How to Read Quotes and Benefit From Them by Remez Sasson

Source: http://www.successconsciousness.com/blog/motivation/how-to-read-quotes/

I discovered that there are a lot of people who like to read quotes. I mean inspiring and enlightening quotes about different topics. People like to read quotes, because these are concise sentences, expressing wisdom, and awakening motivation, inspiration and happiness.

If you search for quotes on the Internet, you will find a lot of websites displaying quotes, and also many websites dedicated especially for quotes. I too, have included a section with quotes at my website, which you can find at the quotes directory. I am happy to say that these pages are viewed thousands of times every day, by people from all over the world.

There are two questions I would like to answer in this article:
1. Why people love to read quotes.
2. How to read quotes and benefit from them.

People love to read quotes, because these are inspiring and motivating thoughts condensed into a few words. They are drops of wisdom concentrated into one or a few sentences, which can bring light and understanding into the soul of the reader. They have the power to awaken hope, faith and inner strength, and also ambition and motivation.

You can benefit much more from reading quotes, if you do the following:

1. Read the quote a few times. If something within you resonates with the quote read it every day, no just once, but a few times. It would be a good idea to copy or print it, and put it where you can see it often. A quote that is repeated often, act just like affirmations, and can affect your mind and behavior in a positive way if you read them often.

2. After reading the quote think about it. Think how you can use its message in your life. Look deeply into it, to find the inner meaning in it, even if the one who is quoted never intended to put any deep meaning in it when he or she said or wrote it.

3. You can use quotes that really attract you as a theme for meditation, especially quotes from the world’s scriptures or from spiritual teachers.

4. Always try to read quotes between the lines. If you read them in this way, you will arrive at a deeper understanding of some of the truths of life, and you will find ideas that can help you in your everyday life.

5. You can collect quotes you like and print them with your home printer, making a small booklet, which you can carry in your pocket. If you have a smart phone, you can copy them into your smart phone. You can then read the quotes from your booklet or smart phone whenever you have the time, when waiting in line, traveling in a bus or train, at work or at home.

“Every man who knows how to read has it in his power to magnify himself, to multiply the ways in which he exists, to make his life full, significant and interesting.”
– Aldous Huxley–

Best brain foods for everyone

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

As you age, your memory goes for a toss. Eating right will help those grey cells in working condition and you in tip-top shape! Can't find your keys ... again? Whether your momentary memory loss is linked to doing too many things at once or just a bad case of menopausal brain fog, you don't have to put up with it. Studies suggest that natural chemicals in these foods, spices, and drinks combat cognitive decline. Here is a list of some of the foods that help us keep our memory active and sharp. - Asparagus - Blueberries - Cocoa - Coffee - Egg yolks - Indian curry - Red wine - Rosemary - Salmon - Tomato sauce - Walnuts 

Natural foods for a better sex life

Source:  http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com


Extravagant medicinal techniques and psychological therapies to boost your sex life is a thing of the past. One of the best ways to increase your libido and ensure that you have a good time with your partner is by indulging in certain food items known as aphrodisiac foods.

As the very name signifies, aphrodisiac (Aphrodite: Greek goddess of love) foods awaken our pleasure senses and stimulate glands to heighten both female and male sexual performances. Here, we introduce you to a world of exotic foods that will act as natural stimulants to spice up your sex life.

Chocolates: Chocolates have long since been a symbol of romance and passion. It is said that women produce almost four times more endorphins after eating chocolates than they do after a passionate foreplay. What's more, you can even stimulate and "paint" your partner with new and intriguing techniques using melted chocolate.

Oranges: A sweet and seductive fruit, orange can be used as a good alternative to chocolates to entice and allure your partner for a passionate experience.

Asparagus: Did you know that in the 19th century, the prenuptial dinner for French bridegrooms included three servings of the juicy asparagus spears? Many people refer to these perennial plants as erotic asparagus primarily because of its ability to evoke a feeling of lust in both men and women. For centuries, ancient sexologists and researchers like Van de Velde have debated and discussed the significance of asparagus in improving sex life. Asparagus is a great source of potassium, fiber and vitamins like A, C, Thiamine and Folic Acid. The latter is said to boost the production of histamine in the body which is necessary for reaching orgasm in both sexes.

Eggs: When was the last time you were able to enjoy an unhurried and "stress free" time with your partner? With our regular routine work life and mundane worries, we often don't find the time and zeal to spice our sex life and be better lovers. This is where Vitamin B5 and Vitamin B6 present in eggs come into play. Both of them being stress-reducers, helps in increasing our sex drive besides supporting our overall health and fitness.

Watermelon: If you are hoping for some fireworks in your sex life, start eating multiple servings of watermelon every day. Considered as a natural Viagra, watermelons are a rich source of an amino acid called citrulline which helps in blood vessel dilation. Thus, it can be used as a natural treatment for erectile dysfunctions (ED).

