#(for both leverage and due to low self esteem)

[patrickztump]

I’m a bit late for the character ask game, but let’s have 12 and 26 for Arthur! =)

oh thank you thank you thank you for the numbers, catty <33333

12. What's a headcanon you have for this character? this one can probably be easily dismissed/debunked but it's something i thought about once. (and slight spoilers ahead if you haven't played the game)

in the beginning the gang is on the run from a horribly botched robbery. things went bad, lives were lost and it's shaken them but not destroyed them (....entirely). my personal theory (and it may not be my own, but i haven't looked to see if others share it) is that arthur suffered brain damage during that job and is slowly recovering from it. being an outlaw in his mid 30s, he should have known the basics for surviving off the land but instead he has to be taught how to track and skin game, spends time throughout the game discovering/learning about even the most common animals. he also relies on pamphlets for crafting tonics, weapons, etc., which in most cases is understandable. but some i would, again, assume he should have known how to create after spending two-thirds of his life on the run and in dangerous situations.

now of course my brother completely dismissed this, "it's to give the player more stuff to do," which yes, true. but also i think it could possibly explain a few minor details here and there. i cut some slack and, for example, don't think the mission where arthur learns how to use a bow is the result of any head trauma. he just strikes me as a firearm man; quick, easy, and less patience.

another one, that's not my own but one i have come to agree with and adopted into my viewpoint, is that he's more of a mare owner than stallion. his praising for female horses are softer and more affectionate. there's still love for the males but it's more firm, like he's talking to another guy in some ways.

26. What's something the character has done you can't get over? Be it something funny, bad, good, serious, whatever? bad. it's bad. you have generally speaking pretty good control over how he interacts with people and situations, can make good or bad decisions. but in the debt collection missions he can be needlessly cruel - and a certain one, it doesn't matter how you play it, he's a flat out ass. that one is hard for me to get through on a few levels, and he pays for how he handled the situation but that doesn't make it any better.

[architectnews]

LWK + PARTNERS Architects, Hong Kong

LWK + PARTNERS Architects, Building, HK Design Studio Images, Architecture Office China

LWK + PARTNERS Hong Kong Architects

Contemporary HK Architect Practice – Chinese Design Studio Info + News

post updated 24 September 2021

LWK + PARTNERS Architects News

24 Sep 2021 Two LWK + PARTNERS projects earn esteemed recognitions at The Global RLI Awards 2021

LWK + PARTNERS is pleased to announce that two of the firm’s design projects in China won distinguished acclaims at world-renowned The Global RLI Awards 2021. The awards were announced in a hybrid presentation ceremony held in London on 23 September.

Zijing Paradise Walk, Hangzhou, China • RLI Most Innovative Retail & Entertainment Project (Highly Commended)

Designed with culture and wellness themes, this shopping mall freshens up the local retail scene with playful references to village life, Hui-style architecture and traditional Chinese gardens. Not only is the building aesthetically pleasing, but it also provides cool shades for passers-by with shifting and cantilevered forms.

image courtesy of architects Zijing Paradise Walk, Hangzhou

MixC Dongguan Songshan Lake District Mixed Use Development, Dongguan, China • RLI Future Project (Highly Commended)

The project is conceived as a catalyst of urban transformation turning a sub-urban industrial landscape to a robust lifestyle and cultural hub. Featuring diverse energising public spaces and multifarious greenery, the project also benefits the community with premium apartments and commercial facilities.

Ferdinand Cheung, Director of LWK + PARTNERS, joined the ceremony online and noted: “I would like to thank RLI and the jury for the recognition. Credits to the team for their continuous efforts through the challenges in both projects. We also look forward to the completion of the MixC project in Dongguan.”

The Global RLI Awards celebrates the most visionary and innovative retail and leisure concepts from across the globe. Since its inception 16 years ago, it has been regarded as one of the world’s most representative award programmes in the sector.

8 Sep 2021 LWK + PARTNERS Zero energy buildings design image courtesy of LWK + PARTNERS LWK + PARTNERS Zero energy buildings design Building construction and operations make up 38% of the world’s energy-related CO2 emissions, according to the 2020 Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction published by UN Environment Programme. To significantly decarbonise our buildings, one of the key innovations being actively explored by architects is the idea of a ‘zero energy building’, which has attracted much discussion across the building industry and academia and is now increasingly seen as critical for the future sustainable smart cities.

8 July 2021 Green Shore Residence Phase II, tip of Luoxi Island in Panyu, Guangzhou, south eastern China image courtesy of architects office Green Shore Residence, Luoxi Island Cities, as they develop, are known to leave their mark on the skylines. Green Shore Residence Phase II, a top-end luxury residence in Guangzhou, China designed by LWK + PARTNERS, is an architectural response to the relationship between the island and city where it resides.

31 May 2021 Asia Pacific Property Awards 2021-2022 News

Five projects by LWK + PARTNERS have attained honourable titles, including three 5-Star and two Winner, at Asia Pacific Property Awards 2021-2022. One of the projects, Tsuen Wan Sports Centre, Hong Kong, China is also Nominee of Best Leisure Architecture Asia Pacific, competing with other top projects for the region’s best. The virtual ceremony was held on 28 May 2021.

Tsuen Wan Sports Centre, Hong Kong, China: image courtesy of architects

LWK + PARTNERS Asia Pacific Property Awards 2021

29 Oct 2020 Radisson Collection Resort, Nanjing, China Design: LWK + PARTNERS image courtesy of architects Radisson Collection Resort Nanjing The low-rise resort complex consists of 151 deluxe guest rooms and suites, accompanied by comprehensive amenities like a lobby bar, all-day dining restaurant, Chinese restaurant, executive lounge, function rooms, meeting rooms, a fitness centre, swimming pool and spa.

20 October 2020 Streets as the impetus of community life image courtesy of LWK + PARTNERS Streets as the impetus of community life LWK + PARTNERS Director HC Chan sees immense opportunities in excavating the power of street life to preserve cultural diversity and walkability. Fostering a liveable city requires the engagement of various stakeholders. Policy makes up one side of the story, but the participation of residents in placemaking is equally important for achieving urban spaces truly fulfilling for the local people.

4 August 2020 LWK + PARTNERS Lighting Design image courtesy of LWK + PARTNERS LWK + PARTNERS Lighting Design

6 July 2020 LWK + PARTNERS Saudi Arabia Office The new LWK + PARTNERS Riyadh studio will be led by Kerem Cengiz, Managing Director – MENA (right), and Usama Aziz, a new Director. LWK + PARTNERS Saudi Arabia Office

1 June 2020 Shijiazhuang Zhao Hua Hospital, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, North China image courtesy of architects Shijiazhuang Zhao Hua Hospital in China Our planet’s population is now going through the biggest shared experience in decades due to COVID-19, and the way people think about life and illness today is incomparable with any time in history.

Sai Kung Outdoor Recreation Centre Temporary Quarantine Facilities photo : Paul Y. – iMax Sai Kung Outdoor Recreation Centre Facilities

OCT Caoqiao Cultural Commercial Street, Hunan Province, China image courtesy of architects Hunan OCT Caoqiao Cultural Commercial Street

27 Apr 2020 Zhongshan OCT Harbour Development, Shenzhen area – west coast of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, China image courtesy of architects office Zhongshan OCT Harbour Development

31 Mar 2020 Hebei Grand Hotel, Anyue, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, North China image courtesy of architects office Hebei Grand Hotel, Anyue in Shijiazhuang, China When it comes to aesthetics and simple living, the past can be a rich source of inspiration. LWK + PARTNERS recently completed Hebei Grand Hotel, Anyue in a new Central Business District of Shijiazhuang; part of the fast-growing Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei metropolitan region.

23 Feb 2020 Xichen Paradise Walk, Chengdu, China image courtesy of architects practice Xichen Paradise Walk Retail Complex in Chengdu, China Retail spaces are evolving into lifestyle complexes that are inspiring, diversified and immersive to surround visitors with a curated experience to fulfil various lifestyle and social needs. Xichen Paradise Walk encourages social interaction and community life with high transparency and accessibility to bring together people, their neighbourhoods and nature.

25 Nov 2019 Kei Cuisine, Hong Kong, China photography : iMAGE28 Kei Cuisine Restaurant Hong Kong Successfully marriage of Japanese and Chinese cultures to create an elegant ambience for Kei Cuisine, a luxury Cantonese restaurant located in one of Hong Kong’s core retail areas. Out of client’s passion for Japanese culture, the team took inspiration from the Yoshida Fire Festival.

12 Nov 2019 TIANFU ONE Exhibition Gallery, Chengdu, China photograph : Guanhong Chen Tianfu One Exhibition Gallery Chengdu Building Comfortably perched at the eastern end of a green corridor in Chengdu’s Tianfu New District, TIANFU ONE Exhibition Gallery enjoys panoramic views of the Luxihe wetland park just across the road. The architecture firm leveraged its proximity to both urban life and natural greenery to craft an observation deck culminating at the end of the city’s main artery.

20 Oct 2019 The LOOP, Chongqing City, southwest China photo : WOHO The LOOP in Chongqing The LOOP is the sales gallery for Shun Shan Fu, a low-density residential development composed of various luxurious villas and houses.

16 Oct 2019 Vanke Forest Park Sales Gallery, Chongqing City, southwest China photo : Guanhong Chen Chongqing Vanke Forest Park Sales Gallery Scenery is beauty; nature is grandeur. Abandon screams and self-expression, and embrace silence and tranquillity… ‘Retreat’ is a design attitude.

13 Oct 2019 Spiritual Bay Pavilion, Qingdao, China photography : Xuesong Zhang & Guanhong Chenn Spiritual Bay Pavilion in Qingdao Spiritual Bay Pavilion in Qingdao recently opened. Just 120 metres off the Yellow Sea coast, the project is endowed with perks of nature at Guzhenkou’s Lingxi Bay near the intersection of Yingshanhong Road and Haijun Road, enjoying distant views of the Dazhushan Scenic Area.

14 Oct 2019 Legend Gallery, Chongqing City, southwest China photography : Guanhong CHEN, Lian HE Chongqing Jiangshan Yun Chu As a lifestyle gallery, Chongqing Jiangshan Yun Chu – Legend Gallery is a trial for and response to localised architecture. It explores the spatial interaction between nature and urban space on a site close to Chongqing’s Jialing River bank, where the waterscape forms a rare natural setting for the urban area.

26 Sep 2019

LWK + PARTNERS Architects – Key Projects

LWK + PARTNERS Recognised with Four Cityscape Awards for Emerging Markets 2019

26th September 2019 – Four projects by LWK + PARTNERS have been recognised in the Cityscape Awards for Emerging Markets 2019, at a presentation ceremony that took place in Dubai yesterday, an event attended by e-architect founder and co-Editor Adrian Welch.

Landmarks Riverside Park – Phase II Danzishi Old Street, Chongqing, China, by LWK + PARTNERS: images courtesy of architects office

Shijiazhuang’s Zhengding Li Mixed-use Development is Winner of the Retail Project Award (Future), Chongqing’s Landmark Riverside Park – Phase II: Danzishi Old Street was made Winner of the Retail Project Award (Built), while Hangzhou’s Gallium Valley Science Park and The Pavilia Bay in Hong Kong are Highly Commended respectively for the Commercial Project Award (Future) and Residential – Medium to High Rise Project Award (Built).

Gallium Valley Science Park, Hangzhou, China, by LWK + PARTNERS Hong Kong: image courtesy of architects

Zhengding Li Mixed-use Development is located in the new central business district adjacent to the historical city of Zhengding in Shijiazhuang of China’s Hebei province. This retail-led development comprises SOHO offices, serviced apartments as well as a resort hotel, all linked up by pedestrian-friendly retail streets. Such a model of mixed-use development will promote a sustainable and zero-carbon community which is a main theme for future living.

