#the primary reason why i joined was for this certificate

[allurasrealm]

so I finally got my Hindi certificate and although I'm happy about it, I can't help but feel disappointed that I didn't do better. I also wanted to take Tamil classes but this year again there's no room for beginners and when I specifically asked if I could still access the teaching material and pay for it so I can study on my own, they basically evaded the question so fuck me I guess?

Maybe I'm missing something or misread the situation but this is an organization that aims at promoting languages. they constantly complain about having a hard time recruiting new students, yet every time I ask to join or access learning material to study at my own pace, I'm basically being told that it won't be possible for me. at the same time I'm still upset about how they basically ambushed me into a secretary role while I explicitly told the head of the organization how I have too much on my plate right now. all of this I why I'm hesitant to even make any efforts working with them despite my current position inside the organization because you want young blood to help build you up yet you don't treat me with more consideration?

[heytheredahlia]

I've been going feral with some world building that I plan to use for a number of future fics, and after the loving encouragement of some of the people in a discord I favor, I've decided to write up a big lore drop post. Partly so other people can use said lore and partly so I don't have to reestablish it every time I want to use it for a different fic.

In this universe, Nuzlocke is a way of describing the danger inherent to a region. There are Nuzlocke regions and Union regions. Union regions have leagues that abide by Union standards, varying rules to protect both trainers and their Pokémon.

Nuzlocke regions are characterized by increased odds of death and bodily harm to Pokémon participating in battles, both against trainers and wild Pokémon. The Pokémon in these regions tend to be more dangerous and as a result the trainers tend to be a lot more vicious during fights. Where as trainers in Union regions can trust one another to a certain extent, Nuzlocke trainers cannot trust each other not to permanently harm or cripple their Pokémon and fight according, ironically leading to more injuries.

By contrast, the Union provides a number of different services to Union abiding regions. First and foremost is medical aid, care in Union regions typically far outpacing Nuzlocke regions. Additionally, the Union acts as a separate legal force not associated with the League and as such can prosecute trainers for excessive amounts of force. The Union also helps with controlling and monitoring wild populations of Pokémon. Powerful trainers are sent out to capture exceptionally aggressive Pokémon (raid mons for example!) to remove them from the breeding pool and curate a calmer wild Pokémon population. The Union also helps in population maintenance which is why a trainer can catch as many Pokémon as they please in union regions as opposed to Nuzlocke regions that limit one capture per route to maintain a healthy population of wild Pokémon.

A region doesn't immediately become a Union region when the league joins the Union itself. There's a set of criteria that needs to be met before a region looses its Nuzlocke status, and it's possible for regions to slip back into Nuzlocke status if the league is inattentive. This points out perhaps the biggest difference between Union Champions and Nuzlocke Champions. In Nuzlocke regions there is only ever one champion. They are the end all be all of strength and remain in power until a stronger champion beats them. They hold an immense amount of sway but their rule is de facto. Union regions can have multiple champion "ranked" trainers who receive a number of benefits for their ranking but only have one primary Champion that is the acting leader for the region itself. The goal of these Champions is to act as guides and protectors for their region, and the role can be passed over at any time to another suitable Champion ranked trainer.

For trainers wishing to swap regions that have different classifications there are a number of rules and regulations regarding Pokémon. Nuzlocke caught Pokémon cannot leave a Nuzlocke region without special testing and certifications proving the Pokémon in question isn't a threat and that the trainer knows how to use reasonable force in battles be they wild or trainer. It is possible for trainers moving to Union regions to obtain licenses for force but these are only applicable when used against dangerous wild Pokémon, again such as raid mons.

Both Nuzlocke and Union regions provide licenses for trainers to carry more than six Pokémon at a time, but only a maximum of six Pokémon can ever be used during a singular battle. In Union regions this rule typically only exists for the sake of ride Pokémon or service Pokémon but Nuzlocke trainers have been known to use this rule to keep multiple battle ready teams on their person, especially more powerful trainers.

Region Specific Lore and Worldbuilding

Kanto/Johto: Kanto and Johto due to proximity have remained consistently linked in terms of status, sharing a singular league between the two. During the course of Red and Blue it was still a Nuzlocke region but has long since joined the Union the term only just barely still applied. Immediately after during the time in which Lance was coming into power as champion, the join regions were finally declared officially Union.

Hoenn: Before the Union was officially recognized, Hoenn had a proto-union of sorts due in large part to the existence of contests. Nuzlocke rulings were often contradictory to what contests necessitated and the death of popular contest Pokémon could often cause large scale upset. The transfer to Union ruling was exceptionally easy for Hoenn and it's been Union ever since.

Sinnoh: To this day, Sinnoh is still a Nuzlocke region and you can thank Cynthia for that. She is not actively malicious, but she isn't particularly kind either. She loves her own team but has no special care for other trainers Pokémon which has inspired a similar disposition in the rest of the region. Cynthia has shown no signs of wanting to become a Union regulated region and because of this Sinnoh is something of a safe haven for trainers who prefer Nuzlocke ruling.

Unova: Until recently, Unova was a Nuzlocke region. During Alder's younger days he was a trainer who sought strength, which was encouraged. When he lost his partner it was a wake up call. Between that and the rise of Team Plasma, the region began to shift priorities and during the end of his time as Champion, Alder began the framework to get the region union recognized. By the events of B2W2, the region is already officially Union status having historically been one of the fastest regions to meet the requirements outside of the founders.

