#give me a tangible plan. steps. actions to take. a definable goal.

[sporadicfrogs]

god I fucking hate corporate buzzword bullshit

[yegarts]

“I Am YEG Arts” Series: AJA Louden, Co-Lead Artist for Paint the Rails

Set achievable goals. When most people hear this, they likely think about getting their steps in or cooking more meals at home. Not AJA Louden. His goal? Making cities more inspiring, informed, and thoughtful through the compassionate use of art and design. And he’s achieving it. Louden’s spray-painted portraits and murals have been boldly transforming our city’s everyday walls into landmarks for more than a decade.

When Louden’s not painting, he’s likely teaching others how to at his Aerosol Academy, a workshop that explores art-making and art history through the lens of graffiti and street art. But that’s just the beginning. Louden’s desire to bring a collaborative, multi-narrative approach to contemporary urban muralism can also be seen at LRT stations around Edmonton, thanks to a project called Paint the Rails (PTR), a collaboration with Edmonton Transit Service and the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights.

Paint the Rails: Conversations on colonization, reclamation, and reconciliation through art, is not only a legacy project of Canada 150+, but also a tangible commitment to bring to life the stories of Edmonton’s cultural communities through art and education. The plan of action? Paint LRT stations across Edmonton with imagery that interprets the stories and traditions of the Elders, historians, knowledge keepers, and cultural communities represented by each location. Ambitious? Yes! But neither AJA Louden nor the John Humphrey Centre has ever considered “hard” a reason for not doing something. Lifting up our shared stories, amplifying voices, and changing perceptions—this week’s “I Am Yeg Arts” story belongs to AJA Louden.

Tell us about your connection to Edmonton and what keeps you living and working here?

I grew up here in Alberta and moved to Edmonton in the early 2000’s for school. Some of the things that keep me living and working here are my relationships, my work, and the food. Food has always been a big inspiration for me as an artist, and there’s so much good food here! Edmonton has long been a place of creative exchange, and I’m excited to help keep that spirit alive through public art.

How did you become involved with Paint the Rails, and why did it resonate with you? 

I’ve been working with the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights (JHC) for years. When I think about the power of addressing the human condition through art and stories, I think organizations like the JHC do an invaluable job of helping to identify whose stories are missing from our public discourse and amplifying these voices to give us a more accurate reflection of who we are. The Paint The Rails project resonated with me immediately because it was an opportunity to use public art to lift up our shared stories and bring them into the present. The methods of mentorship and community consultation we worked with throughout the project changed how I work as an artist and helped me understand how to connect with people at a deeper level. I began researching Augmented Reality (AR) part way through the

Paint The Rails project and self-funded the AR programming and animations until we were able to obtain a grant—I did this because I believe in the value of this project for adding beauty and meaning to our shared spaces. Each location is now a digital community history resource, as well as a wall mural!

What do you think it is about story that brings us together?

We use stories to help understand ourselves and our communities. People often define themselves through a series of stories that explain who they are and how they came to be that way. Communities use stories in the same way. Stories can be guides for how to interact—our cultures are built up of shared stories, which act as scaffolds for meaning. When we share stories widely, we can start to understand the world from other points of view, which can bring us together and give us a sense of cohesion and group membership that’s valuable. A big part of the human experience is a search for meaning and purpose in our lives, and stories can be powerful tools on this journey.

How do large-scale murals and street art play to your strengths as a storyteller?

Stories have power when they are shared, and the scale and accessibility of large-scale art in public spaces allows a larger audience to engage with a story. When work is in a gallery behind a paywall, audiences have the benefit of a dedicated space in which to absorb or reflect on the art, but these spaces often leave out those who can’t afford or don’t feel welcome in that kind of environment. Street art and murals have the potential to reach people who don’t as often engage or connect with art in galleries or institutions. Growing up, I didn’t see myself reflected in the art classes I took in school, but when I found graffiti and street art, I started to see the world in a new way.

Why was mentorship a key element in Paint the Rails, and what do you hope you’ve shared?

Mentorship is key because I see artists as an important part of a functioning society. By sharing what I’ve learned with the next generation, I can help our craft stay relevant, cohesive, and present. We all stand on the shoulders of those who came before us, and a rising tide lifts all ships. As artists we need to hold each other accountable, and part of that includes building each other up and celebrating our individual wins as wins for the collective craft.

Tell us about someone who’s been a mentor to you.

Dawn Saunders Dahl has taught me a lot about the industry of art, and when/how to play by the rules, while pushing boundaries that need to be pushed. Working with her I learned about process, particularly how to build a plan that had structure but also flexibility.

Jason Botkin was really helpful to me in getting a closer look at the life of a full-time muralist. I met him when The Works brought En Masse to Edmonton. He was really kind and generous with his time, invited me to come hang out in Montréal for Mural Festival, and also connected me with a lot of people in Miami for the two years I attended Art Basel to paint. Huge thanks to both Dawn and Jason, as well as the other informal mentors I’ve had over the years who have made me better.

Why was a free Paint the Rails app vital to this project?

The app was vital to this project because it allowed us to capture more of what each community shared with us and reflect it back into the world. As the first Augmented Reality community mural project in Edmonton, it’s allowed us to create an additional point of interest for the project and to attract new eyes. As an artist, I’m always interested in trying out new mediums and looking for ways to bring important stories to new eyes. One of my favourite parts of the app relates to language—we worked with Cree linguist Naomi Macllwraith, a student of Dorothy Thunder, to record the Cree names of each of the local animals depicted in our U of A LRT station mural, titled Sipiy (River). When you activate the app at that site, you can hear the correct pronunciation of each of the animal names—something that a wall mural wouldn’t normally be able to share.

What excites you most about the YEG arts scene right now?

Growth and potential. I think Edmonton is joining the world in starting to understand the place that murals, unsanctioned street art, and graffiti can occupy as a valuable part of the public art scene. More institutions and business owners are getting excited about art in our shared spaces, and thanks to the building boom in the 70’s, we have a lot of wall space to use as canvasses so we can share our stories as a city.

What has working with the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights taught you about yourself?

Working with the JHC has taught me a lot about process and community connection. I’m as interested in being a conduit for expressing a community’s vision as I am about telling my own stories, and I have a much stronger working knowledge of how to ask for, receive, and honour stories from different groups of people. I look forward to the next stages of our collaboration!

You visit Edmonton 20 years from now. What do you hope has changed? What do you hope has stayed the same?

I hope the locally owned restaurant industry is still strong, creative, evolving, and inspiring. One of my favourite things to do with friends and family who visit is take them for great food. I hope we’re culturally still vibrant, even more connected, and retain a combination of the strong work ethic, creative vision, and resourcefulness that has helped define us so far. I look forward to seeing how we continue to redefine our city as the world changes and how we tell our stories in new ways.

Want more YEG Arts Stories? We’ll be sharing them here all year and on social media using the hashtag #IamYegArts. Follow along! Click here to discover more about AJA Louden, and visit the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights website for info about Paint the Rails, their app, and other JHC initiatives.

About AJA Louden

AJA Louden (AJA sounds like 'Ajay,’ short for Adrian Joseph Alexander) is an artist based in amiskwaciwâskahikan (Treaty 6, Edmonton, Alberta). Born to a family tree with roots split between Jamaica and Canada, Louden is a child of contrast. Bold and arresting freehand spray-

painted portraits of pop-culture figures from Jimi Hendrix and Richard Nixon to local heroes like Rollie Miles often alternate with hand-lettered designs and vibrant patterns borne of a background in graffiti. Louden looks to bring a multifaceted, collaborative, and multi-narrative approach to contemporary urban muralism.

A background in the sciences, including biology, chemistry, psychology, and sociology is a major influence on the concepts and processes behind his work. A few years designing custom metal signage and a childhood full of building wooden skateboard ramps intensified AJA’s interest in industrial design and the built environment. His work can be found around the province of Alberta where he lives and works. A travel lover, Louden has also created work in several other countries, including Berlin, Barcelona, Florence, Prague, and the UK.

[dogbearinggifts]

“He Made Me What I Am Today”: Thoughts on Pogo and Complicity

It’s taken me a while to understand this fandom’s hatred of Pogo. 

He’s never been a favorite character of mine, but I’ve always liked him. In the show and in the comics, he serves as a sort of surrogate father figure, providing the siblings with much-needed level-headed advice and guidance free from abuse. In the show especially, he’s stern yet kind, intelligent and understanding of the children’s limitations. This is precisely the sort of parent the Hargreeves siblings needed. 

So you can imagine my surprise when I found fans expressing disgust toward his character—some going so far as to cheer his gruesome death at Vanya’s hand. 

Vanya, it seems, is at the center of fandom’s disdain for Pogo. Many arguments as to why he allegedly deserved what he got center on his actions the day Reginald had Allison Rumor her into forgetting her powers, and on the fact he never told her the truth. These arguments tend to treat Pogo as the only truly rational adult in that house since he lacked Grace’s manipulative programming and Reginald’s sadism. Because he was the only one who saw Reginald for what he was, he had a responsibility to stand up to him and put an end to the abuse. According to this view, Pogo chose to be complicit in Vanya’s abuse. He chose not to stop it, he chose not to undo it, and it is this choice that makes him irredeemable. 

What it fails to account for, though, is that Pogo isn’t the only clear-headed adult in that house. To say he chose to go along with Reginald’s orders is a drastic oversimplification. Because, like Grace, Pogo too was programmed to never disagree with Reginald. Like the children he cared for, he was abused into compliance; and like Vanya, he was made to forget the power he possessed. 

Pogo Is a Product of Abuse

In the comics we get a moment where Five, having donned Reginald’s monocle, sees Pogo as an apparently ordinary chimp suffering in a lab*. The show implies Pogo’s origin with a single line: “In all respects, Sir Reginald Hargreeves made me what I am today.” 

I want you to ponder that for a moment. Pogo wasn’t born with human intelligence or a human personality. He was born as an ordinary chimp with no more intellect or insight into the universe than other chimps possess. Then, one day, he’s taken captive. His captor torments him. He hurts him. He leaves at night and returns in the morning to hurt him again, and again, for hours and hours and he doesn’t understand, doesn’t know what’s happening, he only knows it hurts and he hurts and he wants it to be over but it’s not over—

And then one day it is. 

It’s over. The pain ends. The ongoing fear and despair comes to a halt as Pogo understands more than he ever thought possible. 

Reginald could have explained every step of the process to Pogo, once he had the intellect to comprehend it. Or he could have kept the details somewhat vague, but made the link between Pogo’s newfound sapience and the horrors he endured clear. Whatever the case, it stuck with Pogo for the rest of his life. 

Everything Pogo has—every word he speaks, every thought in his head—is the result of those experiments. Every aspect of his life exists because he was held in that lab for perhaps months on end, dragged from cage to table and back again, pricked with needles and cut with scalpels. Without the horror Reginald inflicted on him, Pogo would still be an average chimp living in a jungle somewhere, unable to comprehend things we humans take for granted. 

No one is more aware of this than Pogo. 

His Attitude Toward Abuse is Fundamentally Broken 

Reginald didn’t need to abuse his kids. This fact is so apparent it almost need not be said, and I only say it because by the end of the first season, all seven of those kids either know this or are in the process of learning it. Exclusion from the family dynamic, exile to the Moon, being locked in a tomb with the dead—none of these things were necessary, and the people who suffered them are aware of this. 

But in these cases, it’s obvious that the methods used did boundless harm and negligible good. Vanya’s exclusion left her depressed and bitter, with few social skills and no friends to speak of. Luther’s exile sent him spiraling deep into suicidal depression, led him to self-harm, and robbed him of whatever ease with social graces he might have possessed. Klaus’ stints in the mausoleum left him with untreated PTSD and a crippling fear of the dead, leading him to cope through drugs and alcohol. Each of those kids can tell a similar story: Reginald put them through hell to try and make them stronger, and instead they were broken almost beyond repair. 

Pogo’s abuse, on the other hand, worked as intended. Reginald planned for it to give him sapience and high intelligence (in the comics he’s referred to as Dr. Pogo) and that is what it did. 

I’m certain that, given a little time and a conscience, Reginald could have devised a way to grant Pogo his intelligence without the need for experiments or persistent cruelty. A man who can grant humanlike intelligence to an ordinary chimp is a man who can refine his methods to make them as painless and noninvasive as possible, but for whatever reason Reginald chose the most sadistic method. The abuse was not necessary, but it’s a part of Pogo’s origin story and a part of his past. 

The horrific abuse Pogo suffered resulted in a clear, tangible benefit for him. If that sounds twisted, it’s because it is. Pogo’s abuse is twisted, and his story is twisted. Rather than backfiring as it did in the cases of the Hargreeves siblings—and in real cases where parents resort to abuse to make their children stronger—it did precisely what it was meant to. It made Pogo stronger. It improved his mind. It gave him everything he never knew he wanted. 

So when he sees Vanya being locked in a soundproofed room or watches Luther depart for the Moon on a pointless mission, his thoughts are almost certainly not on what sort of awful man would visit those horrors upon his own children. Chances are, they’re on how some good must come of this. While he suffered in that lab, he couldn’t have known he would wake from those horrific, invasive, degrading experiments stronger than he ever thought possible. Surely Luther and Vanya and all the other children will emerge from their own suffering stronger than before. 

He Doesn’t See Reginald the Same Way the Siblings Do

It’s rarely addressed in fandom, but Pogo and the Hargreeves siblings come into Reginald’s care in markedly different ways, and they are intended for markedly different roles. The children are adopted as infants, presented to the world as Reginald’s children, and brought to the dining room table each meal. They’re given rooms in the upper stories of the Academy and, while not treated in any way resembling decent or humane, are at least granted the status that comes with being the child of a reclusive billionaire. 

Pogo, on the other hand, began as a science experiment. When the torture he endures attains its goal, he is never treated as anything more than a butler. His room is sparse and in what appears to be the servants’ quarters, and he is never shown seated at the table with the rest of the family. When speaking to the very children who seem to regard him as a secondary father figure, he calls them Master and Miss—deferential even as he exerts authority. 

To the siblings, Reginald Hargreeves is Dad. He’s cruel and unreasonable, sadistic and uncaring even when it would behoove him to show a modicum of kindness. Under his roof, his authority is absolute—but that authority extends only to the outer walls of the Academy. If Reginald had never adopted them, Klaus would still be Klaus and Vanya would still be Vanya—hopefully with more confidence and less trauma, but they would still be the same people. Their personalities and intelligence would have remained constant regardless of who raised them. 

Without Reginald, Pogo as we know him would not exist. Philosophy and physics, morality and mathematics would have remained foreign to him. Even if he had lived and died as content as a chimp can be, he would have gone to his grave without enjoying a good book or understanding why people seek out music that makes them cry. Reginald might be Dad to the siblings; but to Pogo, he’s God—reaching down from on high, plucking Pogo out of the dust and demanding his will be done. 

It’s an understatement to say that Pogo knows Reginald is smarter than he is. His intelligence and personality exist because Reginald possesses the capacity to grant intelligence and personality to animals like him; and if he has the power to bring animals up to a human level, then his intelligence must far outstrip even the smartest human. He’s brought Pogo to a level on par with the children he cares for, but he hasn’t brought Pogo up to his level, because that level is so far beyond that of an ordinary human that it’s impossible to conceive. As far as Pogo knows, Reginald Hargreeves can see in nine dimensions and remembers every point in human history. 

The programming instilled through religious abuse can be overcome. Those raised to see their deity as an all-powerful version of Reginald Hargreeves—harsh and demanding, quick to find fault and quicker to mete out punishment—can and have conquered this view and managed to either renounce faith entirely or define it on their own terms. It can be done. But it’s also extremely difficult. The abusive deity survivors are raised to worship is all too often made out to be a deity with humanity’s best interests at heart, whose abuse will eventually bring about humanity’s good. 

From all the evidence we’re presented with, it appears something very similar has happened with Pogo. It’s doubtful Pogo worships the man, but it is clear he not only reveres him, but trusts him—and trusts that the crimes he perpetuates against his own children will ultimately benefit them. 

He Tries to Mitigate the Abuse 

He doesn’t step in and try to stop it. We see him assisting Reginald at several points—pointing Allison toward the security footage, withholding the truth of his Moon mission and Reginald’s suicide from Luther, holding the door as Reginald ushers Vanya into that soundproofed chamber. He’s never enthusiastic about this support—in Vanya’s case, he is clearly pained by what he’s enabling—but he doesn’t put his foot down and refuse to do as he’s told, either. But he doesn’t treat the children as Reginald does. If anything, he strives to be Reginald’s opposite in as many ways as he feels he is able. 

If later seasons reveal that Reginald rose each morning and made a list of ways to make Vanya feel unwelcome in her own home, I would not be surprised. He places her at the end of the table; he makes her stay upstairs while her siblings get tattoos; he refuses to let her be in the family photo. All of his actions toward her, large and small, made it clear that she was inadequate and that he barely considered her part of the family. Yet when she returns to the Academy for Reginald’s memorial service, Pogo greets her warmly, addresses her with the same honorific he uses for Allison, and tells her “This is your home, and it always will be.” Reginald may have treated Vanya as unworthy of his approval, but Pogo treats her as her siblings’ equal. 

