Powerful quotes on Gratitude

July 08, 2019
Powerful Quotes on Gratitude
Some interesting ideas and quotes that help understand Gratitude


Practicing Gratitude can really make a difference in Personal growth and here are some encouraging words to help you

Check my posts on Gratitude and reasons behind practicing gratefulness. Click here and here.

Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough

     - Oprah Winfrey

Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.

        -Eckhart Tolle

The Struggle ends when gratitude begins.

         -Neal Donald Walsh

The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation.

        - Dalai Lama

I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.

         - G. K. Chesterton

When a person doesn't have gratitude, something is missing in his or her humanity. A person can almost be defined by his or her attitude toward gratitude.

          -Elie Weisel

Remember the past with gratitude, live the present with Enthusiasm, look forward to the future with Confidence.

          -St. John Paul II

Gratitude is the single most important ingredient to living a successful & fulfilled life.

          -Jack Canfield

Do let me know in the comment section if you find these quotes interesting.

More Quotes on Gratitude:

https://www.success.com/15-thoughtful-quotes-about-gratitude/

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/gratitude

https://www.inc.com/jeremy-goldman/17-inspiring-quotes-about-gratitude.html

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Master Guide to Resourcefulness...The What, the Why and The How. Two Stories and Four Mantras to being Resourceful

June 22, 2019
Master Guide to Resourcefulness...The What, The Why and The How. Two Stories and Four Mantras
Master Guide to Resourcefulness: Learn Four Mantras to be Resourceful


What does it mean to be resourceful?

The Dictionary defines resourcefulness as the ability to find quick and clever ways to overcome difficulties. I am sure we all have experienced situations that make us feel the same, All our dreams, plans and work on whether on a pet project or something major, things turn out differently. We all have been there. I think this is the most common thing to our human experience, things turning out different than we expected. This is where being resourceful becomes the only resort and sometimes can be a gamechanger.

Issues or Problem...doing it the donkey's way

Issue or problems can come to us in different forms and can smack us, bring us down. I read this interesting story in an article in the Des Moines Register by Harvey Mackay. It's on the story of a donkey who is narrating to his grandson an incident when he was stuck in a ditch. The donkey mentions a moment when he had fallen into a ditch. After a long wait, a farmer notices the donkey. He later waits until the next morning to tell other villagers. Instead of saving the donkey, they decide to bury the donkey. They start throwing mud at the donkey. The donkey had a choice to panic and die or use what he had. So the donkey decided to use the mud thrown at him. He would climb up the pile of mud and at last, the donkey saved itself. Sometimes life can be like this, it can take such twists that land us in difficult situations. (Read the entire story at the link mentioned above) Imagine if that donkey had not been resourceful, he would have been dead. Sometimes making a difference requires us to use whatever we have, but also to persevere and see the opportunity in difficult circumstances.

Fighting a painful situation

This next story will tell you how. This is the experience of a close friend. He had been through a painful breakup, he had two choices whine about it or just move on. So he moved on, it was quite difficult for him. He concentrated his energy on his studies. It made a huge difference and got him into a good college with a scholarship. He had used his painful situation to help him change his life and help him achieve his goals. He had been resilient and resourceful too.

Resourcefulness can work wonders. But the question is how does one be resourceful. Is there any way or method to help us. I believe there are ideas that help us be resourceful. These ideas I can say have been tested and tried from my experience, I can say it works.

Here are some of them, Check it out:


Stick to your goals

I think the most important thing to be resourceful is not to forget your goals. But sticking to goals would mean also sticking to them when there doesn't seem any way forward. I think this would be really productive in finding healthy solutions. Although going off tangents can sometimes be good, it could lead to good ideas and also great discoveries. But sticking to your goals gives you a focus and helps you to deal with the 'why' behind what we want to achieve.

Think alternatives

Yes, thinking alternatives is important to be resourceful. This could mean start with understanding the position of our current situation and what are some solutions. One could start with brainstorming ideas and then jotting them down. The feasibility of each idea should be considered.

Lose the war, Win the battle

It's okay to fail at the beginning, cause ultimately lack of resources and bad ideas should not stop us from trying and pursuing our quest to achieve our goals ( but the feasibility should help you decide that. Small failures are fine and they give feedback ( It's like healthy to course correct). Ultimately, It's about the vision and goals that one has in minded.

Attitude Matters

 Being open-minded and confident I think is important to be resourceful. I think these two qualities are important. Being open-minded can help you be creative and Confidence can bring in the faith and hardworking required to achieve success. Lack of confidence brings in scrupulousness (that is good), but also self-doubt that can make people not give their best and ultimately force people to give up.