Kalos: Kalos has a complicated history due to the actions of Team Flare. While regarded as a Union region for most of the time the Union has existed, the actions of Team Flare managed to cause the region to slip into Nuzlocke classifications temporarily before the region was brought back under control. The awakening of the legends in X and Y caused a surge of more violent and powerful Pokémon that had to be quelled, though the situation was rather quickly rectified.

Alola: Alola itself is a difficult topic due to how young its actual league is. It lacked a champion until very recently and because of that it was also a Nuzlocke region, lacing any Union presence as well. Because of this, Alola is up there as one of the most dangerous regions alongside Sinnoh. Upon receiving a champion the league immediately got to work trying to get the region up to Union standards but it's been a long and slow process as a lot of trainers have been resisting the change.

Galar: Galar is one of the oldest Union regions, having helped to establish the union as a present force. This can especially be seen in the fact that the role of Champion for this region has been split into two, with a powerful active Champion to take care of threats and the role of Chairman filling in for the bureaucratic duties that Champions in other regions would also shoulder.

Paldea: Paldea is a long standing Union region, however, the existence of Paradox Pokémon poses a certain degree of threat. As long as they remain in the great crater then the region as a whole remains up to Union standards and Area Zero can be carefully monitored. If the Paradox Pokémon begin escaping however... Well, Union regions can be reclassified as Nuzlocke if they stop meeting all necessary standards.

[a-god-in-ruins-rises]

Do you think college should be free?

ehhh. not exactly. (this one is kinda long)

i definitely think it should be more affordable, but free? i dunno.

generally, i think there should always be /some/ cost because i think it makes people feel more invested and plus that money, however small, can be an actual investment.

but also, most people who go to college are already fairly wealthy (middle to upper class). and so making college free would basically just be the taxpayers subsidizing the already wealthy. but the wealthy are the ones who are in the best position to afford college. so it doesn't really make sense.

if the goal is to get more talented but poor people in college in a more efficient and equitable manner then we just gotta give poor students low-to-zero interest loans and provide myriad ways for the loan to be forgiven. or i've seen systems where students get a loan but they don't have to pay it back until they get a job that pays them above a certain threshold. also, obviously, some amount of subsidies to help universities pay costs.

but this sort of reform should also be joined with major primary education reform and investment. cost is a part of the reason why more poor people aren't going to college but it's not the only reason. another major reason is because a lot of poor people just wouldn't be able to make the cut.

another thing i think is important is getting it through everyone's head that you don't need to go to college. growing up it was really drilled into everyone's heads that you /have/ to go to college. like they'd straight up tell us if you don't go to college you'll end up a loser. it's just the next step you take after high school. you just go to college.

and we just gotta balance that message with vocational schools. college is a good option but so is vocational school. not everyone can become doctors. we also need plumbers and electricians and so on. and they make pretty decent money too. and i think that's another important thing. making these "low class" jobs pay better. make it even more lucrative.

but the point is, if vocational schools become more attractive then demand will shift and less demand means maybe college will become more affordable.

but also this gets into my dream where a lot of jobs stop demanding/expecting college degrees. and maybe other schools that offer other credentials or certificates can compete. if you have to choose between paying 40k to go to a university for four years or 5k for a year or two but with similar outcomes, which are you gonna choose? i mean, there are a lot of jobs out there that demand you have a four year degree that i don't really think you need a four year degree for. especially when many of them do their own in-house training.

but at the same time, i want there to be a new class of universities which are TRUE universities. essentially, i want them to become state-subsidized monasteries for "geniuses" (am using the term genius loosely here). just centers of learning are 100% dedicated to research, development, debate, artistic creation, etc. has extremely high standards. but if you meet them then you basically just get to live on a campus for free and spend all day collaborating with other "geniuses". and these campuses would just exist to produce culture, scientific discoveries, and technological innovations. just throw money at a bunch of geniuses/creatives from all levels of society and put them in a room together and see what they can come up with.

if i could choose where my taxes go like that anon said the other day i would put 100% of my taxes to something like this. i think an institution like that would be amazing. it's like how lords during the renaissance would patronize musicians and philosophers and alchemists and just pay them to increase the grandeur and prestige of their court. we should be doing that but on a society-wide scale. plus it'd be a nice neet-savant subsidy. so many brilliant minds are wasting away in some midwestern basement playing minecraft all day or something when they should be having their genius cultivated in a monastery.

so yeah, overview: more affordable but not necessarily free because free is basically just a subsidy for the rich. but yeah there should be some tools available to make college less cost prohibitive or risky for the poorest talent (some combinations of subsidies and no-interest loans and generous forgiveness and stuff). but also we gotta reform and invest in primary education to make sure more poor people even have a chance of meeting the standards necessary for higher education. but also we need to reduce demand and provide alternatives for people who can make it by encouraging people to go to trade school and making those jobs pay better. but also we should just create genius monasteries.

[xkzanova]

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[the-mortifying-ordeal-of]

Are you there, recovery? It's me, relapse.

Welp. Got my ass back in AlAnon. Really, if I'm being fair to myself, I never left recovery. Basically since February of 2016, I'm been clawing and scraping my way to a healthier life.

