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One cool technique to beat Stress with this Powerful habit, Find out more

November 21, 2020

 

A simple way to enjoy a stress-free weekend: Journal


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Further Reading




5 Interesting ways to motivate yourself, Amazing benefits that get you hooked on Life

November 10, 2020
Time to motivate yourself



Let me start this post with a story. I always wanted to act. I love movies and really amazing stories.

One of my favourite pastimes as a kid would be to listen to amazing stories. Stories can be captivating and boring sometimes if it's a drag. But overall it really impresses powerful ideas, thoughts and reflections.

Life can sometimes be like a story and we want a happy ending (pun intended). Lol, But seriously, it can be a real pain.

It can be exhilarating and painful too. I once had a near-death experience of sorts, I missed to drown. That incident pushed me out of my Nihilistic phase.

I began to see life as something amazing. Haha, Life can be amazing. I came across this idea about stories while speaking with a friend.

He is an entrepreneur and blogger too. He was speaking about the importance of stories and fiction books. I must confess I don't read much fiction.

But that conversation made me think that I must begin to read some fiction. It made me think about one more thing. We tell ourselves stories.

Some of us may feel like we are in one. 

Reasons to cheer up

So here is the first reason to feel great about this 'Self-talk'. You are the narrator. Yes, of course, all the incident and events are not completely in your hands. But you get to choose the way you perceive it.

We can practise a kind of Self-awareness. Understanding and living with ourselves. I think this a benefit because we are somewhat in control with the way we behave and act. So we need to take responsibility for our actions and that is empowering.

Another Powerful thought is the idea that we are not our thoughts or actions. We don't need to identify with it. Yes, we are accountable for what we do. This idea can be a starting point to self-development and enhancing our lives.

There could be many more benefits to being in control of our Self-talk, It is we have the ability to cheer ourselves. We can be our own cheerleader. It may seem cheesy, but Nah, it thinks it's awesome. Accepting yourself and working on improving yourself is not cheesy it's transformative.

Benefits

As Humans, we are like onions, multilayered and multifaceted. I am speaking from my experience with life. 

Let's analyse how Self-motivation can be a benefit. I think we all have dreams and aspirations, we work hard to achieve them. We may not able to share what we hope and want with everybody or maybe we can.

But there may be times when we are the only ones who believe in our dreams. So what do we do? We motivate ourselves.

We remind ourselves that we are unique and worth it. We stand up for what we believe, I am not saying you are right or wrong. Everyone has the right to be wrong and the choice to correct themselves. It's God-given.

How this all benefits us? Imagine when you are exercising and you need to complete that extra rep. You motivate and push yourself.

Imagine when you scoreless in a test, and no one thinks you can score better. You motivate yourself. You remind yourself of your dreams and goals. 

You work on the skills you don't have. Because you believe you deserve to achieve your goal. Who is to tell you otherwise?

I believe it can benefit us at different levels.

Motivating ourselves to exercise better, become a better version of ourselves Physically, Spiritually or Emotionally. I think it starts with accepting the way we are. 

Respecting ourselves and staying healthy. Personally, it was very difficult for me, I had gained a lot of weight after going through some health issues. 

It greatly affected me and the way I saw myself. I exercised, but it still didn't help. So I chose to accept myself and love myself by motivating me.

Some Tips I Recommend

Positive Self-talk

You can motivate yourself



Please don't skip over this section and assume you know about it. Hear me out for a bit. Yes, it is about speaking kind things to your self.

But it's more than that, Positive Self-talk can help you understand your thought patterns and the way you understand yourself.

It helps you see yourself and your interior life more critically.  So how do you go about it?

I would say do a self-analysis. Take your list of strengths and goals. Remind yourself about it.

Reminders 

We all need to Remind ourselves. But verbalising it to ourselves is only one way.

How about getting creative about motivating yourself! You could start out by creating a Vision board.

Get pictures of you and the things you want to achieve. You could also include reminders of the things you have already achieved.

Sometimes we tend to forget that we are good and skilled at things we do. This will also help you remind you of the reasons for the things you do. Sometimes Routine can be a dream killer. A good vision board will be a good icon to remind you about the 'Why' behind what you do.

Starting a New Habit

Small Steps to Powerful Habits



Yes, this is a powerful thing. We can change things by starting out small. We do not need to make it grand.

We can sometimes have a huge build-up and expectations around a pet project and it fails. One way to deal with it is to start out small.

