 I recently turned 24 years, and I decided to spend time reflecting on what I learned over the past years of my life. I don’t feel like 24 in my mind, and let me tell you, my life is not what I pictured it would be like when I was a kid.
Turning 24 just doesn’t feel like anything major, but I will have to say, looking back I do feel I’ve had a major shift in terms of my outlook on many things. So, I decided to reflect on 24 life lessons I’ve learned over these years. 1.✨Don’t compare your path with others You don’t have to do things the way others do. You are not them, and they are not you. You won’t get the same results they have because you have your own strengths, skills, and voice. You have your own journey. 2.✨Friends come and go You’ll lose friends and that’s okay. All the people that enter our life have a purpose, they teach us lessons and they leave when the lesson has been taught. Your true friends will stick around until the end. 3.✨You can’t please everyone Stop trying, it’s impossible! And very exhausting. So just do whatever feels right for you, you’ll become a lot happier. 4.✨Your thoughts become your reality If you think you can’t do something or you’re not good enough, you’ll be less likely to take action. Try to switch your mindset and think that you can achieve anything you want. 5.✨Get smart with your money Learn about investing and saving. Don’t spend your money on unnecessary things. Make yourself a budget. You never know when your financial situation can change. 6.✨ It’s okay to feel emotions There were days I felt depressed, anxious, and sad for no reason. And other days, I felt amazing, happy, and grateful. There’s no right or wrong way to feel. It’s okay to feel sad and it’s okay to feel happy. But learn when you’re ready to release those “bad” feelings. You can choose how you want to feel. 7.✨ Your mistakes don’t define you Learn from them, acknowledge them, then let them go and try again. 8. ✨Don’t be afraid to be yourself There is only one you. You’re unique and the worlds deserve to see your authentic you. 9. ✨We rise by lifting others If you help someone feel good, you feel good. Give, support, encourage, share, and love. This can really change the world. 10.✨ Focus on your breath on the hardest times In times of stress, overwhelm, anxiety, anger, or fear you can always come back to your breath to connect to yourself. The key is to notice and pay attention to when you need to take a step back. 11.✨Human connection is so important Make the most out of every interaction since you never know when things could change. Spend time with people you love and tell them what they mean to you. 12.✨ Change is necessary Growth doesn’t happen when you’re comfortable, remember that. Push past your safe space and take a chance. Grab all new opportunities! 13.✨Take care of your body and mental health Make time for yourself, drink your water, fill your body with the nutrients he needs, sleep, do things you love, dance, smile, speak up if you’re unhappy, change situations that affect your mental state negatively. Make sure you’re okay and if you’re not, ask for help. 14.✨It’s okay if you don’t have it all figured out yet I realized that we all have our own journeys and timelines. It’s okay if you are still figuring out what you want in life. And don’t compare your life to others, this only leads to frustration and self-doubt. Everything happens when it’s supposed to happen. 15.✨You are capable of more than you think For example, I’ve never imagined that I would be able to work for myself and turning what I do into a career. This proves that we are all capable of more than we think. 16.✨Everything happens for a reason Everything really happens for a reason, always. Even your darkest days. They come to teach you and to prove to you how strong and capable you are. 17.✨Time heals It may feel like things aren’t going to get better, but they always will in the end. 18.✨Communication is key Mostly on relationships. If you want a healthy and happy relationship you need to communicate with one another. 19.✨Be grateful Practice gratitude every day. Focus on the amazing things you do have rather than what you don’t. 20.✨Pain is almost inevitable Physical pain, emotional pain…Everyone is going to experience pain at some point in their lives. Don’t try to hide from pain, but don’t let it take over your life. 21.✨Be present Make sure you’re there in the moment when you’re with someone. When you’re on a walk or doing something you enjoy. Put your phone away and give them your full attention. 22.✨Pets make life so much better We don’t deserve animals. They are such a light in our lives. I personally love dogs. They love us unconditionally and they fill our homes with so much love and happiness! 23.✨Never forget to be kind You never know what someone else may be going through, so always be kind. 24.✨It is okay to ask for help Don’t be ashamed or embarrassed to ask for help. Your loved ones will surely want to help you, you just have to ask. And if their support is not strong enough, look for a therapist. Just take care of yourself. Article by Kati Pereira BY GEOFFREY JAMES  Getty Images Music makes you more productive but here's a playlist that might make you more successful. It's been known for decades that music makes you more productive. People who listen to music at work feel better about the workplace and tasks get done more quickly. People even rate conversations as "more satisfying" when there's background music present. A recent survey of over a thousand employers and employees, conducted by the workplace music provider CloudSound gauged the respondents' feelings about music in the work place. Among the findings:
"Brain imaging studies have shown that various parts of the brain may be activated by a piece of music." In other words, you can use specific pieces of music to "program" your brain to think and feel in specific ways. So, then, which songs are the most likely to make YOU more productive and satisfied at work? That varies according to your individual background and personality, but here are 39 songs that nine of the world's most successful people have in their playlist, in alphabetical order:
The opinions expressed here by bergenreview.com columnists are their own, not those of bergenreview.com.
