes writing valuable.

Sharing our thoughts on our entire social network might be a good or a bad idea, depending on the situation. If you are a shameless person, do it. Honesty is the key to success, so your contacts will appreciate you even more for being so open. If you are reticent about other people knowing the real you, don’t share– but never ever stop writing!

See Also: Writing Therapy: How It Can Make Your Life Easier

Having Success

If you decided to share your work and you succeeded, expand your horizons! Share your posts with even more people and earn money by staying popular. Remember that fame comes with a price though and that’s the lack of privacy and a lot of invested time.

If you are willing to give up on those, you are good to go. You might even want to consider publishing different articles or writing a book. Wouldn’t that be awesome?

Wrapping Up

Writing is a helpful tool to use in different circumstances.

Feeling down and wanting to free yourself from stress? Write. Want to share your story with friends and online buddies? Write.

Writing does not only make us self-aware, but it increases our confidence and energy.

It makes us more honest and it brings us closer to mindfulness. Writing helps us understand how our minds work and how much we complicate our lives by not letting go of the negative thoughts. So, do not give up on meditating, religion or yoga if you are enjoying it, but seriously consider writing. You have no idea how much good it can actually do to you!

The post 5 Ways Writing Can Lead You to Mindfulness appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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What are the campgrounds near me? What should I bring to a camping trip? Are there camping hacks I don’t know about?

If you’re asking yourself or the all-knowing Google these questions, then you’re most likely new to camping. Camping is fun but it can take a lot of planning, patience, and work, particularly if your family is big. Without the right strategy, it can easily turn out as one of your worst outdoor experience. Fortunately, there are a lot of ways to make camping more fun and less stressful.

Below, we’re sharing with you 10 of the most useful camping tips you can use to make your life in the campsite a little easier.

Use sage to keep bugs away

Admit it.

Although camping is a great way to explore nature, it’s not always the best idea, particularly when bugs start bugging your campsite.

So, to keep those annoying insects from ruining a good campout, you can toss a bundle of sage into your campfire every now and then.

Now, you’re probably wondering: What if I’m not allowed to create a fire in your campsite?

There are other fragrant plants you can use to keep bugs away. Basil, lemon balm, and citronella can repel mosquitoes once crushed and rubbed onto the skin.

Make a Swedish torch

Now, if you don’t want to create a huge campfire, you can just create your own Swedish torch. It makes an excellent and efficient campfire for cooking.

You just need a log and make three crisscrossing cuts that are almost to its core. Pack some fire-starters inside it and once it’s lit, you can practically forget about it. The cut you created through the log will allow air to naturally ventilate your fire, allowing the log to burn from the inside out.

And you know what else?

A Swedish torch can also double as a cooking surface. You can use it to hold cast iron pans.

Do a makeshift lantern

Camping lanterns are great in keeping your camping area well lit. But, once you place them inside your tent, it’s a whole different story. Most of them are way too bright, which can be blinding to look at.

To diffuse the light and make it softer, you simply strap the light to a gallon of water. Make sure to point the light towards the water to make this hack work.

Make DIY fire-starters

When you’re camping, it only makes sense to bring at least two types of fire starters to the trip. You wouldn’t want to spend the night at the campsite without a fire to keep you warm or cook your food, right?

One of the easiest DIY firestarters you can make involves just a few pieces of cotton pads. Dip them in wax and allow them to dry on a piece of wax paper. You can tear or cut them before lighting.

Another great way to create your own firestarter is to gather a few pieces of old cardboard. Cut them into 3×3 pieces, dip them in wax and then let them dry. They are easy to stack, so you won’t have any issues packing them inside your bag.

Pack your own emergency kit

Accidents can happen anytime, so make sure you are prepared. Instead of packing a big kit, prepare a smaller one which you can take with you anywhere you go. Make sure it can fit a small compass, pain reliever, whistle, adhesive bandages and flint and steel.

You should also pack a few antibiotic ointments in your kit. You can cut up a straw and fill its pieces with the ointments. Seal their ends with a heat sealer or use a lighter to melt and close the ends.

Put your eggs in a mason jar

The idea might sound bizarre but it’s actually one of the most brilliant camping tips, particularly if scrambled eggs are your favorite breakfast.

Before leaving for the trip, crack your eggs into a mason jar and keep it in your cooler until it’s time to cook the eggs. Just remember to shake the jar vigorously before you pour its content into your pan. Enjoy a no-fuss scrambled eggs in the morning with less work and less mess.

See Also: Five Clever Tips for Stress-Free Family Camping

Store your spices in Tic-Tac boxes

Now, if you worry about your scrambled eggs tasting a bit off, you can keep a few spices in tic-tac containers. These boxes are just the right size to hold enough spices to make your food taste like it just came out of your own kitchen. Plus, they also have snap-tight lids which keep the spices from getting all over your camping tools.

Protect your toilet paper with an old coffee can

If your toilet paper gets soggy, it’ll be practically useless and having a roll of toilet paper you can’t use is a lot worse than not having one at all.

Agree?

So, instead of relying on a paper bag to keep your toilet paper fresh and dry, take an old coffee can and use it to hold your toilet paper. It’s the perfect size and it comes with a lid for extra protection.

Hang up pots and pans using a belt

Since there’s not much space on your table or in your tent to keep all of your camping tools, you have to be a bit more innovative. Get a belt and wrap it snugly around a tree. Attach a couple of S hooks and use them to store some of your essential kitchen tools.

