Imagination Always Wins

There are internal principles we use to create whatever we want to create. You’ve got to be congruent with who you are; an honest statement to yourself and to the world. You can’t get wealthy if you’re not congruent with that.

We have this desire to be financially free, but there’s this other part that says, ‘It’ll make my life more complicated,’ or ‘I don’t deserve to be.’

‘God doesn’t want me to.’

‘Mommy doesn’t want me to.’

‘The government doesn’t want me to.’

That never ends until you change the tune. You need to decide on something you’re going to do. Get congruent about it and go get it done. Take action on it.

There’s a saying I think is one of the most profound sayings I’ve ever heard, by Canadian Amele Coue: “When the will comes into conflict with the imagination, the imagination always wins.”

It means you may want to do something, you may will it, you may write it down as a goal, you may say to yourself ‘That’s what I want to do’, but if your imagination is not congruent with that desire, you will conform to your imagination about it—even if you’re imagining the worst.

The deepest parts of you know what is right for you. That’s what intuition is. The problem is following your intuition can sometimes be a very fearful thing because you’re usually going against everything that everybody else is telling you. They’re usually saying, “Don’t do it.” You have to know and affirm that it’s right for you. It’s your thing. You’ve got to do this.

You would worry a lot less about what people think of you if you realized how little they do. But we have this façade we put up around ourselves, yes or yes? We try to play a role. And this façade takes half of our energy.

Fear is the most expensive habit we have. How much does your fear cost you? Go back five years and change your life, take all the fear away. No more fear of rejection. Live five years forward up to today without that fear. Where would you be today?

If you move and act in a different way, in a more congruent way, in a less fearful way, what happens? If we could take all of that and put it into money and relationships, time and physical health?

The question isn’t meant to draw thoughts of the past into the realm of regret. We learn what we learn when we learn it, and we get it into our bodies when it happens. Sometimes the Universe makes those turning points obvious, sometimes it takes us awhile to get there. Better late than never.

The point is to get it into our systems now; our desires deserve an imagination that will allow intuition, integrity, knowledge, and humility to go after what we want guilt free—free from the echoes of past that are no longer suited for your real ambitions.

Embrace Your Inner Warrior

Embrace Your Inner Warrior

Most people in our culture are pretty far removed from the realities of what we generally think of as “warriors.” In a pop-culture kind of way, the idea evokes images of swords, shields and ancient wars.
I think it’s important to seriously embrace the concepts behind what it means to be a warrior, and not the part about swords and shields. I’m talking about mental preparation—focus and awareness of mind, body and spirit so the warrior can be optimal to do what needs to be done when the moment calls.

We don’t experience quite the same intensity in our daily lives, but on some levels we do. The point isn’t about what the “warrior” is going to do; it’s who the warrior will be that will direct the action.

The definition we use of warrior is “One who conquers oneself.” The path of the spiritual warrior is not about power over others but power over yourself; being your true self. Only then can correct action follow, and the warrior’s way is the way of action.
It’s not just big actions in big moments. It’s about developing a habit; a bias toward action in your everyday life, and being able to reach your dreams because of this. Fear is what holds people back—fear of failing, or some perceived ridicule or pain for failing.
One of the most basic principles of the warrior is to be willing to make mistakes. The most successful people are willing to mess things up every now and then! They don’t take mistakes personally as an affront to their self-worth. They use mistakes as their primary form of learning.

You’ll get feedback based on action, and then you can make corrections. You go back to more action, maybe more mistakes, and make more corrections until you get it right.

But what happens in the feedback loop for a lot of people? We make mistakes and beat ourselves up unmercifully. In our society we have such a stigma on “failure” that we’re not willing to do anything, especially anything big we really want.

Take action! Successful people trust themselves. They’re willing to take the chance.

Break out of the prison of the conditioned mind and come from true choice in the present moment. That’s power. Power is when you don’t have to be who you were yesterday, or two years ago, or whenever.

You have to be present in the moment and come from true choice. If you don’t come from the moment and can’t trust yourself, then you’re coming from your programs of the past.
Be whatever you have to be at the time. Being unattached to thoughts and beliefs means you can be free to be whatever you need to be right now. That’s the way of the spiritual warrior.

Rupee hits new low of 65.56, recovers later

Mumbai/New Delhi, Aug 22, 2013, DHNS:

Rupee is the worst performing currency

The rupee on Thursday breached the 65-level against the dollar hitting new lows for the fifth straight session, after the US Federal Reserve hinted that it would start scaling back its stimulus as early as next month.

However, the domestic currency, after dropping below the 65-mark recovered to close down 44 paise over its previous close at 64.55 to the dollar — a fresh closing level. The latest spurt of depreciation came on the back of persistent dollar selling by exporters and foreign institutional investors (FIIs) despite Finance Minister P Chidambaram and RBI Governor D Subbarao trying to mollify investors, saying there is no need for “unwarranted pessimism”.

The rupee opened weak at 64.75 against the dollar and declined to a lifetime low of 65.56/$ as heavy demand from importers along with weak domestic equities continued to weigh in on market sentiment.

The rupee has now seen new closing lows in the last five straight trading  sessions.  Forex traders felt that despite demand from private and foreign banks, the rupee depreciated more because of the psychological effect of the US Fed's decision. A temporary pullback happened after RBI intervened but the rupee soon shot past the 65/dollar mark. 