Story by Alejandro Cremades Former Contributor. Entrepreneurs Author of The Art of Startup Fundraising & Serial Entrepreneur  Henrique Dubugras has accomplished more in just 22 years than most entrepreneurs aspire to in a lifetime. He’s started multiple companies, won coding competitions, attended some of the most envied learning places, started multiple companies, hired hundreds of people and raised millions of dollars. How has he done it? What secrets to success can he share with other entrepreneurs? I had the pleasure of interviewing Henrique Dubugras on a recent episode of the Deal Makers Podcast. Here’s a glimpse at his story behind the scenes, and his tips for raising millions of dollars, landing top tier investors and more (listen to the full episode here). Young Entrepreneurship Henrique started striking out with his own businesses at just 12 years old. Being obsessed with online gaming he decided it was best to learn to code, build his own games, and play for free. Unfortunately, just two years later he got hit with a patent infringement notice at just 14 years old, and had to shut it down. Hacking Your Way into Stanford After discovering a TV show called Chuck, who was a really good programmer and hacker, Henrique decided, "If I want to be like Chuck, I have to go to Stanford." As a foreigner, he found the whole U.S. college application process very complicated. So, he found another Brazilian guy that was graduating from Stanford. They made this deal. He was starting a ticketing company in Brazil. He would teach Henrique the Stanford application process, and in exchange, he would code for him for free. After working for him for a year, his mentor had raised a bunch of money and hired a bunch of senior engineers. Dubugras thought, "Hey, maybe I can try to start my own company." He decided to start a company that teaches other students the U.S. application process. Despite getting to 800,000 uses in just nine months, it became pretty obvious that the user base didn’t really have the money or credit cards to pay. Their parents were also skeptical. The love for that venture faded out as he found new opportunities. Winning the Miami Hackathon & Raising $300K at 16 Rent is expensive, so Henrique headed to a hackathon in Miami that was worth $50,000. He built this dating app called Ask Me Out, which instead of Geolocation, was through Facebook friends. He won the hackathon, went back to Brazil and tried to launch that. He and his cofounder ended up transitioning to a payments startup, Pagar.me, which is like Stripe in Brazil. The connections made led to raising $300k from two investors at just 16 years old. They scaled to 150 employees and decided to sell the company and go back to school. Lessons Learned on the Journey Some of the early lessons Henrique Dubugras says he learned along the journey in those early ventures were: 1. To aim big, not just for what could be big in one country, but could be done at a global scale. 2. Monetize early to prove your business model and commercial viability. 3. Relying on others, like banks, to run your business can be tedious, risky and derail your product. Leaving a Half-Billion Dollar Business to go Back to College Most workers or entrepreneurs couldn’t fathom wanting to go back to school after having grown a $500,000,000 a year business. Henrique and his cofounder Pedro did. Four reasons that drove their decision were:
After attending the prestigious startup accelerator program, Y Combinator, the pair of cofounders dropped out of Stanford. Why not? They probably knew more than many of their professors from first hand experience, even before they got it. The Irony in Raising Millions of Dollars for Hot Startups Going through startup accelerator Y Combinator, Henrique realized the irony of so many successful founders that were raising millions of dollars, yet couldn’t get a simple corporate credit card. Crazy, right? You have millions of dollars in the bank, top investors and financiers in the country love you, but you can’t use the money. Often due to short financial history. So, Henrique’s next startup became offering a corporate credit card to these founders. It went live in 2018. It’s called Brex. Who to Hire & How to Land a Super-Angel Henrique has learned from the best and has hired hundreds of people through different startups. With Brex he says his first hires were a generalist, a CFO, and then general counsel. All of which helped to build credibility with investors. Something particularly useful when raising money when you are just 21 years old. Brex has now raised at least $220 million and is valued at more than $1.1 billion. Funding has come from names like Ribbit Capital, DST Global, Global Founders Capital, and SV Angel. Even Peter Thiel and Max Levchin are in. Henrique says they landed Max after having gone through the interview process at one of his companies, just to learn the recruiting process. The final interview was with him, and they have now found him to be one of their most helpful investors. That helpfulness is the top quality Dubugras says he looks for in an investor. Often working on building a relationship with them for months in advance to see just how helpful they’ll be. Quick Tips for New Founders
Listen in to the full podcast episode for all the details, as well as how to contact him directly with your ideas and questions (listen to the full episode here).  There’s an old Chinese folk tale about two monks. They come to a poor village to beg for food, but no-one has any to spare, each family barely has enough to feed themselves.
So the monks say they’ll feed the entire village by making a huge pot of Stone Soup. Then they start searching for the perfect stone. Eventually they find it: large, smooth, round, flat, evenly coloured. They bring it back to the village and ask to borrow a large pot, they fill it with water. As it boils, they taste it, it needs a little salt. Someone brings salt. The monks say it’s good, but it would be better for a few herbs. Someone else brings herbs. The monks sip again, they say it’s getting there, it just needs a little rice. Someone brings some rice. The monks say it’s nearly done, it just needs a little meat. Someone brings some meat. The preparation goes on like this until everyone in the village has contributed something. Eventually, the monks say it’s perfect. They throw the stone away, and the monks and the villagers enjoy the delicious soup. Now, of course, we all know what’s happened. The stone had no more taste than any other stone. The stone was only an excuse to get everyone to add the ingredients for a soup. But without noticing, the villagers went from only having a tiny bit of food each, to having enough delicious soup to feed everyone. It’s a simple folk-tale, but actually, it’s a story about diversity. How an intangible idea can mix separate elements together to make something better. The creative motto used to be: "The whole is greater than the sum of the parts." Nowadays we’d simply say 1+1=3. Keeping things separate means that’s all we get, but putting them together means a new thing happens. In cinema, it’s generally accepted that Sergei Eisenstein was first to recognize this. Every art-school film class starts with Battleship Potemkin: the Cossacks on the steps. On its own, a soldier’s boots are just that. A pram is just that. A woman’s face is just that. But edit them together and the mix creates a terrifying massacre. The mix is what inspired French Nouvelle Vague cinema, which inspired Martin Scorsese. That’s what we should learn, to mix things together. If strategy, creative, and media stay in their silos, then we’ll only get separate thinking. But the most exciting work I’ve ever been part of is when we work together. We won creative awards where the "creativity" didn’t come from the creative department. Because we had diversity of thinking. But diversity doesn’t just mean strategy and media having an opinion on creative. It also means creative having an opinion on strategy and media. Obviously, we need diversity of race, gender, age, class, religion, etc. Because once we get past that, we can hire the best brains and ignore the package. That’s the great thing about Stone Soup, the essential ingredient is the stone. But the stone doesn’t add anything to the soup, it’s just an idea. What the stone represents is what Buddhists call "mind". The mind itself is nothing, it doesn’t even exist in the physical world. But, that’s the power of an intangible idea: as Buddha said, "All there is, is mind." By Dave Trott Dave Trott is the author of Creative Blindness and How to Cure It, Creative Mischief, Predatory Thinking, and One Plus One Equals Three. Previously published over at Campaign Live  We take a closer look at what it feels like to be a woman making six-figures — when only 5% of American women make that much, according to the U.S. Census — with the hope it will give women insight into how to better navigate their own career and salary trajectories.
We talked with a marketing manager from Seattle, WA. Job: Marketing Manager, Tech Age: 28 Location: Seattle, WA Degree: Bachelor's in Marketing First Salary: $40,000 Current Salary: $150,000 As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? "It took me a long time to realize that I can succeed in both qualitative and quantitative fields. I used to really enjoying writing short stories when I was younger and thought that I might become a professional writer as an adult, but that interest dwindled after too many boring writing projects in college." What did you study in college? "I have a bachelor's degree in business with a focus on marketing." Did you have to take out student loans? "My mother put money away throughout my entire childhood to help fund my education because her parents had funded hers, so I only had to take out $3,000 worth of loans for my bachelor's degree. I also did many, many internships, some unpaid, and my mother helped pay for living expenses during those years." Have you been working at this company since you graduated from college? "I graduated college only a few years ago (I'm a late bloomer) and did five internships while in college because most of my degree was completed online. Since graduating, I've had four different jobs, so I haven't stayed anywhere for longer than a year. I think this has greatly contributed to my quick salary growth." How would you explain your day-to-day role at your job? "I usually check email first and respond to anything that I didn't feel comfortable knocking out on my phone. Next, I check business intelligence reports to review the status of our business from the last day or two. Every day is different, but at that point I might have a meeting or two, take lunch, and then start working down a list of projects. My job is incredibly chill, and I'm able to pace my day out however I want, and I can usually come in late and leave early. It's pretty great." Did you negotiate your salary? "I'm in a somewhat specialized area of marketing, so I tend to get offers towards the top of salary ranges. That said, I did attempt to negotiate my base salary at my current company. They gave me a very small bump, but ultimately I was more successful negotiating for stock and work-from-home benefits." Is your current job your “passion”? If not, what is? "Definitely not. I started out in fashion — an industry I really did love — right when I graduated college. But the pay was so much lower that I ultimately decided to prioritize salary and made the switch to where I am now. I sleep well at night knowing that I'm setting up a financially secure future for myself, but I wish I didn't have to sacrifice the best years of my life for a paycheck. I hope that I'll find an out one day." If you could, would you change anything in your career trajectory? "I wish that I could somehow gain the ability to see what life might have been like if I had pursued something more fun and 'me,' but I do think I've ended up in a really good place in the world. I have no idea how things might have gone with any trajectory shift, so I probably wouldn't choose to change anything from the past." What professional advice would you give your younger self? "Stop prioritizing shallow friendships over your career. Those people are bringing you down and distracting you from any kind of real growth. Don't be afraid to be alone and leave your comfort zone to find out what you're really capable of without the influence of others. Also, spend more time with coworkers. Network and build relationships, because work is going to be miserable without people to eat lunch with. Also, finding your next gig is going to be a lot more difficult without help." 
