How To Stay Motivated and Sane Working From Home

by vanessa | Apr 22, 2020 | motivation, Success

HOW TO STAY MOTIVATED AND SANE WORKING FROM HOME

Here is how you can stay motivated and sane working from home.

Staying motivated is one of those things many of us get wrong. Unless you are one of the few who has cracked the code to being motivated. What is even harder is staying motivated while working from home. How do you stay motivated and sane working from home? That is a question that isn’t as simple as it sounds.

The problem with working from home is the distractions. It is so easy to slip into old habits, for example, watching your favorite television show. We are human after all. The thing though is you need to understand what it is that you want to achieve. It isn’t impossible for you to stay motivated and sane working at home. In this blog post, I will share all the ways you can stay motivated and sane working at home.

Get up and get ready as normal

If you want to stay motivated then you have to act as if it is a normal day. If you do this then you are likely to get into the flow a whole lot quicker. Working in your pajamas might seem like it will work, but likely it won’t. The earlier you wake up, the better. You need to act as if you are going to work that way you push yourself out of the holiday mode.

When your mind is set to holiday mode, it is harder to get into the flow so you need to act as if it’s a normal day. What is your routine when you are going to work? Whatever it is, keep doing what you were doing before if it worked for you. If it didn’t then find a morning routine that will put you in the mode. The key here to is stay motivated and sane working from home and to act as if it is a normal day. It will feel weird at first, expect that, but in time you will ease into it.

Also Related: 5 Habits That Will Change Your Life For the Better

Have a dedicated work zone and set your time

There needs to be a dedicated work zone that you use. This will help you focus on the task at hand. This is one of the ways you can stay motivated and sane working from home. You should also set your times. This way you won’t get distracted and lose focus. This also helps you in becoming more productive.

If you know that at certain times you are working on certain projects then that motivates you to keep going. If you lose track it is also easier to get back into the flow. Having a dedicated work zone and a timetable will also stop you from doing things you shouldn’t be doing. Just like you wouldn’t watch TV shows at work, the same applies here. You are training your brain to focus on important projects and not get caught up with things that will slow you down.

Try the Pomodoro Technique

If you have never worked from home before then you need something that can help you stay focused. The Pomodoro technique can help you to remain focused. When I was first starting out and even now, I use the Pomodoro technique to help me stay focused.

The twenty-five-minute intervals will help you to not only stay focused but to use your time wisely. Often, that is the main problem. We can get distracted and with this technique, it is a lot harder to do. This is one way to stay motivated and sane while working at home. If you want to move forward in what you are doing then you need something to aid you. Sometimes, the best way to be productive and motivated is by having an app. There are a couple of great Pomodoro apps out there that will help you stay motivated.

Also Related: Best Pomodoro Apps to Try

Have a strict cut-off time and breaks

We are not robots, therefore you need a cut off time. This will help you stay motivated because you will remain focused until your break. If you have several breaks this will also be seen as a reward. If for example, you work for four hours straight, you will reward yourself with a forty minute or an hour break.

Another important thing to note is that by having breaks you don’t work yourself to the bone. Working from home is hard, but that is because it is easy to fall prey to overworking or slacking. What you need is to have strict times for your break and cut off. You might not be working the traditional 9-5, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have breaks. Depending on what time you wake up and start working you can focus on that. If you wake up at 4 am and start working at 5 am then you can cut-off at around 3.

Be kind to yourself and remember there’s still tomorrow.

Do a relaxing activity

When you are on your break do something that relaxes you. For some people, it is a stroll or basking in the sun. It depends on you. You could also journal, play an instrument, watch something funny, or prepare your favorite meal. Whatever it is, this is an important step to stay motivated and sane working from home.

Relaxing activities make us focus better. They give us insight and keep our minds ticking. This is so important because when you forget to take care of yourself, it is hard to stay motivated and sane. The objective here is to stay motivated and sane working from home. You don’t want to lose yourself to the extent where you forget why you are even doing it. An easy step to figuring out what relaxes you is to write down all the things you enjoy doing. Once you compile your list, you look at the top three activities that relax you.

Take advantage of virtual tools

If you are self-isolating like most people and need to communicate with clients and customers then your best bet is virtual tools. They will allow you to communicate with your clients. They are a lot of virtual tools out there. It is hard to pick the right one. There’s, of course, Google Hangouts and Skype. But Zoom is great as well. What matters is showing your face whichever tool you decide to use in the long run.