Bonus One


What to do when there are no alternatives

1) Delay
2) Don't choose when you are in difficult situations
3) Confidence doesn't mean being stupid: Learn when to quit

The first one can seem counter-intuitive (I know), but sometimes it's important to not make bad choices thinking they are good and then repenting about it. It is important to have some space to make choices. (That's my take, do let me know in the comment section if you disagree). Being confident is important and learning when to quit is even more important. But this is for another article.:)

Additional Ideas

I think an important key to being resourceful is to build a person's emotional and spiritual quotient. This helps a person to succeed and effective.

Some Interesting Ideas

https://www.edutopia.org/blog/8-pathways-why-resourcefulness-matters-marilyn-price-mitchell

https://in.pinterest.com/erin_wing/teaching-resourcefulness/

For Teams

https://www.resourcefulmanager.com/team-building/

NLP Exercise to be Resourceful

http://www.oakdust.com/Resourceful_states.htm

Summary

I think this is one of the most important skill to develop as there is an abundance of problems and assumed scarcity of resources. Wish you better learning and do visit and connect with us on Social media.

Napolean Hill on Being Resourceful
Napolean Hill on being Resourceful

Further Read

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3 Simple Mantras to better selling...Some Myth Busters

June 04, 2019
3 Simple Mantras to better Selling... Some Myth Busters
Wrong ideas about selling


The tendency in selling is to think more about the sale, I have always believed in the power of empathy. I think it is important to sell with a heart. Selling to people who don't need it will surely lead to a sale, but to a misguided customer as well. At a certain level, it dehumanizes people. This quote sheds some hint at what selling really entails



Just 3 simple mantras: Empathy, Process, and Knowledge. 

The most important axiom People buy from People. Customers are as human as you, don't reduce them to just a number.

Some Articles to help you bust the myths:


Can you sell without Lying

Please don't confuse lying with selling

Ciao! Wish you the Best...

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7 Highly Effective Strategies to a Superb Presentation...Bring out the Motivator in you

May 28, 2019

Prepare yourself with these 7 Strategies to a Highly Effective Presentation


Speeches and Presentations


In India, we have just had a General Election and we have chosen the leader to guide us into the future. One very striking quality of Narendra Modiji, our Prime Minister-elect is that he is a very good orator and politician. He has a well-seasoned personality and captivating side to him, his presentation and thoughts are put forth quite clearly and succinctly.

I believe that a good presentation depends on various factors. They all combine to bring the message to the audience. Of course like anything else, practice and proper feedback will help you master it. That's the thing about skills regular practice and good feedback helps you succeed.

My Personal Experience and Boring Speeches

As an educator, I have been more into teaching young adults and presenting to people from the industry. It was quite an opportunity to deliver training at a School to students of Grade 4. I just used less lingo and adapted the topic to their needs. My delivery was quite similar to what I have been used to. I got good feedback and experience. Let me be clear, I am a good speaker but not the best. I strive every day to be better. Here are 7 highly effective strategies that I have noticed good Speakers use. One thing amazing about good Speeches they not only inform you but also have the ability to move you to action.

So Let me start with some of these powerful but simple ideas.

Use Pointers not paragraphs:

The first pointer for a good presentation is to use pointers and not paragraphs to explain your ideas. So a proper arrangement and planning are required. One should start with a goal and points that you would want an audience to understand. Please keep in mind the aim is not to Impress people but to share an idea or help people understand a concept (whatever it may be).

Every Presentation does not have to be on Powerpoint, it can also be explained using a whiteboard. So don't get fixated on using only one medium. If you're using a whiteboard mention the topic that you are presenting and then enlist the points while you are explaining them. The points must be legible and should be read clearly to the audience.

Tell a captivating story

I have also been through many very boring lectures and talks like anyone else. And to be honest I have delivered some boring ones too...Lol. It feels horrible. But I can tell you that a good story can get a lot of peoples attention and can get many points across. I don't think it is a coincidence that people like Buddha or Jesus used stories that explain complex ideas. So find a story that brings out the issue you are trying to explain.

If you are using a real-life example, try respecting people's privacy. You could change some information that could reveal a person's identity. Getting a person's consent would be essential and the right thing to do. So a good story would really make your presentation more interesting and more human as well.

