4 Mental Techniques to Improve Your Time Management | Brian Tracy

Essential for new Entrepreneurs. Great tips to get you focused, organised and simply get it done!

Grant Cardone's Top 10 Rules For Success (@GrantCardone)

RSA ANIMATE: Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us

WOW Some insightful stuff on motivation. Thoughts?

Low on Motivation? 7 Psychological Hacks to Get Going

Even the most passionate and motivated among us have off days. We wake up feeling detached from work, or groggy, frustrated or depressed, and we can’t get into the right mindset to be productive. We might be able to go through the motions of work, but we aren’t operating at peak efficiency, nor are we enjoying what we're doing.

Is this you? Thankfully, even on your worst days, there are some psychological tricks you can use to hack your mind to become more motivated:

1. Visualize your long-term goals.

Research from the University of Virginia suggests that visualizing your potential future is highly motivating, even if that future is distant. Though we tend to perform our best and achieve the best outcomes when we optimize our work and focus for long-term performance, our minds are wired for short-term focus and goals. So, instead of zooming in on one task or project, think about your long-term goals, and work backward to visualize how these small steps will lead to that eventuality. Visualizing should super-charge your focus.

Long-term thinking is what Jeff Bezos used to make Amazon the tech powerhouse it is today. Since 1997, his manifesto has been “It’s all about the long term,” a kind of proactive warning to shareholders that the company is willing to sacrifice short-term revenue if that means higher long-term gains.

2. At least start your task.

One of the hardest parts of any task, especially a challenging one, is actually getting started. Once you’re in the middle of something, it’s much easier to keep that momentum going. To overcome this initial hurdle, commit yourself to at least starting your task;you can always tell yourself that you can abandon it after five good minutes of actual work.

By the time those five minutes are up, you might already be so into the project that you’ll naturally want to carry that momentum forward. So, start! The sooner you do, the sooner you’ll achieve that flow. This charge may seem intimidating or difficult if the task is beyond your usual scope, but in the words of former Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer, “I always did something I was a little not ready to do. I think that's how you grow. When there's that moment of 'Wow, I'm not really sure I can do this,' and you push through those moments, that's when you have a breakthrough.”

3. Set a timer.

You can also motivate yourself by setting a timer,forcing yourself to work for a fixed amount of time and putting a break on the schedule for the near future. This simultaneously puts a limit on how much effort you’ll need to expend and gives you something to look forward to -- a break.Studies show that the “average” optimal time for this work-break split entails working for 52 minutes and breaking for 17, but you’ll likely need some adjustments to make the pattern work for you. For example, Tony Schwartz (president of the Energy Project) takes a break every 90 minutes, since he says his alertness tends to drop off after those 90 minutes are up.

4. Tell someone what you plan to do.

Social pressure can influence your personal motivation fairly strongly. If you have a big project to do, or a major goal for the day, tell someone close to you (such as a friend, family member or even a colleague) what you intend to accomplish. Knowing you’ll need to eventually report back to that person, you’ll feel extra pressure to do what you said you were going to

If you want even more pressure, consider broadcasting your goal to a whole group of people, such as the entire office. Ray Wu, cofounder of Weilos, used that online weight-loss community's platform to measure this effect. The result: Participants who actively shared their goals and progress ended up losing 1.2 pounds per week, compared to just 0.27 pounds per week among dieters not using the platform.

5. Change your "self-talk."

A comprehensive review of 47 different studies reported in the Journal of Sports Exercise Psychology confirmed the effects of positive and negative "self-talk" -- that running internal dialogue most of us experience throughout the day. Essentially, positive self-talk leads to higher motivation, better self-esteem and an elevated mood, while negative self-talk leads to the opposite.

If you find yourself saying or thinking things like “This is too much,” or “I’m stressed out of my mind,” try rephrasing those comments to things like, “This is an exciting challenge,” or “I’m going to feel great when I’m done with this.” Sometimes, a simple mental change is all it takes to radically transform your perspective.

6. Keep a task list.

Start keeping a list of tasks to do, and write down everything -- even small, minutes-long tasks throughout your day. Whenever you get something done, cross it off the list or put a check mark next to it. This will help you stay organized but, more importantly, will give you a boost of motivation every time you cross something off.

In the words of April Underwood, vice president of product at Slack, “Have a clear system for to-dos: whether it’s ‘Getting Things Done’ or the ‘Checklist Manifesto,’ just have a system and stick to it." Continued Underwood: "I have a very specific method I use in Slack and in email that works for me, and knowing I have that system keeps me from feeling overwhelmed even when I’m behind or the to-dos pile up.”

By keeping a task list, you too will be able to tangibly mark your progress, and you’ll feel better about what you’ve already achieved. You’ll also get to visualize your progress over time, which can help you keep going when you hit a wall.