February 2016: Joined AlAnon, attended 1-4 times weekly for 14 months. November 2016: Started weekly, then biweekly, then monthly therapy for 3.5 years. April 2017: Quit AlAnon (still deeply in therapy) February 2020: Went back into AlAnon, attended for a few months, then Zoom AlAnon died out. April 2020: "Graduated" from therapy (knew I needed a female therapist to work on sex trauma) and Zoom therapy sucked. May 2020: Started meditating ~sometimes, still going! August 2021: Tried AlAnon in new city, only attended a few meetings. September 2021: Started 200 hour yoga teacher training, finished in February. January 2022: Started biweekly therapy with sex trauma therapist, still going strong. June 2022: One-month sabbatical from my partner. November 2022: Back in 3rd city AlAnon, 2-4 times weekly, now living with my mother (temporarily?)

Meanwhile I've read a kajillion books and articles, listened to so many podcasts, attended numerous trainings, and have had a million conversations with people in an effort to deepen my authenticity and connections. I really am healing. I went back on my primary blog to see if I wrote about why I quit and gee whiz did my attitude suck. My attitude sucks now but not nearly as bad.

But ok, yeah, so here I am journaling. Because I don't want to do therapy AT my relationships, my actual therapist can only do so much (especially if I spend the whole session just regurgitating stuff to feel Heard when I could process here), and I have a lot to work through. I know that writing does a lot of good for memory and behavioral activation, especially after I flood myself with new information. I need to synthesize, process, rehearse, plan, set goals, and check in on myself.

It turns out I'm still deeply codependent with my partner, I rarely experience confidence, I experience deep shame most of the time that I open my mouth, I take personal responsibility for how people feel about me and around me, and if I'm being honest, I have flippant suicidal thoughts a little too often. I quickly spiral into despair, overwhelm, and hopelessness. It's possible the reasons I feel so terrible after dancing, talking, drinking, sharing, or having sex is because most of those are spontaneous, vulnerable expressions of myself and I feel like I am gross, bad, and wrong at my core. I only feel "confident" when I followed rules or a script well.

Financially I would like to stay with my mom a while longer, or maybe move in with my BFF, but I have a savings account and this might be a season of my life that requires drawing on it. Even though I have spent so much on teacher training, my master's certificate that I never finished, and my car might die soon. I want to hoard my safety net. My breathing gets tight when I think about money and the future.

However, I know I need to live alone. I'd like to find a nice little studio or one-bedroom here in my family's town, but I might go live in the big city with my other BFF if she separates from her partner, too. I need to figure out how much it'll cost to break the lease in our current place in Nowhere. God money stresses me out. This wasn't supposed to be a planning post but clearly I'm preoccupied.

I have a racial justice meeting in 30 minutes that I want to want to do, but I mostly want to flake. It asks a lot of me and exposes vulnerabilities and that's why I should lean in and grow through them, do my exposure therapy, but oooh the temptation of cancelling plans.. I know I usually feel better when I do things. God but I was up at 3:30am for work.. but also be the change you want to see in the world (and yourself) and I wanna be the kind of person who shows up. But boundaries! But sometimes self care is doing the hard thing...

I dunno man. I'm scared. I feel small and bad and overwhelmed and a little alienated. I have fabulous people in my life, I do. I have so much ego to dissolve, though. I also wanna explore at some point if my gratitude and encouragement practices are actually fawning or attachment/unhelpful ego reflections, versus actual non-violent communication offerings.

I'd like to write here at least weekly, maybe to discuss what I learn in therapy, in AlAnon, or do some structured journal prompts from all the things I've learned. I'd like an AlAnon sponsor once I know where I'll be. I'd like to read my daily literature at least every-other day, and meditate most days. I liked going to my mom's exercise class, she has a WiiFit, I always love going to my friends' in-person yoga classes, tis the season for indoor YouTube yoga too, and there's a walking track here I can use. I also found out I love hiking int he cold, as long as I'm dressed appropriately. I'm so grateful my car is still going - it's an anchor in a period that feels like homelishness.

I am good, I think. I do think I belong here, probably. Affirmations don't feel right and I'm very confused but I'm gonna keep trying and showing up. Ugh and I'll probably do that racial justice thing tonight too. It's about faith, so that'll be neat.

Future Me, I hope I'm doing ok. I hope you're doing ok. I'm sorry for my imperfections; please love me, understand me, forgive me. I'm trying to get there, but I'm also trying to enjoy here. We've been so cruel to Past Me and I want us all to be good, be ok, be whole. Be safe, be happy, be healthy, live with ease - you know? Thank you for looking out for me. We can do this, because others have and others will, and we belong with them. We belong. Everything is fine. All of it was good, right?

[fortysevenswrites]

Kathryn’s Trash TV

All right @myletternevercame. Let's Below Deck Med Season 5 this shit. 

I figured it would be easier to just tag you in a post instead of sending you all of this in a message, because like...this is a lot.

The people:

Sandy Yawn—the captain, female, lesbian, sometimes is kinda a micromanager. I want to like her, but sometimes she can be annoying.

Hannah Ferrier—longtime chief stew on the Med show(aka the head of the interior, usually a staff of 3). Relationship with Sandy has always been kind of iffy. Was actually surprised to see her come back after season 4 because Hannah was SO over Sandy and Sandy didn’t like the fact that Hannah isn’t good at making pretty table-scapes. I love her, but she really never should have come back after last season and should have ended on a high note.

Malia White—the bosun. Came back after being a deckhand on season 2. A bosun is like…the person in charge of the exterior. I want to like her because she’s the most competent bosun BDM has ever had, but she’s a shitty human being.