LWK + PARTNERS Architects, Hong Kong:

Landmarks Riverside Park – Phase II: Danzishi Old Street in Chongqing, China, sits on a rejuvenated riverside heritage site. A retail complex by nature, Danzishi Old Street now offers a comprehensive cultural commercial experience that bridges the old and new, the oriental and the western. While many traditional spots were preserved and historical buildings refurbished, new structures were built with a modern Chinese architectural style so the old and new assimilate impressively well.

Zhengding Li Mixed-use Development, Shijiazhuang, China:

Gallium Valley Science Park is at the heart of the Cloud Valley technology cluster in Hangzhou, China, aimed to promote the development of e-commerce and the artificial-intelligence sector. It is located to the south of the new Xihu University and adjacent to a river, encouraging synergy with the tertiary institution while enjoying scenic surroundings. The project advocates a new office-park typology that blends greenery and communal spaces in the work environment, encouraging work-life balance in a professional industry.

The Pavilia Bay, Hong Kong, China:

The Pavilia Bay is a seafront residential development in Hong Kong, China, facing the serene Rambler Channel and surrounded by dense greenery of a nearby park. Its architecture invokes the beautiful image of a yacht embarking its journey towards the waters, with this theme carried all the way from macro building form, elevation right through to the interiors.

The Pavilia Bay, Hong Kong, China:

To take full advantage of the site, residential towers are oriented to maximize sea views for each residential unit. Residents have access to a host of clubhouse amenities such as an infinite pool, gym, and children’s play area.

Landmarks Riverside Park Chongqing:

As Hong Kong-based architectural practice LWK + PARTNERS continues to expand in China, Asia and MENA, the Cityscape Awards for Emerging Markets are the latest testament of international recognition towards its diverse design expertise. In addition to the awards, LWK + PARTNERS takes part in the exhibition and conferences of Cityscape Global, which is an annual real estate investment and development event, to shed light on the latest developments of the industry. LWK + PARTNERS Directors Ivan Fu, Ferdinand Cheung and Corina Leung gave insightful presentations offering perspectives and knowledge illustrated by powerful built-environment solutions.

Gallium Valley Science Park buildings in Hangzhou, China: image courtesy of architects

The Cityscape Awards for Emerging Markets recognises and celebrates excellence across real estate developments and architecture. Covering a range of categories, the awards offer international architects and leading real estate developers a prestigious platform to collaborate and share their vision for the future, from culturally integrated city skylines to sustainable urban communities.

Zhengding Li Development, Shijiazhuang, China:

More projects by LWK + PARTNERS online soon

Address: LWK + PARTNERS (HK) Ltd, 6-8/F & 15/F, North Tower, World Finance Centre, Harbour City, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

Phone: +852 2574 1633

Architects Practice Information

LWK + PARTNERS are a HK-based architectural design studio

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LWK + PARTNERS is a leading design architecture practice rooted in Hong Kong. They are a platform with design specialists who deliver world-class solutions to the built environment.

Their 1,000+ creative minds collaborate across a network of 11 offices around the globe providing services including architecture, planning & urban design, interiors, heritage conservation, landscape, building information modelling (BIM), lifestyle and lighting design.

LWK + PARTNERS creates infinite possibilities.

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[drakonics]

<DIR> // HC DUMP: GENERIC.

/under the cut for potentially disturbing/mature mentions. you’ve been warned.

<o1> contrary to annoyingly popular and recurring belief  seto is/was the furthest thing from spoiled given his seemingly polished upbringing and generally standoffish person as a whole. after a watered down past at the orphanage his new life he intended to give mokuba was the very furthest from anything he ever wanted. everything and anything gozaburo ever ‘gave’ him was double edged and even though seto could truly have cared less about the abusive fool inflicting on him he broke his stubborn streak when the bastard truly surpassed all unthinkable lows and began using mokuba as leverage to ensure seto did whatever he wanted. that being said any accomplishments made by seto are strictly his own. he has built his own network of success from the very ground up fully eliminating any and all traces of his ‘father’ over the years ensuring kaiba corporation became something all his own without the stain of adoptive ties to reflect on the company when mokuba someday succeeds him.

<o2> despite being unable to recall the exact events leading up to the untimely deaths of his real parents seto suffers from vivid recurring dreams/chronic nightmares centering around the scattered cause. born to a japanese father and a mother with egyptian roots dating as far back as the ancient days, the two met during an expedition in giza where seto’s father was conducting research on the first pyramids and his mother doubled as a tour guide at the time and was later revealed ( due to extensive research conducted by seto himself ) to be the successor of ancient tomb guardians with blood of the medjay hailing from the old kingdom. fittingly enough seto inherited her striking blue eyes and sinfully soft brown hair with his father’s more stern personality as an opposing trait, whereas mokuba took after their father in terms of looks but maintained their mother’s immovably caring personality. the kaiba brother’s pendants although made by mokuba also contain a second digitally reconstructed and salvaged image of their deceased parents, courtesy of seto’s personal additions alongside the intricate self destruct mechanism integrated in conjunction to the duel tower.

<o3> for all of his top of the line prowess and upkeep with personal/public appearance the greatly esteemed president of kaiba corporation is in fact not in the prime of health. the true meaning of rest is simply lost him and not an option given he is expected to be anywhere at any time whenever the occasion calls for it day or night. seto wages around 3-5 hours of sleep within a 24 period and never manages them consecutively resulting in consistent sleep depravation, chronic insomnia and bouts of sickness. in effort to counter balance the tolls taken on his health seto maintains a strict self-training regimen, a particular diet and coffee in dangerous dependability. when confronted about his overall decline of health seto merely states he will sleep when he is dead and the path he shapes known as his life will never stop regardless if he sleeps or not.

<o4> courtesy of kaiba corporation and his personal profits, seto has officially deemed a select percent of his entire generated revenue in donations to orphanages worldwide. to better the future and generations to come seto believes giving children like him and mokuba a chance to reclaim and successfully live their lives will make the most lasting impact. depending on their schooling success kaiba corporation also offers free admission to the duel academy upon graduating base grade school or fully paid tuition up front for college. as per seto’s endless pursuits in bettering his own technological finesse continue to evolve he is constantly adjusting the prices of all other kaiba related entertainment: kaiba land officially has multiple locations set up worldwide which operate strictly on their own real time via the intricate crystal cloud network. a handful of nature reserves are also in continued production as well as personal cruise lines that offer travel to and from all forms of attraction or personal getaways. all parks and attractions are operated at significantly cut costs to make them more easily accessible and affordable to the people with mandatory pre-release periods, however mainly focal on children in general.

<o5> it is excruciatingly important to note that a bout of sudden ‘kindness’ from seto is hardly true kindness at all up front if at all strictly due to him believing ( and being forcibly taught by ) that kindness is an immediate show of weakness. at many points seto was beaten by gozaboru whenever he cried due to the afflictions gozaboru made on mokuba. as such was just proclaimed another weakness gozaboru refused in a heir, seto grew to resent tears and emotions as a whole, effectively crushing his own as a detrimental drawback. lack of proper upbringing paired with a stunt in social growth since childhood effectively cut him off from normal development one would have according to generation and therefore seto suffers from severe social impairment and is unable to make emotional connections. many defining factors of his tyrannical business front and hellbent on remaining top-of-the-world persona were injected by gozaboru himself and forcibly imprinted ( to the point of both physical and mental ) abuse that carried into and ultimately tarnished his adulthood. seto has been put through more forced consumation attempts than he cares to count in one lifetime, compliments of gozaboru wishing to extend his own corporate clutches and influence via other rich or corporate owned families worldwide. attempts that have scarred seto to such a degree he is wary of women in general and utilizes sex in itself as a power play and tool and inherited gozaboru’s manipulation in the form of trauma ( as if unwanted sexual occurrences and attempted assassination efforts were not enough. ) adding to his already fiercely independent and withdrawn personality, seto firmly believes others will never simply approach him but that they all have an underlying motive and purely intend to use him because of his position, wealth and grand success; a defining paranoia that has sadly been proven time and again throughout the course of his arranged future successes which only further contributed to his inability and overall unwillingness to trust, forging the cold settlement that most if not everyone is out to hurt him so he fully intends to shut them down and hurt them first.  while even but a fraction of his trust is ten times hard earned and rarely given, seto is loyal to a fault and would staunchly go to the very ends of this world and the next if it means protecting anything ( or anyone ) he cares about.

<o6> although official records state seto dropped out of high school by choice, gozaboru withdrew his son seeing his intellect was years beyond what modern day education was capable of on the falsified notion that seto himself was above normal schooling and destined for much greater. in reality, gozaboru already knew seto surpassed him in every way possible and despite having groomed him as the perfect heir to someday succeed him, implemented a planned attempt to murder his own son in fear of losing his company and having everything taken from him. gozaboru attempted a number of recurring set ups in attempt to separate mokuba from his older brother and kill him off long before deciding seto was a liability, attempts that Seto was not only fully aware of in entirety but also planning a counter measure in turn. while it is known seto effectively manipulated the big five against gozaboru in conjunction with his inhumane treatment towards his own subordinates, official records state gozaboru was driven to suicide and took his own life by jumping out of the window of kaiba corporation’s presidential office on the top floor. the unpublished truth remains undiscovered to this day: seto turned gozaboru’s own murderous machinations against him and killed the man himself solely based on the belief that he was merely giving back everything that bastard ever gave him and his little brother.  thanks for nothing, gozaburo.

<o7> officially unreleased to the public and deemed solely for his own personal use, seto’s next generation of neurons links him to an encrypted network constructed with any and all depictions of ancient egyptian lore he has personally salvaged in effort to hopefully someday fully piece together the ongoing mysteries shrouding his past life and any ongoing connection he clearly has to the departed pharaoh. utilizing the original state of the art bleeding technology seto has successfully constructed a subconscious research vein dubbed the STEM, allowing it not only to connect with and create images solely based on the user’s brainwave activity but fully reconstruct scenarios based on their dreams and fleeting visions. In its final stages the STEM places the user in a catatonic state by integrating itself directly into their central nervous system and works in perfect conjunction with the nervous system to provide real time feedback, lifelike sensations and produce results generated directly from either. by diving his subconscious, seto has been able to place himself at the heart of many scattered memories pertaining to his past, effectively allowing him to ‘re live’ or experience certain occurrences as his past self, courtesy of obtaining DNA sequences in unorthodox means. ground breaking as it is the STEM is it hardly comes without its immediate faults and dangers as it forcibly dives into genetic memory and imprints at an alarming and often much too realistic rate. as the centered drawback of reproducing a near immaculate 3D world and structure at will, due to the overall strain placed on the user’s body their vitals are continually monitored and the system is set to cease immediate operations should they fall beneath the natural threshold of safety. 

<o8> prolonged use of the STEM has adverse and potentially life threatening side effects, one such that seto has deemed the ‘bleeding edge effect’ where the user will experience severe bouts of hallucinations caused by the user’s past life memories ‘bleeding’ into the present and can cause permanent mental disorientation or push the user to insanity if proper rest between sequences and extended safety protocol is not met during use and after. unbeknownst to seto himself by linking to his ancestor and diving his subconscious to the egyptian afterlife he has unwillingly attached the soul of his past incarnation to himself, effectively transcending the plane of digital space and dimensions alike. by utilizing this alongside his breakthrough with the quantum cube, seto has ultimately forced his own soul and that of his priest side to exist as one in present day.

[zigzagzipwriting]

WMaCC? Relationship Between Your Characters

The way your character interact/act around others, how they think about other characters, how their love life affects them and their journey, and a character’s opinions and grudges show your readers a lot about your character without directly telling them. For example, it showcases your character’s thoughts and views, their flaws and strengths, and establishes other characters in your story. Relationships don’t always have to be cliqued romance. While those are perfectly fine, try adding some diversity to your story to make it stand out in your reader's mind. Some examples of relationship types are:

Aromantic or Asexual relationships

Parent/Child

Siblings

Aggressor/Victim

Rivals/Adversaries

Best Friends

Boss/Employee

Caregiver/Receiver

Cop/Criminal

Partners (in business, crime, etc.)