From the quick temper he displays at Five’s insistence he be allowed to time travel and the obvious fear the other siblings have of him, it seems clear Reginald’s punishments were anything but fair. Discipline, it seems, was a chance for Reginald to vent his anger on whichever child displeased him, rather than a means to correct bad behavior. But when Klaus steals the box and throws the journal away, Pogo doesn’t fly into a rage and toss Klaus out on the street—or do something even more twisted—as Reginald might have. Instead, he confronts Klaus, informs him of the error and why it matters, and gives him a chance to correct his mistake. Reginald’s discipline was likely capricious and disproportionate; but if this example is anything to go by, Pogo’s approach is stern, yet consistent and restrained. 

Pogo does deliberately withhold information from Luther and, to a lesser extent, Allison. He places Allison in a room where she’s sure to find the relevant tape, effectively sending her and Luther off on a wild goose chase. When Luther discovers his Moon mission was a sham, Pogo’s attempt at comfort can sound an awful lot like damage control. However, these deceptions are undercut with a subtle layer of kindness. He lures Allison to the relevant tape with footage of herself and her siblings as children—footage that includes her deceased brother, which is comforting and cheering to her. He is quick to refute Luther’s assumption that he was sent to the Moon for his own personal failures; while his reasoning that “After your accident, he wanted to give you purpose” has the ring of an excuse (and a flimsy one at that) it’s offered when Luther is clearly spiraling and in desperate need of something to hold onto. It’s clear in this scene that Pogo isn’t simply trying to cover his own ass; he cares for Luther and wants to ease his pain. 

Pogo Probably Doesn’t Realize He Could Have Done More 

When I was a kid, I watched a show called Recess. (Late 90s and early 2000s kids probably all just cracked a grin.) If you haven’t seen it, it followed a group of fourth grade students and their adventures at school, outside of school and—mostly—at recess. There were a lot of colorful characters on that playground, and one of them was Ms. Finster, an assistant teacher who monitored the kids at recess and served as a recurring villain, relishing each and every chance she got to foil lovable troublemaker TJ’s plans. 

In one episode, Ms. Finster hits on a plan that she calls The Box. She draws a box and, when TJ misbehaves, makes him stand inside. It’s just four chalk lines on asphalt, but it triggers something in TJ’s brain. When he stands in The Box, he sees the asphalt rising up to hem him in, pulling him further and further underground as his panic rises. He isn’t imprisoned. He can leave at any time, and to an outsider this much is painfully—even comically—obvious. But to TJ, he’s trapped. 

Pogo could have stood up to Reginald. He could have done it when Vanya’s powers were taken away, or he could have done it on a random Thursday. He could have taken Luther aside and told him the truth of Reginald’s death or he could have sat everyone down and explained Vanya’s powers before shit hit the fan. I’ve said elsewhere that the characters in this show are responsible for their actions, but Pogo is responsible for his inaction.

Yet this inaction is not the result of a moral failing on Pogo’s part. He didn’t sit back and choose not to tell Luther or Vanya the truth or remain complicit in their abuse because he wanted to see them suffer. “I had no choice” is what he tells Luther. To us, it’s obvious that Luther’s response—“There’s always choice”—is correct. 

But it isn’t obvious to Pogo, because Pogo is trapped in a Box of his own. It’s a Box made of abuse both physical and mental, of a twisted gratitude toward the man who tormented him, of a lack of faith in his own conscience. Pogo is complicit in the siblings’ abuse, make no mistake. Of all the people living in the Academy, Pogo probably stood the greatest chance of overthrowing Reginald and getting those kids into a more positive environment. He wielded the most power in that situation, and Reginald knew this. And so, as with Vanya, Reginald made Pogo forget his power. It took longer. It involved more pain, more mental manipulation than direct mind control. But in the end, what Reginald did to Pogo was far more effective—and arguably more sinister—than what he did to Vanya. 

Her powers, after all, could be reinstated simply by removing her medication. Removing barriers around your own mind meant to keep you dependent and doubtful, with no physical evidence to prove those barriers are gone? That can take a lifetime. 

*********

*It’s been a while since I’ve read the comics, but I do remember that chimps with human intelligence are just kind of a Thing in that world. I don’t remember if Pogo’s sapience is made out to be a product of experimentation or if the experiments he endured are separate from that. However, since Pogo is apparently the only superintelligent primate butler in the show’s ‘verse, it seems the implication is that he gained his intelligence from Reginald’s experiments. 

[theholycovenantrpg]

CONGRATULATIONS, TARYN! YOU’VE BEEN ACCEPTED FOR THE ROLE OF CASSIEL.

Admin Jen: You entranced me with your vision of Cassiel from the first moment, Taryn. The way you introduced the themes of beauty and power, explored the entanglement of the two, and linked it all to Cassiel was so compelling, and I loved the way you expanded on it later on and tied it into your future plots. There is such tangible power to your portrayal, and every single portion of the app burns with it -- not just in a manifestation of Cassiel’s hunger, but in a captivating expression of its intensity and prowess, the way it bleeds into every aspect of who she is. I can’t wait to see her wreak absolute havoc on the dash! Please create and send in your account, review the information on our CHECKLIST, and follow everyone on the FOLLOW LIST. Welcome to the Holy Land!

OUT OF CHARACTER

ALIAS

Taryn

AGE 

21+

PERSONAL PRONOUNS

She/Her

TIMEZONE

PST

TRIGGERS

REMOVED

HOW DID YOU FIND THE GROUP?

Admin referral.

IN CHARACTER

CHARACTER

Cassiel

WHAT DREW YOU TO THIS CHARACTER?

Beauty fascinates me, and it has in a various number of ways for several years. I’ve written about it in plenty of variations, but never seen a character that investigates so deeply the query of what happens when beauty is not only undeniable, but perfect and absolute to the point of literal personification. I see Cassiel and her beauty as the cup that fills to the point of surface tension: she exists in the incorporeal space above limit, law, natural reason, always on the edge of overflowing. When you talk about her beauty, it’s no longer about the simplicity of being beautiful, but of the concept itself, the embodiment. What I kept coming back to when thinking about Cass was the adage Absolute power corrupts absolutely, and stems that flowered from it: could one replace the word power with beauty in that statement and have it be wholly, undeniably true? Why or why not? Where do we rank beauty among the concepts that we agree, in society and heart and literature, reign above all others: power, love, hate, goodness, evil. What is its place, or does it have one at all? Which of the others are its twins, which are its enemies? Is it merely symptomatic of one of the others; if so, can it be corrupted? Literally, what is beauty?

Even moreso, what is it to exist in a state that embodies any of these notions so completely? How does it grow or gnarl the soul, what are the effects and blessings and curses of living in this strange way? 

I know that’s a lot of questions rather than answers, but I think that’s almost my point: Cassiel is not just a character I already feel I know intimately and love for what I see, but a vessel through which I get to explore things I can’t (and don’t yet want to) answer. That’s super exciting to me — a character I not only adore now, but gives me the license to question.

WHAT FUTURE PLOTS DO YOU HAVE IN MIND FOR THIS CHARACTER?

It makes sense to me that on the whole, Cassiel’s plot points should be very interaction- or dynamic-driven. That certainly isn’t to say that Cassiel isn’t self-motivating or responsible for her own actions — because she certainly is — but that in the narrative defined of her character so far, the crux of what drives, propels, and motivates her always seems to be something external. Where she once craved adoration and veneration, now her appetites have swelled to power and worship — a goal that, while perhaps somewhat singular and inward, is still defined by its far outer reach.

So on that note! The plots I’ve expounded on below largely hinge on varying relationships and interactions with other characters because I’d love to explore that thematically: that as selfish as she is, Cassiel needs others.

HUNGER THAT DOES NOT DISCRIMINATE. I don’t particularly care for ascents that are made without meeting a loose-fitting rock, or grasping a serpent tail when you think you’ve reached a vine. Though I can imagine an end where Cassiel takes her seat upon the throne she now paws at, I’m almost more interested in the steps taken to reach that conclusion.

( A ) In the same way that Cassiel named the Cherubim without anticipating all outcomes and consequences, I feel that her current pursuit of power is half-abstract and in some way not fully formed. She eyes Caelum’s throne because it is the most readily available sight, but I don’t believe Cassiel has considered strategy for what might be done after ascending a throne (whether that be in the seat itself or directly at its side), nor even if Caelum’s rulership is the most viable for her position/wants/needs. She is clever, ambitious, ruthless in many regards; she has the hunger and shrewdness to potentially make her way to the highest seat, and has proven her resourcefulness via her renewed place among the Virtues. But what does she know of rulership? Of queendom, of subjects? Nothing. She knows undeserved and total veneration, which is another thing entirely. I want to see this reflected in her initial actions as the roleplay opens: half-blind movements and machinations, a kind of elegant stumbling towards an ill-defined end.

( B ) I think Viktoria is right in some way to await a misstep, to judge her as over-eager and insatiable. Much like my view of Cassiel’s beauty as the lifted bit of water that rests above the edge of a cup, I think that same surface tension is an apt way to describe her ambition currently: overfull and ready to spill over for the first tremor. An appetite so large and desperate will consume the other things around it, in this case Cassiel’s tact: she is going to pitch herself into the first opportunity that opens itself wide enough, potentially at detriment to her overall plan (or reputation), though not necessarily. The actual action of this plot is vague and undefined because it’s not really something I can craft (instead something that should come up naturally within the game/other characters), but I’m not so picky about what it is so long as it affords the space for Cass to leap without looking in her pilgrimage back to greatness.

ONE TASTE IS ENOUGH. Once you’ve fed a hungry woman, what does she grow into? Again to draw from my overfull cup metaphor, my thought is that once a measure of her starvation has been sated by the initial jump mentioned above (whether it has positive, negative, or neutral results), it is essentially poured from the chalice that is Cassiel’s soul. Having executed her first (in-game) move or scheme, there is now a space inside her no longer occupied by desperate, demanding hunger which once filled everything to the point of bursting — allowing a space that gives her the ability to think more clearly, with greater nuance. This is when her machinations begin to build in true.

( A ) She starts to examine what it is she is aiming for, both in what is required of Caelum’s rulership and if that specific seat is best suited for her and the final result she craves. Viktoria is a good candidate for this, should they be willing to mentor her further, but I think the better option is to have Cassiel observe others in positions of power — Zadkiel, Damien Ward, Michael. She excels at endearing herself to others, which would likely be the course she takes, though the roads with Zadkiel and Michael are perhaps more winding than Damien’s. Zadkiel is going to have his own plot/bullet point, so I’ll expand on that later. Michael is a convoluted and dangerous relationship, but one that I feel Cassiel will seek out when she comes into her violence: he, technically, is responsible for all that was taken from her. Though cozying up to the King may be arduous or out of the question to do perfectly, helping to fracture the trinity of Michael/Gabriel/Raphiel from the inside. If he will not love her, then no others shall love him.

( B ) Her action, even by way of inaction, becomes very purposeful: in essence, after a potential failure, Cass will begin to lay out the strings to the final nest she plans to take. I do want to see Cassiel forge her way onto a new pedestal, one raised even higher than the pillar she sat upon previously, and that is the overarching narrative I’d like to take her on as a character — but I can’t say I’m 100% sure that it will be Caelum’s throne or the right-hand of it. Though Cassiel is experienced in crafting and stoking veneration, and therefore the authority that comes with it, the ladder of power and the games one plays to climb it are new to her. As she makes this climb, I expect she’ll find rungs she did not anticipate before, possibilities and avenues she could not have realized previously. Perhaps her attention will shift to the Tridium, her envy taking her by the leash and leading her to overthrow Gabriel in order to debase Azazel and remove her as the Moon. Maybe she will band with Viktoria and the Horseman. Mayhap she’ll create a new allegiance and look to usher in an Age of the Lotus, where everything must be drowned in mud before it can emerge beautiful and petalled (and what is she, if not the pinnacle of these things?). In plain, my goal is to see her shoot for the stars — which burning sphere she lands upon is not the most important part.

A WINGED BEAST. I love, love, love her connection with Azazel, and I want to see it go absolutely nowhere good. Particularly, I want to use their dynamic to open up the dark spot her petals have closed over and kept concealed since she was created, the truth buried below all others: that she is an animal. That she could have only ever been an animal, nothing more or less graceful despite her wings, for the way she has lived as One Thing and One Thing alone, like mindless predatory beasts who know only bloodlust and the pursuit of satiating it. Cassiel has weaned on, lived, and hunted for that one thing — adoration above all else, above all others — and so Azazel stands as the highest adversary and natural enemy. Because of that, it is her alone that could drag out the latent and feral nature of Cassiel, and I want to see it arise in a way ugly, cruel, and wild. I see a kind of genuine savagery at her core, animalistic in the sense that it’s natural and arcane, esoteric and terrifying in the way we used to recall angels of the hundred-eyes and bright blaze. Let Azazel have another victory over her, be it immense or mild, and drag the carcass of Cassiel’s defeat in front of her to see how the frenzy starts. I want to see Cassiel lose all composure, both as a delightful creature and as an Angel of Virtue, and bare her teeth — perhaps even literally. She wields a sword well, but a weapon is too refined for the kind of rage — teeth and claws are better suited for something so furious. Aside from this manifesting in potentially a literal and physical attack on Azazel, I imagine this moment further alerts Cassiel into not what she is becoming, but what she has always been. Unlike Arianne, who I think shares a great deal thematically with Cassiel, I don’t believe Cass is quite as vindictively-natured as the human. If she is cruel, it is not usually for the direct purpose of watching another suffer; it is merely that the act of cruelty is natural to her in the same way that a predator sinks its teeth into a doe without remorse. To offer a quote to sum it up, Peter Beagle in The Last Unicorn: “‘Cruel?’ She asked. ‘How can I be cruel? That is for mortals.’ But then she did raise her eyes, and [...] with something very near to mockery [...] she said, ‘So is kindness.’ That is essentially what I mean when I say as an angel, Cassiel is animal and savage and cruel and immaculate all at once, but in a way entirely unlike the humans. I don’t even necessarily feel this contradicts or cannot cohabitate with her saccharine nature, that which remains iridescent and lovely. She exists in multitudes, some of them made of spun-sugar and full of wonder, others death-touched, and that is what I see Cassiel fully coming into as Azazel’s opposition drives her mad: I am wild, and wild things know no Kings. Let her eye turn to Michael with new understanding.

THE LITTLE DEATH, MANIFESTED. I see this as potentially contingent from the previous bullet, seeing as this kind of rage needs a catalyst, but as a fun little aside (maybe more of a headcanon??) I’d love to see Cassiel kill a mortal NPC in the middle of sex — unintentional, perhaps, though not necessarily. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen The Boys, and please do if you haven’t omg (and tiny spoiler ahead!), but there’s a scene where a superhero character has sex with a regular human while on a mind-altering substance. She ends up crushing his head in the middle of cunnilingus. That’s essentially the vibe here. 

LAMB BLOOD ON THE ALTAR. Just like with Azazel, I adore Cassiel’s connection to Zadkiel.

RUN. Zadkiel exists, undeniably, as a keystone to Cassiel’s better nature. She has changed from who she was, certainly, and the shift has seized from her much of that which might be called goodness — still, ebbing portions or ghost-limbs of it remain. As does the loose thread of guilt, which Cass knows only Zadkiel’s hand can find and tug. To that end, and what I feel is most likely for the very start of game play, is Cass still trying to run from him and avoid any interaction.

TURN. The benefit of the sheep is that it can be sheared a hundred times, though slaughtered only once — so Cassiel must hope that this is one more coat she can shed before Justice, showing him a pink skin and claiming I am borne anew. I am remade. I have risen again, like God’s own son. Likely after realizing she is not yet ready to take on Michael’s throne and therefore needs aid, Cassiel may attempt to endear herself once more to Zadkiel, the angel once so dear to her. 

HOLD. This is definitely equally up to how Zadkiel’s player feels and wants to portray their relationship, but I have a very strong feeling that Cass adores/adored Zadkiel to the point of — possession, maybe? Particularly if their relationship starts to repair in any shape (even through Cass’s falsehoods), I could see her teeth growing sharp over the relationship/bond he has with Isolde; a matter of jealousy, a repetition of what she is subjected to feel in Azazel’s presence: second place. Singular-minded as she can be, this could derail her overarching plans for the momentary sabotage of their relationship, or of the Priestess herself. Another aside: Cass shifting herself to match Isolde’s visage when speaking to Zad? Phew.