7. Establish consequences.

Though reward-based systems often work better for teaching people new things, our instinct to avert loss motivates us to accomplish a goal when there are consequences for not accomplishing it. For example, in one experiment, teachers were split into two groups: one group was offered a $4,000 bonus if their students’ grades improved, and another group was actually given the $4,000, along with the threat that they would have to return the money if grades didn’t improve. Those consequences led the latter group to perform better over the semester.

So, if you want to get more things done, establish your own consequences for not getting them done.

If you find yourself chronically low on motivation and this happens relatively frequently -- say, more than once or twice a week -- consider this a sign of a bigger problem in your daily work life. You might be dealing with too much stress (without an outlet to relieve it), or you might be heading toward burnout.

Jayson DeMers • VIP Contributor

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5 Sales Skills Everyone Should Possess

Sales is something that everyone needs to learn. What few people realize is that they’re closing deals every day. If you don’t work in sales it’s easy to assume you don’t need to learn how. That’s simply not true. Developing sales skills will help you in many situations beyond a sales job.

Whether you’re closing a big deal or selling your significant other on where you’re going for dinner it’s still a sale. At the end of the day there’s no secret formula to closing every deal. However there are plenty of sales skills you can develop to improve your close rate.

Here are five sales skills that everyone should possess:

Qualify Every Single Prospect

It’s estimated that more than half of the prospects you come across aren’t actually a good fit for your products or services. That said sales people still spend hours trying to push their products on these unqualified prospects.

Instead of rushing to the sale you should emphasize quality control. As you prospect, develop a strict process on how you qualify a customer. I suggest making a basic check-list. Decide on what is required to be considered a qualified lead and only move forward with prospects who meet your specific requirements.

Script Your Introductions

Studies show that it only takes about 10 seconds for a prospect to decide whether or not they want to continue a conversation with you. This makes your introductions extremely important.

Since sales is a numbers game, you’ll likely be doing plenty of introductions throughout your career. Instead of leaving it up to chance you should always try to script your introductions. You can try out different methods but make sure you keep the script constant for a few prospects. Once you find one that works, stick to it as much as possible.

Find Your Metrics

As I mentioned above, sales it truly a numbers game. As you schedule your week for success you should always quantify what it’s going to take to hit your goals. Keep track of metrics like email opens, responses, and calls scheduled per set of prospects. Your end goal is obviously a closed deal.

If you can build a model that clearly shows what it takes to close a deal you’ll be able to work much more efficiently.

Build Relationships

Building rapport through schmoozing simply isn’t enough to win clients over. People are becoming increasingly skeptical of salespeople these days. This makes it increasingly important to build real relationships with prospects and clients.

If a prospect trusts you on a personally level then they’ll trust that your products and services will provide value. If you’re able to build relationships with existing clients then they’ll be more likely to give you a referral or two when you ask.

Listen Attentively

Every sales mentor will tell you that you need to listen more than you speak. This is especially true when the client begins to express interest in the deal. When a client is on the verge of closing they will typically ask their most important or pressing questions. These questions are the tipping point for whether or not they want to close.

If you fail to listen attentively you’ll miss valuable information on that specific client and potentially the industry as a whole.

Final Thoughts

If you want to succeed in sales you need to get out there and sell. If you want to close more deals I suggest practicing the five sales skills listed above. You won’t be disappointed.

 Renzo Costarella 

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TONY ROBBINS - NEW YEAR, NEW YOU (2018 MOTIVATION)

Still relevant every year for me. Whats your thoughts?

The New 1-2-3 Goal-Setting Routine

People who set goals are more successful in life than those who don’t. Research proves it time and time again.

But here’s the thing: People who enjoy moderate success set LOTS of goals. And while they may achieve several of those goals, they struggle to define the ones the matter MOST to them. The end result? They don’t have a system in place of prioritizing their BIGGEST, life-changing goals.

That’s why nine out of 10 people fail to keep their New Year’s resolutions.

If that sounds a little bit like you, don’t worry.

I’m going to teach you the solution to this too-many-goal problem. And together, we’re going to turn your moderate success into an amazing year.

How, you ask? With my 1-2-3 Goal-Setting Routine.

Here’s how it works (and I’ll start with resolutions, since 2018 is already upon us):

For some people, “resolutions” is a dirty word. But when you stick to them, they can change the trajectory of your life forever.

Resolutions (goals) have always been a big part of my work and personal growth, and they’ve helped inform my professional endeavors. For 20 years, my fitness businesses have helped millions of people set goals, change habits, and transform their bodies.

However, most people go about setting goals all wrong.

This was something I struggled with until my early 30s. That’s when my mentor, Mark Ford, taught me to replace my “shotgun-scattered” approach with laser-focused planning.

In 2006, when I was 31 years old, I sat at my parent’s kitchen table prior to a New Year’s Eve party, writing out my goals for the next year.