Make individual coffee bags

Listen:

If you are one of those people who can’t function well without a cup of coffee, this is one of the most helpful camping tips you can’t really miss.

With just a coffee filter, dental floss, and ground coffee, you’ll be able to get your daily fix of caffeine even if you’re in the middle of camping.

How?

First, you need to get a coffee filter and fill it with about 2 ounces of ground coffee. Hold the bottom of the coffee filter (where the coffee is) and twist its top part to create a pouch.

Secure it with a few inches of dental floss.

Each time you need to drink coffee, you simply need to place your coffee bag in a mug and add in water. It’s actually similar to how you prepare your tea.

See Also: Camping Outdoors: A Perfect Health Booster

We hope the above camping hacks will prove useful to you on your next trip. To find out the best place for your next adventure, check out an online campground finder like this one.

 

The post 10 Brilliant Camping Tips To Make Camping Easier appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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Sitting at a desk all day can wreak havoc on your back health. It can leave your spine in pain and feel stiff and sore. It can also cause tightness in your lower back and hips.

Whether you’re experiencing a little tension or more serious back pain, here are a few ways to lessen work-related back pain.

Sit Correctly At Your Desk

Sitting jobs are bad for your back. Unfortunately, most of today’s jobs include long hours of sitting at a desk. If you want to minimize its impact on your back health, you have to improve your position while working.

A desk and a chair situated at the right height could make all the difference. Your feet should touch the floor or a footrest and you should avoid crossing your legs. Your upper and lower arms should be at a right angle and you should have a space below your keyboard where you can rest your wrists. You should be able to look straight ahead to see your computer screen.

Consider Alternative Office Furniture

The right desk furniture can help with back problems, too. You can consult with a specialist to find the most ergonomic pieces of furniture that can help you with your back pain.

Your chair should support your lower back and be adjustable. If this doesn’t solve your back problems, you can consider getting a standing desk or a kneeler chair to help you get into the perfect posture. It’s something many workers do so don’t be afraid to experiment.

Take Regular Breaks

When we sit at a desk for a long time, our posture can get worse and worse. That’s why you need to take regular breaks. You can get up to make a cup of coffee, take a stroll around the block or just walk around your room. Just do whatever you need to realign your posture.

Maintain a Good Posture

Whether at your desk, standing or walking, maintaining a good posture should always be a priority. The problem, however, is that it’s really easy to forget how to sit properly when you’re sucked into your computer screen and all the tasks you have to finish.

As a tip, your shoulders should be down and neither your bottom nor your stomach should be sticking out. Your posture should encourage all of your muscles to work properly together to prevent pain or tension in your back.

Have a Regular Back Massage

A good masseuse can work on all of the tight knots you have in your back. He or she can release the tension caused by poor posture.

While a massage won’t prevent your back tension from reoccurring, it can relieve pain temporarily.

Attend a Pilates Class

Pilates is a low-impact activity designed to strengthen your muscles and release tension. Through a combination of poses and under the guidance of an experienced teacher, you can strengthen your core. This is the band of muscles around your abdomen and back that help you maintain a good and healthy posture. These muscles have an effect on your overall body strength and ability to sit and stand.

See Also: Top 10 Yoga-Before-Bed Poses to Reduce your Back Pain

See a Physiotherapist

If you have long-standing issues with your back, it’s a good idea to see a trained physiotherapist. He can advise you on exactly where you have areas of tension. He can also provide you with some exercises to target those areas. Most of those exercises are easy to repeat at home or even in the office. You can use them to relieve pain and strengthen your muscles.

No one should have to put up with an ongoing back tension or pain. Unfortunately, those of us with sitting jobs are usually plagued by such complaints. If you want to get rid of your work-related back problems, you need to make an effort to improve your desk setup, work on your posture and seek help in relieving some of your back tension.

See Also: 10 Stretches To Do Right Now For Back Pain Relief

The post How to Take Care of Your Back When You Have a Sitting Job appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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Retirement.

The idea of retiring and running out of money can be scary, particularly for someone who’s not prepared. But you know what’s scarier?

It’s the fact that there’s no hard formula to help you know how much money you need to prepare for retirement. You can start saving as early as your 30s or your 40s yet you still can’t be sure.

However, saving up is still better than having no savings at all, right?

This is where a life insurance fits in.

A lot of people think that life insurances are only important in protecting the family in the loss of the breadwinner. In reality, life insurance can offer more as long as you’re able to pick the right type and utilize it in your retirement income plan.

It can protect your income, give peace of mind to your family and help you manage your taxes. It can also help increase your family’s chances of achieving dreams and long-term goals.

Now, you’re probably wondering: How do I utilize life insurance for my retirement planning?

Below are some tips to help you out.

Go for term insurance

Term life insurance is generally the least expensive type. And that isn’t just because of its required out-of-pocket expenses but also the coverage you can get for what you pay for.

It doesn’t involve any investment and is a mere protection in the case of untimely death. It’s set for a certain amount of time, ranging from 10 to 30 years.

It’s ideal in two way:

First is that it can provide your family with financial protection should you pass away before you saved enough money to secure their future. Another reason is that it gives you more space to create financial security.

Since its cost isn’t that high, you’ll have more extra money to build your emergency fund or make an investment.

Now, here’s the thing.

Although term insurance isn’t as expensive as other insurances, getting one may still be tricky. You need to have an idea on how long a term you need to buy. You should also consider how long it will take you to financially secure your family as well as your age. Starting past the age of 65 won’t be the best idea.

