Time has been the biggest witness of the evolution of men’s fashion. Every period, both wearers and designers experienced immense changes that led the industry to what it is today.

In this article, we made sure no era has been overlooked. We’ve listed down the time frames and the respective fashion must-haves that made men look stylish for each period.

Late 1800s

Also known as the Victorian age, you’d find men wearing frock coats with pocket watches, long chains, and walking sticks during this period.

These things were considered as a gentlemen thing. With the 19th century coming to an end, the Georgian age followed where you would find men getting a hang of pantyhose, high heels and more.

1900s

Fit didn’t matter a lot during this time. What mattered were athletic silhouettes and 3-piece suits that included a sack coat, identical waistcoat, and ill fit trousers.

Although there was no hard rule when it comes to matching, there were common trends during this period.

Generally, when the waistcoat matched the coat, the trousers were the ones with the contrasting shade. There were times when the trouser and coat matched and the waistcoat stood with a different color.

1940s

This was the time when the World War had come to an end. During this period, the classic rules of luxury dressing faded, too. One probable reason was that the war had taken a lot of workforces that the ones left were too tired to give importance to formal wear.

For the same reason, America saw an upsurge of brands that offered ready-to-wear clothing articles which needed no alterations and changes. The good thing about this period was that clothing became highly accessible at inexpensive prices. The variety, however, had gone down the drain.

1950s- 1960s

Often called as the Age of Conformity, the late 1950s saw the return of form-fitting clothes. When things started to settle down after the war, the then-designers focused on providing fitted suits to men for the formal wear.

For example, Ralph Lauren Polo & Tees were born in this decade. It came along with the other brands that still are luxury labels providing fashion solution even today.

During the 1960s, the younger generation leaned towards unconventional styles which were used for self-expression. Elders who desired to look more appealing and younger than their age looked up to the younger generations of this period.

1980s

Ever wondered where the term Power Dressing came from?

This was the decade where men invested in clothing articles that showed off their authority in the industry. This included trousers with suspenders and bold accessories that called for power and attention. Brands like Burberry and Hublot were established in this era.

2010s

It was in the 2010s that men’s fashion became widely available online. Although online shopping had started earlier, it was during this period that major luxury labels began to set up their online stores to help more men with fashion issues across the world.

It this period, men can easily find form-fitted suits, crisp shirts, and versatile trousers as well as statement accessories. Everything is available online with slashed down prices.

The evolution of men’s fashion might look like a roller coaster ride to you all, but every decade had its own sunshine and rains. If they didn’t experience what they did, you all wouldn’t have these options placed in front of you today.

The post The Evolution of Men’s Fashion appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

http://ift.tt/2p9UeQX

Learning how to fall out of love isn’t easy.

You simply can’t stop thinking about them. They don’t return your texts, never call back, and don’t want to see you anymore- yet you keep on loving them.

People stick to bad relationships for many reasons and the most powerful one is being ‘in love’. While the feeling is positive, it can bring a lot of negative effects, especially if the feeling isn’t mutual anymore.

Relationships can become difficult and sacrifices may be necessary. This, however, doesn’t mean that you have to give up respect in your relationship. If this is exactly your case, it’s probably the right time to start learning how to fall out of love.

Here are 6 ways to help you learn the art of un-loving.

Give yourself time

Falling out of love takes more time than falling in love. That’s why you can count on time to help you deal with your problem. It’s true that time does heal. It can influence that part of your brain that keeps on loving the person.

By giving yourself time, it doesn’t mean that you’ll just wait for all your emotions to go away. While you are healing, find out a new hobby you can try. Exercise and hang out with your friends or just do activities that make you feel good. You’ll feel calmer and more relaxed.

Stop replaying memories

When you’re thinking about the good times you’ve spent with the person you’re trying to un-love, you’re only hurting yourself. You need to get out of your head and stop replaying these memories.

You can’t expect yourself to detach from your past relationship if the memories are still alive in your brain. If you keep on doing that, you’ll also start to imagine the good times you could have together in the future. And that’s not a way to move on.

Remove all reminders from eyesight

If you have anything that belongs to your ex-partner, it’s best if you can let it go. If you don’t, you’ll inevitably get stuck in the harmful memory loop.

Ask the person to pick up his things or just throw away any pictures or photos you have of him.

Sometimes, it’s also a good idea to delete all chats and messages. The content of your previous conversations might haunt you, or worse, give you hope that he might actually love you back someday.

See Also: What To Do After A Break Up: A Handbook For Every Newly Single Guy

Avoid repeating your ideas about love

There are some things about love you’re probably wishing to be true. In reality, however, these thoughts are just your own projections and expectations.

