A lot of people believe that to achieve success, one must be ready to sacrifice some aspect of their lives. However, this doesn’t have to be the case.

What does every speaker emphasize when he or she has to inspire and motivate an audience to achieve massive success? To hustle.

Hustling is the only variable that one can control and influence dramatically. This idea by itself already makes some people uncomfortable. The fact that they would have to dedicate their lives completely to achieving their goals and have no time for anything else is a big deal-breaker for most people.

However, this potential problem of losing yourself in the process of pursuing your goals can be avoided if done the right way. Below are 3 ways to still hustle hard but at the same time not getting fed up with it!

1. Celebrate your successes

People are always oriented to the future because they want to have a better life than their past. This mindset is important because this means that you’re working consistently to improve yourself.

Most people work really hard to achieve a goal that brings them closer to their vision, but surprisingly they fail in the celebration part. That’s right.

Ironically, people fail to celebrate the right way. They do celebrate the achievement of their sub-goals, however, excuse my language, they half-ass it! They don’t celebrate their successes enough.

When was the last time you celebrated the achievement of a goal so well that you still remember to this present day exactly what you did? If you find it a bit difficult to answer this question, then you need to make some changes in the way you want to achieve success.

It’s a lot more important how you get there than when you get there. It’s the journey — with all the highs and lows — that will make you appreciate the end-goal the most.

Besides that, celebrating your accomplishments is also a very enjoyable thing to do so utilize every opportunity to the fullest when it presents itself to you.

See Also: 10 Habits of Successful People

2. Accept help from others

When you have a specific goal in your mind that you want to accomplish, the tendency is to shut everyone off and focus solely on the goal. Getting rid of distractions will help you become more productive, but what about the people that care about you and want to help you?

You might think that it’s for the best to pursue your dream all by yourself because you don’t want to burden them with your struggles. But, is that really the case?

When you accept input and help from others, you have more than one ‘brain’ at your disposal. This increases the chance to acquire more valuable information and insights which can aid the process of getting towards your goal.

Instead of being hesitant to accept help, embrace it. Remember, if you want to go forward, go alone. If you want to go faster and farther, go together!

3. It doesn’t have to happen tomorrow

Stop worrying so much about the little things like not being as productive as yesterday or taking longer to accomplish things than you expected. There will be other days wherein your productivity will be incredible and you’ll get things done faster than ever.

Don’t look for overnight success ‘methods’ and don’t feel like you’re not making progress, because you simply can’t rush what you want to last forever.

Hustling hard is great and sacrifices are often demanded. However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t try to minimize those sacrifices as much as possible. Not only will you enjoy the journey much more, the quality of your life will also improve because you won’t feel like you have to give up ‘so much’ to reach your goals.

See Also: Why You Should Forget Success And Strive to Fail

Start applying some of these tips on your journey and the road to success will be that much less stressful and more achievable.

 

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Rose is a Freelance Writer but frankly, it wasn’t all rosy from page one. In her lowest moments she sank deeper than a sub. She’d cry and sob. She even contemplated burning her old typewriter.

Tales like hers abound around, resonating with hundreds who nearly or eventually quit freelance writing out of frustration.

Today we explore 10 of those moments when being a freelance writer really, really sucks.

1. Coming Out

You just read Bamidele Onibalusi’s story and you’re thinking you can make a living writing like Carol Tice or making 6 figures like Gail Mercer MacKay! Feeling fired up, you drive to the Café to meet your loving fiancée and break the I’m-gonna-be-a-freelance-writer news. Somehow, it felt like an obituary announcement.

See Also: How To Change Careers Without Losing Your Mind 

2. Warned you, didn’t we?

You hand in your resignation at work. Getting home, your fiancée hands you hers too and fast forward to where you’re at today — 100,000 miles from making your first 10 dollars two months after becoming a freelance writer, your pitches unreplied, savings depleted, bills mounting, motivation at sub-zero levels.