Slave/Master

Human/Environment

Human/God

Human/Pet

Casual Acquaintances

Unrequited/one-sided love

And of course, romance

So, what can you do to utilize these relationships in perspective of showcasing your character and making your story unique/leave an impact on your reader?

Make your character stop and think about others

Give an introspect/insight to your character’s inner thoughts

Uses pros and cons, love and hate, doubts, opinions, likes, and insecurities in   inner dialogue add more building and relatability to your character

Use a soliloquy

Challenge your character's thoughts and feelings, especially of others (specifically people they know personally)

“I love him, but why?”

“What’s the real reason I hate her?”

“What needs to happen so I can get over this?”

“Will they like me?”

“Will they understand me?”

“Who am I against?”

“Who am I for?”

Give your character strong opinions

Opinions and personal values make your character unique and let them stand out in a crowd. Opinions are your character’s voice; every character has different opinions and expresses them differently, even if they might seem similar, and they can change over time due to experiences, growth, and conflict

Even if your character is shy or introverted, let them showcase their opinions in their inner dialogue and thoughts. While it should match your character’s overall personality (unless they are being suppressed in some way on the outside or suppressing inner thoughts), allow your character to show how they feel about a certain person or event. Remember, no one (except the reader, who does not exist in your story) can hear your character's thoughts, so they don’t have to worry what others think of their inner opinions

Not every character needs to be good at expressing their opinions. Some might stutter, or not know the right words to use, or become frustrated. The big ‘rallying speech’ might come naturally to some characters, and some might mess up. It all adds to the differences between characters

What are your character’s opinions of others? What are their thoughts? Their feelings for/against certain people, events, actions, places, etc.? How do they react to the conflict?

Remember, if a character has personality traits or feelings of anger/fury, they are more likely to show their strong opinions either as thoughts or to other characters. The same can be done using ‘extreme’ emotions or situations with high pressure or atmosphere, like love, stress, or when a character simply has enough

Use gossip, love, callousness/hate, and shallow or deep thinking for a wide variety of opinions. Some characters have simpler thought patterns, while others have deep logic based. Some are driven by emotion or creativity, and those thoughts might be a little messier

Play a game of risk with your character

Have your character make sacrifices/risk something for another. It can be anything from a friendship, job, personal, or the arguably most impactful, personal safety and risking their life or even dying for someone

Putting everything at stake despite personal interest/safety - raises the stakes of the conflict and adds high tension to the scene. Show that you’re not afraid to let a character be injured or even die to add realism to the scene (you do not have to kill the character, but if the threat is real enough, your reader will take the story more seriously and worry for your character). Essentially, make one of your characters willing to die for another, and put them in the position where that could happen

Risks are a test of character - what are they willing to do, and what is their limit

Risks and the threat of loss in any way make your reader root for the character

Add a hypotenuse/triangle

I know, it’s been done to death already. But there is power in a love triangle, square, or a change in the rules for something unique. It’s a huge test of each character, and reveals traits, both positive and negative, in the ‘competition’, and causes tension between all characters involved. It also leaves an emotional impact on the reader, especially when one character ‘loses’ or intentionally gives up for another character’s sake.

Complications in love, especially across multiple people, can lead to complex relationships

Make all characters flushed out and 3D for full impact - Don’t show immediately which two characters are going to ‘hook up’ in the end (if any pairings do) by having one character have no impact or form. It’s boring, cliqued, and drops

Make a reason why a pair can’t be together

Human, animal, career, addiction, a call to adventure, obligation, etc.

Emotions & relationships aren’t rational - motivations that can lead to quick, bad decisions

Some examples of unique and impactful love triangles are ‘Angelica, Eliza, and Hamilton’ from the musical “Hamilton”, the complex love square between two characters with secret identities such as ‘Marinette/Ladybug and Adrien/Cat Noir’ from “The Miraculous Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir”, or complications between the ‘villain’/antagonist and the ‘hero’/protagonist (especially with hidden identities), which often leads to hurt from either end and emotional sympathy from the reader

Leverage the group

People act differently depending on the situation and who they are with. For example, a normally cheerful person might turn cold around someone they dislike, or a social person in a group might get awkward in a one-on-one. In a group, relationships and alliances are ever-changing, depending on circumstances

Some places where leveraging the group takes place are a mob, gang, organization, work, school, or large event

A character might put on a ‘social/public mask’, especially if they are a victim of abuse or other forms of suppressant (be it personal or outward)

Befriend ambiguity

Don’t over explain relationships; let the reader make inferences. Not everything needs a full detail story on all the ‘wrongs’  a character has done, or every interaction. You don’t have to say this person is a lover, or that this parent is an alcoholic. Instead, use body language, descriptions, and how that character interacts with the main character to show who they are

Show, not tell

A reader’s instinct is to assume that there is more than meets the eye; they recognize a person has many layers, and that some layers are more hidden than others. For example, use contradictions to show diversity, like how in every adult, there’s a bit of a child, or in every cop, there’s a bit of a criminal. There’s a little ‘good’  in your antagonist/villain, and a little ‘bad/evil’ in your protagonist/hero

Tap into the power of a grudge

Show your reader if your character is the kind who holds grudges, forgives, or acts on revenge. It adds to your relationships, especially when a character has been ‘wronged’, even accidentally, and can be impactful in the relationship between the protagonist and antagonist. Does one character forgive the other? Do they take action against them out of vengeance? Grudges can be from either side, and they can be both ways. In addition, a grudge doesn’t have to be suited on facts. There should be a reason, not just instant ‘hate’, but it can be accidental or a misunderstanding

Characters with a certain type of personality are more likely to hold and act on impulsive grudges to the point of vengeance & destruction. For example:

Someone with very low self-esteem but a big ego (ie. the stereotypical ‘popular/mean’ kid)

‘Eye for an eye’: those who suffer pay back the world (the more suffering the character has induced, the more grudgeful revenge) ~ this is a common backdrop of victims, and a possible backstory for antagonist/villains

A sensitive character + suffering mass injustices, intolerable shame, stress, and degrading = believable eventual snap/murderous rage ~ it’s possible for a sweet character to have a realistic snap, especially if they hold everything to themselves without an outlet

Make the reader wish for the character to snap back

Don’t overlook everyday interactions

A chance encounter with a stranger can be powerful enough to transform a moment, or a day, even to change your life

Acquaintanceships and how your character interacts with close strangers shows the reader your character’s social views/standings

No relationship is clear-cut/black and white;  little details scatter off to form webs of interconnecting stories

Let your characters approach others, glance off them, then continue on different trajectories - everyone has their own story in life, and sometimes stories interconnect through a shared space, goal, or person

If you have multiple stories that take place in the same universe, it can be a fun nod to subtly include references or characters from other series for readers

[polga]

Get Fit and Flexible with Advanced Pole Yoga: Polga

Introduction to Advanced Pole Yoga (Polga) 

Advanced Pole Yoga, also known as Polga, combines Pole Yoga Poses and pole dancing that combines the two disciplines to create an intense workout. With Polga, practitioners can improve their strength, flexibility, and coordination while developing an impressive routine that shows off their skills. 

The practice focuses on proper body alignment and movement sequences tailored to each individual's needs. Through this combination of yoga poses, dancers can use the pole for balance, stability, and extra support. 

In addition to building strength and flexibility in practitioners, Polga also helps build confidence through creative expression. It is both a physical challenge and an artistic endeavor that helps build self-esteem in students who may have never tried pole dancing. 

As participants progress with their practice, they learn how to add more complex tricks into their routines while still maintaining proper form, which further adds to the unique artistry of each individual's performance. 

Types of Polga Classes 

Polga is an advanced, low-impact form of  Pole Yoga Poses . It combines elements of modern yoga asanas and aerial acrobatics to provide a complete body workout. Several types of Polga classes cater to different fitness levels. 

For those new to Polga, the Beginner Level class focuses on building strength and flexibility through basic poses, breath work, and conditioning exercises. These classes also introduce basic concepts like inversions and spinning poses at more advanced levels. 

The Intermediate Level class builds upon the movements taught at the Beginner Level by increasing intensity with dynamic transitions between poses and adding various tricks such as climbs, swings, hangs, spins, and drops for a more intense workout. Experienced practitioners can participate in Advanced Level classes requiring more strength, control, balance, and agility while performing difficult transitions between poses at speed with precision landings. 

Basic Positions and Techniques for Advanced Pole Yoga 

The Plank is one of the most basic and vital positions in pole yoga. It involves placing your hands on the pole and pushing away from it while keeping your body straight, like a plank. You can use this position to help you transition into more advanced poses, as well as for strength-building exercises.

Leverage Poses: Leverage poses are when you use different body parts to support yourself on the pole. These can include extending one leg or arm out from the pole, locking elbows or knees around it, and using different handholds such as diamonds or flags. These poses are often combined with other moves for added difficulty and challenge. 

Inversion Poses: Inversion poses involve hanging upside down from the pole with both feet off the ground. To do these safely, you must have strong abdominal muscles and core strength to keep yourself up without slipping or falling off the pole. Inversion poses require good body awareness and control so you move fluidly between poses without injuring yourself or losing balance during transitions. 

Conclusion 

In conclusion,  Pole Yoga Poses  is a great way to achieve full-body fitness and flexibility. Its combination of traditional yoga poses and pole dancing techniques is designed to challenge the body in new ways. It also helps to build core strength, balance, and coordination while improving cardiovascular endurance.

Its low-impact nature makes it ideal for those who may not be able to exercise more vigorously due to physical limitations or age. Additionally, its social aspect can help keep participants motivated and make exercising enjoyable. All these aspects combine to make Polga an excellent exercise for anyone looking to get fit and flexible while having fun. 

[ddhospitalahm]

Notice the Difference Between Cosmetic Dentistry and Aesthetic Dentistry

Are you feeling low confident while smiling freely due to yellow or improper teeth? This is what makes you look dumb even if you are smarter in the crowd. Don’t let your improper smile make a reason to low self-esteem. Leverage proper Cosmetic Aesthetic dentistry services and get back the charm.

Well, both the terms, cosmetic dentistry and aesthetic dentistry are interchangeably used. No sources put forth the exact difference between this two. But, we come up with a straight difference between them.

Aesthetic and cosmetic both are the terms that are used to describe dental practices that help your teeth to look better. This is somehow different than general dentistry which is highly focused on the health of your teeth. There are some of the major differences between these two terms that we are going to share in the next paragraph, read it wisely.

Cosmetic vs. aesthetic dentistry

The main difference between the two of these forms of dentistry is that cosmetic dentistry focuses on the things that will make your oral health better. This will include things like veneers and teeth whitening. On the other end, aesthetic dentistry makes use of an approach that helps in fixing the problems like missing teeth that can fix both of these problems from a functional but it also keeps you look and feel your best. In another word, aesthetic dentistry is a more complete approach than cosmetic dentistry.

One major difference between these two is the end goal. Aesthetic dentistry makes use of techniques that are available to modern medicine and give a natural and healthy look. However, aesthetic dentists use techniques like root canal removal, regular cleaning, and teeth restoration with bridge and fillings to make the teeth look healthy.

However, the goal is simple that function properly so that you look at the best and eat things normally. Cosmetic dentistry is a bit different than aesthetic dentistry. It uses invasive methods to make the teeth look a bit better than what is considered as perfect teeth. The goal behind it is to give you healthy teeth and you could have a better smile once you leverage the services.