If you keep on thinking about your past relationship and partner and how things can still work out, you’re just placing yourself in a very difficult situation. You’ll become the creator of your own misery.

As much as possible, try to control and get rid of those self-defeating thoughts. Thinking of them can only give you false hopes.

Don’t find excuses to see them

Being in love with someone means that you’re probably hopeful they might return your feelings. That’s why you might think that it’s a good idea to see them and make them change their mind.

The truth is that you can only change your own mind. You have no control over the feelings of other people.

If you find yourself thinking about your ex, you should avoid the places where you know they hang out. You’ll never move on if you keep replaying “What if?” scenarios in your head.

Forget about ‘The One’

Finally, you should simply get rid of the myth that there is only one person who is perfect for you. The truth is that there are a lot of people you can still meet if you just go out of your circle.

Relationships can be tough, especially if your feelings get the best of you. Despite this, you need to keep in mind that learning to love also involves learning how to let go.

While you’re losing precious time chasing after someone who isn’t a good match for you, you’re probably missing out on an opportunity for a better relationship and partner.

See Also: How A Broken Heart Can Be Your Biggest Teacher

The post Leave The Past Behind: 6 Ways To Learn The Art Of Un-Loving appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

http://ift.tt/2p9RhA6

During weekends, my son and I would go out and do stuff. We’d do different activities, like going to a video arcade and hitting different adventure games. It’s a lot of fun and it’s great that I could spend time with him.

But, as we go through our day, we inevitably hit a point where we get hungry and we need to eat something.

One of the things my son likes to eat is Chinese food. And, while I like the basic vegetable lo mein and General Tso’s Chicken, he ends up liking it more than I do most of the time. We’ll mainly hit Chinese buffets, but anywhere we go, it’s usually a relatively enjoyable meal.

At the end of the meal, we always have the fun of opening up our fortune cookies. Not only do they taste good, but the little fortunes inside are generally fun to play with.

As any of you who’ve eaten a fortune cookie before know, the fortunes are just basic words of wisdom and really very generic. They could be applied to pretty much anyone.

One of these times, it got me thinking. What would be the best thing that I could put in the fortune cookies for you?

Here are the 10 fortune cookie fortunes I came up with for you.

“Know Where You’re Going”

If you don’t know where you’re going, then it won’t really matter. You can decide to go north, south, east or west, but if you don’t have an exact destination, you’re just going to wander around.

To have a better chance of getting somewhere you like, stop wandering and figure out what you want and where you’re going. If you don’t know, then stop reading here and don’t continue until you do.

“Take Action”

This is the single thing that is hardest for a lot of people to do. People can decide where they want to go or what they want to achieve, but taking the action needed to achieve their goal is hard for them, especially if it requires stepping out of their comfort zone.

Say, you decide you want to go on a trip to London. You can wish it, plan it out and tell all your friends how you’re going to London, but unless you start doing the things you need to get there, you will never be able to go to London. Take action and do it now.

(Editor’s Note: Have you heard? Stephen Hawking is actually going to space very soon! A perfect example of taking action.)

“Be Consistent”

Action is great, but if you don’t take action consistently, it’s not going to matter. The same is true with exercise and eating healthy. If you aren’t going to do them consistently, you won’t be able to get their full benefits.

It also applies to success. People tend to be a lot more successful doing at least one thing each day towards their goal rather than trying to do everything in a day or two.

Be consistent. It really does make a difference

“Successes Are Built On Failures”

When you’re trying anything new, you’re not going to do it perfect the first time, and that’s okay. You just need to work through things. The more you work through, the more you learn. The more you learn, the more you are likely to succeed.

Don’t be afraid of failures because they will eventually bring you success. A lot of today’s successful people failed massively before getting to where they are now.

See Also: Why The Road to Success is Always Full of Failures

“Success Can Be Exponential”

Think about this in an investing sense. If you go and put $100 on a stock and you happen to get lucky, you can increase it up 10 times. That means you can have as much as $1,000. Now, you can do the same thing and take that $1,000 out, put it in 10 other stocks, and see what happens.

You’re not going to hit that home run every time. You’re going to experience some losses along the way. Despite this, you should know that the more you try, the more you are increasing your chances of succeeding. Be smart about it and work hard. Learn from your mistakes and success will build upon itself.

“Good Friends Are Better Than Lots Of Friends”

This is something that you hear even in grade school and middle school. There’s a big difference between a true friend and an acquaintance.

You may be friendly and know a lot of people but not all of them will actually have your back. So, find a few in your life who can really be there for you and stick with them.

