"Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken." - Oscar Wilde
Motivational and uplifting quotes on the most amazing butterflyes photos by David Fingerhut with the music of Yanni.
Four steps to getting the results you want in business--and in life
Changing our behaviour to achieve better results is the most important challenge we face in trying to compete in this chaotic world. Maybe you're in a slump or know deep down that you've accepted an average performance when a great one is possible. When you're ready to change--to increase your sales, to take some calculated risks, to improve any and all aspects of your life--you may not know how to begin. What can you do differently to create more positive results in your work and personal life?
... the ability to almost immediately summon up a well-crafted speech from thin air can be learnt. With confidence arising from the practice of a few simple skills you’ll soon be an accomplished impromptu speaker whatever the occasion. Here’s how.
When it comes to your children, the books in your house matter more than your education or income
A study recently published in the journal Research in Social Stratification and Mobility found that just having books around the house (the more, the better) is correlated with how many years of schooling a child will complete.
Whether you're presenting inside or outside of your organization, your success depends on preventing Death by PowerPoint. Find out the many ways you can succeed and discover how to make over slides for better results!
Learn the top no-no's (what audiences hate the most!) and how to avoid them
Keep your audience's attention by making your content relevant to them
Discover the secrets of not going over your allotted time
Find out how to avoid the bullet trap and make your slides crystal clear
Learn professional delivery techniques that make you look like a pro
Access the webinar here....
Slate Launches Interactive YA Serial
Tapping into teen trends--vampires and the push towards interactivity--novelists Laura Moser and Lauren Mechling have launched a YA serial on Slate.com with a parallel online world where their characters update their Facebook pages, tweet, and post videos on YouTube. The story, which went live today, and marks the first YA serial Slate has ever run, will unfold in 11 three-chapter segments posted every Friday through August.
Mechling, a culture editor at the Wall Street Journal, said the idea for the novel started unfolding after her coauthor, who writes for Slate, was approached by editors at the site to do something in the YA vein. The result, My Darklyng, is about a 10th grader named Natalie Pollock whose obsession with a popular vampire series takes a scary turn after she auditions to be a cover model for one of the new books. more...
Like the Christmas before, we didn't send Christmas cards; we called my family in Canada. Ginny and I talked to my mom. We spoke to my uncles and aunts. I haven't seen any of them in seven years and Ginny hasn't met them yet at all, but she knows they are family and hopes to meet them one day.
The calls were completed, but I couldn't relax. There was one call I needed to make, I was afraid to. I paced the house. I sat at my computer and wasted time. I needed to call. I couldn't. I should. I couldn't. I was in turmoil.
Five years before, I received an email from my brother. At the time, I had been out of work for several months. Stress ruled my life. The email from my brother was nothing terrible, but it made me angry.
I wrote back. As I typed, my anger grew. Months of frustration flowed into my nasty response. I said things that were not nice, but I hit send anyway. More thoughts occurred to me. I wrote a second nast y email. My fingers hammered the keys as I typed. I basically told my brother to go to hell. I could care less if I ever heard from him again.
The next day I received an email from him. I didn't read it. I just deleted it and then blocked his email address, so I could not receive anything from him.
In the last five years, I know he has tried to get through to me, but I ignored him.
For five years I have lived with this terrible guilt. I thought about contacting him, but was ashamed of myself for what I'd said.
Now was the time.
I picked up the phone and stepped outside. I wanted privacy. Ginny didn't know I was calling my brother. I took a deep breath, blew out a cloud of steam into the cold December air, and dialed his number. Even after five years, I still knew it by heart. A phone rang 3700 miles away in Nova Scotia.
There was no answer. I left a message. "Bob, it's Mike." I paused to take another breath. My hand holding the phone shook. "Bob, I guess I'll start by saying I'm sorry. I said some things I regret. I want to wish you and Delores (Bob's wife) a merry Christmas and hope all is well with you. I realize you may not want to talk to me, but I thought I would try. I want to make it right again. If you want to talk." I left my number.
I walked back into the house and looked at Ginny. "I did it."
She looked puzzled. "You did what?"
"I called Bob."
"Oh, Honey!" She walked to me and put her arms around my neck. "I'm glad. You needed to do it. It's family, Mike, and it's been too long." She kissed me. "You did right, Hun."
The days passed. Christmas came and went. I waited for the call that never came. I prayed for his forgiveness. The phone never rang. Then a week after I called, I received an email. My brother left me a message on my Facebook page. He said he listened to my voice message over-and-over and knew I was sincere. Over the last few weeks, we have been emailing and healing.
Why did I let five years of my brother's life slip through my fingers? Why was I too proud to call and say I was sorry?
If I had the answers, it would never have happened in the first place, but I know I don't want it to happen again.
I wrecked my relationship with my brother. Like a jigsaw puzzle that has been dropped, the pieces are scattered everywhere. It's time to gather them up and try to put it back together. It will take time, but I hope each piece I put back will gain a little more of my brother's trust.
I swallowed my pride. I did it. Five years is too long. He's my brother.
Many people have family problems like I did. Please don't hold a grudge. Don't be the fool I was. Fix it before it is too late.
