36 Things You Will Want as New Parent: Wrapping My Mind About Being a New Mom

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18 Mistakes That Kill New Businesses

Below you will find the 18 startup mistakes:

1. Single Founder – as a single founder you have almost zero chance of getting funding from Paul Graham. Why? It’s not a coincidence, he says, that founders who succeeded did so as a team of at least two.
2. Bad Location – you can change everything about a house but its location. Likewise, if your startup is in a bad location, you can’t change the nature of that location. It’s easier to move the startup. Where to? Silicon Valley.
3. Marginal Niche – by choosing an obscure niche a startup may paint themselves in a corner. If you are afraid of competition, this is not the way to avoid it.
4. Derivative Idea – there are only so many Twitters for pet owners one can come up with. The bottom line is that the Google of tomorrow will not be like Google.
5. Obstinacy – or inability to adapt kills startups who would have survived had they not been too stubborn to see what their users were telling them.
6. Hiring Bad Programmers – knowing a good programmer from a bad one often takes being a good one yourself, or having a trusted one on your team. Exceptional programmers are always in short supply. So the odds are stacked up against hiring good ones.
7. Choosing the Wrong Platform – how fast you can scale will determine whether your startup lives or dies once you get traction. On the wrong platform scalability will be the bottleneck. And users often don’t wait for you to figure it out.
8. Slowness in Launching – before you actually launch you are in the dark about whether your startup should even exist. The longer you delay the launch the more you delay getting the answer. If you are afraid to know what the answer is, you might want to ask yourself why.
9. Launching Too Early – launch too early, though, and you may be completely unprepared to handle your growth, or worse yet to present a usable product.
10. Having No Specific User in Mind – somewhere someone will for sure be interested in your product, you just don’t know who yet? Sounds like those people may not exist. Be sure to check.
11. Raising Too Little Money – you get what you spend on. With too little money you may not be able to flesh out your product in to its full potential.
12. Spending Too Much – spending too much before you grew enough to have the numbers to raise the next round, and you are out of cash, which often spells the end.
13. Raising Too Much Money – raising too much will likely make you feel like a huge success even before you made anything useful. At the end of the day it’s users, not investors, you want to impress the most.
14. Poor Investor Management – if the choice is between making investors happy or making your users happy, always choose the users. If the user is happy your investors will make money eventually.
15. Sacrificing Users to (Supposed) Profit – you can always make money later. This however, cannot be said about making users happy. You need to make something they want now.
16. Not Wanting to Get Your Hands Dirty – you can’t solve all your problems with coding. Businesses are built on relationships. Go out and meet those people.
17. Fights Between Founders – founder conflict is too common. Founders being ambitious people are almost bound to disagree.
18. A Half-Hearted Effort – a lack of determination to see the startup through to the end is not rare. If you feel like you have other options in life than building your startup, you will probably mentally hang on to them.

How to Pursue Multiple Opportunities

50 Things You Should Start Making At Home

50 Things You Can Start Making

Homemade Ketchup – This ketchup won’t break the bank, tastes better than the real deal and contains no added sugar – so it’s nutritionally good for the whole family.

Homemade Mayonnaise – This is a great recipe for any mayonnaise lover out there wanting to make their own at home, it’s simple and easy and tastes better than the store bought versions.

Peanut Butter – It is so simple to make this pantry staple it would be silly to buy it. With only 3 ingredients you can make a simple tasty Peanut Butter for your whole family.

Simple Loaf Of Bread – This is a classic recipe for you to make and stop buying your normal weekly loaf of bread – nothing beats the smell of freshly baked bread. Saving you pennies and preservatives.

Homemade Nutella – It would make more sense to give your children chocolate spread which you made and know exactly what is in right? Then how about this fantastic recipe…

Homemade Butter – Instead of buying preservative laden, calorific heavy butter from the store, make your own butter with just 4 ingredient and a standard kitchen mixer…so simple yet so tasty.

Homemade Yogurt – This recipe makes a thick and creamy yogurt that would rival any store bought version. Once you learn this method you won’t be buying it again!

Spice Mixers – Did you know that store bought spice mixers and rubs have all sorts of questionable ingredients in them like fillers, preservatives and other unwanted fake flavor enhancers? It is far healthier, cheaper and tastier to make your own, here are 17 combinations to start you off…

Salad Dressing – This simple recipe for homemade salad dressing will jazz up any old salad and make it fabulous. Forget the store bought versions, get your aprons on and get making.

Homemade Maple Syrup – This classic sauce is so expensive nowadays, did you know it is so simple and easy to collect your own!

Honey Shampoo – This shampoo helps reduce frizz, combat dandruff, moisturizer and softens you hair all in one. A natural, kind to your skin shampoo that will make you think twice next time you are in the store.