Showing your face to your customers or clients provides a personal touch. Schedule meetings and maintain relationships. As hard as it is self-isolating, your clients feel the same way. This will help you stay motivated and sane. Some people also use Zoom Rooms and that will help you to beat the loneliness of working at home. The way Zoom Rooms works is you will have fellow creatives in the background. Virtual tools also will help you stay in the loop and relate to other people. When we relate to other people, it is then that we know that we aren’t alone in this. There’s a 30 day trial for Zoom Rooms, but Zoom is completely free.

What is your main takeaway from this and how will you stay motivated and sane working from home. Please comment below.

Keep Pushing

Vanessa

10 Ways You Can Improve Your Life In Less Than 30 Minutes

by vanessa | Apr 15, 2020 | Entrepreneurs, personal development

10 ways you can improve your life in less than 30 minutes

These are 10 ways you can improve your life in less than 30 minutes.

Many of us crave for change because we understand how important it is. Though, the problem is often we don’t have enough time for us to be as productive as we would want to be. You can improve your life in less than 30 minutes. The key here is knowing how to do that.

In this blog post, I list ten ways you can improve your life in less than 30 minutes. When I say that this will change your life, you will be shocked at how that will do it, but it does work. The great thing about these techniques is how many entrepreneurs use them to change their lives. Going forward if you want your life to change for the better than you need to be willing to work at it even if it is for 30 minutes a day. My suggestion is if you want to improve your life invest in one of the ten ways for at least twenty one days before moving onto the next step.

The reason for this is you don’t want to hurry the process so you must focus on one way before moving onto the next one. As much as you might want to speed up the process, the beauty is in the journey and that is why you should take time moving through the list. In less than three months, your life would have drastically changed that you will be shocked that it didn’t take years for you to change your life. It took months. Starting is always the hardest, but with it, you learn so many things that you will be shocked that was even possible.

Work on your morning routine

Want to be successful than you must work on your morning routine. As weird as it sounds, working on a consistent morning routine will push you ahead of the curb. You will achieve more if you have a consistent morning routine. What I mean by a morning routine is that it must be purposeful. For example, there are a lot of successful people who wake up and start writing then they jog, write down their daily activities and have a protein breakfast.

The above is an example of a morning routine. If you want to improve your life then you should have a morning routine. One that helps you focus and work on your goals. Look at your morning routine and ask yourself is it helping you progress or is it slowing you down. Once you figure that figure out what your goals are. If you want more time for exercise, put that as your morning routine. If you want to learn an instrument, add that to your morning routine.

This is one way you can improve your life and it isn’t as hard as it seems to be. All it requires is dedication. Once you do that, you can work towards improving your life. Bit by bit, you will move in the direction that you desire.

Choose an energizing hobby

Science promotes hobbies and yet many of us don’t do them. Maybe, because we think that people who have hobbies have nothing better to do. That isn’t true at all. Hobbies can improve your life. Anything from painting to playing an instrument to doing exercise can be seen as a hobby.

Hobbies help you focus, it elevates stress and pressure. More than anything it increases creativity that’s why many scientists and psychologists speak favorably when it comes to hobbies. I suggest you pick one hobby that you know will impact your life. If you are a sporty person then your hobby needs to relate. You can’t pick something like painting because that elevates your stress. You need to pick something that you know will help you. When you do this it will help you distress and relax you.

Watch a Ted talk

If you have never watched a Ted talk you are missing out. This is one of the best ways you can improve your day in less than 30 minutes. It also works like a charm. Ted talks can make you think about things or situations you might never have thought about. It makes you question your purpose and how you can improve your life.

Ted talks are worth gold because they offer nuggets of truth that can set you free. Free from the mental chains of your mind. I am not saying that a Ted talk will miraculously cure of television addiction, but it can help you think and become more self-aware. There’s power in that. When I first watched a Ted Talk, I was moved by the discussion. It was on how to find your why. That was one of the best Ted talks I ever watched.

It did change my life and helped move the needle moved. I became more focused on what I wanted to achieve and where I wanted to go in life. I wouldn’t have started a blog and written a book if I hadn’t watched that Ted talk.

Also Related: Top Six Ted Talks To Inspire Millennials

Listen to a podcast

Podcasts can improve your life. They offer you daily insights that you can use to improve your life. The great thing is that there are hundreds of podcasts talking about different subjects. If you have never been a podcast person, I do recommend you try looking for one podcast that you can listen to.

Podcasts have become increasingly popular in the last couple of years that you can even find ones that match your personality. Podcasts have a way of relaxing your mind and the really good ones help you to think. If you want to build a business than there’s a podcast for that. If you want to make money online there’s a podcast for that. If you want to be inspired then there’s a podcast for that.