The slide continued as government is yet to come up with any concrete measures to encourage inflows. Apart from the high current account deficit, the impact of rupee depreciation is that it fuels inflation and increases the import bill to mention a few.  It also increases the government's spending on fuel subsidies, potentially widening the fiscal deficit. 

Finance Minister P Chidambaram sought to lift investor confidence at a news conference on Thursday in New Delhi saying that while economic growth remained flat in the first quarter of 2013-14, it is likely to pick up in the remaining three quarters.

However, analysts said that the rupee is the worst performing currency in Asia right now.

According to India Forex Advisors' Founder & CEO Abhishek Goenka, “With a fall of 19 per cent this year so far, the rupee is the worst performing Asian currency. A set of RBI and government measures have not helped rupee to witness a recovery.”

5-Step Plan To Be Wealthy By Design

It is true that there are many random events in the financial marketplace.
But your approach to building your wealth cannot be random. It must be carefully considered, meticulously planned, backed by solid commitments and regularly assessed.

When these steps are followed – and when you and your advisor can maintain flexibility in challenging times – you will have put in place the strategy that will empower you to meet your goals and live your dreams. You will achieve wealth, but not as the result of random events, lucky breaks, or ‘timing the market.’ Instead, you will become wealthy by design.
I outline the following five-step plan to strategically achieve financial independence in my new book, Wealthy By Design.

Step 1: Discovering And Setting Your Goals

Identify your needs – family obligations, debt, and lifestyle requirements. Connect with your desires – know the difference between a need and a desire. Know where you want to go – relate your life goals to short-, mid-, and long-term financial goals. Evaluate when it is time to review or revise your investment goals.

Step 2: Planning Your Investments

Learn the fundamentals of investing. Examine your current asset allocation. Explore how to diversify your portfolio. Do not try to time the markets. Come to grips with the level of risk that you can tolerate.

Step 3: Committing To Your Plan

Enact a plan. Commit to it. Identify the challenges to your commitment.

Step 4: Assessing How Well Your Plan Is Working

Identify which indicators to look at to determine how well your plan is working. Reassess if your asset allocation is properly balanced.

Step 5: Keeping Your Plan Flexible

Keep up with a changing market. Know when to take action. Know when to expand on your investment.

I cannot stress enough the benefits of a well-conceived and disciplined strategy. Some people have the idea that such a focused design is restricting or that it causes you to miss opportunities that less-structured investors might capture.

But it really works in the opposite way when you are following a plan; you aren’t being distracted by the ‘noise’ that so easily sidetracks other investors. That means you can actually pay closer attention to the real opportunities – the ones supported by careful research and sound investment principles.

Disciplined investors stay invested, stay the course, and reap the benefits; undisciplined investors jump in and out of investments in a vain attempt to capture the latest hot stock or value play, and they invariably achieve inferior returns. The research backs this up, time and time again. That’s why I tell my clients: ‘Stay diversified, and stay the course.’

The Power of Gratitude

Be grateful!
We hear it all the time, at least in a community of fellow seekers who want to grow their financial success building as much as their spiritual peace.

Life has its highs and lows, but the one thing that’s the same no matter where we are on the wheel is that there are always many things to be grateful for.
It’s easy to be grateful when it doesn’t really require a ton of effort, like saying “please” or “thank you.” It’s easy to be grateful when things are going great. But what about when things aren’t going quite as planned?

Everyone’s been there. The mind starts going into “what’s wrong,” or what’s not enough, what’s too much to deal with, too much to do in order to overcome an obstacle and reach a goal. In some ways it’s natural, but when it becomes a habit then the pity party is simply a safer choice.

The truth is it takes much more courage to appreciate what we’ve got—no matter how little it may seem—than it is to surrender to the scarcity model and let ourselves off the hook for taking action because something isn’t enough.

Our egos will tell us that if we spend too much time being grateful for what we have, we won’t try to get more, and we’ll become stuck with being “content” instead of happy.
Wanting what we currently have has nothing to do with somehow tricking ourselves into “settling.”

Just because you’re buying an economy car now that’s practical but not so hot-looking doesn’t mean you won’t want a Ferrari three years from now when you’re rich. It’s not hard to be grateful for that fact that you have four wheels to drive that gets you where you need to go. There are plenty of people in this world that don’t have that, with consequences we couldn’t imagine.

It’s the lack-based protective mind that continuously hungers for more, like a squirrel hoarding nuts for winter. The scarcity model, constantly looking around, overlooks and discounts what’s right in front of us. We have to consistently remind ourselves to look for “what’s right” in our lives instead of “what’s wrong.”

Then we’ll be less likely not to forget to show our appreciation to the people who are closest to us; our family, friends, loved ones, co-workers, employees. Then there are teachers, postal workers—all the people that make our daily lives more convenient and enrich our larger communities. And let’s not forget to say “thank you” to the Universe for our many blessings.

Gratitude particularly holds true when it comes to finances. To have abundance, be grateful for and properly manage whatever wealth you have now, even if you don’t think it’s much. Why? If you’re not appreciating what you already have, that means you’re not maximizing what’s available right now. If you can’t do that, why should the Universe believe you can handle more?

The Science Of Getting Rich

As a child I was never a very strong reader – though my parents did buy me new books just about every year, and they did read to me before I went to bed when I was younger. I loved the funny voices that my dad would put on for different characters. I would do the same for my children – and now for my first grandchild.

The Science Of Getting Rich…

THERE is a thinking stuff from which all things are made, and which, in its original state, permeates, penetrates, and fills the interspaces of the universe.
A thought in this substance produces the thing that is imaged by the thought.
Man can form things in his thought, and by impressing his thought upon formless substance can cause the thing he thinks about to be created.

