I am here to dispel a myth: While I am intelligent, I have not yet reached the level of Einstein. There you go. Now, could you please explain that to my family, friends, coworkers, and business associates.

I am not here to brag about how smart I am. This post merely exists to show you how you can look like a member of Mensa to the average American, with a minimum of effort.

1. Learn to use Google. Are you one of those people who Google stuff all the time, and yet never seem to find anything? What do you do? You go to a professional Googler, like me, and they find “used bungee cords” in a matter of seconds. How?

We know how to talk to Google. While Google is getting smarter, it still has a hard time knowing exactly what you want. If you type in the word “colour”, Google still does not recognize that it is the exact same word as “color”. Google can only process the information we give it.

How many of you have ever used the advanced search portion of Google? Probably 10% or less, and yet that is how you can drill down to what you really want. Is the page less than 10 days old, do you want it in a PDF or Word document? The more you tell Google, the better results you will get.

There are tons of resources online that will show you how to search more accurately. Just Google it.

2. Use spell check, but don’t depend on it. I wish I had dollar for every time I used “their” when I meant “there”, and vice-versa. Also, watch out for “too” and “two”, “who’s” and “whose”. It is also helpful to know the difference between “its” and “it’s”. Spell check will let all these past without a whimper, because they are all spelled correctly. A firm grasp of the meaning of these words will help you evade embarrassment, and give you a more polished image at work and play.

3. Know the difference between “i.e.” and “e.g.”. Want to see a film called “Revenge of the English Majors”? Misuse these, and I can guarantee you a front row seat. Many people use “i.e.” interchangeably with the term “for example”. This is technically wrong. The term i.e. translates from the Latin as “that is”. If you wanted to say “for example”, “e.g.” would be the appropriate abbreviation.

4. Have a basic idea of where things are in the world. When 50% of college aged kids can’t find New York state on a map, you know we’re in trouble as a nation. If you can tell someone that “Niger” is in Africa, then you will be considered a Geography genius.

5. Collect general knowledge, or as most people refer to it, “useless information”. “Useless information” is something of a misnomer. It is only useless if it is never used. You never know when you might need that obscure fact about the gross domestic product of Germany, or how to open a beer with your belt loop. So take great pains to obtain it, and use it to benefit your fellow man.

6. Don’t be afraid to break stuff. We are afraid to mess things up in our culture. You will find that you will accomplish much more than other people by overcoming the fear of screwing things up. Most people don’t build their own computers simply because they are afraid of damaging the parts. I babied every part as I gingerly put my first PC together. Now, I use “fragile” RAM as everything but a Frisbee, and it still works. Experience will teach you what you can and can’t do. So go ahead, take a plunge into the deep end.

7. Don’t be afraid to say “I have no idea”. If I could pass one thing on to you, it would be this. Once you know all this stuff, it becomes harder to admit that you don’t know everything. It’s even harder to watch a person who wanted an answer “right now”, go back to their cube with a dejected look on their face. In the long run, people will respect you for it.

It’s not like they can’t ask Google, right?

Kurt Hartman loves to collect obscure information. He puts it to use every day as an OTR Analyst. Trivia: What does OTR stand for? The acronym actually has two uses: In one usage, it stands for “old time radio”. The other usage is in the phrase “OTR Tires”, which stands for off the road tires . These are the types of tires that go on heavy equipment. Now you know.

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Every successful person knows the importance goal setting, it’s key to success in life.  Perhaps the most benefit of goal setting is that it gives you the sense of having a purpose in life.  Instead of living each day unproductively, your goals will propel you to live a productive life.

But of course the key to successful goal-setting and goal-getting is ACTION.  Once you’ve set your goals, you need to make a commitment to always exert a great deal of effort to achieve them.  It’s only through action that you will get results and positive results will continue to aspire you to set new goals and move to the next level.  This will give you a certain feeling of satisfaction for you have proven to yourself that you’re capable of realizing your goals as long as you set your minds and hearts for it.