By Bob Haegele Personal finance blogger at The Frugal Fellow
There are a lot of personal finance books. Sure, not as many as there are blog posts on personal finance, but still. There are a lot of them So how do you decide which ones are the best ones to read? To help answer that question, I’ve put together a list of the top personal finance books. Adding these books to your collection is sure to set you up for financial success.
Your Money or Your Life
Your Money or Your Life is somewhat of a foundational personal finance book. The author, Vicki Robin, published it all the way back in 1992. Yet it is is still around; this book has stood the test of time. Robin’s concept of “making a dying” is perhaps what makes this book so powerful. We all like to say we “make a living” – but what if it’s the opposite? Despite “money” being the second words in its title, the book poses more of a philosophical question than one of pure numbers. Do you want to work for someone else forever? Or do you want to take control of your life? I highly recommend reading this book to find out how you can do just that. Order your copy on Amazon.
The Simple Path To Wealth
Unlike Vicki Robin’s book, The Simple Path to Wealth really gets into the nitty-gritty numbers. JL Collins wrote it to lay out a simple, no-nonsense investing strategy that anyone can follow. Sure, it may be possible to see slightly better results with a more complicated strategy. But with Collins’s approach, you set yourself up for success with little effort. This book is definitely one of the best personal finance books of all time. Be sure to check it out! Order your copy on Amazon.
The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan For Financial Fitness
Many people in the personal finance community criticize Dave Ramsey. Some call him out of touch or privileged. In spite of this, his book, The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness contains some great advice. This is the pivotal book in Dave Ramsey’s arsenal. It contains his 7 baby steps plan. A lot of the bylines around personal finance sound grim nowadays. But the truth is that they don’t have to be. I’m confident that even lower-income people can avoid financial disaster with Dave’s steps. Total Money Makeover is a great personal finance book for beginners. It helps set the groundwork to set the reader up for financial success. It also has some of the best Dave Ramsey tips all in one place. No doubt, this is one of the best personal finance books of all time. .
Financial Freedom: A Proven Path To All The Money You Will Ever Need
It might seem bold to put a book that was only released a few months ago on this list. However, Grant Sabatier’s Financial Freedom is thoroughly deserving of a place here. I’ve mentioned Grant’s book several times in the past. And with good reason. The things he has been able to do have been nothing short of remarkable. He went from having $2.26 in his bank account to being a millionaire in just five years. At the start of his journey, he had lost his job and quite was – quite literally – almost penniless. But through (extremely) hard work, creativity, and determination, Grant managed to pull himself out of financial ruin. He’s now doing extremely well and has been featured on the many of the big news outlets. In Financial Freedom, Grant walks you through everything he did to reach a 7-figure net worth in a hurry. You don’t want to miss this one!
I Will Teach You To Be Rich, Second Edition
This book is worthy of a place on the list because of its no-nonsense approach to finances. Not only that but as the name implies, I Will Teach You to Be Rich, Second Edition is a refresh on an old classic. While this edition was released a matter of weeks ago, the book was originally released in 2009. Ramit Sethi’s book is similar to Dave Ramsey’s in that it gives you a step-by-step approach. However, this book takes it a step further. It’s not just for beginners who want to gain a foundational understanding of personal finance. Instead, it gets into the weeds in terms of exactly what you should be doing with your credit cards, investments, and everything needed for financial success.
Rich Dad, Poor Dad
Robert Kiyosaki, the author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad is another personal finance who has come under fire. Much live Dave Ramsey, though, his reputation doesn’t change the value of his book. I personally like the approach in this book because it focuses on mindset. In addition, it challenges many of the established norms of finance. For example, Kiyosaki asserts that your house is not an asset. Some of his advice may be unconventional, but this book is sure to get you thinking differently. And sometimes, that is exactly what we need. Order your copy on Amazon.
Secrets Of Six-Figure Women
While I don’t often focus on women’s personal finance, Secrets of Six-Figure Women is undoubtedly worth a mention. Like it not (well, I hope you do!), women are earning more these days. While there are certainly still disparities in income and other workplace dynamics, things are changing. If you’re a female reader, there’s a good chance you would love to join the likes of other six-figure women. This book will break down exactly how to do just that! And these women are not just in one industry. They are all over the spectrum, but what they do have in common are certain characteristics. Do you have what it takes.
Stack Your Savings
Stack Your Savings is a book by S.J. Scott and it’s a bit of a hybrid of some of the others. It will hit you with facts about personal finance and help you change your money mindset. It will also tell you about the seven pills of money-saving habits. These are not necessarily sequential like those of Dave Ramsey. Nevertheless, these habits are sure to help you get your finances in order! Order your copy on Amazon.
Passive Income Freedom
Passive Income Freedom is another important book when it comes to mastering your finances. In fact, creating passive income streams is key to achieving financial independence. Although the color scheme of this book cover may make it seem women-focused, the reality is that anyone can find value in it. And just like I mentioned, this personal finance book focuses has a financial independence theme. So if you’re ready to escape the rat race and take control of your finances, be sure to check this one out! Order your copy on Amazon.
