Spread the Joy - Make Someone Smile

Do you know someone that's a bit down, unhappy or depressed? Maybe, during your normal day-to-day routines you get the feeling that some of the people you bump into seem a bit preoccupied, a bit out of sorts? Maybe you wish there was something you could do to help? The good news is that you can do something - something that doesn't take much time or money, something that may well make their day a bit brighter - and make you feel good in the process. Try one or more of these suggestions today and put a smile on someone's face.

1. Give someone an inspirational or uplifting book to read. Not only could it be the catalyst for change that person was looking for, it can be a great starting point for further conversations. Books to start you off are: Neale Donald Walsch - 'Conversations with God', Anthony Robbins - 'Awaken the Giant Within' or Rhonda Byrne 'The Power'.
2. Write a note. Whether you want to say 'thanks', 'thinking of you' or simply want to encourage someone, a handwritten note can say it all. Not only that, in this digital age a handwritten note is seen as rare and special - it says you took the time and effort to put your thoughts into written form. It is something that can be kept and treasured. Start a new practice of sitting down and writing an encouraging note on a regular basis. You just might start an epidemic!
3. Take a friend out to coffee, lunch, or cook them a meal. Give yourself the time to get to know each other even better than you may do right now. If you are feeling brave, invite that person you work with, whom you never had a chance to get to know. You could be really adventurous and throw a party for several of your friends, putting a smile on a multitude of faces.
4. Volunteer some of your time. Whether it's your local church, charity or PTA group, supporting will help spread the joy. Pick a group or support that is close to your heart and you, too, will feel a warm glow as a result of your efforts. If you cannot spare any time, consider taking in some much needed donations - tins, blankets, food supplies and even your used stamps or ink cartridges are of use to various charities and organizations.
5. Deliver a meal to someone you know that is sick or having a rough time. We have all been sick and know the last thing you want to do is be out of bed. There are also times when life is tough and it is hard to do all of the daily chores. You can be a tremendous help by providing a meal that can be enjoyed.
6. Thank everyone that supports you throughout the day. The list of those that you come into contact with is endless. Whether it's family and friends, secretaries and co-workers, store employees or someone who simply opened the door for you, a simple smile and a 'thank you' can really lift someone's day.

Pursue Your Dreams

Everyone has dreams about success. Some will pursue their dreams and some will think that their dreams are impossible to achieve. If your dreams are possible for others, then you can achieve them too! Your current position in life can be the launching pad to the destiny you've always dreamed about.

Bigger dreams take longer to achieve. But if you focus on small steps and take consistent action, you can achieve whatever your heart desires. The key to a life of success and fulfillment is to chase your dreams, beginning today. You must start your journey now, especially if your dream is a big one that may take a while to achieve.

It All Comes Down To Attitude

Much of the battle for your dreams is fought in the mind, which is why it's so important to believe in yourself and your abilities. Before you even start making progress towards your dreams, know that success is yours for the taking if you believe and take action.

There are many reasons that you may doubt yourself. You may convince yourself that you lack the intelligence, resources, or capability. But if you have a dream in your heart, then you can achieve it! It's just as easy to convince yourself that you can do it. Simply replace defeating self-talk with empowering affirmations that fire you up and get you moving.

To get ready to reach your goals, start by questioning and attacking your doubts. Are they really true? Are they logical? Most doubts are simply exaggerations based on fear. Replace them with empowering thoughts that boost your confidence. Instead of focusing on the big picture, focus on the small steps that will get you to your dream.

List all the skills and positive qualities you possess. If you can't think of any, ask your friends and family. Others often have a better perspective on your strengths than you do.

Think of the compliments you've received, write them down, and review them often to combat the fear and anxiety that falsely lead you to believe that you aren't good enough.

Next, list the things you want most in life. What are your financial and career goals? What would you like your relationships to be like? What are your core values? Explore yourself and find the dreams that you've buried beneath fear and inaction. Dust off those dreams and start to take action today.

Dealing With Fears

Once you've decided to go after your dreams, you'll likely deal with some form of fear. This is because risks can be scary. But the people that take risks tend to be happier in life in the long run. Choose to step out of your comfort zone to chase after the destiny you deserve.