The show made a big deal about marketing the fact that the 3 most senior people on the show (Sandy, Hannah, Malia) are all women for the first time ever. Technically there is also a first officer and a couple other crew members but they’re not part of the primary cast.

Hinrigo “Kiko” Lorran—the chef. Adorable, from Brazil, and not a great yacht chef. Gets fired mid-charter, the world was very sad about it.

Tom Checketts—the chef who replaced Kiko. Also Malia’s boyfriend. Is AN ASSHOLE. Like seriously, fuck this guy. I don’t care how good a chef he is, he’s trash.

Christine “Bugsy” Drake—second stew who is promoted to chief stew after Hannah leaves the boat (more on that in a bit). I actually do love her. Hannah does not like her because they didn’t get along well back during season 2. Bugsy’s sister is one of Malia’s best friends, so they’re close. Bugsy actually didn’t come back until episode 4, because the original second stew, a crazy Italian lady named Lara, up and quit because she didn’t follow any of Hannah’s directions and when Hannah confronted her about it, she flipped out. Bugsy is great at tables capes and that is basically the number 1 reason why Sandy loves her so much.

Aesha Scott—actually one of Hannah’s BFFs from season 4. Ridiculous New Zealander. Has no filter. Replaces Bugsy as second stew when Bugsy gets promoted after Hannah leaves. Shows up for 7 episodes but it feels like…less than that. She has less of a fun time this season because she gets homesick.

Jessica More—third stew. Annoying. Not good at her job (which is literally primarily to do laundry and clean the bedrooms). Was surprised that she didn’t get promoted to second stew after Hannah left. Starts hooking up with Robert, one of the deckhands, early on in the season. Their relationship goes from hookup to I love you lets travel the world together WAY TOO FAST. Is annoying. I don’t like her.

Robert Westergaard—Deckhand, is bad at his job because he spends so much time thinking about the drama going on between him and Jessica. Has an opportunity to get another certification for sailing after the season but instead decides to follow Jessica to Bali where their relationship implodes.

Alex Radcliffe—one of the other deckhands. Is basically madly in love with Bugsy. Not bad at his job, and also not annoying. Really, really, really, really in love with Bugsy, but they only made out a couple times when she was drunk.

Peter Hunziker—total tool. Got fired by the production company behind BDM after he shared some really inappropriate and super duper racist content about black women on social media during the BLM protests last June, so the show was recut to minimize his appearances and disappeared his storyline.

You could potentially make a drinking game out of trying to find Peter in the background of the show after Episode 3.

Okay, now time for THE SHIT(TM) 

(which, by the way, happens in the 36-or-so hours between two charters, and over the span of like…the second half of one episode and the first half of the next)

So. After Bugsy comes on as second stew, Hannah and Bugsy agree to remain professional even though they don’t like each other and will never be friends, and IT’S ACTUALLY FINE. Except for the one time that Hannah didn’t provision enough lemons for drinks and Bugsy had to borrow them from Kiko. Apparently it was a thing…

Hannah and Malia are rooming together, and it’s all fine.

Then, Kiko starts to struggle because he’s not a yacht chef and there’s ALWAYS drama in the kitchen (same with this season of Sailing, the chef, Natasha, is a BITCH—and not in the good way like how I am a bitch. The annoying, shitty kind), and during this, the show has been putting together this storyline of how Malia’s boyfriend Tom, who is coming to visit—JUST SO HAPPENS TO BE A YACHT CHEF.

Foreshadowing much???

So Kiko leaves, Hannah is sad because he’s her only friend there, and Sandy asks Tom to come on the ship to replace Kiko as chef.

Then, we get the roommate drama. While it is common for couples to room together (like Paget and Cierra on Sailing Yacht), nothing is guaranteed on a yacht.

But Malia wants to be able to bone her boyfriend on the regular for the last two weeks of charter season, and she asks that Bugsy and Hannah share a room so she can fuck Tom on the reg. But Hannah doesn’t want to because she and Bugsy aren’t friends, and the two actually talk about it and Hannah AND Bugsy agree that it’s not a good idea for them to room together. It’s a very mature decision and was for the good of the ship and like…suck it Malia, and let work come first for five goddamn minutes (or two fucking weeks).

But Malia whines about how she should be able to fuck her boyfriend, and instead of being mature about it and fucking her boyfriend between charters in one of the guests bedrooms like normal couples do, she runs to her BFF Captain Sandy (who is tired of Hannah anyway, and it TOTALLY informs her decision making) and while Hannah is off the boat, she decides that what Malia wants, Malia gets, and that Hannah and Bugsy are going to have to room together. Malia justifies this by saying that couples ALWAYS room together (except that only really applies when they join together at the beginning of a season), and also…Sandy decides that the chef is actually above the chief stew in the hierarchy, which…isn’t actually a thing (because it hasn’t been in ANY OTHER SEASON. The chef is department of one that reports directly to the Captain and works WITH the chief stew, isn’t actually in charge of them or below them.

BUT, that night Malia finds Hannah’s prescribed valium and her weed pen, which may or may not have been prescribed valium and may or may not have been an illegal weed pen (I was never quite sure and didn’t really care to find out more), and takes it to Sandy, who uses it as an excuse to fire Hannah, and Hannah’s just like, first of all, I was having a panic attack because I have bad anxiety and it wasn’t actually valium that I took the episode before when she had a panic attack and took a tylonel PM or something, and also like, okay bitch bye, I’m over this and am out and I’m also getting out of yachting because real-life Hannah actually announced her pregnancy when the show started airing.