In order to do this, man must pass from the competitive to the creative mind; otherwise he cannot be in harmony with the Formless Intelligence, which is always creative and never competitive in spirit.

Man may come into full harmony with the Formless Substance by entertaining a lively and sincere gratitude for the blessings it bestows upon him. Gratitude unifies the mind of man with the intelligence of Substance, so that man’s thoughts are received by the Formless. Man can remain upon the creative plane only by uniting himself with the Formless Intelligence through a deep and continuous feeling of gratitude.

Man must form a clear and definite mental image of the things he wishes to have, to do, or to become; and he must hold this mental image in his thoughts, while being deeply grateful to the Supreme that all his desires are granted to him.

The man who wishes to get rich must spend his leisure hours in contemplating his Vi- sion, and in earnest thanksgiving that the reality is being given to him. Too much stress cannot be laid on the importance of frequent contemplation of the mental image, coupled with unwavering faith and devout gratitude.

This is the process by which the impression is given to the Formless, and the creative forces set in motion.
The creative energy works through the established channels of natural growth, and of the industrial and social order. All that is included in his mental image will surely be brought to the man who follows the instructions given above, and whose faith does not waver. What he wants will come to him through the ways of established trade and commerce.

In order to receive his own when it shall come to him, man must be active; and this activity can only consist in more than filling his present place. He must keep in mind the Purpose to get rich through the realization of his mental image. And he must do, every day, all that can be done that day, taking care to do each act in a successful manner.

He must give to every man a use value in excess of the cash value he receives, so that each transaction makes for more life; and he must so hold the Advancing Thought that the impression of increase will be communicated to all with whom he comes in contact.

The men and women who practice the foregoing instructions will certainly get rich; and the riches they receive will be in exact proportion to the definiteness of their vision, the fixity of their purpose, the steadiness of their faith, and the depth of their gratitude.

When “Staying Inside the Lines” Starts to Hold You Back (And How to Break Free)

There’s a spirit in our culture that prides itself on individuality and “being you.” That sense of satisfaction that comes with doing something your way and finding success.

Yet, as much as we say we value individuality, how much do we really live by that? How often are our decisions influenced by other people: family, friends, a mate, colleagues, neighbors? How often have you wanted to do something but thought twice about it because you were afraid of what so and so might think?


When you go against the grain, you stand out, and standing out can be nerve-wracking. Why is that?
It starts, like many behaviors, with early conditioning—like staying “inside the lines” in art class. Structure can be good, but if we dared draw outside the lines, watch out! We’d be “corrected” until we developed the habit of staying within artificial boundaries given to us.

That’s just one of many examples of conditioning that ends up placing limits on our creative potential. Those pressures could be cultural (Stay with your group!), economic (Rich people are why we’re poor!) … the list goes on and on. And most people end up living their lives “inside the lines” until it becomes comfortable, familiar and what others have taught as “appropriate”—even though it may not be appropriate for you!

In everyday life, anything or anyone that doesn’t fit the “norm” often pays the price of disapproval or scorn. It’s a strange paradox; it pays to be different—think of somebody like Madonna, who clearly marches to her own beat—but don’t be too different or else you’re weird, or something’s wrong with you.

Most people will do their best to fit into a recognizable and comfortable mold because security is addictive to the ego. As a matter of fact, it’s part of our evolution as people. Being accepted in a group meant survival and safety for our ancestors. And in some ways it still does.

However, at some point we’ve got to tell the ego that it’s okay to step into the unknown and dare to be different. Think of all the people throughout history that, if they hadn’t stepped “outside the lines,” we’d have never evolved as quickly as we did. We’d still think the world was flat, or that the universe revolves around us, or that “normal” people couldn’t do amazing things.

When you stop playing it safe, your spirit is free to grow, expand and create.  Individual, family and social “rules” don’t apply.

It takes guts to be different; to stand out from the crowd; to break free from the “clone drone” society and be a true individual.
When others criticize you for doing something “different” it’s usually because they’re scared. Inside, they’re secretly stoked that you’re breaking free. They’re just frustrated with themselves for lacking the courage to do the same. Be their inspiration!

Your focus for the next 30 days: This month, let go of worrying about what other people think of you. Do something unusual (just remember society does have laws!). Whatever business you are in, figure out a way to do it, package it, or market it differently than everyone else. “Zig” when the masses “zag.” You will not only feel a renewed sense of spirit and energy but will also dramatically increase your income and wealth.

Getting What You Deserve

Whatever’s coming at us in life – is it happening because we somehow deserve it? Did we ask for it?

Sometimes it’s our blueprints that limit what the Universe brings into our lives. People unconsciously punish themselves over something that happened a long time ago but they haven’t forgiven themselves. Or they feel guilty about actually getting what they want. Sometimes there’s a part of us that feels like we don’t deserve more.

Other times, things happen out of nowhere; extreme challenges hit us out of the blue, and if we’re honest with ourselves, there’s a part of us that will ask, however briefly, “What did I do to deserve this?”

How we think about what we get in life—the meanings we attach to events and circumstances—will impact the quality of our lives. So it doesn’t pay to give too much credit to the Universe when things go right, nor too much blame when things go wrong and we don’t get what we want.

Success starts with us and our attitudes—and we’re grateful when the Universe gives us a nudge in the right direction.
We have the power to ask for and get what we want. People who are successful at it are considered “smooth-talkers,” with just a hint of resentment behind that tag, as if they’re just lucky to be born with the gift of gab.