How To Stop Living Paycheck To Paycheck
Rounding out the list of the best personal finance books of all time is How to Stop Living Paycheck to Paycheck. And that is no coincidence. You may have heard the stats that keep cropping up about how Americans can’t cover a $400 emergency. 40% of us, apparently. If you aren’t able to cover a $400 emergency, that is the very definition of living paycheck-to-paycheck. It’s mind-boggling to think 40% of Americans are in this position. By no means do I fault anyone for being there, though. There are a lot of things I could say about this, but the truth is that most of these people are probably not at fault. That’s why a book like this is so crucial right now. If you are living paycheck-to-paycheck, this is the personal finance book for you! Order your copy on Amazon.  BY GEOFFREY JAMES, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, INC.COM Musk is as innovative a management theorist as he is an inventor and business owner. Who knew? Elon Musk is best known as an innovator, business owner, visionary, and bon vivant. What gets lost in that public image, though, is that he's a management theorist. Musk seems to approach running a business much as he'd approach a complex engineering project: Figure out what works and do that, even if it doesn't make sense to anyone else. About a year ago, Musk wrote an email to his employees at Tesla that neatly encapsulated his thoughts about management and corporate culture. I've written about parts of that email previously but only recently realized that, in 11 short rules, Musk laid out, well, basically everything you need to know about management. Here's my edited version:
Now, I've heard and given some of that advice before (notably, numbers 4, 6, and 9), but the remaining eight points are not only highly original, they're also "cut the Gordian knot" solutions to the knottiest problems that plague most companies. Seriously. As an author and reviewer of business books, I'm pretty aware of what turns up in that kind of literature. Management theory hasn't changed in 50 years. I haven't seen or read anything really new in terms of management technique for, gosh, at least the past two decades. So here's Elon Musk--boom!--slapping 11 techniques, of which eight are 100 percent original and iconoclastic. This tour de force is as amazing in its own way as the successes of Tesla and SpaceX; more amazing, maybe, because those successes might have been possible only because Musk rethought how companies should be run. Anyway, publishers send me business books to review and I've built up quite a library of "to read" volumes. After reading Musk's letter, though, I looked up at that shelf and thought to myself: Why bother? I could read that entire library and not get as much true business wisdom as Musk crammed into a single email. So I threw the books into a crate and carried them out to the recycling bin.  If you have a skill set that people need you could become a freelancer. Anything from proofreading to copywriting to graphic design and even photo editing are options to explore.   Freelancer.com is the world's largest freelancing and crowdsourcing marketplace by number of users and projects. They connect over 44,473,816 employers and freelancers globally from over 247 countries, regions and territories. Through their marketplace, employers can hire freelancers to do work in areas such as software development, writing, data entry and design right through to engineering, the sciences, sales and marketing, accounting and legal services. Register as a freelancer and start earning. Click Here to claim a $20 gift from Bergen Review Media just for creating a Freelancer account.  Become a FIVERR freelancer.Become a FIVERR freelancer. Create a Gig of the service you’re offering and start earning instantly CLICK HERE
 Sports are not just for pleasure. When we watch with a discerning eye, sports willingly give us the tools and assets we need to build our lives to win at whatever we pursue. I look at our core values structures. In basketball, we need to look no further than LeBron James to see a fierce competitor who always gives his best. These Winter Olympics, we’ve seen grit and perseverance personified by athletes like Japanese figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu and skier Marit Bjoergen of Norway.
Each day we’re immersed in situations that provide definition and clarity to our lives — enabling us to see parts that we can add to make our own, becoming the sum of who we truly want to be. It’s the kindness that we show to a stranger, allowing them on the subway first. It’s gratitude shown to a daycare worker who puts the needs of your child before their own. We see love and commitment in the world around us. Our prism to see this is amplified in magnitude when viewed through the paradigm of sports. I’ve coached basketball for six years, and it’s been among the most rewarding experiences of my life. I’ve learned about positive attitude, hard work, and discipline, all values that appear in my book, The Value of You. These values and lessons are not just fundamentals for living a successful and happy life, they will transform your way of thinking and lead you to magnificent opportunities and relationships. Few movies have had as profound an impact on me as the classic, Hoosiers. It came out when I was just a kid, though as I began to play the game of basketball, I saw its wisdom in how I created my makeup and approach to the game. I realized that even in sports, it’s so much more about the mental, emotional — and even spiritual — makeup we have. As I got older and became a business coach, sports coach and professional, I understood why so many of the lessons from this movie resonate with millions today. I’ve listed out seven parts of Gene Hackman’s legendary locker room speech to his team prior to the state semifinal game. I’ve broken each part down by the true message he aims to convey. Its wisdom and lessons are practical for all of us. They’re filled with great guidance you can deploy in your life — no matter your profession or where you find yourself trying to go. I hope you find this rewarding on your journey! 1. “There’s a tradition in tournament play to not talk about the next step until you’ve climbed the one in front of you.”Focus on the task at hand. Immerse yourself with maximum effort and a positive attitude in that one moment. I encourage you to make goals, dream big and focus on the task at hand. Don’t concern yourself with all the next steps when you’re there in the trenches working on the task at hand. 2. “I’m sure going to the State finals is beyond your wildest dreams, so let’s just keep it right there. ”We all dream, imagine and realize that the moment of standing in the winner’s circle will be exhilarating and triumphant. This is what we work for. And yet, if we concern ourselves with this too much while we’re in the moment — on our journey — we fail. We get nervous. The best way to keep your nerves in check — and succeed — is to focus on the process. 3. “Forget about the crowds, the size of the school, their fancy uniforms, and remember what got you here. ”Forget about all the glittery things — frankly the things that don’t really matter. Especially when you’re competing for something, focus on doing the job to the best of your ability. The more you progress in life, the more important it is to keep moving forward. Yet, it’s just as important to remember all the great things you’ve done to lead you to where you are today — standing as a proud man or woman of accomplishment. Closer to your dream. 4. “Focus on the fundamentals that we’ve gone over time and time again. ”Plain and simple — focus on your values. Focus on the fundamentals that serve as the foundation for you to live the life you want — on your terms. 5. “And most important, don’t get caught up thinking about winning or losing this game. “Don’t worry too much about the result. Rely on all of the preparation, values, planning and being yourself to do your best. I’ve read how college basketball coaching great, Jay Wright doesn’t even talk much about winning and losing. On your journey, focus on building yourself up to who you truly desire to be. The dreams and visions implanted in your heart and mind will suffice and permit you to move forward at the pace you desire. 6. “If you put your effort and concentration into playing to your potential, to be the best that you can be, (and) 7. I don’t care what the scoreboard says at the end of the game, in my book we’re gonna be winners! ”Hard Work. Focus. Competitive Greatness. Dedication. Devotion. Maximizing your potential. And again, if you focus on the task at hand, do your absolute best without worry, you’re going to always end up a winner. Regardless of whoever is keeping the official score. You will always win when you define success, create goals and then work for them with a values-based, winner’s mindset. Focus on the moment. That moment is really all that matters. Build Your Game Plan to Win. Habits you should adopt immediately to improve the quality of your life in the next 90 days9/3/2020  by Thomas Oppong for Bergen Review Media
