This year is your year: Go get what you dream of

Back to the Future

Photo by Tomas Ryant

Phew! Coming back to blogging is fantastic. Through most of 2022, I avoided blogging and social media. However, I have continually been picking up marketing strategies and better blogging tactics along the road. 

When you have to avoid something while also working on it, the tension gets pretty high. Since its inception, this website's blog (Chriseducator.com) has served as my online journal, where I post my musings and sporadic observations on self-help and personal development.

I never considered it (this blog) a side business or anything of the type. I must admit, though, that I ran an attempt to monetize this platform. Anything worth its salt, in my opinion, should be self-sustaining.  WordPress or Blogger? Wondering which CMS is better WordPress or Ghost ? — Christopher Dias (@chriseducator) August 19, 2022 I believe that for the time being Blogger appears to be a viable platform to host this site. Other systems like WordPress and Ghost CMS are on my radar. I even conducted a poll for the same on Twitter. Since it's a new year, I had some thoughts that I felt you might find helpful. We have an innate propensity to approach new endeavours with a tinge of optimism. It's as if natural selection is telling you that this is the way to go.  We must look at the things we were unable to pursue in the previous year more as guides than as targets, and refrain from whining about them. Throwing the baby with the bathwater Me quoting myself... Lol! I do think we need to be well-managed and disciplined, but when you have given your all, the best course of action is to reflect on why we have set these objectives in the first place and why should we continue to work towards them rather than just focusing on what is not working. I'd also like to mention another pertinent thought. When we don't meet short-term goals, we often can doubt our long-term Vision. When things go wrong, it is not necessary to reject the big picture. Over the years, I stopped overindulging in excellent ideas. Good ideas, in my opinion, have a lot of potentials that can be explored when we put them to use as opposed to just playing them for amusement. I'd like to quickly highlight some of the key topics I discussed in this post: Follow your dreams. You can try new things. Don't let your dreams die. To wrap this post This blog will serve as a forum for me to express my ideas and learn from my experiences as I investigate personal marketing and self-development. I believe taking the initial step toward realizing our objectives and placing little wagers is crucial.  When you stop reading, learning doesn't end; it only ends when you stop applying what you've learned. You could follow me on my social media accounts if you wish to be encouraged by good ideas.  I like to believe that although we all hold diverse feelings and beliefs, we all share the human desire to become better people. See you in a future post. [full-width]

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!

Every dog has his day (Sometimes to get their backsides kicked)

When I was in College the fear of Public Speaking would really grip me. I would dread speaking in front of people.

It was horrible and I had the most terrifying experiences to tell you the least. But Today things are different.

I still have fears I need to deal with. Public Speaking is no longer a Fear rather now its more of a profession.

When you actively try working towards solving Problems, the chances of success grows. If you are Lucky the magic happens.

As an Educator we get a lot of Appreciation and Feedback. One thing I realized is that Receiving Feedback is an art as much as giving it.

There are different kinds of People (We all know that right!), But when you experience it as a Speaker it is a different experience.

There are people who will like what you say and those that just Troll you because they can.

Critiquing and Peddling Bullsh*t

I have read and watched a lot of Movie Reviews and I have a close friend who does it Professionally.

As a Movie buff we can sometimes be overly critical. But just think about it, we are only criticizing them as outsiders.

We don't know the efforts or the amount of Work these artists put into working on themselves and delivering a Performance (Whether Good or Bad).

Here comes the Critics, They are professionals who understand Cinema and the other practical aspects like Trade, Genre, technical work etc. etc.

As an Educator we have our own Lot of Critiques & Critics, Some may be even unqualified and still feel like they have the right to give their feedback (which is great) but unfounded Bullying is what I feel is disgusting.

I think Bullies whether in work, relationship or leisure is just a source of pain and frustration. They are unrequired attention seekers trying to feel important.

The worst part is when they justify themselves. You encounter these bullies not just in work or Cinema, You experience them in Relationships too.

They and their Enablers will go to any length to believe their Bullsh*t. They use self deception in a way that is Self Destructive.

In all this the victim suffers unnecessarily (in most cases these victims don't stand up for themselves and thus enables the whole situation Tacitly, my two cents)

The Art of Not Trolling

The Importance of a Good Critique

Now for the Real Critic. A good critique has tremendous value.

You have an expert that shares valuable feedback.

It can be harsh sometimes but the value can be immense.

Let us take an example to understand this better.