Saffron: If you are looking for instant effects, be sure to add adequate quantities of saffron to your diet. Consumption of saffron has been shown to boost sexual desire as per recent studies conducted on benefits of natural aphrodisiacs. They are produced from dried stigmas of a flower called Crocus sativus and are often used in regular Indian, Italian and Spanish cuisine.

Garlic: We often take our sexual health and drive for granted unless we face some severe problems. Avoid that and take regular caution by consuming garlic on a daily basis. Garlic's aphrodisiac properties have been known for a long time as it helps to enhance sex drive, libido and sexual function in both men and women. This is primarily due to the presence of high levels of a compound called allicin that increase blood flow to the sexual organs.

Ernest Hemingway’s Top 9 Words of Wisdom by HENRIK EDBERG

Source: http://www.positivityblog.com/index.php/2008/06/13/ernest-hemingways-top-9-words-of-wisdom/

The world is a fine place and worth the fighting for and I hate very much to leave it.”

As you probably know Ernest Hemingway was a writer, journalist and Nobel Prize Winner. Some of his most famous stories include “The Old Man and The Sea” and “The Sun Also Rises”. He also participated in both World Wars and worked as a correspondent during for instance the Spanish Civil War.

Now, here are 9 of my favourite words of wisdom from Ernest Hemingway.

1. Listen.

“I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen.”

Learning to really listen to someone rather just waiting for our turn to talk can be a difficult skill to develop. Often we may have much on our mind that we want to say and so listening falls by the wayside.

How can you become a better listener? Here are three tips:

• Forget about yourself. Focus your attention outward instead of inward in a conversation. Place the mental focus on the person you are talking and listening to instead of yourself. Placing the focus outside of yourself makes you less self-centred and your need to hog the spotlight decreases.
• Stay present. This will help you to decrease the bad habit of thinking about the future and what you should say next while trying to listen. If you are present and really there while listening then that will also come through in your body language, which gives the person talking a vibe and feeling that you are really listening to what s/he has to say.
• Be open. Keep your mind open to the possibility that whatever the person is about to say will actually be interesting. If you have already made up your mind that he or she will say something boring then it will be hard to pay attention.

Also, if you really listen then that alone will often provide you naturally with a better and more genuine answer than the clever response thought up while trying to listen simultaneously.

2. Take the first step.

“The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.”

The thing is if two people or more are waiting for someone else to take the first step then that step may never be taken. Or you may at least have to wait for a very long time.

If you after some time realise that, like in this example, you couldn’t trust the person then at least you have learned that.

By not taking the first step you’ll perhaps never know. So instead of waiting around and trying to figure things out just take first steps of different kinds in interactions. Be proactive.

3. Keep your eyes on where you are going.

“Never mistake motion for action.”

It’s very easy to get lost in busy work. You may spend much time in your in-box or filing and organizing things. But at the end of the day or week, what have you accomplished?

Just because you’re moving doesn’t mean that you are moving in the direction you really want to go. To do that you have to do the things that you know are really important and in alignment with your goals. And not getting lost in busy work.

So, improve your effectiveness and productivity. But, more importantly, never lose your view of your big picture. And take the action and do the things you need to do to get yourself where you want to go.

4. Just do.

“The shortest answer is doing the thing.”

How do you get things done? You take action and do them. You may need to do some planning, but don’t get lost in that stage or in over thinking things. Planning or thinking won’t get you any results in real-life if you don’t take action too.

So take action and just try something. Maybe you’ll succeed. Maybe you’ll fail, but if you do then failure can always teach you a bunch of things. The worst thing is not failure, it’s to just sit on your hands and do nothing.

Developing a just do it habit – where you learn to do what you know you want to do despite how you feel or what your thoughts are telling you at the moment – can be difficult. But it’s rewarding not only because you’ll get actual results and – sooner or later – success. It also builds real confidence in yourself, in your capabilities and in your own personal power to achieve what you want in life.

5. Do. Fail. Learn. Do.

“The first draft of anything is shit”

So you have to keep your eyes on where you are going and do the right things to get yourself there. However, you will not always get what you want on your first try. No worries though, if you have the right attitude.

What attitude is that? The attitude of the much younger you. The kid who learned to walk and ride a bike. A younger you that doesn’t put so much value into a failure. But instead just gets up after falling down, learns a lesson or two from what happened and then tries again. And again.

By cultivating that way of thinking about failure – instead of the more usual, more grown up one where you may think that the world will come to an end just because you failed – you can over time achieve some pretty awesome things.

You can read more about how failure can be redefined and be of great help to you in 4 Reasons Why Failure is Pretty Awesome.

6. Find strength through your tough times.

“The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places.”

This is a really interesting point. Because it’s really easy to let yourself fall into a frame of mind where you think that no-one has had it worse than you and that this and this happened and that’s why you are like you are. And of course, some people have had a much worse time than other people.

But I think it’s easy to let yourself fall into a kind of victim thinking where you let your troubles in the past act as reasons why you can’t do something now. But one must remember: that is the past. And people’s problems are rarely as unique as we may think. Everyone has had bad stuff happen to them. People may not talk about it and you may assume that it’s just you that has have these bad experiences.