Start building an emergency fund

An emergency fund refers to the amount of money you stash away just in case life throws a financial surprise at your way. It should be enough to cover at least 3 to 6 months’ worth of expenses. If you have an irregular income or work, you may need to save more.

Now, why build an emergency fund?

It’s a good way to make sure you don’t end up with debts in case your family’s expenses increase or your income gets reduced. It can also help you avoid paying for higher interests, like with your credit cards, in the event that you don’t have work to pay for them.

You see, when you’re in a financial emergency, you’ll be forced to stop your retirement contributions. And if you accumulated a lot of debts, it can take a long time before you can get back on track.

As to how you can start building your emergency fund, start with something reasonable. Setting 3 to 6 months’ worth of expenses can be a tough goal to meet and if you’re not able to achieve that, it can greatly discourage you. So, instead of aiming for the biggest goal right off the bat, break it into smaller goals that you can reach in just a few months. It can be as small as $25 or $40 a week as long as you’re regularly saving up.

See Also: 5 Financial Emergencies Everyone Must Be Prepared For

Keep track of your retirement savings

You wouldn’t want to spend the rest of your years prior to retirement working extra hard to catch up on your savings, right?

So, to avoid that, take a step back and a good look at where you currently stand. Review your investing strategy every now and then. There are also a lot of online tools you can use to evaluate your shot at having a comfortable life after retirement. Utilize those tools to ensure that you’re on the right track or if you need to make adjustments in your strategy.

See Also: Top 4 Tips for Getting Your Finances Ready for Retirement

Get a long-term disability insurance

Don’t wait for a serious injury or disability to stop you from working before you consider getting one. Ideally, you should get this insurance at the same time you are building your emergency fund.

Although Social Security offers disability benefits, the thing is it’s really hard to qualify for those benefits. In addition to that, the benefits you can get from it may not be enough to support your household’s expenses.

Remember, you won’t be able to save for your retirement if you don’t have any form of income.

Is Utilizing Life Insurance for Retirement Planning Effective?

In theory, this strategy sounds like the best idea. However, before you actually commit to any program or policy, it’s important that you weigh your options carefully. Take note that committing to a program is a lot easier than finding a way out. There are policies that can bind you for up to 15 long years.

If that idea doesn’t appeal to you, there are other ways you can fund your retirement savings. You can open and fund a Roth or traditional IRA. You can also max out your 401(k) first or your health savings accounts before you consider using a life insurance as a form of investment.

In case you are really decided to take this route, there’s nothing wrong with that, too. Just make sure that you work with a specialist who can help design a policy that can meet your needs, increase the amount you have in your pocket, and minimize the fees you have to pay.

The Bottom Line

Saving up for retirement is a necessity. It’s a good way to make sure you or your family can have a comfortable life once you can no longer work.

Utilizing life insurance as a way to prepare for retirement is a good option but take note that this strategy won’t work for all people. Remember, you are the only one who can decide on what and will not work for you.

 

The post How To Use Life Insurance For Your Retirement Strategy appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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Have you ever wondered why most successful people speak of their achievements and avoid talking about their unsuccessful attempts? This is quite logical since we all aim to achieve more and love to brag about our success.

However, this doesn’t mean that we won’t make mistakes along the way or that successful people did everything right from the beginning. As a matter of fact, most successful people put emphasis on why learning from mistakes is important.

Every unsuccessful attempt can help you gain indispensable experience and mistakes can even be more valuable than achievements.

To help you understand that idea better, here are some of the top reasons why mistakes are valuable:

Gives Us Experience

Do you remember your first bad experience with an employer? Do you remember your first bad grade for a paper or an embarrassing moment when a teacher caught you cheating during an exam?

These are common struggles but they are actually a great way to build good future habits.

Once you have the experience in the workplace, you will no longer make the mistakes you did before. And when a teacher already caught you in the act, you will know better than to cheat in the future. As we make mistakes, we learn from them.

Sometimes, it doesn’t really matter how many times we hear an advice from our friends and family; we simply let things go by. But, when we actually experience and make the mistake, it sticks to our mind and provides us with the lesson of not repeating it.

Encourages Different Thinking

As we make mistakes, we eliminate certain ways of reaching our goal. When an approach is proven wrong, people immediately start looking for different ways to resolve a situation.

Basically, mistakes encourage finding a new solution. If your initial idea did not work, you are more likely to take a different stand and think of ideas you wouldn’t have thought if that didn’t happen.

Builds Character

This is quite the tricky benefit since people can go either way when it comes to building characters. Very often, too many mistakes make people depressed. Too many failures convince them to just give up on their dreams.

However, once you start learning from mistakes, you’ll gain confidence from them. They will help you build a stronger character and help you become a more passionate, successful person.

Encourages Improvement

‘Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me’.

We’ve all heard this proverb and it most certainly applies to this case.

When a person fails once, it is quite normal and often even expected. After all, it is rare for someone to achieve a big goal in just one attempt. However, if you take the same steps and use the same strategies despite the failure you experienced, you shouldn’t expect to see a different result.

When you fail in something, you should look for a better way to achieve your goals. It should encourage you to think outside of the box and look for a solution that can take you to a different path.

See Also: 8 Good Reasons Why Change Is Hard

Reveals Weaknesses

Are you the type of person who skips all the parts you cannot do and focuses only on those you are good at? While this can be a good strategy when you have people to finish other tasks, it is actually the worst thing you can do if you need to achieve a goal on your own.