Successful people don’t just drift off to the top. Getting there requires focused action, personal discipline and lots of energy every day to make things happen,” says American author and entrepreneur Jack Canfield. Jack couldn’t be more accurate. Don’t let old habits hold you back in life. Take control of your habits and improve the quality of your life. Build a system for everything you do It pays to build systems to keep your life on track. In “How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big,” author Scott Adams explains: “ … A system is something you do on a regular basis that achieves your odds of happiness in the long run. If you do something every day, it’s a system. If you’re waiting to achieve it someday in the future, it’s a goal.” Systems are the foundations of a better life and great work. Using systems can make your life easier. A system provides you with an inner guidance system and a equip you with the power of habit. A structure in your life and some routines that help you every day and keep you on the right track is better than a single shot at getting something done. Start anything with a clear goal and focus on a system to achieve it. Many people have different successful systems that guide how they work and what actions to take at any point in time to achieve the bigger purpose. If your current system of work doesn’t work or give the desired results you expect, make a change, create a new system and take steps every day to stick to it. By spending a little bit of time figuring out what will work best for you and your habits, you can put yourself in a great position to get out of your head and get things done. Reserving an hour each day for something you absolutely want to get done can be a great system that can help you achieve your big goal. Guardian’s Oliver Burkman says, “…focusing on a system means focusing on what you can control (your actions) rather than what you can’t (the endlessly unpredictable external world). Keep working your system and you’ll maximize the chances that success will find you.” You can start building systems one habit at a time. Focus on incremental progress and consistency to lay the foundation for getting things done. A daily or weekly routine, a consistent application of even small habits, will transform your life more effectively than striving for an overwhelmingly large goal without a consistent routine to achieve it. A better life starts with a great daily routine As simple as it sounds, routines are the key to improving your health, productivity, wealth and total well-being. creating a daily routine can make a big difference in your life. How you start and end your day determines everything. That means, developing a system to guide to guide how you use your time when you awake, when you first start working, when you finish your workday, and even how you use your evenings. How will that change your life? It will help you get a great start to your day, and finish your day by preparing for the next day. It’ll help you build productive routines, and help you focus on what’s important, not just what’s urgent. Make time for high-value work Don’t start your day until you have it planned. — Jim Rohn Spend the first hour of your work day on high-value tasks.Don’t begin the activities of your day until you know exactly what you plan to accomplish. Every morning, get one most important thing done immediately. There is nothing more satisfying than feeling like you’re already in the flow. And the easiest way to trigger this feeling is to work on your most important task in the first hour. Use your mornings for high-value work. Lean to avoid the busy work that adds no real value to your work, vision or long-term goal. Low value activities, including responding to notifications, or reacting to emails keep you busy and stop you from getting real work done. Make time for work that matters. In his book, Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, David Allen says, “If you don’t pay appropriate attention to what has your attention, it will take more of your attention than it deserves.” Research shows that it takes, on average, more than 23 minutes to fully recover your concentration after a trivial interruption. Don’t tackle tasks sporadically throughout the day To increase your ability to focus, researchers suggest ideas for both boosting our ability to concentrate as well as reducing distraction. You can improve your ability to focus if you can boost your ability to concentrate. Reducing distractions can change how you work for the better. Everything competing for your attention when you want to single task can waste your precious time. In 18 Minutes: Find Your Focus, Master Distraction, and Get the Right Things Done, Peter Bregman writes, “To get the right things done, choosing what to ignore is as important as choosing where to focus.” Time wasters such as impulsively checking notifications is a major distraction at work. The few minutes you waste on reactive tendencies doesn’t help your work. Learn to single-task without compromise Single tasking changes everything. In an age of constant digital interruptions, it is no wonder you’re having trouble ignoring distractions. If you really have to focus on that task, limit the time you have to spend on any given task. Add dates, and due time to your to-do lists. Push yourself to deliver within the specified time and move on. Single-tasking is one task at a time, with zero tolerance for distractions. Try the Pomodoro Technique to improve your chances of success when you embrace single -tasking habit. Focus on one task for about 30 minutes, then take a 5 minute break, and then move on to another task or continue the task. Read widely, with maximum curiosity Pick up a book every day. Even for just a few pages. Reading puts your brain to work. Reading is to the mind what exercise is to your body. It gives us freedom to roam the expanse of space, time, history, and offer a deeper view of ideas, concepts, emotions, and body of knowledge. Roberto Bolaño says, “Reading is like thinking, like praying, like talking to a friend, like expressing your ideas, like listening to other people’s ideas, like listening to music, like looking at the view, like taking a walk on the beach.” Your brain on books is active — growing, changing and making new connections and different patterns, depending on the type of material you’re reading. One of the best ways to gain knowledge is self-education. Period. It doesn’t matter if you’re sitting in a college classroom or a coffee shop. As long as you are genuinely interested in what you are studying, don’t stop.Make the most of your time and get the best education you can can offer yourself. People who take the time and initiative to pursue knowledge on their own are the only ones who earn a real education in this world. Take a look at any widely acclaimed scholar, entrepreneur or historical figure you can think of. Formal education or not, you’ll find that he or she is a product of continuous self-education. Lifelong learning will get most of your questions answered. You don’t even have to commit long hours everyday to learning. Whatever time you decide to put in your own education, stick to it. What are the most interesting topics you wish to know more about. The goal here is to find as many sources of ideas and knowledge as possible. Brain Pickings is a good place to start. It’s one of my favorites. And it’s free. Go subscribe and you won’t be disappointed. Find other blogs, websites or online courses that can broaden your horizon. Read expert opinions about topics of interest on Quora. It’s a game-changer in the world of question and answer websites. Look for answers to some of your most important questions at places people normally ignore. Cut back on social distractions In the age of constant connectivity, distraction is at its peak in life and at work. Our minds need urgent purification to improve focus, replenish attention, and encourage creativity. The average adult checks their phone 50 to 300 times each day. And we tap, swipe and click on our devices 2,617 times per day, according to a recent study. We spend more time online than we do asleep. Chris Bailey, author of Hyperfocus, writes, “Our smartphones provide an endless stream of bite-sized, delicious information for our brains to consume. It’s easy to get hooked, even to feel addicted. And most of us would prefer not to feel this way.” I have turned off most of the notifications on my phone. I choose when I want to check my notifications. I have consciously planned to check social updates at a set time to avoid distractions when I am doing focused work. Every time you pull out your phone to scan your feeds, your brain is building a habit loop that reinforces itself to encourage the habit. Notifications prompt task-irrelevant thoughts and disrupt attention performance even if you don’t interact with the device. The buzzes, beeps, emails, alerts, and notifications never end until you do something about it. An increasing number of psychologists and doctors are concerned about our relationship with smartphones. “It’s a spectrum disorder,” says Dr. Anna Lembke, a psychiatrist at Stanford University, who studies addiction. “There are mild, moderate and extreme forms.” And for many people, there’s no problem at all. According to David Greenfield, a clinical psychiatrist and founder of the Center for Internet and Technology Addiction, smartphones can easily take over your life, because they’re always screaming for attention. Being constantly plugged in affects our sleep patterns, posture and more in our bodies and minds. Our lives are becoming more wired all the time, hence the need to take over and control your relationship with mobile devices before they become the only thing you deeply care about at the expense of your relationships. If you feel your phone is taking over your life, schedule digital detox on your calendar. Start balancing your digital life with real life. Do a 30-day challenge The challenge most of us have is starting and sticking to healthy and productive daily routines. You can start with a 30-day challenge to develop the perfect routine that works for you. What do you want to improve. Write them out on paper, along with your motivations, obstacles, and strategies for overcoming them. Start with a few habits you can consistently focus on building. Report on your progress each day. Adjust anything that is not working on a case-by-case basis. Then do an assessment after 30 days to see how your new routine is working for you. If you fail, figure out what went wrong, plan for it, and try again. You