Learning Opportunities are Available Every Day through Communication

The world we live in today is busier and takes more of our attention than any of the previous generations would have ever imagined. Consider your daily responsibilities, then add the current technology to that mixture, and you are ultimately left with limited time for extracurricular activities.  However, this should not deter us from extracurricular learning. Now many individuals think of learning and immediately an image of a classroom comes to mind. Not to mention the ever increasing costs of tuition, as well as the investment of time it takes to go through college or continuing education classes. Much to our benefit, this does not have to be the case.

The Written Word vs. Discussion

About half way through finishing my master’s degree I began to realize something. This being that an overwhelming amount of my conceptualizations of the topics being discussed were not necessarily happening from my readings, but from the in class discussions afterwards. The readings simply gave me the terminology and a basis for which I was able to carry on meaningful conversations with my classmates. Now you may be asking yourself, “so what are you saying, I need to go find someone to talk to in order to learn?” Well, my answer is yes. Now I am not saying there are no other ways to learn. As a writer, I certainly support and promote the significance the written word has in our intellectual development. That being said, what might be a good question to ask is what enhances the written word? This is where discussion and debate catapult our understanding of any topic we are pursuing to a higher level. 

“How does someone else’s view affect my own understanding?”

The answer to this question is through guidance. What does that mean?  Following the time we read material on any topic, we all form observations and conclusions that make sense to us as individuals. These could be based off our own past experiences perhaps. However, what we must ask ourselves is whether or not our conclusions are correct. Are they a logical answer, or at the very least, a reasonable comprehension of what was being read. Here is where dialogue comes into play. The advantage of carrying on a conversation with someone who has similar interests in a topic, is that it allows you to either affirm your own beliefs or perhaps see where they may be flawed. Notice that “flaw” doesn’t necessarily mean it’s entirely wrong, but possibly in need of an adjustment. The need to be assisted or guided by our peers is an inevitable circumstance. Despite this inevitability, as individuals we at times feel ashamed of this, but it is truly a learning opportunity. The path to higher learning is through discussion.

“I have a difficult time debating with strangers or acquaintances.”

I am naturally a shy person to a degree, as I feel many people have those same feelings. I have no difficulty speaking with people, I enjoy it immensely. However, going back to my classes in the graduate program, in the beginning I preferred to listen, rather than get into a debate with a stranger. Debating with friends, family, or my wife was no problem. (Depending on the topic, of course). Yet someone to whom I have never even introduced myself, that was a different story. Regardless, it is noteworthy to remember that those individuals were having similar feelings as well, being that they were either too shy to speak, wanted to contribute to the discussion, or a combination of both. The latter seems to be the most probable. The factor to consider was that we were all there for the same reason, to learn from each other. Around my second semester what I soon realized to my own amazement,  was not only were the discussions immensely enjoyable, but those “strangers” were the best individuals with whom to have a debate. This is due to one major fact; they brought entirely new and unfamiliar insight to the topic. Although, there is no doubt your family and friends will give you great ideas and intelligent input, there is a reason that you are close to them. That reason being  your similarities or similar ways of thinking. This is not to say they will give you a biased, wrong, or unintelligent opinions. As people who love and care about you, I would suggest they would give you quite the contrary. At the risk of diminishing my argument, it is important to mention that close friends and family can offer extraordinarily valuable viewpoints as well.  Yet, what individuals who are outside of your everyday realm offer is a brand new frame of mind, thought patterns, and most importantly, perspective…….Simply put, these “strangers” gave me the view points that significantly improved my own ideas.

Conclusion

Now how does this fit into adult learning on an everyday basis? This is where it becomes easy as adults, because we are given an infinite amount of opportunities to discuss topics with others throughout our daily rituals. Although, my everyday learning has been primarily structured within the context of an academic setting, it is not limited to that space. This is the magnificent aspect about learning; it does not have to be in a formal setting. Allow the world to be your classroom.

source from: pickthebrain

You have stated on Copy Blogger that you chose a name that would command respect; you could have chosen any male name how did you decide on that particular pseudonym?