You could break a huge task or habit into small mini tasks. For example, you want to exercise. You could start by going for a brisk walk and slowly graduating yourself into more complex exercises later on.

Just working on a new habit and doing it well can be a nice buildup to doing something bigger and better.

Future Truth


Check this video by Patrick Bet-David on Affirmations

I heard this idea from a Youtuber and successful entrepreneur, Patrick Bet-David. He calls it future truth.

Sometimes the affirmation and reminders with all the self-talk can seem like a huge lie. Lol, But believe me it's not. It is simply a future truth.

Journaling

Daily Journal



This is the kind of self-talk where you write as well. You start by writing out what you want to achieve. Then you could also add reasons to it. 

You could describe the motivation behind you achieving your goals. This will add clarity to what you are doing. You will start to express yourself more clearly. I think one major benefit is clarity and the motivation to understand our goals and the motivation behind achieving it.

You could read this article on Journaling and Motivation, Click here.

Conclusion

Sometimes when we think we are stuck and believe that life sucks. Maybe it's different, I am not saying that everyone's situation is awesome or just think positive.

I believe that Life is a journey and being motivated is also our own responsibility. Motivation can build hope and help us enjoy life.  

Small wins could be a build-up to something great. Be motivated and Don't give up.

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4 Blogging sites that inspire me

November 10, 2020

 

Resources that have helped on my Blogging journey

Hi,

As a Blogger there are blogs that have been quite an inspiration to me. I love topics related to Self-help, Web technologies and blogging. 

I would say learning and sharing what you learn teaches you more than you can imagine. It helps us assimilate what we have learnt and it brings out some useful insights whilst we sharing what we learn.

People react to our sharing, they add more information and we grow together. Sometimes it may also help learn new perspectives about what we learnt.

These blogs that I am sharing have helped me Tremendously to be a better Blogger and Educator.

4 Blogging sites that inspire me:

1. Zen Habits

Zen Habits is started by Leo Babauta. He shares free content around improving Life and also has a couple of courses. I like the commitment to sharing ideas and insights regularly and completely 'Free'.

2. Tiny Buddha

Tiny Buddha is another great blog for Life Hacks. It was one of the first blogs that inspired to write on Life and what I love Marketing.

3. Shoutmeloud

This blog is phenomenal for New Bloggers. Harsh can help you with the entire business of blogging. He has great resources and I highly recommend this group.

4. Seth Godin

He is one of my favourite Marketeers. I share the same view of Marketing. He has great resources and a wonderful Podcast Akimbo.

I hope these Blogs inspire you too.

See you in the Next Post

CIAO! 

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Republished from gumroad.com/chriseducator, Oct 7,2020

How does one deal with uncertainty?

November 10, 2020

Monday Motivation: Finding your Joy in your daily work

October 25, 2020

 

Service is Life

Another Monday, another week. I just thought of sharing some interesting quotes to motivate us and bless ourselves with an amazing week.

This is the week you get to apply the tasks and plans to fulfil your Goals. Believe there is no perfect situation or time.

The Perfect Time is right now. Rabindranath Tagore was an amazing Indian intellectual and poet. I would like to share this interesting Quote with you.



Service is a way of life. We add to our experiences and help others succeed. It is an amazing value chain.

Making the world a better place can simply start by doing what we do and doing it well.  Making a difference doesn't need to be something over the top and super amazing. It can simply be doing your work well.

I wish you an amazing week.

Ciao!

Do follow me on Instagram, @officialchriseducator

Further Reading

Check this interesting Article on Zenhabits


Read the List of Books I like on Life Hacks

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Recommended Reads on Life Hacks that are awesome and some of my favourite ones too

October 23, 2020

Image by Dariusz Sankowski from Pixabay


Friendship is a wonderful thing. It is a joyous consolation to have close and valuable friends.

For some of us, Books can be those friends. They guide us and are there for us. It is great to have them as companions.

I have often heard Motivational speakers encourage people to have good mentors.

Some of us may have chosen books or other resources to mentor and guide us.

Books are not static

Words are lively and dynamic


I do not consider books to a static collection of words stuck to a page.

I believe they are lively and dynamic.

As much we read them, they show us a lot of things about ourselves.

I would like to share with some of the books on Life that have been a joy to read.

I list only 5 books, it is not a comprehensive book list.

5 Books on Life Skills I love:

Think and Grow Rich by Napolean Hill

Learn Powerful & Timeless insights

This one of my favourite books.