don’t always have full control over your workday, but you can plan and make the most of your day to help you accomplish your life and work goals. You can use them to make sure the most important stuff gets done — from working out, to spending time with friends and family, to developing a side business, to reading and engaging in other hobbies. Dig deeper If you enjoyed this post, you will love Postanly Weekly, my free weekly digest of the best posts about behavior change that affect health, wealth, and productivity. Join over 50,000 people on a mission to build a better life. Courses: Thinking in Models, and Kaizen Habits. This article first appeared on Medium. From Airbnb to Uber to eBay, these apps may help you earn some dough in the gig economy. Working 9 to 5: What a way to make a living. Or not. Roughly one in four Americans now earns at least some of their income from the gig economy — be it driving an Uber or Lyft, selling goods online on a site like eBay or babysitting through Care.com — according to research published in 2018 by market research firm Edison Research. For 44% of gig workers, that side hustle is their primary source of income. So what are these workers earning? It varies widely (though it’s important to point out that it’s often not enough, as 80% of gig-economy employees whose work is the primary source of income say that an unexpected expense of $1,000 would be difficult to pay, Edison found). People who participate in the leasing gig economy (like renting a home on Airbnb) earn the most, at over $2,000 a month on average, according to data from JPMorgan Chase. But most others earn significantly less with the average across sectors only about $800 a month.  How much workers in the gig economy earn, by sector. JPMorganChase Despite sometimes low earnings, people choose gig work for a variety of reasons, including flexible scheduling and loss of a traditional job. And thanks to myriad apps and sites, they have a lot of options for side hustle work — as this fascinating graphic from lending company TitleMax shows.   Everyone who’s saddled with bad credit has a unique story. A man burdened with $6,000 in unpaid bills. A mom of nine held back by an error on her report. A couple recovering from job loss and foreclosure. A single mom with a terminally ill child. A young woman with so much debt she couldn’t even get a credit card. What all these people have in common? They used a free online service called Credit Sesame to improve their credit scores — one man got his score up 277 points in six months.*
If you need some motivation, read through these real-life stories. Chances are, you’ll find you have something in common with at least one of them. Then, take a look at your own score and get some personalized recommendations from Credit Sesame. It takes less than two minutes to sign up, and who knows? Your story just might end up in this article six months from now. Man Had $6,000 in Unpaid Bills — Then Raised His Score 277 Points Before discovering Credit Sesame, 50-year-old Atlanta resident James Cooper, had $6,000 in unpaid bills. He’d never had a credit card, and his credit score was 524. He tried using a credit repair service — one that promised to improve his score… for a fee. Needless to say, he got burned. Since Credit Sesame is free, he figured he’d give it a try. Within a few minutes, Cooper had access to his credit score, his total debt owed and even personalized recommendations to help him improve his score. “They showed me the ins and outs — how to dot the I’s and cross the T’s,” Cooper said. “I applied for my first credit card ever.” After opening a credit card, which improved his score, Credit Sesame recommended he request a credit limit increase. That too bumped his score up (re: credit utilization). In a span of just six months, Cooper watched his score increase 277 points. Now Cooper uses the lessons he’s learned from Credit Sesame to teach high school students the importance of good credit through his nonprofit, Fedup-4U. Mom of 9 Didn’t Know She Had an Error on Her Credit Report After Salome Buitureria got laid off, she struggled to find work and was forced to use credit cards. The bills stacked up, and her credit score dropped — to 524, which is considered “very poor.” Once she got back on stable ground, she started focusing on improving her credit. Her dream has always been to buy a home, and she knew the important role her credit score would play. She got on Credit Sesame and assessed her debt, and that’s when she found a major error — a supposed unpaid medical bill from when her daughter had been sick that’s definitely been covered by Medicaid. But here’s an unfortunate fact: One in five credit reports have errors, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Yup — you can do everything right, but an error could be holding you back. Credit Sesame showed Buitureria how to fix the mistake, then she took additional steps to raise her credit score from 524 to nearly 700. Now? She’s focused on buying a home. “We want a place where the kids can come home,” she says, “where they don’t have to worry, a year or two down the road, ‘Oh, Mom’s got a new house.’” Guy Falls on Hard Times and Couldn’t Stomach Checking at His Score In 2008, the housing bubble burst, and Jerry and Vivienne Morgan’s home fell into foreclosure. Not long after, Vivienne lost her job. “No one plans on being in that situation,” Jerry said. “Frankly, with the experiences we have gone through, I was embarrassed to even check my score.” Nearly 10 years later, the Morgans were gainfully employed and got approved for a mortgage remodification. Things were looking up, so Jerry decided to finally check his credit score… It hovered around 500. He came across Credit Sesame and decided to give it a try. He liked how the site clearly explained what affected his credit score — and how he could improve it. He opened another credit card (increasing his account mix and decreasing his credit utilization rate) and also took out an auto loan when he bought a new car (also boosting his account mix). Making on-time payments toward that loan helped as well. Within six months of signing up, Jerry saw his score increase 120 points. When we last talked to him, Jerry was continuing to take steps ot improve his score and felt hopeful of his financial future. Single Mom Overcame Credit Card Debt and a Bad Credit Score In 2005, Melinda Smieja’s 13-year-old daughter was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor. “So here I am, a single mom, and my daughter gets sick,” she said. “And I’m like, ‘What am I gonna do?’” She used credit cards for dinners and a place to stay. Soon, she’d maxed them all out — 11 cards, to be exact. She had somewhere between $20,000 and $30,000 in debt. Her credit score was down to 480. Then she stumbled upon Credit Sesame. It quickly made her overwhelming situation way more manageable. “I could look and I could say, ‘OK, this is what’s all going on here. This is my debt. This is what’s happening. This is what’s making my credit [interest] high,’” she said. And she could finally tackle her debts, one at a time. The work wasn’t quick. It was slow and steady — but it paid off. In 2016, for the first time, Smieja’s credit score hit 680, crossing the line of what lenders consider “good credit.” By late 2017, it was up to 764. 30-Year-Old Was Stuck in Debt and Didn’t Know Where to Go At 30, Dana Sitar’s history with credit cards, student loans and medical bills was tough to face. Student loan interest was piling up. Hospital bills were out to collection agencies. No one would give her a credit card. She landed a loan for a new car by the skin of her teeth. Her security deposits for car rentals and apartments were through the roof. She wanted to fix it but didn’t even know where to start. Then Sitar, a personal finance editor, found Credit Sesame in 2016, and today, she’s breathing a little easier. Credit Sesame is “answering all the questions swirling in my head, keeping me awake at night and threatening a panic attack every time I authorize a credit check,” Sitar wrote in an article for The Penny Hoarder. Since she started tracking her credit score with the app, she’s watched it rise — slowly but surely — by 68 points, thanks to Credit Sesame’s recommendations. “It offers real recommendations you can use — one step at a time — to get out of a very confusing hole,” she says. Heck, it even let her know she could refinance her car loan and save a ton of money on interest over time. She’s also been able to find a credit card she could actually qualify for. Since signing up, Sitar has caught up with her student loan payments and is even ahead on her car payments now. Her goal is to improve her score a little more so she can qualify for a personal loan to consolidate her debt. Inspired? If you want to see how you can improve your credit score, signing up for Credit Sesame is totally free — and it only takes about 90 seconds to get started. *60% of Credit Sesame members see an increase in their credit score; 50% see at least a 10-point increase, and 20% see at least a 50-point increase after 180 days. Credit Sesame does not guarantee any of these results, and some may even see a decrease in their credit score. Any score improvement is the result of many factors, including paying bills on time, keeping credit balances low, avoiding unnecessary inquiries, appropriate financial planning and developing better credit habits.  Most of daily activities — that are not totally mindless — will sharpen your mind when practiced over a year. This is the power of the compound effect. Even if you engage your intellect only marginally in some activity, it can bring significant effects over a year. I practice(d) most of the below activities for at least a year. It’s hard to estimate their effect of my brain’s acuteness, but I got some interesting results that speak for themselves.