Procrastinating is one of the most common mistakes people make. We keep postponing our weaknesses and focus on the things that come easily to us.

See Also: 4 Habits That Will Improve Your Focus And Destroy Procrastination

Look at it this way:

Only a few people make it right the first time. Most of us struggle with getting it right during the first attempt. We have to practice, fail and rise up again. If you want to be successful, you have to start learning from your mistakes.

The post 5 Reasons Why You Need To Start Learning From Mistakes appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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To know your customers is crucial if you want to provide excellent customer service to make sure your customers come back. Back in the days, when brick and mortar was king, knowing your customers was easy. You would see them every day and get to know them on a personal level.

However, in today’s digital age, how do you get to know your customer on a more personal level? How do e-commerce sites get to know someone who is pressing a button a thousand miles away?

The answer is data.

How Does Data Enhance Customer Service?

Even though customers don’t go to brick and mortar stores as much as they did ten years ago, they still expect the retailers they are doing business with to get to know them on a personal level. But, how do you do that in a digital age?

Amazon is a category leader on this front. Around 35% of their sales come from suggestions they collect from past customer activity.

Online retailers have all the data they need to extrapolate customer preferences, including information about previous customer service actions and past orders. Using this information to give customers what they want when placing an order is key to keeping them to come back.

See Also: How Can Retailers Survive The Millennial Apocalypse?

How Important Is Customer Loyalty?

Most online retailers don’t turn a profit on a customer until they have shopped there several times already. The more frequent a customer shops at an online retail outlet, the larger their order will get. Return customers are important for profitability but they provide another key element for the long-term success of a brand.

Satisfied return customers often refer more customers, increasing the number of your loyal buyers. And the longer a customer is loyal to you, the more customers they will refer to your business.

Those customers will not just keep coming back but they can also spend more each time they go visit your shop.

Having The Data Is Not Enough

Empowering your customer service reps to act on the data they have is crucial to ensuring customer loyalty. Zappos is a shining example of customer service reps who are empowered to make things better for their customers, even during seriously difficult circumstances.

On a regular basis, you can see stories about customer service reps sending flowers to customers for various reasons- from not being able to find comfortable shoes to experiencing a death in the family. It’s no wonder that 75% of Zappos customers are repeat customers. Having the data about customers and being able to make decisions based upon that data is what sets companies like Zappos apart from everyone else.

What Causes Customers To Leave?

Of course, having data won’t be enough to stop customers from leaving. You can’t build your business solely around sending customers flowers or suggesting new things for them to buy based on their buying patterns. You have to engage in good business practices, too.

Among the most common things that make customers leave include:

• 57% will not buy if there are negative reviews that aren’t being addressed
• 53% will not buy if there is a data breach or leak
• 42% will not buy if there is no hope of getting in contact with a live customer service rep
• 38% will not buy if you don’t offer sales and promotions in a timely manner

Customer Loyalty Is The New Brand Loyalty

Customers used to be loyal to brands simply because they were the best ones available. Now, brand loyalty has shifted to be more about customer loyalty. If you aren’t doing everything you can to keep your customers happy, your business might not be around that long.

Knowing your customers is key to helping them make purchasing decisions they will be happy about. Since you already have all the data, you just have to learn to manage it properly to make the best use of it. Learn more about how master data management can help you keep your customers happy from this infographic!

See Also: The New Brand Loyalty

 

The post Know Your Customers In The Digital Age appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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There are millions of reasons to start a blog, a landing page or a website. Whatever your goal is, you’ll need the right strategy to stay ahead of the game. That’s exactly why I recommend that you check out best books for starting an online business. These books won’t just answer your question but they can also immensely improve your knowledge.

Are you ready to feel inspired and encouraged? Let’s press on!

eBooks for Blogging

Trying to find eBooks that can guide you in the right direction can be overwhelming. No worries, though. Today, I’m listing down my compilation of the best eBooks about blogging, creativity, and inspiration you’ll need in running your own blog.

• Content Marketing 101: The Must-Know Essentials

Why do some bloggers get the lion’s share of attention while others end up writing posts that virtually nobody will ever read? This eBook is aimed at both the novice and experienced blogger who are suffering from low traffic on their blogging websites.

If you’re eager to present work that creates a reputation and builds businesses, then this eBook is just the thing for you. With this, learn the three essential principles of content marketing: how to produce the right content, how to find feedback and analyze and measure the content performance.

• A Simple Guide to Blogging for Business

If you are convinced that blogging can catapult your business to greater heights, then this free eBook is a perfect choice for you. Whether or not you already know, companies that blog on a regular basis gain 55% more traffic to their websites.

Can your blog do the same?

This simple guide can help you to learn why blogging is important to your business, how to find and create great content and how to promote your blog. Remember, every time you blog about your company or brand, you put it in a positive light and convince people that your offerings are better.

• Who’s There?

If you’re looking for a silver bullet, then I may have to disappoint you. The free eBook I suggest here will not help you write compelling posts. Instead, it will help your blogging website work better.

This eBook aims to showcase how to create a spectacular impact as a blogger. This will be a great surprise for curious people who underestimate blogging or are not doing it well. With the simple idea of helping people get a jumpstart into online marketing, this freebie can dip your toes deeper into the water.