But as Hemingway says, everyone has been broken in a kind of way throughout their life. It’s kinda unavoidable.

But the question is what you do now. Do you let those old things hold you back and allow them help the ego to build an even stronger victim identity? Or can you let them go and live in the present – as the person you are now rather than who you were – with plans for the future? Everyone has to handle such a thing in their own way. But it is up to just one person to decide on how handle it. And that’s you.

7. Don’t get hung up on the small things in life.

“The man who has begun to live more seriously within begins to live more simply without.”

When you start to take life more seriously you may realize that you can let a whole lot of things just go. You don’t have the patience, time or energy to worry about the small and petty things anymore. You don’t get wrapped up in things that are totally unimportant.

You start simplifying your life because you realise that your time isn’t unlimited. You remove a lot of the less important things to have more time and energy for the really exciting and important stuff.

Have a look at what’s really important in your life. If you are unsure about if it’s really important, try asking yourself: ”Will this matter 5 years from now?”. Then simplify, simplify, simplify. You may be surprised at how much kinda unimportant important stuff that there is in your mind and life.

You may also feel lighter after having done some decluttering because you are no longer bogged down by boatloads of stuff that you have now realized is pretty irrelevant.

8. Don’t let your imagination hold you back.

“Cowardice … is almost always simply a lack of ability to suspend the functioning of the imagination.”

Your imagination can really play tricks on you. By thinking about something over and over you and your imagination can come up the most elaborate and horrifying ways that things can go wrong. But if/when you finally take action and do what you wanted to do it may, well… be a little anticlimactic. Even if you fail and things don’t work out the way you hoped for you may think to yourself: ”Is this it?!”. There are no monsters under your bed. And the monsters and disaster scenarios you construct in your mind rarely come into life.

Now, some situations may actually be quite scary and create a lot of pressure within. The best way that I have found to deal with those situations is to reconnect with the present. When you are present you are just focused on what is happening right now. As Hemingway says, you are suspending the functioning of your imagination because your mind is no longer lost in possible future scenarios.

Check out Eckhart Tolle’s books The Power of Now and A New Earth plus 8 Ways to Return to The Present Moment for tips on how develop the habit of being able to step into the now. It can allow you to find a stillness and peace within despite calamity outside of you.

9. Don’t judge.

“The writer’s job is not to judge, but to seek to understand.”

I think this is not just a great piece of advice for writers but for anyone really. Seeking to understand rather than judging is hard but is something that can help you and the people around you a great deal. And this also goes back to the first tip, the one about listening. To be a good listener you must have the intent to understand the other person rather than judging him/her.

Instead of going into interactions or just life with a bunch of judgements that you apply on everything and everyone try acceptance. This is not easy if you are used to making judgements about everything. And the thing is, by making a judgement you can often strengthen you ego. You get a small ego boost and you feel good for a while. But just like with caffeine this wears off pretty quickly and you soon need to judge again to feel good.

Accepting may not feel so appealing or “normal” but I have found that when I just accept things I feel a relief and stillness inside. You just feel good. I’m still working on this though.

Accepting someone’s opinion doesn’t mean that you surrender and let them “win”. Nor does it mean that you need to just sit back and cannot take any action. You can accept and still take action to change something if that is what you’d like to do. Accepting just means that you let that person think and feels as s/he likes without judging it. When you just accept and let your judgements rest it’s easier to really understand each other and connect.

Use Recommendations to Add Value to Your LinkedIn Profile

Source: http://www.business2community.com/linkedin/5-best-practices-requesting-linkedin-recommendations-01033598#4TT4BChff2vIrgCt.99

LinkedIn has more than 300 million active users, at least as of May 2014. (That’s more than Twitter.)  One report found that 13% of these 300 million users log into the site at least one time per day. It’s safe to say, then, that this popular professional networking site should be taken seriously.

But how seriously should we be taking the recommendations feature?

If you have a LinkedIn profile, you have likely been asked to give a recommendation or asked for one yourself. So just how valuable are these recommendations on your profile? Well, that depends on how you go about them.

Recommendations vs. Endorsements

Before we explore the value of recommendations, we need to define the term as LinkedIn defines it. The site offers two ways for your connections to offer feedback on your qualification: recommendations or endorsements.

Recommendations are written by other LinkedIn members as a way to recognize or applaud a business partner or colleague.

Meanwhile, endorsements are less specific. These are more vague virtual thumbs-ups that your connections can give you to supposedly authenticate your experiences. Surely you have logged into LinkedIn and received popup notices asking you about a connection’s skills set, such as: “Does Bill Faeth know about financial management?”

Your response is probably something like, “Well, I know Bill owns his own business, so I guess he knows something about financial management. Sure, I’ll endorse him for that! What the heck?”

In my opinion, these endorsements don’t carry much weight (although LinkedIn bills them as great ways to build your personal brand). By contrast, recommendations are more reputable than endorsements because a connection actually has to write something about your professional qualifications. Including recommendations on your LinkedIn profile can add value, especially if you are job hunting.