There does seem to be some people that are better at it than others, but the power of persuasion is a learnable skill. If a kid in a marketplace can do it, for heaven’s sake so can you!
Most people, though, either go into a negotiation assuming that they’re going to get raked, and either don’t bother trying to negotiate out of fear or talk themselves out of getting the deal they want by not believing they can get it or deserve it.
That’s actually a big thing for a lot of people—the belief that getting what they want must mean that they’re taking something away from someone else. Of course that’s not true—the best negations are win-win scenarios.

In business and in life, ask for what you want! What’s the worst that could happen? The other person says no? So what if they do? People are so afraid of receiving “no” into their lives they don’t even try.
The best negotiating tool is the truth. Let the other person know how you’re feeling. The idea of good negotiations is to work together so you both get what you want and you both feel good and you feel the deal is fair.

When you ask someone, “What do you want?” they’ll usually tell you what they want. When you ask, “What do you think is fair?” they’ll usually tell you what they think is fair and balance your part of the equation.

Don’t get attached to the whole thing, and it’s actually a lot of fun. There’s a feeling of success that builds confidence once you become good at it, but there’s also a sense of fulfillment when you actually get what you deserve.
And as the saying goes, you don’t get what you deserve, you get what you can negotiate. Let the Universe sort the rest out for you.

Steal These 3 Social Marketing Tricks From Top Brands

Do you follow a brand in social media? Are you glad you did? If that's the case, they are either doing one of three things:

• Connecting with one of your passions and/or interests.
• Entertaining you with their engaging personality.
• Providing interesting and/or important information to you.

If you're a small business owner, you may want to consider which of the three strategies you're following.

You might also mull following one of the strategies exclusively. However, it's fine to dabble in each. "These approaches are interchangeable, and a brand can not only switch back and forth between them, but also use two or three at the same time," says Caitlin Francke, SVP, and Director of Social Strategy at Publicis Kaplan Thaler. "The most important thing is for a brand to stay true to their DNA, identify what they are best at, what they can offer the consumers the most of, and focus on that. That will be their strongest play."

The three strategies — passion, personality and transparency — are outlined below.

1. Passion Brands

No matter how much you like it, it's hard to get worked up about an energy drink. But that drink may be just a part of the optimum experience that you associate with that brand.
For example, for some, Red Bull conjures up images of action sports. This is no accident, since the brand has worked hard at tying the brand to images of young people risking their lives on extreme outdoor activities. The cover photo on the brand's Facebook Page, for instance, shows a guy on a snowboard.

Another consistent brand is Nike. Though the brand's social media communication highlights both professional and amateur athletes, the underlying point is the same: celebrating athletic achievement. Adidas' feed is also consistent and differentiated from Nike in its international focus.

Finally, a good example of a passion brand in another category is Whole Foods, whose social media stream consists almost entirely of recipes so fans can indulge their love of cooking and epicureanism.

2. Personality Brands

Not every brand can connect itself to a pastime the way that Nike could. What do you do, for instance, if you're Oreo? Oreo's not associated with much besides milk and perhaps binge-eating.

But Oreo and interactive agency 360i aren't interested in connecting Oreo to a particular passion. Instead, they've infused the brand's social media activity with personality. Oreo's 31 million-strong Facebook feed shows the familiar Oreo looking slightly different in the name of a visual pun.

The daily updates are sort of a variation on Absolut's long-running ad campaign that featured the bottle against unusual backdrops for the same witty purpose.
Another personality brand is Skittles, which has racked up 24 million followers on Facebook with whimsical, stream-of-consciousness status updates like "The frenemy of my frenemy is my enefriend" and "Beavers are excellent at making pancakes, omelettes and anything that needs a spatula."

3. Transparent Brands

Transparent brands want to tell you about all the stuff that they're doing in the real world. A good example of such a brand is IBM, which hosts some 32,000 individual blogs from its employees and produces a firehose of content about all the technologies it has unleashed on the world.

The transparent positioning seems to be the default for tech brands in social media (well, except for Apple) as Intel, Google and Microsoft all take the same approach. A Feb. 6 Facebook status update from Microsoft, for instance, talked about 4Afrika Initiative, "a new effort through which the company will actively engage in Africa’s economic development to improve its global competitiveness."

Auto brands are also apt to use the transparent approach, as are financial services brands like Fidelity Investments. The strategy seems to work best for brands and categories in which consumers are serious about the information they want but are not necessarily passionate about it. Also, note that passion brands are about activities that a brand is associated with, not for activities the brand actually performs. For instance, Nike makes athletic equipment, not sports, but Ford makes cars and driving is an end to itself.

Francke says following one of the three strategies will help clarify your social media strategy. "In social media, brands need to focus on engaging consumers by offering something of value and capturing their attention," she says. Francke says that new forms of media like Instagram and Vine underscore the need to hew to an overall positioning strategy.

Luvocracy: Pinterest for People Who Actually Want to Buy Stuff

People flock to Pinterest to collect and keep track of inspirations, whether they're recipes to cook, destinations to visit or clothes to wear. But there's a promising new social network with a similar model focused less on dreaming and more on shopping.
San Francisco-based startup Luvocracy, which launched quietly this fall in beta, is based around the concept that we buy products more when they are recommended by others. And since 92% of consumers trust word of mouth over any form of advertising, according to Nielsen, it's a smart strategy for a company to embrace.