Coconut Oil Deep Conditioner – With just three ingredients, you can whip up an economical, natural and luxurious conditioner to treat your hair, leaving it soft, manageable and shiny.

Body Wash – If you want to save money but have little time to spare, then this is the natural alternative is for you. A simple recipe and method which makes a soapy bubbly wash great for all skin types.

Shaving Cream – This shaving cream will leave your skin soft and smelling fantastic. With ingredients like coconut oil, Shea butter, mint and rosemary you will feel invigorated and fresh after every shave.

Squeezable Homemade Toothpaste – Ditch those commercial toothpastes on the market and opt for this natural re-mineralizing toothpaste that encourages white healthy teeth and improves oral health.

Minty Mouthwash – Not only is it chemical and alcohol-free, it’s practically free, well nearly is at $0.02 /oz! You will save loads on money this, and improve your family’s oral health at the same time – simple.

Super Strength Herbal deodorant - Rather than use expensive chemical filled deodorants, why not make your own? This requires just a few ingredients, is “super strength” and totally natural!

Honey, Beeswax & Almond Oil Moisturizing Creme – This recipe was  first devised almost 2000 years ago. It’s thick, velvety and decadent qualities will leave your skin silky smooth and hydrated.

Homemade Natural Sun Screen – Most sun screens contain toxic chemicals and other harmful ingredients that could actually damage you when they should be protecting you. Check out this natural alternative and make the swap.

Cleansing Wipes – These organic  wipes are totally natural and only contain ingredients you are aware of. Perfect for cleansing your face or as baby wipes for diaper changes.

Mascara – Arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, nickel, lead and thallium are toxins we do NOT want to be applying to our skin! So opt for this homemade version and you will save money and protect your skin.

Tinted Lipstick – This recipe includes beeswax pastilles, Shea/cocoa butter and coconut oil. It allows you to customize it with different natural powders, such as beetroot powder for red hues, cocoa powder for brown hues and bentonite clay for a matte texture.

Eye Liner – How would you like to be able to make your own natural eyeliner (which can also be used as a smokey eyeshadow) for just $0.24? If yes – then check this recipe out.

Bronzer – This homemade bronzer is really easy to make, simple to customize and so much better for your skin than store-bought varieties. A brilliant way of saving money too.

Natural Blush – Give your cheeks a rosy tint and brighten up your complexion with this easy natural blush recipe. Cosmetics are so pricey these days now really is the time to start making your own.

Foundation – This foundation from Robin at ThankYourBody.com contains all natural and non-toxic ingredients, it works fantastically (see a before and after foundation picture on the blog) and it’s really easy to make.

Under Eye Serum – Ingredients such as tamanu oil, vitamin E oil, grapefruit seed extract, avocado oil, carrot seed oil and more make this such an effective anti-wrinkle eye serum that is totally natural.

Copycat Burts Bees Lip Balm –  This wonderful copy cat recipe from HappyMoneySaver.com reveals how you can make your own version of Burts Bees Lip Balm (Normally priced $2.50) for just $0.12 per tube – what an incredible saving!

Lavender Bath Salts – Making these lavender bath salts couldn’t be simpler. You need just a few ingredients such as Epsom salts, sea salt, dried lavender buds and lavender essential oil and then you just have to follow the instructions.

Anti-wrinkle Cream – Have you ever been tempted by those “miracle” creams that will make you look “ten years younger” that all the major beauty companies produce? Well most are packed with chemicals, preservatives and artificial ingredients and on top of that, they are outrageously expensive. Make your own instead!

Lemon Lavender Aromatherapy Candle – These Lemon Lavender Aromatherapy Candles burn clear and fragrant – unlike many toxic store bought candles that release smoke and soot – and will make a wonderful addition to your home.

Reed Diffusers With Essential Oils – You can buy one in the stores, but usually they are quite expensive and the scents are made primarily from chemicals. Instead why not make your own at home? You can use any essential oils you like and can blend different oils together to create an aroma that is perfect for you and your family.

Homemade Potpourri – Potpourri is so simple to make it would be silly to pay for it. You can tailor the fragrances with your favorite smells and add some seasonal elements to make it even more special.

Homemade Herbal Incense – Incense can be a wonderful way to add a beautiful aroma to your home so take a look at this fantastic video which shows you how to make your own homemade incense with herbs.

DIY Scented Plug-in Refill – This fantastic tutorial which reveals how to get rid of the horrible toxic liquid found in chemical laden store bought plug-ins and replace it with health giving, wonderfully fragrant, toxin free essential oils.

Essential Oil Jelly Air Freshener – The great thing about these jelly air fresheners are that you can add ANY essential oil you want to, or even blend a few different oils together. Perfect if you have a particular scent you are trying to create.