How To Request LinkedIn Recommendations

To request a recommendation:

Hover over your profile photo in the top right corner of any LinkedIn page.

Choose “Privacy and Setting” from the drop-down menu.

Under the “Settings” header on the “Profile” tab, select “Manage Your Recommendations”.

Click the “Ask for Recommendations” tab at the top and follow the prompts.

Including recommendations on your LinkedIn profile can add value and serve as a testament to your skills and abilities. Many corporate recruiters turn to LinkedIn daily to find qualified candidates to fill open positions.

In fact, LinkedIn states that hiring managers prefer to work with someone who has been recommended. So, including recommendations can be a valuable asset. Although some studies have shown that not having a recommendation won’t hurt you, having the wrong kind of recommendation could hurt.

Creating Value with LinkedIn Recommendations

If you plan to include recommendations on your profile, you need to make sure that what your colleagues post about you enhances your virtual resume. If you want your recommendations to be meaningful and avoid the “Sure, why not?” scenario common with endorsements, you need to make sure the person writing your recommendation can actually speak to your skills, work ethic or experience.

Below are 5 best practices to employ when requesting LinkedIn recommendations:

Make Your Ask Personal

You are much more likely to get a prompt reply and a quality recommendation if you ask someone personally. LinkedIn offers you the opportunity to send an auto-generated email prompt requesting a recommendation. However, your response rate will increase if you rewrite the email and make a more personal request. Which leads me to my next point…

We all love to read glowing remarks about ourselves, such as “Susanne was such a pleasure to work with. Her smiling face and enthusiasm lit up our office every day. I would definitely recommend her to anyone who wants to hire her!” This makes us feel good, right? But, to a hiring manager, reviews of this nature add little value. You are much better off asking a colleague to recommend you for a specific skill set or qualification.

Request Specific Details

Did you work on a specific project to relaunch your company’s website? Ask a team member to recommend you on your attention to detail, your ability to meet deadlines, or your coding skills.

Did you step up and fill in a vacant position? Ask your then-supervisor to write about your ability to take on additional responsibilities while still completing your assigned tasks. Make sure he or she elaborates on your team-player attitude as well.

Ask a Teammate

Sure, it may look good on your profile to have recommendations from the presidents and CEOs of every company you’ve worked for. But unless you worked directly with those individuals, your recommendation may not mean much. When asking colleagues to write a recommendation for you, make sure to ask people who can actually speak to your experience. Typically, those who serve with you on a task force or work with you on a specific project have great insight into your skills and abilities. Plus, they can attest to what it is like to work with you, which is a critical factor for many recruiters and hiring managers.

Collect a Variety of Recommendations

You want to have several different recommendations that speak to your different abilities or experiences. Including feedback from former managers or from those whom you have managed will give readers of your profile a more comprehensive view of who you are as an employee, a manager and a person. Be careful not to ask for too many recommendations, though. You don’t want to have so many different opinions that the feedback becomes watered down.

Look Outside the Workplace

Recommendations don’t have to be limited to professional experiences, either. Those teammates and colleagues you work with in professional or civic organizations can make great references as well. And sometimes, these individuals can speak to your skills sets even better than your supervisor or cubemate. These types of recommendations, such as your ability to manage volunteers or lead a committee, can be especially valuable if you are looking to make a career change.

There you have it. Five ways to make LinkedIn recommendations work for you. Next time you log in to the site, consider sending a few recommendation requests to former or current coworkers. And make sure to return the favor! If someone asks you for a recommendation, have the courtesy to complete one in a timely and professional manner. Maybe that’s the start of another blog post…

17 clever things to know about your breathing

Source: http://www.speakingtree.in/allslides/unknown-facts-about-breathing


1. The simple act of breathing

One of the things all of us take for granted in life is the simple act of breathing. Sure, we know that without it we would not live but it is one of those things that happen unconsciously, automatically as we go about our lives. However, just by concentrating on our breathing technique, you can reap exceptional benefits. Here are 17 things I bet you never knew about breathing...

2. Conscious Breathing

We are continually instructed to “breathe consciously” when we are in yoga class. Breathing consciously is the essence of yoga as it assists us in connecting with the subtle energy within. It is through the breath that we are able to navigate different levels of consciousness. Moreover, breathing consciously has a biological effect on our mental, emotional, and physical state.

3. It makes you comfortable with your past

Connecting with your breath is a method for being present. When you concentrate on each aspect of the breathing process, you are present; you let go of the past and future and are focused on the moment inside the breath. This is why breathing consciously is its own meditation.

4. Breath = Life

If I come up to you and close your nose, you will fight for breath. Our energy level depends in a big part on our breath. The better (fuller) you breathe, the more energy you will have. Taking deeper breaths will bring in more oxygen in to the body and improve your energy levels. Think oxygen cafe!