Your friend at your ex-organization bump into you at the street corner with that we-warned-you- didn’t-we look on their faces. And you remember her last words…

3. Writer’s Block

Writers Block is not the choicest place to live in but every once in a while most of us stop by, some for a couple of minutes or hours, some for days and others for weeks on end without a shining spark of imagination. You try all the tricks in the book.

They all fall flat and you wonder where in space did your Muse go? Like Titanic after she hit the iceberg, you begin to sink into a sea of depression.

See Also: How To Find Great Ideas For Writing A Story 

4. Aha, Content Mills

They evoke images of Pharaoh’s taskmasters holding whips eager to spread them all over bent Israeli backs. You ’ve been there, done that.

You’ve experienced writing for a quarter of peanuts until it drove you nuts! You know how it is to do all those hours of research, typing, editing, proofreading, and having to wait days to get paid and dealing with some rude, thieving clients . It felt like slavery and you felt like Kunta Kinte.

5. Your PC Crashes

As a writer, your PC is one of your biggest assets containing all your files and documents including client jobs at various stages of completion. It also gives you access to the internet for all your research and client communications. Then, it suddenly crashes one fateful morning and your 10TB back up hard drive is still unopened in its nice pack!

6. You Forgot to Ctrl+S

You’ve written such a great piece. Even your ex admits it’s the bomb. The draft was awesome and now the finished work even better. It’s a Michelangeloic masterpiece!

You sit back, stare at the screen in self contentment and read your 3,000 word write up again and again. However, you forgot to connect your PC to backup power and your ageing device shuts down. Belatedly, you also remember your MS Word autosave function was turned off.

7. Very Negative Comments

You finish writing an article, spend 2 hours formatting it in the blog’s CMS, hit the publish button, and share it on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. And then here comes a flood of commenters who think you’re a fraud and attack you in the most vicious manner literally possible until you feel like breaking your pen and going to mend with your ex.

8. Copyright Infringement

You wrote a lovely post, sourced images randomly and forgot to attribute the owners or even check their copyright policy. They spot it, red flag it and send you a please-take-it-down email threatening legal action in 7 days.

After 14 days, you’re served with a court notice. You hurriedly check your inbox and there’s the email you somehow missed sitting and smiling in your Spam folder!

And the blog’s policy says you’re responsible for whatever you post!

9. Delayed Payment

You’ve done a stellar job. Editors and blog subscribers love it.

It’s been shared 50,000 times, comments have been pouring in and they’ve been 99% positive. But, there’s a glitch.

It’s now 3 months and the Prince of Persia has delayed your check. Meanwhile your bills have been on time every time. Now you have to write the fifth please-pay-me reminder!

10. Adultery

It’s metaphorical adultery when you can’t give your loved ones all the time and attention they demand because you have to split it with clients and assignments. And they won’t let you take calls, or reply to your Whatsapp or Facebook chats either. You start feeling guilty because you’re seeing another lover called Freelance Writing!

Sounds familiar right? What is YOUR being-a freelance-writer-sucks moment?

 

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Almost everyone is struggling to find the right strategies to increase productivity. Because of this, several methods and approaches have been crafted to help people out. Unfortunately, however, not all of these productivity tricks work for everyone, especially since people’s priorities and needs vary.

Below, you’ll find three amazing strategies that can increase your focus, productivity, and time. Take a look and see which you can apply to your current situation.

1. Focus on deep work

It’s common for people to confuse business with productivity. They think that if they do a lot of work, they’re productive.

In reality, however, most of the things we do is only shallow work.

Georgetown University Professor, Cal Newport, describes shallow work as a “task that almost anyone, with minimum of training, could accomplish”. This includes drafting e-mail replies, logistical planning, tinkering with social media, and other related tasks.

For your goals,  you should stay away from doing shallow work. Instead, you should focus on deep work.

Deep work involves cognitively demanding tasks that push you to improve. It includes activities such as writing a book, generating ideas, mass editing, and storytelling.