At the end of my session, I had dozens of (minor) goals on a page in 10-point font. The next year, I achieved minor success in several areas but didn’t hit the major objectives that would have significantly altered my life for the better.

That’s when I asked Mark Ford for advice. He taught me to focus on just one goal for each of the four big areas in life—health, wealth, social self, and personal enrichment.

His advice was incredibly impactful. It freed me to write my book, start a business in a new industry, and, when I paid it forward, allowed my coaching clients to achieve 12-month goals in only 90 days.

Using the wisdom of Mark Ford as the foundation, I created the 1-2-3 Goal-Setting System. It starts by picking a 90-day deadline alongside one outcome goal for each of two areas of your life (one personal, one professional), and outlining three major actions steps for each outcome goal.

I’ll bet you’re asking, “Why does this minimal approach work better than resolutions?”

Imagine waking up on New Year’s Day and saying, “I want to lose 10 pounds,” or “I want to make an extra million dollars.” That’s nice. But there’s no plan, no path, no focus, and no urgency. Your dream won’t come true.

The 1-2-3 Goal-Setting Formula fixes that.

I’ve received many questions over the years about this formula, so I’ll beat you to the punch and answer them now:

Why a 90-day deadline?

In my book, “The Perfect Day Formula,” I outline five pillars of success that take you from planning to measurable results. The fifth pillar is what the 1-2-3 Goal-Setting Formula really takes advantage of: the BIG deadline.

Deadlines turn the abstract into the concrete, spur us to action, keep us going through tough times, and move faster toward the finish line.

That’s why we use a 90-day deadline in the 1-2-3 Goal Setting Routine. It’s not actually dissimilar to quarterly planning sessions for business sales—and many entrepreneurs and CEOs have enjoyed financial success setting up internal deadlines for their own growth and development.

You should enjoy the same kind of success.

What exactly is an outcome goal? And why is there only one of them?

An outcome goal is a numbers-based objective—like losing 10 pounds or making $1 million. It’s more specific than “losing weight” or “getting rich.”

I limit it to just one outcome goal because I want you to be singularly focused on the goal that has the most significant impact on your life. Think of the outcome goal as the bullseye on the target. If you hit the bullseye, it’s worth more than hitting the outside ring 10 times.

Ok, but why should I focus on just two major areas of my life?

This is where I’ve upgraded the system from what Mark Ford taught me 10 years ago.

Four goals are better than 20, but even then, the waters get a little muddy.

For the next 90 days, you are just going to focus on two major goals—one personal, one professional. That’s it. That’s extreme focus, and a clear path to success.

The great thing is, when you achieve major goals, pretty much every other area of your life improves. Plus, you open up more time and energy for other goals in your next 90-day sprint.

And process goals? What are those, and why three of them?

We need to use process goals because there is a serious FLAW in only setting outcome goals.

Let me explain. A good friend of mine, Alwyn Cosgrove, taught me that we do not control our outcome goals. There are always external circumstances influencing the final outcome. We might lose nine pounds instead of 10, or we might make $900K instead of an extra million. The final outcome is never fully within our control.

However, Alwyn added, what you DO control are the action steps that move you in the direction of your outcome goal. We control our weight loss efforts—our diet, our exercise, our sleep, and our water intake. We control our revenue-generating activities—setting up lead-generation systems, practicing our sales scripts, doing follow-up, and asking for referrals. If we do our best with our action steps (process goals), we’ll get as close as possible to our outcome goals.

So there you have it—a concrete, effective alternative to failure-assured resolutions. One outcome goal for each of two areas of your life—one professional and one personal—and three action steps for each outcome goal.

And let me allay your fears; this isn’t some fly-by-night methodology I cooked up to get clicks, either. My coaching clients have been using the 1-2-3 Goal-Setting System for years. Some have doubled their income, others have achieved massive fitness goals, and still others have landed in happy, longterm relationships that they were seeking for years.

So I urge you to start 2018 on the right foot and build out your own 1-2-3 Goal-Setting System. You can do anything for 90 days—and you may just change your life.

Craig Ballantyne, Contributor

Writer, Coach, Entrepreneur

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Achieving Goals

POWERFUL! Subconscious 90% of Brain Power, Conscious Mind 10% of Brain Power.

Which one would you use ?

11 Reasons Why Failure Is Essential For Self-Development

It's easy, when observing other people’s successes, to think that it came easily, or that you’re the unlucky one missing out. But rooted at the heart of almost every successful endeavour - whether it’s a project, work or a relationship - is some form of failure.

The catch-22 of course, is that no one willingly wants to fail, and the prospect of it can be incredibly stressful. In fact, for a lot of us, we lose a sense of perspective and believe it to be the worst thing that could happen, when in actual fact, it’s a critical part of our development.