So, that was like, the good drama of season 5, because the rest of the season we have to suffer through Jessica and Rob going back and forth on whether or not they actually love each other (spoiler alert, they’ve known each other for a MONTH AND SO OF COURSE THEY DON’T) and Rob is kind of an awful person and Jessica is super needy and gets super jealous if any woman sneezes in Rob’s direction and it’s super duper annoying, but also like, the only storyline the show had toward the end of the season, other than Tom flipping a shit in the galley any time anyone asked him to, you know, do his fucking job.

Tom got into fights with literally everyone, from Sandy to Malia to yelling at Aesha when the primary guests asked for some fucking avocados.

So, yeah, that’s season 5 of BDM in a very, very, very long nutshell.

[kunalbhamre]

From 1 to 200 million $ supply chain

This is a story of seven ordinary women who had no background in business, no significant educational qualification and with just 80 rupees(1$) in the capital, they were able to build a business empire worth 1600 crores(200 million $) which are spread across 69 branches and more than 42000 employees. This homegrown brand is other than Shri Mahila Griha Udyog Lijjat Papad. Now, what is more, fascinating about this company is not the growth but the fact that the business philosophies of this home-grown company somehow seem to have a very close resemblance to extraordinary companies like Starbucks and Apple.

The question is what is so special about this papad(Indian dried bread) company and how has it lasted for more than 62 years and how did these seven women manage to build a business Empire out of just 80 rupees in the capital? The answer to this question lies in the incredible history of the Lijjat Papad. This is a story that dates back to the late 1950’s India when India was a fairly underdeveloped country, and back then let alone education, even literacy was considered to be a luxury. Even in terms of literacy during those times, women's literacy was not even considered important because of which only 8% of women in India could actually read and write, while 92 percent of women in India were illiterate. On top of that, women were not even allowed to go out and work and the earning capacity of the families was not enough to afford a decent standard of living. That is when in 1959 Mumbai, A group of seven amazing women from very ordinary backgrounds, came together to discuss a business idea that wouldn't need them to step out of the house also wouldn't need education, and yet could produce a competitive product in the market. That is how the idea of Lijjat papad was born with just 80 rupees of capital that was given to them by a social worker. They first started selling their papad at a local store and soon enough due to the superb quality and taste of the papad, even other shops started buying their papad, and that's when they started scaling up.

Now, when they started scaling, they have the opportunity to hire women at a dearth cheap cost because they were one of the rarest avenues of income for women which allowed them to work from home. But when these women have the first board meeting they established the fact that the primary goal of their business wouldn't be to make money but to empower women from the smallest house of the country and to provide them with the livelihood to nurture their family. More importantly, they also established the fact that money would only be used as a fuel to scale their impact on the women of India and not be the sole purpose of their existence. So instead of hiring women, they started to give out ownership to every single woman who joined their business and call them Lijjat sisters rather than employees. This is what you call collective ownership wherein every employee owns a small part of the company, such that, the profits and losses both are shared by every single person in the organization. So regardless of your age caste or religion, even if you are at the lowest hierarchy of the Lijjat Papad organization, you would still own a part of the business. Now, most of us might think that this is just a little business move, but this attribute of collective ownership is one of the foundational principles that make Starbucks an extraordinary company. Just like the sisters of Lijjat Papad, who own a small part of the company regardless of their position in the organization, every employee at Starbucks is considered as a partner in the business, rather than an employee. Starting from the Baristas who serve coffee to the customers, all the way up to the Senior Management officers, each one of them is offered stock options of the company. So this way just like the Lijjat sisters, every employee in Starbucks could be a small owner of the company. And this move develops, a deep sense of ownership which cultivates a culture of greatness, wherein every employee is motivated to go out of the way and to contribute diligently towards the growth of the organization. But the only difference between both these companies is that while Starbucks. Ideated this with MBA masterminds and with a million dollar Capital bracket, the seven sisters of Lijjat did it way before starboard's in 1959 without even knowing what is an MBA degree such was the business acumen of these incredible women.

The second phase of Lijjat was all about building a robust supply chain that would be cost-effective, ensure quality production, and would fit the lifestyle of the women who work for the company. So instead of having huge office spaces, they use the houses of the sisters as their small centers of papad making and the flour would first arrive from the mills to the respective central location wherein the dough is made. The sisters will be brought to the mills by a bus facility provided by the company. They would collect the dough and then go home, make papads, dry them on the home compound and then deliver the papad the next day. And lastly, after your delivery of the papad, they would collect the money and repeat the next cycle. This would be followed by surprise visits by the supervisors to check the quality of oil they use, the hygiene check of the house, and most importantly, the process of making papads. Now, the sisters are also given aluminum papad makers to ensure that the papad is produced in a standardized manner. This happens at all the branches and if one of these branches does very well, the profits are distributed among the sisters. And if not the losses of born by the branch members together.