Cosmetic dentistry is a beauty trend that may improve your entire look with veneers, implants, crowns, and whitening services. Since last few years, cosmetic dentistry gets popular because of the advanced technology and accessibility which was costly before a few years. These days, there are endless dental surgeries that you can practice for cosmetic dentistry.

On a simple note,

There is a simple difference between cosmetic dentistry and aesthetic dentistry. The leaders in the field like dental implants that have moved beyond cosmetic dentistry in the aesthetic changes that are not cosmetic. They practice aesthetic dentistry. This simply means that aesthetic dentistry aims to give the best result that creates an improved way.

Bottom line,

Approach the right dental clinic and leverage the Cosmetic Aesthetic dentistry that gives your appearance a better smile. Thanks!

[techcrunchappcom]

New Post has been published on https://techcrunchapp.com/are-you-in-control-of-your-digital-footprint-tech-news-top-stories/

Are you in control of your digital footprint?, Tech News & Top Stories

It is easy to think that e-commerce scams and hacking attempts are less of a concern today among digital natives who have grown up with digital technologies.

One such digital native, 27-year-old Hariz Taufik, believes that tech-savvy young adults are generally more aware about safeguarding their data online by making their social media accounts private and refraining from sharing personal information such as addresses or mobile numbers.

This is in part due to how schools are educating students about the importance of online safety, especially in an era marked by a growing number of media platforms, says Mr Hariz.

Living in the digital age also means it’s just as important to be aware of our digital footprint as much as our carbon footprint. Yet, despite a greater understanding of technology and its influence, are we as safe and cautious as we can be?

“Even when we carefully share personal information or upload pictures behind a private social media account, we still lose some degree of privacy,” says Mr Hariz. “Shopping online or enabling the location services on our phone’s apps are some of the ways we unknowingly create digital footprints.”

This phenomenon highlights the importance of considering the various ways our online activity can be used by others, and taking necessary steps to mitigate such risks.

Risk of scams and identity theft

Anyone can gather all the information about a person online and use them with malicious intent. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

Online spaces offer many opportunities for individuals to reach out easily to global audiences. However, it is this same advantage that gives criminals and scammers the ability to prey on unsuspecting victims, according to Dr Jiow Hee Jhee, a Media Literacy Council member and Digital Communications and Integrated Media programme director at the Singapore Institute of Technology.

Anyone can gather all the information available about a person online without his or her knowledge — from interests and hobbies, social groups, or even favourite places to hang out based on one’s posts and geo-tagging — and use them with malicious intent.

This hits close to home for Mr Hariz, whose friends have been victims of such attempts.

He says: “People can easily obtain various information about someone online and facilitate identity-related crimes. Someone once impersonated my friend on Instagram and sent me a direct message asking for my personal information.”

Thankfully, the attempt was unsuccessful as Mr Hariz was careful and had texted his friend via WhatsApp to check if she had indeed sent the message.

While the digitally literate may be less likely to fall prey to scams, they should still be wary about the information they share online.

Warns Dr Jiow: “Your credibility and reputation can be affected regardless of whether a scam is successful or not. By oversharing information online, your friends and family may be more wary of trusting the messages they receive from you, and potential employers could have concerns that you could put their data at risk too.”

Affect employment and further education opportunities

Employers can review an applicant’s digital footprint as part of the hiring process. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

Along with Internet users, employers have become increasingly digitally savvy over the years. According to a Financial Times article in 2018, social media has transformed the job market, with employers taking increasing interest in the online presence and activities of applicants. The article also cited a 2017 survey by US recruitment company CareerBuilder that revealed 70 per cent of companies used social media to screen candidates as part of the hiring process. This increased from 11 per cent in 2006 to 60 per cent in 2016.

Mr Hariz is unsurprised about the practice of reviewing an applicant’s digital footprint.

“I can see why companies analyse online data prior to hiring an individual,” he says, when presented with the statistics. “Hiring the right person is essential for business growth and analysing the data online could be a quick and cost-effective way to get to know the candidate better even prior to the interview.”

It’s thus important to always consider potential repercussions before posting anything online. Adds Dr Jiow: “What you post today or even ten years ago can be saved and used to your disadvantage when you least expect it.”

Cause damage to one’s reputation

Private conversations online can be leaked and used against a person. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

It’s no secret that millennials are online for a large part of their day. Founder of EmpathyWorks Psychological Wellness and registered psychologist Joy Hou explains that it’s also not uncommon for millennials to prefer to update their friends and loved ones about their lives via social media posts. They would also invite friends, loved ones and followers to leave comments or click ‘like’ to show their affection or support.

Such interactions online can occur behind a private social media page and considered personal conversations, but there could be instances where information is leaked and used against a person.

While it’s easy to think that friends or loved ones would never do that to you, Ms Hou says it’s still important to consider the possibility and suggests some reasons why individuals could engage in such behaviours:

To gain attention: They get to be the centre of attention temporarily while the piece of private information goes viral, and they receive numerous likes or shares on social media.

To express anger, unhappiness or envy: Some may engage in such behaviours to hurt those whose popularity, talents, or lifestyles they envy. They may derive a warped sense of fulfilment when the affected party’s reputation is tarnished.

To quell low self-esteem: To temporarily feel secure or superior, some may share information about or judge others.

To feel empowered: Bullied or victimised individuals may exert the same behaviours online for a taste of the power they do not have in the real world.

Ms Hou says: “In cyberspace where millions of people can access information with only one click, fake stories or ugliness about a person can go viral in seconds.”

The ripple effects could grow and include a wider audience, and be permanent.

However, in the digital age where the Internet can be a critical means of communication to bridge and build personal relationships across physical distances, it’s also unrealistic to cut yourself off from everyone else by not sharing any information online at all.

Thus, it’s perhaps more important to simply exercise caution by thinking twice about the personal and private information you post, and being aware of who you’re sharing the information with.

Making better choices online

With the Internet and social media being such an integral part of our personal and professional lives, it’s increasingly important to learn and apply best safety practices.

“It’s always good to err on the side of caution and take preventive steps so that you do not end up becoming a victim,” says Dr Jiow.

Consider applying the tips below to secure your digital footprint:

GRAPHIC: MEDIA LITERACY COUNCIL

GRAPHIC: MEDIA LITERACY COUNCIL

Don different hats to see if what you post could affect present and future personal or professional relationships, and be mindful that the Internet is both a positive and negative tool.

While leveraging the endless possibilities for connection and innovation the Internet brings, being aware of what we share and the lasting consequences of our choices online can empower us to better use it positively.

For more information and tips to Be Smart online, download the tip sheet on digital footprint here.

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[onlinemarketingcourses]

How To Start A Business Selling Services Other People Deliver

For seven years, from 2001 to 2007, BetterEdit.com was my main online business (I later sold it for $100,000 USD and eventually it was merged with some other companies by new owners).

You can hear a short background story of how I started BetterEdit.com by pressing play on the video above.

This was the first true Laptop Lifestyle online business I created, providing a full-time income stream I could take with me as I traveled the world.

When I sold BetterEdit.com in 2007 the contract I signed with the buyer included a ‘non-compete’ clause with a 24-month expiry. This meant I could not start up another online editing business for two years, which was fine by me.

However, the non-compete clause also meant I could not teach a course about how I built the business, revealing how others could leverage what I call the ‘Services Arbitrage’ business model. This was something I had wanted to do for many years, but yet again it would have to wait for at least two more years.

By the time 2009 rolled around after the non-compete period ended, I was knee deep teaching three other programs on blogging and membership sites, so I was not in a position to create another new course.

To cut a long story short, for the next few years I focused most of my time on teaching and coaching people on the topics of blogging, email marketing and selling information products, so I never delivered my course on selling services… that is until recently.

Due to the success of my Laptop Lifestyle Academy, I decided to deliver a Services Arbitrage course for my members. The full program is currently available, but only to Academy subscribers.

In a case of wonderful timing, I also recently started a brand new company you may have heard me talk about, InboxDone.com, which is growing incredibly well. What you might not know is this company is entirely built on the Services Arbitrage model too.

Within our first year InboxDone.com grew to over six-figures in annual revenue. I had no idea that more than ten years after selling BetterEdit.com I would once again be in charge of a business selling services.

It’s exciting for me to say this because it proves that the Services Arbitrage model still works. In fact, I believe it’s an even better time to start this kind of business for many reasons, which I will explain to you in this upcoming free training series.

But first we better start with the basics…

What Exactly Is Services Arbitrage?

To put it simply, to arbitrage in the context of this business model means to make money as a middle-person in a transaction delivering a service.

BetterEdit.com was a business I started to connect students with editors, who edited thesis and essay papers. I owned the business, hired contractor editors to deliver the services, and marketed the website to attract clients. I made a profit by charging the students more money for editing than the contractors charged me for the work.

InboxDone.com uses the same principles, in this case offering email management services.

There are countless other examples today of Service Arbitrage businesses, offering services like transcriptions, podcast editing, video creation, content writing, copywriting, legal services, graphic design, audio production and many others.

There are also some very big companies that use the Services Arbitrage model, for example, Uber, which is a multi-billion dollar company. Uber offers transportation services and hires contract drivers to deliver the service. They charge the client a fee, take a percentage as their revenue and then pay the driver the remaining money.

A Business That Grows Without Your Work Load Growing With It

I came up with the idea for an editing ‘arbitrage’ business after researching business models.

Prior to my editing business, I had experience running an online store selling Magic: The Gathering cards, making money from advertising on websites and selling my own web design and hosting services as a freelancer.

I also paid close attention to the few people I knew who owned their own business. I knew people who were freelance web designers, Google AdWords agents, and a few people with real-world businesses like restaurants and an internet cafe.

My own experience as an entrepreneur to that point, and most of the examples I was exposed to, were of people working very hard.

I didn’t mind hard work, but there was something wrong with what we were all doing…

The more money we made, the harder we worked.

Business growth correlated with an increase in the amount of work the owner has to do. Yes, it’s great to get a new client adding more revenue, but that also means more labor to meet the needs of that client. Eventually you reach a ceiling of how much money you make simply because you lack capacity, although you are exhausted long before you reach that point.

After reading the story behind the creation of eBay, I decided I wanted to build a business around a better business model.

The model I wanted to follow, the same used by eBay and many other companies, including Google and Facebook, is called a many-to-many business (M2M).

I wrote a comprehensive article on M2M, which you can read here –

Here’s an excerpt from that piece that explains exactly what M2M is –

What Is The Many-To-Many Business Model?

The Many-To-Many model is very simple. You have many customers and many suppliers and link them together as a middle platform.

For example –

EBay’s auction technology is the platform that allows many people with products to sell to reach many people who want to buy those products.

AirBNB’s reservation technology is the platform where many people who want to rent out their property can connect with many people who want to rent places all over the world.

Kickstarter’s crowdfunding technology is the platform where many people who want to raise funds for their projects, connect with people who want to back and buy interesting ideas.

And perhaps the best many-to-many idea ever built, Google’s search engine technology is the platform where many people who are searching for information can reach many people who publish this information.

In most of these models, the platform provider takes a fee from the transaction they help facilitate. Ebay, AirBNB and Kickstarter all do this and make billions from it.

Google’s search engine does it too, but in a slightly disconnected way. They offer an advertising service (Google AdWords) and charge a fee to the many advertisers who want to pay to reach the many people searching.

Google’s AdSense for publishers system is another good example. Google takes their network of ad buyers and connects them with web publishers who want to make money by placing ads on their website. Both parties (advertisers and website owners) use Google’s ad delivery platform, and Google takes a cut from every click on an ad by a website visitor.

M2M a simple concept, but incredibly lucrative when you tap into large markets online, especially when you are the market leader.

This idea of connecting two groups together and taking a slice of a transaction, was at the heart of my original Services Arbitrage idea.

In my case, I wasn’t looking to create a software platform. I knew I could build a website and offer a simple service like editing or language translation. It was a very easy way to get started with an online business.