Do a few productive tasks

One of the best ways to improve your life is to do a few productive tasks throughout the day. This will help you to focus and keep you going forward. It is important to set aside 30 minutes a day to do tasks or chores that make you cringe. For example, reply to an email that you have been postponing for days.

Doing this will stop you from multitasking later on or worrying about it. Sometimes the best thing to do is to set aside time to achieve the objective. Doing it when you are not supposed to will only stress you out and that isn’t what you want to do. This is one of the many ways you can improve your life in less than 30 minutes a day. Try it out and you will notice the significant changes.

Get to know yourself better

When I was twenty-one I experienced something traumatic. At the time I didn’t know myself better so I sat behind my oak desk and my old laptop. I tapped the table and made a decision that changed the course of everything I started finding out who I was. I looked up every personality test I could. This is one of the best ways you can improve your life.

It is also one of the fastest ways to figure out who you are. Once you can easily identify your strengths and weaknesses this helps push you out of your comfort zone. There are a lot of sites out there that do offer free personality tests. If you want to know yourself better than you should check them out.

Also Related: Free Personality Test

Achieve mindfulness

Yes, I get it where you ever people are talking about meditation and mindfulness. It can get old real quick and you are tired of hearing about it from your crazed neighbor and co-workers. Mindfulness and meditation are different though. You don’t need to spend years working on mindfulness or a yoga mat.

The effect is the same though. Mindfulness is being aware of your thoughts. The process starts the same, you inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth. You also start thinking about positive things early in the morning.

Revisit your goals

Do you remember those goals you wrote months and years ago? This is one of the ways you can improve your life because you start to reflect on life. You look at all the things you wanted to do, but never go to do it. Maybe, you wanted to start a YouTube channel or write a book. Revisiting your goals can be painful, but it also gives you insight on whether you have done something.

Often life gets hectic and we put aside our goals. Revisiting them and seeing our handwriting is a slap in the face. It pushes us to realize that wait, a minute I haven’t done A, B or D. If you want to improve your life then you should revisit your goals and you can do it in less than 30 minutes. Unless you have a whole journal of goals you haven’t completed, but I highly doubt that.

You will also find out when you revisit your goals they were things you did that you didn’t notice. This will give you a boost of motivation.

Read a book

I get it a lot of us aren’t readers and I am not saying you should become one. However, this will improve your life rapidly. You don’t need a lot of time. Set aside, fifteen to thirty minutes a day and you will be shocked how much progress you will make. If you do this for a month, you would have read one book. If you continue to do this for twelve months, you would have read twelve books.

Imagine how different your life will be in one year or two. How much progress you would have made? Many successful people read books and because of that to set their mind right. That is why you need to read a book, this will help set your mind right. It will motivate you and help you overcome barriers. Feed your mind the right things and you will be surprised and what you achieve.

Be kind to yourself

Most people forget this in improving their life. However, if you want to improve your life then you need to be kind to yourself. This looks different depending on who you are. If you are harsh on yourself, pat yourself on the back for achieving certain things. Don’t forget to cherish the people in your life and appreciate the moments. You will regret if they are gone too soon.

Once you have completed a milestone, celebrate. We sometimes forget to appreciate the milestones and achievements we have made, we should celebrate. Life is too short not to enjoy the little things. So, even if you all you did was go to the gym, then that’s a cause for celebration. You could simply post it on Facebook or Instagram. You don’t have to go all out with your celebrations.

What is your main takeaway from this and how will you improve your life. Please comment below.

Keep Pushing

Vanessa

Beginner’s Guide To Starting A Side Hustles In 2021

by vanessa | Apr 8, 2020 | Blog, Entrepreneurs, Side-Hustles

Beginner’s Guide to Starting a Side Hustle in 2021

How do you crush 2021, these strategies will show you how you can do that.

The economy isn’t the same as it used to be and with all that has happened in 2020 side hustles will grow in popularity. If you want to make an extra $1000 to $5000, a side hustle is the best to do it. This is a beginner’s guide to starting side hustles in 2020. The reason why many people are skeptical about side hustles is because they often are attached to stories that seem fake. You know the story of the man who made $50,000 from playing Twitch in the basement of his parent’s house. That screams scam a mile away.

Side hustles aren’t scams. The internet is full of stories about people overcoming debt, but you will also find stories that make you want to run away. Unless you are the type to look something straight in the eye. What most people don’t realize is that we all have to start from somewhere and successful people first started with a side-hustle. Why? Because they don’t require as much effort and capital.