In fact, a lot of famous people attribute their later, stratospheric success to earlier failures. Oprah was fired from her first TV anchor job, Sir James Dyson failed thousands of times before making his world famous vacuum cleaner, and Jay Z couldn’t get a record label to sign him, and had to sell his CDs out of the back of a car boot.

In her 2008 commencement speech at Harvard, author J.K. Rowling said: “Failure taught me things about myself that I could have learned no other way. I discovered that I had a strong will, and more discipline than I suspected.”

Failure - contrary to it feels - isn’t the end of the world. In fact, here are 11 reasons why it’s essential.

 1. It prompts you to re-evaluate what’s actually important to you.

One of the biggest fears around failing tends to be around work. Am I doing well? Will I get that promotion? Sometimes, it can feel like your world will end if it doesn’t happen for you but it may not actually be the thing you want. Neel Burton, who wrote The Art of Failure: The Anti Self-Help Guide, says that it can actually be quite freeing.

“Society’s idea of success and happiness is a trap,” he says. “It is not just that the bar is set too high, but also that it is set in the wrong place, and that it is, in fact, the wrong bar. Jump and you’ll only break your back. ‘Failure’ on the other hand can free us from that rat race.”

2. It makes you unafraid to try

One of the worst aspects of failure is that the fear around it is so great, you’d rather not attempt anything in case it doesn’t work out. Siobhan Curham, author and motivational speaker says: “I spent most of my younger life terrified of failure. Fear of failure played a big part in me dropping out of uni two years into my English degree. I was so scared that I didn’t have what it took to become a writer (due to my working class background) and that I would fail, I gave up even trying. Thankfully, I managed to overcome this fear but it took several years working in soul destroying jobs to do so.”

 3) It helps you let go of the past

Talking about getting over a failed relationship, Megan McArdle who wrote The Up Side Of Down: Bouncing Back In Business And Life said in a piece she wrote for Stylist: “Failure forces us to acknowledge the truth, to let go of the lacklustre past. And once we’ve done so – once we no longer have something, no matter how inadequate, to lose – we’re free to take a flyer on something great.”

4) It makes you realise everything is temporary

Although it feels destabilising at the time, failure jolts you out of your routine and makes you think more immediately. Neel says: “Instead of living for the future, we begin to live for the present.” You may feel terrible while it’s going on, but eventually when you come out of it, it ends up being an incredible learning curve that nothing lasts - not even feeling bad about failing.

 5) You become more resilient

People who experience failure and then overcome it, end up far more resilient and better equipped at dealing with future situations. Siobhan says: “Failure can be a blessing if you’re willing to seek the wisdom in the setback. You can choose to let setbacks defeat and define you or you can choose to learn the lessons and carry on stronger and wiser than before. I try and see so-called failures as valuable steps on the way to success.”

6) It keeps your ego in check

We’ve all had a moment when we misjudge our value or abilities, and sometimes, it can royally backfire. But if you find yourself being dumped, take heart in what Neel calls ‘dissolution of the ego’. Failure is a great teacher in learning your own personal limitations, and figuring out how to do better next time.

7) It teaches you that the path to success isn’t straight...and that’s a good thing

School teaches you a very linear path to success. Pass this test and you’ll be rewarded with good grades; that then leads to higher education, and so on. But in the real world, success is not always so predictable or straightforward.

Siobhan says: “I’ve learned that the world doesn’t end and actually, failure can often lead to far greater things,” she says. “A great example of this is when I was dropped by my first publisher due to poor sales of my fourth book. It felt like the end of the world. But this ‘failure’ led to a massive breakthrough for me. I wrote and self-published my first young adult novel Dear Dylan - giving away the e-book for free.

“It was liberating writing purely to try and help young people and no longer having to fear failing in a publisher’s eyes. Dear Dylan went on to win a national book award and then went to auction, with eight publishers bidding for it. I’ve since had seven YA books traditionally published and achieved success beyond my wildest dreams.”

8) You become better at taking risks

Not all risks are sensible, admittedly, but the one thing that unifies super successful people is the ability to take a risk. When talking to Forbes, executive coach Dr Sam Collins said: “We must take a leap, take calculated risks, and be patient for the results. We don’t need to have everything worked out beforehand. I never wrote a business plan, but in order to reach the next level in life, business, and my own personal growth, I had to take some risks. It gets you out of your head and into your gut instinct pretty quickly and successfully.”

9) Failing is actually a skill (no, really)

Learning how to recover from failure is a skill. Life coach Pam Bauer says: “If you’re good at falling down and getting back up, you’ll be confident going into new situations because you know you’ll be OK no matter what happens.”