How To Profit From Day One

Most of the huge start-up companies that tap into a Many-To-Many structure did not make money for years while they built up enough critical mass (audience size/userbase).

For me personally at the time, I was looking for immediate money. I wanted to create as close to a passive income stream as I could, as quickly as I could.

This is why I decided to sell services. There is no technology required and I could make money from the point I got my first customer.

It was the best of both worlds –

The potential to scale the business without my labor increasing with each new client (because I had contractors deliver the service, I did not do so myself)

Profit made from the first sale onwards (I only had to pay contractors for work delivered, so every job that came put money in my bank)

Because of the simple and purely online structure, overheads were extremely low. The only initial costs were a domain name and hosting. The rest was up to me to find customers.

True to design, the day I got my first customer and then completed their first job, was the day I made profit. In this case it was actually a language translation job — I share the full story later in this training series, so stay tuned for that.

You Don’t Have To Be An Expert

Although you might look to me as an online business expert today, before I started my editing company I was far from experienced.

To be brutally honest, my confidence was very low at the time. I was all over the place as an entrepreneur, I had yet to make even close to a full-time income from my own business, and my self-esteem was not good.

I was certainly NOT in a position to offer coaching, or sell books or a course or any kind of teaching product. I would have felt like a fraud if I even tried.

On top of this, I was a shy introvert. I wasn’t exactly out there doing deals, networking, nor did I have any confidence in my face-to-face sales ability.

This is another reason why a Services Arbitrage business appealed to me.

I didn’t need to worry about creating some kind of software or technology platform and I didn’t need to meet people in person. I could use one thing – words I type from the safety of my computer – to create a business.

I was still able to sell expertise — just not my own.

I hired contractors who delivered expert-level services and leveraged their expertise in my online marketing materials. I was not an editor, I was just a kid who knew how to get a website online and who was willing to use the internet to find customers. I promoted my editors as the experts at what they did.

Does This Business Model Appeal To You?

If what I have written here resonates with you on any level, and you’re still hunting for your first full-time online income stream, then Services Arbitrage may be perfect for you.

You don’t have to be an expert, nor do you need tech skills. Provided you can communicate through typing and build a basic website, and you’re willing to spend time locating good contractors and marketing your services, this is an incredible opportunity for you create a Laptop Lifestyle income stream.

The opportunity right now is huge. There are so many different types of services you can offer online, for example:

Copywriting

Video Editing

Podcast Setup

Graphic Design

Transcription

Programming

Personal Assistants

Research

Blog Content Writing

Editing & Proofreading

Social Media Marketing

Advertising Management

Split Testing

Analytics Tracking

Desktop Publishing

Recruitment

Bookkeeping

Legal Services

Customer Service

App Development

and so on and on.

Any service other people or companies need could become what you build a business around.

Coming Up Next: How I Built My Services Arbitrage Business

Next I’m going to share more stories from my own experiences growing a Services Arbitrage business, including how I found good contractors, why I could charge premium prices, how I automated the business so it ran completely without me, and more.

This introductory article series is a lead-up to the release of a new short course, which strangely enough I call – Services Arbitrage.

This new course is available to all members of my Laptop Lifestyle Academy.

If you’re ready to start your own business selling services online, my new course is what you need.

If you’re not sure yet, and want to learn more about the business, continue on to part two of this free introductory training series here:

I’ll speak to you soon,

Yaro LaptopLifestyleAcademy.com

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[gabriellakirtonblog]

Personal Training as a Second Career

Seven years ago, I was a million miles away from the fitness industry.

Although I was an athlete (albeit a very mediocre one) for most of my childhood, I always struggled with food and was teased for being chubby. Sports helped keep me in check, but when I quit athletics halfway through high school, my uncontrollable eating habits and lack of activity led to rapid weight gain. By August of 2011, I was more than 60 pounds overweight and struggling with that reality: Severe body image issues, crippling lack of self confidence, and emerging health problems all came home to roost for me. Everything I heard about being overweight was horribly, seriously true.

My professional trajectory was also headed in a very different direction. At age five, I started taking piano lessons at a local music store. By 13, I decided I wanted to pursue a career as a professional trombone player (I doubt this is a common thought in the head of many teenagers, but there you go). But I was good enough to hit the road.

This path took me around the country for music festivals and competitions, and ultimately led me to Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. I worked as a private instructor and played numerous professional gigs around Omaha, Chicago, and San Francisco. My last full-time job before leaving the music world was performing educational concerts as a contractor for the San Francisco Symphony.

Big Jump, No Parachute

Just before my sophomore year of college, my doctor gave me some horrifying news during a routine well visit: I was prediabetic. Wait, what? I was waaay too young to be sick. This was a huge wake-up call and marked the beginning of a six-month-long journey to lose 70 pounds and change everything about my life. The funny thing? I ended up changing a lot more than I’d planned.

As I lost weight, I began to voraciously consume books, articles, and videos about exercise and nutrition. Just as I became incredibly passionate about music years ago, I developed an unquenchable curiosity for all things health and fitness.

My mom suggested — since I was studying so much anyway — that I get a personal training certification. At least then I could have a part-time job to support me when music gigs were scarce. After I became a certified trainer, I started working part-time with clients on my own and eventually in a commercial gym. Although I was still pursuing music, I was spending more and more of my time in the gym.

READ ALSO: “What Opera Singing Taught Me About Personal Training”

It was a scary decision to finally pull the plug on my music career and jump into full-time training. In a word, I was terrified. I knew I didn’t want to be a musician anymore, and I knew I loved working in the gym. But that was as far as I could get. I struggled to build my business and all I could ask myself was, “How am I going to make a living doing this full-time?”

Well, at first, I couldn’t. The first year of full-time training was brutal, and I considered throwing in the towel numerous times due to the steep learning curve. My savings dwindled. I felt like I was so far behind coworkers who had been pursuing careers in fitness since their college days.

One day, I’d had enough of the frustration and fear and anger. I sat down and thought long and hard about whether I was going to stick with training. Could I do it? Did I have the guts? Did I have the passion? I thought about what I saw when I watched my coworkers in the game. I decided, yes, I could do this. I followed my passion and trusted I would be able to learn the skills I needed to build a legit career. But I had work to do and that was up to me.

This simple mindset shift was a game-changer. It motivated me to develop my training skills on a deeper level. Slowly but surely, my business grew. My clients were getting better results, sticking around longer, and referring their friends. Finally, things were good.

How did I make it all go? It boiled down to doing three things with consistency and patience:

1. I Prioritized Learning

Unlike many of my fitness industry peers, I had no formal training in exercise science before I got my initial personal training certification. I didn’t take any science classes in college. I also had zero business, sales, or marketing skills.

My initial education came from reading articles by people like Nia Shanks, Mike Robertson, Dave Tate, Jim Wendler, Eric Cressey, and Dan John. This information, combined with my personal training certification, helped me train myself and others at a basic level. But it was hardly a comprehensive education. The more I learned, the more I became self-conscious about all the things I didn’t know or understand. I knew I had a lot of ground to make up compared to others who studied exercise-related topics in school.

The solution was to expand my studies:

* I picked up additional certifications in areas that interested me and were relevant for my clientele (such as Precision Nutrition and the Online Trainer Academy).

* I studied biomechanics, programming, coaching/communicating, and more.

(READ ALSO: “Three Ways to Write Better Training Programs”)

* I purchased courses, products, and services from fitness industry leaders.

* I invested in my own online coach.

* I expanded my network by attending live events and joining Strength Faction.

* Whenever possible, I asked questions of the more experienced trainers at my gym. This was especially important during my first year of full-time training when I was struggling to figure out how to sell my services.

* Finally, I sought information from leaders in other related fields like sales and marketing, psychology, and personal development.

Although I’ve only been doing this for five years and still have lots to learn, I now feel much more confident about safely and effectively helping my clients.

2. I Put Myself in Front of People Every Day

For me, the scariest part of becoming a trainer was figuring out how to work with people. I’d never been good at putting myself out there and dealing with rejection when I was a musician. Now I had to do both regularly to experience success. I was also nervous about working with clients because I felt unqualified. Well, I did it anyway. Forcing myself to do this was one of my best decisions early on.

My first “real” job was training my Northwestern classmates in a campus gym. This was low-risk for all involved; I charged very little and worked with my friends. This invaluable real-life training experience gave me the confidence to override my imposter syndrome. Being able to say I had experience selling my services and working with clients also made me more hirable when applying for jobs.

After six months of working independently, I moved to California and got my first gig at a commercial gym. I’ve been working at commercial gyms ever since.

Some in the fitness industry look down on these types of jobs, but they can be incredibly valuable for younger trainers or anyone new to the industry. I worked with a wide range of clients with different needs and goals. This helped me hone my programming and communication skills and taught me something huge: which kinds of clients I loved working with, and which I could do without.

READ ALSO: “What I Learned from 15,000 Training Sessions in a Commercial Gym”

I also had several mentors on the training staff who taught me the ins and outs of sales and marketing. Without their help and my willingness to get better at dealing with rejection, I never would have been able to build a profitable business.

Three years in, I launched my online training business. Online training carries a host of new challenges. You need to have a solid grasp of programming and be a great communicator, and I don’t think I would have been an effective online coach if I had started right away. I needed time working with many different types of people face-to-face to learn what works.

3. I Leveraged my Past Experiences

Entering the fitness industry from an unrelated career can make you feel like you’re at a huge disadvantage. But what have you experienced outside of the fitness industry that can make you a better trainer? It turns out I had two big ones:

I had issues with overeating and self-esteem.

I lost 70 pounds, remaking myself in the process.

That experience helped me understand my clients. But more important, it helped them relate to me.

Many trainers are athletes their whole lives and have always been in great shape. Some clients find this intimidating and struggle to relate: How can this person understand how I feel about my weight and how I look and feel? My own weight loss story became an instant point of connection for my clients who see themselves in my struggles. I can also better understand where my clients are coming from and coach them effectively.

Now, this isn’t to say people who have always been in great shape aren’t good coaches. It just means that your personal struggles should not be viewed as a weakness. Anything that helps you relate to your clients on a true, human level will only make you a better trainer.

READ ALSO: “Stop Training Your Clients Like CrossFitters, Bodybuilders, or Powerlifters”

Transformation Is the Best of Us

Looking back, it’s funny how my journey from overweight musician to personal trainer mirrors so many aspects of the fitness journey our clients are after. The goal is to become something very different than what we were on day one. On one side of the transformation, it’s all about doubt, and fear, and self-reflection. On the other, it’s about desire, and persistence, and a willingness to reveal and attack your shortcomings.

Choosing a side was simple, but not easy. And to this day, very much worth it.

    The post Personal Training as a Second Career appeared first on The PTDC.

Personal Training as a Second Career published first on https://onezeroonesarms.tumblr.com/

[samuelfields]

Be Rich, Not Famous: The Joy Of Being A Nobody

When I first started Financial Samurai, I was proud of finally creating something. For too long, I had just followed orders. Yet, I couldn’t tell anybody about my hobby because I was still employed. I was afraid if my employer found out, they’d tell me to shut it down or at the very least, dock my bonus for being unfocused. After all, the site was started in the middle of the financial crisis and they were always looking for reasons to cut costs.

When I finally engineered my layoff three years later in 2012, I still felt it was unwise to tell anybody about my site even though I was internally beaming with pride about the site’s growth. I felt like a new parent who wanted to annoy the crap out of all his friends by cooing about every milestone their child hit.

But because I had five years of deferred compensation on the line, even if there was just a 1% chance my old employer would withhold payment, I didn’t want to risk losing six years of living expenses. And so, I kept my mouth largely shut until I had a decision to make on 4/21/2017, when my last severance-related payment hit my bank account.