Michael T. Smith
Michael lives with his lovely wife, Ginny, in Caldwell, Idaho. He works as a project manager in Telecommunications and in his spare time writes inspiration stories. He has recently been published in two Chicken Soup for the Soul Books (All in the Family and Things I Learned from My Cat), in "Thin Threads - Life Changing Moments" and in Catholic Digest. To sign up for Michael's stories go to: http://visitor.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?m=1101828445578&p=oi
To read more of his stories, go to: http://ourecho.com/biography-353-Michael-Timothy-Smith.shtml#stories
Like the Christmas before, we didn't send Christmas cards; we called my family in Canada. Ginny and I talked to my mom. We spoke to my uncles and aunts. I haven't seen any of them in seven years and Ginny hasn't met them yet at all, but she knows they are family and hopes to meet them one day.
The calls were completed, but I couldn't relax. There was one call I needed to make, I was afraid to. I paced the house. I sat at my computer and wasted time. I needed to call. I couldn't. I should. I couldn't. I was in turmoil.
Five years before, I received an email from my brother. At the time, I had been out of work for several months. Stress ruled my life. The email from my brother was nothing terrible, but it made me angry.
I wrote back. As I typed, my anger grew. Months of frustration flowed into my nasty response. I said things that were not nice, but I hit send anyway. More thoughts occurred to me. I wrote a second nast y email. My fingers hammered the keys as I typed. I basically told my brother to go to hell. I could care less if I ever heard from him again.
The next day I received an email from him. I didn't read it. I just deleted it and then blocked his email address, so I could not receive anything from him.
In the last five years, I know he has tried to get through to me, but I ignored him.
For five years I have lived with this terrible guilt. I thought about contacting him, but was ashamed of myself for what I'd said.
Now was the time.
I picked up the phone and stepped outside. I wanted privacy. Ginny didn't know I was calling my brother. I took a deep breath, blew out a cloud of steam into the cold December air, and dialed his number. Even after five years, I still knew it by heart. A phone rang 3700 miles away in Nova Scotia.
There was no answer. I left a message. "Bob, it's Mike." I paused to take another breath. My hand holding the phone shook. "Bob, I guess I'll start by saying I'm sorry. I said some things I regret. I want to wish you and Delores (Bob's wife) a merry Christmas and hope all is well with you. I realize you may not want to talk to me, but I thought I would try. I want to make it right again. If you want to talk." I left my number.
I walked back into the house and looked at Ginny. "I did it."
She looked puzzled. "You did what?"
"I called Bob."
"Oh, Honey!" She walked to me and put her arms around my neck. "I'm glad. You needed to do it. It's family, Mike, and it's been too long." She kissed me. "You did right, Hun."
The days passed. Christmas came and went. I waited for the call that never came. I prayed for his forgiveness. The phone never rang. Then a week after I called, I received an email. My brother left me a message on my Facebook page. He said he listened to my voice message over-and-over and knew I was sincere. Over the last few weeks, we have been emailing and healing.
Why did I let five years of my brother's life slip through my fingers? Why was I too proud to call and say I was sorry?
If I had the answers, it would never have happened in the first place, but I know I don't want it to happen again.
I wrecked my relationship with my brother. Like a jigsaw puzzle that has been dropped, the pieces are scattered everywhere. It's time to gather them up and try to put it back together. It will take time, but I hope each piece I put back will gain a little more of my brother's trust.
I swallowed my pride. I did it. Five years is too long. He's my brother.
Many people have family problems like I did. Please don't hold a grudge. Don't be the fool I was. Fix it before it is too late.
Michael T. Smith
Michael lives with his lovely wife, Ginny, in Caldwell, Idaho. He works as a project manager in Telecommunications and in his spare time writes inspiration stories. He has recently been published in two Chicken Soup for the Soul Books (All in the Family and Things I Learned from My Cat), in "Thin Threads - Life Changing Moments" and in Catholic Digest. To sign up for Michael's stories go to: http://visitor.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?m=1101828445578&p=oi
To read more of his stories, go to: http://ourecho.com/biography-353-Michael-Timothy-Smith.shtml#stories
with Angelie Agarwal
At conferences, conventions and management/sales meetings, speaker after speaker shows PowerPoint or Keynote slides to illustrate their points. No matter how beautiful the backgrounds or images, they are pretty much same old/same old. Even the professional speakers’ visuals don’t stand out that much from the rest.
But there’s a new presentation tool in town and it’s blowing away the tried-and-true old slides. In fact, it’s a favorite tool of TED presenters who have entranced their audiences.
What is it? It’s Prezi — a new tool for creating presentation visuals that can lead you to a whole new way of thinking about your talks. It can help create better narratives and more persuasive presentations — what every professional presenter craves.
Angelie Agarwal, chief evangelist for Prezi, will show us how to integrate this new tool into our presentations to stand out among the other speakers on the program — or our competition. This special webinar will discuss how professional speakers, trainers and consultants can use this tool to create truly unforgettable presentations.
You’ll learn:
• how Prezi is very different from digital slide programs
• how you can use this tool to cement your uniqueness
• how Prezi helps you become a more persuasive presenter
• how to get started with the basics
• tips and tricks for advanced speakers on presenting in Prezi