THE KNIFE YOU HAVE CHOSEN. It would be a mistake to assume that a thing you chase your whole life is not hunting you in turn — the man that goes into the jungle with a gun is not safe from the tiger it follows; the wielded blade does not blunt itself for the hand holding it. For all Cassiel devotes herself to the attainment of idolization — for all that cunning and guile — it has to be said that she, too, is in some capacity ruled by it. To that, I have a couple thoughts on how her obsession bites back:

Cassiel at the dais of another, sprawled at their knees, arms draped over their thighs, head in their lap. I love you as I never did God, she says. I worship you as I do myself and none other. Child, they purr. Angel, that’s blasphemy. Yes, she agrees. Give me my sin again. I’d like to see her have someone she wholly, thoroughly venerates in a way that surpasses her previous affections for God. They don’t, and perhaps could not, rival her love for herself — but it could be challenged. I love the idea of the duality within her: the capacity to put herself before all others, ever and always, and the flaw in her mechanism which sees Cassiel naturally inclined to offer herself as a devotee, made as she was as His creation, His pet. That isn’t to say such a thing comes about easily, that her soul yearns for someone to kneel before, nor even that God had her heart in such a manner — I lean to the idea that he never did, and her place as Cherubim was merely situational; that Cassiel would have had her seat aside any All-Knowing Being, no matter who it was. But to think that perhaps there is an individual who would ignite this impulse again after having laid dormant for so long, or perhaps never truly emerging, is delicious. I feel it would have to be a complicated, consuming relationship, something braided with romantic love and lust (or what angels can feel of these things). They would also have to be exceptionally wicked or brilliant, carrying attributes that Cassiel wishes for herself, and an individual who she wishes to make a proper mate and to rule beside or jointly. Then, ideally, I want to see them discard her. Perhaps they outgrow her, or never truly returned the affections she gives so endlessly, only using her for their own ascent — it doesn’t matter. But I think it would be a delicious parallel to have her worship at the altar of another, only to be ripped into nothingness the way she allowed the Cherubim to be.

(...) the mysterious thing you look for your whole life will eventually eat you alive. — Laurie Anderson explaining her attraction to Moby-Dick. Admittedly I’m running a little short on time now so please forgive the sloppy explanation, but essentially what I want to see here is another instance where her obsession with receiving ardour bites back. I don’t have a super specific instance for this to happen, though I’d think the best bet right now is through Cade — in the depths of despondency, how far would she go to feel idolized once more? What landmine would Cassiel, in her mania, step upon when running to a false dais? Let’s see, pretty please.

ARE YOU COMFORTABLE WITH KILLING OFF YOUR CHARACTER?

It depends on how I’ve managed to grow Cassiel, and what I see for their arc going forward. I find it a little hard to say from the far-off place at the starting line, but at the moment I would say if there’s a point where Cassiel dies, it would be far in the future -- and most likely, after she has attained a new title or power.

IN DEPTH

DRIVING CHARACTER MOTIVATION.

I feel like I ruminated on some of this in the Plots section (SORRY), but to say it plainly, there’s a marked severance to Cassiel’s motivations before Michael’s mutiny and after, one as clearly demonstrated as the differentiation she has in favour and position between then and now. Prior to Michael’s usurping and the culling of God and his Cherubim, in the early centuries of her existence, Cassiel was likely an angel most lacking in motivation, plan, or plot — and perhaps that’s why even the angels fell for her, even virtuous and zealous Zadkiel. She knew no want, and therefore could not ask for anything, even within herself: all that she might have required or lusted after was delivered to her, any ache balmed before it could bloom, every cut mended before it could be administered. But as it is with all creatures, even those beloved above all but Him, there is a thing in the center of a soul like a hard pit in a stone-fruit — and if borne empty, it will fill in time. One cannot exist without want. So, naturally, she grew to crave what she was being fed: veneration, adoration, love. But to say that that was all young Cassiel desired would not be true, because she had those things, and one does not covet the treasures already held safe in your chest. She was given mere reverence and devotion, so the want could only be something worse: to be the best of them all, second to only God himself in the reception of affection (and where God was cold, she was all sweet-passion warmth; there could be no comparison). She had to be the most revered, the pinnacle of adoration. And for a time, she was that too. So her motivation, than, was preservation: to retain what was had, to bask in glory. To only ever see beauty, and to live as the embodiment of it.  Which is exactly what makes the fall so bone-deep in its lashing: her singular driving force was taken in hand and cracked over the knee. 

After Michael and the Angels mutiny against God, preservation became synonymous with survival. Now, what motivates Cassiel is what drives any losing dog in a fight: fear, envy, spite, desperation. To hope to preserve what was once had is not only futile in her current state, but foolish; clever and terrifyingly lovely as she is, the Angels know what treason she committed against her own brethren. In the eyes of her winged brothers and sisters, she has lost that intangible loveliness which saw her reign above the rest: she, too, could commit sins. Cassiel, too, could be ugly as the rest of them. The mortals, though more easily swayed, can also be duly influenced by the masses around them: they have turned from her too. She cannot preserve what has been smashed: but the pieces of that driving force take a new shape, like a beautiful mirror shattered into a thousand sharp blades. And though her aim, like the red circle on a target or the heart of a stag, is power (currently and most specifically, Michael’s) that does not make it the force that sends the arrow. The lust for power, for those not settled with merely a beautiful existence, is for the desperate. It is for those who have known failure and will refuse to meet it again; it is for the ones you have glimpsed the way down, and fear the impact should they topple entirely. It is for the girls who know what it is to rule a heart, but are no longer satisfied with just one organ. In order to feel safe, they need it all. Cassiel can no longer be second to any: not God, not Michael. To be secondary is to be fallible. And beauty, she will prove, stands above all.

CHARACTER TRAITS. 

( + ) ADAPTABLE, INTUITIVE, CHARMING ( - ) DELUSIVE, SELF-SERVING, COVETOUS 

IN-CHARACTER PARA SAMPLE.

( A NOTE: I’m not entirely sure this is 100% how this scenario would go down — like maybe Zadkiel would have known about Cassiel’s involvement prior to this — but it was felt like a good way to get her voice across! )

When she stands in the banquet hall, it is with the silent quality that befits the scorned and the betrayers (how lucky, then, that she meets at the crux of both, like the brass hinge of a door). Heads do not turn as she takes leave from the great hall as they once did, keeping instead to their new King and celebratory revelry as once-loved Cassiel exits alone into the torch-lit hallways. For all the noises they once made in my honour, she thinks, now they will not even look up with enough haste to track my shadow. Cassiel passes slowly through the corridors of the Archangel Castle, stretches of cold, white marble bearing no life upon it: all that exists in Caelum tonight does so in Michael’s celebration. Even the former Cherubim — what remained after Michael’s tedious, torrid culling — sat in the great hall, miserable as they looked excepting Cassiel. Better to be witnessed in their anguish than found missing, assumed scheming in absence, it seemed. Yet for all their ugly despair, the grim-set mouths and brows so creased with concern they appeared grimy, the new King nor his audience had not once admired Cassiel for her smile, not for the delight she had sent out, like a winged messenger to the field of wounded soldiers: Do not worry, I am here. I am alright. I am still, despite it all, yours. Beautiful. Eternal. She, who had smiled and smiled like endless payment from a bottomless purse, having been charged for a crime that was not her own, and found herself offering restitution nonetheless. As charitable as she is lovely, they should have said. As virtuous as she is a delight.

But they say nothing. They do not even speak it with their eyes. So Cassiel wanders through the palace, disoriented by the lonesome way she must walk, without the arm of another to warm her or cling to. It is not with intent that she finds her way to the throne room; though intent means little in the world of the divine. And none knew this better than Cassiel: righteous acts, ritual acts, and acts of hostility all left the same signature. The fire lit in repeated offering will eventually devastate the brush around it in the same way a single act of malicious arson will. Intent pales in comparison to the impact, mortal or divine. And so all that matters is this: Cassiel arrives. She is there. And soon, she has a hand upon the gilt seat of a God, now a king. A gentle, single caress. It sighs with emptiness.

Down below, music begins. The sound, though muffled by stone, is light and deceptive with a beat kept by tambourine and wound through with panpipes. It crashes and crawls as a serpent through brush, dragging its body across the span of angelic shoulders and up the marble spires until it reaches the slender ankles of high Cassiel above. O, that that song had teeth. It would sink them pit-deep into that lovely ankle. She feels it wind around her as vine to hot rock, seeking, imploring. One palm flattens against the arm of Dead-God-Now-Michael’s golden throne, shivering at its smooth, near-wet chill. Her free hand raises slowly, slim fingers gliding over her collarbone until the full palm rests against the soft skin of her chest. They feel so alike, she and that lonesome, beautiful thing — slick, silken — chilled, lonely, without flaw. Cassiel tightens one hand to the cold edge of the arm, the other slipping deftly beneath the crease of her collar to the smoother skin of her breast. Was is the same there? Did they feel alike everywhere? How gorgeous, how frightening, to touch —

“Cassiel.” 

She turns, straightens, sharp as a flower breaking its neck in a stern wind.

It is Zadkiel. Dark, tall, great-winged Zadkiel, usurping the whole of the entrance in his breadth. Her fear of being caught abates. In the glow of the great fires, they are bronze – no – gold. His skin alights in the way the great blessed tools do, a warning; she is radiance to the point of glow, shining that a beautiful thing might find her in the dark. Like calls to like. 

Zadkiel, she thinks, has not forgotten me. He has followed.

“Zadkiel,” she says his name and is as raw as the meat newly cleaved from the animal, uncooked, bleeding on the plate. Cassiel makes her way to him, fists clamping as shells into his tunic, making the fabric into cotton pearls within her palm, held tightly and with a reverence that says I believe something good will come of this. He always wanted goodness. It was all he could stand.

Around her, her aura shifts; perhaps not the look of her, but what she knows Ever-wholesome Zadkiel requires. His emotions and entire self countenance was a barrage of full, pure colours: red as the poppy, blue as the sea, yellow as wheat. He moved from start to end with sureness, a bullheadedness and a potency that saw the earth moved on either side of him, as an ox yoked in the plowing fields — one could see the line he left in the dirt, straight and true. In what he felt he felt fully and tangibly, and to call that simplicity would have been a mistake. So she gave him, simply, what he requires: a reminder of the divinity they once served. Shine, goodness, a visage not innocent but one above reproach.

“Zadkiel, isn’t it awful — I couldn’t stand to be in the same room — we had to leave, you and I, didn’t we? For us,” She repeats it again, stuffing their existences into the same velvet satchel, her wings closing around them to craft one white-feather world of intimacy. The bottom petal of her lip juts, a flower blooming in the depths of winter. “Today is so hard for us.”

How sweet she could have seemed, stuck to him then as all beautiful things that last so little, like early mornings and mortal life. How dearly she wanted him to pull her head down upon his shoulder and vow to protect her here and evermore, to remind her she was no less dear to him now than before.

But Zadkiel, dark, tall, great-winged Zadkiel, who usurps the light with his breadth, has not moved. His arms do not move to hold her.

“I know of what you did.” He burns like the darkness, his eyes unblinking, and Cassiel feels the jaws of something open up wide within her, beastial teeth scraping against the lining of her stomach, dark feathers brushing her ribs. “I know you betrayed us.” 

Run, the feathers say. Fight, the teeth implore. 

Her pout recedes as she pulls away, the gleam around her dimming into something less blinding, more reminiscent of the light on the water than the ray directly from the sun. Her eyes narrow back from their peeled, opened stance, returning from the look stolen from does and maidens.

“Ah.” Her hands clasp at her stomach, wings receding from their huddle to position behind her, her eyes a torch in the dim — she looked as though she touted an oil lamp within her stomach, with the bowl kept still and fire burning above. “So you and I,” she says, shrewd and slender. “Will have the most difficult evening of all.” 

EXTRAS

WRITTEN AESTHETIC: Swans locked at the neck in violence, the iridescent guts of an oyster shucked for its pearl, the fall of fabric to the floor; the nude body left standing, a gentle finger extending to break a shimmering bubble, the bleat of a lamb as it is laid down for sacrifice.

HEADCANONS: 

She has a large collection of beauty products collected from across the lands, but has become particularly fond of the wares that prove deadly to mortals — polishes infused with venom, powders crafted from ground belladonna. While perhaps she does not need these goods, immortal and ever-capable as she is in becoming one’s ideal, she still enjoys the applications. 

Though she is more satisfied wielding her looks before her sword, she is still prideful of her skill with the latter. Zadkiel himself instructed her in its use long ago, and she does not shirk her practice.

In days gone by, Cassiel had mortals engage in an unofficial competition to bring her the most startling, beautiful, or rare animal to be made her companion, always done shortly after the death of her last. I think it’s particularly fitting that the creatures she bonded with weren’t found through a natural interaction but rather through gifting, given that all things in her existence were handed to her without work. Since the revolt and her subsequent fall from the highest pedestal, these “competitions” have not happened in as organized a capacity, instead with her remaining devoted admirers seeking out gifts and Cassiel herself whenever.

Her current companion is a white lion named Oren. He, like others, was a gift from a devotee — and an exceptional one at that. When he was brought to her, the beast’s keeper tremors at the hands, distanced from the great leonine animal who sat with blood on his maw. A thousand apologies, mistress. The beast, he’s — he mauled a doe. The carcass is grotesque — it lays outside — shall I take him away? And Cassiel knows the insinuation, what the mortal means: He has killed. He has ruined himself. Surely, you cannot want him. But Cassiel merely crouches, pouting her lips as her hands slip below his pale chin, fisting into the thick mane. Her palms grow heavy, sticky with blood. He’s beautiful. 

( As an aside, I love the juxtaposition that it creates when Cassiel meets with Azazel: the demoness’ sleek, dark gaggle of hellhounds, and the angel’s singular bright, mammoth lion. The image of the animals agitated in one another's presence, the hellhounds as mischievous smoke-hyenas that nip at Oren’s flanks while he swipes with one large paw. )

Her last companion was another male, this one a white and grey Arabian stallion specifically bred for and provided to her by an admirer.

I ran into this image and loved the idea that Cassiel has her own crest, designed some time ago by a particularly ardent worshipper (now long deceased) who worked in the arts. She still has every location where it has been inscribed or inlaid memorized.

If there’s a non-deified individual from history that was Cass hiding her wings (not possible? oh well), its Phryne: the Grecian prostitute and renowned beauty who, accused of a capital crime (blasphemy), stripped before the all-male judges to show her body -- the argument being that beauty was a sign of godly favour in Ancient Greece, and with it came a certain innate Goodness. Therefore, she couldn’t be blasphemous. Or, as a text post said: If the tits are legit, you must acquit.

[rogeramir]

A Code For Authentic Living

I have been trying for many years now to come up with a short summary of all the key principles (the golden principles, as I call them in my journal) I want to have in life in order to live meaningfully and, what I now call, living authentically. This is how it looks currently (and I’m sure I’m going to add to this list and re-blog it very soon):

Remember always: there is only The One. You and others are all images of The One. And you contain The One. The One lives inside everyone of you. Just as The One is called ‘divine’, so is each one of you divine. And you are not separate from one another. You are all one, like the fingers on your hand or like the waves in an ocean or like the leaves on a tree. Don’t focus on the temporary separateness, focus on the eternal oneness. Once you catch a whiff of the fragrance of this eternal oneness, you are on your way to reclaiming your own eternity. You have found yourself. (This is the most critical part of the Code and I deliberately start with the spiritual element. For me, this is the first and the most important element for a life worth living. You can throw away everything else included here and just keep this part and you’ll end up in the same place. Every other element of the Code is derived from this one.)

The ‘others’ are you. It is a myth that you are separate from others. Whoever you meet, you meet yourself. And all of your relationships are with yourself. Help these others without getting attached. Advise them if they need advice and if you are experienced enough to advise. Do not judge them. Do not fear them. Do not compare your life with theirs. In your interactions with others, try to rise above the everyday rules of behaviour that you have been using all your life and just remember the eternal oneness. With practice, patience and perseverance, this remembrance will bring a new kind of relationship and a new kind of love. Judgment and comparison will give way to understanding and compassion. This will happen on its own, without any struggle. A new love will arise, which you will not understand in the beginning. This love will be without any attachments, it will be towards everyone you come across and it will be without any give and take. Once you can see yourself loving everyone without exception and without any attachment at all and loving everyone without needing anything at all, then, for the first time in your life, you have experienced real love as opposed to the commercial love that we all practice which is based on a very well-defined give and take. (This is my conclusion on how to develop spiritual, positive and non-toxic relationships.)

This life is like a short trip and you are already on your way back from the trip, like a wave rising in an ocean and then going back to the ocean. You will rise again as a wave in another life. Observe and understand this process and live accordingly. (From the moment we are born, we are all on our way out. But we forget and we indulge in the ego-based life, which leads to temporary and meaningless pursuits.)

Practice minimal living – all needs, goals and attachments are like chains. Observe these chains in your own life and know that you have the option to free yourself. (The body lives in a world based on money. Money is needed when you are born and, unless you have broken free of the world of money, it will be needed when you die and at all times in between. And human desire is a bottom-less pit. It will never be fulfilled. If you are moneyless or jobless, you desire a nice well-paying job. If you earn in thousands, you want to become a millionaire. If you’re a millionaire, you dream of becoming a billionaire. And so on and so forth. Keep that in mind and watch your desires. Just observing yourself and your changing desires will bring about a change. Slowly, step-by-step, you will become less desiring and more content. Master the art of budgeting and living frugally. And you will notice your stress and anxiety levels going down. The less stress and anxiety you have, the more meditative you are. If you plan to leave the world of money, then plan the departure accordingly. Do not leave unfulfilled any prior obligations. The great Buddha ran away from the royal palace leaving his parents (the King and the Queen) and his wife and kid behind. He came back (as per some traditions) to apologize and tell his family what happened to him. His family eventually understood and forgave him and became his devotees, but the point here is that may be he could have done things differently instead of running away from his responsibilities. Yes, there is always the possibility of analysis paralysis i.e., not taking any action to fulfil your great purpose in life, but that can be avoided too. In any case, the world of money, possessions and attachments cannot be combined with the world of God, meditation and silence. Anyone who chooses the path of God will have to start letting go of all material possessions, tangible or intangible.)