I used to write creative fiction, and one of the characters’ names was James Chartrand – I’d chosen James because it was the name of a childhood friend, and I liked it, and I chose Chartrand as a tip of the hat to my Québecois roots. So it was a name I was familiar with, that felt comfortable to me and that reflected my personality well. There really wasn’t any more deep deliberation than that!

I read that you ‘came out’ before being outed. Did this make a difference to your business in the amount of clients that you received?

There was very little difference in business before, during and after the ‘outage’ – and quite frankly, there shouldn’t have been! It meant that I was being respected in business for what I could do and provide to my clients… not for my gender.

In 2009, Jess McCabe of the F Word stated ‘Personally, I think this does constitute using sexism for career advantage, and that is crappy when anyone does it. And, even more so, it’s incredibly crappy that this is such an effective tactic in becoming successful’. When you first changed your name, did you intend for it to be a ‘sexist’ act?

Of course not. I had two kids to feed, bills to pay and a business to run. It ran and operated more efficiently under a male name than a female name, so the choice, to me, was very simple.

I think what happened says less about my actions and far more about people’s perception of gender differences and the fact that we all have personal biases and filters through which we see the world. I think a lot of people were ignorant of the fact that sexism and gender inequality still exists, so I’m glad I shook that up and reminded them we still have a long way to go!

It is also obvious to see that your website appears quite masculine, the name as well as the overall feel. Was this intentional?

Not really. Sure, I wanted a business name that felt masculine and powerful, but that was more of a personal preference and branding strategy than anything. The inspiration came from ‘Men with Brooms, actually – a Canadian movie starring Canadian actors playing a Canadian sport… so Men with Pens is a bit of a spoof off that!

The website design is just what I liked, personally. It’s bold, sleek and modern. I’m actually often quite curious when people question my website design… It’s almost as if they feel it would be more acceptable or appropriate for a woman if my website was baby pink with flowers!

It could be assumed that as a female who has had difficulties becoming successful in this field that you would maybe encourage other women to show their own abilities, has this ever been considered by you?

I consider it all the time and every day, and I believe I actually have always encouraged other people – not just women, but people – to show their abilities and skills. That’s the entire point of my blog and my business – to give people tools to help them do better, earn a decent living and succeed.
You have stated in previous interviews that once you changed your name, people started to acknowledge you and started to listen to your ideas. Do you recommend to other females to follow your lead?

No. I’ve made it clear on my blog and in other interviews that I don’t recommend taking the route I did, which was difficult at times and required operating my business in a restrictive environment. But by route, I mean the entire experience, not just the name switch.

That said, I don’t discourage pen names either. That’s up to every person’s situation and personal decision. Pen names have, and always will, existed as a means for people to achieve what they want to achieve without discrimination or perception obstacles. The Bronte Sisters, JK Rowling… I’m not the first or the last to mask gender or use a pen name (Steven King, Anne Rice), and it’s actually more common and less controversial than one thinks!

A name is just a name, just as a sofa is a couch is a chesterfield. It’s a label we attach to people to help identify them – but their name is not their identity.
Were there any negative situations once your clients realised that you were female?

Some people couldn’t understand or accept what I’d done and absolutely dragged me through the mud. Several bloggers and media names chose to write aggressive, hurtful or defamatory posts and emails – and unfortunately, they were predominantly female.  I can certainly understand that sort of reaction, though I feel their reaction says more about them than me.  Thankfully, those people were in the minority. For the most part, people were supportive, encouraging and cheered me on.  And the good news is that my story shook up everyone’s view of their world, and in wonderful ways.

I had people write to share their own stories of facing racism or sexism. So many people had been through similar situations. For example, a man told me of being frequently ridiculed about his job – he was a nurse. Another woman had difficulty landing interviews and felt her last name was the cause: it was Indian.

I’m glad my story helped give these people hope and opened up the world’s eyes to the long way we still have to go to reach equality in business.
As a single mother, how did you find time to become a success whilst still giving time to your children and time for yourself?

