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Most people have goals — little goals throughout each day to major life goals. But without motivation, you’ll never reach those goals. You’ll just lounge around wasting your life.
No matter what kinds of goals you’re working towards, there are plenty of things you can do to motivate yourself so you keep working on them and don’t let opportunities pass you by. Here are some self-motivational tips you can use to help you reach your own goals — big or small.
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- Write down your goals.
- Make goals specific and measurable.
- Break larger goals down into mini-goals.
- Enlist a support network.
- Avoid people who discourage you.
- Stop procrastinating.
- Reward yourself.
- Consider the consequences.
- Keep your life, home, or office organized.
- Envision yourself achieving your goals.
Now let’s take a closer look at each of these self-motivational tips, including examples of how they can help you reach your goals. [click to continue…]
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“What’s the benefit of college if I’m already making real money?” A question tossed out often on webmaster forums and gathering places of young entrepreneurs, it strikes at the core of one of the most entertaining debates in the online world – do young entrepreneurs need college educations? What’s the value of class time for those who are already earning more than their degreed counterparts? Not surprisingly, the answer has less to do with money in the near future and more to do with future value.
Who Needs College?
A generation or two ago, a college degree was sought by roughly a fourth of the United States graduates. Today, 70 percent of high school graduates are attending a college or university. This significant rise has been fueled by a reduced number of entry-level careers available without a degree and more career fields requiring a college degree where they once did not. A retail assistant manager, for example, requires a college degree today where twenty years ago, the position was awarded solely on management ability and experience. [click to continue…]
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For more than eight years, I’ve taught troubled students. And unlike many teachers, I prefer these troubled teens and actively seek out teaching positions where I have a chance to interact with at-risk students. Working with such a diverse group of young people – many of whom would have dropped out of school if it were not for alternative high schools such as the one I work in now – has shown me exactly how effective kinesthetic learning can be.
Learning by Doing – How Simple Is That?
Experts don’t get to be outstanding by listening to lecture. They don’t become brilliant scientists or psychologists by listening to someone drone on about certain practices and theories and then taking notes on the subject matter. Experts in every field became experts by doing something with information after they hear it. From World Cup soccer players to the top customer service employee at the local McDonalds, every expert is a model of kinesthetic learning. [click to continue…]
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These days it seems like everyone is looking for a way to pay off debt without actually understanding debt and considering the best way to pay it off. Believe it or not, some debt is considered “good” debt. Debt that has long-term value combined with reasonable interest rates that you can sustain for a long period of time and still be better for it is often considered “good”. Examples of this debt include student loans and mortgages.
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Financial planning is the process of completing a comprehensive overview of your current financial situation, developing and determining your future goals, and then creating a workable financial management plan that puts you on the right path to actually achieving those goals.
In order to get a true, comprehensive plan with advice that helps you work toward wealth preservation and investing according to your risk tolerance and time line, you should work with a certified financial planner. However, to do a brief financial plan at home you can use this guide as well as the free, financial planning worksheet included.
Step 1: Review your current financial position.
Making an honest assessment of your current financial position is the first step in any financial planning process. To do this, complete sections 1-5 of our financial planning worksheet.
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In our previous post giving you sample training needs analysis questionnaires, many readers asked for more samples. We did not create our own sample for the previous post. Now we have. Below you will find a training needs analysis questionnaire you can use or adapt to your own company’s needs.
There is no single type of training needs analysis questionnaire. There are countless versions, as they vary with the user’s industry and needs. This sample training needs analysis questionnaire is just one example, and you can edit it to work for your own business. Please do not ask us to email you other types of questionnaires. This is the only one available, and we do not create custom questionnaires for each reader. It’s easily customizable — just use it as a model and plug in different skills that are most important for your own business. If this one doesn’t meet your exact needs, you can find numerous other examples by searching Google or you can create your own custom template (which is ideally what all HR reps would do, to make sure the questionnaires are appropriate for their personal goals).
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- Photo credit: morguefile.com Gracey
If you are wondering how to budget, don’t worry—you are not alone. Many people don’t know where to begin when it comes to budgeting and controlling their spending. By following the instructions below and utilizing our free budgeting worksheet, you won’t just know how to budget, you will understand why budgeting is so important to a successful financial future.
Step 1: Determine your income.
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by Eric on March 11, 2010
If you’re constantly on the go, you know just how tiring and stressful business travel can be. If you aren’t careful, you can find yourself burned out while on the road. Needless to say, that’s not good for you or your business.