First I came across this book, was in my Uncle's library.

The title of the book was very Catchy.

But reading the book helped me understand the meaning of Thinking and Becoming Rich.

I must say I wish I did apply what I read.

So I reread it, But in an audio format.

The Power of positive thinking by Norman Vincent Peale

Positive and Powerful Thinking

This is another impactful book.

As a person, I like to be as realistic as possible.

The idea of positive thinking was something I found quite stupid until I read the book.

I was recommended to the book by one of Church counsellor.

I bought and read a copy of it. I was in my undergraduate studies then.

It was years back. I love this book because it had techniques that not only helped me improve my attitude, but it made my prayer life more interesting.

(I do not pray very often)

The Millionaire Fastlane by MJ De Marco

Learn how to take the Fastlane to Success

I came across this book on Instagram.

I did not make a million dollars after reading it, nor did the author promise I would.

But its an awesome book, MJ De Marco really brings out the importance of a side hustle.

He shows exactly how creating a business can impact one's life and others.

It's a no-bullshit book. I loved this book very much.

The Roadless Travelled by M. Scott Peck

Change your Perspective

I read this book when I was having some serious personal issues.

It showed a different perspective on life and religion.

I must say as someone who was a seeker for years, Religion has not been a kind experience. This book has really helped me in this area too.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki

Understanding Money

He is one of my favourites. I have heard people criticise him, I think people have their share of critics.

But this book really helped me appreciate the power of Management and Entrepreneurship.

Understanding the meaning and value of time and the right place for passion.

I have read a couple of books besides this book by Mr Kiyosaki. It's a quick read and really informative.

In Conclusion

Yes, this is not a review of these books, But as a reader, I want to share how these books have helped me.

It is really useful to share ideas and also read insights from people who are more experienced and smarter.

Please do mention on my FB Page if you would like me to review any of the books on the list I shared.

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5 Powerful Tricks for Personal Branding right now

October 12, 2020

 

Personal Branding can be easy

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Personal Branding more than a Buzz word

Do you remember your First Job interview? Remember your first Resume. How did it feel writing it? What did you put in your First Resume? It must have been quite a moment to scratch your head.  For some of us, it must have been quite easy.

When I look back I see it was the presence of soft and hard testimonials to show for. These testimonials in the form of Co-curricular and extracurricular achievements made its way into the Resume. It made some standout from the rest.

The question is what is Personal Branding and how is it relevant to us. Most of us may be experienced professionals with a good amount of work or expertise to show for. Why do we need to brand ourselves?

So let us delve into the Primary question, so let us try to understand Personal Branding. I would simply say Personal Branding is applying Branding concepts to oneself. But let us look at a more comprehensive explanation.

           According to Personalbrand.com, Personal Branding can be said to be "Personal branding is the conscious and intentional effort to create and influence public perception of an individual by positioning them as an authority in their industry, elevating their credibility, and differentiating themselves from the competition, to ultimately advance their career, increase their circle of influence, and have a larger impact.".

So Personal Branding can be said to portray an authentic image of your personality, strengths and competencies in a way that shows how you are better than the competition.

Impact on Work and Life

So the next question is do we all want to brand ourselves, of course, it depends on the goals you are seeking. At the least one would want to be recognized for the good work and be rewarded for the good performance.

If we misunderstand Branding to be an activity of Chest thumping we get branding wrong. We can be positioning ourselves as Personal brands for various reasons, but we must not reduce it to only what our perceptions say it is. 

It would be like thinking Sales is about Hoodwinking people...That would be outright blasphemous. So with Personal Branding, we must not think of it as portraying a false persona.

It is not, though it can be twisted to be such. 

3C Model Of Personal Branding by David Hagenbuch

To quickly start Branding yourself, I shall use the 3C Model of Personal Branding by David Hagenbuch.

The Primary 'C' is Communication. The other two C's include Competency and Character. Competency refers to how you perform at work. 

It would be pointless just promoting yourself all over if you lack this and next is Character. Character, in essence, deals with your values and qualities as an Individual. Competency and Character are complemented with Communication. 

Simple Strategies to Get Started Quickly

1. Start Blogging

Blogging can be confused with article writing. We may think 'oh goodness, what a dim suggestion', But hear me out.

Think of it like writing an Online Diary with details every one can read. A medium of self-expression, A safe space to discuss and share information.