This kind of work requires intensity and a lot of energy. So, when you work deeply, make sure to balance it out with long breaks. You can take a nap, walk around, meditate or do some stretching. The idea is to feel relaxed.

Failure to take breaks can lead to burnout, which is a major productivity killer.

Frequent breaks can restore your energy. The more energy you have, the more deep work you can accomplish. The more deep work you do, the more productive you’ll be.

See Also: Top 7 Ways to Improve Your Productivity 

2. Hijack your environment

The most common trait of highly productive people is their ability to concentrate.

Every year, Bill Gates goes on these “Think Weeks”. It’s a two-week-long retreat at a remote cabin. He goes there to think deeply and to assess the direction of his company.

J.K Rowling finished her last Harry Potter book at one of Scotland’s luxurious hotel. She was unable to concentrate at home, so she decided to radically change her environment to focus on writing.

That is how you hijack your environment.

You pick a place that isn’t fun. There shouldn’t be any distractions that can prevent you from working smart for your goals.

It’s one of the quickest ways to instantly boost your productivity.

See Also: How To Find Great Ideas For Writing A Story 

3. Plan tomorrow before hitting the sheets

I can’t stress how many people don’t take the time to plan out their day. It’s often overlooked, yet it’s one of the simplest life-changing productivity hacks there is.

Before going to bed, write down what you plan to do the next day. It will help release your anxiety and stress. Aside from this benefit, planning also gives you more control of your success.

It will give you an overview of what still needs to be done and how far you are from achieving your goals.

The more you plan, the more you’ll be able to turn it into a habit.

One important thing to keep in mind with planning, however, is that you should avoid creating a to-do list. This is because not all tasks are equal.

Some tasks are more urgent and valuable than others. If you don’t focus on what’s important, you will never achieve success.

Instead of writing a to-do list, you can craft a success list to keep track of your most critical tasks.

Are you ready to get your productivity on?

The most common reason why a lot of people are always struggling to finish their work isn’t because of their inability to plan; it’s because of their refusal to take action. They don’t see their work as important enough to be prioritized, so they put in minimum to no effort to finish it on time.

If you want to be different, you have to make the commitment to be an executioner. You have to work deeply, kill your distractions, and plan out your day until you achieve your goals. This list of strategies to increase productivity is a good place to start changing your game plan.

 

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You’ve launched your business and now you need to tell people about it.

Although that sounds fairly easy, the truth is that it really isn’t. The type of marketing you do can either make or break your business.  Here are some essential marketing tips for small businesses that can get you started on the road to success.

1. Know your customer

Knowing your audience is one of the first things you need to do. Planning your target audience can help shape your actions and decisions.

The more precise you are in understanding who your audience is, the more effective you will be at promoting your business and generating leads. You need to identify your customer’s behaviors, needs and demographics so that you can tailor your actions accordingly. This is actually one of the most important marketing tips for small businesses.

See Also: 4 Tricks To Turn Your Buyers Into Loyal Customers 

2. Set your goals

After knowing who you want to target, the next thing you need to establish are your goals. The key to success is proper planning.

You need to establish your goals, what you want to achieve and how you are going to get there. Accomplishing these things will then enable you to work out your strategies and tactics.

Measuring the results of your actions is essential, too. By tracking your progress, you’ll be able to find out what works and what doesn’t. This will enable you to tweak your actions where necessary, so you can achieve the results you need.

3. Focus on benefits and not on features

The ‘what’s in it for me’ question is a key aspect in your customer’s decision-making process. Highlighting the benefits he can get, instead of concentrating on your product’s features, will help you step ahead of your competitors.

Know your USP and what makes your business unique. It may seem obvious for you, but it’s vital that you let your customers know the benefits they can get if they choose you and your product.

4. Give importance to customer service

Great customer service is another essential factor you have to consider if you want to be successful in your field. In the advent of social media and the growth of a review and recommendation culture, ensuring that you have a highly responsive customer service can do wonders for your business.