Homemade ‘Fake Febreeze’ - A bottle of Febreeze is currently selling on Amazon for a whopping $6.99, yet you can make a homemade version that’s just as effective (and natural) for only $0.15. If you buy just one bottle per month, then that’s a monthly saving of $6.75 – and a yearly saving of $81! (We suggest you use a homemade natural fabric softener for this recipe.)

Homemade Mod Podge – If you are a keen crafter and go through tonnes of Mod Podge then why not have a go at making some for yourself, you will be surprised at how much you will save.

Un-paper Towels – Are you fed up of buying endless paper towels? If so, then this is the answer for you, these will act just like paper towels, but look pretty, and are totally re-usable, meaning you only have to purchase the materials once. Not forgetting them being economically friendly.

Homemade Natural Bleach Alternative – If you find bleach cleaners too strong and sometimes irritate your skin or eyes, then this alternative promises to clean just like bleach but without the harmful side affects.

Beeswax Furniture Polish – This is a  really simple recipe for a beeswax furniture polish that will restore shine and add gloss to your wooden furniture returning it to its original beauty. No need for expensive store bought polish!

Homemade Bath Tub Scrub – A wonderful bathtub scrub enriched with lemon essential oil and a surprising ingredient…ground up eggshells which give the scrub its abrasiveness and mixed with baking soda and a citrus-y essential oil makes this fantastic bathtub scrub a real winner.

World’s Best Homemade Laundry Detergent – It is all natural, it is much cheaper (you’ll be saving around $0.16 per load!), it cleans incredibly effectively, it works in all washer types and it’s also safe for septic tanks.

Homemade Liquid Dish Soap – This homemade liquid dish soap is fantastic. It’s natural, organic and antibacterial. Plus it’s a great money saver! To make a 32 oz batch costs about $1.20 compared to $4.47 for the equivalent in Dawn dish soap.

All-Natural Foaming Hand Soap – This homemade foaming hand soap is: natural, green, non-toxic, chemical free, organic, gentle and Antibacterial. What more could you want from a hand soap?

Homemade Dishwasher Detergent Cubes- These are so simple to make, it simply requires mixing four simple ingredients together: washing soda, Epsom salt, Borax and lemon juice and then allowing to dry. The resulting cubes work wonders on your dishes!

Homemade Natural Fabric Softener – Want to make your laundry smell amazing, stay fresh and soft, well this is the recipe for you. Most fabric softeners are really toxic and could be harmful to skin.

Natural Disinfectant Spray - It contains just four ingredients: water, eucalyptus, lavender and tea tree essential oil (all of which can be bought here). The essential oils have antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal and antibiotic properties helping to clean and disinfect surfaces in your home without the chemicals, without the expense and with a wonderful aroma, too!

Non-Toxic Glass Cleaner – Here’s a great tutorial revealing how to make your own green, non-toxic, all-natural glass cleaner for just $0.45 per bottle! Best of all, this cleaner works better than any commercial cleaner you can buy in the stores – and you can feel happy that you are not putting yours – or your families – health at risk with toxic chemicals.

AIDS IN ATLANTA. GO GET TESTED.

THIS IS SAD. TAKE THE TIME OUT TODAY TO GO GET TESTED.

Atlanta is ranked No. 1 among U.S. cities when it comes to the rate of new diagnoses of HIV.

Experts say that's because routine HIV testing is not offered in the places where most people get their health care. By the time patients are diagnosed in Atlanta, almost one third have advanced to clinical AIDS. 

Since starting a routine testing program in 2013, Grady Hospital has diagnosed an average of two or three patients with HIV every single day.

“This is something that keeps me awake at night in Atlanta," Dr. Abigail Hankin-Wei said.

She runs Grady’s FOCUS HIV testing program. It’s the only emergency department in the city that offers a HIV test to every patient regardless of why they came in.

“When we diagnose patients with HIV, the first time we are telling them they’ve been infected with HIV, we know that among our patients at Grady, nearly half of them have AIDS the day we diagnose them," said Hankin-Wei.  

There are at least 50 places you can get tested in the Atlanta area.

“Despite that, there are patients who aren’t going to get those tests. And they aren’t going for a decade," Hankin-Wei said. 

It takes about eight to 10 years for untreated HIV to advance to clinical AIDS. Across Georgia, about a third of the people who find out they’re positive fall into this category of late diagnosis.

“Diagnosing people to get people on treatment is our best method to prevent further transmission,"  Wendy Armstrong, the director of the Ponce de Leon Center, an AIDS care facility in Atlanta, said.

Effective treatment can make the risk of HIV transmission almost non-existent, Armstrong said. But nationally, according to the CDC, an estimated 14 percent of people with HIV or AIDS do not know they’re infected.  