5. Slower Breaths mean Better Relationships

Most relationships would be better if people were less reactive. The state of your mind affects the breath the reverse is true as well. When you are angry are breath is fast and shortened. When you are relaxed, your breath is slow and complete. The next time you are arguing with someone try taking longer deeper breaths. Notice how that can quickly reduces anger and allows you to look at the situation from a new perspective!

6. Deep Breathing relieves pain

Studies have proved it yet when we feel pain our instant unconscious reaction is to hold our breath. Remember that breathing deeply and breathing into pain will help to release it. Deep breathing releases endorphins which are the body’s natural feel good pain killers.

7. Deep Breathing helps to improve your posture

Bad posture is often directly linked with incorrect breathing. Try it yourself and as you practise breathing deeply watch how you naturally straighten up. Filling your lungs encourages you to straighten your spine and stand or sit taller.

8. Deep Breathing helps to regulate weight

If you are underweight, the extra oxygen will help to feed the cells and tissues. If you are overweight it will assist with weight loss. The extra oxygen in the body will help to burn up excess fat more efficiently. When we are stressed, and most of us live day to day in a fairly stressed state, your body tends to burn glycogen instead of fat. Deep breathing triggers the relaxation response which encourages the body to burn fat instead.

9. It helps you move

Focus on breath while making movements also helps in controlling the movements, which reduce the chances of injury. The muscles work in a systematic way with greater coordination with nervous system. Neuro - muscular coordination is better. Yoga recommends smooth, relaxed awareness of inhalation and exhalation during the practice. The mind is focused and the awareness can be concentrated on the positive thoughts.

10. For a healthy heart

Coherent breathing is basically breathing at a rate of five breaths per minute, which is the middle of the resonant breathing rate range. I achieve this if I count to five inhaling and count to five exhaling. The five-minute rate maximizes the heart rate variability (HRV), a measurement of how well the parasympathetic nervous system is working. The higher the HRV the better, because a higher HRV is associated with a healthier cardiovascular system and a stronger stress-response system.

11. In case you are nervous

I used to get pretty nervous before many meetings in the past. One the things that really helped me to turn that around and to have more fun and success in social situations was to use conscious breathing. By doing so I was able to calm down both my body and mind and return to the healthier present moment, instead of being lost in destructive thoughts.

12. Your breath responds to you

Your breath is the first thing to respond in your body. Your breath will respond and adjust according to what you are thinking, feeling, observing, hearing, tasting, touching, sensing or experiencing at the time. It is intimately connected to your physical, emotional and spiritual state.

13. What is the depth of your inhale?

Does your normal inhale only reach the middle or upper area of your chest? Or is your normal inhale even shorter stopping around your shoulder, neck and throat area? This is a great place to start developing a greater understanding of your breath by focusing on the depth of your inhale. A full inhale should fill your lungs and expand your abdomen.

14. 70% of waste is eliminated through your breath

70% of our body’s waste products are eliminated via our lungs and the rest through the urine, skin and feces. When the efficiency of our lungs is reduced due to poor breathing less oxygen is available to our cells, it slows down the flow of blood which carries wastes from the kidneys and lungs. Our lymphatic system which fights off viral and bacterial invaders is weakened along with a slower digestive process.

15. Quality breathing can release fear, anger and sadness

Your breath will become disturbed when experiencing stressful emotions. To prevent these unwanted emotions from being pushed down and trapped in your body, simply breathe into your organs. Breathe into your lungs to remove sadness and grief. Breathe into your kidneys to dissolve fear. Breathe into your liver to dissolve anger. Breathe into your heart to open yourself up to more loving experiences.

16. Your breath activates your nervous system

When the sympathetic nervous system is activated you are living life with the “accelerator” on full throttle all the time. You are in “fight or flight” mode and constantly releasing stress into your body. On the other hand, the parasympathetic nervous system is like putting the “brake on” to life. It helps slow your body down which in turn allows restoration and rejuvenation. The key to activating your parasympathetic nervous system is to place your full attention onto your breath.

17. Your body can’t relax if your mind and breath are racing


Your thoughts are directly linked to the quality of your breathing. Busy, overactive thinking often means short, shallow and quick breathes. By focusing on calming your mind you will automatically be calming your breath and in turn relaxing your body.

18. Shallow breathing causes memory loss

The Taoists believe that loss of oxygen though shallow breathing ie. your inhale only goes as deep as your throat or top of your lungs, is the primary cause of memory loss in the elderly. Not sure how true this is, and I can’t even remember where I read it but, nevertheless I included it anyway as it certainly got me thinking. Worth exploring.

11 Common Publishing Terms All Writers Should Know

Source: http://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/11-common-publishing-terms-writers-know


# MANUSCRIPT (MS): Your completed book.

# MIDDLE GRADE (MG): Books for ages 9–12. Examples include Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White and the Magic Treehouse series by Mary Pope Osborne, Natalie Pope Boyce and Will Osborne.

# NARRATIVE NONFICTION: True stories written in a narrative that reads like a novel’s; also called creative nonfiction. Examples include The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Sloot and The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson.