In my case, it was the other way around: How did I manage to find time for my children while becoming a success? (Forget time for myself – there was none!)

Here’s the thing: Starting a business, building it up, marketing it and maintaining it is work – a lot of work. And you have to put in the hours your business needs, or else it’ll suffer.

So you do the best to balance work and home, but in many cases, the first year or two means you’ll need to work a lot and not see your kids very often – or get help, delegate, and hire out tasks.

My kids were thankfully old enough not to mind and young enough not to care, so I got through those first years with a lot of coffee, long hours and as much sleep as I could manage.

I drew as many boundaries as I could around time that was important to me – like being there for my littlest one’s swimming lessons – but I had to compromise often (like bringing my laptop to work on while I was there).

How do you see yourself in the future? What goals do you have to yet achieve?

A castle in England, a full staff who’ll cook and clean for me, and a small Tahiti island with a handsome servant fanning me while asking if I’d like another Daiquiri. I’m not quite there yet, but I’m working on it!

source from: successcircuit

Hello Hayleigh, could you please start by telling us a little about yourself?

I’m Hayleigh Scott and I’m 13 years old. I really like my siblings and make jewellery. I just turned 13 this month. I have packed a lot into those 13 years!

Happy belated birthday. Tell me a little about the things you have packed in to your 13 years.

I almost died when I was a baby and the drugs they used to save my life are what probably took away my hearing. My mom figured out that I had hearing loss because she was at the park with me and my twin sister and my twin (Vienna) looked at an airplane going overhead that was very loud but I didn’t react at all.  I have had hearing aids since I was 18 months old, my parents tried to hide them behind long hair so that I would not be teased or made fun of. I went to a school for the deaf when I was in kindergarten and I noticed a lot of the other kids also tried to hide their hearing aids but I decided that I didn’t want to hide them anymore, I wanted them to stand out and shine so I was sitting at my grandmothers kitchen table when I was 5 years old drawing designs for what I wanted on my hearing aids.

It is admirable how proud you seem of the hearing aids.

That was the start of what would become my business. My parents didn’t really understand what I was wanting to do but when I got older I drew things better and they understood, they helped me get a patent on my designs and I started the website  in 2009-2010.  I’m really proud of my website and I get orders from all over the world! It is pretty neat to come home from school and see an order from Australia or England

I can imagine!

How does the jewellery attach to the hearing aids? And how did you come up with the design to connect them so that they are secure?

If you go to the website you will be able to see the different clasps I use for different types of hearing aids. To put a charm on you have to take the tubing apart (most tubing can be taken off easily) and then you slip the charm on the tube and put the tube back in the hearing aid.

Has it been difficult to run your business at such a young age whilst going to school?

It depends on what type of day it is and how much homework I have and how many orders I have to send out. When it gets really busy my parents help me out and they have been a great support, they provided the initial funding for the business but I have been able to pay them back everything and the business now runs itself profitably

That is amazing! I must admit to being in awe of your drive and determination.  What type of reaction have you had from your peers when they find out about your business?

My dad tells me all the time ‘when I was your age I would have to spend hours cutting lawns to make $20 and now because of the internet you go off to school and come home to order after order. My friends think it is really cool and they encourage me to keep going.

Do you mind divulging how much the initial cost was to set up the business?

The most expensive part of the business is going to conferences. I have been to 4 big conferences and while I sell a lot at the conferences if I had to pay for airlines and hotels and stuff then it wouldn’t be profitable….so I’m happy my parents helped me out there.  I will say that at these conferences I made some very important contacts that have really helped my business.

Does everyone in your school that uses hearing aids, now possess a set of your jewellery?

I no longer go to a deaf school, so no one else in my school wears hearing aids….but if they did they would all be wearing my charms for sure!

Do you make male jewellery too or is it primarily female?

I make both but I get primarily female customers, the boys like things like the skulls, guitars, pirates, cars, and sports charms, the girls like pretty much everything!

I noticed on your site that you won an award; can you tell me a little about that?