10) It prevents you from ruminating over things in the future

Dr. Joachim Stoeber and Dr. Dirk Janssen from the University’s School of Psychology published a paper called ‘Perfectionism and coping with daily failures’ and found that staying positive through failure helped significantly in terms of inner resilience. Keeping your sense of humour may seem challenging when things are terrible, but if you can master this, Dr Stoeber says it helps enormously in the future, in terms of not obsessing about things.

11) You actually learn more from it

You can learn from success, and you can learn from failure - but the latter will teach you far more, and is therefore more valuable. Vinit Desai, assistant professor of management at the University of Colorado Denver Business School ran a study looking at which was more helpful. He says: ““We found that the knowledge gained from success was often fleeting while knowledge from failure stuck around for years.”  

By Poorna Bell, Commercial Writer

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SIX BODY LANGUAGE THAT ARE HARD TO MASTER BUT WILL PAY OFF FOR LIFE

Maintain good eye contact

As Ursula the sea witch famously said, “Don't underestimate the importance of body language.”

Some tricks, like remembering to smile, are pretty easy to implement in your everyday life.

However, there are other techniques that, while relatively commonsense, are somewhat trickier to tackle.

Still, they can make a huge difference.

Here are six body language hacks that can be tricky to master, but will definitely pay off forever once you do:

1. Mirror the person you're speaking to

Mirroring - or aligning your body to match the position of whoever you're speaking to - can be a tough skill to master. But doing it shows admiration and agreement, says Rosemary Haefner, chief human resources officer at CareerBuilder.

It can be hard to do this subtly, without looking like you're mimicking or mocking someone, but this is definitely a good trick to employ if you're really trying to make a good impression.

2. Walk with purpose and energy

Not everyone walks with confidence. Some of us shuffle through life with a slumping, awkward gait.

And it can be tough to change the way we walk. But if you take some steps to improve it, you can help to ensure that people don't make snap judgments about your confidence, attractiveness, and trustworthiness, according to Scientific American.

3. Maintain good eye contact

It's all in the eyes.

People with a shaky gaze often come across as anxious, distracted, or dishonest. And it can be tough to master the skill of maintaining eye contact, since it's a very uncomfortable and unnatural thing for some people. But it's a practice that can help you immensely in life.

Luckily, there are some simple techniques for maintaining better eye contact if you feel your stare isn't cutting it.

In How To Talk To Anyone, author and communication expert Leil Lowndes advises that you should “pretend your eyes are glued to your conversation partner's with sticky, warm taffy.”

Once you master this trick, you'll immediately see an improvement in your face-to-face communications with others.

4. Keep your hands visible

It's hard to know what to do with your hands sometimes, especially if you're a somewhat nervous person.

As a result, you might take to compulsively jamming them into your pockets or crossing your arms. Those are understandable moves, but they also project a somewhat negative image.

As Business Insider previously reported, it's important to keep your hands visible, lest you look like you're hiding something.

Invite people in and allow them to trust you by using more open body language. Avoid positions that make you appear defensive (even if that's how you're feeling).

5. Sit up straight

Your parents were right to constantly bark at you to adjust your terrible posture when you were a moody teen.

“If you lounge back in your chair, recruiters interpret it as a sign of your disinterest in the open position or that you're not taking the interview seriously, neither of which will help you land the job,” Amanda Augustine, a career advice expert for TopResume, previously told Business Insider. “In addition, slumping over in the chair can indicate a lack of confidence.”

Instead, she suggests sitting as if there was a string tied from the top of your head to the ceiling. Sitting up straight is seen as a sign of intelligence, confidence, and credibility, she explains.

Anyone with bad posture can tell you that correcting your slouch is not always easy. But it's definitely worth it in the long run.

6. Work on your handshake

No one wants to receive a “dead fish” handshake. Writing on LinkedIn, Ashish Arora notes that “a weak handshake equals a weak person” in most peoples' minds.

So how do you give a great handshake?

Arora breaks it down for us: “When squeezing your hand you want the grip to be tight enough to feel the bones of the other person’s hand lightly pressing into your skin and then keeping the same amount of pressure while you make two to three moderately strong shakes in the vertical plain. Maintain eye contact and a smile throughout.”

• AINE CAIN BUSINESS INSIDER
• Wednesday 29 November 2017 13:19 GMT
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Negotiation Skills: 3 Simple Tips

I like this because it takes scientific based approaches. Let me know your thoughts?

Personal Branding For Modern Women: It's All About Self-Acceptance

It's time to recognize women for who we are, instead of oversexualizing, demoralizing and devaluing women.

Is she beautiful? Is she demure? Inviting of advances, but not too sexual. An object with a mind, but not a mind. As a culture, we’ve been submerged in a place where to be “feminine” we walk on eggshells, much like that of an abusive relationship. Careful, calculated moves mask self-doubt. There's an unbalanced focus on the superficial instead of issues of substance. It’s anxiety- and despair-producing to be disallowed the opportunity to just be.