We all have taken up some kind of sport or new Hobby at some point of time.

But we do need some coaching and support. Even If you are better than your team mates and people you know there is always some room for growth.

This is where a good critic comes in, he or she will evaluate you and your performance keeping in mind much broader parameters.

We can then use that information to improve our game. Credibility and right feedback are so important.

At some point of time, we all need some amount of healthy feedback. 

But Yes, Feedback can be unhealthy as well.

Good Pariahs vs Bad Ones

Self Respect and Tolerating Bullies

So you must have guessed somewhat my opinion. I think there is no reason to tolerate Bullying, disrespect or injustice of any kind.

Overlooking it is a part of the problem. We tend to overlook a lot of important issues till they become a problem for all.

I think bullies are not limited to Schools and Colleges they are there in your workplace, homes and neighborhoods too.

Don't be an Enabler and get manipulated into Helping these people. They need help of their own.

In Conclusion

I think that things will change gradually and being a part of a Positive development (Anti Bullying, Anti-Body Shaming etc.) is indeed something to treasure.

I hope this article encourages you to take a stand or at least introspect on the issue of Mental abuse, Trolling and Bullying. 

Our world has seen enough of pain, we don't need more of it.

Thank you for your time. Do subscribe to my Newsletter!. Catch you in the next post! Ciao!

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Using EQ to build self and others

Emotional Quotient is very important. It can be decisive to a better career and relationships too.

In the previous post, I discussed What is EQ and some tools to building a Strong EQ.

In this blog, I want to discuss some important pointers about EQ that we must keep in mind. 

This will help us use EQ in our personal lives and may be at work too.

Technical Skills vs EQ

Education and work stresses require more than just technical skills. To think about it we need much more than just doing our jobs. 

I have seen students who are more confident and self assured get good placements. Later on succeed and get good positions in their organisation that they are working with.

It all comes down the realisation that technical skills is what is the basic need for a position. It is an important aspect of our performance in a job. 

But to lead we need to guide people and move into areas that we may not be familiar.

I would like to stress on some aspects of EQ that are important. I will be sharing about EQ from the point of view of Life and work in general.

Important Aspects of EQ

Using EQ to understand ourselves

Understanding others by understanding Self

In our professional life or may be personal life, we find it important to understand people we live and interact with.

Understanding others can start with a better relationship with oneself.

It simply means understanding our responses and interactions with others and in different situations.

Spending time alone enables us to better manage our emotions and recover from stress.https://t.co/wcmiUKpsZp

— Daniel Goleman (@DanielGolemanEI) December 16, 2019

Using EQ to succeed in our careers and relationships

Better EQ better career

One thing I find common between careers and relationships is that we need to understand others and oneself to succeed.

Put oneself in other people's shoes is just not something that is obvious, but much needed. 

A Lot of these ideas would seem sensible to alot of us, but using our empathy effectively requires intent and action.

EQ thus helps us respond to different situations and events that may bring problems to its resolution or issues to its solution.

These solutions don't need to perfect, but when we understand our own emotions and those of others we are in more fruitful situation to act and respond.

“A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all the other virtues.” — Cicero
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone celebrating today.

— Daniel Goleman (@DanielGolemanEI) November 28, 2019

Building our EQ to lead

Leadership is not domination

Leadership doesn't need to come with a position, but I think it also requires strong vision and abilities.

One such powerful tool we have is EQ. EQ helps us understand ourselves and others.

It can be used to uplift self and others. This can be a powerful strategy in building our communities and businesses.

Building relationships among a remote team can increase well-being and help team members feel more connected.https://t.co/86QDpIzYDd

— Daniel Goleman (@DanielGolemanEI) December 5, 2019

Daniel Goleman on improving your EQ

Conclusion

Using our Emotions and utilising the emotions of others can help us succeed in our jobs and relationships too. 

Life is a journey that teaches us a lot of things that we can learn from and use.

Personal Blog to Platform for Self Growth

 Getting Discouraged and Assumptions

They no longer have time for you and with the lack of information, people start assuming and making up stuff.

I have not been seeing you guys for some time. You may have noticed a lot of change, but I will retort by saying I am going through change.

My schedule has gone in another direction. I have consciously kept time to build a routine to get me more productive.

9 to 5 and How it has structured things

I believe in the idea that good choices can help people change

I have always wanted to help people achieve their purpose by focusing on their goals and developing themselves.