By responding to people’s inquiries, you’ll be establishing trust in your brand. Always keep in mind that happy customers are your best PR people as word of mouth is, by far, the greatest form of advertising.

5. Learn everything that can affect your business

In running a business, it’s important that you know what is going on within your industry. It’s a good idea to analyze the latest developments and ensure that your products and service live up the latest behaviors and trends.

Keeping abreast with the latest developments allows you to stay one step ahead of your competitors and deliver what your audience needs.

6. Make the connection

Connecting with your customers is vital. An active social media presence is not just essential; it’s expected.

Your audience will assume that they will be able to communicate with you whenever they want to. Having regular, fun and interesting engagement with your audience via social media will help your customers develop that emotional connection with your business.

It can build brand awareness and help develop trust and loyalty with your target market.

See Also: 7 Different Ways to Drive in More Responses through Direct Marketing Campaign

7. Keep your website updated

A website is not just a static place on the internet; it should be reviewed and updated on a regular basis. Furthermore, it should always represent your business.

Aside from updating, it can also help if you can make your website optimized for the keywords that your customers commonly use to search for products and services. If this is an area you know little about, then it’s a wise move if you can speak to your web developer.

If you have the budget, then hiring an SEO agency or expert can do the trick. If you have a lot of time, you can also consider learning it yourself.

8. Build your network

Good old fashioned face to face promotion can never be underestimated. People do business with people, after all.

There are tons of ways to build your network. For one, you can reach out to your colleagues to promote your business. You can also attend exhibitions and conferences to establish a presence there.

Another good idea is to take up speaking opportunities whenever possible so that you can educate, inform and engage with a new audience. In time, you’ll be able to build a reputation as an expert in your field, which can trigger the curiosity and awareness of people towards your brand. Even your competitors may show interest in what marketing tips for small business you used.

 

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Before, men were expected to be gallant, knightly and perfect. Today, the meaning of manhood involves taking full responsibility for one’s actions and being brave enough to stand by his words. Men can now be as transparent as women in terms of their feelings, ideas and beliefs.

This is how the concept of manhood has changed throughout the years.

The Conflict of Traits in Men

Traditionally, men went on hunts while women gathered berries and nurtured their children. They were dominant, strong and showed no signs of cowardice.

However, in today’s fast-paced world, men can forgo the traits of traditional masculinity without being seen as a coward. They can show sensitivity without losing their characters.

One of the most common reasons for this is the rise of gender equality. With women gaining the same kind of power and earning the same level of respect, men no longer need to exert too much effort in proving themselves and asserting dominance and leadership.

Since there is no longer the need to assert gender superiority, men can show as much emotions as women. They can be sensitive, romantic and even be avoidant in some circumstances. Today, winning battles the smarter way has become every man’s mantra.

They can choose to back off, surrender, or even run away from difficult situations. They can remove themselves from certain circumstances without looking any less of a man.

This change in character, however, appears to be a double-edged sword. While it can improve his life, showing too much emotions and vulnerability can decrease men’s appeal to women.

See Also: The Truth About Why Men Aren’t Romantic Anymore 

The Modern Shift of Manhood

You don’t need to be violent in order to be considered as a man. Although the level of masculinity frequently shown in movies is astounding, being calm, humble and gentle are the characteristics people look for in men these days. Society has less tolerance now for grumpy and violent men.

Before, being able to have and  raise more children were some of the signs of a true man. Sex was considered God’s gift and so men fulfilled His words of going forth to multiply. The more children a man has, the more manly he’s considered.

Today, men are respectful of their partners, especially in the field of parenting, bearing children, and sex. Having fewer children is no longer an issue, but having more children than what a man can afford to raise is still a strong concern. Being a “good provider” is an essential trait of today’s man.

With modern education available to men around the world, they are more receptive to women’s feelings and idealism. This improved capability of the modern men to listen and compromise is more appreciated over the insensitive and dominant characteristics of the primitive men.