“Our massive group out there who are not tested are folks out there who often don’t have primary care physicians because they’re young, and there’s not a need for that and no insurance if they they did wish to have a primary care physician," Armstrong said. 

There are plenty of other reasons people don’t get tested. Experts say stigma, extreme poverty, fear of a positive diagnosis, transportation even. People might think they’re not at risk because they’re in a monogamous relationship.

For all these reasons and more, in 2006, the CDC recommended routine HIV testing.That means offer the test anywhere people get health care. 

Almost a decade later, Grady’s Emergency Department is the only one in Atlanta to follow that recommendation. The funding comes from pharmaceutical giant Gilead.

Georgia’s Department of Public Health relies mostly on federal money to combat HIV.

“The needs for funding of health care in general are not keeping up with the demands that the various disease that we’re facing are placing on society," Dr. Pat O'Neil, the director of health protection at the state Health Department, said. 

When it comes to state money, really no agency one gets what they need or ask for, he said. 

“We’re competing with all the issues Georgia has, for example, with education, for the same pie of funds that the education community does," O'Neil said. 

He's been practicing medicine long enough to see HIV diagnoses go from a death sentence to a treatable condition, so he’s hopeful. But others say the pace of progress in Georgia is glacial.

Dazon Dixon Diallo is the president of Sister Love, a community-based AIDS treatment and advocacy group in Atlanta.

“We shouldn’t even be talking about AIDS anymore these days, and yet we still are," Diallo said. 

“It’s not acceptable to have a zero line item for HIV prevention ... It’s unacceptable to not have expanded Medicaid to include HIV testing. It’s not acceptable to have any health department in the state of Georgia that’s currently not trained, equipped and implementing rapid testing ... You want me to go on? It’s just a lot," she said.

Other states with HIV hotspots have pushed for more aggressive testing initiatives.

“New York has made a priority of the funding of HIV and health care is quite a bit different than a number of states in the south including Georgia," Catherine Hanssens with the Center for HIV Law and Policy in New York, said. 

There, the state passed a law in 2010 requiring doctors to offer the test to patients in all health care settings. In Washington D.C., you can get a rapid HIV test at the DMV.

Ideally, Hanssens said, people should not need to be tested for HIV in emergency rooms. That’s kind of the end result of a broken public health system.

"Frankly if someone is in a medical emergency or they present with a gunshot wound or a knife wound that is probably the very worst and last time that you would ever offer an HIV test," Hanssens said.

But in Atlanta, that’s where we’re at. On overnight shifts at the emergency department Dr. Hankin-Wei sees a steady stream of patients suffering with non-existent immune systems because of untreated HIV.

“Those patients, we have failed. I want to be clear. We: physicians, lawmakers, public health professionals," Hankin-Wei said. 

She said in the ZIP code around Grady, 8 percent of the population are living with HIV or AIDS. Georgia can do better, said Hankin-Wei, and making routine HIV testing part of health care is the first step.

Likes Do Equal Money: a Gem for you today.

Making Money of Social Media

Here are a few tips.

1. Start With Clear Goals

2. Tell a Story Through Your Brand

3. Use High Quality Images. 

****Check out my detailed Podcast on Likes=Money 

or on Itunes ****

Instagram Introduces Clickable Links for Advertisers

In their announcement, Instagram explains that last year they detected marketers wished for  a lot of advertising choices. Currently links within Instagram are unclickable giving rise to the "link in my bio" approach that companies are victimisation as a workaround. permitting in-app clickability on ads could be a move that some believe is Instagram's commit to court ecommerce brands.

Last year it was reported  that social discovery commerce is on the increase which over five hundredth of all ecommerce traffic is currently returning from mobile devices. therefore it ought to return as no surprise that companies area unit hungry to faucet into visual social networks like Instagram and Pinterest and use them as the way to drive measurable traffic and sales back to their own websites.

There's no doubt marketers and advertisers can return up with clever ways in which to require advantage of the new carousel practicality incentivizing users to "swipe left". for instance, Instagram suggests that "a fashion company might use the carousel to interpret the individual merchandise during a ‘look.’" Another approach may well be to force users to swipe left to reveal a reduction code or the image itself.

Right now Instagram is introducing the new ad format on a restricted basis. We'll make certain to allow you to recognize as before long as they become obtainable to everybody.

10 Great House Rules When You Live With Your Partner

1. Nothing is too precious or irreplaceable. I've always loved the idea of certain household items that feel particularly luxe: a white couch, upholstered dining room chairs and a luxurious vintage rug come to mind. But they're just not realistic for the way we live. I want our friends to be able to pile on the sofa (with red wine in hand!) to watch movies and not care if someone tracks in a bit of mud when they enter. It's not to say that we don't have some nice things in our home, but nothing's too precious or irreplaceable that I'd be absolutely devastated if they were ruined. I'm thankful that we've always lived like this since we didn't have to make any dramatic changes when the baby arrived.