In a way, the five-year time period when I was collecting my deferred compensation was like a mental jail. Like Andy Dufresne in The Shawshank Redemption reaching for the stars as rain spatters his face, full emancipation only came years after leaving Corporate America.

With nothing holding me back in 2017, it would seem like finally, I could brag to everyone that I had created a website large enough to support a family in San Francisco. With some publicity would come growth. But alas, I felt it was much better to keep a low profile.

For those of you who are thirsty for attention, let me share some thoughts about being a nobody for so long and why it may be in your best interest to do the same. 

The Joy Of Being A Nobody

1) You focus on what truly matters. Whenever you create something you’re proud of, there’s a natural tendency to want to tell everybody about your success. Look at me. I am so great! The more you share, the more addicted you become to the attention and the less you focus on the work that made you proud in the first place.

There are people who are trapped in a cyclone of self-validation, e.g., constantly posting selfies of a new look on Twitter, showing off a new car on Facebook, or writing about yet another fabulous vacation on Instagram. Think about it. If your self-esteem is strong, why do you need to tell anybody about anything you do?

We all need some sort of attention or validation. I get it. But moderation is the word. Don’t let such need to be recognized get out of control.

Not being able to publicly disclose I ran Financial Samurai for eight years made me focus on the only thing that mattered to its growth: writing regular content. I couldn’t leverage my network of entrepreneurs and financially savvy folks. I couldn’t leverage my resume. I couldn’t leverage my Asian heritage. Nor could I leverage my fabulous good looks to get on TV (ok, not really).

The only way I could grow was to compete on quality of content. Could I tell an interesting enough story that kept people engaged? Could I write valuable enough content where people could learn and grow their wealth and happiness? Could I write a post so polarizing that it would turn off a bunch of readers, but attract a bunch more because they saw the reality in what I was saying?

These were the challenges that I focused on every single week for years. And due to the focus, this site grew.

2) You become impervious to insults. After you’ve been called a loser, an idiot, a dumb ass, arrogant, out of touch, shameful, a dickhead, a chink, and the many other epithets, your mind turns bulletproof. After all, when you’re already a nobody, nothing can be any lower.

And because I’m a nobody, even the smallest words of kindness are meaningful. Today, I get more joy from a nice response to my private newsletter than I would if I was a public personality being lauded with praise all the time. I also developed the ability to ignore or instantly forget anybody who shows hate. It’s like having the super power of selective amnesia.

Developing a thick skin can really help the relationships that matter most to you. For example, let’s say your husband or wife comes home from work extremely grumpy one day. If you’ve been able to develop a thick skin, you’ll more easily brush off his or her boorishness as a temporary phase.

What’s also interesting is that while insults no longer hurt as much, they still very much act as motivators to keep on going. I often use negative feedback to create new posts, thereby buttressing the survival of Financial Samurai, which in turn allows my family to continue living free.

3) You can live your life in peace. Being famous is a curse. Yet, for some reason, kids seem to have an insatiable desire for worldwide attention. What the hell happened? Is it due to social media or bad parenting or both?

When you’re famous, many people want something from you, mostly your time. And given time is more valuable than money, being known robs you of your most precious asset. Thank goodness I’m not famous. However, FS has grown large enough to where I get emails every single day asking for help without the person ever attempting to build a relationship first. If this scale of inquiry frequency were to transfer into the real world, I probably wouldn’t be able to step out of the house.

For example, one day my friend blew me up while we were soaking in a hot tub after tennis at a club. He asked me, “How is Financial Samurai doing?” in front of five other fellow soakers, and one of them perked up and began asking me at least 10 questions ranging from whether she should buy property to whether she should go back to grad school. She had been a reader of Financial Samurai for three years.

Of course I had to be nice and answer her questions. I’m always honored to meet a long-time reader. But after 2+ hours of grueling tennis, all I wanted to do was soak in the hot tub, drink a beer, and relax.

Now imagine if you were actually famous, and didn’t just have some small-time website. You would never be able to do anything in public in peace. Every single move you make would be questioned. Your words will be twisted to fit an agenda. You’d never be able to be yourself.

4) There are no expectations of you. When you’re a nobody, nobody expects you to do anything or do anything special. Therefore, you can regularly surpass expectations.

As a 5.0 rated tennis player, I’m supposed to readily beat 4.5 rated tennis players. If I do, nobody cares. But if I lose, as I’ve done before, it’s a disaster. I’d much rather be a 3.5 tennis player and beat up on 4.0s, 4.5s, and 5.0s instead. This is why there are so many sandbaggers in any competitive activity.

Think about all the celebrities out there who are expected to always look good in public. What a drag! Most of the time, normal people just want to put on some comfortable clothes after washing their faces, and go for a leisurely walk without anybody taking their picture.

What about if you are a Harvard alumni? You are expected to do great things because you were so great in high school. But the sad reality is, a significant majority of Harvard alumni end up doing the same thing everybody else does in society. What a let down.

It’s no fun having the weight of the world on your shoulders. Life is so much better when you can surprise on the upside and be judged based on what you do.

5) You allow your children to be their own people. I feel sorry for the children of celebrities who find themselves in the limelight because of parental transgressions. Children shouldn’t have to suffer due to the sins of their parents. Nor should children be forced to feel the pressure of matching their parent’s success.

If you’re always posting pictures of your kids who aren’t old enough to consent to public exposure, consider slowing down. You’re exposing them to public scrutiny which they haven’t asked for. Please don’t exploit your children to further your ego or business interests.

Protect them until they are old enough to make rational decisions for themselves.

Be Rich, Not Famous

All this desire for fame and prestige is truly a waste of time. Get your 15 minutes of fame to satisfy your curiosity. Maybe get 30 minutes just to be sure.

Unless you’re a completely insecure person, you’ll realize the attention you seek is really just a band-aid for some deeper problem that needs fixing.

Work on accumulating enough passive income so you never have to listen to anybody again. Accumulate at least 20X your annual expenses in liquid net worth so you can start feeling the joy of financial freedom. The only things that matter are your friends, your family, and your freedom.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Related:

The Rise Of Stealth Wealth: Ways To Stay Invisible From Society’s Rage

The Stealth Wealth Compendium Of Useful Phrases To Protect Your Freedom

Are You Smart Enough To Act Dumb Enough To Get Ahead

Readers, why do you think people seek so much attention nowadays? Why do people pick fights with others and say stupid things over social media if they still depend on a job to survive? If you want to be famous beyond your circle of people that matter, please explain why. What are some of the positives of being famous over being a nobody?

https://www.financialsamurai.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Be-rich-not-famous.m4a

The post Be Rich, Not Famous: The Joy Of Being A Nobody appeared first on Financial Samurai.

from Finance https://www.financialsamurai.com/be-rich-not-famous/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

[mcjoelcain]

Be Rich, Not Famous: The Joy Of Being A Nobody

When I first started Financial Samurai, I was proud of finally creating something. For too long, I had just followed orders. Yet, I couldn’t tell anybody about my hobby because I was still employed. I was afraid if my employer found out, they’d tell me to shut it down or at the very least, dock my bonus for being unfocused. After all, the site was started in the middle of the financial crisis and they were always looking for reasons to cut costs.

When I finally engineered my layoff three years later in 2012, I still felt it was unwise to tell anybody about my site even though I was internally beaming with pride about the site’s growth. I felt like a new parent who wanted to annoy the crap out of all his friends by cooing about every milestone their child hit.

But because I had five years of deferred compensation on the line, even if there was just a 1% chance my old employer would withhold payment, I didn’t want to risk losing six years of living expenses. And so, I kept my mouth largely shut until I had a decision to make on 4/21/2017, when my last severance-related payment hit my bank account.

In a way, the five-year time period when I was collecting my deferred compensation was like a mental jail. Like Andy Dufresne in The Shawshank Redemption reaching for the stars as rain spatters his face, full emancipation only came years after leaving Corporate America.

With nothing holding me back in 2017, it would seem like finally, I could brag to everyone that I had created a website large enough to support a family in San Francisco. With some publicity would come growth. But alas, I felt it was much better to keep a low profile.

For those of you who are thirsty for attention, let me share some thoughts about being a nobody for so long and why it may be in your best interest to do the same. 

The Joy Of Being A Nobody

1) You focus on what truly matters. Whenever you create something you’re proud of, there’s a natural tendency to want to tell everybody about your success. Look at me. I am so great! The more you share, the more addicted you become to the attention and the less you focus on the work that made you proud in the first place.

There are people who are trapped in a cyclone of self-validation, e.g., constantly posting selfies of a new look on Twitter, showing off a new car on Facebook, or writing about yet another fabulous vacation on Instagram. Think about it. If your self-esteem is strong, why do you need to tell anybody about anything you do?

We all need some sort of attention or validation. I get it. But moderation is the word. Don’t let such need to be recognized get out of control.

Not being able to publicly disclose I ran Financial Samurai for eight years made me focus on the only thing that mattered to its growth: writing regular content. I couldn’t leverage my network of entrepreneurs and financially savvy folks. I couldn’t leverage my resume. I couldn’t leverage my Asian heritage. Nor could I leverage my fabulous good looks to get on TV (ok, not really).

The only way I could grow was to compete on quality of content. Could I tell an interesting enough story that kept people engaged? Could I write valuable enough content where people could learn and grow their wealth and happiness? Could I write a post so polarizing that it would turn off a bunch of readers, but attract a bunch more because they saw the reality in what I was saying?

These were the challenges that I focused on every single week for years. And due to the focus, this site grew.

2) You become impervious to insults. After you’ve been called a loser, an idiot, a dumb ass, arrogant, out of touch, shameful, a dickhead, a chink, and the many other epithets, your mind turns bulletproof. After all, when you’re already a nobody, nothing can be any lower.

And because I’m a nobody, even the smallest words of kindness are meaningful. Today, I get more joy from a nice response to my private newsletter than I would if I was a public personality being lauded with praise all the time. I also developed the ability to ignore or instantly forget anybody who shows hate. It’s like having the super power of selective amnesia.

Developing a thick skin can really help the relationships that matter most to you. For example, let’s say your husband or wife comes home from work extremely grumpy one day. If you’ve been able to develop a thick skin, you’ll more easily brush off his or her boorishness as a temporary phase.

What’s also interesting is that while insults no longer hurt as much, they still very much act as motivators to keep on going. I often use negative feedback to create new posts, thereby buttressing the survival of Financial Samurai, which in turn allows my family to continue living free.

3) You can live your life in peace. Being famous is a curse. Yet, for some reason, kids seem to have an insatiable desire for worldwide attention. What the hell happened? Is it due to social media or bad parenting or both?

When you’re famous, many people want something from you, mostly your time. And given time is more valuable than money, being known robs you of your most precious asset. Thank goodness I’m not famous. However, FS has grown large enough to where I get emails every single day asking for help without the person ever attempting to build a relationship first. If this scale of inquiry frequency were to transfer into the real world, I probably wouldn’t be able to step out of the house.

For example, one day my friend blew me up while we were soaking in a hot tub after tennis at a club. He asked me, “How is Financial Samurai doing?” in front of five other fellow soakers, and one of them perked up and began asking me at least 10 questions ranging from whether she should buy property to whether she should go back to grad school. She had been a reader of Financial Samurai for three years.

Of course I had to be nice and answer her questions. I’m always honored to meet a long-time reader. But after 2+ hours of grueling tennis, all I wanted to do was soak in the hot tub, drink a beer, and relax.

Now imagine if you were actually famous, and didn’t just have some small-time website. You would never be able to do anything in public in peace. Every single move you make would be questioned. Your words will be twisted to fit an agenda. You’d never be able to be yourself.

4) There are no expectations of you. When you’re a nobody, nobody expects you to do anything or do anything special. Therefore, you can regularly surpass expectations.