1. Learn new knowledge Our capacity for learning is astounding. In the last few years I studied multiple topics, most of them for the first time in my life: self-publishing, personal development, habits development or online marketing. It’s not about becoming an expert (especially not in 10 minutes a day), but about the web of associations your brain creates. Now I get ideas regarding personal development while reading a scripture, or a thought about how a brain works pops out when I study my website traffic. 2. Consolidate old knowledge For about 2 years I had been studying professional documentation learning about databases. I had been working with databases at that moment in time for more than 8 years, but I had very little formal knowledge (two 6-month courses on university). I passed three professional exams, obtained two certificates and got a better job (35% higher salary). All of that came from 10-minute study sessions. 3. Learn new skills One skill I deliberately practiced for 10 minutes a day has been speed reading. I quickly doubled my reading speed and maintained my skill at this level. Thanks to those practices I read a few dozen books I wouldn’t have read otherwise. 4. Practice gratitude I keep three gratitude journals. Filling them with my entries takes about 10 minutes. This activity will not only sharpens your brain, it will improve EVERYTHING in your life. Gratitude makes your brain positive and when your brain is positive: “Every possible outcome we know how to test for raises dramatically.” — Shawn Achor I tested it on myself. It works. For everything indeed. 5. Meditate Studies had confirmed that meditation improves performance and productivity. I suppose it sharpens brain as well. Surely, it magnifies your self-awareness and self-knowledge is one of the foundations of success. “Success in the knowledge economy comes to those who know themselves — their strengths, their values, and how they best perform.” — Peter F. Drucker 6. Journal. Thinking in writing has this magical quality of clarifying your thoughts. What was a tangled web of incoherent associations in your head becomes on paper a clear and concise project/ plan/ train of thoughts/ discovery. It’s also great for gaining self-knowledge. 7. Exercise Ancient philosophers knew that already and modern research confirmed common sense: A sound mind in a sound body. People who exercise regularly have better cognitive abilities. 8. Listen to different music I mean, a different kind of music at every session. The nature of connection between music and brain performance is still an enigma for scientists, but one thing we know for sure: it’s powerful. I’ve seen an awesome documentary about how old people with dementia living in a vegetative state got animated when listening to a music from their youth. And different kinds of music activate different part of our brains. 9. Listen to podcasts You may learn something. You may hear some fascinating stories or facts. The best in this activity is that you can do it in background while doing something else (chores, workout, walking, etc.) 10. Solve puzzles There is a plentiful of logic games out there. Don’t focus on getting to another level. Instead try a new game every week (or even every day). 11. Solve real problems I work in IT support in my day job (applications, databases and servers maintenance). I HAVE TO solve real-life problems every single day. I had no idea what it meant for my creativity and attitude till I started studying personal development. Most people stay stuck in “I can’t” attitude. I don’t. Finding a way out is my second nature. Brainstorming, narrowing down options, trial and error approach — they are for me as natural as breathing. Admittedly, I did it for a lot more than 10 minutes a day. 12. Come up with ideas Ask a question and brainstorm 10 different answers. Preferably to some practical problem. Even better if it pertains to your life. Claudia Azula swears that idea generation train your brain like a good workout trains your body. Bonus: write them all down (see #6 above). 13. Use your non-dominant hand for daily exercises Brush your teeth, answer the phone or do any other everyday trivia. It’s known that cerebral hemispheres control one side of your body each. When you use your non-dominant hand neurons run through your less used hemisphere. It’s sharpening your brain in my dictionary. 14. Learn new words Extending your vocabulary expands your mental horizons. Your vocabulary is like a set of filters your brain uses to process all the sensual impulses and channel them to your conscious mind.  By: Joyce Walsack, Contributor for Bergen Review Media From opening ahead of schedule to taking the business virtual, these businesses are offering helpful and creative solutions to meet the needs of their customers during COVID-19. Businesses are growing more responsive and creative in the face of COVID-19, identifying their customers’ changing needs and offering solutions. Excellent service is always about responding to customer needs. Here are six businesses finding creative ways to do so, despite the difficult times. Cleverdale Country Store Meghan Cesari’s seasonal market near Lake George, New York, wasn’t due to open for the season for another two weeks, but her customers had concerns about venturing into crowded supermarkets. In response, Cesari stocked up and opened Cleverdale Country Store in mid-March. An early opening was not the only adjustment Cesari made. As the store’s fifth season kicks off, no customers are being allowed inside to shop the aisles of unique, locally made goods. All orders are being taken over the phone, for pick-up or delivery. By instituting these changes, Cesari has been able to keep her four employees on the payroll and provide a much-needed service to her community. Joann Fabrics In many areas of the country, craft and fabric stores have been forced to close along with other non-essential businesses. This, just when parents have kids at home to entertain and crafters have more stay-at-home time on their hands. Joann Fabrics is continuing to supply consumers through its curbside pick-up program. Customers who purchase online will not pay a delivery charge if they drive to the store to pick the order up. Once at the curb, customers call the store, give their order number and an associate brings the order to the car. Blue Dragon Karate Karate Master Jeffrey Asuncion is on a mission — to help his students gain confidence and lead a healthy lifestyle. When coronavirus shut down his Blue Dragon Karate Academy in Matawan, New Jersey, Asuncion wasn’t about to abandon that mission or give up on his students. Instead, he took his classes digital. By logging into Zoom from their homes, Master Jeffrey’s students can stay connected to their coach and their classmates. His students have barely missed a beat, as they stay in shape and progress toward their individual goals. Retailers have been asked to provide an essential service, while keeping both their customers and employees safe. 18 Lumber
To keep the building trades moving, material suppliers have remained open for business. Retailers have been asked to provide an essential service, while keeping both their customers and employees safe. For family-owned 18 Lumber, in East Brunswick, New Jersey, the solution is to keep the glass storefront between employees and customers. Contractors call in orders — oftentimes from the parking lot — and pay over the phone. Paint and hardware items are bagged and placed outside for the customer to retrieve. Lumber and other building materials stored outdoors are loaded by the customers themselves. Any needed assistance locating the correct product is provided by yard employees from a safe distance. Road Runner Sports Road Runner Sports is not a gym, but that isn’t stopping the company from helping customers stay in shape. The athletic footwear and apparel retailer is offering online training to a customer base missing its favorite local workout spot. In addition to free delivery and an online size finder, the company’s website offers videos by Trainer Chad, advice on staying in shape and links to free workout apps. Honey Brook Organic Farm When COVID-19 forced the closure of their Pennington, New Jersey farmer’s market, Sherry Dudas and her husband Jim Kinsel knew they had to regroup. Their Honey Brook Organic Farm had fresh produce and specialty food items for sale and their customer’s still needed good nutrition. In mid-March, Honey Brook stepped up its web presence and began taking home delivery orders for boxes of fresh greens, eggs, meats and organic grocery items. The service is new and growing, with deliveries currently being made weekly to the central portion of the state. Despite the difficulty of the times, responsive businesses are identifying their customers’ changing needs and offering solutions. Google Launches a Series of Blog Posts Highlighting the Value of SEO (Search Engine Optimization)4/9/2020