On Moving Forward

Remember the old days when women became obsessed with competitions like the “Top Sexy Man of the Year”?

These competitions have set certain physical standards in men. Throughout the years, however, these standards became irrelevant. In addition to good looks, society now admires men who have big hearts for others and have outstanding intelligence, too. A true modern man comes in a complete package.

Aside from this transition, certain rites toward manhood slowly became less and less required as well. Circumcision and other rites to establish manhood are no longer strictly imposed in society before a man is allowed to fulfill his duties- physically, psychologically, spiritually, or even sexually.

See Also: 10 Ways to Be a Better Man (No you aren’t already doing them all)

Today’s meaning of manhood is still evolving, adapting, and coping to meet the present conditions. As the world becomes more equal for both genders, one should expect more changes in the role of men in the next coming years.

 

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Happiness is a subjective thing. Some people perceive happiness as being content, while others see it as feeling healthy.  Regardless of its definition, there are certain habits of happy people that give them their positive disposition in life.

Here are some of them:

1. They Live Every Moment of Life

The world’s happiest people never miss a happy moment. They know that life is not all about having countless luxuries, so they tend to look for joy in the small things.

Their idea of happiness involves spending time with their families or having a blast with their friends. They don’t compromise these moments for material things.

See Also: 10 Things You Should Know About Creating Your Happiness

2. They Befriend With Nature

The world’s happiest persons love the company of flora and fauna. They love spending time in their garden with flowers and plants.

Similarly, they are also fond of pets, like cats and dogs. They find solace in their company and pursue it as a way to seek tranquility.

3. They Make Friends

Happy people have a knack of making friends. Due to their positive nature, they tend to attract people and even become their best buddies.

As they believe in sharing their happiness, they seek friendship as a way to share their joy. Due to their happy nature, they are able to maintain long-term friendships and stay attached to their friends for the rest of their lives.

4. They Do Not Sulk With Other People’s Success

Truly happy people are never jealous of other people’s success. Instead, they find inspiration from their achievements and strive to give them credit for their success.

They are confident about their own abilities, so they are never bothered about the accomplishments of their counterparts. This is actually one of the most important habits of happy people.

See Also: 9 Things to Let Go to Find Ultimate Happiness 

5. They Love Kids

Happy people love spending time with kids. They see them as a pure creation of God and spend time with them to draw inspiration. Their love for kids is validated by the fact that majority of them have big families.

6. They Are Generous

Happy people have the love for humanity. They are sensitive souls who cannot bear the pain of other people.

They are considerate of their needs and help them to the best of their capabilities. Most of them run charity organizations to help alleviate the suffering of the underprivileged.

7. They Help Students

Happy people are always in search of ways to support others, such as students. Helping students serve them a large purpose.

Since they understand that students are the driving force of the society, they guide them in tackling their academic lives and careers. If a student asks them for some help with his essay, for example, they’ll give them the right guidance to finish the paper correctly and on time.

Happy people see helping students as a way of cherishing their own memories of being students.

8. They Have An Ambition

Happy people are never content with an ordinary life. They have the ambition to make it big so that they can make their families feel proud of them.

However, despite their ambitions, they do not just live in fantasy. Instead, they strive hard to make their dreams a reality as it is their way of finding meaning in their lives. Out of the habits of happy people, this one is what makes them productive and successful in life.

Author Bio

Brian S. Turner is a motivational speaker and blogger. As a motivational speaker, he has inspired a generation of students and helped many of them to find a purpose in life.

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Many writers, both professionals and beginners, often struggle to come up with good ideas for writing a story. Some of them even struggle to the point of quitting.

Contrary to what most people believe in, writing inspirations don’t just appear out of the blue. In most cases, we have to work hard to gain and find them.

Look into your past

On several occasions, Salinger stated that Catcher in the Rye was heavily influenced by his own rebellious past. This means that he did not need any external source of inspiration to make his great book. Instead, he simply wrote down what his inner voice told him.