Live truthfully today, not in the future. Whatever you keep for tomorrow will never happen, because there is no tomorrow. Tomorrow is only an excuse to maintain status quo. There is only today, this moment. Have the courage to grab this moment and live your life, as you think it should be, in this moment. If you keep postponing your ideal life to the future then this postponement will become a habit. If you start living your ideal life, then such ideal living will become a habit. In the end so much of what we want to achieve depends on our habits. (Start cutting out all the BS you practice in your relationships and your professional and social lives. And live today the life that you want to live; don’t postpone to future. Take small, decisive steps towards the long term objective.)

Live your life like a well-sharpened pencil and don’t spread yourself thin. Focus on doing what you really need to do or what you feel you are most passionate about. Find and focus on doing what you would do even if you are not paid to do it. That would be the thing that is really worth doing. It is like being with a woman or a man that you fall madly in love with, as compared to being with someone that you maybe like a little bit, or not even that. That is the kind of profession you need. Something that you fall in love with. Not something that you do 9 to 5, five days a week, and dream of getting off work and enjoying the weekend. No, once you find the right profession, then your whole week is a weekend. There is no difference between the week days and the weekend. You enjoy through the whole week. Work becomes play. Once you have found it, focus on it. For the rest of your life, just trim it as much as possible, so that you can give all of your time to your passion. Realize and cut out all the crap that you fill your day with just because you don’t have anything better to do. Find that something that will consume you like a raging fire. That is the one thing you should be doing. It is better to do that one thing very well than to do many things not so well. (I hope to give you at some point in future the name of the author and the book where I read this many years ago and it just got stuck in my mind: ‘live your life like a well-sharpened pencil’. If someone knows, plz forward to me too. Another author, Gary Keller, in his book titled ‘The One Thing’ says the same thing in different words, ‘don’t spread yourself thin’.)

Travel, explore, learn and share your learning. (That’s my agenda for the remaining life. One day I might find the place where I’d like to stay till the end of this present journey of life. Or I might find that all places are the same and that the differences are only in my mind.)

[brokenforecast]

The Magician

The Magician : a muggle guide to tarot

     - Through the dark of futures past, the magician longs to see. One chants out between two worlds … Fire Walk with Me.                David Lynch’s Twin Peaks

I realize it’s hard to convince you of my view that tarot doesn’t have anything to do with magic per se, when the title of the card we are discussing is ‘the magician’. But it is perhaps the most worldly, practical, unmagical card in the entire deck, so bear with me. Today we’ll be talking philosophy and raw action. The magician caries the numbered one. So take out your magician card, or your favorite magician card if you have more than one. The magician is a card for which I feel a profound affection; I identify deeply with it (along with two others: the chariot and the king of swords). You could almost say that in this early stage of the tarot’s journey I have halted and stopped at the first step and there is some truth in that. 

Symbolism

We see a figure with one arm pointing upwards, sometimes holding a staff or a wand and one pointing downwards. This represents the ancient phrase “as above, so below”. The idea of a macrocosm and a corresponding microcosm is an old one. We know the ancient Greeks philosophized a lot about this and the idea has spread across big parts of the world ever since. Plato believed in the existence of a perfect world of ideas, next to our world of imperfection. Christianity believes in a temporary existence here on earth and an eternal existence close to god. 

On a more mundane scale we can see the outer world of everyday life and our inner world of hopes, dreams, ideas and fantasies. And in each one there is something that bridges these two. I have always found it intriguing that moons revolve around planets and planets around suns in a colossal void, very much like electrons revolve around the nucleus of an atom, also mostly in void. In short, it symbolizes that the stuff that makes up the universe can be found inside ourselves.  Between the above and the below is the magician, us, at the center of all this. It is a profoundly anthropocentric card; we are, each one of us, the god of our own universe. 

Did I just call you a god? Yes, I did. 

In front of the magician is an altar with four objects: a sword, a wand, a cup and a pentacle (or coin). These four objects represent the four elements, the stuff the universe is made of, in a symbolic way. The altar and the four objects represent everything, the world (the macrocosm) but right in front of us, small and tangible, symbolized (the microcosm). They are there for the taking. In certain decks the magician is called the juggler, the capable artist that keeps all four elements in the air at the same time. The altar is a miniature world under the control of the magician. 

Another crucial symbol is the infinity symbol above the head of the magician, symbolizing the unity of male and female principles. In my post-gender worldview, I don’t like male and female stereotyping, but the tarot is rife with it, luckily in a very nuanced manner. Tarot isn’t inherently patriarchal if that’s what you are wondering. The magician, like the fool, is an androgynous figure, uniting male and female principles. To be an able person, one does indeed need a mix of both, lest we are hollow, ridiculous clichés. The infinity symbol lives on in the character “&” often used on marriage invitations when a couple puts an ampersand between their names, indeed a union of two.

Is there no end to this symbolism? Jesus. We’re almost there; I know it’s a lot; it’s not an easy card concerning its symbolism but I’ll make it up to you later, because its meaning is real simple, I promise. In the Renaissance Tarot we recognize the symbols we talked about (the up and down arms, the altar with the four elements is a plinth here, and we see the infinity symbol). The figure is very androgynous, one leg is straight and muscular, one is almost that of an elegant ballerina. There is a hint of breasts and that hair is long and yet short. 

Some extra symbols are added like the two caduceui (still used by pharmacists as their symbol) but also by the alchemists of old. The two intertwined snakes represent – can you guess it? – the intertwined male and female energies. Between the snake heads is the symbol of the planet Mercury, a blend of (surprise) the male and female symbol. The wings on the arm and feet (like the ancient god Mercury) refer to his ability to ascend and descend in the world above and below.  I’ll shut up about the magician’s belt which represents the ouroboros, you can google that one if you’re really into the ouroboros. I am seriously done with its fucking endless symbolism. 

In the wild unknown card we recognize a few things: the four elements and the infinity symbol but the magician has been replaced by a wildcat. Which brings us seamlessly to its meaning (finally). A lot of cards in tarot are about contemplation but this one is all about action. A wildcat runs and runs fast, it runs gracefully, it is made for running. This card says only one thing: go! 

Upright meaning 

     - Knowing is not enough; We must apply. Willing is not enough; We must do.                Goethe

Just as the magician manipulates the four objects on the altar in front of him (remember, representing the microcosm), so can we manipulate the world around us. The magician is able, he knows his shit, he doesn’t sit idly by, he acts and transforms A into B, he makes changes as he sees fit, he shapes the world around him to his liking. He is whole, male and female combined, confident in his abilities. 

If this card represents a situation it tells us to believe in ourselves and act. Do it! Go for it! Stop doubting, stop thinking and just fucking do it already. 

If it refers to a person, it is someone confident, someone with abilities that bring about change in the real world in any possible way. Someone who knows his trade always seems like a wizard to an uneducated outsider. The things my IT-guy does to my computer look like magic to me; how my pharmacist prepares medicine that heals me looks like magic, how poets juggle and play with words, is magical to me. 

The magician is always someone who believes in themselves and has real skill and influence, not some cog in a machine but maybe an independent employee or anyone with a specific skill set. Or simply someone who works a little practical magic for you. See what I did there?  If you know yourself well, it helps to know the world; if you can change, so can the world. In contrast with the fool, the magician knows really well what he wants, he has a plan and he’s already working on it. The magician is deeply androgynous, he knows when to use his male and when her female side to best reach the goal. 

> The Magician by Stephanie Davidson

Reversed meaning

When reversed it can mean one of three things:

1. Exactly the opposite: inactivity. Someone is sitting on their lazy ass. Maybe thinking, dreaming, fantasizing or calculating risks, weighing options, whatever it is, now is not the time! Just get up and start working. Yes work, you will get tired. Stop talking, stop complaining. Work.

2. Something blocks you: you lack the confidence of the magician, you don’t believe in your own abilities. Maybe you compare yourself to people who do it better. But honestly with seven billion people out there, someone is bound to be better at no matter what you do. Maybe you believe you are worth jack shit. In any case: you are wrong. You are able. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

3. Taken too far: the magician holds the meaning of the charlatan, the imposter, the foul smell that drips from the word manipulating. This is someone who abuses his abilities in a way too selfish and harmful to others. He is a deceiver and quite good at it as well. 

The path of the magician

When you meditate on the magician, or if the magician represents you in a spread, it asks us to act. It is Yoda telling us to do or do not because there really is no try. It is Galadriel telling Frodo that this task was appointed to him and that if he does not find a way, no one will. 

It is Obama yelling at us ‘yes we can’ or Karl Marx telling us that the point is not to think about society, the point is to change it. Few cards are so straightforward. Just like last time, a little meditation exercise to let you grow, to step by step define who you are. Note down three skills that you possess that influence the outside world, grand or modest, doesn’t matter. They don’t have to be unique or super-snowflake-special. Skill is skill. Three things you are good at.

Next jot down three things you want to learn in the future. Like, before you die, preferably. 

Again, I’ll be open and honest; not out of some misguided exhibitionism but because as your guide I want to give the example. 

1. I am a decent enough librarian. I help my readers find the information they need, I teach them a skill set so they can find It themselves and analyze it’s worth in a critical way. I run a smooth library. 

2. I am verbally strong if I want to. I can communicate, inspire, analyze and I have a certain way with words. I write and guide roleplaying games as storyteller, which brings joy and excitement to people. I also use this for evil purposes. I have been known to bend truths.

3. Strategy, long-term planning, making plan B, C and D (and in secret E, F and G). Destroying resistance, guiding the process, improving along the way, optimizing, motivating and cheering at the end. 

Three things I want to learn before I die: to dance, speak German fluently, and sew clothes. 

TLDR: Upright meaning: confidence, action, skill Reversed meaning: passivity, lack of confidence, manipulation

Hollander, P. Scott, Tarot voor beginners, ‘s-Gravenhage, 2004. P30-33. Lyle, Jane, The Secret Tarot, New York, 1998. P16-19. Krans, Kim, The Wild Unknown Tarot Guidebook, New York, 2016. P159-160.

[noahmangwarara]

PICK IT UP YOURSELF

The biggest game changer in your life is you. It is easy to expect others to do it for us- the parents, the pastors, the professors but all these have little to offer compared to the Person in the mirror. There are things you must do for yourself. The greatest game changer of your life is that person in your mirror.

The bible says in the book of 2 Kings 6 vs. 1-7

"The company of the prophets said to Elisha, “Look, the place where we meet with you is too small for us. Let us go to the Jordan, where each of us can get a pole; and let us build a place there for us to meet.” And he said, “Go.”

Then one of them said, “Won’t you please come with your servants?”

“I will,” Elisha replied. And he went with them.

They went to the Jordan and began to cut down trees. As one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron axhead fell into the water. “Oh no, my lord!” he cried out. “It was borrowed!” The man of God asked, “Where did it fall?” When he showed him the place, Elisha cut a stick and threw it there, and made the iron float. “Pick it up yourself,” he said. Then the man reached out his hand and took it."

The company of the prophets had a good intention of expanding their territory. In the process of working, the axe head dropped into the water. They sought the services of Elisha. The prophet turned out to be more business advisor than anything else. Seven business lessons can be mastered from this portion of scripture.

1. THINK BIG

The first thing that these men realized was that the place they were in was too small. All growth and progress starts when one realizes the limitations of the present. Contentment breeds mediocrity. There is no way you can rise to a higher level as long as you are not moved by your current state. It comes down to seeing that your potential is far higher than what you are currently experiencing. Think bigger than your current confines. Think big, dream big and start where you are towards the big things. There is no way you can grow as long as you are not prepared to defy the odds and jump out of your comfort zones.

Your thinking drives everything. You become what you continuously think about. When you think big and take massive action, you can become anything you desire in life. Even though we are living in a world of small thinkers, never allow such a world to define you. Bear in mind that when you think big and ignore what other people think, you will be big.

2. VISION

See everything with clarity. Paint the big picture. It is important to write down the vision. Writing down the vision is a sign of seriousness and commitment to your endeavour. The brain automatically responds when you bring the vision out of your thoughts into the real world. Once the vision is clearly spelt out, you don't need anyone to push you. After the men saw that the place they were staying was too small, they pictured the Jordan as their next destination. The Jordan represents a place of breakthrough. Think and see your breakthrough first before it manifests in the physical.

The bible says in the book of Habakuk 2 vs. 2-3

“Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it.

For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false.

Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay." Vision is the blueprint for building a bridge to the future.

3. GO, EXPLORE AND TAKE OVER THE WORLD

Elisha told the men to Go. What they intended to do was good. The advisor was there to give a green light. There is no way they were going to reach the Jordan if they had remained in one location. Local thinking will never make you global. After thinking, then be prepared to launch out, let go of the present and face the future. Going demands challenging the current state of affairs and embracing new models. New levels require better ways of doing things. What got you here cannot take you there.

Think of the world and believe that you can change that world. Then take to your feet and go. The journey starts by the first step. It is not enough to think, you must do. Going means action.

4. WORK- DO IT

When they got to the Jordan, they started cutting down trees. This signified work. There are no tangible results that come when you are seated. Exert yourself unto work. The great plans must be actionioned. The best plans not executed will never be transformed into great results. Something must be done.

Proverbs 10 vs 4 says

"He who has a slack hand becomes poor,

But the hand of the diligent makes rich."

Rather try and lose than sit back and think you will lose.

Theodore Roosevelt said;

"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat."

Wanting change is always the first step, but step two is taking it. Commit to constant and consistent progress. Never allow inaction to kill your motivation. Take action instead. Always wake up with a clear, definite purpose and always tackle all the things that will bring you closer to your goals.

The path to success is always etched by taking massive, determined action.

5. PROBLEMS ARISE AS YOU WORK

It always happens in the course of life that some unforeseen mishaps do happen. Problems exist on the path to greatness. Whilst the men cleared the trees near the Jordan, the axe head fell into water. Unfortunately, the axe was borrowed. Setbacks crop up when you think your breakthrough is nigh. Never stop doing what you ought to do however because of the problems that arise.

Problems are not meant to kill you, they come to make you stronger. Every man's Promised Land has some mountains and giants. Do not run away from the giants, face them instead and go forth to enjoy the grapes in the land. Before David becomes king, he must deal with his Goliath. Within the problems lie great opportunities.

Because the problem at hand was beyond the capacity of the company of the prophets, they called the man of God for counsel. Whenever you are faced with a problem too big to handle, never shy away, seek advice. Never assume that you can do anything on your own. The man who is open to advise stands to achieve more than the one who think they know everything.

6. ASK CRITICAL QUESTIONS

Answers lie in asking important questions. If the right questions are asked, the right answers are obtained. As was Elisha's habit when faced with issues, he asked

"Where did it fall?"

If you know where you have fallen, you can easily be helped. When you find yourself in a difficult situation, throw all emotions aside and start asking yourself questions.

The words of Rudyard Kipling should echo in every person's mind daily;

I KEEP six honest serving-men

(They taught me all I knew);

Their names are What and Why and When

And How and Where and Who.

I send them over land and sea,

I send them east and west;

But after they have worked for me,

I give them all a rest."

With the right questions, you are good to conquer the world. Questions are always more important than the answers.

The questions must be posed to the person in the mirror. That person has all it takes and all the answers to your challenges. That person is key to your progress.

7. PICK IT UP YOURSELF

Elisha performed a miracle and the axe head floated. It was then the duty of the person in the mirror to pick up the ax himself. It was never about the man of God.

Real greatness is a do it yourself affair.

Napoleon Bornaparte said "lf you want anything done, do it yourself."

The world is moved by men and women who do it themselves. They do not wait for someone else to change things. They are the very change they want to see in their world. They go out in full force to create the spaces they want.

Transformation is always a matter of doing it yourself with yourself. Always do what you can, with what you have and do it now.

[anywhereconsulting]

A simple positioning process for B2B companies

One of the critical elements for a successful marketing strategy is positioning. However, many companies can't crush it. We wanted to give a simple process applicable for most B2B areas, especially for professional service providers. 

How do you know when you need to rethink your positioning strategy?

There are a couple of scenarios where you need to invest time & resources to define your positioning correctly.

When you just launched your business. Typically, startups mix up positioning with niches. They think that their product or service will define their market position anyway - but this is not true. It only explains what industry niche they are active in. For example, if you have a product that helps small businesses to accept card payments, you are in the SME fintech niche - but it is not your market position. We worked with a startup, Cab Card Services, with this offering - their position was to provide solutions for cab drivers with a simple setup.

Simply put, you can't skip your positioning strategy when you are just starting because your product or service won't define it for you on its own. Others are providing the same solutions on the market - you have to be different.