Oticon is one of the largest hearing aid manufacturers in the world, they give out an award called the Focus on People award which they give to people in the hearing aid community that help keep things positive and help people feel better about their hearing disability. If you go to my customer page, it is my favorite page on the site, it makes me happy to see all these people smiling and happy because of charms that I made for them.

You must be immensely proud of your achievements!

I think Oticon gave me the award for that reason, they flew me and my mom out to Washington state and there was a big ceremony, it was really an awesome experience and they even gave money to charities I support (and I got a brand new pair of their top of the line hearing aids which are REALLY awesome). My dad thought it was really fantastic as well because those hearing aids are super expensive I was favorite daughter that week for sure!

I bet!!

You sound like a very focussed and determined young lady, what plans and aspirations do you hold for the future.

My goal right now for the business is to grow it to a point where I can pay all my college expenses.

If there is anything that you wish to share that I have not asked about, please do feel free to include it.

If things keep growing the way they have been I think that is a very realistic goal for 5 years from now

Do you plan to study in college?

I am not sure yet what I want to study, I like teaching and music….and if my business is really booming then I may study things when I am in college that will help me take it to the next level.

Do you class yourself as a ruthless business person?

No, I’m not ruthless yet but if someone infringes on my patents then that part of me may have to come out someday!

Do you feel as though your age has been a help or hindrance? Have some people not been as helpful as they could have been because you are so young?

I think me being young has definitely helped my business; people like to help out kids as most people are really nice at heart.

Do have any advice that you wish to give to people that may be struggling with disabilities or to those wanting to start a business?

I believe everyone is blessed with gifts from God, even disabled people and I think we all need to look to the positives that we can bring to this world no matter what we look like or what type disability we have. I think to start a business you just need to start with an idea you are interested in and then you just need to start. You don’t have to be perfect you just have to start, as you do the business more you get better. I call this ‘production to perfection’.

I think many people wait for everything to be perfect but it never will be perfect….so just start and you will be surprised at how things start opening up

‘Production to perfection?’ That is a nice term to use.  I think that is some great advice!

source from: successcircuit

Can you really use the power of your thoughts and imagination to create what you want?

Does the law of attraction really work?

Are all the claims of people who write and teach about the law of attraction true?

If you followed the instructions found in books or articles, you might have sometimes succeeded, and sometimed you did not. It is also possible that some of you could not succeed at all, and quit this subject, with a feeling of disappointed.

Why some people succeed, and some don’t? If the law of attraction is a law of nature, why it sometimes works, and sometimes it doesn’t? Can you really attract into your life anything you want?

The answer is simple.

• Not every article or book provides the necessary instructions for correctly using the law of attraction.
• People tend to skip instructions.
• It is not enough just to visualize. You must also have a strong desire, an open mind to recognize opportunities, and have the courage and willingness to use them.
• How many times did you say or think you wanted something, but you didn’t really want it? The law of attraction, which is one of the fundamentals of creative visualization, requires some work and action, not just thinking for a few minutes and waiting for miracles to happen.

There is another point you should be thinking about. Even though most people want to be rich, how many really and truly want o be very rich and have a rich lifestyle? How many would accept all the responsibilities and activities entailed? Subconsciously, they might be afraid to be rich, due to negative mental programming.

Do you want to have billions of dollars? Can you really manage this sum of money? Let’s leave aside lotteries, where will the money come from? If you visualize a lot of money, and really believe you can have it, how is it going to arrive? It might arrive by implementing ideas that could come into your mind. You might be offered a new job, or an opportunity might pop up. But will you be willing and ready to take action?

Great amounts of money are done through business, but not everyone is qualified for business, or wants to make business. How visualizing a lot of money, and not wanting to do anything about it, is going to bring it to you?

Every accomplished goal and dream bring responsibilities, changes your lifestyle, and requires certain actions, certain tasks, and certain skills. You need first to analyze and think if you are willing and able to take these responsibilities, and whether you have the skills. Of course, if you don’t have the skills, but your desire is strong, you can always develop the necessary skills.