So, what can you do to make sure you stay sharp while constantly traveling for business? Here are some tips that will keep your mind sharp and your body refreshed while you’re on the road.
- Eat right—When you’re constantly running, it’s easy to fall into the habit of grabbing some fast food or munching on some snacks. While this might satisfy your hunger, it won’t give you the energy you need to keep performing at a high level. In fact, it does the complete opposite.
That’s why it’s so important to eat right when you’re traveling. Make sure you enjoy plenty of fruits and vegetables as these are great brain foods that keep your mind sharp. You should also limit the sodas you drink, and make sure to drink plenty of water, as a hydrated body is more energetic.
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by Eric on March 11, 2010
Happy employees are far more productive than bitter, disgruntled employees. As a boss, you need to constantly be aware of employee morale, because if it starts to drop, your company could be in serious trouble.
Do your employees:
- Complain about how they never get time off?
- Look like they can’t wait to leave at the end of the day?
- Seem distant and guarded whenever you talk to them?
If so, you may have a serious morale problem.
What can you do to keep employee morale up? Start by following these simple tips.
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Let’s say you’re in the U.S. You’re about to start a new business. You need to come up with the perfect business name for your new software development company. Oooh, I know! “Microsoft!” No, wait. We can’t do that, can we? That would be trademark infringement. Shoot!
You can’t simply go in and use the name of another company in your industry, or one that could be confusingly similar. A key element of trademark law is that your business name and other branding elements shouldn’t confuse consumers into thinking you’re someone else. In other words, you can get a free ride off of another company’s reputation.
Okay. That’s oversimplifying, but I’m not a lawyer and diving into the deeper realms of trademark law isn’t within our scope today. Instead, let’s talk about conducting a simple trademark search to see if you’re really free to use that great business name you came up with.
What is a Trademark Search?
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A trademark search is just the act of checking up on a business name or other potential trademark to make sure it’s not already being used in a confusingly similar way. There are registered trademarks — those officially registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). However, a trademark doesn’t have to be registered. It’s all about first use in business. Therefore a thorough trademark search would have to go beyond searching the USPTO’s database.
How to Conduct a Basic Trademark Search
While it’s always a good idea to hire an attorney specializing in intellectual property law before investing a lot of time and money into branding a new business venture, you can at least rule out some potential business names on your own. It’s relatively quick and easy. Here is the process:
- Visit the USPTO’s website (http://uspto.gov/).
- Click the link in the Trademark column that says “search marks.” This will take you to the Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS).
Credit: USPTO.gov
- Click on “new user form search (basic).” This takes you to the basic search form pictured below.
Credit: USPTO.gov
- Enter your search term and click the submit button. Enter “Microsoft” just to see an example. You’ll see a list of registered trademarks involving the word “Microsoft” (or whatever you typed in). Let’s look at an example with no trademarks registered — BizAmmo (a project I launched a few years ago). You’ll see there are no registered trademarks.
Yay! You found a name with no registered trademarks. Don’t get too excited though. Remember, a trademark holder doesn’t have to register their mark with the government for it to be valid. There’s still the first use issue to contend with. Here’s how to move on to the next step of your simple search.
- Go to Google (or your favorite search engine).
- Type in the keyword or phrase you want to check. I like to use quotes around the phrase in this search to bring up exact instances. Search for BizAmmo as an example. Darn. It looks like it’s already being used for something.
- If there are no results, try searching for very similar phrases (like a plural or singular or minor spelling changes). Make sure there is nothing too similar in use. If you did find results in your search, you can take a closer look. Are they in any way related to the industry, product, business, etc. that you wanted to use the name for? If so, it’s time to move on to the next idea. If not, you’re ready to consult with a trademark lawyer to determine if there’s a likelihood for confusion, or if you might be the first to use the trademark in your intended way.
Like I said before, I’m not a lawyer. This tutorial isn’t meant to provide you with a failsafe method of identifying trademarks and it isn’t meant to serve as legal advice. Keep in mind that trademark law is a complicated area and not all trademarks might be found in a Web search or USPTO search (think of a local competing small business that might not be on the Web).
Use this guide as a way to weed out business name and other trademark options with obvious infringement potential, and don’t assume that a lack of results is enough on its own to mean a trademark is yours for the taking. As mentioned, consult with an attorney who specializes in intellectual property law (or more specifically trademark law) when you’ve narrowed down your ideas before you invest a lot in your new venture, especially where international trademark issues might come up.
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