After all of this comes the most challenging part of all, and that is sticking to the mission statement of the company. In the corporate, everybody knows that Mission, Vision, and values are just fancy words written on the Similarly, in case of college is also even your principal, wouldn't remember the mission and vision statement of your college and if he did it would only be because maybe some committee was visiting to give you a college some certification or rating. This is the reason why most of us do not understand the importance of mission and vision statements. But the mission and vision statements form the very foundations of every single organization, and when designed and followed the right way, they can help the organization sustained for a century. At the same time. If not done right, they can even bring down a million-dollar business. A classy example is Apple. When Steve Jobs got fired from Apple in 1984, Apple was a million-dollar company. Until he was there at the company, the company stuck to its values and it was a formidable player in the industry and as he left, they started to derail from their values. And within just 10 years. They were almost about to go bankrupt. That's when Steve Jobs got called back to Apple to fix things and get the company back on track. After he took over the company, the first question, he asked every single engineer, every single designer, and every single manager was, what does Apple stand for and what are the values that we believe in as a company? Because the biggest mistake that Apple made was that, while he was not around, they started to lose their identity and started to deviate from their values because of which, they started making products with no sense of purpose and eventually the brand lost its unique identity and Customer Loyalty just faded away. So, when he came back  Ask this question and the entire team is absolutely clear as to what exactly they were supposed to do. And this is what got them the ‘Think different’ campaign that told the world what Apple stood for and that thinks differently. Within just two years, the same company with the same engineers and the exact same resources then went on to create history to become a legendary company that made products that changed the world forever. This is the importance of mission and vision statements.

Similarly, In its 62 years of existence, Lijjat Papad has never deviated from its core values. And even today, after expanding 267 branches, scaling up to 42000 employees, and after importing their products to 15 different countries, they still abide by the core philosophy of their business that is ‘Sarvodhya’ which means progress for all.

(All rights reserved to the respective owners. I do not claims ownership to this information provided in this article/blog)

[web-design-auckland-and-hamilton]

Ok...so you might be thinking, why don’t I get many (or any) leads from my website?

You've landed on the right article, so read on...

In this email, we will go over in checklist fashion some key things that might be holding your website back from turning website visitors into leads.

1. Your Website is Not Secure

To check a site's security, look at the security status to the left of the web address. There are three options:

Secure

View site or Not secure

Not secure or Dangerous

A green lock is Google's way of letting visitors know a site is safe to interact with. The other two signal warnings like 'you should not enter any secure information on this site because it could be stolen by hackers'. By the way, those are Googles exact words. Hover your mouse above the image to the left of your web address to see what message is displaying for your site.

If your site is not secure, it will be turning visitors away.

It also makes it harder for visitors to come across your site while looking for your goods and services, as Google will display secure sites first. So, if your competitors have secure sites, they'll be showing before yours and no doubt getting more leads too.

2. Your Website is Not Mobile Friendly

More than 50% of the time visitors view websites from their mobile phones. If your site is not mobile-friendly, it will be too hard to read. Frustrated, viewers will simply leave it for a website that is easy to view.

3. Your Website is Old and Outdated

As the saying goes - 'you don't get a second chance at making a first impression'. An old site can send potential clients the wrong messages about your business like:

You are no longer relevant and on-trend

You are not prepared to invest in your business

You don't have the cashflow to update your website

You don't care about the image you project

You are not professional

Ouch... we realise that was a bit hard-hitting and we don't mean to offend, but this is what the research tells us so there's no point sugar-coating it.

4. Your Website Doesn't Build Trust

"Can I trust you? Why should I choose your business over others?" These are the two questions visitors to your site will ask themselves.

In order to turn visitors into leads, you need to provide clear and compelling reasons why they should choose your products and services. There are three inputs we look at to help build trust for our clients.

4.a. Customer Value Proposition (CVP)

This clearly describes why your products are services are a wise choice, and better than your competition. Don’t worry if you don’t have a CVP, our expert copywriters can craft a winning one for you.

4.b. Trust Factors

'Trust factors' such as awards, certifications, partnerships, accreditations, memberships and guarantees all help position you as knowledgeable experts who can be relied upon. It's vital you display these on your website.

4.c.Testimonials

Testimonials, case studies and reviews all help convince people to buy from you, as they are honest recommendations from people they trust the most - other customers. Ask some of your most loyal customers to write a review of your business if you don't have these already.

5. Your Website Is Not Easily Found

Try keying in words that relate to your products or services. Where does your website show? First or second page? How about a third or fourth? Perhaps you hardly rank at all. It goes without saying, if you’re not getting found, you won’t be getting leads. A website that is built well will be 'optimised' for your keywords so you're found more easily. 6. Your Website Is Slow to Load

Does your website load in less than 3 seconds? Nearly half of all visitors will leave a mobile site if the page doesn't load within 3 seconds. We build fast websites, for the best possible user experience.

7. Your Website Lacks a Strong Compelling Offer

In order to turn a visitor into a lead, you have to take that person down a clear path. There has to be a clear next step for them to take. The key is to think through the visitor’s need. Find out what mode they are in. And then give them a clear next step that solves their immediate problem.

Have you ever run into a friend you haven’t seen in a while and said something like ‘hey we should hang out sometime’? And what ends up happening? Nothing, right? That’s because saying ‘hey we should hang out sometime’ isn’t a strong compelling offer.

What if instead of when you saw your friend who you haven’t seen in a while you said ‘hey I’m glad I ran into you. I have an extra ticket to the All Blacks game this weekend, do you want to join me?’ Now, this might not always work either. Maybe the other person has plans or doesn’t like rugby. But I bet the closing rate of you hanging out with your friend would be much higher if you gave a strong compelling offer, rather than a weak and vague one like the ‘let’s hang out sometime’ offer.

Are you making this same type of mistake with your website? Do you have a clear, strong, benefit-driven offer with your site? I can tell you from experience how powerful it is to have one.