Yes, you could invite some Trolls. But the Pros outweigh the benefits. You could use FB comments for the comment section. I have been using it. It is really 👌.

2. Start a YouTube Channel

YouTube channel is another great medium for sharing ideas. You just need a camera and good lighting. Throw in a good microphone with less noise around where you are recording, it would be a great start.

The Best part of Vlogging is the benefit of repurposing content. The other benefit is that a good amount of people use YouTube as a source for Good information. To be entertained and learn something at the same time.

It does not need to be an elaborate video. The idea is to share a small part of you...in terms of your reactions, your struggles, ideas, views etc. You could start by having a small script and just recording what you have to say with good lights and. a sound good microphone.

3. Read a book or pick up a New Skill

Another part of Personal Branding as we have seen is Competency. I am sure a lot of us however professional we may be and well versed in our professions have something to learn.

It's a simple suggestion Read. It could be a book, an article or a white paper. Learn something that adds to your competency.

4. Create unique Content for Social Media

Creating content does not need to be only blogs or videos. One could start by engaging people with simple short posts on Facebook or Twitter.

Just forwarding content with little reactions or comments, it could also be a short and sweet way to start out.

5. Network with Like-minded People

This is another benefit to the Internet and it can really help you build a Personal Brand. Building an Audience and getting to know people.

This is where online groups and communities can be really powerful. Join a community online and engage with the content or activities in the group. Abide by the rules each community has. Try building genuine contacts.

Promote yourself appropriately as long as it is not against Community rules. Facebook and Linkedin have interesting groups to join.

Conclusion

Personal Brand is something that highlights the uniqueness in each one of us. 

As humans we have a lot of traits in common, to share a few, emotions like joy, struggles and talents. 

But in a competitive environment, we need to highlight the best we have.

I would like to thank you for sharing your time. Do join the discussion on our FB Page.

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How seeking Clarity can help you be more productive? 5 Anchors to keep you grounded

September 10, 2020
Seek Clarity when you are Confused

We all love achieving our goals and dreams. Whether these dreams relate to our Professional or Personal lives. There is a lot of motivation to take huge action. 

To begin with a Plan and to work on it. But one would wonder why we don't always achieve them. 

We take Massive Action, we visualise and yes most of understand that we may have to adapt and improvise along the way.

So how can we move ahead? This may be a confusing experience. It may leave us sad and anxious even.

Like all of us, I have had my share of not achieving some of my dreams. It can be painful. 

But I think we must seek in moments this very important thing. We must seek 'Clarity'. 

Some of the problems we encounter are due to changing situations. We may not be sure how to move ahead.

Clarity means getting down to the basics. It means trying to understand the reasons rather than the outcomes behind your actions.

Results matter, but good motivation and vision matter more. According to the way I see it, Clarity is understanding the relevance of what we are trying to achieve in New situations.

I have collated some anchors that can keep us grounded when times seem confusing.

5 Anchors to keep you Grounded.

During the confusing situations in my experience, the mind can react differently to different people. For me, it is interesting sometimes and sometimes it is like ...' Why God, Why!!'

But I found some practices that help and it keeps me focused...I have listed 5 of them.

What are you seeking?

Visions are not just for companies. You could have one too. 

It does not need to be professional and huge. You can keep it Tweet sized, as long as it helps remember what you want to achieve for yourself and others.

I believe include others in your vision to keep it more relevant and realistic without sacrificing the Audacious part.

This Vision is going to help you remember and focus when you lack clarity. We can use our Vision for our projects as a guiding light.

Have you decided on your Destination or Target?

If you are finding your visions to be abstract. It is not a problem, having a target could help you.

Target or we could call them goals help you chart your way to achieving your vision. 

If you do not have targets we do not know to focus on. Focus is where the magic happens.

A singular focus on Goals can be rewarding. So keeping in mind your vision, create targets.

If you are stuck or not achieving these goals, it just means you have to find better goals or strategize better.

Breaking your Goals

One of the other reason that we may not achieve something can also be that we are not organised.

Discipline helps us get more organized. We can organize our efforts by breaking our goals into actual workable plans.

Massive action needs proper planning. As someone with a background in both IT and Management, I can't stress enough the benefits of planning.

Understanding what is required to achieve our Goals can be a starting point. Getting a mentor or friend to listen to what we have planned to achieve.

Giving Flesh to your Strategy

Massive Action is only part of achieving our goals. Plans must include strategies that would help you get closer to success.