Goals are the fuel for people to move on with their life.  No obstacles or hindrances can get in their way if they are focused on their ambitions.  They know that they will get what they are aspiring for through perseverance, dedication, and hard work.  For this reason, they are relentless in everything that they do as they are being driven by the goals that they have set for themselves.  This strategy willenable people to improve themselves better as they are motivated to do the things that can help them achieve their goals.

Here are few things you must always remember when setting your goals:

1. First, identify the things that are most important to you.  By doing so, you would be able to discern what you really want to accomplish in your life.  Also, through this, you would be able to prioritize things and eliminate those that are not important.  So that you know what to focus on and not be distracted from your goal.

2. Be serious when setting your goal, no matter how small or big that goal is. As nothing will happen if you’re not serious in what you’re doing.  Goals will be achieved sooner if one has a strong will.  After carefully deciding on what your goal will be, you should live and work your everyday life towards that direction - your goal and desire.  You should not waste a single day in your life.  Again, treat your goal-attaining business seriously!

3. Always remember that a dream would remain as a dream without any action.  That means you should not be afraid of sacrificing and working hard to achieve what you really want in life.  Also, remember that results don’t come overnight so you must not give up until you reach your goals.

So, let’s your goals lead you to a more purposeful life!

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Individuals begin developing their self esteem at a very early age. How they feel as a child often depends on the type of encouragement and nurturing they get from their parents. Children that are taught and encouraged to try their best, learn from their mistakes and never to give up, generally have a more positive self esteem outlook than those that are constantly belittled. Children who are belittled will always doubt their own abilities and it can squash their desire to attempt new things for fear of failure.

For teenagers, self esteem can go through a complete transformation. Some feel very strange as their bodies change. They end up not being comfortable with others for a very long time due to this. Others end up being very popular though and they love the attention. This results in them having a very healthy self esteem outlook. As their own image improves, it makes others more feel comfortable to be around them as well.

It is amazing how many adults suffer from low self esteem. They may have always felt this way or it can be due to something in their life. Losing a job, getting a divorce, or just life in general can result in someone losing their self esteem. Many adults are less willing to accept changes as they get older. This can result in them doubting their decisions and having a poor self image.

It can be difficult to build your self esteem but you need to work hard on it. You will build up more confidence as you do. The biggest challenge is to channel your energy into changing your outlook on things. You need to be very positive and look for the good in things. Instead of worrying about what people won’t like about you, focus on what you do have to offer them. Chances are that what you see as your faults, many others don’t see in the same way.

Give yourself some well deserved attention. We tend to take care of the needs of our family and let our own go. If you worry about how you look then change what you don’t like. Start exercising more if you worry about your overall size. Cut your hair and style it differently if you don’t think it makes you attractive. Don’t be afraid or guilty about spending some time and money to improve or make yourself look and feel good. Investment in yourself is by far the best investment of all time!

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Relationships of all kinds are often perceived as very delicate things, that require extra effort to maintain. However, a relationship can also be something that can provide security and can also be long lasting despite many challenges.

Building an effective and lasting relationship is a necessity for several reasons. For example in a group or organization, the well being of the people depends on how efficient and effective the members of the group work together as well as with the top management.

Society is defined as a web of relationships, which requires all parties to work and contribute their share in order to achieve a common goal. Having a relationship that is good, where cooperation and respect are manifested, can make society work better. In this way each member works for the good of the whole and towards achieving a common goal. This can only be attained with effective and efficient relationships.

Understanding the other parties’ feeling and position creates an effective and efficient relationship. The easiest method to understand what is important to another party is to ask them what they want and listen to what they have to say. When the other party realizes this, they would feel the importance given to them

Effective and efficient relationships require parties to openly express their feelings and positions on all matters pertinent on the relationship. Assuming that the other party understands our needs and give us when we need it without asking for it is not a good practice.

Respect is the key to effective relationship. In order to create a more effective relationship, parties should treat each other with respect.  We can show respect just by listening to the other party and by trying sincerely to understand how they function. You can also show respect to other parties by confirming that they are doing everything they can. Respect is the very foundation for a great relationship. This also means respecting yourself and respecting others.