Here's how the site works: Similar to pinning on Pinterest, users can collect looks and products (from beauty products to tech gadgets) and tack them to boards. They can also repin products from friends, brands and tastemakers, which Luvocracy defines as bloggers, editors and stylists.

Meanwhile, when members comes across items on the web from any retailer — from Macy's to Etsy — that they want to post to a board, they can do so via the downloadable Luvocracy plug-in.
"We wanted to build a platform where you could see products recommended from everyone you trust in one place, so you can sift through it like a personalized catalog," Christine Martinez, creative director of Luvocracy, told Mashable. "You can showcase what you discover too or put it in your 'backroom,' which is only visible to you."

What's great about the service is products featured and tacked to boards are all in stock and ready for purchase. How many times do you find something you love on Pinterest, click through to its originating page and discover it's five years old and no longer for sale? This puts a major roadblock in place for those that may want to use Pinterest to find products they could potentially want to buy. Luvocracy bypasses this issue by forbidding a user to post a product to the site if it's not readily available for purchase.

The site also rewards users with a small percentage of money back if someone makes a purchase after buying one of your recommended products. Although it might take awhile to see any real reimbursement — which can be used for site credit or be mailed in check form — it's certainly possible for those with a large following to rake in some side cash.

The design of the site is also clean, organized and sleek — free from clutter and easy on the eyes. This is a welcomed change compared to some other sites popping up online that cram a lot of images and content into such a small space (Pinterest included).

Although Luvocracy hasn't publicly said how many users are on the site, it says the membership is indeed growing. And to help build up that brand loyalty, co-founder Nathan Stoll sends a thank you note to each user who makes a purchase for the first time.

So could Luvocracy be the new, better Pinterest? It depends on what you want from both sites. If you're looking for inspirations and ideas to spark creativity, Pinterest is your best bet. If you're looking for products to buy, Luvocracy's e-commerce abilities are seamless and an easy, integrated way to go.

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RIP Google Reader and Other Top Comments

RIP Google Reader

Fans were outraged by Google's announcement that it would be shutting down one of the world's most popular RSS news readers

Julie Cliffe-Jones is only one of our many commenters who was disappointed by the news

When Google announced it would discontinue its Google Reader at the beginning of July, the web feed's loyal fan base was stunned. Reactions to the announcement were heartfelt; Mashable's Chris Taylor wrote an article called "Hey Google, We Still Love Reader" that was part op-ed, part love-letter; Todd Wasserman suggested Yahoo jump on the opportunity to create its own RSS news reader; someone even went so far as to submit a petition to President Obama asking him to save Reader. While none of these attempts have yielded results thus far, our readers found solace together as they commiserated in our comments section.

In December, Facebook announced that automatically-enabled video ads would be introduced to the News Feed by April at the latest. It appears the company is staying true to its promise — some Mashable readers have already experienced the auto-play function. Mashable's Seth Fiegerman asked if this new feature would deter its current users. While the overwhelming majority of commenters expressed annoyance at the function and (as always) threatened to leave the social networking site, a few commenters who work in marketing reacted positively to the news.
Are you a lifelong fan of any brands? Chances are you aren't as die-hard as this guy: A man received a free year-long subscription to Netflix after tweeting a picture of his Netflix Tattoo. Many of our commenters agreed that a life-long tattoo should warrant a life-long subscription.

Practice makes perfect, right? Wrong!
First of all, nothing’s ever perfect. I’d even say you don’t really want anything to be “perfect.” Why not? Well, once you’ve reached it, where else is there to go but backwards or, even worse, nowhere?

No, the point of practice isn’t perfection. We want to strive for perfection, yes, but that’s only going to work if you understand that it’s not just about the destination but the journey as well. That’s why it helps to look at the process when it comes to those outcomes we’re reaching for. Because what would be the point of getting to where you always wanted to be if you’re beat up and worn out by the time you get there? Where’s the happiness in that?

Happiness is a process as much as an outcome. Don’t get me wrong – a hard-earned victory is awesome. But think about it; should happiness in life be restricted to success in finances, or business, or career, or the attainment of goals?

We have all been there at some point in our lives, saying something like, “If only I had [fill in the blank], I’d be so much happier.” Hey, sometimes we may even get whatever it is we think will make us happy, but what usually ends up happening? We’re psyched for a little while—if at all—and then we find out it wasn’t really enough to make us as happy as we thought it would.

There’s always more.

You can work your butt off to get to where you want to be by practicing your delivery, your backhand swing, your investment strategies—you can practice anything until you get it down, but that doesn’t mean things are always going to turn out perfectly. Practice doesn’t make perfect.

Practice becomes habit, and habits become permanent unless we consciously change them. We’re practicing something all the time through our habits, even when we’re not really thinking about it. If you practice the thought that “I’ll be happy when [fill in the blank] happens,” then guess what? You’re always delaying your happiness until [fill in the bank] happens. Not because things will never be great, but because you’ve become a master at being unhappy. Unhappiness will be your habit!

You have to practice being happy no matter what is going on in life; whether you win or lose, succeed or experience temporary setbacks, whether everything is the way you have always dreamed or if you are still on the road to your next major destination.
Practice whatever you want to be in the future now. If you want to be more patient and less reactionary, then practice patience now. If you want to be a manager of your own personal wealth, start managing your finances now no matter how much money you earn. If you want to be successful, then practice being successful now. Start small. Engage in things that you’re already good at and challenge yourself to be better, even if it’s just in small increments.