The law of attraction and creative visualization do work, but you have to use common sense when using them.

• You need to be sure that you really want what you are visualizing.
• You must have a strong desire.
• You have to add feelings into your mental images.
• You have to visualize several times a day.
• You need to treat this subject seriously, and be willing to invest the necessary time and energy.
• Not all books are equal, and not all give you all the necessary steps. You will need to read several books to understand this subject.
• In the beginning, choose small, simple, everyday goals, and only when you get experience and faith try to do bigger things.
• It is a good idea to imagine yourself in the situation you want to create, before starting to work on it, and ask yourself if you really want it, and whether you feel comfortable in this situation.

Take action, when action is required. Don’t just visualize and forget about it, thinking that you don’t have to do anything. Creative visualization and the law attraction can sometimes work in miraculous ways, but in many cases, you will be required to act. If you are too lazy, or expect miracles, with no effort on your part, you might lead yourself to disappointment. Look at the successful people in the world, do they just dream, or do they also act, strive, and work to make their dreams and goals come true?

There are a lot of articles and books about this subject, some useful, and some less useful. If you browse through this website and blog, you will find many articles on this subject, as well as the book Visualize and Achieve, where I wrote and explained this subject clearly and in a simple language. It is a book focusing on practical information, showing step-by-step what to and how. It is actually a textbook for teaching how to use creative visualization to attract into your life what you want.

source from: successconsciousness

Second, if you know how it moves, you can be there to catch it at the right time and the right place. So really, you can be a very wealthy person once you’re able to immerse yourself with the principle of “money moves”.

Money moves like water. Like water, its never stagnant – money is transfer from one hand to another hand ALL OF THE TIME. If you want to have a lot of money in your hand, you need to know where it is and how you can get it to be transferred to you instead. Of course I don’t mean robbing a bank since money is there, what I mean is… you need to figure out why would someone (or a company) would want to “transfer” their money to you. And I can tell you that the answer is not sitting down, do nothing and try to “attract” it to you.

Money moves like fire as well. You see, fire burns anything it touches, regardless of whether you’re a rich or a poor person. What it means is this… it’s not bias, it doesn’t care who you are. It will allow anyone to create it and use it. There are some people in this world who will never become rich because they think that they don’t deserve it or not capable of “creating” money. But the fact is, you just need a cheap matchbox to create fire.

And there’s one common thing about how water and fire move – they move very fast when they’re “growing”. You’ll need to be fast enough to “catch” money and here are a list of 3 things that are important:

1. You’ll need to be fast to acquire specialized knowledge. It is an undisputed argument that knowledge is a direct influence for your wealth.

2. You’ll need to be fast enough to try out opportunities that you believe can be successful. Which means, even if you fail, you’ve failed fast enough to learn and improve.

3. You’ll need to be fast to say “no”. The fact is, in today’s age, there are “too many” opportunities. If you start doing all of them or still dabbling whether you should do it or not, you’ll lose out your speed to catch money.

But isn’t this a very stressful thought, trying to “catch” money?

An experience fisherman can always come home with lots of fish. Why? Because he knows WHERE to fish and probably, WHEN is the right time to go fishing. However, for him to acquire this KNOWLEDGE, he would probably FAILED several times but because he is FAST enough to fail and learn, he now knows where the fish “move”.

The starting part is usually the toughest period of all. But come on… have you met a self-made millionaire or highly successful entrepreneur who has never experience hardship when he first got started? And try asking him if it’s worth the “stressful” thought and he would probably smile at you.

The truth is, there are shortcuts to wealth and success, one of it lies in the knowledge that you know. But hey, you’ll still need to walk through these shortcuts. 

If you like what you’ve read, find some truth to what I’ve shared or just like to say something, please leave your comment — I read every one of it personally.

Your friend,

Patric Chan

source from: patricchan

Luckily most bad moods and even mild depression attacks can be dealt with if people knew the right actions to take. Most people deal with bad moods incorrectly by either escaping from them or by acting as if they are not there while in fact bad moods are just signals sent by the brain to motivate people to improve their lives in certain ways.