Ask a good question

One thing I learn from life, and this is not just regarding presentations. Asking a good question is an art and a thought-provoking one can shed a light on a lot of points and also force the audience to think about the points you are bringing forth. So when asking question trying keeping it open-ended unless you want an immediate response like a show of hands etc. You could use questioning at the beginning of the presentation as well. It could help you in engaging the audience and also drive your point across to them.

Use an eye-catching statistic or  ear-grabbing headline

This one is a very common practice that is highly effective but must be used with caution. Some times there are chances that you have misunderstood the statistic. So thoroughly research the issue before firing one of those stats. If you are using a Newspaper Headline see that it is not a satire piece or fake news. By now you might have realized that good Speakers do a lot of hard work and it is not a walk in the park. I think it is quite a responsibility. But yes to my experience Statistic or Headlines can be quite an attention grabber.


Use an Inspiring quote

Inspiring quotes are very often inspiring and not just me people love hearing them too. But they shouldn't be cliched unless it is like an emergency. Maybe one could use it in a certain kind of circumstances. Quotes can be used in presentations and due credit should be given to the person you are quoting. Don't make someone else's words as your own, it would be plagiarism. Quotes can also be used to build a more interactive presentation where you could also ask questions to the audience and get their views. It would also get feedback to understand if the audience is understanding the points you want to get across to them.

Photos speak a thousand words

While giving presentations it is important to understand that all of the audience are not auditory learners and there are also visual learners. Actually, most of us have been primed to learn visually. So using relevant images would be really helpful. There are a lot of good resources online that are either paid and free photos. It is important to see that the photo used is relevant to the topic you want to discuss and that it supports the idea your presenting. Well, Do you think the image I used at the beginning of the article is relevant, do let me know in the comment section.

Use a prop or visual aid

People consume a lot of content these days. So adding a bit of theatre won't kill. You add some props to make your presentation interesting. You could use a simple chart you have prepared to a Print ad etc. You could prepare these props before you deliver the presentation.

People love a short video

Videos are used so often to convey ideas. You could you use one too. There is a lot of Video stock available online or also content on Youtube that can be used during your presentation. If a picture speaks a thousand videos, videos can do much more. So use them only when they are relevant and they can help you take your presentation to another level altogether.

Bonus one:

End Well and Practice:

I think this point is self-explanatory. But yes a good conclusion is what the audience is going to take home with them. You must reinforce the ideas you put forth at the beginning of the presentation with a summary of the proposed solutions.

Lastly, I believe, Like one of my Theatre mentors used to say, It is not about impression but expressing your ideas well. Practice, Practice and get good feedback is very important to a Superb Presentation. These are some powerful ideas. Please do share your experiences in the comment section with presentations. And also answer the question I mentioned in the article. Thanks

Ciao!


References:

Presentation Tips

Planning a Presentation

Effective Presentations

Giving a Killer Presentation


Credits: Article Image by Rudy and Peter Skitterians from Pixabay
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Personal Choices and choosing the Best...

May 16, 2019
Choosing better over Best


Choosing better over the best can be the most difficult choice...Just yesterday I chose the Better over the best. It felt really great, but waiting can be a lot of hard work.

 Life is like a string of choices. Good, better and Best may, for the most part, be a matter of perception. But a lot of things are basic and so listening to our inner voice can really help.

Here is a quote from Nelson Mandela on Choices to guide us on the same...

Hopes vs Fears
Wish you all the best and May you make good choices with your hopes as a guide.

Ciao! Have a great time...

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Why Chris Educator started a blog and How can you for 5 Reasons?

May 08, 2019
5 Reasons to Blog and why I started blogging


Communication is exciting and fun, although it can be challenging for a lot of people. I used to be quite shy as a person, but after a long effort, it helped me deal with this challenge in a more structured way. I faced a similar challenge while trying to start with a blog.

Why Chris Educator?

Blogging has been fun and difficult at the same time. It exposes yourself to a lot of people, you got to share your ideas and thought. This can make a person open to criticisms and trolls. I have used a lot of resources to make this journey into blogging a smooth one, to begin with. 

Purpose & Prose

So how do I start was the question I had before me, So I decided to start with the purpose. The most basic idea was to share ideas whatever and whenever you like to. But 'why' is also an important question that loomed before me. Soul Searching was the place I decided to begin, I took a day or so. I made mental notes of various ideas. Though they were half baked, I just took note of it. Professionally I am an Educator, so blogging about Life & Learning was something that I thought I would be able to write about. So that's where I decided to begin. AtLast, I had a starting point.