The benefits of a side hustle

There are a lot of benefits of a starting side hustles. The main one is that it protects you financially just in case the economy crashes, you lose your job or your health is compromised. Side hustle enable you not to be stranded and the more money you can make, the more you can do.

If you want to travel then you have extra money to help you do that. If you want to buy a house, you can save enough money to do that. You can also invest money because you will be making extra income. One of the reasons why people start a side hustle is to help them save enough money.

In the beginner’s guide to starting side hustles, I want to make sure you understand that they are more pros than cons to starting a side hustle. That is why it is so important that you do. If you want to take care of your family more than a side hustle is the best way to do it. In the next coming years, a side hustle will be one of the best ways to starting a business.

Another benefit is that less risk is involved in starting side hustles. All you have to do is put in one to two hours per day on your side hustle. This will put you ahead of the pack and give you a consistency edge that will help you out in the long run.

Best types of side hustles

There are over 101 ways to make money online. As unbelievable as that seems, side hustles have become increasingly popular in recent years. However, some aren’t worth your time. There’s a lot of information about side hustles, often at times, though the information is misleading. For example, people who tell you that you can become rich from surveys. Hmm, unless you spend years taking surveys then maybe, but even then the people who get rich from that is rare. This guide to starting side hustles wouldn’t be complete without looking at types of side hustles.

There are two types of side hustles you should be aware of;

Type one: This is the type that you can spend months or years doing and it will never replace your 9-5 job. You are likely to earn a few dollars from this, but that is about it. (Examples are mystery shopper, food delivery, surveys, small tasks etc)

Type two: This can easily change your life. The barrier of entry is also not as wide as people believe. In time this can easily surpass your income from your job as long as you are consistent with it. The sky is literally the limit.

In this blog post, we will discuss the second type.

What works for you?

I want to make this easy for you. Since this is a beginner’s guide to side hustles, we need to go to the start. Not every side hustle is equal and therefore you must find something that works for you. This is guide to starting side hustles will help you understand which direction you should go in.

For example, for many people, the idea of starting blogging seems too taxing. Therefore, if you are one of the people who have the same belief a blog isn’t right for you. What you need to consider is how much time do you have? You should also consider what you enjoy doing. If you love talking more than a podcast would be better for you or maybe you love being in front of the camera then YouTube would work for you.

Here are the two businesses you can make from a side hustle:

Service Business: You offer a service to someone. This means turning your skill set or someone else’s skills into service. For example, if you trained as a lawyer you can provide legal services. This can be anything from web design services to coaching. I would say this might be the easier one to get into for beginners. As part of the beginner’s guide to side hustles, I want to give you the best option to start. Most people start with this one.

Knowledge Business: Many influencers get into this one. This one is more advanced because you need to know how to use software and have money to invest in platforms to help you sell your product. It still isn’t as hard as you might think it might be. You take your expertise and package it as a course, template, software or coaching program.

Also Related: Start a Service Business

What’s next?

To create the best side hustle, you need to find out what works for you and use your skills as a way to package the side hustle. Once you realize, what works you can figure out how to go about this the right way. A side hustle shouldn’t exhaust you. It is there to take away the stress of not having enough money. Once you start making money from your side hustle then you can replace it as a job.

Method one: Selling services

What skills do you have? When I first started, I knew a little about web design and so I started a service where I built people’s websites for them. I made a bit of money from that. I didn’t charge a lot of money because I wanted the reviews and also to build my skills. If you think you don’t have any skills you could start a business from think again. Many of us underestimate our ability to push forward. In the beginner’s guide to side hustles blog post, you have to understand how possible it is to change your life.

Look at the books you read, the websites you visit and your general interests. You would be shocked at all the things that you like and the skills you have. Here’s an overview;

Legal services
Accounting services
SEO
Website design
Graphic design
Social media
PR
Tax
Copywriting
Event planning/promotion
Video editing
Digital advertising
Project Management
Travel planning
Pet services
SAT prep/ school prep
Music lessons
Wedding planning
Private chefThe list above is by no means exhaustive, but I do hope you get it. When I started this blog post, I needed to make sure that as a beginner’s guide to side hustles you understood how you can make money from anything. If you thought you couldn’t I hope the list above helps you realize how possible it is.
Method two: selling knowledge

Things take a different turn here. This is where you take something you have a skill in, for example, cooking and package it. It can take different forms depending on the level you are at. Beginners should take it slow. Don’t rush the process. It can take time to get to the point where you charge $500 for your program. Most people start at less than $100 and move up.

What most people forget is that when you are selling your knowledge you need to have somewhere to reach your audience. You need to also have a website where you can house your programs or at least showcases it. Below I will list the best knowledge-based products you can sell. This is, after all, a beginner’s guide to starting side hustles, so nothing too complicated.