When you feel fear, listen to what your mind is saying. Ask yourself why you're afraid and determine whether this fear is serving you, or holding you back. Some fear is healthy, but much of it is caused by irrational exaggerations of reality. People who achieve great things feel fear and choose to turn that fear into a motivator to push them forward. You can use affirmations to overcome fear.

The primary reason many fall short of their dreams is inaction. If you face your fears head on and take consistent action, you will achieve the success you deserve. But if you fail to take action, the fear will win. Instead, take one small action today that will begin to create in you an unstoppable momentum. Ride that momentum to the destiny you desire - and deserve!

Happiness Drivers - Three Key Findings to What Makes People Happy

Contrary to what advertisers would have us believe, what makes people happy does not come from getting more things, perennial youth, extra income or drinking a certain brand of beer. According to massive research done in the new field of positive psychology, authentic happiness (the kind that doesn't fade or change with circumstances) comes from within ourselves in the forms of self-esteem, social interactions, humor, free time and giving ourselves in service work or volunteering. These "drivers of happiness" are inherent qualities within our psyches and can be developed to produce tangible results; not only of greater happiness but also the trickle-down benefits of greater productivity, longevity, health and personal fulfillment in remarkably short periods of time. Happiness doesn't arrive by adding more possessions or events to our lives, rather it's the product of our mindset; it's the meaning we give events, what we choose to focus on, what beliefs we choose to embrace, how we react to daily challenges all play significant roles in determining our base level of happiness. Everything we need to increase our happiness is readily available to us - there is no need to "get" anything more to be happy now.

The science of happiness is now providing us with volumes of outstanding empirical data that supports the outlook of the mystics, sages and saints of the ages - that happiness comes first, and having the mindset and experiences of happiness is what creates the conditions that will attract the external "things" we want and think will make us happy. It's not the other way around.

Most of us are in the habit of delaying our happiness, thinking that when we have the ideal partner, income, physique etc., then we'll be happy... at the same time, we mistakenly assume that the state of happiness is a luxury item and not a necessity. As an example, when under the stress of time constraints at work or school, one of our first reactions is to jettison time spent with family and friends and to hunker down in isolation to get the job done - a reaction that would seem to increase available time and attention to spend on the problem before us. In fact, this reaction contributes to feelings of being alone, isolated and helpless; we become unhappy and stressed out and because we've removed ourselves from one of our most substantial happiness boosters, our social support group, we greatly diminish our problem solving abilities. Not the happy solution we would like!

Three key findings in the science of happiness as defined by Dr. Dan Gilbert of This Emotional Life are:

a) We can't be happy alone
b) We can't be happy all the time, and
c) We can be happier than we currently are

With these findings, we can now embrace new habits that will help us thrive and experience greater happiness by fostering 1) a greater social support network 2) developing greater acceptance and fewer rules about how life should be 3) deciding that our happiness gets top priority! Here are a few ideas to help with developing these new habits:

1) If we can't be happy alone, then we simply must be the one to take the initiative in nurturing new and existing relationships - you can't wait for people to come to you. Our personal and professional lives give us ample opportunity to sincerely connect with others on a common ground - we all want greater happiness. On a daily basis, take a moment to appreciate what others do for you and let them know; a simple thank you, an email or phone call to say "Thanks, I like what you do, how you make me feel, the results you produce..." is always appreciated! If you're too shy to initiate an exchange, join a support group and meet new people there. Volunteering and service work are outstanding means to make new contacts, and it also gets us out of our own stuff.

2) We can't be happy all the time does not mean we have to suffer when we're not happy. When things happen that aren't to our liking, instead of wasting time and energy struggling with internal dialogues about how things "should" be or the "right" way for someone to behave, let go of the mental efforts to try to fit the world to suit your opinions. You can't change the past. And if you aren't happy now, what makes you qualified to tell others how to live? Start to challenge your beliefs about how things "should" be; are these really your beliefs or hand-me-downs from childhood? Give some attention to the assumptions and rules your life operates under - write them out and if they're outdated (as most will be), get rid of them and develop new ideas, beliefs and habits to better suit who you are today and where you want to be tomorrow.

