– Norman Vincent Peale
Are you ready to tap the magic of 26-hour days?
– Norman Vincent Peale
Plan now to have a great time when the weather is perfect for outdoor activities. Make sure you accomplish all that you hope to do. Now is a good time to plan for some fun before summer gets away from you. Yes, schedule these activities on your calendar. We all need more childlike moments to balance our serious natures. This is the kind of carefree, timeless moment that children experience while having only one goal in mind ~~ FUN! How quickly we lose the simple pleasures of childhood….
In the spirit of lightening up, here are some ideas that might help you to reawaken that little kid in you.
These are the kinds of things to create joy in your life. Do them for no other reason than to upset the apple cart of life and interfere with the rigidity of our daily lives.
Strategy: Create your JOY list of things you want to do for fun. What’s on your list for fun? Need more ideas?
How can you market to everyone?
We cannot market to everyone unless we have unlimited time, money, and energy. Decide who to target. Identifying your niche and describing their recognizable characteristics is the first important step to prevent wasting time with people who cannot help you in obtaining new clients. Identify your niche by reflecting on your ideal clients or perhaps even just one special client. Your ideal client is the person who is most likely to buy from you, and whom you most want to serve. They are the people who:
Here’s what my clients expect from me:
Networking is more than face time at meetings. It’s about really getting to know others. Just showing up and passing out cards isn’t enough. You need to spend some time getting to know other people, learning about their businesses, and understanding how (and when) to refer to them, just as you are hoping they will send referrals your way.
Start a conversation with anyone and everyone. Learn how to ask questions and discuss topics that have nothing to do with your business. Establish a common interest and develop a relationship. Keep asking questions until you find something in common. To be likeable, first and foremost, you must be friendly. As simple as that sounds, friendliness is not the norm. Being friendly requires time, attention, and mental focus.
Remember, many people at networking events do not know how to network. They may brush you off because they really don’t know that you have a large network and can give them referrals. Therefore, it is important to find out as much about them as you can. Then you can inform them of people and situations in your life experiences that can help them. Offer to send them an article or a link to a website that might be of interest to them. Ask who they would like to meet. Introduce them or send the information when you follow-up. Be a good resource.
Be happy to meet everyone
First impressions are worth a thousand words. Your impression determines how you are perceived as a successful business professional. It also determines if someone will build a relationship with you.
Be intentional about what you are communicating non-verbally. Pay particular attention to dressing professionally and acting that way, too. Practice self-awareness and monitor your body language and facial expressions. That’s where the mirror comes into play. Positive facial expressions and body language are contagious and attractive. Avoid crossing your arms, frowning, scowling, and using other negative facial expressions. Recently, I toured the Denver Art Museum. It was quite obvious which kids were not enjoying themselves by the scowl on their faces. Make sure you are projecting the right image.
Maintain an open posture and upbeat expression. Watch your body positioning and never close the circle. This means, always keep an open spot for others to join your conversation. If you are speaking to just one person, stand in front of them at an angle so there is a space to welcome someone else into your conversation.
Microsoft is teaming up with GlacierWorks to launch Everest: Rivers of Ice, an interactive website that lets you explore the areas around the world’s tallest mountain. Built entirely in HTML5, Rivers of Ice contains gigapixel panoramas that capture life in the Himalayas, and depict the daunting task for mountaineers wishing to climb 29,000 feet. The site launches in honor of the 60th anniversary since Sir Edmund Hillary’s first successful summit, and the 50th anniversary of the first American to successfully summit Mount Everest. David Breashears, a mountaineer and filmmaker, who became the first American to reach the summit of Mount Everest twice, founded GlacierWorks as a nonprofit that’s designed to highlight the changes to the Himalayan glaciers. While there’s a debate whether they’re melting or not, Rivers of Ice includes comparative photography and high resolution imagery to let you make your own mind up about climate change.
Many people spend their lives waiting to be happy. You may say to yourself, “if only I had more money,” or “more time,” or you fill in the blank, then I would be happy. Well, here’s a secret: you can be happy right now. It’s not always easy, but you choose to be happy. In the vast majority of circumstances there’s no one who can stop you except yourself.
The truth is, happiness doesn’t come from wealth, perfect looks, or even a perfect relationship. Happiness comes from within. This is why, if you truly want to be happy, you need to work on yourself, first.
Are you for real?
Exposure to nonstop negativity actually impairs brain function. Here’s how to defend yourself.
Do you hate it when people complain? It turns out there’s a good reason: Listening to too much complaining is bad for your brain in multiple ways, according to Trevor Blake, a serial entrepreneur and author of Three Simple Steps: A Map to Success in Business and Life. In the book, he describes how neuroscientists have learned to measure brain activity when faced with various stimuli, including a long gripe session. read more about the dangers and tips to avoid complainers.
Just recently, Yayoi Kusama jumped off the page of a magazine and got my attention.
Kusama released Happening in 1965. Since 1967 she had a lot of happenings and fashion shows not only in New York but also in Holland and Rome. As she got more active , she was influenced by an anti-vietnam war movement and American Presidential election and social elements were added to her art. She started creating Kusama Dress and textile , which were sold at department stores and boutiques all over the United States. In 1969 she opened her own boutique.
Polka dots, the trademark of “Kusama Happening.” Red, green and yellow polka dots can be the circles representing the earth, the sun, or the moon. Their shapes and what they signify do not really matter. I paint polka dots on the bodies of people, and with those polka dots, the people will self-obliterate and return to the nature of the universe. An excerpt from “Infinity Nets,” Kusama Yayoi Autobiograph. Visit Yayoi Kusama
Which are the youngest & oldest cities in America? Find out which places topped RealAge 2012 list for staying young and which tanked.
What a surprise to discover which cities rank healthier than Denver. You’ll also be surprised to know how Denver ranked. See the full listing here.
This year, RealAge reviewed two dozen factors that influence a person’s RealAge to reveal the best places to stay young. Lifestyle choices have a big impact on a city’s age, says RealAge cofounder Michael F. Roizen, M.D. “Cities with the lowest stress are basically the youngest. Stress, smoking, diet, exercise — all four of those seem to go together.” When residents take good care of themselves, they tend to have lower rates for high cholesterol, hypertension, and diabetes. And that translates to a younger RealAge.
Denver, CO
Residents of the Mile High City and its neighbor Boulder rank best in the country for optimism. They’re also third best for exercise, thanks to more than 850 miles of off-road trails for cycling, running, and hiking. All that activity helps Denver-Boulder rank as the best place to dodge cholesterol and diabetes, and second-best place for healthy blood pressure
Where does your city rank? Do you live in a city where you stay younger? Or do you live is a city where you are aging too fast? I was surprised with some of the rankings. RealAge