Create and sell an eBook
Launch an online course
Webinars/workshops
Coaching or consulting

Hope you have a few ideas buzzing around. As I keep saying I wanted to write a beginner’s guide to starting side hustles to help you know that creating a side hustle is easier than you think. When I was starting I was clueless about the direction I should take and I struggled finding my footing. What is the side hustle that stood out to you the most?

Also Related: Quick Side-Hustle Ideas To Start At Home

What is the main takeaway from this and what do you like most about side hustles? Let me known in the comments section.

KEEP P USHING

VANESSA

How To Be Productive At Home During Uncertain Times

by vanessa | Apr 1, 2020 | Blog, Entrepreneurs, motivation, personal development

HOW TO BE PRODUCTIVE AT HOME DURING UNCERTAIN TIMES

The easiest way to become productive is by using a routine to help you out.

.As more people are staying at home it has become harder to be productive at home. These are uncertain times over the world. More people are losing their jobs and it is hard to start something or to be productive at home.

Fear has a way of making us emotionally unprepared for the next steps we should take. The thing is even though everything is uncertain life goes on and if you have to do your job here’s how you can be productive at home. If you want to start something then you also need to learn how to be productive at home.

I have been working at home for over a year now and I have learned what helps in becoming productive. That is why I want to list all the ways you can be productive at home.

Yes, quarantine might have pushed you back, but it doesn’t have to remain like that. You can be productive at home. The excess time you have makes it easier for you to start your own business, work on your projects or even work on assignments you left hanging.

I do understand how all of this can mentally weigh you down. In the last few weeks, things have gotten so out of hand and it feels as if you have no control over what happens. Yes, you might not have any control, but you can look at this time as an opening. You can develop a new skill set, work on your dreams, become more productive or take this time to reflect.

I wrote this blog post to help you in these difficult times that we are going through.

Your Reason

As a kid, you had a reason for everything you did and you made it known. You stole from the cookie jar because you had the munchies. You didn’t sleep in your bed because you had a nightmare. You worked hard on that speech so your parents and friends could be proud of you.

This is no different. Why do you want to be productive? I know it sounds stupid because you wouldn’t be reading this blog post if you didn’t have a reason. You want to be productive at home because it is difficult to do.

When you have so much time on your hands, you can do anything and you have all these big ideas of what you will do. At the end of the day, you then realize you did none of them. Absolutely zero. Not because you are lazy or anything like that, but because you got distracted.

There are fewer distractions in an office setting. Another thing that could have happened is you procrastinated.

It is important to know why you are doing something because it makes all this less hard. It is easier to endure the long day and the isolation when you have a big reason why you are doing something. It could be that you want to make more money in the long run with a side-hustle or you want to develop a new skill. Whatever it is, remind yourself daily. This is a motivation booster.

Use tools to help

There are dozens of tools out there that help with productivity. Find the one that works for you and use that to help you be productive at home. These tools were created to help people manage their time better and that is the issue. Most people struggle to manage their time wisely. I was the same way when I started.

It used to take me forever to get something done. For example, writing a blog post would take me hours to do because I wasn’t doing it the right way. I didn’t plan and prepare before I wrote the blog post so my thoughts were everywhere. When I mastered that it became easier to write a blog post.

The tools you end up using depend on you. You could use slack or other time management tools to help you get the work done. What counts here is using something to help you out. Bear and Evernote will help you jot down notes that speed up the writing process. Todolist helps with writing a clear concise to-do list to get you through the day.

You don’t need to figure everything out all at once. Take your time to figure out what works best for you. What works for person A might not work for you and that’s alright. Our brains all work differently and embrace that, don’t try to do something that might not work for you. This is where research helps. Research tools and test them out to see which one suits your personality.

Write down your goals the night before

If you want to be productive at home you need to write down your goals the night before. This makes it easier to jump in and start working on your goals. Unfortunately, many of us don’t do this and the problem is that often it leads us to not doing what we planned on doing in the first place.

The day runs away from us and we forget all the things we needed to do. It is so much easier knowing what you need to do at work because you already know if you don’t do something you can lose your job. At home, we have no one telling us what we should do and that is why we are less productive at home.

There’s no urgency and it is scientific that human beings respond better to urgency. This is why when you write something down it sends signals to your brain telling you that you need to complete the tasks because they are important. When you are first doing this start with three tasks. It is important you get everything done that you list down. If you add too many things you won’t complete it in time.

You set the precedent so that is why you need build this skill up by starting small. Complete those three tasks and you will shocked by the amount of progress you make. And if you finish the tasks you can start something else or learn something.