Learning Curves

The Rest was a huge learning curve, but a lot of good resources on the internet and offline really helped me. Believe me, there are a lot of resources to make a great blog. Today I shall share some of them with you. But I shall try to keep it real.

Starting your Blog...

Why Blogger

There are many blogging platforms like Wordpress, Wix, Blogger, Tumblr and many more. These platforms are pretty intuitive, But there is a bit of learning. I decided to choose Blogger because I felt it was hassle free, secure and I love Google.

Wordpress is awesome and the Benefits of Blogger

I was really considering Wordpress, but I thought I should invest in that platform after I have learned more about the platform and blogging as well. Wordpress is an open source blogging CMS or a content management system. It is really powerful and the best thing it is free to use. If you already have a blog and want to move onto Wordpress it quite simple. But Wordpress Hosting is a cost although it is not that expensive, choosing a good host is important. So choosing Blogger helped me focus on learning to blog. So I am still learning. Would love teaching it someday (i.e. teach blogging), but for now, I can teach other subjects. Please do check the Services section and get in touch in case you need a good Learning coach or a tutor. Now let's see the next most important aspect of blogging.

Blog Identity: The difference it makes


The Basics

The identity of one's blog is also very important. The most basic feature of a blog would be its look and feel. Then would come the logo and lastly the domain name. After I was ready to blog, I wanted a good theme for my blog. I found a lot of good resources for blog themes. Here are some links. I started parallel private blogs and experimented with them. When I was confident about the theme I choose, I was all set to use it. But it needed a bit of tweaking ( I think tweaking and improvements is a constant thing) and so I used a lot of online resources to help me with the coding and SEO aspects of the blog.

Naming your Blog

Another aspect of Blog Identity is the domain name. I had a list of names I had chosen. When I lost the domain name I wanted, it gave me push to actually register a domain. So some simple pointers to choosing a domain name. It should not conflict with an established brand, it should be easy to remember and try getting one that ends with a '.com'. There are many domain name providers. Here are some of them you could consider.

Why People Blog? Hobby, Money and much more

Perks of  Blogging

Do people earn money blogging? I think the answer is well known, A resounding 'Yes'. There are many bloggers who even earn Six-figure incomes blogging. But I think earning money is not the only motive. You could blog as a hobby or even promote your own business or an idea etc. There are various categories to blogging and various types of blog. 

Categories & Types of Blogs

According to Fistsiteguide, 8 types of blogs or bloggers dominate the Internet. Let me list them, Personal Blogs, Business Blogs, Professional Blogs, Niche Blogs, etc. Please check the article and resources of this website. It elaborates more on the topic of types of bloggers and blogs. Click here!

Now let's look at Categories of Blogs, It is important to also understand how your blog is categorized. Here are some categories DIY, Personal Blog, Finance Blog, etc. Check this article by Wpbeginner on this topic. WpBegginer has a lot of resources to start a good blog. it speaks a lot on the same issue of blogging and much more. It has helped me a lot. Click here!

The Price to pay: Is it Expensive or Cheap

Pain areas of Blogging

Starting a blog can be a costly or reasonable affair, it completely depends on your requirements. So here is a format you could consider to start a blog.

Priority List:


  • Web Hosting Cost
  • Related Content ( Images, Video, Explainer video, etc.)
  • Domain Name
  • Marketing Cost
  • Tools for analyzing Web Metrics
  • Work Hours spent on blogging and Researching
  • Total Investment


This is a rough format, but you can also take it as pointers which help you understand the cost involved in blogging. Many on the list above can be free or paid depending on your requirement.

Resources for your blog and related costs

Now budgeting a blog will depend on the kind of blog one runs. Highly specialized and well-designed blogs have a lot of resources that drive the website. These resources build User experience and help deliver quality content.

Here are some of the things to consider while determining the cost of your blog.
  • Graphics
  • Logo Design
  • Blog Hosting
  • Themes
  • Plugins
  • Training & Blog Audit Cost
  • Marketing & Advertising cost
  • Misc.

There are a lot of online resources to help your budget. But it is important to understand the cost and resources needed. Please do check Shoutmeloud.com by Harsh Agrawal, he has a great resource on starting a blog. He shares a lot of ideas and tricks, I have subscribed to his email list. It has helped me learn a lot.

Enhancing your Blog: How to spice it up

It is very important to include a lot of pictures in your content. A lot of beautiful pictures are paid, but there are free resources too. Pixabay, Pexels are great repositories of Free pictures and videos. It can be used for personal and commercial purposes too. For ideas on content to produce, I believe in consuming content, experiencing life and writing from the heart as much as possible. Churning out content every day is not my way and so I don't. May I would change that in the future. But there are a lot of great ways to get ideas for content, Google News or Twitter could be a great way. Google trends will also help you find out what's trending. There are a lot of paid tools available like Buzzsumo, Ahrefs, etc. You could check them out.