See Also: Why You Need to Get Out and Meet Your Friends

“Believe In Yourself”

No matter how many friends you have or how much action you take, if you don’t believe that you can do it, you’re going to find a way to fail every time.

This isn’t just positive thinking. Things aren’t necessarily going to be easy and things won’t just completely flow for you. It may be hard, you may make mistakes, but you have to believe it’s possible.

When you believe it’s possible, it becomes easier to deal with the inevitable setbacks and keep pushing on. Remember, if it’s possible for anybody, that means it’s possible for you, too. So, believe in yourself and believe that you can do it.

“Track What You’re Doing”

One of the biggest things I see people do is start taking massive action on something and have it not turn out as they expected. They may have a plan and an idea of where they want to go, and they start working on it without really knowing if the work that they’re putting in will actually give them the results that they want.

That’s why you need to track things. It’s kind of like a GPS for your goals that helps you to stay on track and get where you want to be- with fewer mistakes and less wasted effort.

There are various ways to do this and there are programs to do it. You can keep it on a spreadsheet or even a notebook.

In addition to tracking your goals and mistakes, it’s important that you also take down notes of your mistakes. This way, you’ll be able to learn from them. They will guide you in what you should and shouldn’t do.

“Don’t Be Afraid To Experiment”

For a long time in my life, I just stuck with the things that I knew I liked. As I got a little older and more stable, I decided that I wanted to try new things.

One of those things is to go and take a trip to Japan for a couple of weeks or even a month. However, before actually booking my trip, I figured that if I’m going to be in Japan that long, then I need to make sure that I can eat Japanese food.

One time, when I was at a conference, I went and tried some sashimi. It was the first time I ever had it and I ended up liking it. Since then, I’ve been more experimental with what I do.

I gained more confidence in experimenting because I know that if I like something I tried, I’ll get to treasure it. If I don’t, then great. I’ll be able to avoid it in the future. Either way, I get to learn something new about myself. This mindset has opened up new possibilities for myself and new avenues in my life.

The best part is that you can apply it to all parts of your life. Failure is a lot easier to deal with when it’s just an experiment that didn’t work. It’ll be easier for you to say: “Ok, that way didn’t work. What else can I try?”

“Do The Truly Important Things First”

This is true in business, family, and life in general. You do the things in business that are going to move you ahead. Although there are little tasks that can take up a lot of your time,  make sure to prioritize the big things. They are the things that will keep your business moving forward.

It goes the same with family. You need to make sure you can be there for them when they need you. Show up at birthdays. Make sure you’re there for the important times in your family members’ lives as that will help build a great bond. Do the important things in life but make them your first priority.

 

The post 10 Actually Useful Fortune Cookie Fortunes appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

http://ift.tt/2o6F36M

Why is achieving success so hard? Why is overcoming cognitive biases difficult?

Maybe the problem isn’t you. Or more accurately, the problem isn’t the conscious you. It’s possible that you’ve been unconsciously sabotaging your own success.

If you are curious to know, below are some of the unconscious ways your brain can stop you from becoming productive and successful.

Information Bias

Information bias is a cognitive bias that makes you attribute distorted value to information. Among other things, information bias is what makes you want to gather as much information as possible on a project before starting it.

It’s one of the most common productivity blocks and you’ve probably experienced it yourself.

Think about any time you wanted to start a project but you just had to get all the information you could before doing so.

Collecting information and researching on a topic isn’t wrong. The problem, however, is when you already know all you need to but still feel the urge to find out more. You’ll never have all the information on any subject, and trying to know everything is a recipe for stagnation.

Confirmation Bias

Confirmation bias is another cognitive bias that makes humans more likely to accept information aligned with their pre-existing beliefs, regardless of whether it’s right or wrong.

This leads to a situation where you seek out ideas not for information, but for confirmation.

One of the biggest fears of most human beings is rejection. And, unfortunately, we tend to tie our beliefs to ourselves. A rejection of our beliefs is, by extension, a rejection of our very being. This makes us more likely to look for information that already supports what we believe in.

A lot of us look for reasons to avoid change and maintain the status quo. Accepting the absolute intractability of your nature is much easier than making an effort to change.

If you’re shy, you’ll actively look for information that makes being shy seem like a good thing. You’ll completely overlook any negative effects and think of them as absolutes that you have no control over, even though that isn’t the case.

So, how do you avoid it?

Spend a day pondering over your deepest limitations. Then, actively look for information that contradicts these beliefs. You may find out that you’re a much more productive and better person than you initially thought.