In this post I will tell you how to respond to the signal and end these bad moods:

5 ways to combat bad moods and depression

1)      Do something! : Taking serious actions is one of the most powerful ways for ending bad moods and depression. Most people lie in bed when they feel bad without being aware of the fact that this is the time where they need to take actions the most. When you take actions you actually tell your brain that are responding to the signal that it sent you and that’s why the bad mood eases.

2)      Learn how to live consciously: if at any moment of your life you were worried about your future or sad because of your past then you will never be able to experience real happiness. Conscious living is the ability to enjoy your present moment without letting your mind wander in the past or the future. People who live in the present moment are less vulnerable to bad moods and depression attacks.

3)      Write a plan: sometimes your mind needs nothing more than reassurance in order to remove the bad mood. In such a case writing a plan might be the perfect solution to bad mood. When you write a plan you are actually telling your subconscious mind indirectly that you are going to solve the problems that are bothering you and as a result it withdraws the bad mood.

4)      Get more self understanding: sometimes people get bad moos because they don’t understand themselves well. When you get to understand yourself more you will realize what makes you happy and what makes you sad. Many people are unhappy just because they don’t quite understand what can make them happy and what’s important for them in life.

5)      Understand that bad moods might not disappear overnight:  many people mistakenly believe that bad moods should disappear overnight if they did the right thing but that’s completely wrong. Even if you started solving the main problem that caused your bad mood still your mood won’t change instantly but instead it will happen gradually as the time passes. Its extremely important to be patient while trying to end your bad moods else you will give up before a significant change happens and your mood will remain the same.

source from: pickthebrain

These are extremely positive things and things to be praised. Now, along with long hours at work, dealing with difficult projects, and collaborating with new people, one of the most difficult aspects of the working world is staying positive when everyone around you is endlessly negative. This is not to say that things will always be negative at work or even that negativity will happen at all, but if it does, negativity can be extremely detrimental to your success and happiness at work. Try these three tips to help you stay positive and do your best work even when everything around you is emitting negative vibes.

Become Fully Aware of Your Surroundings

The first step to gaining control over your surroundings in a negative situation is recognizing the negativity around you and its various sources. Try to pinpoint where the negative feelings you are getting are coming from. By recognizing the source of those negative feelings you are not hoping to place blame, but instead wish to gain a more thorough understanding of why this makes you feel the way you do. Once you understand where these feelings are sourcing from, try to see what things you can do or say to yourself to change those negative feelings. If possible you should avoid the situations and circumstances that make you feel negative. However, avoidance isn’t always possible. If you have to encounter these negative situations throughout your day, find techniques that help you stay positive-minded. Immediately after you are in that negative situation at work do something that is productive that you know lifts your mood. Just being able to recognize when and where that negativity happens can help you find ways to stay positive.

Be Proactive

Find ways to make change in situations that are negative. If it is a specific person that seems to bring the negativity, speak up to them directly. Do not lash out at them, but instead explain how you feel and explain why it doesn’t work for you. Make things about yourself, so that you do not end up attacking that person and contributing to the negativity. Oftentimes, people who perpetuate negativity in the workplace don’t realize they are doing so. If it is professional to do so, point this out to them. You have to be direct, but gentle. You don’t want to insult or embarrass someone, but you should make it clear what they should and should not say around you. This will help you become a better employee and will create a more productive and pleasant work environment. You have to be proactive about the situation. Silence will typically only perpetuate things.

Always Accentuate the Positive

Try to highlight things that are positive both in your own work and in others. This change takes place in both your actions and your words. To do this, you have to maintain control of your own thoughts. Use the above tips to stay positive in yourself and then try to help others feel positivity coming from you. Acknowledge things that people around you do well and that you do well yourself. By becoming the person that is always positive, you will be the kind of person people want to be around. A good leader is always a positive one. Focus on the things that people do well and that you do well before you dive into problems. Constructive criticism is key for both the people you work with and for yourself.

source from: pickthebrain

“Selfish.”