Look beautiful, but don't be superficial.

Be smart, but don't be smarter than anyone else.

Look sexy, but don't draw attention.

Be gentle, but be aggressive.

Be assertive, but don't be a jerk.

Women's articles and branding topics are quickly turned into articles about what to wear to "ward of unwanted advances" and how to wear your makeup as to draw enough, but not "too much" attention. I'm tired of seeing these articles. There needs to be a place where, as women, we can find self-assurance and self-acceptance. From the water cooler to the boardroom to even our LinkedIn inboxes, unwanted advances and comments on our looks are unacceptable.

Instead of messages such as, "Congratulations on the new business venture!" or "Can you tell me more about this project? What interesting results you've achieved," I frequently receive LinkedIn messages about my smile or my hair. Mixed messages for women about how to dress, behave and build businesses are both underwhelming and overwhelming!

Ladies, I'm here to tell you that personal branding is about so much more than the way you look, it's about the way you make others feel. It is about who you are and how you resonate with yourself. When we look at strong corporate branding, it is all about signage, colors, website, print materials and tone of voice. It even echoes through sales processes and procedures. Strong brands have a strong identity and know their customer well.

I like to think of branding and marketing as best friends, and best friends need to be able to have a conversation. In my business, we work to develop strong, ethical brands that put their clients first — after they've established who they are. This is not theatre. Once you know your true desires, your personal brand will develop into something a lot stronger.

What do you want out of life? Who do you aspire to be? Have you taken the time to search out your own longings? Families, officemates and clients aside, who are you, and do you accept that woman? As cliché as it may sound, you have everything within you that you need to succeed. When it comes to your personal brand, give yourself the support you need to stand behind your experience and present yourself the way you want to be seen. Be your own self-affirmer, your own hero.

It's not about acting like a man. It's not just about acting like a woman. It is about acting like yourself and knowing your audience. When you know and accept yourself, your brand messaging will become more clear. People are marginalized to confidence, and confidence is not something that can be foraged.

In personal branding for women, it is time to shift the conversation away from the image and work on core issues. Do you accept yourself? Major strides have been made toward gender equality, but there are still steps to take. When is the last time that a man had to put on more makeup or spend $60 on a blowout to be taken more seriously? Looks shouldn't play a factor in the words and ideas we have to share.

Ladies, let's rise up and create a better future. If you are trying to satisfy your boss, devouring articles about office makeup, humoring unwanted advances or wishing you were "enough" but not "too much" for society, stop.

Back up the bus and get on the you train. Be yourself.

It is OK to be a bit of a jack-in-the-box. You don’t have to choose one column. Write all over the lines when you are defining yourself. Be the best version of you that you can be. If you’ve been looking for a way out of an identity crisis, I’m here to tell you to stand up, look in the mirror and say yes to the woman looking back at you. You’re worth it, and you’re more than capable.

Heather Pinay Heather Pinay , Forbes Councils

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Eleven skills every 24-year-old should learn before it's too late

The age 24 is a fun time of your life.

You're likely out of college, maybe for a couple of years, meeting new people, and getting your feet wet in the real world. 

But it's also an important time because around age 24, you have unquestionably entered adulthood and your choices could influence the rest of your life.

A bunch of people chimed in on a Quora thread discussing the skills every 24 year old needs to learn before it's too late. We narrowed it down to the following 11 skills:

Become a master salesperson of yourself

Good communication skills have been linked to greater career prospects 

"Sales is the basis of all business success. You are always selling, even if your role does not include sales in the job description. You sell during marketing activities, team meetings, customer service, product management, conferences, business development, engineering, user experience and more. A solid foundation in how to sell can give you a wide advantage over your colleagues and competitors." — Anonymous

Get out of your comfort zone

"Get real world experience. Start businesses, talk to people, ask a pretty girl out, go skydiving, become good at small talk and for the love of god don't take yourself too seriously." — Christian Pretorius

Get very good at one thing

"Your job, photoshop, singing, dancing, whistling, so that if the worst happens, and you get kicked out of your job and house and friends are done using you, you can still earn your livelihood by freelancing... (even whistling will do — you can roam on roads asking couples to dedicate songs to each other and they will pay you – tried and tested)." — Rohit Mishra

Build up your 'advocate network'

"We all need people we can rely on to potentially expose us to new opportunities, people, and ideas that can further our career. Focus on creating value for other people, rather than just meeting them. The golden rule of networking: Measure your networking success not by how many important people you’ve met, but by how many important people you’ve helped." — Christian Bonilla, software designer, author

Learn how to code

"Learning to code is one of the most important skills any 24-year-old should acquire. It goes for people who have nothing to do with technology. In fact, the younger generation is already mastering technology better than us adults and learning coding in days. Kids nowadays have tablets, smartphones and other tech gadgets. Learning to code is an important tool that can be used for future development of a person. Everybody knows how to read and write and so they should know to code as well." — Maria Antsuk