You’ll like the way this book explains things. It’s a great choice for both bloggers and non-bloggers. Seriously, you should read it.

• How to Make Money Blogging?

With this comprehensive free eBook, even a newbie can learn how to blog. It includes step-by-step instructions and links to point you in the right direction.

The best part of this eBook is that it’s full of information necessary for anyone starting out. It covers so many topics, from knowing the importance of a customizable WordPress theme, how to make money from your blog, SEO tips, a set of helpful tools to increase your earnings and much more. If you want to launch like a rocket, get started with this book.

• How to Start a Blog? The Beginner’s Guide to Successful Blogging

Here is the perfect beginner’s guide to help you learn how to start a blog. Step-by-step, this will teach you all the necessary information on how to avoid pitfalls and missteps that hinder some novices. It will also help you decide on which platform to choose and install, how to grow your audience, find your niche and more.

• Business Blogging 101: How to Promote Your Business

Want to take your business to the next level?

With this interesting free eBook, it’s simpler than you think. It’s not a secret that starting a business is a challenge. The good news is this eBook can guide you and help you get your business blog up and running.

Simply put, I think this eBook is worth your attention. Learn the correct ways to promote and spread your blog on the web, how to generate engaging topics, how to increase website traffic and bring new leads- this can teach you that and more!

• MeetEdgar’s Secret Blogging Formula

Looking for help? Don’t fret.

Here’s a wonderful opportunity to learn everything you need to create a killer blog post. Get ready to enjoy this free eBook and be inspired to write amazing posts, discover your voice and drive traffic. With this, you’ll get a collection of high-quality free photos, social media guides, and useful social media promotion tools that can generate conversions.

Ready to explore the secret side of successful blogging? Let’s do this.

eBooks for SEO Improvement

If you’re interested in developing and converting an audience, boosting SEO and expecting sales to come flooding you, then this is for you. By reading these wonderful freebies, you’ll surely win.

• Mobile SEO Tips

How many times a day do you check your phone? Did you know that an average person does it about 110 times a DAY or nine times an hour?

If you’re a serious blogger, you want to be sure you’re getting the most traffic possible. Now, how can you accomplish that?

One sure way is to make your website responsive. With this engaging eBook, you’ll learn how to make your page rock on mobile devices of any kind. You’re going to love it.

• SEO Best Practices for a WordPress Blog Post

Waiting for readers to come to you? That’s not the way to go. The longer you wait, the more competitive your niche gets.

Grab this free eBook to figure out where your readers are, go there and drag them back to your site. Magic happens when you choose the right path. Explore the importance of an SEO-optimized WordPress website that can make your visitors’ lives easier and more enjoyable. It will surely make you win over the world.

• Everything You Need to Know About Long Tail Keywords

Do you ever wonder if there are any helpful strategies to increase the specificity of keywords? Looking for advice on how to arrange long tail keywords across your unique content?

Let’s just say that this free eBook has all the answers to that question. Get this eBook now unless you have a very good reason not to.

eBooks That Will Improve Your Writing Skills

The best way to improve your business or personal writing skills is to read more, write more and study your idols. Let’s look at these free eBooks below.

• Storytelling That Doesn’t Suck

Written by Catherine Crayon of TemplateMonster, this handy free eBook illustrates the main rules for business storytelling that work.

You can turn your passion into a thriving business, but you need to learn how to tell a story to market yourself first. Learn how to tell your unique story to tease your readers and flirt with them. Sounds intriguing? Try it.

• How to Make an eBook That Rocks?

Raise your hand if you want to make an eBook to sell on your blog or website.

If you do, then this powerful eBook will be useful for you. Written in a straightforward manner, this is a truly step-by-step guide full of brainstorming ideas, defining concepts and designing layout ideas.

• Author2.0 Blueprint

If you’re passionate about writing, this free eBook will help improve your talent and make you unstoppable. It’s not only about encouraging you to start writing, but also about giving you smart tips on how to write different types of content.

It will teach you how to draft fiction and non-fiction books, how to market your work and even how to make a living with your unique writing.

• Writing with Style: Three Concepts and Two Stages

Grab this freebie and learn the three most important concepts every aspiring writer needs to know. Full of real-life examples, this eBook is a great option for every serious writer/blogger who is eager to improve his writing skills. It will help you become a key player on the web.

• EBook: 365 Writing Prompts

Waiting for inspiration? Need a little push?

Well, you can’t wait for inspiration to come. You have to go after it.

Get this interesting eBook written by The Daily Post team to have an entire year of writing inspirations at your fingertips. Written in an easy-to-read manner, it offers a whole host of fantastic ideas on how to get started with your writing projects. Perfect for honing your writing craft, it will inspire you to get started.

• 10 Steps to Becoming a Writer

Do you want to become a writer? There’s nothing stopping you from writing, so just write!

This free eBook covers smart ideas on how to become a writer and it will surely keep you busy.

• How to Turn Site Visitors into Leads? 3 Actionable Strategies

You may think that you already know everything about optimizing your website. However, with this free eBook, you will learn how to create a personalized brand that will last and to make more than just money. Find the best way on how to create landing pages that convert, how to set up a webinar, attract natural traffic and achieve your goals. Remember, a little mindset change and this book can make all the difference.