# NEW ADULT: Books featuring protagonists ages 18–29, usually focusing on the first struggles of adulthood, such as finding love and getting a job.

# PLATFORM: Your author presence that allows you to market your expertise and/or book directly to your audience. Examples include a website, a broad-reaching social media network (Twitter, Facebook), speaking engagements and more.

# PROPOSAL: A detailed package used to pitch a nonfiction book; includes a table of contents, a market analysis, fully written sample chapters and more. (Turn to Page 32 for more on how to make your nonfiction book proposal as strong as possible.)

# QUERY: A one-page letter to an agent or editor that explains what your book is about and who you are.

# SAMPLE CHAPTERS: Completed chapters of your ms or proposed book. For a novel, these should be the first chapters of the book. For nonfiction, you may choose those that best represent the style and tone of your project.

# SYNOPSIS: A short (usually one-page) front-to-back summary of your work.

# UPMARKET: Literary fiction with commercial appeal, particularly women’s fiction.

# YOUNG ADULT (YA): Books for ages 13–17. Examples include The Giver by Lois Lowry and The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.

Break Your Routine in 2014

If something in your gut is telling you it's time to break out of your longstanding routine, Ben Heine is the guy to both spark your imagination and demonstrate what's possible with fresh thinking.
The Belgium artist seems to have an endless supply of original ideas, superbly executed. I especially love his Pencil vs Camera series, which is shown above and below. With Ben's permission, I've assembled this mashup of his quotes arranged to illustrate five ways to mix things up this year. The words (except for the headlines) are from Ben's interviews with Flickr, Volkswagen, DeviantArt and other sources.

1.) Perseverance is more important than talent

"I have been drawing passionately since my early childhood. I have worked a lot. I don't believe in innate talent. You have to work with perseverance to become an expert in any discipline."

2.) Big ideas come from little details 

“The initial idea (for Pencil vs. Camera) happened randomly while I was writing a letter in 2010. When I held the letter up to put it inside an envelope, I noticed the paper was transparent enough that I could see my television in the background. I suddenly saw two images working together: the words on the paper and the action of the television. It was surreal, and I instantly thought I could do something creative with this.
“The very next day I made Pencil Vs Camera #1. It wasn’t very creative, but it was the beginning of this new concept. Since then, it’s evolved into more and more complex drawings, and it’s always changing into something bigger and better.”

3.) One quality can set your idea above others

"My hand is always clearly visible because I hold the piece of paper that fits into the picture. Intuitively, I felt from the beginning that it was a necessary choice to balance everything. Yet it is not a pretty woman's hand, it breaks a bit the harmony. But it was important to emphasize the contrast between imagination and reality and to show that the final artworks are not simple photomontages. I really hold a piece of paper and the drawing is always handmade. It involves a lot of work.
"I think the fact that my hand is always visible attracts the attention of the viewer, it was not an easy decision at the beginning, because the hand may look too big or may obstruct the whole composition of the picture but it also represents somehow a warm human invitation to the watcher to see and grasp the little story happening on the piece of paper, to escape and hopefully dream a bit."

4.) Compete against yourself, not others 

“For me, it’s very important to be innovative and do something different. I’m having fun only because I’m trying to surpass myself daily. I want people to see I’ve given my utmost best in each of my images.
"In the Pencil Vs Camera series for instance, I wanted to demonstrate that it's possible to combine drawing and photography in an imaginative, harmonious and eye-catching way. "

5.) Never stop learning

"At the beginning, I thought it was the opposition between the two disciplines that was the original part of the concept, but I realize more and more that maybe it's more the harmony between the different mediums that makes it interesting and special.
"There are no limits because everything is possible."

 Source:http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140102030657-36792-break-your-routine-in-2014?trk=li_google_0114_brucekasanoff_routine&sf21247738=1

10 Signs You’re Uber Smart Even If You Don’t Appear to Be

Source:  http://www.lifehack.org


We often draw conclusions about people based on the way they look and the positions they hold in society, and that includes how smart we think somebody is. If someone is sporting the bow-tie, thick glasses, and high-waters, on top of being a software whiz, chess grand master, Sudoku champion, we automatically assume they’re smart.

On the other hand, there are plenty of smart people out there with completely different interests and hobbies beyond the stereotypical images presented above. Here are 10 signs that you’re exceptionally smart, even though you might not appear to be.

1. You’re curious–like a cat.

Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it also helped motivate some of the most influential people in history. It drove Benjamin Franklin to tie keys to kite strings during storms. It drove James Cameron to build a one-of-a-kind submarine to explore the Mariana Trench. It drove the first person that ever sucked on cow udders to discover milk. Yes, maybe natural curiosity causes you to try some things that others think are just weird and crazy–but where would we be without that curiosity? Sitting around with no electricity, no idea of the depth of the ocean, and no milk, that’s where.