Write down your goals the night before

If you want to be productive at home you need to write down your goals the night before. This makes it easier to jump in and start working on your goals. Unfortunately, many of us don’t do this and the problem is that often it leads us to not doing what we planned on doing in the first place.

The day runs away from us and we forget all the things we needed to do. It is so much easier knowing what you need to do at work because you already know if you don’t do something you can lose your job. At home, we have no one telling us what we should do and that is why we are less productive at home.

There’s no urgency and it is scientific that human beings respond better to urgency. This is why when you write something down it sends signals to your brain telling you that you need to complete the tasks because they are important. When you are first doing this start with three tasks. You must get everything done that you list down. If you add too many things you won’t complete it in time.

You set the precedent so that is why you need to build this skill up by starting small. Complete those three tasks and you will be shocked by the amount of progress you make. And if you finish the tasks you can start something else or learn something.

Strengthen your mindset

If you want to be productive at home then you need to strengthen your mindset. What I mean by this is that it will take time to get a handle on things. It will take time to change course because when you are doing something that isn’t part of your routine it is hard. For example, if you decided that you needed to eat more protein in the morning instead of cereal it doesn’t happen overnight.

It takes time to put everything into practice. This is the same thing. You need your mindset to change so that you can take on the day. What I mean by this is becoming productive at home is a way of life. Your habits need to change and that is a hard thing to do. You need to mentally prepare for everything and take charge.

In the beginning, it won’t be easy but if you believe you can do it then you will. If you don’t believe you can change your mindset then you won’t. This is why it is important to feed your mind things that strengthen it from podcasts to reading self-help books and watching interviews about successful people.

I know it is hard to do this when fear is outside knocking our doors, but don’t allow fear to push you aside. Don’t let fear stomp on you until you surrender to it. Everything before the quarantine was uncertain and yes, this is far worse than what has happened in recent times, but you survived that you must believe you will survive this.

I want you to believe that you were created for a reason and keep reminding yourself of that. Keep feeding your mind positive information and this will help strengthen your mindset. This is one of the best ways to be productive at home. It all starts with how your mindset views the world. If it is based on negative notions then it will be difficult moving forward.

Also Related: Is A Success Mindset Still Key to Success?

Set boundaries

You are doing great. I need you to know that, but so that you don’t burn out or get distracted set healthy boundaries. Tell the people at home how many hours you will be working for and at what time. You must also keep a note of the time, don’t extend yourself. Sure, you can say you will work for five hours straight, but we all human. It is okay to take breaks.

Even successful people don’t work for five hours straight. They take breaks in between so that they don’t burn out. Don’t burn out because that won’t help anyone if you fizzle out trying to be superhuman. Be gentle on yourself. Love yourself. One way you can do that is by not pushing yourself to the point where you start seeing double. Even if doesn’t get that bad, take breaks after every two hours.

Even if they are twenty-minute breaks that can still help you relax your mind. We all need to get better at setting healthy boundaries and the reason why many of us don’t is that we believe we don’t need to. When you first started your job you had to set boundaries in the way you dealt with your co-workers and everyone else. The difference here is you are doing it at home.

If you don’t set healthy boundaries then you won’t be productive at home and this isn’t what you want. You want to be productive at home so you can achieve more in your free time and the way you do that is by knowing your limits.

What strategies do you think will help you be productive at home? Comment below

KEEP PUSHING

VANESSA

Who Says You Can’t You Do Book Review

by vanessa | Mar 19, 2020 | Entrepreneurs, personal development

Who says you can’t, you do book review

Who says you can’t, you do carries a lot of nuggets of truth and that is why I decided to do a book review on it.

I am being honest, this would be the first time I have ever written a book review on this website. The truth though this less of a book review and more of pointing out the value nuggets I have learned from this book. Okay, so yeah, I guess it is like a book review. If you are wondering why I decided to do a book review if I have never done before.

That is a great question? When I was writing my second book, the one thing that popped into my mind continuously was to do with how I wanted to inspire people in this book like Daniel Chidiac. His book helped me overcome hard times and it was almost like a guide for me how possible it was to be a successful author. This book is one of the best I have written because of how raw and honest it is. What it does that most self-help books don’t is it is honest without making you feel as if you are a failure.

Most self-help books hit you so hard that you easily give up. The aggressive tone makes you squirm and question whether the book was even your cup of tea or if it will help you get out of the runt.