The key is to enjoy the process and the journey. We can have moments of perfection, times where we wouldn’t want a single thing to change, but it’s unfair and unrealistic to ask that of life all the time. But it’s totally within our control to practice being whatever we want to be right now!

Google Improves Accessibility In Google+ Hangouts

Last week, Google improved accessibility in Google+ Hangouts, adding a Sign Language Interpreter app and Improving keyboard shortcuts.

Hangouts already has a number of features to improve accessibility to the deaf, the hard of hearing, the blind and the partially sighted, two of which were mentioned in the announcement post on the Google+ page of Anna Cavender, a member of the Hangouts team:

The Hangout Captions app, for example, enables live transcription services for the deaf and hard of hearing (http://goo.gl/4RujF). And "Take the Floor" makes it easier for sign language speakers to do a Hangout together (http://goo.gl/chyKS).

The Sign Language Interpreter app lets the deaf or hard of hearing invite interpreters to speak or sign for them during Hangouts. The interpreter appears in the top right hand corner of the hangout window, or becomes the focus whenever they translate sign. The app can be installed from this link: https://plus.google.com/hangouts/_?gid=532733437531.

There are also a number of new keyboard shortcuts for Hangout users who don’t want to use their mouse:

For example: muting your microphone is now as simple as Ctrl+D (PC) or Command+D (Mac), and you can start chatting with Ctrl+B (PC) or Command+B (Mac). To view the full list of keyboard shortcuts just type '?' while in a Hangout, or visit this page: support.google.com/plus/bin/answer.py?answer=2752487.

Both the features will be rolling out worldwide gradually.

Are you excited to try out Google+ Hangouts new features?

Motivational Tips From The Avengers

When you think about motivation you usually do not think about superheroes. However I was inspired by Marvel’s big hit movie The Avengers. The characters themselves were ones that made me think twice about what motivated me in my life. Here are some things they taught me:

The Hulk – Be passionate.

Wow, the Hulk is full of passion, isn’t he? It just bursts from the seams, so to speak. But in the movie he shared his secret to control. It was not that he was never angry, but that he was always angry. He had just learned when it was appropriate to set the anger free. In our lives we need passion to be inspired and motivated. However some people mistake other emotions for passion or let passion run out of control. Passion is only useful when it is channelled in a productive direction. So remember to be passionate, but use that passion for productive purposes.

Captain America – Stick to what you know.

Even though the poor Captain is a leftover from yesteryear he still remains a vital piece of the puzzle. Why is that? Because he does not try to be someone he is not. Yes, he has some gaps in his knowledge but that does not make him useless. Do not let yourself feel bad when you do not know or understand something. Instead, use what you do know to keep going. Though other people may not appreciate your input at first they will eventually see the value in what you have to offer. You are never too old to be useful or too young to be wise. Share from your personal experiences and no one can tell you that you are wrong.

Iron Man – Do not be afraid to be confident.

If there is one thing you can say about Tony Stark it is that he does not lack confidence. In fact, he is a cocky, arrogant and self-centered pain in the neck. However that does not make him unappealing. You see, the key to his ability to still stay a good guy despite his faults is his confidence. He knows what he can do and does it, no questions asked. While I do not recommend imitating all his ways, you should strive to be confident in what you do. Even when you are wrong confidence can still help you to make something successful because people respect confidence.

Thor – Make friends wherever you go.

He is a little rough around the edges and intimidating, but the big blond Viking has a big heart. One of the things that makes me smile when I think of Thor is his efforts to make friends with everyone, even his good for nothing brother. He does not hold grudges or stay angry for long. Instead he tries to see the best in people. If you go through life expecting the worst out of people then that is what you will get. However if you try to see the good in people then both your life and theirs will be much happier. Some people will let you down, but try to stay positive and love those around you despite their faults. After all, you are not perfect either.

Hawkeye – Keep your eye on the target.

Archers seem to be a big thing in movies now. From Katniss in Hunger Games to Disney’s animated princess in Brave, we love to watch their arrows hit the bulls eye over and over again. That level of concentration and dedication to practice is something to be admired. In your own life you should also have goals. If you do not you will waste a lot of your time and energy on things that do not really matter. Like an archer shooting three arrows without aiming, working without a goal is fruitless. It is better to shoot one at a time and aim for the center. That way you will actually hit something.

Loki – A little planning can save a lot of effort.

Though Loki was the bad guy in the movie, he still had his good attributes. One thing I admired about him is his ability to plan. He made the most elaborate plans and took everything into consideration. He might not have been the strongest or the fastest but he still almost won just by his ability to plan. I know that I waste a lot of energy in my life because I do not take the time to plan things out first. If you will just learn to take a few minutes to plan before you start something new you will end up getting more done with far less effort.

Black Widow – Have a thick skin.

As the only woman superhero in the bunch you can bet that she knew how to take a hit. Many women think that they are looked down on because of their emotions. However Black Widow used her emotions to her advantage. She did not let her emotions control her but rather used her control over them to her get a leg up on the competition. Life will not always be fair. The less you let people or things that go wrong hurt you the faster you can move on to something more productive. Do not dwell in the hurts of the past but rather move on to a brighter future.

Agent Coulson – Get the facts.

For all the negative stereotypes of paper pushers out there we can still admire them for one thing. They know how to get the facts. The will dig and dig until everything comes to light. This is something that more people should do. Getting to the facts is often overlooked in this age of fast information; however the truth is always important. Whenever you have something that you are sharing or something that you are unsure of try to get your facts verified first. The more references you can count on the stronger your argument will be.