8. Your Website Doesn't Have a Secondary Offer (not ready to buy right now)

Of all the visitors coming to your website about only 20% of them are ready to make a buying decision right now. That leaves 80% of visitors who will not be responsive to your primary offer, which is usually a call to take action now.

So, what to do? This is when it pays to have a secondary offer. You’ve probably seen these all over the place. Have you ever signed up to be notified of special deals?  Or given your email to receive a free guide or pdf download? Those are all secondary offers.

The idea is you give something of value to visitors who are still in ‘research or information gathering’ mode in exchange for a way to stay in touch with them and nurture that relationship over time.

Conclusion

So there you have it. If your website isn’t bringing you many leads, run through the checklist and see if you can improve in any of these areas. And if you’re looking to hire a professional company to help you with your website project, please contact us.

We don’t just design pretty looking websites, we build websites that convert visitors into leads which generate new business for our clients.

Think of your website as an investment rather than an expense. Building a website is the same as opening a new storefront. Making the right impression can win you business, while the wrong one can turn potential customers away.  

If your website is failing in any of these areas, you might like to get a free website improvement plan tailored just for your business.

Connect with @digitalstream on hello@digitalstream.co.nz

[kittyasia9]

Training And Coaching Services

Mentoring Training Courses And Certifications

Content

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Join Karen Pratt For This Online Programme Start 6th February 2021.

Just How To Gain Access To Training Assistance.

Trained as well as determined people are among the most significant properties for your service. You maintained the entire team involved and prompted much computer animated reflective conversation. The training gave every person something to go away with to take things ahead in the supervision they offer and also receive. "I have actually wanted to create for ages to say a big thank you for the customized training you supplied to the leads in the OT solution in April.

Both primary designs of treatment are Facilitative and also Reliable, and each of these primary styles has 3 sub-styles within. A guide to David Grove's rising knowledge concept - for facilitation, mentoring, counselling, and helping others.

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Individuals are evaluated against each finding out result and also standards throughout the programme. We can offer you a wide variety of choices and also we are entirely adaptable in our approach-- which suggests that you can confidently schedule training programmes that finest fits the active routines of the learners. Junior as well as elderly managers that are ready to take their monitoring style to the next degree.

Best Marathon Training Plans Hal Higdon, Jeff Galloway, Nike Marathon Training Plans - Runner's World

Best Marathon Training Plans Hal Higdon, Jeff Galloway, Nike Marathon Training Plans.

Posted: Fri, 18 Dec 2020 08:00:00 GMT [source]

Because 2008, HT Training and Coaching, has actually been working with elderly leaders to produce shared organisational vision and to motivate and motivate them to attain their personal as well as organization objectives. Deciding to study can be a large step, which is why you'll want a trusted College. The Open University has half a century' experience delivering flexible discovering and 170,000 trainees are examining with us today. Our instructors are credentialed and also practicing trains in their own right, bringing a wealth of understanding to you in the class.

Join Karen Pratt For This Online Programme Start Sixth February 2021.

I had a feeling that this team of personnel. needed something to support them in their supervisory roles however without understanding what was required or how to go about it. When I initially talked with Karen and also Nerys, they really listened and recognized what we were seeking and also recommended that you would certainly be preferably suited to intend as well as supply the training day. The opportunity to work with them developed after securing an interim promotion that included a seat on the management board. In looking into suitable assistance, Worth was suggested by a coworker as well as I was pleased when our Human Resources team were able to safeguard their services. All our training programs are proficiency based, with finding out end results for each session.

One reason a coach is usually employed is to resolve shortages in inspiration as well as confidence. An excellent train will certainly urge and also will have the ability to influence action as well as change in those under their advice. It is all about developing the need to make the essential adjustments for the individual to accomplish their goals, and also occasionally they might just require that little press to obtain them over the begin line. As this is the case, when selecting an instructor or advisor with healing, therapy or business concentrated psychological abilities it is necessary to guarantee they are registered with a suitable governing body. In the UK, titles for the career of psychology are controlled by the Wellness & Treatment Professions Council -uk.org. Therapy is, if anything, an expansion of what happens in a coaching connection, it is ahead concentrated as well as focused on life improvement or enhancement.

It is about going on and breaking devoid of issues as well as issues that have held people back and avoided them from getting all they can from their lives. Another popular false impression is that in order to undertake therapy one has to be 'crazy' or 'neurotic' which is not the instance. Client progression is constantly checked and trainers as well as mentors look for indications which might suggest that a client calls for an assessment by a qualified specialist. professional coaching will on-refer a customer to a proper therapist if this is felt to be helpful.

Recurring supervision, team discovering, training circles, workshops as well as totally free participation at graduates occasions all function. Additionally we provide tools to aid customers determine in accurate terms where training will certainly add worth and work environment health and wellbeing devices to enable customers to examine the effectiveness of our training courses. John Heron's Six Categories of Intervention function as an adaptable as well as instinctive framework for settling issues with performance on a certain job within the workplace. The Six Classifications offer services most fit to various management designs, scenarios and to the target person.

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[coffeeman777]

Ok, so, this is my perspective on divorce and remarriage in the context of the Christian faith.  What I write here is genuinely what I believe the Scriptures teach.  I've arrived at my conclusions after much time, study, thought, and prayer.  I realize some of you will disagree, especially my Catholic followers.  I am open to being wrong about part or all of this, and therefore I'm willing to be corrected.   But the following is, to my mind, the best inference to the Biblical data. 