2. Always keep a bottle of champagne chilled. I'm a big believer in keeping things on hand that can either turn into a quick celebration or rescue a really bad day. Even if I don't open a particular bottle for a while, there's something kind of fun and reassuring about sneaking a peek anytime I go into the fridge. It's a reminder that the next exciting thing is on the horizon or that even if things aren't working in your favor, there's an easy fix.

3. Do at least one nice thing for the other person each day. This one only applies if you live with someone else, whether it's a significant other or a roommate, but G and I adhere to the idea that you should do at least one kind gesture each day. This can be as simple as making the other person's coffee, coming home with a sweet treat or making the bed, but it creates a nice environment where little things are done to show appreciation.

4. Choose what to invest in. We prioritize what we spend on based on how often we use certain things. For us, that means high quality towels, bedding and knives. They might seem insignificant, but since they're things we reach for daily, they make a big difference.

5. Create time limits for messes. It goes without saying that our place inevitably gets messy from time to time, but we keep tabs on specific problem areas so that they never stay like that for too long. If we have a dinner party and don't get to the dishes that night, we'll make sure to get to get to them in the morning. The same rule applies for clean laundry that's waiting the be folded or the DIY project that I've yet to clean up. It also helps each person be accountable for their messes so that things never get out of hand.

6. Make small changes every once in a while. When you live and work from home, things can start to feel stagnant rather quickly. Whether or not your office is in your house, I think it's important to switch things up every once in a while. Whether that's swapping out a lampshade, getting new throw pillows or rearranging furniture, it helps keep things feeling fresh and new.

7. Fix things that bother you. In our last home, we had our TV mounted above our mantle, which was aesthetically pleasing, but meant that our necks were strained any time we were on the couch. We both knew it was a problem the night it was installed, but didn't want to deal with the inconvenience of having it switched, so we kept it that way for months. Not only was it ergonomically irresponsible, but we rarely used that room because of how uncomfortable it was. As soon as we finally had it moved, we vowed to never stall on anything that truly bothered us about our place. 

8. Keep your house 10 minutes away from being guest-ready. I've mentioned this rule before and it's one I live by. Even though most friends don't unexpectedly call us up let us know they're en route to our place, we have enough visitors to keep the place in close-to-clean shape at all times. 

9. Simple is best. We believe less is more, which creates a calm, uncluttered vibe in our house. Whenever I come across something that I like, I always try to envision exactly where it would live in our home. Beyond making sure everything has a place, we try to edit what we do have roughly twice a year, just to ensure that we're only surrounded by things we truly love.

10. Create a vibe in your home. For us, this means lots of fresh air, candles burning and music playing. It's a nice way to set an overall tone with things that make you happy, so that anytime you're in your place, it feels like home.

Things to Do to Strengthen your Relationship

I have an amazing boyfriend. He is amazing. Just a good guy. I'm so thankful to have someone so supportive that I actively seek ways to make us closer and our relationship healthy. Most times relationships fizzle because people stop doing the work to keep them healthy. I found a cute little blog that had a list of great questions to ask your mate.

I think I'm going to do this exercise over a nice home cooked dinner. I'm so afraid of divorce. I read about how to avoid it all the time. For me, I have to actively pursue relationship balance as much as I pursue business success because I easily will let the internet take over me. Here are a few questions off the list.

1. Which teacher had the biggest influence on your life?
2. What’s the most spontaneous thing you’ve ever done?
3. If you could go back in time, what year would you travel to?
4. What was your favorite toy or game growing up?
5. What's the craziest event you've ever witnessed?
6. What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?
7. If you had a superpower, even for just one day, what would it be?
8. If you could go back in time, what is one piece of advice you would give your younger self?
9. If you could have been a child prodigy what would you have wanted your skill to be?
10. What is your favorite thing about the town where you live?
11. What was your favorite food when you were a kid?
12. If you could stay a certain age forever, what age would it be?
13. If you could witness any event—past, present or future—what would it be?
14. If you could meet anyone, living or dead, who would it be?
15. What would you title the autobiography of your life?
16. What was the first thing you bought with your own money?

To read the rest click here.

Wifi and a Dream....

Check Them Out. All you need to succeed is God, Wifi, and a Dream.

How to Make Money Online (A Map)

Just wanted to share. Jesus didn't die for us to be average. There is no longer any excuse to be broke or living average. If you are, its your fault.
Click the link for the map to view better.

Here is a Few Tips to Sell Online or Anywhere.

Be Dedicated to Your Brand and Your Product

I found a great article to share today about selling. I run a million dollar company and I never get tired of reading about how to build a better brand and do more.  This was a great article.