Nick Fury – Know when to hold them, know when to fold them.

Timing is everything in life. You have to know when it is time to speak and when it is time to stay silent. You have to know what an opportunity looks like when it knocks. Fury was the king of good timing. He knew just what to say and when to say it to motivate the superheroes to action. When you are working with others try to be aware of your timing. Sometimes a simple idea can change a whole group and other times it will be dismissed. It is all about timing.

Pepper Potts – Work harder than everyone else.

Poor Pepper is used by her boss and ignored by just about everyone else, but she does not let it get her down. She finds joy in her work and works harder than anyone else. That work ethic eventually pays off. Just because you are not getting the glory does not mean you should give up. In fact, use it as incentive to work harder. When you are finally recognised everyone will be shocked by what you have accomplished. Even if you are never recognised you can still be satisfied by knowing you did your very best.

A Newbie's Guide to Publishing

How To Sell E Books

GOOD COVERS

I can't overemphasize how important a good cover is. Hire a professional. And keep these things in mind:

1. At a glance, it should convey the type or genre of the book you've written.

2. It should be readable in grayscale.

3. It should be readable as a thumbnail.

4. Your name and the title should be large and clear.

There are other little tips that I recommend. Usually legacy book covers have a lot of writing on them, and that makes them subconsciously identifiable as professional. Taglines. Blurbs. "By the author of Whiskey Sour". That sort of thing. 

Your artist should know what vectors are, and the rule of three, and the importance of the color wheel, and all the other tricks used to make a cover pop.

If your sales are slow, consider getting a better cover.

GOOD PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

Did you know you can add basic HTML to your book description on Kindle using Author Central? I didn't. But I do now, and I'm using it to make my ebook pages better. 

Once your cover gets a browser's attention, you need a good book description to reel them in. Read back jacket copy on some of your favorite mass market paperbacks to get a feel for it. You can also add blurbs, reviews, a bio, past books, and more.

Make sure there is plenty of white space. I don't like big, blocky paragraphs, and I assume others don't either. Use bold and italics when needed, but don't overuse them.

GOOD BOOKS

This should be a no-brainer, but every book you publish should be well-written. It should also be well-edited, and well-formatted.


GOOD PRICE

You're going to have to experiment with this one. I have my novels priced at $3.99, my novellas and short story collections at $2.99, my trilogy sets at $9.99, and short stories at 99 cents.

Some of my peers sell for more, some for less. It's all about finding that sweet spot between unit sales and profit. I like my ebooks to be impulse buys, so I keep the prices low. Your results may vary.


VOLUME

The more books you publish, the greater your chances at finding readers. Besides new titles, you can also combine and split up titles to maximize your virtual shelf space.

I have box sets. I have single short stories that are also part of collections. I have joined forces with other authors, each of us putting a title into a set.

I also love to collaborate. That's an easy way to swap fans and increase readership


SOCIAL MEDIA AND ADVERTISING

My take on Twitter and Facebook is similar to my take on advertising. Maybe it'll bring in some sales, but I haven't found it brings in enough to justify the time and money spent.

I have 10,000 followers on Twitter. They don't follow me because they are anxiously awaiting news of my next published book, They follow me because of what I have to offer. Namely, information.

Sure, some of them may buy my books. But this number is minuscule compared to the number of people who have never heard of me before, and discover me for the first time surfing an ebook retailer.

My ebook The List has sold over 200,000 copies. In December it was featured in Kobo and earned $3,000 that month. In the last week, this book has earned me $2500 on Amazon.

I self-pubbed The List in 2009. This is not a new book. I don't advertise it. I don't blog about it, or tweet, or send out email blasts.

It is being discovered by people on their own. Kobo certainly gave it a boost by featuring it, but it was luck Kobo decided to do so. The List just came off a 5 day free period on KDP Select, which no doubt got it some attention, but that was zero cost to me and didn't involve me tooting my own horn anywhere.

I've done things in the past to increase my sales. Blog tours. Sending out review copies. Visiting bookstores. And I saw some success doing these things. But that success pales next to simply being discovered by strangers who haven't heard of you before.

Kobo and Amazon make it easy to find ebooks you like. Their user interfaces are surprisingly smart. Instead of pimping the books you've got, spend time writing more books to publish, then let their algorithms do their thing.


PLATFORMS

It's no secret that about 90% of my sales have been on Amazon. But 10% haven't. And that 10% equals a lot of money when you've sold a million ebooks.

I like dealing with Amazon. They are so smart, so motivated, and do so much right. They're the one to beat, and their online store is the best in the world.

I also like dealing with Kobo. They're dedicated, hungry, and also extremely smart. If you haven't visited Kobo.com lately, you should. They're doing some really cool stuff, making the shopping experience easier, better, and more fun.

Smashwords continues to raise the bar, innovate, and blaze new trails. Coker is one of the smartest men in the biz. I've done well with Smashwords.

I'm just now uploading my titles to Apple, so I don't have anything to report yet. But I'm not a fan of their iBookstore. It's clunky, not fun to surf, and lacks the ease of Amazon and Kobo.

B&N's PubIt program is easy to use, but I'm not impressed with their online store. Still, I've made some good money there.

Createspace is very easy to use, their books look great, and they integrate into both Amazon and B&N with ease.

Overdrive caters to libraries, and I'm making some money there, but they aren't easy to upload to. In fact, I'm not even sure they have opened up their site to self-pub yet.

As a writer, you should be on as many of these platforms as possible. The more places your books are available, the better.