As a 5.0 rated tennis player, I’m supposed to readily beat 4.5 rated tennis players. If I do, nobody cares. But if I lose, as I’ve done before, it’s a disaster. I’d much rather be a 3.5 tennis player and beat up on 4.0s, 4.5s, and 5.0s instead. This is why there are so many sandbaggers in any competitive activity.

Think about all the celebrities out there who are expected to always look good in public. What a drag! Most of the time, normal people just want to put on some comfortable clothes after washing their faces, and go for a leisurely walk without anybody taking their picture.

What about if you are a Harvard alumni? You are expected to do great things because you were so great in high school. But the sad reality is, a significant majority of Harvard alumni end up doing the same thing everybody else does in society. What a let down.

It’s no fun having the weight of the world on your shoulders. Life is so much better when you can surprise on the upside and be judged based on what you do.

5) You allow your children to be their own people. I feel sorry for the children of celebrities who find themselves in the limelight because of parental transgressions. Children shouldn’t have to suffer due to the sins of their parents. Nor should children be forced to feel the pressure of matching their parent’s success.

If you’re always posting pictures of your kids who aren’t old enough to consent to public exposure, consider slowing down. You’re exposing them to public scrutiny which they haven’t asked for. Please don’t exploit your children to further your ego or business interests.

Protect them until they are old enough to make rational decisions for themselves.

Be Rich, Not Famous

All this desire for fame and prestige is truly a waste of time. Get your 15 minutes of fame to satisfy your curiosity. Maybe get 30 minutes just to be sure.

Unless you’re a completely insecure person, you’ll realize the attention you seek is really just a band-aid for some deeper problem that needs fixing.

Work on accumulating enough passive income so you never have to listen to anybody again. Accumulate at least 20X your annual expenses in liquid net worth so you can start feeling the joy of financial freedom. The only things that matter are your friends, your family, and your freedom.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Related:

The Rise Of Stealth Wealth: Ways To Stay Invisible From Society’s Rage

The Stealth Wealth Compendium Of Useful Phrases To Protect Your Freedom

Are You Smart Enough To Act Dumb Enough To Get Ahead

Readers, why do you think people seek so much attention nowadays? Why do people pick fights with others and say stupid things over social media if they still depend on a job to survive? If you want to be famous beyond your circle of people that matter, please explain why. What are some of the positives of being famous over being a nobody?

https://www.financialsamurai.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Be-rich-not-famous.m4a

The post Be Rich, Not Famous: The Joy Of Being A Nobody appeared first on Financial Samurai.

from Money https://www.financialsamurai.com/be-rich-not-famous/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

[ronaldmrashid]

Be Rich, Not Famous: The Joy Of Being A Nobody

When I first started Financial Samurai, I was proud of finally creating something. For too long, I had just followed orders. Yet, I couldn’t tell anybody about my hobby because I was still employed. I was afraid if my employer found out, they’d tell me to shut it down or at the very least, dock my bonus for being unfocused. After all, the site was started in the middle of the financial crisis and they were always looking for reasons to cut costs.

When I finally engineered my layoff three years later in 2012, I still felt it was unwise to tell anybody about my site even though I was internally beaming with pride about the site’s growth. I felt like a new parent who wanted to annoy the crap out of all his friends by cooing about every milestone their child hit.

But because I had five years of deferred compensation on the line, even if there was just a 1% chance my old employer would withhold payment, I didn’t want to risk losing six years of living expenses. And so, I kept my mouth largely shut until I had a decision to make on 4/21/2017, when my last severance-related payment hit my bank account.

In a way, the five-year time period when I was collecting my deferred compensation was like a mental jail. Like Andy Dufresne in The Shawshank Redemption reaching for the stars as rain spatters his face, full emancipation only came years after leaving Corporate America.

With nothing holding me back in 2017, it would seem like finally, I could brag to everyone that I had created a website large enough to support a family in San Francisco. With some publicity would come growth. But alas, I felt it was much better to keep a low profile.

For those of you who are thirsty for attention, let me share some thoughts about being a nobody for so long and why it may be in your best interest to do the same. 

The Joy Of Being A Nobody

1) You focus on what truly matters. Whenever you create something you’re proud of, there’s a natural tendency to want to tell everybody about your success. Look at me. I am so great! The more you share, the more addicted you become to the attention and the less you focus on the work that made you proud in the first place.

There are people who are trapped in a cyclone of self-validation, e.g., constantly posting selfies of a new look on Twitter, showing off a new car on Facebook, or writing about yet another fabulous vacation on Instagram. Think about it. If your self-esteem is strong, why do you need to tell anybody about anything you do?

We all need some sort of attention or validation. I get it. But moderation is the word. Don’t let such need to be recognized get out of control.

Not being able to publicly disclose I ran Financial Samurai for eight years made me focus on the only thing that mattered to its growth: writing regular content. I couldn’t leverage my network of entrepreneurs and financially savvy folks. I couldn’t leverage my resume. I couldn’t leverage my Asian heritage. Nor could I leverage my fabulous good looks to get on TV (ok, not really).

The only way I could grow was to compete on quality of content. Could I tell an interesting enough story that kept people engaged? Could I write valuable enough content where people could learn and grow their wealth and happiness? Could I write a post so polarizing that it would turn off a bunch of readers, but attract a bunch more because they saw the reality in what I was saying?

These were the challenges that I focused on every single week for years. And due to the focus, this site grew.

2) You become impervious to insults. After you’ve been called a loser, an idiot, a dumb ass, arrogant, out of touch, shameful, a dickhead, a chink, and the many other epithets, your mind turns bulletproof. After all, when you’re already a nobody, nothing can be any lower.

And because I’m a nobody, even the smallest words of kindness are meaningful. Today, I get more joy from a nice response to my private newsletter than I would if I was a public personality being lauded with praise all the time. I also developed the ability to ignore or instantly forget anybody who shows hate. It’s like having the super power of selective amnesia.

Developing a thick skin can really help the relationships that matter most to you. For example, let’s say your husband or wife comes home from work extremely grumpy one day. If you’ve been able to develop a thick skin, you’ll more easily brush off his or her boorishness as a temporary phase.

What’s also interesting is that while insults no longer hurt as much, they still very much act as motivators to keep on going. I often use negative feedback to create new posts, thereby buttressing the survival of Financial Samurai, which in turn allows my family to continue living free.

3) You can live your life in peace. Being famous is a curse. Yet, for some reason, kids seem to have an insatiable desire for worldwide attention. What the hell happened? Is it due to social media or bad parenting or both?

When you’re famous, many people want something from you, mostly your time. And given time is more valuable than money, being known robs you of your most precious asset. Thank goodness I’m not famous. However, FS has grown large enough to where I get emails every single day asking for help without the person ever attempting to build a relationship first. If this scale of inquiry frequency were to transfer into the real world, I probably wouldn’t be able to step out of the house.

For example, one day my friend blew me up while we were soaking in a hot tub after tennis at a club. He asked me, “How is Financial Samurai doing?” in front of five other fellow soakers, and one of them perked up and began asking me at least 10 questions ranging from whether she should buy property to whether she should go back to grad school. She had been a reader of Financial Samurai for three years.

Of course I had to be nice and answer her questions. I’m always honored to meet a long-time reader. But after 2+ hours of grueling tennis, all I wanted to do was soak in the hot tub, drink a beer, and relax.

Now imagine if you were actually famous, and didn’t just have some small-time website. You would never be able to do anything in public in peace. Every single move you make would be questioned. Your words will be twisted to fit an agenda. You’d never be able to be yourself.

4) There are no expectations of you. When you’re a nobody, nobody expects you to do anything or do anything special. Therefore, you can regularly surpass expectations.

As a 5.0 rated tennis player, I’m supposed to readily beat 4.5 rated tennis players. If I do, nobody cares. But if I lose, as I’ve done before, it’s a disaster. I’d much rather be a 3.5 tennis player and beat up on 4.0s, 4.5s, and 5.0s instead. This is why there are so many sandbaggers in any competitive activity.

Think about all the celebrities out there who are expected to always look good in public. What a drag! Most of the time, normal people just want to put on some comfortable clothes after washing their faces, and go for a leisurely walk without anybody taking their picture.

What about if you are a Harvard alumni? You are expected to do great things because you were so great in high school. But the sad reality is, a significant majority of Harvard alumni end up doing the same thing everybody else does in society. What a let down.

It’s no fun having the weight of the world on your shoulders. Life is so much better when you can surprise on the upside and be judged based on what you do.

5) You allow your children to be their own people. I feel sorry for the children of celebrities who find themselves in the limelight because of parental transgressions. Children shouldn’t have to suffer due to the sins of their parents. Nor should children be forced to feel the pressure of matching their parent’s success.

If you’re always posting pictures of your kids who aren’t old enough to consent to public exposure, consider slowing down. You’re exposing them to public scrutiny which they haven’t asked for. Please don’t exploit your children to further your ego or business interests.

Protect them until they are old enough to make rational decisions for themselves.

Be Rich, Not Famous

All this desire for fame and prestige is truly a waste of time. Get your 15 minutes of fame to satisfy your curiosity. Maybe get 30 minutes just to be sure.

Unless you’re a completely insecure person, you’ll realize the attention you seek is really just a band-aid for some deeper problem that needs fixing.

Work on accumulating enough passive income so you never have to listen to anybody again. Accumulate at least 20X your annual expenses in liquid net worth so you can start feeling the joy of financial freedom. The only things that matter are your friends, your family, and your freedom.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Related:

The Rise Of Stealth Wealth: Ways To Stay Invisible From Society’s Rage

The Stealth Wealth Compendium Of Useful Phrases To Protect Your Freedom

Are You Smart Enough To Act Dumb Enough To Get Ahead

Readers, why do you think people seek so much attention nowadays? Why do people pick fights with others and say stupid things over social media if they still depend on a job to survive? If you want to be famous beyond your circle of people that matter, please explain why. What are some of the positives of being famous over being a nobody?

https://www.financialsamurai.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Be-rich-not-famous.m4a

The post Be Rich, Not Famous: The Joy Of Being A Nobody appeared first on Financial Samurai.

from https://www.financialsamurai.com/be-rich-not-famous/

[disc-golf]

The Top 12 Warning Signs of Manipulative People—And How to Deal with Them

Each person has an impact on their community—especially their close circle of friends, family, colleagues, and acquaintances. There are countless benefits to this impact; mutual emotional, intellectual, and spiritual support buoy us up when we’re feeling downtrodden and give us the strength we need to “level up.”

But…

Some people take advantage of the trust engendered in these relationships and manipulate others to their own ends. While there are many kinds of manipulation, the one we’re most familiar with is the psychological variety.

Psychological manipulation is a type of social influence that aims to change the perception or behavior of others through underhanded, deceptive tactics. By advancing only the interests of the manipulator, often at others’ expense, such methods can be abusive, devious, and deceptive.

Avoiding manipulators can save you a lot of nerves and heartache, so you should learn how to recognize their methods. In this post, I will share 12 warning signs of manipulative people—and how you can deflect their abusive tactics.

The Home Court Tactic

A home court advantage is a sports phenomenon, but finds its place in all other areas of life, too. For instance, you probably feel more comfortable working in your office or sleeping in your own bed instead of hotel rooms. A well-known environment gives people the feeling of safety and self-confidence, which is what manipulators know and exploit to put extra pressure on victims.

Manipulative people will take you to a place you’re comfortable with—a favorite restaurant, a well-known park, etc.—where they can be more aggressive and dominant, forcing you to succumb to their influence. If you want to resist this, you should meet people in a neutral setting. 

Criticizing Victims Openly

Many manipulators attack their targets directly by criticizing and ridiculing them in the presence of others. It’s their way to prove supremacy and highlight your shortcomings. Using this tactic, they just want to keep reminding you of flaws and wrongdoings, but they never offer help or a solution. That’s because their criticism isn’t at all about you; it’s about their own self-doubt and the need to puff up their own importance.