The Sunk-Cost Fallacy

The sunk-cost fallacy is one of the most insidiously pervasive time wasters in our lives. It is a belief that something is worth your while simply because you’ve already made an investment in it. The more you invest in one thing, the harder it becomes to abandon it.

The sunk-cost fallacy exists because we hate losing more than we love winning. Even the slightest scent of potential loss can send us scurrying like rats for cover.

How many times have you sat through a movie you hate simply because you’ve already paid for it? Would it not be better if you got up and walked away as soon as you realized you wouldn’t like it?

The financial loss in both situations is the exact same. In the second scenario, however, you wouldn’t waste your time.

Think about when you started a project that you, later on, realized you didn’t like. Normally, you’d probably abandon it immediately. But you already spent money on it so you’re likely to persevere and just go on with it, even though it’s an utter bore.

Ignore sunk costs and your life will become much less cluttered and much freer.

Planning Fallacy

The planning fallacy, originally proposed by Daniel Kahneman, makes us underestimate the time, costs, and risks associated with an action while overestimating the benefits associated with the same actions.

Why does this happen?

Some researchers suggest that we tend to look at the most optimistic scenario when predicting the future. Others, meanwhile, attribute it to wishful thinking.

If you doubt this, think back on how many times you’ve thought you’ll finish a task in time and you were wrong. You’ll quickly realize how commonly we fall prey to the planning fallacy.

Luckily, there’s an extremely simple way we can obviate the effects of this fallacy: allocate more time than we think necessary to any task. This way, you’ll avoid missing a deadline.

See Also: Failure to Plan is Planning to Fail

Completion Bias

Have you ever decided to do something simply because you knew it would be done quickly and you wanted to check something off of your to-do list?

If so, you’ve fallen victim to completion bias.

Completion bias makes us prioritize smaller tasks over larger ones. We do this because completing a task makes us feel like we’ve accomplished something, even if we had more important things to do.

It’s very easy to fall into the trap of completion bias, especially if you have a to-do list. Completion bias is what makes you feel like you’ve had an extremely productive day, only to realize that you’ve done almost nothing important.

The worst part of this bias is that a huge number of us notice it but never really understand its danger. I, myself, had realized that I was more biased towards easier tasks, but I simply dismissed it as something normal and natural. Only when I read an article talking about it did I realize that I had been harboring a cognitive bias all along.

Luckily, it’s also relatively easy to eliminate. Break down all your larger tasks into small, bite-sized actions, and arrange them in the order you want to do them. This way, you can actually get something done.

Conclusion

There are several cognitive biases that can affect almost every aspect of your life- from productivity to business to relationships. Although you can’t fully eliminate them, overcoming cognitive biases aren’t that difficult. There are things you can do today that can eliminate as many biases as you can.

How do you eliminate a cognitive bias?

Carl Jung famously said, “Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.”

He was right.

The only way you can gain control over an unconscious impulse or desire is to manifest it consciously. If that sounds like gobbledygook, don’t worry, I’ll tell you how to do that in a moment.

Get a band or a ring that you can wear on your hand or finger. Then, pick a cognitive bias you want to minimize.

Every time you find yourself manifesting that cognitive bias, move the band or ring from one hand to another. Every time you move it, consciously distance yourself from the cognitive bias.

Pretty soon, you’ll find yourself transferring the band less often than before. If you persist with this exercise, you should reach a point where you’ll have lowered the impact of the bias as much as possible.

Start this process immediately and you’ll find yourself transformed into a more rational, clear-headed, and logical individual in no time at all.

The post Outsmart Your Brain: Tips On Recognizing And Overcoming Cognitive Biases appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

http://ift.tt/2pug3HG

Can you use the word scherenschnitte in a sentence? How about if you had to spell it in front of over 1 million people? If you’re like me, you’d be flabbergasted by the word.

Scherenschnitte happens to be the winning word in the 2015’s National Spelling Bee.

The Scripps National Spelling Bee , which takes place every year on Memorial Day weekend, has been a phenomenon since 1925. It started when the Louisville Courier-Journal Newspaper got together with several other papers to make a number of local competitions into one massive vocabulary rodeo. Gaining in popularity over the years, the lexicographic tournament now includes sponsorship from Amazon Kindle, live prime time coverage on ESPN, and even its own Broadway musical.

During its 92 years, prizes for the winners have risen from $500 in gold pieces (at the first ever bee) to $40,000 in cash (plus other ancillary prizes). In addition to that, the winner also gets a chance to win a sponsorship for college. This reflects the Bee’s purpose to “help students improve their spelling, increase their vocabularies, learn concepts and develop correct English usage that will help them all their lives.”