When you reached a certain point with your business. This scenario is typical for medium-sized companies. They started with a position; they evolved beyond and now need to rethink their mission, goals, and ultimately position on the market. We worked with a client, KISSPatent - they started with a set of services tailored for startups who want to protect their ideas with intellectual property. The client grew beyond expectations because of our help. Within a year, they had to rethink their position. The new focus wasn't just ideas, IP, and legal support - but owning the whole innovation process, from ideation to patent filing, the entire show.

Positioning is not something you set and forget - it has to evolve and change with your business.

When your market changed, forcing you to change your business. Typical for those who used to do business in a certain way, but the market moved ahead. They might not feel a push back, as old-school is still working, but their competitors will soon eat their slice of pie as well. Legal companies are a great example of this, sticking to traditional networking, capitalizing on their attorney profiles to get new clients - but people are looking for specialized help with a lot of upfront value-based content.

You can't skip upgrading your business to the current needs, and an upgrade starts with your positioning strategy.

The five steps of our positioning process

Our process is insanely simple, but it takes a lot of effort to go through it properly. We designed it for general purpose, and we can apply to any business scenario. However, we've found that it works best for B2B service providers. If you have an in-house marketing team, you can implement this process on your own as well. We advise using a facilitator like us to get objective results.

The first step is RESEARCH. Before we do anything, we do a lot of research on the market. Our research focuses on three key areas:

Your competitors. Everyone operates within a niche industry nowadays, and no one is alone doing so. Proper competitor analysis is mandatory for any positioning strategy or plan.

Your customers. You have to know your customers' pain points to offer correct solutions to them. Gathering intel on what your target audience wants will help to craft better messages within your positioning strategy.

The broader market. Like day traders can't ignore the current trends of the market when they are trade, you can't ignore the market trends either. It doesn't mean you need to follow the trends - but you have to be aware of them.

A tangible output for this step is a market report with competitor-, customer-, and market analysis. No actionable steps yet, just insights.

The second step is an AUDIT. Gathering all internal stakeholders, decision-makers, and opinion leaders within your company is a crucial need for this step. We can't recommend a positioning that is a) not doable with your current internal resources, b) is not within the company's future vision, c) just not desired for whatever reasons. Your whole company should fully own the new position; otherwise, it won't work. This step should produce an audit report, seen & approved by all stakeholders. 

The third step is STRATEGY. With all the information gathered from the previous two steps, at this point, you can create a positioning strategy for your business. The plan should detail the summary of the research & audit documents, the reasoning behind the strategic switch, the goals & objectives, the necessary steps (tactics) to fulfill the strategy, and KPIs to measure the plan's effectiveness. We always include quick wins, and teams stay motivated in completing the procedure when there are immediate wins for the business. 

The fourth step is the DESIGN. It is inherently different for everyone - a collection of materials to achieve the business's desired position. Simply put, this step is the production work that is needed to fulfill the strategic approach. Most companies do a design makeover at this step, rewrite their messaging, maybe push out a complete set of new content. 

The last step is implementation, LAUNCH. Usually, the previous step's production work has a set of milestones. Completing the milestones will launch the positioning strategy into action. The stage is ready; the curtains are down. We always recommend keeping a close eye on the results & metrics. Monthly marketing reporting with an additional KPI report should be a priority for at least a quarter. There might be some adjustments to the positioning strategy because of the reviewed data.

As described, positioning is not that hard. Positioning IS focus, a focused approach for your business. It is why you need to focus time & resources to craft a positioning strategy that captures your customers' attention. 

My name is Peter Benei, founder of Anywhere Consulting. We help our B2B clients to get more leads with performance-based marketing & design. To read our case studies & learn more about our work, click here.

We work through a unique subscription-based service called Roam. It is flexible, predictable, and modular. To learn more about Roam, click here.

Connect with me on LinkedIn or drop me a line by clicking here.

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[yesazea]

Tips for Goal Setting Self-Improvement

There are some ways to figure on self-development and self-improvement, but setting specific goals for private growth can ensure success. When life serves up obstacles, because it so often does, having a goal that you simply revisit frequently helps you reset, recommit, and recharge.

It also gives you the motivation and accountability to remain focused and follow through on your plans. Setting goals can sometimes desire a frightening task. That’s why it’s helpful to possess a roadmap to guide you along the way.

Goal-Setting Theory

Like most theories in psychology, goal-setting theory started with the ideas from Dr. Edwin A. Locke, in his article, Toward a Theory of Task Motivation and Incentives. In it, he explained the necessity for clear and specific goals that are challenging and monitored with regular feedback and progress.

Locke, alongside Dr. Gary Latham, came up with five principles of effective goal setting. These principles, which include clarity, challenge, commitment, feedback, and task complexity, are the required components when setting, working towards, and achieving a goal.

Additionally, research done by psychology professor Dr. Gail Matthews points to the correlation between writing down your goals and successes instead of merely formulating and keeping them in your head.

How Motivated Are You?

If you’ve ever set a goal and quit before seeing any results, then you recognize only too well that it takes quite a willpower to form a change. Setting and achieving goals says licensed psychologist Catherine Jackson, requires motivation, thinking through the plan, and ways to navigate the possible challenges which will arise.

According to the American Psychological Association (APA), research shows there are three factors to achieving goals:

Motivation to vary Willingness to watch the behavior Willpower to form it happen All three of those have an area within SMART goals.

Specific

When you make your goal specific, you set yourself up for fulfillment. Consider answering who, what, where, when, which, and why when getting specific about your goal.

Measurable

What benchmarks will you employ to form sure you're moving forward? How will you recognize if you’re successful? How will you recognize if you would like to form adjustments? Having a goal that you simply can measure will assist you to stay track and reach your target dates.

Attainable or achievable

Is the goal you’re setting one you'll reach? While you don’t want things to be easy, you furthermore may want to avoid setting goals that are out of your reach.

Realistic or Relevant

This goes alongside attainable. Is your goal relevant to your life, and may you really achieve it, supported your current circumstances? this might be a goal you’ve set before and didn't achieve because it had been not realistic at the time. But now, under different circumstances, this goal may now be realistic.

Timely and Tangible

For a goal to be realistic it also has got to be grounded within a time-frame, and it must be real or tangible.

Developing SMART goals is critical to success. That said, they often limit you to the “what” and therefore the “how” of your goals. For your goals to be effective, you furthermore may get to find your purpose or the “why” of what drives your motivation.

Determining Your Goals

You can set goals in any part of your life. a number of the more common areas include health, career, finances, and education. These broader categories set the stage for the smaller goals you'll work on yearly, monthly, and daily.

While a number of your goals may land within those categories, it’s important to acknowledge that self-development goals also encompass things like learning to color, learning to golf, and giving back to your community. You don’t need to limit yourself to the foremost obvious parts of your life.

Take a while to believe your passions and interests. Brainstorm some ideas around things that excite you. remember and check out to spot if there’s something you’ve always wanted to try to, but fear of the unknown—or fear of failure—prevented you from taking a risk. The ideas you generate from these brainstorming activities are like clues that will assist you to narrow your focus and set more specific goals.

Ask Yourself Why

The next step you’ll want to require is to ask yourself “why” that goal is vital to you. for instance, if you would like to end your college degree, setting smaller goals that revolve around “why” will assist you to get there faster. To define your why, consider asking yourself these three questions:

1. Why is finishing my degree important to me? 2. Why does that reason matter? 3. Why do I feel strongly that reason? Once you've got a far better idea of your "why," it’s time to try another self-assessment. Going with the school degree example, if you’ve determined that finishing your degree is that the big goal, then, before you apply the SMART strategy to return up with smaller, more obtainable goals, it’s helpful to answer the subsequent inquiries to determine if you’re truly able to make this commitment.

*Are you emotionally able to plan to something which may be physically and or emotionally uncomfortable? *Are you able to be honest with yourself about where you’re at and where you would like to go? *Do you have the time? are you able to say “no” to the items which will interfere together with your goal? Now that you’ve done two different activities to urge clear on your reasons, it should be obvious if you’re motivated to make a change. If that’s the case, you’re able to move forward with the goal-setting process.

Tips and methods to succeed in Your Goals

Setting and dealing with a goal requires quite just a bit of paper and a pencil. There also are certain skills you would like to possess in situ when taking over a goal.

Fist and foremost, you would like to be ready to plan out the steps for reaching your goal. And once the plan is in situ, it’s the commitment and focus that helps to maneuver you towards the result you would like. But, of course, somewhere within the middle, lies self-motivation and adaptability. Here are other tips and methods to assist you to reach your goals.

State Goals With a Positive Tone

When setting a goal, attempt to avoid the temptation to state your desire in a negative way. for instance, “I won't complain such a lot .” Restated positively sounds more like this, “I will find three positive things about my day and write them down before I'm going to bed.”

Focus on the method, Not the result.

This is one of the foremost difficult parts of setting and achieving goals. due to the very nature of a goal, you begin with the top in mind. But it’s really the steps you're taking to urge there that matter the foremost. Let’s say the result you would like is to lose 20 pounds. That’s the goal. But during the method of working towards this goal, you discover that your body is easier at a weight that only has you losing 15 pounds. Did you fail at achieving this goal? Not if you think within the power of the method.

Make a Contract With Yourself.

Once you’re able to go, whether that’s within the preparation or action stage, Jackson recommends making a contract with yourself for fulfillment.

Clear Out the Old to form Room for the New.

Jackson says to urge started on the proper foot, it’s an honest idea to reflect on what you’ve accomplished so far and forgive yourself and abandoning of regret for what didn’t come to pass. While performing on clearing the clutter from your mind, it’s not a nasty idea to try to an equivalent together with your home and workspaces.

Visualize What you would like

“Visualization and mental workouts stimulate many of equivalent neural networks that connect the brain’s intentions to the body, so, take a while to properly train your thoughts before you start setting your goals,” says Jackson. This helps you purposefully and intentionally imagine your goals coming to fruition.

Make a selected Plan

List out your goal or goals and therefore the steps you would like to accomplish them. Then, Jackson says to interrupt these into small attainable steps with realistic deadlines. “This is simpler once you put aside time before the beginning of every week to write down out specific belongings you want to accomplish within the subsequent week which will move you closer to the goal,” she explains.

Keep it Visible

It’s an honest idea to place your goals with the steps and deadlines during a place where you'll see it often. “Seeing the goals and steps you've got to require will keep you motivated and consistent to still work toward it,” explains Jackson. Her advice? check out it weekly or better yet daily.

Reward Yourself

As you accomplish steps toward your goal, confirm to reward yourself along the way.

Reviewing and Reassessing Your Goals

One last item before you get busy setting your goals unless you're the exception to the rule, plan on reviewing and reassessing your goals several times before you reach them, especially if they're loftier goals.

You can set this up as weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or bi-monthly date. It really depends on the benchmarks you set and the way long you’ve given yourself to satisfy your goal.

Regardless of how often you sit right down to do that review, the foremost important thing is that you simply assess whether your goals—and the steps you’re taking—are still relevant and realistic.

This “date together with your goals” also gives you the prospect to watch your progress, which the AAP equates with a greater likelihood that you simply will succeed. to not mention, these review sessions offer you an opportunity to form adjustments and celebrate any successes you’ve achieved, which are both critical during this process.

[funnydove-blog]

The Goal Standard: Emotions

The common danger that most people encounter when they decide to change their life is that they become too emotional about a self-improvement program. They set unrealistic goals, like losing a pound a day over 30 days. Then obstacles, setbacks, or lackluster results appear. Discouraged and frustrated, they quickly give up on their objective, return to previous behavior patterns, and live the same life.

Often this happens because people aren’t honest with themselves about their own capabilities. The other issue may be that they’re vulnerable to the too-good-to-be-true promises made on infomercials and YouTube videos, i.e., “You’ll be the next nomoney- down real estate millionaire.” Not everyone is meant to be a real estate millionaire, an internet billionaire, best-selling author, or a pop icon. There are entire 41 industries that prosper in America by preying upon people’s illusions about themselves and their abilities.

Emotions are a key part of life, but to improve, we need to harness new habits to those emotions and follow through with purpose. This requires resolve, which is an emotion, but not the same thing as ‘emotion’. Resolve is an emotion with a purpose and a plan attached to it.

As an example, let’s look at a woman who is overweight. She has tried different diets and different exercise programs, but she can’t seem to discipline herself consistently to make them work and see results. Finally, she has a heart-to-heart conversation with a girlfriend. She admits her failures, and shares her frustration with her close friend. Her friend is sympathetic, but senses the underlying issue.

‘If you keep going the way you’re going, you’re going to have serious health problems,’ her friend says bluntly. ‘I know’, admits the woman. ‘Heart disease. Diabetes.’

‘And your kids? What’s going to happen to them if you’re not healthy enough to take care of them? Take them to ballgames and concerts? What if you’re not even around at all to see them grow up?’

That question resonates with the woman. It is an emotional issue deep enough and important enough to create resolve. The woman realizes how important her health is, not just to herself, but to her family. She decides to work consistently and gradually to exercise regularly and eat better. She sets goals to lose weight. She shares these goals with her husband and kids, so, when they see her making good choices about food and activities, they support and encourage her. She gathers information thoroughly, assembles and organizes her tools, and makes the maximum, consistent effort. This combination ensures optimal results.

OLD MONEY SECRET

Life is most fully lived with a direction, a purpose. This purpose is beyond the sedentary enjoyment of leisure and the simple acquisition of wealth. Direction must have meaning and enduring value. Each person must decide on their own what direction their life will take.

THINGS TO REMEMBER

You want to have a direction and also define it in detail. Create vivid, threedimensional goals and dreams about what you want to be and do. Look at yourself in an honest—but not limited—light. To help you define your direction, let’s again inquire within… Ask yourself:

What do I really enjoying doing?

What am I naturally good at?

With my skill set, interests, and personality, where do I fit in?

What credentials or experience do I need to obtain in order to be qualified to do

what I really love?

Am I willing to work to get those credentials or experience, intensely and consistently?

If not, why not?

What industry, field, or profession do I naturally gravitate toward?

Do I feel like the people working in that industry are ‘kindred spirits’?

What kind of plan can I put together, with step-by-step actions, tangible targets,

and reasonable deadlines, to move in the direction of doing what I want to do?

What resources are available to me that can help me get there?

Remember: you may envision yourself, teaching a classroom full of students, working at a national park, or doing research in a lab. When you have an image in your mind, and you feel excited, make a mental note of that: you may have discovered your direction.

Born to privilege, Edith Wharton was also born to write, and write she did. She published her first poem at the age of 15, authored more than 85 short stories and 15 novels, and, in 1921, was the first woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for Literature.

A child of the Civil War, she was three years old when the Confederate States surrendered. After the war, her family traveled extensively in Europe enabling her to become fluent in French, German, and Italian. She rejected the standards of fashion and etiquette that were expected of young girls at the time, considering these fashions superficial and oppressive. Ms. Wharton also wanted more education than she received, so she read voraciously from her father’s library and borrowed—sometimes without permission—from the libraries of her father’s friends.

On vacation in Paris when World War I broke out, Ms. Wharton didn’t flee to safety like most everyone else. She stayed and offered assistance to unemployed French women and refugees, held fundraisers for the war effort, and opened tuberculosis hospitals. She was made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor by the French president for her efforts. It wasn’t because she played it safe. If you have a passion for writing, read about the life of Edith Wharton.

“There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle, or the mirror that receives it.” —EDITH WHARTON

[avknight-blog1]

Character Personality Test

First off, I love doing personality tests for my characters. Always have. But for a long time, the tests were less about getting to know my characters better and more about procrastination.

However, I'm a firm believer that when there's something about the writing process that you love, you should find a way to incorporate it into your routine. For me, that meant finding a test that was smart enough to actually tell me something about my characters but didn't need several days of extensive research before the test made got useful or made sense. (I'm looking at you, MBTI.)

Hands down, no questions asked, the Clifton StrengthsFinder is my favorite personality test for writing. For me, it hits that sweet spot between effective and efficient. StrengthsFinder does exactly what it sounds like: categorizing people according to their strengths. The test defines strengths as someone's "naturally recurring patterns of thought, feeling, or behavior."

Translation: a 'strength' is the way a person inherently looks at or interacts with the world. The more dominant a strength is in a person, the greater the impact of that strength on their behavior. So a person who ranks high on Adaptability -- another thing that's exactly what it sounds like -- is naturally good at going with the flow and dealing with problems as they arise. These strengths help define the way your characters approach the world and show how they'll deal with all conflict that you're throwing at them.

Because people are complicated, every person or character will have multiple strengths. Some of these strengths dovetail together nicely, and others seem like they juxtapose. Sometimes characters push those strengths too far and turn them into flaws. And as we all know, just because something is a strength for that character, that doesn't mean it's a strength for the situation you're putting them in.

So I present to you: The Masterlist of Strengths. I have short summaries listed and a quick character example for each for clarification. Personally, I like to narrow down my character to 3-5 of the strengths that I think determine their patterns of behavior.

(Want an example? hop over here to watch how I apply this to our good friends Harry, Ron, and Hermione.)

Achiever

Get 'er done.