The word has such negative connotations. It’s seen as a tremendous character flaw – the type of insult that someone may yell out in a heat of passion only to stop a conversation dead in its tracks, as the receiving party takes tremendous offense.

To be fair, part of that reputation is earned. We’ve all known people that are truly selfish – people that would figuratively (and possibly literally) step on the faces of others in order to pursue their own needs. These people are truly selfish individuals, and they often know very little of caring, happiness, giving, and love.

Yet it’s possible that, as a society, we’ve gone too far to the other side, promoting the idea that if we want to truly be good people, we need to be as selfless as possible.  We see this with caregiving, volunteer work, and raising a family – many people dedicate their entire lives to others. But there’s a problem – complete selflessness has a cost – and that cost is often your own health, happiness, and wellbeing.

Remember That You Are a Person Too

With so much emphasis on helping others, you should always remember that you deserve as much health and happiness as anyone else – possibly more. This is because:

• You Are a Person – If one believes that everyone needs to deserves happiness, then you must also believe that you deserve happiness too.
• You Can Control Your Happiness – As much as you try to help others, the only person whose happiness you can fix with any certainty is your own.
• You Matter Most to You – When it comes to your life, no one is more important than yourself. Not friends. Not even family.

That last point is often forgotten. But the truth is that you are important. You matter. And you especially matter to you – the one person in this world that knows you best of all. It is for that reason that being a little bit selfish may be a good thing.

Selfishness and Happy Living

It feels good to give your life for someone else, but unless you also care about yourself, the chances of living a healthy and happy life will suffer. Caregivers are a great example of this.Caregiver anxiety is an extremely common condition, as caregivers give too much of themselves for their patient and forget/ignore the things that make them happy. In the end, while they may have made someone else’s life a little easier, they often make there’s a great deal worse.

It’s time to be a little bit selfish. It’s time to care about your own health and happiness, even if it’s slightly at the expense of someone you care about. Your happiness needs to be important to you. But perhaps the greatest reason to be a little selfish is because it makes you a better person for others as well.

• Caregiving – It’s hard to be a good caregiver when you’re unhappy. The anxiety and stress can be draining and distracting, causing you to make more mistakes than if you were a little selfish and focused on your needs.
• Parenting – Great parenting is not just about attending to all of your children’s needs. Great parenting is also about setting an example of how to be an emotionally happy and healthy person, and not be someone riddled with anxiety symptoms.
• Relationships – You may love your partner to the point of wanting to care for their every whim, and your partner may accept this love with open arms. But they want you to be happy, even if that means not attending their every need.

If being a little bit selfish now and then helps you find happiness, and not at the long term expense of others, focusing on your own happiness not only benefits you, but may even benefit those that you’re giving to.  Yet even if it doesn’t, your happiness should be your priority above all others. If that means you need to be a little selfish now and again, then being a bit selfish may be a good thing.

source from: pickthebrain

“I just thought making movies was something done by geniuses, and I was very clear that I wasn’t one of those.” Jane Campion

When “The Artist’s Way” author and creativity coach Julia Cameronhas asked people to list ten traits they think artists have, their responses have included: “Artists are broke,” “Artists are crazy,” “Artists are drug-addicted” and “Artists are drunk.”

Other myths and ideas about being an artist:

“Artists must be poor and sacrifice their well-being for their art.”

“Artists should accept the solitary life and find solutions on their own.”

“You can’t be a mother and a successful artist.”

“Artists are right-brained and aren’t very good at left-brain stuff like running a business.”

As creative people, even after achieving some recognition for our talents, we can experience self-critical thoughts and insecurity, such as impostor feelings – sometimes based on these kinds of myths we have picked up about creative “genius” or artists.

source from: talentdevelop

A 15-year-old novelist, a police sergeant and a TV chef are among the inspiring figures whose contribution to British life will be recognised at this year’s Asian Women of Achievement Awards on Thursday.

source from: independent