• Write Good or Die

Don’t miss out on a huge opportunity to learn survival tips from best-selling authors like Kevin J. Anderson, Heather Graham, Gayle Lynds, and more. Don’t leave money on the table with your blog. Explore the power of storytelling. Learn how to develop your writing skills, promote your work and use your imagination. As long as you recognize exactly what you are telling, you’re ready to get the attention you deserve.

eBooks for Social Media Marketing

• 20 Instagram Post Ideas to Overcome Creative Blocks

Do you want to make your Instagram environment awesome and engaging for your followers? Then you need to read this free eBook to grab some of the coolest Instagram post ideas. Get it, open it and learn from it.

• Social Media Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Sometimes we have an idea but don’t exactly know how to express it.

If this is your case, you will definitely find this free eBook useful and beneficial to your business. It will help you understand the world of social media marketing. It covers all possible bumps in the road and potholes an average business owner faces.

It’s a great choice for everyone who wants to learn the difference between personal and business profiles, how to react correctly to comments, attract more natural traffic and more.

• How to Build an Audience on Social Media?

Not sure where to start building your unique brand or how to find your target audience? Is your website getting as many visitors as you’d like? I’ll tell you the secret:

This amazing freebie can be a source of inspiration for you. With the best practices assembled in this free eBook, you’ll be able to easily attract readers and build a loyal audience.

• 21 Easy Tips to Create a Powerful Presentation For Your Business

To create a powerful business presentation, you need to use a strong visual language. It will represent any information and reduce the time it takes to convey your message. Get more information on how to build high-impact content that will captivate and inspire your audience.

• A Beginner’s Guide to Creating Visual Content

How can you win your prospect’s attention? With tons of information at our fingertips, how can you create the web content that is both useful and aesthetically appealing? I’ll tell you.

This wonderful free eBook will help you learn how to create eye-grabbing things, like high-quality photos, images, charts, infographics and other visual representations for your consumers.

• How to Create Infographics for Your Marketing?

Imagery is the key to draw in your visitors and tell them the story of your mission. But, how do you create eye-grabbing images worth thousands of words? This free eBook covers the basics of creating and using beautiful infographics in your marketing.

• A Beginner’s Guide to Creating Shareable Infographics

With this great eBook, you will be able to create effective and impressive infographics in a way that appeals to customers. The sooner you start reading it, the better.

Starting a blog or making a career online is not that easy. But, with the help of these best books for starting an online business, you will surely be one step closer to achieving your goals.

The post 25 Best Books For Starting An Online Business appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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Do you feel overwhelmed every time you look at your Gmail inbox? Well, you’re not alone. A lot of people actually struggle with this and they spend a lot of time searching for tips on how to organize Gmail inboxes.

If you are doing the same thing, stop and check out these easy and fast strategies on how to keep your email more organized.

Archive Emails You’ve Seen But Don’t Want to Delete

One significant thing that’s probably making your Gmail inbox seem a little scary is that you aren’t using the Archive feature. It’s ideal once you’ve read an email and want to save it for reference.

Archiving a message removes it from your inbox but makes it searchable in Gmail. It’s a great method of stopping your inbox from getting out of control and losing an email you don’t want to get rid of.

With your inbox open, click on a message to highlight it. Then, look for the icon that looks like a file drawer with a downward arrow. That’s the Archive button. Simply click it and you’re done.

Get Organized With Labels

Gmail also has a cool labeling feature that groups all current emails into categories that appear on the left of your screen.

Open a message in Gmail and notice the button on the top with an icon that looks like a tag. Click it to add a label to your message or create a new one.

You can use broad categories like Work or School or use very specific ones like Receipts For Online Orders or Emails From My Sister.

Create Rules for Email Management

Consider those emails your sister sent you. You can create a Gmail rule or filter that automatically sends her messages to that label so that you can read them all at once.

First, type her email address or name into the search box at the top of the Gmail interface. Then, click the downward triangle at the right corner of the box. It brings up other search parameters to try.

See the Create a Filter With This Search option in the right bottom corner. Click it to bring up a dialog box that offers various filter-related preferences. The Apply The Label option near the middle of the options relates to what you’ve just learned.

Notice how the first option (Skip The Inbox) relates to archiving. It’s useful if you want to keep emails but never see them.

To apply a filter to a certain message in your inbox, click the checkbox to its left. Then, choose the More option along the top. Click Filter Messages Like These and enter your specifications.

Use Aliases to Manage Future Junk Mail

Ever sign up for something online and feel sure you’ll get a slew of unwanted emails later? Take control by using Gmail aliases. They also work for blocking emails you receive after registering at a site and getting your details sold to a third party.

Gmail ignores emails with plus signs and periods in them. In other words, if your real email is JohnDoe231@gmail.com, you’ll still get an email addressed to JohnDoe+231@gmail.com.

That’s why it’s a good idea to use an alias and then set up a filter to automatically delete any messages addressed to that email. To keep track of what you’re doing, register at a site and provide an email alias with the [Gmail user name] + [Name of website] structure.

Make sure to keep the plus sign between the two portions. Then, immediately make a filter that deletes emails associated with that address.

Receive All Subscription Emails in a Daily Bundle

If emails you subscribe to overrun your inbox, there’s an app for that. It’s called Unroll.me. The free service compiles all subscription emails into one message, allowing you to read them at your convenience. Even better, you can also unsubscribe from the lists with one click, taking a step further in the quest to make your inbox more manageable.

A message from the app is called a Rollup. It groups subscription-related messages by category for easier perusal. Also, you can look more closely at individual emails by going to a dedicated, secure Unroll.me folder in your inbox.