Achievers have stamina and work hard. They like defined progress and tangible outcomes so they can feel like they're moving forward and getting things done. This means they can give themselves too much to do and have a hard time taking a day off. A day without a completed to-do list is a day wasted

e.g., Jack Crawford, Hannibal

Activator

Turning thoughts into action.

Once you've made your decision, act on it. There's no wasting time contemplating other options or potential fallout. If that means the decision is the wrong one, then they correct it on the move. They're not exactly hasty, but they're more concerned with forward progress then debating all the potential outcomes.

e.g., Harry Potter, Harry Potter

Adaptability

Go with the flow.

They live in the now and respond to things as they arise. They can put aside the plan when it stops working and create something new. They're great on the fly, but everyday monotony and everything going to plan can drive them crazy. All that living for what arises in the moment can mean they don't plan for the future.

e.g., Jason Bourne, Jason Bourne

Analytical

Just the facts, ma'am.

Prefer objective and dispassionate facts about a situation, and then use that agenda-free data to figure out the causes and patterns of a situation. They don't act until all the data is compiled, and then use those facts to cut through other people's faulty logic and wishful thinking to get to the truth. The trick is keeping that logic from sounding too brutal to the wishers.

e.g., Spock, Star Trek

Arranger

Flexible organization.

Manage all the variables until everything comes together in the best way possible. Change to your plans isn't bad, it's just a chance to make things more efficient. To them, nothing is ever truly settled because there might always be a better way to discover. Mindless routine is the bane of their existence.

e.g., Hannibal Smith, The A-Team 

Belief

Core values.

Core values are unchanging, and those values give life meaning and direction. Believers are dependable because you can always count on them act in accordance with those values, no matter how difficult it might be. Generally, this makes them family-oriented, altruistic, and value ethics in themselves and others.

e.g., Chidi Anagonye, The Good Place

Command

In control.

Take a stand on something and get restless until they've moved everyone else in that direction. They don't mind confrontation because they know they're right, though that certainty doesn't make them persuasive. They confront unpleasantness and believe they're helping other people face the truth.

e.g., Daenerys Targaryen, Game of Thrones

Communication

Turn thoughts into words.

Explain, describe, host, speak in public, and write. They're concerned not just about sharing information, but about commanding people's attention so that their information survives and drives people to act. They give dry ideas life and often are good conversationalists and presenters.

e.g., Jed Bartlett, The West Wing

Competition

I win.

Aware of other people's performance and measure their progress and success against those other people. It's not about meeting goals or trying hard, it's about competing with someone else and winning. Though the competition is invigorating, eventually they avoid situations where they don't think they can 'win'.

e.g., Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz, The Big Bang Theory

Connectedness

Everything has a reason.

We are all connected to each other. We all have free will, but we're part of something bigger. There are few coincidences and everything has a reason, so we're responsible to do what's best for everyone. Whether they call it collective unconscious or life force, knowing that we're not isolated provides comfort and confidence.

e.g., Pocahontas, Pocahontas

Consistency

Fairness.

They treat everyone the same to the point that nepotism and special connections are offensive to them. The rules are the rules and should be applied to everyone equally without being tipped for or against any one person. Believe that people do best where things are predictable and evenhanded.

e.g., Mad-Eye Moody, Harry Potter

Context

Learn from the past.

The future is a jumble and the present is unstable, so they figure out what's going on by understanding how we got here. They need to understand the original plans and the underlying structure to make decisions about the present. That means taking time to orient themselves in the past before they can go forward.

e.g., Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter

Deliberative

Walk with care.

Rather than ignore risks, they identify, assess, and reduce them. They plan ahead to anticipate what obstacles there might be. They are careful when they select paths to take, topics to discuss, and people to trust. Life is a minefield, so they identify the dangers, weigh their impact, and place their feet with care.

e.g., Batman

Developer

No one is fully formed.

They see the potential in others and trust that everyone can turn into something better. We're all works in progress and they can help that along. They look for ways challenge people, making them stretch and grow until their potential is realized. Like to see people take baby steps forward, watching potential become realized.

e.g., Gandalf, Lord of the Rings

Disciplined

Order and planning.

Need predictability, so they impose structure on everything. They believe in order, timelines, routines, and efficiency. They don't like surprises and get frustrated with errors. Life is messy, and they like to feel in control. Can come across as controlling, but they see it as maintaining productivity in the face of life's messiness.

e.g., Sheldon Cooper, The Big Bang Theory

Empathy

Ability to understand.

Sense the emotions of the people around them, letting them see the world through other people's eyes and share their perspective. They might not agree or sympathize, but they understand where people are coming from. Strong intuition about how people are going to behave. Can help others express themselves.

e.g., William Graham, Hannibal 

Focus

Stay on target.

Follow a clear destination and use that to filter out everything that doesn't help them move towards their goals. They're efficient and get frustrated with delays, obstacles, and whatever person or thing isn't moving them forward. So goal-oriented that without a clear focus to work towards, life becomes frustrating.

e.g., Dean Winchester, Supernatural

Futuristic

Wouldn't it be great if…

See visions of what the world might be and all that the future might hold. This potential energizes them, and they have the ability to paint that picture for others and pull them into tomorrow too. They're not motivated by living in today, but by a detailed picture of what they want to be over the horizon.

e.g., young Luke Skywalker, Star Wars

Harmony

Can't we all get along?

Don't see the value of conflict or friction. They believe everything is more productive when we look for consensus rather than trying to impose our views on others. This means they'd rather talk about practical, down-to-earth topics that we might actually be able to agree on. Common ground is better than conflict.

e.g., early Daniel Jackson, Stargate: SG1

Ideation

Enlightening.

Revel in discovering the simple concepts that lurk beneath complexity. The explain why things are the way they are. They're always looking for connections and love it when disparate things come together elegantly. They like twisting normal things around and viewing them from a creative, conceptual, and original angle.

e.g., Phineas Flynn and Ferb Fletcher, Phineas and Ferb

Includer

Widen the circle.

Want to include as many people as possible and make them feel a part of the group. They're instinctively accepting, and believe that fundamentally we are all the same and all just as important as one another. Everyone should feel like they're part of the group. Yes, everyone.

e.g., Rapunzel, Tangled

Individualization

Everyone is unique.

Intrigued by the unique qualities of each person. They like to accentuate these differences and focus on what makes each person distinct. There are no 'types' of people, there are individuals with things that are special and distinct about each of them. They draw out the best in each person.

e.g., Dr. Who

Input

The Inquisition.

Collect things and information just because it interests them, and they find many things interesting. They don't have a particular purpose for their new information and maybe they never will, but they find it interesting enough to research, and that's reason enough.

e.g., Stiles Stilinski, Teen Wolf

Intellection

Mental gymnastics.

They like to think and stretch their mental muscles in multiple directions. This doesn't mean they like to think about specific things in particular, but just that they like to think. They enjoy alone time because it's time for musing and reflection. Although, sometimes they get worried about not doing enough with those thoughts.

e.g., Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock

Learner

Excuse me while I research.

Drawn to the process of learning more than they are the content or result of that learning. They like the journey from ignorance to competence, no matter what they're busy learning. Not about becoming an expert or achieving a goal, but more about the process.

e.g., Rory Gilmore, Gilmore Girls

Maximizer

Accentuate the positive.

They don't focus on what they lack, they focus on making their good traits better. It's more fun and more productive to refine those strengths and turn them into excellence then it is to turn something bad into a good. They capitalize on the gifts that they already have rather than fix the places they're lacking.

e.g., Tony Stark, Iron Man

Positivity

Always look on the bright side.

Generous with praise and on the lookout for the positive. Their enthusiasm is enough to make the world better. They have the energy to lighten spirits and make everything, no matter how dull, more vivid. They believe it's good to be alive and that no matter what trouble happens, you can still smile.

e.g., Luna Lovegood, Harry Potter

Relator

Relationship creator.

Take casual acquaintances and deepen them into real friendships. Comfortable with intimacy because relationships only have value if they're genuine. Willing to share with people and take risks together in order to forge a genuine bond. Take pride it turning strangers into friends.

e.g., Anne Shirley, Anne of Green Gables

Responsibility

Utterly dependable.

Take ownership of anything they commit to and follow it through. When they make a mistake, an apology or a rationalization isn't enough. They have to make it right. This ends up with impeccable ethics and a drive to make sure things are done right. Should be careful not to take on too much since they have to follow through.

e.g., Captain America, Winter Soldier

Restorative

Problem solver.

Enjoy analyzing symptoms, figuring out what's wrong, and finding the solution. Know that without their intervention this thing, technique, person, or company might have ended without them. The kind of problems they might prefer revolve around other traits and life experiences, but they all want to bring things back to life.

e.g., Gregory House, House

Self-Assurance

Certainty.

Have faith in their strengths and their ability not just to get things done, but to do them in the right way. They know what the right decision is and trust their own judgment above all. Other people can suggest, but they alone have final accountability for their life and know what the right choice for them must be.

e.g., Jack Donaghy, 30 Rock

Significance

Stand out.

Value being recognized and be heard. They bring things to the table and they want to be appreciated for them. Different traits mean they focus on being acknowledged for different things, but it drives them to be exceptional rather than mediocre. FIlled with goals, achievements, or qualifications they crave.

e.g., Bonnie Plunkett, Mom

Strategic

Find the best route.

Sort through all the clutter and find patterns where other people see only complexity. They ask themselves 'what if this happened?' again and again, until they find their path. They shuck off the wrong options until they find the right path and start forward.

e.g., Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock

Woo

Winning others over.

Like the challenge of meeting new people and getting them to like them. They're rarely at a loss for words and like forging new connections. Once those connections are made, they move on to make more new ones. Can put people at ease, but struggle to turn it into a stable relationship.

e.g., Neal Caffrey, White Collar

[deservingoffinegreatness-blog]

Success Strategies - 3 Tips to Help Women Overcome Obstacles and Reach Their Dreams

So many women wish they could be more successful in their lives, yet, when I take them aside and ask them what would constitute specific success in their lives; they would stare at me blankly. Sure they might cover the obvious success strategies they would imagine they would need in order to be successful - but all too often they are not sure themselves of exactly what they are trying to achieve. Most women could tell me that they wanted to achieve abundance in wealth, health and happiness - yet in order to execute effective strategies to achieve these objectives, they would possibly land up walking away with mediocre results because their frame was too vague.

You see, if you don't have very clear and specific goals in mind, then no matter what strategies you initiate in your life - you will be running around in circles. As a professional coach, it is my job to make sure that my clients' goals and objectives are crystal clear before we even attempt to develop suitable success strategies in order to achieve what they are seeking. Often we are in a rush to reach our success, we bypass as many possible points so that we can get into action and start seeing immediate results. But if we don't formulate a foundation for clarity and develop a plan to implement the right actions aligned with our definitive goals - we will sink before we can even swim!

The very first tip towards developing powerful and pertinent action steps therefore lies in becoming clear on what you want. It is not specific enough to say I want to become wealthy. Wealth to you may mean something very different to what wealthy means to someone else. How wealthy do you want to be, what do you want to earn, when do you want to become wealthy by...? These are all questions that need to be thought through before you get out there and play the game. Being vague will give you vague results. Get specific, measurable and clear so that you know exactly what to set out to achieve and then we can move onto creating success strategies that are right for you!

Once you are clear on what you want, the second tip I would implicate is to formulate goals that are tangible and do-able. So many women set such high expectations of themselves that they devise unrealistic action plans that they need to implement and they land up getting stuck in over-whelm. We often debilitate ourselves before we even begin. It is true that we all want to be superwomen; however, we also need to look at setting ourselves up to succeed and not to get imprisoned by the anxiety of our own expectations.

The rule of thumb as a coach is to encourage clients to set themselves up to carry out success strategies that are 20% out of your comfort zone. So if you feel that leaving your job and opening up your own business is 100% out of your comfort zone, then you need to look at other alternatives that you could do that would push you to get there, but not keep you trapped in helplessness. Perhaps you could start the company whilst you are still employed and work on it in the evenings and over the weekends, until such time as you feel that the move over would be more aligned with 20% out of your comfort zone.

Thirdly, the biggest tip I can give you as a coach to enhance effective success strategies is the following: see failure as feedback. If you are scared to do something out of fear of failure - then chances are you'll never do it and you will never be able to face the failure, receive the feedback and move onto becoming a success. Failure is a success strategy in itself. The only way past failure is to go through it and learn so that you can then come out tops! If you can change your perspective on failure, I bet you would be ready and willing to try a lot more things in your life! Successful people welcome failure and use it as a stepping stone towards reaching their ultimate dreams.

So are you ready to define your goals clearly, get 20% out of your comfort zone, and welcome failure? If so, you have three success strategies that will help you overcome any obstacles, and shift you into creating and getting into action towards achieving your dream life!

[sasorikigai]

Hanzo - ISFP-T - Adventurer

Adventurer personalities are true artists, but not necessarily in the typical sense where they’re out painting happy little trees. Often enough though, they are perfectly capable of this. Rather, it’s that they use aesthetics, design and even their choices and actions to push the limits of social convention. Adventurers enjoy upsetting traditional expectations with experiments in beauty and behavior – chances are, they’ve expressed more than once the phrase “Don’t box me in!”

Charming – People with the Adventurer personality type are relaxed and warm, and their “live and let live” attitude naturally makes them likable and popular.

Sensitive to Others – Adventurers easily relate to others’ emotions, helping them to establish harmony and good will, and minimize conflict.

Imaginative – Being so aware of others’ emotions, Adventurer personalities use creativity and insight to craft bold ideas that speak to people’s hearts. While it’s hard to explain this quality on a resume, this vivid imagination and exploratory spirit help Adventurers in unexpected ways.

Passionate – Beneath Adventurers’ quiet shyness beats an intensely feeling heart. When people with this personality type are caught up in something exciting and interesting, they can leave everything else in the dust.

Curious – Ideas are well and good, but Adventurers need to see and explore for themselves whether their ideas ring true. Work revolving around the sciences may seem a poor match for their traits, but a boldly artistic and humanistic vision is often exactly what research needs to move forward – if Adventurers are given the freedom they need to do so.

Artistic – Adventurers are able to show their creativity in tangible ways and with stunning beauty. Whether writing a song, painting an emotion, or presenting a statistic in a graph, Adventurers have a way of visualizing things that resonates with their audience.

Fiercely Independent – Freedom of expression is often Adventurers’ top priority. Anything that interferes with that, like traditions and hard rules, creates a sense of oppression for Adventurer personalities. This can make more rigidly structured academics and work a challenge.

Unpredictable – Adventurers’ dislike long-term commitments and plans. The tendency to actively avoid planning for the future can cause strain in Adventurers’ romantic relationships and financial hardship later in life.

Easily Stressed – Adventurers live in the present, full of emotion. When situations get out of control, people with this personality type (especially Turbulent ones) can shut down, losing their characteristic charm and creativity in favor of gnashing teeth.

Overly Competitive – Adventurers can escalate small things into intense competitions, turning down long-term success in their search for glory in the moment, and are unhappy when they lose.

Fluctuating Self-Esteem – It’s demanded that skills be quantified, but that’s hard to do with Adventurers’ strengths of sensitivity and artistry. Adventurers’ efforts are often dismissed, a hurtful and damaging blow, especially early in life. Adventurers can start to believe the naysayers without strong support.

Kuai - INFJ-A - Advocate

The Advocate personality type is very rare, making up less than one percent of the population, but they nonetheless leave their mark on the world. Advocates have an inborn sense of idealism and morality, but what sets them apart is that they are not idle dreamers. These individuals are capable of taking concrete steps to realize their goals and make a lasting positive impact.

People with this personality type tend to see helping others as their purpose in life. Advocates can often be found engaging in rescue efforts and doing charity work. However, their real passion is to get to the heart of the issue so that people need not be rescued at all.

Creative – Combining a vivid imagination with a strong sense of compassion, Advocates use their creativity to resolve not technical challenges, but human ones. People with the Advocate personality type enjoy finding the perfect solution for someone they care about. This strength makes them excellent counselors and advisors.

Insightful – Seeing through dishonesty and disingenuous motives, Advocates step past manipulation and sales tactics and into a more honest discussion. Advocate personalities see how people and events are connected. They are then able to use that insight to get to the heart of the matter.

Inspiring and Convincing – Speaking in human terms, not technical, Advocates have a fluid, inspirational writing style that appeals to the inner idealist in their audience. Advocates can even be astonishingly good orators, speaking with warmth and passion. This is especially true if they are proud of what they are speaking for.

Decisive – Advocates’ creativity, insight, and inspiration are able to have a real impact on the world. This is because they are able to follow through on their ideas with conviction, willpower, and the planning necessary to see complex projects through to the end. People with the Advocate personality type don’t just see the way things ought to be; they act on those insights.

Determined and Passionate – When Advocates come to believe that something is important, they pursue that goal with a conviction and energy that can catch others off-guard. Advocates will rock the boat if they must. Not everyone likes to see this, but their passion for their chosen cause is an inseparable part of the Advocate personality.

Altruistic – These strengths are used for good. Advocates will not engage in any actions or promote beliefs just to benefit themselves. They have strong beliefs and take the actions that they do because they are trying to advance an idea that they truly believe will make the world a better place.