Include small tasks in your plans. This will give us something to work with. So if you are (an example) Dieting keeping a diary and recording what you eat could be a Tactic. 

Strategic Thinking can keep us be more agile and clear. Things don't go the way we plan. But we can always prepare for change.

Losing The War, Winning the Battle

 Just remember your victories and successes. You will remember the sacrifices you have taken. 

I think sometimes it is a part of achieving something worthwhile. But there are moments when we give our best and things work differently.

This can leave us confused. Should we try harder or just let it slip?

I think this is Where Clarity makes a difference. Exiting a project should be a possibility.

I know it is human nature not to give up. But sometimes it is okay to lose some battles to win the game.

There are some decisions we need to make after pondering on them or probably speaking with someone we trust. Continuing a project or leaving one should be a well thought out decision.

In Conclusion

Life and key decisions can confuse us, It is one thing to be confident. But it is quite another thing to deal with consequences. 

Gaining clarity and keeping ourselves grounded will not do away with every consequence of our decisions. But it will remind us of the point where we started this journey.

'Why' is quite a powerful question to motivate us to achieve our goals and achieve the successes we seek.

Thank you for reading this blog, I hope it got you thinking about the importance of Clarity. 

Do share this blog and like my Facebook Page. Ciao!


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The Joy of giving Positive feedback - Humanising our experience as Customers

August 27, 2020

 

Joy of Positive Feedback

Counter-Intuitive Idea that Customers have a Responsibility

What is Positive Feedback?

A Few Days back I got the whacked idea of just telling some of the service providers they were doing a great job.

Practising Assertiveness has been quite awesome, but sometimes People can mistake me for a d*ckh@3d. Lol, Sorry for using the expletives. But it clearly brings out the right feeling of how people would feel about someone being only assertive.

The important thing is that it made me feel so good to appreciate another person. Though I was paying for the service, encouraging another to serve better... I wasn't going to lose anything.

So to understand Positive Feedback, I would like to start with defining it. To each one Positive Feedback could mean something different. 

I will be using a  Management Definition of Positive Feedback. According to Better Team, It is defined as, "Positive feedback is given to employees when they meet or exceed business targets, overcome a challenge, go the extra mile, or introduce innovative ideas."

So in the context of Management, it is used to encourage employees to meet or exceed business targets or overcome challenges.

Definitions apart I think it is a great practice. If we think it through this practice is also relevant in our daily lives. We could apply this Management concept to people who provide us with a service or add value to us.

It helps encourage positive behaviour and it helps us express Gratitude that builds people. I believe this is a really transformative and personally self-building habit to have.

So now let us delve into how this could be important.

Why is positive feedback important?

I want to start by looking at the Telos for Positive Feedback. The hints of it are included all around the definition.

It is also included in our understanding of Feedback. Feedback is generally used in the context of Management to help the employee understand how they have been working. The employee gets an idea of how they are working with standards and fulfilling company objectives.

Positive feedback tells an employee they are doing a good job. This feedback is also important to a lot of Professionals that serve us every day.

They could be self-employed or local small businesses who are doing their work better than expected. 

Positive feedback is important for them too. It would help them get more passionate about their work and get healthy support. (that all of us need often)

How to give Positive Feedback...

So there are different ways to do that. A lot of it is quite simple and just requires recognising the value the other person has created for us. I am going to give some pointers on how to give feedback to anyone. 

Point Number 1: Coupling Positive Feedback with Negative Feedback

Giving Positive Feedback does not mean you don't tell them where they need improvement. It would sometimes come to our minds how the other person may receive it. But to think about it, we don't control people's reactions. The courtesy shown with intentions and love should be something that helps us understand that we are using our expression of Gratitude constructively.

Point Number 2: Using Positive Language

Positive language for feedback

Mention positive points and speak about any issues too

This could be when writing feedback or even telling the person. You could simply mention what you like about it. You could also use simple expressions like 'Well Done' or 'Fantastic' etc. If you are super impressed you could say things like "Fantastic!" or "Awesome" etc.

Point Number 3: Medium doesn't Matter, But the timing does

Timing matters too
Feedback is good

Each of us has our own way of expressing ourselves. One could write a note or drop a review online. Tell the person about what impressed you about the work he or she did directly. I think besides doing this, timing also matters. So how do we know the right time to give a business or professional feedback? When we see that it would relevant to the person. One hint could be you see that they are going the extra mile to do a good job.