As you can see from these efficient tips, knowing how to organize Gmail inboxes is within your reach. And yes, you really can make progress in only 20 minutes.

The post How To Organize Your Gmail In 20 Minutes (And Keep It That Way) appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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Who doesn’t like to win in an online casino game with a huge winning potential?

Everyone wants to do good with online slot games and earn the maximum while dreaming about what to spend their winnings on. Online slots are full of fun and excitement, even for those who are not interested in winning them. They’re one of the best pastimes and once you get on a winning streak, there’s no way you won’t develop a liking for them.

Let’s look at some of the simplest yet effective tips that can help you win big at top online casinos like EuroGrand Casino.

Understand the odds

It’s important to understand slots odds before strategizing to win. For instance, a 20-symbol 5-reel slot game has 1/3.2 million winning chance whereas a 20-symbol 3-reel slot game has 1/8,000 winning possibilities.

This is because a 5-reel slot game has comparatively more winning combinations than the 3-reel version. Hence, there’s a considerable difference in terms of odds in these types of online slot games.

Play only at reliable casinos

Though you may find various online casinos to play at, it’s important to sign up with a licensed one only. Look out for a casino that offers high-quality games. Make sure that you like its atmosphere and enjoy playing on its platform.

A good online casino should offer a wide range of slot games, should be fully licensed and should process withdrawals quickly. Furthermore, it should also offer other prominent online casino games, like poker, blackjack, roulette, craps, bingo and so on.

Money Management

It is very important to manage your money well while playing these online games. At times, people get so confident that they bet everything on a single spin; there’s no bigger folly than this. Please note that there is no guaranteed outcome in online slots or any other online casino games.

The game’s outcome can change anytime and cause you losses. That’s why you should always be prepared for the unexpected. Be cautious while placing your bets. Winning from a spin is just a possibility and there’s no certainty in it. There are various ways you can place your bets and use your money to play these games.

Before making any deposits, it’s important to know which would be the best currency to play online games.

See Also: Top 5 Strategies To Maximize Your Online Casino Profits

Have Fun

 

You should play online slot games not just to win but to have some fun! Hence, it’s important to never take any losses to heart and stay relaxed while playing casino games. Although it’s important to pay extra attention while playing jackpots or tournaments where you’re expected to play quickly, you should never let it get to you.

Furthermore, never take your wins too seriously. These games are for your entertainment and enjoyment alone. The moment you start playing them for a livelihood, they lose their charm and lead to an unhealthy gambling behavior.

Conclusion

A lot of people play online slot games regularly. If you are one of these people, knowing and implementing the above-detailed tips can be immensely helpful in gaining an upper hand over the casinos.

The post Simple Yet Effective Tips To Win Online Slot Games appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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Change is hard. In fact, it is one of the hardest things one has to go through in life.

They say the secret of life is to grow. And growth needs constant changes and improvements.

People constantly struggle with changing their habits and making their lives better. Take, for example, the norm of life.

The norm is where you go to work or school, spend around 8 hours there, go back home and repeat the process the next day. These things don’t reflect your purpose or even change.

I have lived life as I saw fit and that was not enough. I traveled the world before I was 25 and finished university at 22 with great grades.

Ultimately, I accomplished what the society demanded and I even worked as a professor at the university that I graduated from and at other consulting offices. I did my masters at 24 and explored Europe, Africa, and Asia.

The more I did these things, the more I felt that I’m still far from what I really want to achieve. I wanted to become great.

My perfectionist mind constantly tweaks and criticizes my accomplishments. It tells me that I am not there yet and I accepted it. I wanted to change because I felt my life was ordinary.

Honestly, I was not the perfect image of myself back then. Motivated, I devised ways to change. But, even after several months, I still find myself drowning in the same life- planning and wishing to change.

Then, I discovered why we are not firm with our plans and why we struggle in changing our habits and lives.

Below, I will share with you 8 of the reasons why change is hard.

You base your plans to change on “motivation”

I know lots of people who become runners on athletics season. Unfortunately, only a few of them continue until the end of the season. Lack of follow-through is usually one of the reasons why.

People get extremely motivated after watching TV shows they like or after listening to an inspiring story. However, they get back to their normal selves as soon as the excitement wears off.

Motivations are great. Declaring “I am great, I can do it” could make one inspired to do something worthwhile. The problem with motivation is that it’s only an emotion. It can inspire one for a short time but it will soon be forgotten.

This is because motivations are not drawn in terms of purpose. They lack vision and don’t provide the energy and the tool for change. Mel Robbins, one of the top-selling authors, says “motivation is garbage.” She argues that our brains are not designed to do even the smallest things in life that could change us for good.

A simple motivation doesn’t change the way the mind is hard-wired. The brain is designed to keep us away from a problem.

Instead, she advises using the technique she calls the three-second rule. The rule is to decide within three seconds.

If you plan to get up in the morning and you hesitate, take your hand round your head and count 1-2-3 and jump out of bed. The technique teaches you to snap out of it in three seconds and force your mind to do what you need it to do.

See Also: Time to Break the Cocoon! 5 Great Tips For Finding Motivation

You don’t have something else to replace the previous habits

When you decide never to repeat your tasks, you should see in detail what you should do instead. For the drunk to never drink, he should plan to do something else on specific times that he feels the need to drink. He can go see a friend or go out with someone.

If you don’t plan on what to do instead, you will surely find yourself in the same position you were yesterday.