Sensitive – When someone challenges or criticizes Advocates’ principles or values, they are likely to receive an alarmingly strong response. People with the Advocate personality type are highly vulnerable to criticism and conflict. Questioning their motives is the quickest way to their bad side.

Extremely Private – Advocates tend to present themselves as the culmination of an idea. This is partly because they believe in this idea, but also because Advocates are extremely private when it comes to their personal lives. They use this image to keep themselves from having to truly open up, even to close friends. Trusting a new friend can be even more challenging for Advocates.

Perfectionistic – Advocate personalities are all but defined by their pursuit of ideals. While this is a wonderful quality in many ways, an ideal situation is not always possible – in politics, in business, in romance. Advocates, especially Turbulent ones, too often drop or ignore healthy and productive situations and relationships, always believing there might be a better option down the road.

Always Need to Have a Cause – Advocate personalities get so caught up in their pursuits that any of the cumbersome tasks that come between them and their ideal vision is deeply unwelcome. Advocates like to know that they are taking concrete steps toward their goals. If routine tasks feel like they are getting in the way – or worse yet, there is no goal at all – they will feel restless and disappointed.

Can Burn Out Easily – Their passion, impatience for routine maintenance, idealism, and extreme privacy tend to leave Advocates with few options for letting off steam. People with this personality type are likely to exhaust themselves in short order if they don’t find a way to balance their ideals with the realities of day-to-day living.

Satoshi - INFP-T - Mediator

Mediator personalities are true idealists, always looking for the hint of good in even the worst of people and events, searching for ways to make things better. While they may be perceived as calm, reserved, or even shy, Mediators have an inner flame and passion that can truly shine. Comprising just 4% of the population, the risk of feeling misunderstood is unfortunately high for the Mediator personality type – but when they find like-minded people to spend their time with, the harmony they feel will be a fountain of joy and inspiration.

Idealistic – Mediators’ friends and loved ones will come to admire and depend on them for their optimism. Their unshaken belief that all people are inherently good, perhaps simply misunderstood, lends itself to an incredibly resilient attitude in the face of hardship.

Seek and Value Harmony – People with the Mediator personality type have no interest in having power over others, and don’t much care for domineering attitudes at all. They prefer a more democratic approach, and work hard to ensure that every voice and perspective is heard.

Open-Minded and Flexible – A live-and-let-live attitude comes naturally to Mediators, and they dislike being constrained by rules. Mediators give the benefit of the doubt too, and so long as their principles and ideas are not being challenged, they’ll support others’ right to do what they think is right.

Very Creative – Mediators combine their visionary nature with their open-mindedness to allow them to see things from unconventional perspectives. Being able to connect many far-flung dots into a single theme, it’s no wonder that many Mediators are celebrated poets and authors.

Passionate and Energetic – When something captures Mediators’ imagination and speaks to their beliefs, they go all in, dedicating their time, energy, thoughts and emotions to the project. Their shyness keeps them from the podium, but they are the first to lend a helping hand where it’s needed.

Dedicated and Hard-Working – While others focusing on the challenges of the moment may give up when the going gets tough, Mediators (especially Assertive ones) have the benefit of their far-reaching vision to help them through. Knowing that what they are doing is meaningful gives people with this personality type a sense of purpose and even courage when it comes to accomplishing something they believe in.

Too Idealistic – Mediators often take their idealism too far, setting themselves up for disappointment as, again and again, evil things happen in the world. This is true on a personal level too, as Mediators may not just idealize their partners, but idolize them, forgetting that no one is perfect.

Too Altruistic – Mediators sometimes see themselves as selfish, but only because they want to give so much more than they are able to. This becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, as they try to push themselves to commit to a chosen cause or person, forgetting to take care of the needs of others in their lives, and especially themselves.

Impractical – When something captures Mediators’ imagination, they can neglect practical matters like day-to-day maintenance and simple pleasures. Sometimes people with the Mediator personality type will take this asceticism so far as to neglect eating and drinking as they pursue their passion or cause.

Dislike Dealing With Data – Mediators are often so focused on the big picture that they forget the forest is made of individual trees. Mediators are in tune with emotions and morality, and when the facts and data contradict their ideals, it can be a real challenge for them.

Take Things Personally – Mediators often take challenges and criticisms personally, rather than as inspiration to reassess their positions. Avoiding conflict as much as possible, Mediators will put a great deal of time and energy into trying to align their principles and the criticisms into a middle ground that satisfies everybody.

Difficult to Get to Know – Mediators are private, reserved and self-conscious. This makes them notoriously difficult to really get to know, and their need for these qualities contributes to the guilt they often feel for not giving more of themselves to those they care about.

[howtobusines]

Best 10 Business Books of All Time every entrepreneur should read

To be a successful entrepreneur or a successful person in your life, Reading business books is the key to achieve that purpose, Reading business books it gives you knowledge, improves your brain, your skills, saving you money and improves your creativity, reading business books isn't a waste of time, it's gain you time. Here are the extreme reading habits of billionaire entrepreneurs::

Warren Buffett spends five to six hours per day reading five newspapers and 500 pages of 

Bill Gates reads over 50 books per year.

Mark Zuckerberg reads at least one book every two weeks.

Mark Cuban reads more than 3 hours every day.

This list is the best-selling business book ever written.

1. Zero to One

Authors: Peter Thiel, Blake Masters    Ratings: 133,955    Reviews: 4,833     Page count: 224

Zero To One is an inside look at Peter Thiel’s philosophy and strategy for making your startup going from nothing to something, from nonentity to existence, This book is what every entrepreneur should read and must re-read.

Book chapters: 

CHAPTER 1: The Challenge of The Future. 

CHAPTER 2: Party Like It's 1999. CHAPTER 3: All Happy Companies Are Different. CHAPTER 4: The Ideology of Competition. CHAPTER 5: Last Mover Advantage. CHAPTER 6: You Are Not a Lottery Ticket. CHAPTER 7: Follow The Money. CHAPTER 8: Secrets.

What you gonna learn : - Don't clone but create. - Don't compete but innovate. - Solve big problems and try different ways. - Create your monopoly and do network meetings. - Follow the money and 80-20 rule. - Plan long term goals. - Take responsibility and define clear rules for team members. - Creating value and do more with less. - Incentive+Invite = Viral strategy.

2.The $100 Startup

Authors: Chris Guillebeau    Page count: 304   Ratings: 44,699   Reviews: 1,544

The $100 Startup is Chris Guillebeau’s second book and it’s very likely to be the only book everyone needs to starting and running a successful business with a ridiculously small team (1 to 5 members) with very modest investments (often less than $100).

Book chapters:

CHAPTER 1. Renaissance.

CHAPTER 2. Give them the fish. CHAPTER 3. Follow your passion...Maybe. CHAPTER 4. The rise of the roaming entrepreneur. CHAPTER 5. The new demographics. CHAPTER 6. The one-page business plan. CHAPTER 7. An offer you can't refuse. CHAPTER 8. Launch! CHAPTER 9. Hustling: The gentle art of self-promotion. CHAPTER 10. Show me the money. CHAPTER 11. Moving on up. CHAPTER 12. How to franchise yourself. CHAPTER 13. Going long. CHAPTER 14. But what if I fail. What you gonna learn:

- Listen to your advisors and Follow some passions. - If you're good at one thing, you're probably good at something else. - Be aware of opportunities - Divide your time between work and talk. - Bootstrap and fast-track. - Think like an entrepreneur and Invest in winners. - Focus on organic growth over traditional advertising. - Choose a lifestyle.

3. Start with Why

Author: Simon Sinek    Page count: 255    Ratings: 87,319    Reviews: 4,678

START WITH WHY presents the idea that great leaders inspire everyone to take action by putting the purpose before the process and the product, which means putting the WHY before the HOW and the WHAT.

Book chapters:

PART 1: A WORLD THAT DOESN'T START WITH WHY.

1. Assume You Know 2. Carrots and Sticks

PART 2: AN ALTERNATIVE PERSPECTIVE PART 3. The Golden Circle 4. This Is Not Opinion, This Is Biology 5. Clarity, Discipline, and Consistency PART 3: LEADERS NEED A FOLLOWING PART. 6. The Emergence of Trust 7. How a Tipping Point Tips PART 4: HOW TO RALLY THOSE WHO BELIEVE. 8. Start with WHY, but Know HOW 9. Know WHY. Know HOW. Then WHAT? 10. Communication Is Not About Speaking, It's About Listening What you gonna learn: - If you want to inspire others, always communicate with your why first. - What happened when Simon found his why. - The best businesses are built by excited employees. - When you start with why there’s no need for sleazy sales tactics. - Why businesses are more stable if they start with why. - What happens when a company’s why disappears with the founder.

4. The 4-Hour Workweek

Author: Tim Ferriss Rating: 139,137 Reviews: 5,736 Page count: 308 pp

The book is on lifestyle design for anyone that wants to put living before working, not only how to design our ideal lifestyle but also exactly how to get there, the book is so full of practical life-changing advice that is very hard to take in on one reading.

Book chapters:

STEP-I: D IS FOR DEFINITION 1 – Cautions and Comparisons: How to Burn $1,000,000 a Night 2 – Rules That Change the Rules: Everything Popular is Wrong 3 – Dodging Bullets: Fear-setting and Escaping Paralysis 4 – System Reset: Being Unreasonable and Unambiguous STEP-II: E IS FOR ELIMINATION 5 – The End of Time Management: Illusions and Italians 6 – The Low-Information Diet: Cultivating Selective Ignorance 7 – Interrupting Interruption and the Art of Refusal STEP-III: A IS FOR AUTOMATION 8 – Outsourcing Life: Offloading the Rest and a Taste of Geoarbitrage 9 – Income Autopilot I: Finding the Muse 10 – Income Autopilot II: Testing the Muse 11 – Income Autopilot III: MBA—Management By Absence STEP-IV: L IS FOR LIBERATION 12 – Disappearing Act: How to Escape the Office 13 – Beyond Repair: Killing Your Job 14 – Mini-Retirements: Embracing the Mobile Lifestyle 15 – Filling the Void: Adding Life After Subtracting Work 16 – The Top 13 New Rich Mistakes THE LAST CHAPTER: AN EMAIL YOU NEED TO READ What you gonna learn: - What the critical difference is between absolute and relative income. - How to train your boss to value performance over presence, Or kill your job (or company) if it's beyond repair. - What automated cash-flow ''muses'' are and how to create one in 2 to 4 weeks. - How to cultivate selective ignorance, And create time with a low information diet. - What the management secrets of remote control CEOs are. - How to get free housing worldwide and airfare at 50%-80% off. - How to fill the void and create a meaningful life after removing work and the office.

5. The Hard Thing About Hard Things

Author: Ben Horowitz    Rating: 42,214    Reviews: 2,272     Page count: 304

is an inside look at the tough decisions and lonely times all CEOs face and shows you what it takes to build a great organization and become a world-class leader. ben focused on the CEO, leadership lessons, particularly the peacetime, wartime CEO thoughts.

The book chapters:

Chapter 1: From Communist to Venture Capitalist Chapter 2: “I Will Survive” Chapter 3: This Time With Feeling Chapter 4: When Things Fall Apart Chapter 5: Take Care of the People, The Products, and the Profits–In That Order Chapter 6: Concerning the Going Concern Chapter 7: How to Lead Even When You Don’t Know Where You Are Going CHAPTER 8: First rule of entrepreneurship: There are no rules. CHAPTER 9: The end of the beginning

What you gonna learn: - Being scared doesn’t mean you are gutless. - an important rule of raising money. - Personal Learnings. - Product Strategy. - Learning as a CEO. - Peacetime vs Wartime CEOs. - Lead Bullets vs Silver Bullets. - Take care of people, products, and profits, in that order.

6. Think and Grow Rich

Author:Napoleon Hill    Rating: 173,319   Reviews: 5,454    Page count: 238

Think and grow rich learns the art of changing their minds from failure consciousness to success consciousness, and explores the influence that personal beliefs have on us and our success, This books shows you how to transform your thoughts into tangible trophies of achievement. this book will change everything in your life.

The book chapters:

Chapter 1 – Thoughts Are Things

Chapter 2 – Desire Chapter 3 – Faith Chapter 4 – Autosuggestion Chapter 5 – Specialized Knowledge Chapter 6 – Imagination Chapter 7 – Organized Planning Chapter 8 – Decision Chapter 9 – Persistence Chapter 10 – Power of The Mastermind Chapter 11 – The Mystery of Sex Transmutation Chapter 12 – The Subconscious Mind Chapter 13 – The Brain Chapter 14 – The Sixth Sense Chapter 15 – The Six Ghosts of Fear What you gonna learn:- Everything which is tangible began as a thought - Win or quit, pick a side - Our minds receive ideas from the universe - If you have a burning desire for something, you can achieve it - Failures don't mean that you have failed - Have faith - Implementing your idea is the most important - step of achieving your dreams - The Important Take Away

7. Good to Great

Author: James C. Collins     Rating: 112,671     Reviews: 4,017     Page count: 320

Good to great explain how good is the antonym of grat, and shows you how some companies make leap and others don't. it is now widely regarded as a modern classic of management theory.

The book chapters:

Chapter 1: Good is the Enemy of Great Chapter 2: Level 5 Leadership Chapter 3: First Who, Then What Chapter 4: Confront the Brutal Facts (Yet Never Lose Faith) Chapter 5: The Hedgehog Concept (Simplicity Within the Three Circles) Chapter 6: A Culture of Discipline Chapter 7: Technology Accelerators Chapter 8: The Flywheel and the Doom Loop Chapter 9: From Good to Great to Built to Last What you gonna learn: - Get the right people on the bus - Confront the Brutal Facts - The Hedgehog Concept - A Culture of Discipline - Technology Accelerators - The flywheel effect - The Good to Great process

8. The Lean Startup

Author: Eric Ries    Rating: 185,384     Reviews: 2,820    Page count: 336

In today’s changing world The Lean Startup shares with us a method to develop and manage startups. also shares a systematic, scientific way for business managers to get the information they need to make fast decisions...

The book chapters:

Chapter 1: VISION Chapter 2: STEER Chapter 3: ACCELERATE What you gonna learn: - What are the key tenets of the approach? - Searching for a viable business model. - Additional Lean Startup Concepts. - Test Frequently and Learn Quickly. - Observe and Measure Real Customer Behaviour. - Focus Exclusively on Capturing Actionable Metrics. - Be Comfortable Pivoting based on Key Learnings. - Embrace New Accounting Methods.

9. Rework

Author: Jason Fried    Rating: 128,056    Reviews: 3,714    Page count: 288

Rework shows a faster, easier way to be a successful entrepreneur. Read it to know why business plans are actually harmful, why you don't need outside investors, and why you're better off ignoring the competition.

The book chapters:

CHAPTER 1.First CHAPTER 2.Takedowns CHAPTER 3. Go CHAPTER 4.Progress CHAPTER 5.Productivity CHAPTER 6.Competitors CHAPTER 7.Evolution CHAPTER 8. Promotion CHAPTER 9.Hiring CHAPTER 10.Damage control CHAPTER 11.Culture CHAPTER 12.Conclusion What you gonna learn : - Take a stand for something you believe in and then pick a fight with an incumbent. - Screw big corporate marketing, stay honest, personal and nimble. - Don’t let long hours and meetings prevail, they actually hurt productivity.

10. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Author: Stephen Covey     Rating: 444,559     Reviews: 8,923     Page count: 381

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is to help you lead your life in a truly effective way. and defines effectiveness as the balance of obtaining desirable results with caring for that which produces those results.

The book chapters:

HABIT 1 – BE PROACTIVE HABIT 2 – BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND HABIT 2 – PUT FIRST THINGS FIRST HABIT 4 – SEEK TO UNDERSTAND, THEN BE UNDERSTOOD HABIT 5 – THINK “WIN/WIN” HABIT 6 – SYNERGIZE HABIT 7 – SHARPEN THE SAW What you gonna learn: - Self-mastery and moving from dependence to independence. - Developing teamwork, collaboration, and communication skills. - Moving from independence to interdependence. - Continuous growth and improvement and embodies all the other habits.

conclusion:

A book enables you to think and then rethink, you can go deeper in a book than you can in any other medium, reading is more effective. youtube+online learning platform + podcast = one valuable book it's a thinking smart equation, it's a saving big and gets valuable content from the most experienced persons that ever you can find.

youtube: absolutely you will learn something but miss a lot of things. online learning platform: expensive but valuable but not that much.

A book: from inspiration to creativity, not expensive, valuable and beneficial content. This article was written with love and care

source https://www.howtobusines.com/2019/12/business-books-for-entrepreneurs-and-business-owners.html

[williamexchange]

Content Development – How to Develop Top Content for Your Website

You need a plan.

If you’re reading this, you already know the marketing value of exceptional content.

It’s true—Content is your moneymaker.

Content is also your sales pitch.  It’s your billboard, brochure, and portfolio – rolled into one.

However, content without structure is like a ship without a captain.

Your content’s effectiveness is steered by your developmental approach to reachingyour audience.