In writing a story, it’s helpful if you can sit down for awhile to listen to your thoughts. Salinger showed how practicing introspection can help in writing great stories, and that’s exactly what every writer aiming to be successful needs to try.

Write down every thought

Freud once stated that daydreaming is innate in every human being. However, because humans are typically shy, they often feel ashamed to share their daydreams.

In his informal talk called “Creative Writers and Day-Dreaming”, Freud claimed that people who are able to overcome the shame of sharing their imaginations are writers. They are able to wrap their imaginations with meaningful and colorful words.

Because of this idea, it’s important that you become aware of your every thought. Make sure that you have a notebook or your phone with you so that you can easily jot down all ideas that come into your mind.

See Also: How to Organize Your Writing Workplace for Better Productivity

Meet new people

Getting outside of your comfort zone and talking to strangers can be a bit difficult, especially if it’s not your personality. However, meeting new people and hearing their stories can give you fresh ideas for writing a story.

Each person has a unique life story, and if you meet and hear a lot of them, you will be able to tell their tales in an amazing way. You can even use their personalities as characters in your project. You can travel to other countries and continents to meet a lot of amazing and inspirational people.

Explore the world

It’s a common knowledge that nature can enhance a person’s creativity.

Because of this, it’s important to get a change of scenery once in awhile. If you’ve been living in a heavily populated city for quite a long time, you can take a short trip and reconnect with nature. In case you’ve been residing in the countryside for years, you can explore some ideas by traveling to the city.

A change of perspective is often necessary if you want to create magnificent stories.

Open yourself up to the other creative things

It is scientifically proven that music enhances creativity. Aside from it, you can also find inspiration in painting, movies, theater, comics and other forms of art. Some of these creations can affect you while others may not even spark any ideas.

However, this shouldn’t deter you from exploring. By searching for and looking at a wide range of inspirations, you’ll be able to find something that can generate ideas for writing your story.

See Also: Here’s How to Get Creativity Bursting Out of Your Eyeballs

Conclusion

If you’re struggling to find great ideas for writing a story, it’s best if you can take a step back and think of ways on how you can generate them. Ideas don’t always appear whenever you need them. In some cases, you have to go out and look for them.

However, this doesn’t mean that the external world is your only source. You can also find great ideas within you and your past experiences if you can only just have the patience and time to listen to your thoughts really well.

 

 

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Have you ever heard of Mussar?

Believe it or not, it is believed that the Jews invented self-help over 1000 years ago. During that period, the Rabbinic scholars were also in the midst of trying to understand goodness and human nature.

The Ten Commandments and other Jewish teachings clearly spell out how we should act. Yet many of us, both now and then, violate the spirit of these commandments quite regularly.

Why is it so hard to practice goodness?

One of the answers to this question is Mussar.

What is Mussar?

Mussar is a practice that gives concrete instructions and guidelines to help you live a meaningful and ethical life. The first Mussar book was Duties of the Heart by Rabbi Bahya ibn Paquda. It was written in eleventh-century Spain.

Rabbi ibn Paquda clarified a central tenet of Mussar: Following the spirit of the commandments is just as important as following the letter of the Law.

For example, he scorned at a scholar who focused on pointless intellectual exercises instead of working to become a better person. On the other hand, he praised another scholar who worked for 25 years to refine his conduct.

In the ensuing centuries,  Mussar literature grew as scholars started contemplating on how various character traits like humility, patience, anger and jealousy contribute to a good life. Mussar became a widespread movement in Eastern Europe during the early 19th century under the leadership of Rabbi Yisroel Salenter.

Rabbi Salenter transformed Mussar from a solitary practice to something the community exercised. Throughout its history, Mussar masters used real examples and described situations that are still relevant today.

Mussar points out that whatever our religion or level of spirituality is, we all have issues and that they don’t change easily. For us to start doing good, we need to find those issues inside us and settle them once and for all- so that they don’t affect us over and over again. The practice provides guidance on how we can begin to make small changes in our lives that will bring healing to our soul and give us  greater balance.