1. How to persuade skeptics: Be confident, talk fast

The best way to persuade audiences that are not inclined to agree with you, is to talk fast. Fast pace is distracting and people find it difficult to pick out the argument’s flaws. When talking to an audience who is likely to agree (preaching to the choir), slow down and give the audience time to agree some more.

Want to boost persuasive power? Talk with confidence.

Don Moore from Carnegie Mellon’s Center for Behavioral Decision Research has published research showing that confidence even trumps past accuracy in earning the trust of others.

We prefer advice from a confident source, even to the point that we are willing to forgive a poor track record. Moore argues that in competitive situations, this can drive those offering advice to increasingly exaggerate how sure they are.

People naturally associate confidence with expertise. Know your product, know the facts about its benefits and believe in what it does – true confidence becomes from knowing and believing what you’re saying. It’s essential that we communicate our confidence to others in order to persuade them.

2. Swearing can help persuade an audience

Light swearing, that is. (Go overboard and lose all credibility.)

Researchers divided 88 participants into three groups to watch one of three slightly different speeches. The only difference between the speeches was that one contained a mild curse word at the start:

“…lowering of tuition is not only a great idea, but damn it, also the most reasonable one for all parties involved.”

The second speech contained the ‘damn it’ at the end and the third had neither. When participants’ attitudes were measured, they were most influenced by the speeches with the mild obscenity included, either at the beginning or the end.

The word ‘damn’ increased the audience’s perception of the speaker’s intensity, which increased persuasion. The audience’s perceived credibility of the speaker did not change.

So that’s the secret of Gary Vaynerchuk and Dave McClure. I thought they’re just cool guys, but turns out that mild swearing is just a persuasion technique that is really effective.

Image credit

3. Get people to agree with you first

If you want to persuade people to buy into your message, start with something they can agree with.

In a research study by Jing Xu and Robert Wyerestablished, there were lingering effects of messages people agree with. In one of the tests, participants listen to a speech by John McCain or one by Barack Obama and then watch a TV ad for Toyota.

Republicans tended to be more swayed by the ad after watching the speech by John McCain, while Democrats showed the opposite effect, finding the ad more persuasive after the Obama speech.

So when you try to sell something, make statements or represent a world view your customers can agree with first – even if they have nothing to do with what you’re selling. (This can be done with a compelling value proposition & if done well can dramatically improve your customer lifetime value)

4. Balanced arguments are more persuasive

If what you are doing inspires (or can inspire) criticism, resist the instinct to paper over weaknesses. We fear undermining our point of view by talking about weaknesses, but actually it would help our case.
Psyblog writes:

Over the years psychologists have compared one-sided and two-sided arguments to see which are the most persuasive in different contexts. Daniel O’Keefe at the University of Illinois collected together the results of 107 different studies on sidedness and persuasion conducted over 50 years which, between them, recruited 20,111 participants (O’Keefe, 1999, Communication Yearbook, 22, pp. 209-249).

The results of this meta-analysis provide persuasive reading. What he found across different types of persuasive messages and with varied audiences, was that two-sided arguments are more persuasive than their one-sided equivalents.

People are not idiots. Knowing how to persuade means acknowledging they can think. If you don’t mention the other side of the coin in your arguments, people are less likely to believe you.

Perhaps it might be a good idea to mention the shortcomings of your product or service on your website. Read More...