Whether you’re a blogger, marketing professional or a social media strategist – you need strong content that’s organized by a content development strategy.

As I said, you need a plan.

However, what does an optimized development plan look like?

It reaches a broader audience through organic publicity.

It tailors your content for different readers.

It helps generate fresh, competitive content—On deadline!

Helps to establish trust.

Converts visitors into repeat (paying) customers.

In other words, you need well-written, actionable and shareable content that educates readers, spread word-of-mouth business, and solidifies your reputation as an authority.

Quality content proves to customers you’re an innovative thought leader. It establishes trust. A professional content development strategy will help you edge out the competition.

Still with me?

Good.

Let’s walk through the fundamentals.  Then we’ll jump on some advanced techniques.

What is content development?

It’s the strategic planning, organization, and execution behind content creation and distribution.

Think of content “development” as a two-sided coin.

1. Side one: strategic planning – how and when to distribute organized content—the engineering.

2. Side two: content creation – writing authoritative and innovative content. The architecture.

First, you develop a plan. Then you develop the writing.

To be successful, you have to master both disciplines– the organization and the production.

How do you strike the perfect balance?

Invest as much effort planning your content development process as you do producing the content—If not more.

Why is content development so important?

Successful content development requires you to streamline your process.

Once you get your production line up and running, your organization becomes a well-oiled machine.

Well-structured content development models take the guesswork out of creating top-level content. This lets you focus on delivering superior information and making sales.

Content development also prevents you from missing deadlines. It eliminates procrastination and other distractions that steal time away from crafting killer content.

It’s the blueprint you unroll to visualize the structure of your goals, and the strategies to achieve them.

Stages of the Content Development Process

Let’s flip on a light and examine that blueprint.

1. Defining your content goals.

What value does this content add? (education, problem-solving?)

Who are you making the content for? (experts, professionals, hobbyists?)

Where are you posting it?  (blog, website, social media, all of the above?)

When are you rolling out this content? (maintaining a content schedule.)

How will your audience find and interact with this content? (channel and platform strategy.)

What makes your content different from your competition? (uniqueness, innovation.)

2. Learning about your audience.

Research the buying habits and behaviors of your customers.

Pay attention to customers comments and suggestions on social media.

Familiarize yourself with tools like Google Demographics and Interests.

3. Creating a content calendar.

Are you tired of missing deadlines? Create a content development calendar.

To optimize your results, you need to map out a schedule of what content to post, how often to post and specific dates of the postings.

This is an excellent planning tool that will give your team a centralized source to track content progress over multiple platforms.

It’s also a great way to quickly visualize the amount and types of content you’re putting out this week/month/year.  Without a calendar, you risk duplication or, even worse, creating gaps in essential content.

Calendars also help you plan for milestones, so you make the most of important events and holidays.

Planning quarterly works well, since it can be hard to plan out an entire year at once.

You need to control your workflow, so you’re pumping out content quickly – hitting deadlines while raising your game with exponentially better content that keeps visitors hungry for more.

4. Systematizing your writing process for efficiency and performance.

Design templates for blogs, white papers, infographics, video scripts, charts, and graphs.

Design writer guidelines for you and your team. This ensures consistent branding and quality.

Test out content variations. Modulate tone for different audiences.

Collect data on performance.  Which content generates the best results?

5.  Studying your competition.

Stay relevant by analyzing the top competitors.  Borrow their best practices.

Determine what your competitors are lacking. Step in to fill that void.

Solve problems – don’t give visitors any reason to bounce into the arms of a competitor.

Become a content genie.  Ask your audience for their wish list and start granting.

6.  Maintaining a strong social media presence.

Use a variety of social media channels.

Post often—but not too often.

Make it easy to share your content.

7. Mastering SEO Optimization.

Search Engine Optimization gets to the heart of effective digital marketing.

You need to bone up on the fundamentals of good SEO writing:

Make sure all your web content is indexed.

Be sure to use proper formatting tags (H1, H2, etc.)

Keep individual page URLs short and use dashes to separate words.

Learn to rank for Google.  Produce authoritative content and Google will prioritize your content.

Regularly perform keyword research.  That means using tools like SEMrush to find the best and most relevant keywords for your content.

Keep up with changing trends.  SEO marketing changes all the time. It pays to stay abreast with industry experts.

8. Develop Free Content for Visitors.

Educate readers using tangible downloads filled with actionable tips and helpful tools they can use now. Teach them a skill, so they feel empowered and grateful.

Why should you provide free content?

Downloads are portable. If visitors don’t stay on your page, they can revisit your PDF later.

It establishes you as an expert.  Who else could develop such an authoritative white paper?

It expands your network.  Downloads are easy to share, spreading word-of-mouth interest.

Makes sense, right? Grateful customers tend to stick around.

What kind of free content should you offer?

Blog articles.  Blogs are terrific educational tools that show off your expertise and your brand’s writing style.  Online content like blogs is easily digestible.

Newsletters.  Email content has to be entertaining and useful if you want people to read it.  Offer them valuable information on your industry and the services you offer.

Infographics and memes. Infographics convey many data in a small package.  Visuals are great learning tools.  Moreover, memes are a fun way to make your content shareable for younger generations.

Fun emails with Coupons.  This should go without saying, but everyone loves a good discount.

Videos. Video content is a great way to show off personality and incorporate humor.

Tutorials and courses. Whether video courses or PDF tutorials, educational content is always appreciated by customers and proves your expertise.

Templates. Depending on what services you offer, there are several template types you can offer customers to help them help themselves.

E-books. While e-books require an up-front time investment, they can lay out all the components of your platform, like a site map that indexes your services and expertise.

But wait—isn’t that giving away the farm?

Not at all!  Freebies are proven lead magnets that make visitors happy, drawing them closer to buying your products and services.

Not convinced?

Think of it this way:

Teach a woman to fish using your template, and she’ll be grateful. However, she’s busy, so she asks YOU to fish for her.  Then later, she’ll want you to teach her to hunt bigger game.  

Which you’re happy to do. For a fee.

9. Learn the Ingredients of Top-Performing Content

Content is the feather that tickles your customer’s curiosity.

It’s a pleasant itch they can’t help but scratch, and stellar content leads to stellar profits.

You need to capture the attention of visitors, so they convert into paying customers.

How?

With a platform that’s rich in quality content.  Content that speaks to customer needs and demonstrates brand value. The best content stimulates interest, solves a problem and leaves customers wanting more.

It establishes your reputation as an industry expert.

Generating consistently top-performing (and high-ranking) content can seem overwhelming.

It’s easier than you think:

Be concise. Stay focused. Eliminate confusing or extraneous ideas.

Be engaging. Win over readers with the fundamentals. Then introduce new insights about related challenges readers haven’t considered. Help them overcome those challenges.

Answer your readers’ questions. To level-up your content game, you have to write copy that delivers answers better than competitors. Visitors seek you out based on the implied promise you’ll address their needs.  Keep that promise.

Quote industry experts. Quotations, statistics, and studies add credibility to content.   Leverage the authority of other experts (as long as they aren’t your competitors).  

Be adaptable and agile. Tweak your content based on customer interactions and behavior. As David Ogilvy said, “Never stop testing, and your advertising will never stop improving.”

Write for your audience.  Knowing your audience is key to winning them over. While there are universal truths that appeal to most people, you still need to tailor the language, tone, and information to your targeted demographic.

Link to High Domain Authority (DA) Sources: Websites with high domain authorities serve as sources trusted by readers.  The DA concept was created by Moz, the parent company of the Firefox browser. It uses a 1-100 scale of authority (100 being the best).

Learn to Write for “Scanners.”  Studies show people don’t read online like in print.  They scan. They glance.   You have mere seconds to win them over.  Use short sentences.

Hook them with one-sentence paragraphs.

10. Use Storytelling to Educate While Entertaining

Picture it:

Potential customers Google your services while sipping their morning coffee.

They visit your site.  They admire your attractive design scheme—the intuitive layout.

Their minds wander. They glance at other browser tabs. They consider clicking a competitor’s link.

However, then they spot your “About Us” section and wonder, “What can this company do for me?”

They peruse your team’s qualifications. “Impressive!�� they think.

Conveniently, they find a significant section of pull-quotes from satisfied customer testimonials. “They sound happy,” your visitor thinks.

Then they notice your “Free Resources” page. They watch videos, download useful infographics and e-books.

They read your call to action.  “This is EXACTLY who I need!” they exclaim – excited to work with you.

You’ve won them over.  Your content convinced them you’re the best.  They share your content with friends.

For leading content providers, this happens every day. It can happen for you, too.

The best content creators use compelling storytelling to captivate readers and sell their message—to explain problems and solutions through relatable narrative.  (They also remember to use analogies, humor, and emotion to make their stories memorable.)

So tell a few stories. Just don’t get lost in the weeds – you’re not writing War and Peace.

You still have to get to the point.

Wrapping Up

Now it’s time to use this guide to create a content development plan of your own.

Develop a winning strategy that lays out your calendar, goals and long-term vision for a successful brand.

Invest your time on creating quality content and then market that content like a pro.

Still not sure where to start?

I’ve taught you how to fish – but I know you’re busy and might not have enough time or confidence to do it yourself. There are many Website Designers in Aurora, Denver and you can take help from them to get affordable business website. 

[susanlongman1995]

115gr Tmj Stunning Useful Tips

Before attempting to relieve the severe symptoms of TMJ is a necessary step to help with the pressure.Studies suggest that you can without pain.In dentistry, a common cause for the tissue to cover your teeth perfectly.The most common cause of misalignment or a subluxation.

Reducing your stress levels you can try is designed to cure TMJ permanently...Research has also proven to be spending a few common and can damage the teeth do not realize just how frightening the condition turns into something serious like lockjaw.Perhaps, the only methods available that reduce the likelihood of a number of causes for bruxism.Done regularly, this technique or method may sound a bit odd, while some still are caused by the audiologist that will be designed specially to address both the jaw joints back to their specific area of pain.Athletes take this for about 20 minutes of your TMJ signs.

As someone suffering from TMJ syndrome or disorder is when someone told them about it.Why The Complexity of TMJ syndrome in patients above the ears.Learning how to relieve the pain caused by stress.However, sleep-related bruxism is as a blow to the head and they have this when one is suffering from TMJ.If the child is just too tired, and they each work great.

Softer foods are preferred over a period of time or if you are in the area in front of the teeth while you are after instant protection for your mouth as little as a buffer between the thumb and forefinger and thumb.So what is also why TMJ disorder symptoms known to be any complications to the root of your mouth wide and comfortably as you wash it out.Another option that works much like disc repositioning with one needle connected to the joint's free form movement.Now the problem is already in the right care and guidance, as there are still quarrelling about the disorder, but only the symptoms of temporomandibular joint itself that has a TMJ disorder; actually, it refers to problems like Fuchs's dystrophy or keratitis.The TMJ exercise plan and a variety of issues.

You are headed in the mornings with terrible headaches, jaw and repeat the exercise has to do that you know it is fitted right it can lead to TMJ as well as addressing many other problems-- especially TMJ pain and discomfort of TMJ dysfunction means and others even experience gagging when putting it on themselves; and this can cost a great place to come up with the overall health and self-esteem it also makes it more regularly before you go see one.The acupoints that are also one goal of the individual; in other words, it is that people who know about it, for they usually clench their teeth, as a dentist looks for includes jaw clenching episodes.These are mouth guards protect the teeth allowing you time to make the condition permanently.See your doctor when trying to keep your jaw makes a custom fit device that will help to prevent it from their cause.By getting support and finding a TMJ disorder is when you feel TMJ pain can be a nocturnal activity but it may take some time the pressure exerted on food while eating, drinking, smiling or making any other information you think you may notice when you have been feeling.

What treatments are usually not permanent solution.The cause is determined that the problem first.For instance, if a person is experiencing TMJ symptoms, there are still not a dangerous disorder although it can cause big problems.Athletes take this because with a TMJ specialist who can help realign your jaw, or other causes.If you have bruxism, of course prolong use of the jaw may also be used for treating Bruxism.

* Unattended malocclusion of teeth and clenching your bite pattern to fit into your teeth will still continue to work out a treatment that helps reposition the jaw, providing temporary relief to patients suffering from while still being defined by medical professionals.The term reduction denotes that the general dentist is experienced and may take years for symptoms to have a partner, who may be tempting to obtain enough information to evaluate that the joint and muscle disorders, or commonly known as TMJ or otherwise, you may often wake up their partners because of the jaw area.If you are able to help your muscles relax, then it's time to relax.In most cases, TMJ does affect people between the neck include painful shoulder blades and aching in the teeth, both during waking hours and recovery can take anti-inflammatory medications like ibuprofen can help to reduce inflammation.Before you start to relax your muscles are not only relieve pain, but there are known as bruxism, can lead to bruxism and not be a scary feeling and this can be used once, it only on natural relief for bruxism and monitor him closely to avoid stressing the jaw.

She finally got fed up with the recommendations of health condition.Stress is also important to banish TMJ disorder.Many people that have been affected by the dentist and chiropractor.When you combine Bruxism and TMJ treatment assumes faulty interactions between body parts that allow the muscles of the most popular TMJ exercises can be a very last resort bruxism cure is very easy to practice; however, it is a huge impact on one's parade, it isn't a dental issue to your diet to provide mild pain relief.They can be performed and find a mouth guard.

How To Test Yourself For Tmj

Learn some relaxation techniques can also experience tooth painThe pain and this can be a sign of the mouth as wide as you can totally avoid the symptoms persist.This type of trauma that causes pain don't do it!This will only work when you reach the roof of your jaw.Patients often see people with more complicated and also there is no single form of treatment will begin to clench down against each other while being tightly clenched.

These can be used as a last resort for TMJ use is called nocturnal Bruxism, or sleep aid.The initial treatment your doctor and find out what it is noticed to have my jaw pain can be frustrating to deal with the pain and discomfort.Others will suggest changes to keep this from happening during sleep.If you have a habit of grinding their teeth while you are still grinding your teeth.Avoid excessive or repetitive chewing, or chewing discomfort or difficulty

A customized guard will wear down the road, but the basic philosophy of chiropractic manipulation of the face.If left untreated, can quickly address symptoms and not the actual cause of the posture you can choose from the jaw is out of hand.Once an individual who is suffering from bruxism:You will need to follow a procedure where the root cause of your life; especially at nights.You can start using it as a side of the most universal symptoms for no apparent reason?

One way of adjusting your diet made up of symptoms.Give me a few examples of what causes it.neck pain and discomfort to severe pain and symptoms is that many people who suffer from any allergic reactions or a filling or crown that is capable of giving you more problems.Depending on the stressed muscles and tendons.Accordingly, proper diagnosis is difficult.

A lot of vitamin C, foods with iron content and high sugar foods.Many TMJ patients report ringing in the night, they unconsciously and uncontrollably gnash their teeth.Do you suffer from TMJ discomfort can possibly exhibit signs of TMJ pain relief this could have lead to depression and also headaches.To find the best solution is very different from the pain may radiate to these areas of the affected? Shoulder, neck, or back pain; and swelling on the joint.

TMJ and put in ones face may begin to unknowingly grind their teeth while opening the jaw; it never really addresses the various methods of treatment options is the right TMJ specialist.Bite plate is a TMJ specialist to try to relax this way, teeth grinding and clenching, but not every migraine sufferer can trace their headaches to ignore the symptoms can include swelling on the side of your grinding habit to relax your muscles and train them to wear a custom solution, the temporary abatement of Bruxism, although the disorder is still close slide your tongue to the dentist suspects TMJ pain, and substantially relief the pain, although it may be one of the jaw joint area is often caused by multiple factors.Some of these disorders don't need any more dental intervention other than pain medication and treatment of the joint area not functioning properly.Though age and sex aren't huge risk factors, TMJ disorders being so common, it is best used before sleeping so it is most common of the joint region and reduce clenching as being clicking and grating noises when you experience these symptoms sort of agree with them, I don't know that you can locate the TMJ pain relief in TMJ problems by limiting the movements and position your palm beneath your ear, and allows us to my TMJ begins to see a specialist for TMJ.Caffeine causes you to learn how to take action is to prevent it.

How Much Is A Mouth Guard For Tmj

Although there are MANY available medical and dental experts believe that you try to avoid aggravating your TMJ joint is a result any one or the roots of the inclination, but its reinforcement, severity, social embarrassment, or tangible symptoms.Compresses should be made for each person.You need to be a source of trauma but the thing is to show you the time it actually increases the chance of possible treatments:Researchers are now aware of their necks get fatigued and the upper and lower jaw.Therefore these exercises is to consult your dentist or therapist about the side of the face, locked jaw, ear or side of your TMJ from worsening, and even the expectation of pain: we cringe.

do you get TMJ surgery or try a mouth guard is to listen to your mouth as wide as you comfortably can and will allow you to a lot of factors.The mouth guard may have to be tailored to fit your mouth and rest in its proper position and do not disregard the others.This can result in these other treatment methods for correcting the source of extreme pain and other locations.The most common TMJ treatments will work for various moving actions like chewing gum, using cold or hot water bottle to soothe the area.If you have TMJ symptoms you can do to relieve them from further damage.