If you’re one of these honorable curiosities, then there’s also no doubt that…

2. You ask way too many questions.

It’s a common misconception that “smart people always have an answer”. The truth of the matter is that smart people are always searching for an answer, and always asking questions of the world around them–and where better to ask than the internet? Nowadays, we have the ability at our fingertips to access an archive of collective human knowledge… but most people are too busy snapping selfies to notice. The trick behind finding the right information on the internet is knowing how to ask the right questions–something smart people do all the time.

Unfortunately, a lot of information in media and on the internet is pretty skewed in our society, which leads us to the next indicator that you’re actually really smart…

3. You’re a skeptic.

Skeptics don’t take anything at face value. They want to know the truth, and aren’t distracted by false and illogical claims. They often catch flack for not conforming to conventionally accepted norms, but sleep well knowing that they think for themselves.

Now, this is not to say that all skeptics are smart, or even that all smart skeptics are correct in their skepticism, no, because even if you are the smartest of skeptics…

4. You are not afraid to admit when you are wrong.

“I know one thing: that I know nothing” – Socrates

This quote is often referred to as the “Socratic Paradox”, and it means to highlight that the wiser person is not the person who presumes to know everything, but rather the person who recognizes that they don’t. This runs counter to today’s popular idea that smart people should never admit that they’re wrong or mistaken–but we all know that one smart guy who thinks he knows everything… and we all know he’s not really that smart.

So keep on admitting you’re wrong. It’s healthy, and a sign that…

5. You’re emotionally intelligent.

The University of Maryland defines emotional IQ as the “skills used to understand and manage emotions effectively”. It’s different from standard intelligence because it deals less with cognition, but shows the depths to which a person can control their own emotions. Putting that last bit of money into savings despite the urge to spend it, choosing healthy options over junk food, and getting back to work instead of surfing the web (caught ya!) are all signs of well-developed emotional intelligence.

Of course, this doesn’t mean you should just shut off your emotions, especially not if…

6. You enjoy art.

A lot of times, art demands that we think abstractly, perhaps even that we feel and not think at all. Comprehending pieces like Picasso’s Guernica isn’t necessarily a walk in the park, but those with a mind for it are up for a history lesson and half, and that’s before even getting into interpreting the meaning of the horse and the bull and the lack of color throughout.

But enjoying art doesn’t have to come down to liking Picasso–it can be as simple as getting lost in a guitar solo or the lyrics of a socially conscious rapper or singer in your headphones, especially if it gets you to think so much that…

7. You think about thinking.

Thinking about thinking, or being aware of your own thought processes, is called meta-cognition. It’s an interesting way to examine how you problem solve and react to certain stimuli, but it’s also been shown to encourage critical thinking and help maximize cognitive skills. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking too much, however–spending too much time thinking and not enough time doing is one of the commons faults of smart people.

Speaking of fault, you might be a smart person if…

8. You stay up late, drink, and do drugs.

Yes, you read that right. Studies have shown that children with a high IQ are six times more likely to binge drink as adults and two to three times more likely to use illicit drugs. They are also more likely to be night owls. Indeed, many philosophers and other great minds of the past used to stay up all night with wine to “loosen the tongue” and talk about whatever business they pleased, seeking refuge in their conversations with one another.

Unfortunately, there aren’t as many thinkers around nowadays, and many of them, like you, keep a low profile. Thus, it’s only natural that…

9. You feel socially removed.

Because of all the previously mentioned traits, smart people aren’t necessarily seen as “smart” first and foremost anymore, but as artsy-fartsy skeptics who stay up too late and ask too many questions. Okay, maybe you don’t fit that description, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re more apt to stay away from fads that the standard “herd” seems to find cool all the time. There’s just something about your peers that you don’t get–or maybe it’s something about you that they don’t get–but in the end it generally frees up time for other, more important ventures.

This is important, because…

10. You fail–a lot. But you learn from your mistakes.

Most smart people throughout history failed a ton, a humongous amount–but for every thousand failures they had their one grand success. Google’s Larry Page and Apple’s Steve Jobs both went through tumultuous times being run out of garages as startups, and even Bill Gates’s first business failed miserably. What sets these legendary examples apart is that they got back on the horse and kept re-imagining and planning for success until they obtained it.

One thing that the smartest figures in history recognized was that they would not and could not be constrained by their image. They understood the value inherent in simply being smart, and they used that to their advantage to shape the world we live in today.

They utilized their smarts to the utmost and changed history. What are you doing with yours?

An Emotional face Lift Makes You Look and Feel Younger

Try giving yourself a “Spiritual Face Lift.” It is more than a play on words. it opens you up to more life, more vitality, the “stuff” that youth is made of. You’ll feel younger. You’ll actually look younger. Many times I have seen a man or woman apparently grow five or ten years younger in appearance after removing old emotional scars. Look around you. Who are the youthful looking people you know over then age of of forty? The grumpy? Resentful? The pessimist? The one who are “soured on the world,” or the cheerful, optimistic, good-natured people?