But, can it fulfill that promise?

The Bad

Memorization may not promote literacy

Detractors say that memorizing words gives students little to no assistance in reading comprehension. An Australian literacy study demonstrated that phonetic understanding was a much better teaching tool than simple memorization.

There is no doubt that children endeavoring to learn these words are gaining some vocabulary, but could all that effort be put to more active educational use? Memorization, it is often said, is the lowest form of learning.

See Also: 7 Tips on How to Improve a Child’s Working Memory 

It puts too much pressure on young children

There are Bee horror stories about students forced to memorize words by overzealous parents who subsequently crack under the pressure. One year, a contestant named Akshay Buddiga fainted in the middle of the bee while spelling the word “alopecoid”.

A lot of people thought that the competition was just too much to handle. The participant was just a kid who’s under 14 years of age.

Should spelling bees be banned?

Every year, there are numerous protesters against the bee. Some say that these competitions stigmatize children with learning disabilities, like dyslexia. Other protests come from organizations, like the American Literacy Council, who claim that spelling bees promote the worst and most confusing parts of English learning.

The Good

It promotes a wonderful way to learn to love to read

Obviously, learning vocabulary words has its own rewards.

An Education.com article quotes former Scripps National Spelling Bee judge Linda Wood, (and senior editor at Merriam-Webster) who refutes the idea that spellers learn entirely by memorization: “The way the children learn the words is not just by rote studying, but through etymology and learning roots, pronunciations, and multiple definitions. This is invaluable in terms of building vocabulary… with better reading comprehension, comes greater literacy, and greater enjoyment of reading, literature, and language. All from understanding words.”

And with the recent addition of contestants having to know definitions as well, the idea that kids are just learning to memorize is perhaps dispelled.

See Also: 7 Reasons To Start Reading Books? Here’s why!

Healthy competition teaches determination, poise, and perspective

Though the competition is said to be a bit traumatizing, spelling champions still gained a great deal from the experience. And though they quote the experience as nerve-wracking, it gave them more confidence.

It promotes diversity

Winning spellers over the last several years have often been children of recent immigrants. Their representation in a competition that is so iconically American is inspirational for their communities. Competitors from other countries feel inspired to join the competition and this creates international cultural connections for those involved.

Opinions differ when it comes to the National Spelling Bee. Fans of obscure English words rejoice once a year. On the other hand, at least 1 million viewers can’t wait to see how many competitors will fall into a linguistic guetapens (2002’s winning word – meaning snare or trap) before there’s a new champion.

You can test your own vocabulary skills by checking out the infographic below. It includes a list of the winning Spelling Bee words over the past 50 years.

Source

 

The post Are Spelling Bees Good for Child Development? appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

http://ift.tt/2ptxXtT

You finally shut down your computer and realize that it’s the start of a long weekend tomorrow. As you get out of the office, you and your co-workers brace for what’s going to happen next: getting drunk.

Having to endure a long and arduous week, it’s only right that you relax and let out all the stress. Just don’t get drunk or you’ll wake up in your room with a massive headache. 

A hangover is that annoying thing you experience when you wake up the next morning from a night full of drinking. It’s your body’s response from the alcohol you consumed and its attempt to get rid of that excess alcohol in your system.

So, how do you get rid of it?

Frankly, there’s no solid cure for a hangover. Fortunately, there are ways to help you ride it out more easily. The following list should help you out.

Rehydrate

Remember last night when you consistently went to the bathroom and peed a lot?

Alcohol has the ability to suppress the release of ADH or Antidiuretic Hormone which is responsible for water retention. In essence, this means drinking lots of alcohol can make you lose lots of water.

Rehydration is essential in replacing the fluids you lost while drinking alcohol. Increasing your water intake is one good way to lessen the headaches.

See Also: Top 5 Tips On How To Stay Hydrated

Eat

Your body considers alcohol as damaging. In effect, it works hard to make sure alcohol gets removed from your system. This process requires energy.

After a bout of drinking though, your body would be low on energy. This translates into physical discomforts, like severe headaches and stomach upsets. In certain cases, it can even make your breath stink.

Reward your body with food and provide it with energy to help it in removing excess waste. Food that would be considerably good to eat at this time includes fruits, mainly oranges, and apples, or hangover soup. 

If eating doesn’t improve your stomach upset, you could try and take antacids. These medications can balance out the acidity in your stomach to help you feel better.

Drink more water

Drinking water is one of the best things you can do to manage the wide range of discomforts that can come with a hangover. In addition to rehydrating yourself, it helps relieve the acid in your throat and esophagus.