11 Tool That Will Keep You Productive. Everyday Use

1. Task manager / project manager
   Task and project management of some kind is essential to making sure that you are getting things done as well as getting the right things done. It’s very difficult to know that you are working on the thing that you should be working on if you don’t have all the stuff that needs done organized somehow. We try to be tool agnostic here at Lifehack, but here are some great applications to get you started:
   • Remember the Milk
   • Toodledo
   • Things
   • OmniFocus
   • Evernote
   • Todoist
2. Ubiquitous capture device
   Another important aspect of being productive is to make sure that you always have some way of capturing “inputs” in your life. That is, if you have an idea or cool new thought about a project you are working on, you have to make sure that you can capture it somehow so you can process that information later. I carry a GTD Notetaker wallet because I’m a total geek. You can use anything you want though to capture like the following:
   • Smart phone with any notes app
   • Pen and paper
   • 3×5 cards (Hipster PDA style)
3. Boundaries
   To be able to stay productive day-in and day-out you have to set and keep boundaries. You have to protect your time and energy so you can work on the things that are most important to you. What are some of the things in your life that you want to do? To get those important things done, set up boundaries so you aren’t side-tracked and taken away from your goals.
4. Know when and how to say “no”
   This goes hand-in-hand with number three. Once you have boundaries set for what you want to and don’t want to do in life, you can now know when to say “no” to other less important things that make their way into your life. The best way to decrease the stuff that you “have” to do is to say “no” to the things that don’t really matter to you and that won’t further your goals.
5. Set realistic deadlines and expectations
   I’m a developer by trade so I know how to set unrealistic expectations. A good rule of thumb when trying to set a deadline is to double however long that you will think it will take. Of course, this is good for “light” planning, not exact planning that some jobs may need.
6. Calendar
   A calendar is used for the “hard landscape” of our lives. Use it to set due dates and reminders for things that are date sensitive. You calendar can either be analog or digital, but having a digital calendar is nice because of the ability to search, move things around easily, as well as send invites to people.
   We highly recommend Google Calendar.
7. Inboxes
   I can’t remember what life was like before I had my inboxes set up, but I can imagine it was pretty messy. It’s important for you to have places for incoming information and potential projects to sit so you can then process them later. 
   Inboxes can be in several forms like these: 
   • An inbox section in your task / project management software
   • A physical, paper inbox (one for home and work)
   • Voicemail box
   • Email inbox
   Then make sure to check and process these inboxes on a regular basis to keep yourself at “inbox zero.”
8. A great scanner or label maker
   Or both, really. Having a scanner like the ScanSnap S1500 has totally changed the way that I file things (I don’t). All I do is scan documents in and throw them in a generic area folder, like “Work” or “Financial”, and then simply run text searches if I need to find something.
   If you are still doing paper filing, having an awesome, trusty labelmaker is something you can’t live without and won’t once you get one. Basically any Brother labelmaker is good.
9. Office document software
   It’s pretty standard now that you need some sort of document creation software to get things done. The ability to create spreadsheets, documents, presentations, etc. is a must. You can use a free suite like Google Docs or Office Web Apps. If you want to get “serious” you can get Apple’s iWork suite or Microsoft Office. Don’t forget about the free and open source OpenOffice.org.
10. Proficiency / expertise in an operating system
    You are only as good as your tools. Even though you have some good software and systems in place to support your productivity efforts, without solid working knowledge of you OS of choice (whether it’s Windows, Mac, Linux, or some other weird thing), you will always be losing time when trying to get things done. 
    Learn keyboard shortcuts and how to do things more efficiently while you are on your OS. Tools like Veodin KeyRocket for Windows or CheatSheet for Mac are great ways to learn how to use your OS faster and better.
11. A journal
    There is no better way to keep track of and understand the who, what, where, when, and why of your productivity than through journaling every day. Whether you write a full 750 words or just take down a log of your time and tasks completed, journaling is a great way to look back on what you have accomplished, your hangups, and other metrics that are important when you are trying to be more productive.

7 Things You Can Do in the Morning to Jumpstart your Day

Most of your reality isn't a given. it's formed by your expectations, beliefs and thoughts you've got fashioned regarding it. an enormous chunk of those beliefs and expectations ar encoded into habits you integrate in your standard of living. Yes, a number of these habits ar fashioned unconsciously and may be counter-productive or limiting however conversely you'll consciously kind positive habits which will remodel and empower your life considerably.

This is a strong purpose of departure that additional and additional folks have become alert to. the foremost common attribute of extremely prospering folks is that the recognition of the facility they need in co-creating their reality through dynamical the approach they suppose, believe or expect their reality to be. one in every of the foremost effective ways in which of adjusting our belief patterns is thru practising and maintaining daily rituals. Ancient traditions had clearly understood the facility of rituals in reinforcing habits and dynamical the approach we tend to see and make our reality an extended, long term agone. Once again, if you check up on the life history of any extremely prospering individual, you may notice some sort of ritual in his or her daily routine. a number of these rituals could seem banal or eccentric however don’t be deceived by appearances. Rituals ar one in every of the foremost effective self-epowering tools freely accessible at the practitioner’s disposal – that's, you!

Below ar some the best nevertheless life-changing rituals you'll do each morning. Of course, you'll have your own afternoon or bed-time rituals however morning rituals ar very effective in empowering your day since they assist you charge yourself before it all starts.

1. Gratitude
Gratitude-Quotes
Feeling feeling and appreciation for those very little signs and moments of joy happening in your life is perhaps one in every of the foremost unnoted or underestimated rituals. it's an ideal morning ritual to begin your day on a awfully positive key. the important power of feeling is that it causes you to recognize and target what's operating in your life – what's in tune together with your being as a full. it's by selection positive. It reinforces happiness and positivism by shedding light-weight on those awful things, little or huge, that grace your daily living. very often we tend to simply recognize the pain points, the issues, the bottle necks, no matter it's that's not operating in our life and inflicting friction, anxiety and unhappiness. this can be like perpetually revising the script of your life with a negative or tragic overtone. Your psyche follows reliably that script you write whether or not it's a negative or positive one.