'Chris educator dot com' started out as a Personal Blog with good ideas. I blogged around Self development and Personal Marketing.

I believe in the idea that good choices can help people change. Routines and systems help in this effort to kick start the process of achieving our goals.

I am committed to building this platform I started out.

What have I been up to?

….working on a few digital products

I have been surveying the competition around me and in a way validates my idea for this blog.

I am streamlining a lot of things and bringing this blog in shape to give it the reach it can have.

This has meant a lot of time spent reading and learning things. Experimenting offline and tweaking things to enrich this platform.

I have been experimenting with a few platforms and thank you guys for the awesome feedback.

I have been working on a few digital products and relaunching this site on WordPress.

Let's see how it goes, hoping for the best.

My current Self Help interest

Currently, I have been interested in developing systems to enrich my personal development.

I have been putting a few things I have learned down the years into motion.

It has helped me not speak the talk only but to walk it as well.

Action is where feedback ultimately happens and brings insight into what we have always planned.

The Road ahead 

Visions and dreams are strong guides

I believe our Visions and dreams are strong guides that help us chart an unexplored area.

We can have assurance about the right hard work and intent we put into our work.

The rest is left to time to tell. Losing is a part of winning and not an antithesis of it.

Feedback: I need you to answer a few questions

I want to know what this platform means to you. Has it helped you in some way?

Please share with me ideas to enrich this platform.

Please share this information at officialchriseducator@gmail.com or drop a message on the contact page.

Wrapping it up

Staying through to our purpose depends on us. Commitment is more than a matter of the heart it is also about our actions.

Sometimes change comes when we invest our time in learning and receiving feedback. Chasing novelty has its own charm, but may bear fruits we may not seek.

Thank you for being awesome as always. Catch you in the next post.

Please subscribe to my Email List and get updates about the next post.

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Don't make your goals a burden; being kind to myself

After spending most of last year in Goa, We were back in my beloved Pune, coming back is awesome and feels good.

Yes, I have been focusing on my life (I have been away from this blog for a while), But I am already working on my goals.

I think it is important to keep things in perspective and work your ideas to reality.

Failing is sometimes more of a feedback rather than only an outcome.

The Thing that has converted me...

Goals can be flexible - @Kiss_toff

I think goals are powerful. But then how come we don't fulfil them.

I think life happens. I have learnt to see goals more as reminders and signpost to help one move towards their destination rather than an obligation.

Just having them around help us deal with uncertainty. We start working on ideas and we keep things in motion. 

The problem is when we get fixated on them (goals). We treat them like a prophecy that has to become real in the way we imagine it.

The idea that Goals can be flexible and can be used strategically to deal with uncertain circumstances is the idea I hold to.

It has been a kind of religious experience. Sometimes we are stuck because we need to change our ideas about things.

Bringing in Experiences to deal with Uncertainty

Check this Quote on Uncertainty

I learnt that multitasking was a bad idea while reading self help books and also from experience.

I think chunking activities down is far more effective. If I personally can't work on these activities I begin by planning for it.

Once I flesh out a proper strategy or recipe to work on, I start working on it.

Another thing I learnt was getting in people who are experienced in what you want to achieve. Like a coach or a teacher.

You don't need to work on your success by yourself. It does require spending a bit of time or money. But my experience has shown me it helps.

I mostly expect at least 70% of the promises to be delivered for it to be a successful venture.

After completing one chunk of activity I move on to the next.

Listening to yourself

Don't ignore your inner voice | Check this post on Introspection

Sometimes we slack a bit or may be consciously kill a resolution we have. May be we need to listen to ourselves a bit.

Are we feeling lazy or discouraged? Is the goal bringing in a lot of change? Is the change too much to deal with?

Just spending some 'Me-time' can surely help. With a new baby boy, My wife and me have been quite busy.

So I decided to not overburden myself and perform badly at work or blogging. I use my time to practice focusing and trying observe and learn from people around me.

I don't see this as a time wasted, Yes it is a detour but one that will help focus better on my goals by reflection or crafting some plan.

In conclusion

I must say that challenging ourselves is important. One way we can do that is by actually trying to work on our own aspirations and goals.

Life happens and we must enjoy it (by choosing too). Our choices and our perceptions are completely ours and so we must not waste it.

Either we learn something from it or we achieve it, Getting discouraged doesn't need to be the only option.

Choose better and wish you success. May you succeed in your goals. Thank you for stopping by. I hope you liked this post.

Ciao!