Carrying a grudge against someone  or against life can bring on the old age stoop, just as much as carrying a heavy weight around on your shoulders would. People with emotional scars, grudges, and the like are living in the past, which is the characteristic of the old people. The youthful attitude and youthful spirit which erases wrinkles from the soul and the face, and puts a sparkle in the eye, looks to the future and has a great expectation to look forward to.

So, why not give yourself a face lift? Your do-it-yourself kit consists of relaxation of negative tension to prevent scares, therapeutic forgiveness to remove old scars, providing yourself with a tough (but not hard) epidermis instead of a shell, creative living, a willingness to be a little vulnerable, and a nostalgia for the future instead of the past.

Psycho-Cybernetics does not say that man is a machine. Rather, it says that man has a machine he uses." 

This post is a topic with above heading copied as it is from the book "Psycho-Cybernetics" by Maxwell Maltz , I sincerely recommend everyone to buy and read, and follow the exercises give by the Author. 

Notes: Pushing to the front

Don't wait for higher position or large salary. Enlarge the position you already occupy; put originality of method into it. Fill it as it never was filled before. Be more prompt, more energetic, more thorough, more polite then your predecessor or fellow workmen. Study your business, device new modes of operation,be able to give your employer points. The art lies not giving satisfaction merely, not simplifying your place, but doing better then was expected, in surprising your employer; and the reward will be a better place and larger salary.


Fidelity to the work OE every-day duties at hand, and a genuine feeling of responsibility to our parents or employers, ourselves, and our God, will eventually bring most of us into the right niches at the proper time.

Every great man has become great, every successful man has succeed, in proportion as he has confined his powers to one particular channel.

Bees will not sting a man smeared with honey

Success is the child of two very plain parents-- punctuality and accuracy. There are critical moments in every successful life when if the mind hesitate or a nerve flinch all will be lost.

Success is jealous of scatter energies.

A ploughman on his legs is higher than a gentleman on his knees.

Time is money. We shouldn't be stingy or mean with it, but we shouldn't throw away an hour any more than we would throw away a doller bill, waste of time means waste of energy, waste of vitality, waste of character in dissipation. It means the waste of opportunities which will never come back. Beware how you kill time, for all your future lives in it.

Time-wasters are every where.

No one is anxious about a young man while he is busy in useful work. But where does he eat his lunch at noon? Where does he go when he leaves his boarding-house at night? What does he do after supper? Where does he spend his Sundays and holidays? The way he spend his spare moments revels his character.

Like bees, they extract honey from every circumstances of the day, adds something to their store of useful knowledge or personal power.

The present time is the raw material out of which we make whatever we will. Do not brood over the past, or dream of the future, but seize the instant and get the lesson from the hour.


Prompt decision and whole-souled action sweep the world before them.

Don't wait for extraordinary opportunities. Seize common occasions and make them great.

"Strick when the iron is hot" and "make hay while the sun shines," are the golden maxims.


"Tomorrow.' It is the devil's motto. All history is strewn with its brilliant victims,the wrecks of half-finished plans and unexecuted resolutions. It is the favourite refuge of sloth and incompetency.


Weak man wait for opportunities, strong man make them.


Open eyes will discover opportunities everywhere; open ears will never fail to detect the crises of those who are perishing for assistance; open hearts will never want for worthy objects upon which to bestow their gifts; open hands will never lack for noble work to do.


It matters not whether the boy is born in a log-cabin or in a mansion; if he is dominated by a resolute purpose and upholds himself, neither men nor demons can keep him down.

Punctuality is the soul of the business, as brevity is of wit.

Talent is power, Tact us skill. Talent knows what to do. Tact knows how to do it.

The worst of a lost hour is not do much in the wasted time as in the wasted power. Idleness rusts the nerves and makes the muscles creak. Work has system, laziness has none.


Every young man should have hobby to occupy his leisure, something useful to which he can turn with delight. It might be in line with his work or otherwise, only his heart must be in.


The most irresistible charm of youth is its bubbling enthusiasm. Youth see no darkness ahead-- no defile that has no outlet-- it forgets that there such thing as failure in the world, and believes that mankind had been waiting all the centuries for him to come and be the liberator of truth and energy and beauty.

Brevity is rare gift.

If you want to do substantial work, concentrate; and if you wish to give others the benefit of your work, condense.

Nearly every successful man is accurate and painstaking . Accuracy means character, character is power.


Character has a commercial as well as an ethical value.

Character is the poor man's capital.

Self-confidence indicates reserve power.

Practical man not only sees, but seizes the opportunity.

Culture against ignorance, college against the ranch; and the rench beat every time.


If there is any one power in the world that will make itself felt, it is character.


A barking dog is often more useful then a sleeping lion.

The most fascinating person is always the one of most winning manners, not the one of greatest physical beauty.

"Talent is something, but Tact is everything. It is not a six sense, but is like the life of all the five. It is the open eye, the quick ear,_the judge taste, the keen smell, and lively touch; it is the interpreter of all the riddles, the surmounter of all difficulties, the remover of all obstacles."


These are the notes from 'Pushing to the front' by Orison Swett Marden, but book itself is greate to keep always with you:).