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Fall in love

"Yes, fall in love as love is the purest of all emotion and what is more beautiful than love? If you have not fallen in love, you have undoubtedly missed a vital emotion/feeling in the world." — Karan Jaiswani

Learn how to meditate

Research suggests meditation can improve brain cognition 

"In today's world of distraction, this is the only tool to keep oneself focused. It has been proven by research that twenty minutes of meditation is equivalent to two hours of sleep. It's like homeopathy; takes time to act but is worthy in the long run. But it's a complex process and you really need a very strong determination to practice it." — Sanjay Kadel, Realist

Travel more

"Create a passion to travel around the world. Travelling teaches you different walks of life. Explore Africa if you are in the west. Explore Canada during winters if you are in a temperate climate. You will get a feel of life on earth and develop a loving sense and meet new people." — Anonymous

Invest in personal growth

"Don't watch TV and stop fooling around, read as many books as you can, go to seminars. Always increase your value, because we get paid about our value, what we bring to the marketplace. So if you become more valuable then ... exactly, you get more paid." — Janis Butevics, 23-year-old Entrepreneur & Author, creator of Awake or Be Slaved

Stop worrying all the time

"Worrying is a useless energy sucker. Your life and circumstances will not change by worrying. Only planning and actions will lead you to where you want to be in your life. Experiencing life and the world with a carefree yet organised attitude while at the same time taking care of your health and feeding your mind with knowledge, that could benefit you in the future. Enjoy the present and always keep your eye on progress." — Deme Alexis

Start saving money

"Whether you're working for someone else or for yourself, you need to save your money now. Compound interest can make you a millionaire in 20 years’ time, simply by putting away a really small amount of money consistently every month. With a degree you can earn more, put away more money and become a millionaire sooner." — Stefan Stoman

Read the original article on Business Insider UK. © 2017. Follow Business Insider UK on Twitter.

• Eugene Kim, Business Insider 
• 2 days ago

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What Is Emotional Intelligence and Why Does It Matter?

Most people agree that having a strong work ethic, dedication and skill makes a successful employee. However, a new study finds that high emotional intelligence also plays a key role in career success.

In an article published in the Journal of Vocational Behaviour, Joseph C. Rode, professor of management at Miami University of Ohio, and his co-authors found emotional intelligence is linked to bigger salaries and higher job satisfaction.

While high emotional intelligence alone won't make you successful, it will probably make you happier and more successful in your career. Business News Daily talked to Rode and other experts about what emotional intelligence is and how you can use it to advance your career.

What is emotional intelligence?

According to Liz Bentley, founder of Liz Bentley Associates, "emotional intelligence in its simplest form is our ability to get along with people." Bentley said people with high emotional intelligence have self-awareness and social awareness, and can manage themselves and others.

Similarly, Rode describes emotional intelligence as the ability to recognize and manage emotional information.

"It represents the intersection of emotions and general mental ability – sometimes referred to as IQ," he said. "It can also be thought of as the extent to which one actively thinks about emotion, or uses emotions as important information in a manner similar to other information such as facts and opinions."

Bentley added that people with high emotional intelligence typically drive good outcomes and results, align people with the mission, hold people accountable, coach their subordinates and colleagues when they're stuck, and create a collaborative and cohesive work environment.

Emotional intelligence and its associated people skills are important because people are an important part of any business.

 "People are our most valuable and critical commodity," Bentley told Business News Daily. "We are all in the people business – people are our bosses, subordinates, team members, colleagues, clients, vendors and consumers."

Emotions, said Rode, are important pieces of information that must be considered in decision-making – even if that means learning to tune them out.

"While emotional intelligence includes the ability to use emotions to increase motivation and focus, it also includes the ability to detach from very powerful short-term emotions when needed to better focus on the tasks at hand," he said.

Using emotional intelligence to get ahead

Rode's study found that people with high emotional intelligence typically have higher salaries than people who don't. To measure emotional intelligence, Rode and his co-authors required participants to solve multiple emotional problems that had right and wrong answers like an IQ test. For example, participants had to identify emotions in faces or artwork, and identify the best response to different scenarios. Higher emotional intelligence has shown to be related to several measures of leadership effectiveness.

"Following this research, we argued that emotional intelligence should be more relevant to success – and salary – at higher organizational levels, where leadership becomes a relatively more important part of one's job," said Rode.

But what is the connection between high emotional intelligence and high salary? Brad Flowers, partner of boutique branding agency Bullhorn Creative, says this important quality helps you to read the situation and time your request just right.

"The most difficult part of getting a bigger salary is asking for it," Flowers said. "Emotional intelligence – combined with a smart case – equips you with the tools to recognize the perfect moment to ask, how to ask appropriate for your audience, and how to deal with any answer you receive."