 Google has published the first in what will be a series of blog posts dedicated to SEO case studies. The aim of this series is to share success stories that demonstrate the value of SEO. Google says the intended audience for these case studies are people who may need some extra convincing that SEO is a good investment. “We want people to hear about these success stories, so we’re starting a new blog post series that features case studies. "They may, for example, help with convincing a boss’ boss that investing in SEO or implementing structured data can be good for the business.” Google’s inaugural blog post in this series focuses on the basics of investing in SEO and how it has been utilized to help a company. How SEO Lead to A 93% Increase in New Signups The first case study in this series was shared by none other than Google’s Gary Illyes. Illyes spoke to an SEO manager named Moon Tae Sung following a presentation at a Google Webmaster Conference in Seoul. Tae Sung manages SEO for Saramin, which is one of the largest job platforms in Korea. Saramin offers services such as:
Early Success With Google Search Console Saramin’s SEO efforts date back to 2015 using nothing but Google Search Console. An entire year was dedicated to finding and fixing crawling errors identified by Search Console. This alone lead to a 15% increase in organic search traffic. Satisfied with their early success, Saramin decided to invest more into SEO. Gradual Changes for Big Gains The next step in the process was studying the Google Search developer’s guide and help center articles. Illyes acknowledges that “SEO is a process that may take time to bear fruit.” To that end, Saramin focused on implementing gradual changes such as:
Saramin relied on the Structured Data Testing Tool, Mobile Friendly Test, AMP Test, and PageSpeed Insights. Eventually, the errors in Search Console’s Index Coverage report turned from red to green. Even more than, Saramin saw an accelerated increase in organic traffic. “The incremental changes reached a tipping point and the traffic continued to rise at a more remarkable speed. In the peak hiring season of September 2019, traffic doubled compared to the previous year.“ The Results
Along with the increase in organic traffic, the quality of traffic also went up. Saramin achieved a 93% increase in the number of new sign ups and a 9% increase in conversions. The work doesn’t end there, however, as Saramin’s SEO manager says “this is only the beginning of our story.” If you have an interesting case study you want to share, and potentially get featured in an upcoming blog post, Google is accepting submissions. You can contribute a case study by signing up for a Google Webmaster Conference near you and submitting a talk proposal. This article was originally posted at Google Webmaster Central blog
Here are three "Keys to Success" that you can use no matter what stage of life you are in and regardless of what you consider “success” to be. Pretty much every person on the planet wants to know the KEYS TO SUCCESS. How you define what success means may be totally different from how someone else does, but, chances are, you both want it. ?
It’s something that’s ingrained in us from when we are young and feel like we have to get straight “A”s on our report card–maybe for approval, or maybe for our own internal reasons. As we get older, our ideas of success change but it’s generally still something that drives us to some degree, making us feel like we have to do this or that thing to be successful. Here are Three Keys to Success that you can use no matter what stage of life you are in and regardless of what you consider “success” to be. #1 KEY TO SUCCESS: FIGURE OUT YOUR WHY This one is listed first because it’s probably the most important. Sometimes we get so caught up in doing that we don’t stop to ask ourselves “Why is this important to me?” The answer to that question will help you determine how to define success for that particular project or thing you want to do. If it’s a business project and your why is “I want to take my family on a vacation!” then that will motivate you much more to earn an extra $1000 this month than simply saying “I need an extra thousand bucks this month.” Here is a great Ted Talk from Simon Sinek that talks about figuring out your why!
#2 KEY TO SUCCESS: EVALUATE ON A REGULAR BASIS
One surefire way to NOT succeed is to set out to do something and then neglect to periodically do a check-in. Using the example above, if your goal is to earn an extra $1000 this month, it’s not a good idea to wait until the 29th of the month to see where you are with meeting that goal. You need to do a weekly check-in to see how you are progressing. If you see that you are not on target to meet the goal, you can adjust your game plan and figure out what you need to do to ensure you are successful in meeting that particular goal. If you only made $200 extra during the first week, you are on target to earn an extra $800 for the month which means you will fall short of the goal. What can you do in week 2 to ramp things up and ensure success? #3 KEY TO SUCCESS: REMEMBER: “THEY” DON’T KNOW WHAT THEY’RE TALKING ABOUT We’ve all heard it. “They say you shouldn’t do that.” Or “You know what they say. You need to …” Well, guess what? No one knows who “they” even is. Trust your own intuition rather than going along with what “they” say. You know your project better than anyone else whether it’s doubling your business revenue or cleaning out your closet.
I hope these success tips help you achieve whatever it is you call success. According to Bob Proctor (Magic in Your Mind), hard work and intelligence are not the only things necessary for success. Your imagination, intuition, will, perception, memory, and reason (your mental faculties) play a huge role in how successful you become. To bridge the gap between lack of success and success, utilize those six mental faculties. Check out Bob’s program, Magic in Your Mind, today to see if it contains success tips you are looking for. Please feel free to read my review of Magic in Your Mind. I sincerely hope this article, “Success Tips 3 Ways to Finally Be Successful” has helped you on your journey to success. |
Written, Compiled & Edited byThe Bergen Review Media Team Archives
October 2024
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The Bergen Review is Bergen county's concierge for the best businesses, restaurants & venues in New Jersey. Our agency has over 10 years experience in web branding, online media and marketing. Our team of experts scour every nook and cranny of New Jerseys best businesses, restaurants & venues to present our clients the full scoop of where best deals & experiences are. Even after researching & looking at reviews, finding the REAL scoop on what Businesses, restaurants or venues best fit your interest can be a challenge. Bergen Review Media has a team that researches & visits various establishments. Making sure the consumer gets the best experience.
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