Competition is good, because it makes everyone try harder, forcing them to raise their game to higher levels.

As a result, I haven't gone all in with Amazon. I don't like the exclusivity aspect of KDP Select. Amazon customers would have more choices, and authors would make more money, if it wasn't exclusive.

I also don't like proprietary formats. I think Kindles should read epub, and Nooks and Kobo ereaders should read mobi files.


FOREIGN SALES

My feeling are mixed on this issue.

One one hand, my agent has been amazing selling the foreign rights of my self-pubbed ebooks. I'm in more countries than I'd ever been in during my legacy years.

On the other hand, every right you sell is one you can't exploit yourself.

I've translated two works into German myself, at significant cost (a novel can cost $4k or more), but I'm in the black and set to earn profits forever. Forever is a long time.

But even though I'm doing well with ebooks, I'm not prepared, nor do I have to contacts, to translate every one of my fifty IPs into ten languages. I also don't have the 8 million dollars that would cost.

So my current solution is to sell foreign rights, but limit the term to three or four years, then they revert. That way I can make easy money now, and have the option of do it myself later without losing those rights forever.


AGENTS

If you want foreign deals, audio deals, movie and TV deals, or even a legacy deal, you probably need an agent.

But I don't recommend searching for one until you've sold a lot of ebooks. 50,000 is a good number. And I said sell, not give away for free.


EXPERIMENT

There isn't a single thing I'm saying here that you should automatically believe. Don't trust me, or any other so-called expert. Instead, try things out for yourself and draw your own conclusions.

Many newbies reading this don't understand what it is like to have a publisher controlling your book. Many even welcome that opportunity.

I couldn't be happier having complete control over my intellectual property. Being able to change covers, prices, titles, content, quickly and efficiently, is invaluable to me. I can publish instantly, on all platforms, and reach more readers than publishers can.

This is a business. You need to adopt a businesslike attitude.

Businesslike doesn't mean tweeting every ten minutes, begging your 27 followers to buy your book.

Businesslike means looking at numbers and understanding what they mean. Hiring out for things you can't do yourself, or hiring out when your time becomes so valuable you need to. Learning how to repeat cause and effect.

I have an accountant, a financial planner, and an assistant. I hire out for cover art, formatting, and proof-reading. I use a close-knit group of bestselling authors as editors. I discuss strategies with peers, often try new things that fail, and am constantly trying to prepare for the future by watching trends, predicting what will happen next, and analyzing my own habits.

Self-awareness is something everyone claims to have, but few people do. If you want to sell ebooks, look at why you buy ebooks.

When was the last time you:

• Bought an ebook you saw in a tweet?
• Clicked on an Internet ad?
• Followed a Facebook ad?
• Bought an ebook because you got a postcard in the mail?
• Bought an ebook because you got an email about one?
• Read a free ebook?

If you can figure out why you buy what you buy, not just with ebooks, but with every single thing, you'll learn a lot. 

Use that knowledge. And if it works well, write about it so I can learn it too.

5 Simple Strategies for Marketing on Pinterest

Pinterest is the fastest growing image site on the internet. It is far more than just an image site though. It's a way for your to communicate your business in a visual way. This will allow you to present your information about your business in a new and fresh way that potential customers can relate to. Before you get started though, use these tips to save you time and create a presence that will help you get the results you want:
1. Create a complete profile.
Before you sign up for Pinterest, make sure you put careful thought into how you want to list yourself. I used my name because I'm a writer. I want everyone to identify my work with my name.

This makes it easier for them to do. However, you may want to brand your company name so choose a username and title your profile accordingly.
Use a punchy slogan and make sure you include the appropriate hashtags in your description so that others can find you. (A hashtag is this symbol: #.)

Regardless of the keywords you choose, they will always be one word. For example, if you use internet marketing, it will look like this: #internetmarketing.
Include a photo of either yourself or your company logo. Make it look professional, and don't forget to add a link to your website.

2. Pin images that are interesting.
To get started, you will want to create pin boards. Pin boards allow you to organize your content. Complete the titles, descriptions, and keywords for these and then start making you pins. Create long graphics as these display better and make them interesting.
Browse the site to get ideas and see what other business owners are doing. Then create your own. There are many great free graphics programs that are simple to use, and you may use these to help you.

3. Follow others.
If you want to connect, start following others. This will give you a chance to connect, and many will follow you back. Look for those in your industry and make sure you follow them. Pinterest makes it simple to do this. There is, however, a search function to help you find those you may not be connected with on Facebook or Twitter.

4. Comment, share, and like other photos.
Getting involved puts you out there in front of everyone else. Post comments and share others' pins on your pin boards. Like photos. It will make it a lot easier for you to get your content to go viral. Pinterest is an excellent way to try to take your business viral, so test out various elements. Viral marketing is difficult to achieve, but it can be done.

5. Get ideas for things to sell.
Pinterest offers several areas of its site that allow you to get ideas for what's popular. There is also a section where you can post your products and include the prices. Use these areas to help you find out what's popular and then choose products to share that you can make money from even if they aren't in your industry.

You will do better to create pages for these products and include the affiliate link on the page. Pinterest does strip Amazon affiliate IDs, and they may not want to take your affiliate links, so it's best to submit pages and videos instead.

Pinterest can get you a lot of traffic, but it's important that you understand the site first. Build a presence here and then promote your business. It can mean a lot of traffic. Mix up your offers and give your visitors free content. Market affiliate programs as well as your own products and services. Make your business visual and get your potential customers' attention.




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