Another key area in forming an effective relationship is to tackle differences of the other party directly. Differences between parties or people are quite interesting. For example in a conversation where each party listens to the other party, you may observe that each is having two different perspectives.

Developing an atmosphere where people feel safe to express their feelings is also key to successful relationships building. When parties fail to express whatever is on their mind or their feelings, it can get in the way of building an effective relationship.

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Have you ever wondered why some people seem to stand out in life while others simply blend in? What is the difference between these two groups of people?

Well, it all comes down to passion. When you are passionate about what you do, this passion fuels every aspect of your life, including your performance at work and at play.

Passion affirmations can help you remember why it’s important to remain passionate about everything that you do. If you become complacent in life, your performance suffers and your success isn’t what it could be. Through free positive affirmations you really can live a more passionate, positive life.

Continue to Tap Into Your Passion

Even the most passionate people find themselves in a rut from time to time, but how can you keep going? How can you continue to push forward and continue to stand out in the crowd?

Well, the most successful people out there use positive affirmations multiple times a day to stay focused and passionate. You, too, can use affirmations in your life and learn how to tap into your passion and use it to your advantage.

What are Passion Affirmations?

Passion affirmations are statements that describe what you want to be, feel, or how you want to behave. It could be something as simple as, “My passion to be successful is my driving force.”

It seems simple, but when you repeat this to yourself and believe it, it has a power all its own. By tapping into this positive internal dialog and believing in the words, you will move further with intense vigor and momentum. Many of us unknowingly have a negative dialog going on in our heads and it works against us.

When you use passion affirmations you can harness all of your passion and you can use it to move you forward, allowing you to put your best foot forward at every turn. It sounds too good to be true, but what you are doing is re-training your brain to always think positive instead of negative.

Passion is a big part of being successful and though it is difficult to be passionate about everything in life, when you remind yourself of the benefits and purpose of living a passionate life, it becomes easier with time. After all, practice makes perfect!

Positive affirmations may not come naturally to you. In fact, those that can benefit from free positive affirmations the most are usually those that have a very negative inner dialog. It’ll take some practice to insert these positive thoughts about passion and performance where negative ones used to run rampant, but when you do this for awhile it will become second nature.

When your free positive affirmations ingrained, you will soon find that your passion for life is at an all time high and your performance in every aspect of your life is better than ever before. You really can be one of those people that stand out. All you have to do is simply change your inner dialog, who knew it could be so easy?

Ronnie Nijmeh is the Chief Inspiration Officer at ACQYR.com, a motivational website with a list of positive affirmations, motivational articles, and free wallpaper downloads. Get instant inspirations right now…

I don’t think I can express enough the crucial importance of contacts. I could rattle off statistics like the Federal Bureau of Labor research that 70% of all jobs are found through networks or axioms like “It’s not what you know but who you know”, but the truth is that nothing, bar nothing, is as important as your list of contacts.

The value of social networks:

Everybody can benefit from the value of connecting and most importantly, those that participate in connecting with others, whether here or anywhere, will receive those benefits.

The value of a network is greater than the sum of the individuals that make up that network. In other words if you have 100 people and you add up their individual values it would be smaller (much smaller) than their value if they all knew each other. Hopefully this is just stating something that you already knew and readily practice, but it also has another interesting conclusion that might not be so obvious.

Each new member to that network grows the value of that network at an increasing rate. So if you take our 100 person network and double it to a 200 person network the value of this new network is much greater than simply double the 100 person network. Each person has an exponential increase in the value of the network.

Connecting with others is a win: win scenario. Everybody benefits from everyone’s participation. A proper network does not create winners and losers…only winners. Remember creating wealth is not about beating someone else or taking money off someone. It’s about offering value to others. If you offer value to others they will pay you willingly for that value.