3) We can be happier than we currently are is wonderful news! Our brains remain plastic as we age and we can learn new tricks, develop new habits and stimulate new neural synapses to increase our daily happiness. Of course, no one is going to do this for us, we must do the work ourselves - and our personal happiness has to start getting a higher ranking on our priority lists. A simple way to do this is by becoming more aware of how much we already have to be grateful for; every night journal about three new things you feel grateful for and why you're grateful for them. By writing out the "why" you'll connect to your motivating emotions and as you get juiced up about how these things make you feel, you'll naturally increase your personal resonance levels; like attracts like. The better you feel, the more you'll focus on what makes you feel good, and an increase in what makes you feel good will be the end result.

Learning to increase our happiness levels requires the same commitment, vision and dedication to repetition as developing any skill - make practicing these new habits easier by reducing your resistance. As you prepare for bed, set your intentions for tomorrow and get clear on what actions you'll take on these three key findings into what makes people happy; be specific on how you intend to expand your social support network, to release beliefs and conditions that unnecessarily restrict you and to develop an attitude of gratitude. Write out your happiness goals and review them often, and remember that the greatest return on happiness is received when we help others to be happier in life.

Finding a Speed Reading Program - The Truth behind the Claims

If you're interested in pursuing a speed reading program, you're in good company. Because of the over-abundance of information that we all have to deal with on a daily basis, speed reading is looking increasingly attractive. In fact, if you can more than double your reading speed without losing comprehension, it could benefit you greatly. It's no wonder that more and more students and professionals are looking for an effective speed reading program. 



In order to take full advantage of a speed reading program, though, it helps to investigate the truth behind the claims. This is because some of the claims that speed reading courses make are absolutely incredible, and might well be too good to be true. Consider the following: When we're reading in order to learn - for comprehension, that is - most of us naturally read at speeds of 200 - 400 words per minute (wpm), depending on natural ability and the difficulty level of the text being read. Sometimes, of course, we naturally speed up. If someone is reading an article or book for pleasure, and it's not important to read every words, we automatically slip into another type of reading - sometimes called 'skimming' or 'scanning'. This is just what it sounds like - rather than reading every word, we skim the information, looking for what we want or what interests us. We allow our eyes to travel down the page, and stop on relevant information. This is 'lazy' reading, in a sense, but comprehension is still fairly good for most people - about 75%. The average speed for this type of reading is somewhat faster - it can range from 400 to 700 wpm. 



A speed reading program can teach most people to increase their reading speed significantly above and beyond the speed of 'skimming'. The nex thing that most people wonder about is how much speed can be increased - and this is where it gets confusing! Some speed reading programs offer a moderate increase in speed - to about 1000 wpm. This seems reasonable; what these programs are doing is teaching you to skim more efficiently. They do this by using a pacer to keep your eyes moving across the page, or by teaching you to read using your peripheral vision. 



However, there are other speed reading programs that exceed these claims dramatically - some claim that they can teach you to read at the truly amazing speed of 10,000 wpm, or even more! Needless to say, experts are sceptical of these claims, though many proponents of speed reading swear that they are true.

4 Brilliant Tips to Speed Read Faster than Ever

Many people, particularly students, would love to be
able to absorb information faster. But before retaining
information, they have to go through the first stage of
learning, which is reading. 

For many individuals who are pressed for time, speed
reading has become a necessity. However, it's not just
the reading part that is important. Equally essential
is for the reader to fully understand the words coming
out from the book or paper.

Here are some great tips to read and comprehend faster.

1) Relax.

If you're in the stressed mode, it would be much more
difficult to concentrate; hence, it would just be a lot
harder for the information to sink in. 

2) Know what you want.

Focus on the areas that you really need to learn. Some
people read all parts of a book, when all they need to
know is a specific chapter. 

Know your priority. If you need to find out about a
certain subject, go to the Table of Contents and search
for the heading that best suits your need. If you need
to learn more, then adjust accordingly. The important
thing is to weed out the stuffs that you don't
currently need.

3) Get rid of the structure words.

Did you know that around 60% of the words we read are
structure words? Examples are the words "the, or, and."
They are essential in the structure of the sentences;
but when you ignore them, they basically mean the same
thing. They only serve to beautify, yet you can
understand what you are reading even without them. Try
not to focus too much attention on structure words.

4) Practice, practice, practice.

When I started exercising with weights, I can only lift
the lighter ones. As the time goes by, I slowly add more
and more weights as my body tends to adjust and become
more comfortable carrying heavier ones.