Rabbi Elya Lopian (1876-1970) once defined Mussar as “making the heart feel what the mind understands”.  I love this definition because we often know what we should be doing, but we just can’t seem to make ourselves do it.

See Also: 10 Things You Should Know About Creating Your Happiness

Real World Spirituality

Compared to Mussar, Kabbalah is the more widely known branch of Jewish spirituality. It is mystical in that it focuses on the unseen forces in the universe. Mussar, on the other hand, is more practical. It focuses more on our inner world and how it impacts the choices we make every day.

I have to admit that I don’t know a lot about either traditional or modern Kabbalah. I do know, however, that traditional Mussar and Kabbalistic literature overlap in some way. If you are currently a seeker who has explored Kabbalah, Mussar will complement and enrich your understanding. If you find Kabbalah a bit too “out there,” you’ll find Mussar helpful since it is a very grounded practice.

In Judaism, we don’t wake up, decide to be spiritual, and then book a retreat to a mountain top for contemplation. It requires a lot of inner work to change our very soul so that we become better people. We don’t expect to become great overnight. Instead, we strive to become better than we were the day before.

One of my teachers, Alan Morinis, once said that all people have their own unique spiritual curriculum. It means that we all have our own path in life, with a unique set of challenges and opportunities. We face the same test over and over again until we pass it.

For example, my trait of Humility was once out of balance as I used to be arrogant. This arrogance damaged my relationship with others for years, especially my coworkers. I was caught in a cycle of starting well on a job and then gradually losing the support of my colleagues because of it.

When I started bringing my Humility into balance and gave more room for other people’s opinions, I became a lot easier to work with. As a result, I was spared a lot of unnecessary stress and conflict.

This example also illustrates what Mussar teaches- actions do count. Most of us have good intentions, but, more often than not, our intentions don’t translate into good actions. Mussar brings our actions and intentions into alignment with Jewish values.

Rabbi Hillel summarized this best: “That which is hateful to you, don’t do to another. The rest [of the Torah] is just detail.” These phrases translate to a more popular saying: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

Whether or not you are Jewish, it is hard to argue with this golden rule. But, once you’re able to put this idea into practice, you’ll find it easier to do good and be good.

See Also: How to Become a Spiritual Badass – The 20 Laws of Spiritual Power

From The Spiritual Practice of Good Actions by Greg Marcus, PhD. © 2016 by Greg Marcus, PhD. Used by permission from Llewellyn Worldwide, Ltd.www.Llewellyn.com.

 

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Love those beautiful, eye-catching lilies, but having difficulty removing pollen stains?

Lilies are exotic flowers. They are beautiful in appearance and will delight you with their fragrance and colors. Despite their beauty, Lily pollen can leave stains on almost everything- from carpets and clothes to household surfaces.

The color in the pollen is made up of a range of pigments. Most of the vibrant-colored plants you see around you have them as well. For lilies, it is the yellow and orange carotenoids that give them their color and staining properties.

When it comes to pollen stain removal, it’ll take more than the conventional cleaning methods to prevent permanent damage to your household items. Since lilies possess unique organic qualities, the marks they create are a lot different from other stains. They are dry, dusty and water resistant. Because of these properties, you’ll find it easier to remedy pollen stains when they are dry.

So, are there any special tricks in removing pollen stains?

Firstly, here are 3 tips on what NOT to do.

1. Avoid blotting or wiping the stain. This is absolutely the worst thing you can do. Wiping or even rubbing the pollen dust across the surface of your carpet will only spread the yellow stain even further and deeper into its fibers. Ideally, you want to contain the pollen on the surface of your carpet for easier removal.
2. Avoid wetting the pollen stain. This is another terrible idea. If you add water immediately to the stain, it will dissolve the pollen and the color will spread further into the fibers.
3. Do not touch the lily pollen stain. Your fingertips have natural oils that can cause the pollen to sink deeper into the fabric. This can make the stain even harder to remove.