Since your stomach is empty and there’s alcohol inside, it’s inevitable to feel nauseous and vomit. The thing is that hydrochloric acid, the acid responsible for digesting the food in your stomach, can go up your throat while you vomit.

This won’t only make your throat feel itchy, it can also make you feel pain. In certain cases, hydrochloric acid can also erode the enamels of your teeth.

Drinking too much alcohol is one of the main causes of GERD or Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease. The disease happens when your esophagus is always irritated because of the acid reflux and this can make you throw up more.

Drinking water is one good way to relieve the discomforts as well as prevent further damage.

Avoid the “Hair of the Dog”

“The hair of the dog that bit you works” means that when you are suffering from a hangover, a cure would be to drink more and more until you are relieved. Although this may have a positive effect, it would only be temporary as you are still loading more and more alcohol into your system.

Rest

Give your body a well-deserved rest. It is, after all, working the extra mile to remove excess waste in your body.

Doctors say that a full 48 hours is needed before the body can recover from the damage done by excessive drinking. Allow your body to fully recuperate before attempting to grab another bottle of beer.

Takeaway

A few drinks won’t hurt you that much. Too much alcohol, on the other hand, is a totally different story. Remember to drink responsibly and avoid grabbing the wheel. Cars and alcohol do not mix.

Getting home safely is only one of the hard parts of getting drunk. You should also prepare for what may happen the next morning: hangovers.

There’s no total cure for a hangover. As long as you are drinking, you should be prepared to go through it. The tips in this article, however, can help reduce the effects.

See Also: 5 Seriously Easy Ways to Get Home Safe from Your Holiday Party

The post Cure For Hangover? 5 Things To Do To Get Through The Morning After appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

http://ift.tt/2p7hCf0

Have you ever wished you had a super power? Something that can make you special or better than everyone else?

Of course, almost everyone wishes, in one way or another, to have some secret potential to unlock. Well, what if I told you that all your superhero dreams of unlimited power, potential, and unmatched skills are completely attainable?

Now, you might probably be thinking that this is another cheesy scam. Well, it’s not. I’m not trying to sell anything either.

I am trying to tell you the simple yet spectacular secret to success: mental toughness.

You may have probably heard of this before many times, but let me give you a new perspective. There are two kinds of talent in this world: talent you are born with and talent you develop.

Think of Mozart, Einstein, and Stephen Hawking. These are examples of people born with an amazing talent or just pure genius.

How could anyone ever be like them? Especially you and me, right?

This is where mental toughness comes in.

You see, we all know that if we want something, all we need to do is work hard to obtain it. Easier said than done, but it makes sense. The problem with doing this is the universal law: nothing is free. Ever.

We might be willing to give up some time and hard work to achieve a goal, but to truly achieve that goal, we need to understand what it is going to cost. This is mental toughness. It’s not just mentally pushing yourself to endure through the hard times, but it is knowing what you are willing to give up, the challenges, and rewards.

Let me give you an example. I love to run. I run quite often and have even done races and triathlons. A friend of mine coaxed me into training for a 50-mile race…50 MILES!!!

For some reason, I agreed (probably because I’m an idiot) and have been training for this demon of a race for several months. But, I ran into a problem.

You see, training so hard for so long tends to take its toll on the body, especially the tendons, ligaments, and joints. I have developed a pretty bad case of runner’s knee (if you are a runner you will understand), and have put a lot of thought toward what I am going to do about this 50 miler.

Should I keep training and risk further injury? Or should I quit?  Well, if I am truly mentally tough, I will push through and suck it up, right? Wrong.

Being mentally tough does not mean being an idiot. Being mentally tough means you see all your options and do the math. For example, with that situation, I can look at the problem as if there are only two perspectives: injure myself or quit.

I can consider what needs to be done to continue and if it is worth it. Could I run this race with my injury and still complete it? Yes. It would hurt like hell and maybe give me a permanent injury, but, yes, I could do it. But, do I want to take that risk? No, I don’t.

So how can I achieve my goal without so much risk and pain? I can treat the injury, let myself heal and then resume training. Is this a perfect plan? No, I may still be injured and unable to race when the scheduled date arrives but that doesn’t matter. Why? Because I have an entire lifetime to achieve this goal.

See Also: How Runners Can Easily Improve Their Foot Strength

The point of this story and article is to give you a new perspective of what you can and cannot do. Can you climb Mt. Everest? Some of you reading this will say no. BUT YOU CAN, you just don’t want to.

Can you do 1,000 pushups in under an hour? Right now, maybe not. But, eventually, could you? YES! You just have to want to.