Positive Feedback Situations

Here are some situations that I can think of:
  • Customer Service Person was better than expected
  • The teacher gave an interesting Lecture
  • Health care professional helped you get better
  • A Local Business gave you a huge discount

There are innumerable situations that can encourage people and build them up. Feedback is a very essential component to grow better. We all need it, but not the destructive kind that tears people down. So whether you are giving positive or negative feedback it is both healthy and essential.

You could use some of the pointers I gave you earlier and drop a line or two on paper. 

You could even tell the person and share a positive review online.

In Conclusion

I think all of us would love to hear kind and encouraging words that break our routines and remind us we are doing things make a difference (though we do not realise it).

Receiving feedback can be difficult, but constructive and well-communicated feedback can really help people.

Please do consider sharing any constructive feedback, it would be a blessing. Do like & share this article.

Thank you for stopping by. I will meet you in the next article.

References:





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The Art of not joining a course you don't need and not be sucked into joining one.

August 05, 2020

The Art of not joining a course you don't need and not be sucked into joining one.


As an Educator blogging was a new task. As I mentioned earlier, after a lot of prodding and pushing from friends and family I decided to do this.

It's been a learning experience. I must say, Do I recommend it for everyone yes and no.

No, Because as a Trainer who teaches Communication skills I don't think it to be the sole medium out there.

I must admit I initially thought of it as not something that important...But it surprised me the potential that simple activities like blogging and vlogging can have.

It is tremendous. Just move over to Patreon and see Artists, Educators, Vloggers, Musicians sharing their passion and people supporting them. It's so encouraging.


Is there a Magic Formula?

Yes, Passion & Hardwork. It cannot be taught, but it can be 'Caught'.

Nowadays there the internet is sort of flooded with courses. Some of them promise huge incomes and quick. solutions.

So are all of them frauds? Maybe not. I believe it also depends on the students too.

Let me explain 'Why' and 'How'.


The 'Why'  

Before we undertake any study, we need to understand some background about it.

I remember earlier in the days when 3D animation was one of the new courses been offered amongst various other computer courses.

People would join a computer course thinking that they would be able to create animations. 

It's only after spending much time and understanding that they would see the difference.

It was spending time and effort to study what was going on that helped them see the difference.

So if you join a wrong course, Maybe the Marketing was exaggerated and maybe they promised the moon and you did n't get it, but I do think it's also important to understand the topics that are going to be covered in a course.

This would help you evaluate the usefulness of it. Secondly, I would give importance to understanding the credibility of the Instructor.

Testimonials are good, but case studies are better. It would help you see how the system or information they are teaching has been making a difference.


The 'How'

So here I am going to look at 'How' about being misdirected into joining a course, community, or anything you don't want to be a part of.

Marketing is a lovely tool to present the best service or product. But can be misused to misdirect and get a sale.

Eventually, you get sucked into a funnel which later would seem like a long rabbit hole. One that rips you off at various junctures or maybe even benefits you.

So to understand How one can be responsible for all this could be to look at our motives.

Some examples of wrong motives. We want a quick fix to learning a major skill or we think we can hear our way to Experience. The wrong idea that only learning or hearing about something is enough.

Most of us will agree that first-hand experience is really valuable and that sometimes are individual experiences though useful to others can sometimes not fit right with everybody.

It's just a human experience. Now coming back to the 'How' question. I would say it is important to take responsibility for our learning.

What does this mean in real life...Doing background research into what you are seeking to learn and how this relates to you.

How the course would help you achieve your goals and it could practically help you. It is possible courses could meet 80% of what you expected. Would that be reasonable... 

Related to that would be. What was participation like?

Did you give feedback to the instructor, How did the instructor receive the feedback? 

Did you come to the course with certain misconceptions about the course?

Many important and related questions that would surely come to our minds. But I do think it all starts with the student.

In short, your Homework starts before you join the course.


3 Things to look at while joining a 'Course'


Look before you leap

Joining a Course is not a short cut to Learning


Yes, you read it right. Joining a course can be fun, but as an instructor, we can influence our students a lot.

But using this influence to hard-sell products, in my opinion, is wrong.

So before doing a course, we must be clear just not about the title of the course. We must also have a look at what is taught in the course.

Just joining a course will not make you a Super Digital marketer or get you $10k income per month.

Yes, it can teach you a system that can help. 

But the important thing to realize is that ultimately the responsibility of taking action resides solely on your shoulders.