To counteract this, you can change the subject, claim you’re busy and need to leave, or simply walk away (depending on how aggressive the criticism is). Create space between you and the situation so you can process the criticism in a balanced, reasonable way—instead of simply reacting in anger. Most of the time, this unwarranted criticism is not based in reality or is severely inflated.

Pushing You to Be Vulnerable First

Manipulative individuals will often invite you to start a discussion by sharing your own thoughts, ideas, and opinions. They do this so they can analyze your ideas, detect weak spots, and find your breaking point. They are always assessing your core values in order to hit you where it hurts the most. This gives them weak points to leverage without being vulnerable themselves—a manipulator’s ideal position of strength. They can use this to sway a decision in their favor or simply demoralize you to burnish their own image by comparison.

If you come to the table with a known manipulator, however, you can avoid this situation. Stay calm and talk about things in general; don’t go into details and don’t reveal your points of view until you’re able to share equally. To help achieve that, be sure to offer your ideas one at a time (starting with the least impactful), giving the other person a chance to reciprocate. If they don’t, then keep the rest of your cards close to your chest and seek out someone else who is willing to discuss more openly.

Truth Distortion

Lying is one of the most frequent forms of manipulation, but skilled conspirators are smarter than that. Instead of lying, they distort the truth by not revealing all information, exaggerating, or intentionally understating important facts. This leads you to wrong conclusions, so make sure to double-check information before trusting a suspicious person.

The Rationalization Tactic

Psychology sees rationalizations as invented explanations that hide or deny true motivations, causes, or actions. Individuals who try to control other people often use this tactic to bombard victims with tons of fake or irrelevant statistical findings, researches, and case studies. This happens mostly in business; many a CEO will rationalize business decisions to ensure personal profit instead of company benefit. Still, they have to offer a justification to stakeholders, which they conjure with the help of manipulated data.

The only way out of this awkward situation is to keep asking questions: Who conducted the research that justifies this decision? How does it relate to your niche? Is it just a one-time exception or a general industry rule?

Once you’ve consider all angles carefully and proofed a decision’s rationale on your own, you can decide whether or not there’s rationalization at play. 

Administrative Obstacles

Richard Gott, a psychology expert at Best Essays, recently noted: “Manipulative people often exploit administrative barriers to slow you down. They use bureaucracy as the obstacle to preserve supremacy and keep you from revealing essential facts and findings.” In this case, respond by being persistent and creative. There’s usually more than one way to secure the information you need, so think outside the box.

Avoiding Communication

When manipulators avoid answering your phone calls, messages, or meeting invitations, all they’re really saying is that you’re not worth their time. They make you wait because they want to feel more important, fragile, and vulnerable.

If possible, the best solution is to stop calling the manipulator and find another way to get the job done. He or she will soon realize that they no longer have leverage. 

If that’s not possible, then let go of what is out of your hands. The ball is in their court; if they’re not responding, incomplete tasks are on them.

Aggressive Behavior

We’ve all faced this sort of manipulator at some point in our careers. These are individuals who believe that sheer aggression will produce desired results. That’s why they speak loudly and use threatening body language while talking to you. In these circumstances, just stay calm and offer cogent arguments—not aggression. Also, document these interactions so you can share them with superiors and get witnesses for support.

Negative Surprises

Most people hate when they have to face sudden and unexpected problems both in professional and private life. Manipulative people are well aware of this, so they use it to put you off balance, giving them the chance to get one step ahead.

Here’s the best response: Stay calm and deal with the problem as quickly as possible. And don’t be afraid to ask for help. Everyone endures crises now and again, so it’s expected that your coworkers will be asked to lend a hand. 

Time Pressure

A common sales tactic is to put consumers under time pressure and persuade them to buy products before they’ve really given the purchase due consideration. Manipulative persons will put you under the same kind of tension to force an immediate reaction, but don’t give in. If you know a decision needs to be made, decide before you have conversations with others what your process will be and how much time you need to consider all options. This will help you stand your ground when others push you—and give you the opportunity to weigh all criteria equally.

Negative Humor

Irony and sarcasm are commonplace, but in the hands of manipulative people, they turn into deriding humor that is designed to make victims feel ashamed. Although it appears harmless and trivial, disparaging humor can actually foment discrimination against targeted groups or individuals. There is little you can do to prevent the situation from happening, but the best reaction is to show you don’t care about negative humor pointed at you. Walk away and/or counter with positivity. 

“Playing Dumb”

Some people will pretend they don’t get your ideas only to avoid completing their duties. They pretend ignorance and play dumb hoping that you’ll finish what they were supposed to do. In this case, the worst thing is to lose patience and do all the work on your own. Don’t let these people get away with their plan; be persistent and force them to take responsibility for their actions.

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Manipulation is often used by those with low-self esteem or who are incredibly lazy. Whatever the motivation, keep an eye out for signs of their manipulation and know how to counteract it. (And be sure never to employ the same tactics yourself!)

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The post The Top 12 Warning Signs of Manipulative People—And How to Deal with Them appeared first on Early To Rise.

[itcorner]

Leveraging Technology for Organisational Excellence

Innovation and HR-Leverage one for the other: "Innovation and HR are empowering influences of business. Incorporation of the two would mean amicable conjunction as well as utilizing one for the other. Utilizing of innovation for HR would mean digitizing the commonplace HR exercises and mechanizing the back office and value-based exercises identified with enlistment, execution administration, vocation arranging, and progression arranging, preparing and information administration. Utilizing HR for innovation suggests overseeing change related with innovation by method for correspondence, preparing, employing, retraining, partner investigation and cognizant keeping. Accordingly they can assume corresponding parts."

Innovation and HR both make them thing regular i.e., both these are empowering agents of business.

As of late, innovation has turned out to be synonymous with data innovation, as barely some other mechanical improvement of the past would have affected all range of business as data innovation has affected. Regardless of the sort of business you are in i.e., administrations or products, ware or marked, exchanging or assembling, contemporary or conventional sending of data innovation in one shape or the other is an inescapable result. To oversee and send innovation in a viable way, all business Organizations would require information specialists. Overseeing of these learning laborers is the duty of HR work. Henceforth the incorporation of innovation and HR is an outright should.

Having comprehended innovation and HR in the present setting we should comprehend incorporation in this specific situation. Reconciliation would mean concordant existing together as well as mean one upgrading and supplementing the other i.e., innovation is utilized to improve viability of HR and HR capacities helps in receiving and overseeing change which innovation organization gets.

Utilizing innovation for HR

HR administration as a capacity is in charge of expectations like business technique execution, regulatory productivity, worker commitment and limit with respect to change. All these are expert through what HR individuals do i.e., staffing, advancement, remuneration, benefits, convey association plan, high performing groups et cetera. In dominant part of these zones innovation is being conveyed.

e-Recruitment

Enrollment is one range where every one of the organizations worth their name use IT. There are two unique models of e-enlistment, which are in vogue. One is enrollment through organization's own particular locales and the other is facilitating your prerequisite on alternate destinations e.g., beast .com, jobsdb.com, jobsahead.com, naukri.com, and jobstreet.com et cetera so forward. The main models is more mainstream with the bigger organizations who have a brand pull for potential representatives e.g., G.E., IBM, Oracle, Microsoft, HCL, ICICI, Reliance, Mindtree counseling and so on. Different organizations like to go to the activity locales. Some are embracing both.

E-enrollment has gone far since its begin. Presently these destinations have gone worldwide. Destinations like jobsahead.com and monster.com have set up worldwide system, which envelops isolate locales for employments in Australia, Denmark, Belgium, and Canada and so on. Occupation searchers can seek work by area or nation and businesses target potential representatives in particular nations. For instance, 3 Com as of late posted an organization profile on the Ireland site that features the commitments of 3 com's Irish outline group in its worldwide activities.

In the good 'ol days e-enrollment was tormented with flooding the businesses with low-quality bio-data's. Again innovation has come as a guardian angel. Presently pre-work testing like the one presented by Capital One, a US based money related organization, help in sifting the candidates. These instruments test online e.g., candidates for call focuses. 'Profile International' a Texas based supplier of work appraisals, has created instruments that permit moment interpretation of evaluation tests between dialects. Advance improvements like video-gathering particular locales, online administrators enlistments and consolidating on the web and disconnected techniques are prompting an ever increasing number of organizations receiving e-enrollment in any event as an auxiliary enrollment strategy. Field Knights Bridge, a US based IT organization conducts video based meeting of its forthcoming representatives and just short recorded workers are met face to face. Indeed, even Cisco was to dispatch the same.

Worker Self Service

Worker self-benefit is maybe one utility of IT, which has soothed HR of the majority of commonplace assignments and helped it to enhance representative fulfillment. Worker self administrations is a plenty of little exercises, which were prior helped out by representative through organization wing of HR. These are travel appointments, travel rules data, travel charges, leave rules, leave organization, liven organization, and so on. Prior every one of these guidelines and data were in the care of HR. Each client worker was required to contact HR and complete it. Presently with arrangement of ESS in a large portion of the organizations, worker can ask for travel related booking on the web, fill his/her T.E. bills, apply for leave, log time sheet and see his advantages esteem dispensed and due and so on. E.g., in Ballarpur Industries Ltd. leave organization is totally digitized in its corporate office. It is working towards digitizing travel related exercises, livens and even remuneration administration and execution administration organization. 'Digitize or outsource all the unremarkable and routine concentrate just on center and esteem include' - Vineet Chhabra V.P. - PDC BILT.

Correspondence

Correspondence which is most discussed administration apparatus has dependably been a hazy area in HR administration. In expansive organizations with tremendous topographical spread speaking with all representatives had truly postured impressive test to HR experts. Innovation has again sought protect. Beginning with phones, faxes, messages and developing into video conferencing, net cast, web cast and so forth correspondence is one territory of HR, which has been extraordinarily profited by innovation. Mouse and snap organizations like Oracle, IBM has an intranet which takes into account the vast majority of the data needs of its workers. Block and Morter organizations like BILT likewise have made an invasion into sending intranet for inward correspondence, which has corporate notice board, media scope, and information corners.

Information Management

Another zone of HR, which is utilizing innovation, is worker improvement. Modified learning (PL) i.e. learning at its own pace is a standout amongst the best methods for grown-up learning. Utilization of innovation for this reason can't be over accentuated. Aptech Online University and 'The Manage guide' are a portion of the Indian locales, which are around here information administration, which is an essential piece of any learning association, which can't turn into a reality without innovation. Organizations can tackle the information of its representatives by classifying and facilitating it on the intranet. Converse with 'Enormous 5' or not 'so huge' counseling organizations you will locate that pillar of their business is the information archive. Innovation has empowered them to recover it quickly. In the focused condition where speed is the name of diversion innovation driven Knowledge Management always gives a vital preferred standpoint.

On the off chance that you take a gander at HR module of ERP arrangements like individuals delicate, SAP, Oracle and Ramco they give you an exhaustive bundle which helps in labor arranging, enrollment, execution administration, preparing and improvement, profession arranging, progression arranging, partition and grievance taking care of. An exchange occurring in every one of these ranges are digitized and shape a shut circle guaranteeing representative database is constantly refreshed. E.g. a joining letter of another worker is framework created. It will be printed just when every single compulsory field of data are entered. Also an exchange arrange or a partition letter is issued from the framework just if that exchange has been completed in the framework.

For vocation arranging, achievement arranging, aptitude and abilities framework strategies are utilized by the greater part of these frameworks. They look through a representative with the required aptitudes first in the in-house database of workers. When put by and by in letter and soul, this framework not just upgrades business comes about by coordinating the correct contender for right occupation yet additionally enhances maintenance of workers.

Preparing finance, producing time office reports, giving HR-MIS are some other routine exercises of HR which have been off-stacked to innovation.

[uelinejuri-blog]

Do not divulge the solution to UV radiation

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