You must understand what you are giving up (time, sweat, pain) and the worth of that to you. This is mental toughness. This is the power of the mind. Your body can do just about anything, you just need your mind to guide it.

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. If you want to be successful, then you must endure through the hard things. But more than that, you have to understand things in a simpler way.

One plus one is two. Pain plus sweat can give you a healthy body. Hard work plus schooling can give you a successful business. Walking one step millions of times can get you across the country. Swimming one stroke over and over can take you across the ocean.

Think about these things. If you want to be successful, remove yourself from your body and win with your mind. This is mental toughness. This is mind power.

See Also: 5 Ways To Use The Mind Muscle Connection For Better Workouts

The post Mental Toughness: The Secret To Success appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

http://ift.tt/2p2ybvy

Dreaming of starting an SEO company?

When you decide to start a business of your own, you are more likely to hear different advice for your startup. Most of the advice you’ll hear will come from those who don’t even know how to run a small business.

When you visit the internet, you’ll see an overwhelming load of articles and list of topics that won’t sound too familiar to you. Don’t fall into the trap of overthinking every single detail and confusing yourself.

To help you start strong in starting an SEO company, here are some of the best tips you need to learn:

Strive hard to rank in Google’s search results

No matter how tight the competition is, you have to fight like a mad man and be crazy in getting your website on Google’s 1st page in the search results. You have to hit the related keywords for SEO service in your local area.

You may think it’s impossible to rank on a page when the competition is too tight. Don’t let that stop you.

You need to focus on using the keywords that can get you to the first page of Google’s search results. Take note that you should be aiming for the top spot with a reason. Giving valuable content to your readers is one good way to boost your rankings.

Remember that the best clients are from referrals

Referrals are one of the most valuable customers you’ll ever have. Although they don’t even know who you are and what on earth you are doing, your chances of closing the deal with them are still incredibly high.

However, when you treat them poorly, they will not only stop paying you and getting your services, you will also notice a significant decrease in your referrals.

With this in mind, you have to maintain a clean image and reputation. You have to continue taking care of your clients even when you think it doesn’t make sense. If you do this, you will eventually get more clients from word-of-the-mouth referrals.

You cannot rely on referred clients alone

Most of those who started a few years ago had surely fallen into the mistake of relying on word-of-the-mouth referrals as their primary profit source. Today, there is a more reliable way on how to earn new customers: blogging.

If you want to increase your chance of getting noticed, start blogging about SEO, content marketing, social media marketing and digital marketing. The more you use technical words in your blog posts, the more frequently you’ll be able to use your own data to prove what you wrote. This will get you more leads.

See Also: 8 Common Content Marketing Myths You Should Stop Believing

According to Neil Patel, a well-known expert in SEO management, those posts with graphs and stats drive leads as much 3 times than those without stats and data.

Never stop helping

When you’re in the SEO industry, reach out to everyone who needs your help. You may not see its benefits yet, but, eventually, this will help you in growing your network and in making it to the SEO industry.

People will start praising you and say good things about you. This isn’t just beneficial for you, but your business, too.

See Also: The Future of SEO – Predictions and Premonitions That Will Dominate 2017

Takeaway

By using all the tips mentioned above, starting your SEO company will not be as bad as those who started it without an outlined guide and tips. Keep in mind that you have to make sure that your company fulfills whatever promise you made to your clients.

You have to ensure that you deliver results. Aside from that, maintain a personal yet professional relationship with your customers as they love to feel valued.

The post Everything You Need To Know About Starting An SEO Company appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

http://ift.tt/2nBuM6X

A celebration is typically in order when you finally get to buy that dream house of yours. It’s a huge prize and achievement after so much hard work and saving. But, what if you open that door only to see occasional power surges and broken pipes?

Opening your doors to those things is the most horrible way to start that next phase of your life. One way you can prevent those things from happening is through a home inspection.

Doing a home inspection is an excellent way to find problems that you didn’t get to see during your first visit to the property. By doing a home inspection prior to making a purchase, you’ll be saving yourself tons of headaches, frustrations and the high cost of repair.

Still not convinced? Here are some home inspection benefits you should know about.

Peace of Mind

When we notice something out of place, it bothers us and makes us want to know what’s making us uneasy. A home inspection is one way of understanding that kind of problem.

See Also: 10 Important Home Features That Home Buyers Want

Safety

One of the main reasons you buy a house is for safety. It can protect you and your loved ones from the weather, dangerous elements, and other things that can compromise your safety. Doing an inspection can and will provide the security you need, like preventing personal injuries from happening.