Focus on the 20%

   Interesting Video by Coffeezilla on Fake guru courses

Use the Pareto principle, Understand what is the chunk of the course that can help you.

Try to understand how the remaining course ties up with what course promises to deliver.

Explore the topics you are learning by reading some white papers and case studies.

This will broaden your understanding. It will give a better grip on the topic.

But on the flip side, if not done properly it can lead to just absorbing information and lack of action.


Teaching is an art

Being a Teacher is an art, and just not a Profession


Just because someone is a good artist or musician or Marketer, it does n't mean that the person is going to be a good teacher.

Teaching is an art and experience teaches you a lot. Just like other professions, one is a good or a bad teacher which is different from a Non-Teacher (Or one could say an Educator).

I believe a good Educator should balance Theory and Application. Some people would not like Theory.

I believe Theory is important because it gives you the vocabulary to stay tuned with ongoing Research and connected with the shared body of knowledge in a given area of study or field.


Wrapping it up

We live in an information age, but educating ourselves becomes even more important to avoid bad choices.

It is a great endeavour to continually educate ourselves, to learn new ideas and change.

But the reality also is that Education has a commercial side to it. 

Please do Share your feedback in the comment section, I would like to know about any experiences you had with online courses. 

It would be interesting to know about any experience, Good or Bad.

Thank you for your time...Meet you in the next blog post. Ciao!

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The Short guide on Understanding Introvertedness: Advantages of Being Introverted and some necessary myth-busting

July 20, 2020

Understanding Introversion and some wrong ideas about it


Introversion is not a disease


I have been comfortable with being me for quite a long time. 

But during my shyness phase, things were quite different. 

I remember when my parents would push me to make new friends. 

They treat my Introvertedness as something bad. I don't know your opinion, but It's okay to be yourself.

Over the years while reflecting on the topic of Introversion-Extroversion. I realized I was not Introverted but an ambivert. 

Nonetheless, I tend more towards being an introvert (Though my wife thinks I am a full-blown extrovert.)

Today, Let's look at what does it mean to be an introvert and How does it differ from an extrovert.


What is an Introvert?

According to the Dictionary, It means a Shy, reticent person.

It's understandable how it can seem quite out of place for some to be one. But think about it, if there are 2 introverts for every 5 people. 

We are speaking about a lot of them (This is not a verified figure, I am using this figure to drive a point). 

Imagine there are billions of people, and that all are somehow deficient. The reason because they are not very sociable or whatever.

It is plain stupid. According to Introvert Retreat, 25% of the U.S. population are introverts. They say that other studies say that it is about 50% of the population.

So if you are an introvert, You are fine and it's normal. There is nothing to sweat about.


An Introvert is not shy (Though some could be)

Interesting Video on Shyness vs Introversion


Yes, Whatever the definition may be, all Introverts are not shy. 

I have had friends who were comfortable not being too sociable. They preferred more close friends and deeper conversations. 

But they were far from being shy.

So Thinking to be an Introvert is to be shy is not true. Shyness is not introversion, and I would like to speak about that in the future.


Homebound by choice

Being Introverted does not mean staying at home all the time.

There could be other reasons for that. 

I would love to move around but at the same time be comfortable with myself being with no one. 

 I did not feel alone or anything. 

In my mind, it was more time for thoughtful reflection and enjoying the moment in my own kind of way.


Boring

People have their definitions or criteria for what they enjoy.

It's personal and generalizing it is a problem. I enjoy debates and love reading books. 

For another person, this may not be stimulating. To me that is fine. Each one can have their own idea of what fun is. 

There are no celestial commandments of fun.


So are there any advantages to being an Introvert?


Never assume quiet is weak and loud is strong - Anonymous
 

It's pretty obvious there are advantages. Some may not want to reflect on the benefits of Introversion.

For Starters, Introverts have more time to pursue ideas and thoughts. 

They couple it with reflection and deep thinking. This has its advantages.

Another benefit could be Reasoning and being deliberate before making a decision. 

This could help them make thoughtful and strategic decisions.

Last but not the least, They can give a good listening hear. Probably proper guidance too. This could really great.


Conclusion

There is a lot more I could say about Introversion. But I think as Humans we generalize to help us make sense of People and concepts.

But each person is unique and sometimes these generalizations are unfair and stereotypical.

I have included some resources to help you dig deeper into this topic and related ideas.

Do Join our Community by liking my FB page for more ideas and updates.

Do share your feedback and comments!


Further Reading

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