Your mind is wired to keep you from wasting energy and to avoid danger. The way it does that is by blocking you and discouraging you from taking risks.

I once found a guy who hated to see his girlfriend who was abusive to him. Each night, he would meet her only to get verbally abused and criticized. His addiction of seeing her could not let him break up with her even though he wanted to change. The only advice I could give him was to learn to replace what he does each night with looking at the large scratches on the left side of his face. And I didn’t realize my simple advice would impact him.

Weeks later, he came back a new man. He smiled at me and nervously shouted “It worked!”. He started taking cooking classes in the evening, which soon helped him forget visiting the girl. She obviously didn’t call him so he was free at last.

Replace your bad habits with a good habit. Don’t just run away from them.

See Also: Spiritual Pointers for Quitting a Bad Habit

You don’t use punishment and reward system

Schools and parents teach children about what is good and what is bad by associating them with punishments and reward systems. “Good deeds” are rewarded while “bad deeds” are punished.

As adults, we learn to associate what we like with what we want to do and what we hate with what we should avoid. We perform certain tasks and we avoid others. This is due to these positive and negative associations where the mind regrets, catches in flight or enjoys the process.

When you overeat, you feel bad. Why?

Because the marketing, culture, and image of being fat punishes you and make you feel guilty. Even though the food you ate does not have much effect on your weight, you still feel sorry for yourself.

Another reason why people struggle to change habits is that of the absence of gratification. To change yourself faster, learn to associate what you want to do with reward. Make your brain believe that eating within your calorie limit is good and that the reward is that perfect body you dream of. This means that instead of associating overeating with punishment, associate eating responsibly with the prize.

You don’t break your life pattern

“Breaking the pattern” is a technique that I used a while ago. I was not satisfied with the life I was living. I tried to change but I could not.

One day, I accidentally followed my guts and wrote a fiction-like character based on my ideal life. I followed it for a month. I changed where I stay, with whom I stay with, and even where I sleep. Also, I refused to eat where I ate the day before and learned to wake up at 5.

It was hard but my subconscious picked it. All of a sudden, I found myself waking up at 5, writing for an hour, reading for another hour, exercising, eating breakfast, and leaving the house before 7. I go to bed at 10 and close all my laptops and phone at 9. The more I do them in a certain pattern, the more they became automatic.

The whole idea of breaking a pattern is to identify and change your routine until you forget your current life. You can take a month-long vacation somewhere without your computer or other means of communication. You can meditate there to find your real self and emotions or you can explore new places there. Rewrite your perfect day and live it for at least a month.

You get despaired easily

“Life is a progress”, some say. It is being better than yesterday.

The Japanese have a culture of not examining kids at the beginning of elementary school. Instead, they evaluate the performance of the students based on their progress. Well, that is different from the west and the rest of the world where getting the top spot is always the requirement.

The world is much more associated and information is available than what it used to be 10 years before. The world today gives us much more choice. We can easily get answers to any question we have.

Listen:

We are people of dreams and enemies of progress. We change jobs as frequently as we can and we change decisions fast.

The reality is life is a progress. It demands constant change and tweaking of what exists. There is no perfection. What exists is change and change needs time. So, be patient.

You solve the problem without a different perspective

“We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”
-Einstein

To solve a problem, you should see it in a different perspective than how you see it now.

For the depressed, it is hard to solve their problem and for the poor, getting rich is hard. This is similar to being an addict. The addict vows every morning not to drink anymore. However, every night, he still goes out for one drink only to find himself regretting it the next morning. He wants to change but never does.

For change to come, you should be willing to change your current position in life. Change starts with your mind.

You should have a stronger character that believes that solution is possible. Teach your mind that you are greater than what you are.

Your debt, for example, does not define your capability or potential. It only shows your current position in life. And that could change only if you believe that you are better than the situation you are in.

You don’t have purpose

Your mind follows a certain purpose and that is to survive.

If you base your actions on a certain purpose, the friction of doing and not doing becomes easier. Without purpose, your efforts won’t be successful since success is measured based on what you achieve.

Finding your purpose is a tough task. It is a lifetime job. There is no ultimate answer for what your purpose is because it grows with age and maturity.

Finding your purpose is your personal responsibility.

People usually wait forever just to find their purpose. But, if you figure out what you like and what you want to do the rest of your life, change will be easy.

You don’t have goals

You need a goal or set of goals to achieve your dream.

Your dream could be changing your life or being great at one thing. To achieve your dream, you need to set small goals. They don’t necessarily have to be grand but they must be something that’s easy to achieve and realistic.

Only wanting and deciding to change your life won’t do anything. You should be able to understand these things, so you can turn your life around.

For example, your general problem is that you need to stop drinking. You won’t achieve that just by promising yourself or by telling people that you plan to stop drinking.

Instead, you should realize that stopping or changing needs constant work. You need to set certain goals.

Days before, I met a woman whose problem was her body image. She was somewhat overweight. She told me she wanted to change her body since she was 20 and she couldn’t. The thing I asked her was about her goals.

She was surprised.

“What goals? To be thinner?”, she said.

After a few more minutes of discussion, we set her daily calorie intake and gym schedule. She was surprised.

Conclusion

Change is hard but it’s necessary.

You often fail because you’re not fully aware of how you should change. Another reason is your own mind, change’s worst enemy. Learning those tips above and applying them in your life can help you change faster than you can imagine.

The post 8 Good Reasons Why Change Is Hard appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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