For organizing your marketing effort I found Hubspot really nice. For Social Media Management, there are a lot of tools like Hootsuite.

So Just start to blog if that's your interest. and just continuing without thinking about success and failure is the hard part. 

Marketing your Blog: Getting Heard


Another important part of good blogging is getting heard. So Social Media plays a very vital role. Interacting online whether it's on FB groups or Reddit can make a huge difference. Social Media Strategy is important. There are many tools to create content for social media like Canva, Adobe Express, etc. I use Canva, it's a great tool. Besides, that landing pages are important. Leadpages, Unbounce are some ways to create great Landing pages.


Purposeful Blogging: Intent, Intentions...


I believe in the end it's about enjoying blogging and sharing great content with your target audience. And Greatness is not achieved in a day. But starting out is very important. Learn, implement and relearn should be the key. There a lot of tools available. I hope this article gives you an overview.


( Please note this article does not contain any affiliate links )
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Use Assertiveness to stop bullies from hurting you...Learn 3 Simple Techniques

April 08, 2019
Deal with Bullies Effectively
Don't let Bullies alienate you...Stand your ground*


Rumors and false propaganda about people can be quite a reputation killer. It can destroy peoples careers and lives. Most of us people seldom do such a thing. But there are people who are toxic enough to kill people with words. Recently, I had a personal experience where someone close was spreading false stories about me. Before I tell you how I responded to that bully I would like to discuss how to deal with these Gossipmongers or 'Word bullies'(Just a word I coined :)).

Bullying with Words


Word Bullying is so subtle it tickles a lot of people's ears and throws them off guard. People enjoy the stories and never think critically about the issue. Some even forget that the person they speak about is as human as them. Imperfect like all of us. These Gossipmongers put on a garb of self-righteousness and proclaim their morals and ideas on others without seeing that each person may have a different opinion or may think differently.

Consequences of  False stories


 It can have terrible consequences. Victims of such bad rumors can feel helpless and misunderstood. So the solution I think is standing up to these bullies. Choosing to be Assertive and taking a stand. And that is what I did with that bully. I confronted him and asked him to stop. It worked and this bully stopped bad mouthing me. This is my story of bullying harassment.

So let's look at some ways to deal with similar situations when it comes to being bad-mouthed or even being bullied:

3 Simple Ways to deal with Bullies


1) Believe in yourself: 

Many a time the intention of these bullies is to destroy you or make you look bad. I believe holding one's ground and believing in yourself is important. A healthy self-image and confidence can help you through these difficult times. We mustn't derive our self worth from other people's perspective of us. Understanding our plus and negatives is a starting point to a healthy self-image. The idea is not to give our power to others.


2) Keep healthy Boundaries:


A lot of times we feel like reaching out to people. But believe me, some people are toxic and its good to keep a distance and avoid some people. We don't need to have everybody as our friends. There are people who dislike us and its fine. So we must have some kind of boundary where its important for us and others to understand that should not be violated.

Mutual respect and understanding are foundational to any healthy relationship. So if anyone violates it they must be told firmly and courteously that this bad behavior won't be tolerated and that they must discontinue such bad behavior. This is exactly what I did, I informed the bully that this behavior is wrong and that such behavior would not be tolerated.

3) Speak to a Mentor:


I think in difficult times especially when being bullied it can get very difficult and intolerable. A good mentor will help you with concrete steps to deal with the issue and guide you appropriately. This mentor could be any friend, family member or trained professional.

Resources for further reading:


https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-couch/201702/6-smarter-ways-deal-bully

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/relationships/work/10-signs-that-youre-being-bullied-at-work/articleshow/47231041.cms

https://www.stompoutbullying.org/get-help/about-bullying-and-cyberbullying/are-you-being-bullied

https://lifehacker.com/how-to-handle-being-bullied-as-an-adult-1726099137

I believe life is beautiful and challenging, toxic people just take you off tangent. Get back on track and keep Learning and be better every day. Here is a beautiful quote to think about when you are confronted with such situations.

"If people try to bring you down, it means you are above them."*1

More power and peace to you...Have a great day !!!

*1 Source: https://quoteshunter.com/anti-bullying-quotes/
* Image by Alexas_Fotos from Pixabay

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