So feeling feeling is ANy doubt} an vastly empowering ritual. begin your day by being appreciative for those positive things that happened the previous day or throughout the week. It may well be one thing extremely petty and tiny. It doesn’t matter. you would possibly be grateful for associate degree sudden visit from associate degree ex, a pretty encounter with a form alien, a replacement chance or no matter it's that shines your approach. make love each morning and see what happens throughout the day.

2. Writing down your most significant tasks
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This is a awfully sensible ritual. begin your day by distinctive and writing down from one to a few of the foremost necessary tasks you wish to finish throughout that day. These tasks ar ones that support necessary long run goals that ar aligned to your purpose, passion or general direction in life. as an example, if writing a book or building a web community ar necessary long run goals that ar aligned to your personal growth, then a vital task for the day may be finishing off a specific page or 2 of the book or bobbing up with recent content concepts for the web community. what's necessary with this ritual is that you just establish these tasks and complete them as early within the day as potential. in fact you may produce other tasks except those you may write down however these ar tasks which may be tackled later or batched up and meted out in one go.

Writing down your most significant tasks within the morning, helps you focus your day and life per what's essential. It helps you grade and manage it slow higher. As a result, you change your life by applying your focus and energy on what extremely counts for your overall life progress.

3. Affirm your goals in writing or drawing
write down goals

This is like the previous plan however completely different in its application and purpose. Writing down your most significant tasks of the day could be a thanks to have a concrete structure of action to follow. Affirming your goals, on the opposite hand, could be a terribly powerful approach of crystallising your vision and goals in life into your everyday mental house. Writing down or doodling your goals on a bit of paper helps you externalise those goals by giving them kind. reciprocally they're mirrored back in your psyche therefore reinforcing them and integration them additional whole.

An example of this is able to be writing down “I am achieving larger success in my career” or “I am changing into healthier and stronger through my exercise”. Notice the current tense getting used as the simplest way to inform yourself you're within the method already. bear in mind the life script we tend to subconsciously follow? you're primarily modifying the script to be applied currently within the gift. Drawing or doodling may be equally, or maybe additional, effective  (if you're additional of a visible person) because it summarises a graphical illustration of your goals. as an example, if your goal is to make a replacement house or board another country, you'll draw the house or draw things that symbolise the country you wish to measure in.

4. energy Gong exercises
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According to Chinese philosophy, energy (pronounced ‘Chee’) suggests that the elan vital or energy inherent all told things and energy Gong is that the apply to cultivate and flow into that energy in your body. this might sound orphic or difficult however really energy Gong is absolutely a group of straightforward exercises aimed toward increasing your health and vitality. There ar various forms and practices accessible without charge through the web media. As a morning ritual i like to recommend following these straightforward exercises by energy Gong master Lee Holden.

5. predicament with Lemon
Simply add a slice of lemon in an exceedingly glass of predicament and drink one each morning. this can be a awfully straightforward ritual I follow reliably each morning. except being an honest supply of vitamin C and a good approach of flushing out toxins within the morning, it balances and maintains the pH scale levels within the body, reduces pain and inflammation in joints and knees and helps alimentary brain and nerve cells. Here ar some additional edges of drinking predicament with lemon.

6. Rise Earlier
early-to-bed-and-early-to-rise-makes-a-man-healthy-wealthy-and-wise

The practical blessings of wakening early ar obvious. as an example you gain longer for doing exercise like walking, athletics or energy Gong as recommended higher than. You gain longer to be with yourself to mirror, meditate or, additional significantly, perform the opposite morning rituals! thus rising early may be seen as a foundation for all the opposite morning rituals. Many, like myself, notice that they're additional productive within the early hours of the day.

Also, numerous studies have shown that there ar several alternative edges from wakening associate degree hour or 2 earlier within the morning. as an example it's been shown that sleeping early and wakening early helps the body set with the earth’s unit of time rhythms therefore promoting additional restorative sleep. alternative curious results from such studies show as an example that early risers tend to be additional optimistic and may anticipate and solve issues additional expeditiously than the norm.

7. hear rising music
In itself this ritual could be a project. rising music will have a right away impact on our mood particularly within the morning. It charges North American country showing emotion and tunes North American country into a additional positive outlook of the day ahead. the general public awaken to music or hear music as they commute to figure. fairly often but they tune up to a radio or indiscriminately decide a listing from their device. Being additional selective and responsive to the music you hear within the morning will have a good impact on your day and life generally. try and hear additional rising music within the morning even though, or particularly if, your mood doesn't dictate thus.

It’s funny however we tend to try and opt for music per our mood. as an example if you're feeling down or frustrated by one thing, you're additional susceptible to hear music that reflects that mood – as an example blues, unhappy songs or downtempo music. This has the result of reinforcing that mood. What you wish to try to to is that the precise opposite and retune your mood by taking note of music that beats to a unique tune than that mood.