See Also: Five Tough Spring Cleaning Projects and How to Tackle Them

On the other hand, here is one of the easiest things you can do to get rid of lily pollen stain from your carpet.

Use Sticky Tape

Provided you’ve followed the tips above, removing lily pollen from your carpet using sticky tape should be fairly easy.

Simply take a piece of sticky tape and lay it very gently over the pollen-affected area. Dab the tape over the pollen and lift it away. Continue repeating this step using a clean section of the sticky tape each time. Using a fresh section of the sticky tape will prevent you from re-introducing the pollen to the carpet.

Repeat this process until you’re sure that you’ve removed all the pollen.

See Also: Cheap Cleaning 101 – Use Baking Soda

Don’t be discouraged about buying lilies just because they can leave unwanted stains. To make sure you don’t have to go through the inconvenience of removing their marks, you can cut off their anthers.

Once their flowers open up and there’s enough space for you to get access, wrap some tissue paper around the anthers and cut them off. Anthers are the long stalks bearing the pollen. If you’ll be buying lilies from a florist, you can ask them to do it for you.

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Some books can linger in your memory for a long time. There are books that can shake you from within while others can make you a better human being.

The books in this list did all those things to me. Through them, I felt I became a better decision maker and communicator. It also helped improved my self-confidence.

If you are struggling with any of these things, these are the most recommended management books you need to check out.

1)The Decision Book: 50 Models for Strategic Thinking

The first on my list is The Decision Book. Since it is a mix of psychology and management, I really find it helpful when I’m facing challenging situations. I have used many of the models in the book from time to time in finding my way out of problems.

These models can help you understand and improve yourself and other people. From the Swiss Cheese Model to The Eisenhower Matrix, the book is filled with so many helpful ideas. You can think of it as a great reference with over 50 models and illustrations.

One thing to keep in mind, however, is that the book briefly touches each model.  It doesn’t explain in detail why and how these models work. If you are not much into psychology, you might need help in applying its models in real life.

My favorite models: “The Eisenhower Matrix and The Prisoner’s Dilemma Method”.

See Also: 5 Business Books Recommended By Top Entrepreneurs 

2)The Virgin Way: Richard Branson

Few people in today’s time are as flamboyant and unique as Sir Richard Branson. Many people have extreme hate,  love, and respect for the man because of his personality. In reality, however, if you’re going to compare his management style with any of the famous employers, you’ll see untamed passion in his style.

I would suggest you read this book if you are an introvert or if you’re having confidence issues. At first, you’ll probably find this book as a brash advertisement for his business and quite fluffy. However, if you know how to read between the lines, this book is actually a nice read.

In fact, a lot of businesses are using his strategy. They are creating e-books as a part of their content marketing and indirect business promotions. This book can help your businesses in terms of promotion, lead generation, sales and much more.

My favorite quote from the book: – “If more of us could ‘enlist’ the art of remaining ‘silent’ in order to ‘listen’ we would, in one fell swoop, dramatically improve our ability to learn and get a lot more out”.

3)The One Minute Manager – Ken Blanchard

This book by Ken Blanchard, founder and chairman of The Ken Blanchard Companies, has been translated in more than 25 languages and has sold over thirteen million times. If you are into management books, there’s a good chance you’ve come across this one before.

The book is actually divided into 3 parts: one-minute goal setting, one-minute praising and one-minute reprimanding. These things basically sum up what effective management is. It is a must-read for managers, team leaders, entrepreneurs and even junior staff members who are aiming to be successful in their careers.

My favorite quote from the book: “We are not just our behavior. We are the person managing our behavior”.

Parting Words

Every person has his own favorite books.  Personally, I love to read anything and everything on psychology. Other than that, I also like to read management books from time to time to help me with my profession.

After reading these books, I didn’t only become better at making decisions at work but I also became more confident and positive. They are my all-time favorite books because they helped me become a better person.

 

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