Jennifer Hancock, founder of Humanist Learning Systems, said people with emotional intelligence also typically have high salaries because they tend to be more productive.

"People who are good at working with other people and getting other people to work with them tend to get more work done," she told Business News Daily. "They have good reputations since people like working with them."

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Saige Driver

Saige Driver graduated from Ball State University in 2015 with a degree in journalism. She started her career at a radio station in Indiana, and is currently a B2B staff writer at Business News Daily. She loves reading and her beagle mix, Millie. Reach her by email, or follow her on Twitter.

Nine Ways To Balance Being A Parent And An Entrepreneur

Working parents know how difficult it is to balance a career with caring for children. However, parents who run their own business experience an added layer to this challenge.

In many ways, these "parentpreneurs" stretch themselves between two types of babies: the children they're raising and the business they're growing. Both require near-constant nurturing and attention to be successful, especially in their early stages, and entrepreneurial parents must learn to carefully plan and prioritize their time to ensure that each gets the care they need and deserve.

Nine members of Forbes Coaches Council offered their best advice for parent entrepreneurs who are looking to maintain a healthy balance between their family and their business.

1. Learn To Delegate And Know Your Boundaries 

As a parentpreneur, it can be difficult to balance your business and time with family, as both solicit a great amount of time and effort. However, the sooner you realize you can't be in two places at once, the better. Prioritize special moments and engagements with your kids that require 100% of you, and make sure you have someone to step in during those times. Respect that you need help to avoid burnout.   - Ariel Lopez, 2020Shift 

2. Prioritize Well-Being

Adopt mindfulness or relaxation practices. Prioritize your well-being. Often, as soon as life becomes an incessant demand on your time, the first thing to go is the priority of your self. "There's too much to do, I don't have the time," is a thought that will happen. Calendaring even 10 minutes a day for personal relaxation benefits your work, your children, and your ability to get more done.   - David Butlein, Ph.D., BLUECASE Strategic Partners 

3. Create Clear Boundaries And Honor Your Word

Create clear time boundaries. Define when you are available and when you are not, and hold those boundaries. This is a healthy lesson for your children to learn. When you are not available, you aren't (unless the house is on fire). But when it is your child's time with you, be fully present for them, not your cell phone. Create your boundaries and honor your word.   - Debra Russell, Debra Russell Coaching, LLC 

4. Sensibly Involve Your Children

What's the motivation for work and work changes for parentpreneurs? Children. Therefore, children can be thoughtfully included in your business as motivation, as helpers and as important parts of your team. Consider their schedule and limit their time so that the participation at any age carries the joy and not the burden of your new enterprise. This may remind you of your most important asset.   - John M. O'Connor, Career Pro Inc. 

5. Remember Balance Doesn't Happen Every Day

I think balance is an overused word. It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking we're working too hard or neglecting our business if we think balance is achievable every single day. It's not, and that's OK. Remind yourself that your kids benefit from seeing you work hard at times and your leadership benefits from spending valuable time with your children.   - Jeannie Walters, 360Connext 

6. Stop Before You Step In The Door

Parentprenuers need to get ready to be a parent before they open their front doors and walk inside. Sure, you can turn off your phone and put away your laptop, yet changing your mindset is key. Once you cross the threshold, your role changes from entrepreneur to parent. To be fully present from dinner to bedtime, process or put away the work baggage you can easily drag inside with you.   - Leila Bulling Towne, The Bulling Towne Group, LLC 

7. Control Your Calendar, Don't Let It Control You

As a parentpreneur, I found out quickly that the traditional 8-5 workday wasn't going to work. I scheduled client meetings while my kids were at school, paused working when they came home, and took care of "desk work" after bedtime or side-by-side with my kids while they did their homework. I got to enjoy being a mom and attend all of their events because I was in control of my calendar.   - Lucie Yeomans, YourCareerAlly.com/Sick Resumes 

8. Be 100% At All Times

Both of my girls were born while I was running my business from home. I learned quickly that there is no such thing as "working from home with my kids." Rather, I had to choose when I would be 100% focused on my business, or 100% focused on my kids. Hire support if need be, or negotiate with a loved one so you can have dedicated time to your business and your family.   - Tina Forsyth, Tina Forsyth 

9. Schedule Tasks Accordingly

As a parentpreneur, there are times when you must be more hands-on as a parent than others. Schedule tasks that require intense thought or client interaction for those times when your kids are out-of-pocket. Save tasks that can be accomplished through multitasking, or by simply having an internet connection, for those times when it is likely you will be asked to pivot your attention to them.   - Virginia Franco, Virginia Franco Resumes 

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Forbes Coaches Council

Top business and career coaches from Forbes Coaches Council offer firsthand insights on leadership development & careers.

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