The great thing about networks is that they are virtually free to participate in but they can provide immeasurable value to you and the others in the network. How much does it cost to make a contact or keep a friend? A few minutes on the phone, a regular coffee, an email here and there. I’m sure you get the idea that there is no cost involved. But what could you offer that friend or vice versa. You (or they) could be the contact that opens the door to a massive deal or new job opportunity or life changing experience. This sort of thing happens time and again…and introductions and recommendations, much like manners, cost nothing.

Who would benefit from you introducing a friend to someone else you know looking to meet or say hire someone like your friend? Well your friend would obviously if they score a brilliant new job. Your other contact, the employer, would as well because you’ve helped them find someone they were looking for. And finally you would because these two people are grateful to you for your help in being thoughtful enough to see the link and introduce them. To sum up, connecting people is all about solving problems!

Small World:

But is all this networking stuff really worth the effort? Will it really change your life? The short answer is “Yes”. However, for those of us that would like a bit more convincing one of the most famous social network experiments was performed by Stanley Milgram in the late 1960s. He created an experiment that illustrates just how close we are to anyone we need to know.

Milgram sent letters to random participants in Omaha and Wichita detailing the purpose of the study and some basic information on a target in Boston that they should sent the letter to. If they didn’t know the target directly then they should forward the letter to an acquaintance they thought would be more likely to know the target, and so on. Milgram found that the average length of these chains was about six. His study essentially shows us just how small this world really is…connect because you are closer to the person that can change your life than you think.

Although Milgram’s experiment showed that the average length between two random people is six, he never coined the term six degrees of separation. Credit for that goes to John Guare who first used the term for his 1990 play. It later became a more common term following the 1993 film of the same name featuring Will Smith.

An interesting variation of this theme is the trivia game Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, which states that any actor or actress could be linked to Kevin Bacon within six links. It’s amazing to think that Kevin Bacon is linked to Ronald Reagan and Steve McQueen by only one person. Try the game is fun and enlightening…

I hope you come and join in…

Emlyn Scott is the founder of Rich1Percent, investor and wealth creation author. He is a wealth creation and finance expert with 4 post graduate qualifications and has amassed a multi-million dollar investment portfolio.

Decisiveness can have an extraordinary effect on your self-confidence alone. A few benefits that come naturally once you make up your mind are as follows.

First of all, if you decide on situations and ideas for right or for wrong, you will be able to instantly turn your full attention and energy toward your next progressive step in line with your goal. Being free from something, you are free for creating something brand new.

Indecision is like a merry-go-round because you get nowhere and you waste precious time in the process. Decisiveness, on the other hand, is like a sightseeing bus where you are free to travel beyond the last known places to exciting new environment, which you have never explored before.

You are already aware that quick decisions and choices save you time and energy. Contrast this with people who complain that there is not enough time or they have no energy. Such people usually end up going back and forth endlessly between their possible choices.

All-around efficiency will be yours once you know what you want and take action to get it in the simplest way. The decisive personality wins self-esteem, and admiration from others.

In actual fact, many people believe that there is nothing as important as someone who is strong when making decisions. It is seen as a mark of character. Look at many of the leaders in life, and you will see that majority of them know their own mind and stick to it when they see what needs to be done in a set of given circumstances.

An unsettled mind causes negative stress and contradictions to rise. If you ever find yourself trapped and cannot seem to break through a problem, it makes sense to stop thinking so hard. The more you struggle against confusion, the more it persists. Some people are prone to over analyse.

Making a decision calmly and confidently. There is no need for a lot of brainpower or effort because the decision itself does not need to involve all the detailed plans and executions at this time. You only need to decide that you are ready to proceed along a chosen path in line with your values.

As soon as you make this decision, you will discover that the “how to” aspect takes care of itself. It is the natural next step.

The reason for this is because as a human being, you are far more resourceful at finding the way to create a successful path, than you may currently believe.

Don’t confuse cause with effect. Your decision is the cause. Your resources are the effect – don’t get this backwards!

The ideas to succeed and move down the road to success and self-confidence come from a mind that has been made up. That means one that made a commitment. If you are waiting for courage in order to make up your mind, you will be waiting an entire lifetime.

Decision builds courage and courage builds confidence!

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