“Who Says You Don’t, You Do,” was written way back in 2012. No matter how you spin it, that was ages ago. Though, one thing I can say with confidence is that it is so relatable. Even years down the line, it makes you question everything about your life. What I have learned is that books that can make you question the direction you have taken make it possible to change the way you look at the world. This book is a gem among stones. This is why I decided to do this book review because I hope that this book will help you as much as it has helped me. So here are five things that I learned from this book.

Neuroplasticity

I know what you are thinking or rather I assume. If you were like me I thought this was gibberish and I was so confused. I had no idea how powerful that word was until I was tested and I realized that it affects us more than we like to believe, Here’s a little context, neuroplasticity is all about rewiring your brain.

No, it has nothing to do with magic, but it is all about neuroscience. The reason I wrote this as the first thing in this book review is because of how important it is. In “Who Says, You Can’t You Do,” it goes into detail about the importance of rewiring your brain and who the brainchild was of this concept. Even though I already knew about neuroplasticity, it helped me understand it more. It helped me understand how something like rewiring your brain can change how you see the world and sure you might not want that.

You might think that you don’t need to rewire your brain because you are fine the way you are. I was a negative person for years, but when I started to rewire my brain everything changed. When I focused on what I could do instead of what I couldn’t then it hit, I could change the outcome based on how I saw things.

Most successful people have rewired their brains and that is the reason why even when they fail, they keep going at it. Most of us are too terrified to leap, but when you rewire your brain then you can focus on the positives instead of the negatives. “Who Says You Can’t, You Do,” goes into more detail about how you can achieve success by rewiring your brain.

What you believe, you create

This chapter had to be mentioned this book review because well, I do believe that what you believe, you create. Our beliefs have more power over our lives than we believe. They can shape the way we see people and things. If you believe you will never be successful, that is the reason you will never be successful.

If you were to read a lot of book reviews, a lot of them say I believed this book would be good or bad. When they believed it was good, it met their expectations and when it wasn’t, it fell short. Our minds are powerful enough to create art. Think about that. How can they not be powerful enough to shape the way we see the world.

What we believe, we create and that is why if you want to live a life of freedom, you must first believe. I know how that sounds, but it is so true. Keep reading to find out how to change your life.

The Action Trilogy

As a kid, I loved action movies like most kids. Maybe, it was because it was never boring. There was always something happening. From random people jumping out of airplanes to someone beating a bad guy and winning. In the movie, the hero is always victorious. Often at times, we attribute his physical appearance as the reason why he always wins.

That is true, but his emotional and mental state are aligned. I wanted to mention this in the book review because Daniel Chidiac makes sure that we understand how important it is that our emotional state is strong. He mentions often that the reason why some people are successful is due to this factor. They believe they can win. He also talks about often people never speak highly of themselves because of jinxes. Even if you are not superstitious they must have been a time when you believed that if you spoke positively over your life you would be jinxed.

I was superstitious, so much that I used to walk around looking for three-leaved cloves and trying not to walk under ladders. I blame Cartoon Network. However, when I became an adult I was convinced that if I spoke positively I would attract negative forces and fail. In the book, Daniel Chidiac talks about how because you believe something bad will happen it will.

The action trilogy is important because it encompasses your emotional, physical and mental state. When they have all aligned the chance of success is greater than it isn’t. However, he does point that what makes them align is your mental state. He explains if you believe you can achieve anything you will. It all starts with belief.

The importance of peers

I wanted to mention this in the book review because relationships are important. They make us who we are and our friends are important. There’s an analogy Danial Chidiac uses in the book concerning friendships. “Fish will only grow in proportion to the size of their environment.” This chapter is all to do with the good, the bad and the annoying part of friendships. It depends on how you look at it.

No doubt, that friendships are important, but they can also push you back. The reason why he gave the analogy of the fish is that human beings are the same. We adapt to our environments and the people we surround ourselves with. So, if you hang around people with different opinions than you then you are likely to do your best to appease them so you are validated. We all talk like that. We all want that. It is a natural response except when you have to change your personality or do something criminal to make everyone happy, but you.

This chapter moved because we can all relate to it in one way or the other. One thing to note is that a true friend can act like a fool around you, but who will always be there to support you and lift you. The book goes into more detail about friendship.

Also Related: 13 Habits of Self-Made Millionaires

It’s Not Just Your Life

This has to be one of my favorite chapters that’s why I wanted to mention this in the book review. Daniel Chidiac mentions how we can learn a lot from children and when I read that I realized how true it was. Even though we think that our life experiences have made us wiser, the question is has it? As adults, we make the same mistakes over and over again.