Let's start with Jesus' teaching on divorce from Matthew 19:1-9:

"Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from Galilee and entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. 2 And large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.3 And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?” 4 He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” 7 They said to him, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” 8 He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9 And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.”

The passage from the Law of Moses the Pharisees refer to in vv 7 is Deuteronomy 24:1, which reads, "When a man takes a wife and marries her, if then she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, and she departs out of his house..."  Based on this text, in Jesus' day, there was a popular school of thought among the Pharisees that a man may divorce his wife for literally any cause, including reasons as petty as messing up dinner.  This was an abuse of the Law's permission to divorce, which Jesus sets straight in vv 8-9.  

Some conclude that all divorce is sin, all the time, in every circumstance, based on Jesus' response to the Pharisees in vv 8, and I've seen all manner of interpretative gymnastics to try to prove this.  I believe that conclusion to be false, for two primary reasons:

One, Jesus Himself clearly gives permission for divorce on the grounds of sexual immorality (vv 9; see also Matthew 5:32).  

And two, we have to consider the implications of the idea that all divorce is sin all the time.  Deuteronomy 24:1-4 does, in fact, permit divorce, as acknowledged by Jesus Himself in Matthew 19:8.  To say that all divorce is sin all the time, then, is the same as saying that God deliberately codified sin in the Law, which is an absurd proposition.  The Apostle Paul speaks of the Law in Romans 7:12 saying, "the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good."  Furthermore, God is not the author of sin (1 John 1:5).  Clearly, God did not permit sin in the Law due to the hardness of people's hearts; that would be the same as saying that God now permits premarital sex due to the pervasive hardness of heart in our culture.  Obviously ridiculous. 

When the Lord said that Moses permitted divorce due to the hardness of hearts, I believe He was saying that because of our fallen natures sin was inevitable, including sin within the marriage covenant, and for that reason, under specific circumstances, the  dissolution of a marriage was allowed, and therefore not sin in those circumstances.  The Law mentioned such circumstances, as did the Lord Jesus, and then later, the Apostle Paul. 

In 1 Corinthians 7, Paul gives some additional information about marriages in a Christian context.  In 1 Corinthians 7:10-15, Paul writes:

"To the married I give this charge (not I, but the Lord): the wife should not separate from her husband 11 (but if she does, she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), and the husband should not divorce his wife.  12 To the rest I say (I, not the Lord) that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. 13 If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. 14 For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. 15 But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace."

Concerning vv 10-11, in the Corinthian church at that time, there was this idea that being single meant greater spirituality. 

Pastor Dave Guzik writes:

"The Corinthian Christians wondered if it might be more spiritual to be single, and if they should break up existing marriages for the cause of greater holiness. Paul answers their question straight from the heart of the Lord: absolutely not!" 

Although Christian spouses are permitted to separate from each other without sin, they are not free to remarry, because their separation is not a legitimate divorce in the sight of God (vv 11).  

Paul goes on to discuss a Christian being married to a non-Christian.  In this case, Paul says the Christian should not divorce the non-Christian, but in the event that the non-Christian chooses to divorce the Christian, the Christian should let them go.  

In vv 15, Paul says, "...In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved."  Other translations render the word, "bound," or "in bondage."  Based on the immediate context and Paul's regular use of bound/bondage language in reference to marriage (1 Corinthians 7:27, 39; Romans 7:2-3), it is clear that Paul is saying the Christian who was divorced by their unbelieving spouse is now in the same situation as a Christian who's spouse has died: they are free from the constraints of their former marriage, and therefore able to remarry. 

Concerning the nature of divorce, Pastor Paul Carter writes:

"When the Bible permits divorce, it is so that the wronged or abandoned party may remarry.  That’s what a certificate of divorce is.  Therefore, in any case where a divorce is biblically permissible, it is by definition also permissible for the wronged or abandoned party to remarry.  In Matthew 5:31-32 Jesus says:

It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. (Matthew 5:31–32 ESV)

"Here Jesus is simply saying that if a divorce is not legitimate, then the remarriage is not legitimate.  If the divorce is legitimate (he uses the word pornea again), then the remarriage is legitimate.

"Similarly the Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 7 that if the unbelieving spouse does not want to stay in the marriage and does not want to live with an active and obvious Christian, then the believer should let them go. In such cases the believer is not bound – that is to say they are free to remarry. The Pillar Commentary on 1 Corinthians 7 makes that point clearly:

Not bound here refers to freedom to remarry. Instone-Brewer explains: “The only freedom that makes any sense in this context is the freedom to remarry … [A]ll Jewish divorce certificates and most Greco-Roman ones contained the words ‘you are free to marry any man you wish,’ or something very similar.

"If the individual believer had Biblical grounds for divorce, then he or she is permitted to remarry – but only in the Lord (1 Corinthians 7:39)."

Conclusion

God hates divorce (Malachi 2:16).  God's intention for humankind in marriage is a life-long, committed relationship, wherein both parties fulfill their obligations to the other, and love each other in a self-sacrificial way (Ephesians 5:22-33).  Christians should only ever enter into marriage with a life-or-death seriousness, fully intent on maintaining that marriage for the rest of their lives, come whatever may. Divorce should never be thought of by Christians as an option.

That said, because of sin, there are times when marriage covenants may be broken beyond repair.  In cases of impenitent sexual immorality, and/or abandonment by an unbelieving spouse, divorce is very clearly permitted.  And in any Biblically-justifed case of divorce, remarriage is also permitted.