The same concept goes for speed reading. Set a goal.
Figure out how fast you can read, then create a plan to
increase your ability.

If you can read 200 words per minute, set a goal to
read 250 words a minute. After accomplishing this feat,
set a goal to read 300 words per minute.

This takes time and practice, but the effort is all
worth it. If this is your first time to set such a
goal, read first those materials you are familiar with.

Carry on with more difficult ones as you progress. This
way, you're not overwhelming yourself with understanding
different new words and at the same time developing your
speed reading skills. 

speed reading, concentration, mind power, focus, learning, training, 
reading, genius

Speed reading has become a necessity in today's fast-paced world. 
You got to learn fast to cope up, or you'll be left behind. Here 
are some effective tips to speed reading success.

Four Straightforward Speed Reading Exercises That Will Boost Your Reading Speed

Doing speed reading exercises frequently is the sole approach you'll increase your word-per-minute rate and improve your overall reading speed. There are a selection of paid courses that give these exercises, but these are expensive and will price up to 100 dollars. However who says you have ought to pay to attempt to to speed reading exercises? You'll be able to improve your reading speed by doing these speed reading exercises on your own - and they won't cost you a penny! 

The Hand Technique

For these speed reading exercises, you will would like a text that is simple to read. Together with your finger, trace the house beneath the words as you browse them. The thought behind this exercise is to help you change to various reading speeds by using your finger as a pacer. Start out together along with your regular reading speed and slowly increase the pace of your finger as the days go by. In just 2 weeks, you will notice a rise in your reading speed.

The Sweep Reading Technique

One amongst the foremost important exercises is the sweep reading technique. The trick is to be in a position to work out a large chunk of words at one look, and additionally the sweep reading technique can teach you how. Simply just like the hand technique, you may wish to use your finger as a result of the pointer. But instead of tracing the house beneath the word, you have got to do a faster, downward sweeping motion at the center of the text. This technique will train you to browse words by large chunks rather than one word at a time. 

The Card Technique

One of the most important pitfalls of students is that they cling on to the dangerous habit of back skipping, or wanting back at words they solely scan but didn't comprehend. The exercises like the card technique are designed to increase your reading speed and your reading comprehension, whereas eliminating the unhealthy habit of back-skipping. For this you will would love a taking part in card or another piece of paper. Use the cardboard or paper to cover each line of text you merely finished reading. As you perform these speed reading exercises, attempt to browse as quickly as you can, however not too quick on neglect comprehending the text.

The Zigzag Technique 

The zigzag technique is additionally among the most vital speed reading exercises that you must apply regularly. Once we have a tendency to were young, we were taught to read from left to right and to create bound we tend to never skip a word. This is fine, however it additionally slows down our reading as a results of finish up lingering too long on details that have already been explained. Zigzag speed reading exercises will teach you to browse in an exceedingly zigzag pattern thus you will be able to simply scan and decide out the foremost important points of the text.

Bear in mind that speed reading exercises ought to be practiced everyday so as for you to receive the enhancements they promise. When you're doing your speed reading exercises, situate yourself in an exceedingly snug place free from distractions and noise. Build certain you decide on a text that's straightforward to scan; otherwise, your speed reading exercises will solely finish up frustrating you.

The Incredible Benefits Of Speed Reading

Speed reading involves not only the ability to read vast amounts of information at an accelerated rate but also the ability to absorb and comprehend the information you've just read. This can be a huge benefit during school and in many professions that require copious amounts of reading on a daily basis.

In addition to reading and retaining more information more rapidly speed reading has other benefits as well. Among these benefits are not needing to go back and reread passages that have already been read as frequently (this process is known as skip back), lessening the amount of time in which your eyes linger on particular words or blocks of words, and enlarging the area upon which your eyes rest while reading. This is known as the fixation zone and includes the word or block of words that you are reading at any given time. Some people can only manage a word or two at a time and others can read entire lines at a time. The more words you can read at a time, the faster you will ultimately read.

While it probably comes as little or no surprise that speed reading gives most students a noticeable edge in the studies, it may come as a surprise to discover that students who can speed read in another language (their native language) have a much easier time of learning English as a second language than those who have not developed this particular skill. They are much more likely to excel in the learning of a new language and far less likely to give up the learning of a new language.