A slight power surge may mean that some wirings are rotting or rats have begun chewing on the wires. You can already consider that as a fire hazard, and lots of tragic stories have been born from that.

Water dripping from the ceiling can be solved temporarily by a bucket, but what if it becomes full and turns into a slipping hazard? Never underestimate what a simple home inspection can do.

Savings

A lot of homeowners disregard home inspection due to its cost. This way of thinking should be completely changed if you want to save a vast fortune. Knowing what needs repairs or fixing as soon as possible can prevent disasters, not only physically, but financially as well.

Having to face an abysmal ton of repairs in the future is a real headache. With home inspection, you can sort out what needs to be fixed immediately to prevent it from causing, even more, problems.

Why wait for that rusty and leaky pipe to fall and break that expensive bath tub upstairs? Why wait for that wire to burn down the house when you can change that wire for a small fee?

A home inspection can save you from that headache and that financial drawback that you were so desperately afraid of in the first place.

See Also: Warning: 7 Home Inspection Pitfalls That Can Cost You A Fortune

Takeaway

It’s normal for people to feel euphoric when they get to purchase their dream house. Because of the overwhelming emotions, they can inadvertently skip home inspection. They tend to disregard the idea, thinking that newer properties are impossible to have defects and damages.

Home inspection can provide us with a more comfortable life in the long run. From significant savings to saving the entire house we own, early assessment of our property is the next best thing we can do after popping that bottle of champagne.

The post Home Inspection and Its Powerful Benefits appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

http://ift.tt/2oUFKof

The world has finally embraced gender equality. Today, women have more power to talk openly about issues that really matter to them. From business, education, and politics, you’ll now be able to find a platform where you can easily and safely voice out your concerns.

To give you an idea, we bring to you a list of the best websites for women on the internet right now where you can get your daily fix of women issues. The sites deal with a wide range of topics, like entrepreneurship, women’s health, fashion and latest trends.

• Levo

  

Levo is a career-oriented website for women. It provides professional mentorship and career guidance via articles and personality quizzes.

It also offers courses that can help women update their skill sets which can help them land better opportunities at work. It’s one of the must-follow websites for women looking for success in their career.

• Women 2.0

Women 2.0 is the largest online community for female technology leaders. It offers services and guidance that cover all aspects of the business, including hiring, investing and leadership.

It also organizes live events where female business owners can meet up, pitch investors and receive feedback for their next gig.

See Also: 5 Women Entrepreneurs Who Failed Before Becoming Millionaires

• Everyday Feminism

Feminism is a term and ideology that is no longer confined to academic institutions. It’s now widely talked about.

Everyday Feminism is one of the sites that promote feminism. With over 4.5 million monthly visitors from over 150 countries, this website is emerging as one of the leading voices on social disparity. It also offers courses on self-development and lessons on how to deal with sexism at work.

• Daily Worth

Daily Worth is a website that aims to empower women through financial independence. Its most impressive feat is removing confusing jargons from financial planning and investing.

People behind the site help women to plan their expenses, provide tips on savings and give out economical shopping advice. They do not simply impart financial literacy; they teach women how to be successful in several areas, like career, ambition, identity, relationships, and future security.

• Blog Her

Food, travel, and entertainment are some of the topics you’ll find on this site. They are the same set of topics modern-day women should pursue wholeheartedly and should know more about.

The site organizes conferences for women and encourages local participation. It features a community advisory board to address concerns and questions raised by their female members.

• Hello Giggles

Hello Giggles is the perfect place for women to unwind and have fun while keeping updated on latest news and trends. This is a humour-loving, fun community that aims to get rid of negativity.

Apart from providing fun little reads on celebs, style tips, makeup tutorials, fitness and relationship, the site also accepts contributions from readers. It is a platform that encourages writers and artists to create and share.

• Young Women’s Health

Women’s reproductive health is more complex than men’s.  In addition to the complex hormones at work at the time of menstruation and pregnancy, there are other conditions and changes that are difficult to explain, especially to teenage girls entering a new phase of their lives.

Young Women’s Health is a website put together by doctors and clinical experts to give pieces of advice to teenagers and young women about several health issues. The articles here provide up-to-date information on areas like sexual and mental health.

Additionally, girls can post questions anonymously on the site. They can expect to get an answer after a week.

See Also: What to Eat During Pregnancy

We hope the above list of websites for women make a part of your search history and contribute to your knowledge. We expect them to enhance your skills and broaden your perspective on women’s issues.

The post 7 Best Websites for Women You Should Definitely Check Out appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

http://ift.tt/2ovdIPf