There are also many professions that will find speed reading abilities of an incredible benefit as well. The very first one that comes to mind is the field of law. Attorneys and judges must perform massive amounts of reading in the course of an ordinary day, the faster they can read and comprehend the material at hand the quicker they can manage decisive action in regards to the materials they've just read.

Scholars and professors must also do a great amount of reading as do journalists, reporters, writers, novelists, researchers, and any number of other professions. We live in a world that is moving at the speed of sound many days in order to keep up with the world it is becoming more and more necessary to develop speed reading skills rather than the hobby or edge that it once may have been within professional communities.

Even recreational reading benefits from speed reading. The less time you spend the reading, the less eye strain and fatigue you are likely to experience. Additionally, eliminating the need to linger as often is a great benefit to your reading times and how quickly you can go through a book that might have you on the edge of your seat. While speed reading is murder on your book budget, it is a great way to work in a great novel over the course of a night or a weekend.

For those who love and live to read, speed reading is the only way to go. As your skills improve so does you ability to not only learn new things rapidly but also retain the knowledge you've gained. For many, that alone is worth the price of a speed reading course or two.

Read about all the what is a personal development material right here

Developing enthusiasm - inspiration

Improving self-awareness

Enhancing lifestyle or the caliber of life

Improving ones own employability

Identifying and getting ones potential

Financial advancement

Developing strengths or perhaps talents

Personal and qualified mastery - Finding out techniques or ways of gain

Control from one's life

Entrepreneurial

Improving self-knowledge

Developing personal development plans

Increasing consciousness or defining with one's chosen existence

Integrating social i . d with self-identification

Increasing attention or defining from one's priorities

Developing intent

Increasing awareness as well as defining of one's beliefs

Developing purpose

Love

Increasing focus or defining with one's ethics

Strategies not to mention realizing dreams, dreams, career and way of life priorities

Developing private discipline

Personal production goal/ material attainment

Developing professional capability

Developing talents

Developing strength

Goal setting

Developing personal competencies

Becoming more caring

How to know from experience

Time organization

Developing mature cultural relationships

Establishing id

Improving the good of lifestyle (in this kind of areas as overall health, wealth, culture,

family, buddies and communities)

Learning techniques or techniques to expand awareness

Developing knowledge

Achieving autonomy in addition to interdependence

Self mastery

Managing emotions

Learning techniques or solutions to achieve wisdom

Communication skills

Personal production philosophically practice

Personal development may also be applied to these disciplines, either used metaphorically or philosophically

Yoga

Meditation

Qi gong

Juggling

Martial arts

The altruistic components of personal development

Some of a lot more altruistic elements associated with personal development possess Parallels with a portion of the world's spiritual traditions. A good example would be, The Eightfold Way of Buddhism which look at the development of skills like: 

Right View

Right Objective

Right Speech

Right Behavior

Right Livelihood

Right Efforts

Right Mindfulness

Right Content level

Check out all the Parallels

Right View it is a likened to, available mindedness, beliefs, continual learning from techniques or ways of expand awareness, thoughtfulness. 

Right Intention this is usually a likened to characterizing of one's values or the trouble to develop mutually beneficial relationships for that general and more good. 

Right Intentions form an affordable development standpoint this can be viewed as increasing your awareness of your actions not to mention adjusting them to your greater good. 

Right Spiel, from a your own development view this is able to be Communication techniques. Communications skills may include your internal dialogue that is to say positive speech. 

Right Behavior, this can certain you're seen as exercising awareness, personal integrity, working out wisdom. 

Right Living, this would have a very relation to life as I'm enhancing one's lifestyle, career, and getting work done in an ethical type of employment etc. 

Right Efforts, this would get along with discipline commitment

determination tenaciousness. 

Right Mindfulness, can be quite a likened to thoughtfulness concern... 

... And finally

Right Focus, can be some sort of likened to understanding, focus, exercising willpower of thoughts. 

So where do you really start? And what did it take? 

Define an part of life you wish to work on... 

1 produce a vision

2 create a plan

3 motion your plan

Commit to make sure you daily actions aimed towards change

Find a method or programme towards facilitate your progress, in some cases this might mean reading your related material, novels, websites blogs, around other cases the my mean signing up the related teams or taking training systems etc.