Daniel mentioned that the problem is that a lot of people have to go to reach a low point to wake up. As sad as that is, it is so true. I had to hit rock bottom for me to realize that I had to change my life and if I didn’t I would die young. That was a scary thought, if I had realized this sooner before the low point I wouldn’t have gone through an uphill battle. Children are different if they get burned once then they won’t do it again. Their pain points are more prominent than ours and therefore, they are aware of what not to do.

I believe this chapter is important because many of us are asleep. We don’t realize what we want and we make the same mistakes over and over again. As kids, the one thing that irked us was when adults would say that we would understand when we were older. That’s true, but the problem is that nothing changes if everything remains the same. Clueless children grow up into clueless adults who go into debt because that’s what we’re taught. We aren’t taught about making money in school and therefore, we fail to catch up.

Daniel goes into more detail about the ramifications of thinking that life is all about you, when it is so much more than that.

What I didn’t like?

I wanted to be as fair as possible. “Who Says You Can’t, You Do,” isn’t a perfect book, but show me a perfect book. There’s no such thing. I think its pros outweigh the negatives. It has gotten a lot of praise and changed lives. So to me, that is far more important. It is human nature to find what is wrong. I didn’t find anything wrong with it. The chapters were actionable, the analogies moving and relatable. This book is one of my favorites because it doesn’t sugar coat that the journey to success will be hard, but it all comes down to what you want out of life.

I believe you should give it a try because you would be shocked at how your life will change.

What strategies do you think will help you crush 2020. Let me known in the comments section.

KEEP P USHING

VANESSA

5 Proven Ways to Get Up Once You’re Down And Out

by vanessa | Mar 4, 2020 | motivation, personal development

5 proven ways to get up once you’re down and out

Getting up once you’re down is not the easiest things to do and that’s why these proven ways will help you out.

Confidence is one those elusive qualities we strive our whole lives to get only to be down the rabbit once again. We curse at how we there, on top of a mountain staring down at all those who are below. It’s almost as if life has pushed us far too many times to push back. We’re beaten past recognition and when it’s night the silence fills the void in a way we never anticipated.

So, if that’s the case then why do we try our very best to get a hold of it. Why is confidence the one quality we have to have to get out of bed in the morning or to smile at that woman who always sneers at us. What’s the point of all it, because there’s to be something we’re missing right. Someone who has an answer to the importance of confidence.

Most people won’t ever tell you that to make it in life you have to have confidence. To get out of the house you need confidence. To smile even when you don’t want to you need confidence. Life is brutal, let me repeat it is brutal. The kind of brutality action movies have gotten right, sure no one is beating you to pulp. At least not physically, but that doesn’t mean that you’re still not pushed down time again.

Here is the reality life is about surviving, about being strong despite the stronger. And at the end of the day you have to be have enough self-confidence to not be beaten down. If you don’t, you’ll come up with some illness so you can survive the day. Or a reason or excuse not to do something. I’m camera shy. That’s my excuse for not taking pictures.

The truth is I don’t believe enough in myself to appear on photos. We all have insecurities, but they become a problem when we let them. It pushes us to the ground, we eat dirt so we can hide from the world. The world has enough problems that it doesn’t really think twice about our insecurities. Sometimes our problems are manufactured and we believe because that gives us assurances.

Unfortunately, here comes the real issue when we allow this to build up we never go anywhere in life. We will constantly hide so we protect ourselves from the world and maybe ourselves. And the most important thing that we forget is how far we have come.

Past Successes

When I was in fifth grade to make all the kids feel welcome, we were all give certificates. Many of my classmates were given certificates of excellence in sports, academics and art. My parents were shocked because ten-year-old kids often don’t need certificates. I guess that’s a millennial problem. I digress, I got a certificate for being energetic. I remember how that moment made me feel despondent. Everyone got something of value and I did get that.

At ten I felt like a failure. I know ridiculous, but that moment I wanted to prove everyone wrong. The next year I trained for sports, tried my best to win an award and I got a certificate for track. It was an accomplishment. It was a moment I still remember, my friends cheering me on. My confidence was lifted, the next year I struggled getting into a good high school. It was almost as if the whole world was conspiring against me and I was angry. My confidence wavered for many years. It took time to get over many of insecurities, to rise up and gain confidence in myself.

Once you start doubting, it’s a never end cycle. When that happens, it’s easier to sink into quicksand and not get up. Your past failures don’t determine who you are. When you focus on your past success stories, it will be a lot easier to get up and keep going at it.

Past Failures Don’t Define You

How many times do we think more about our failures than successes? That has been the story of my life for a long time. Dwelling on where I went wrong rather than what I did right. Here’s an interesting truth, when you forget about your failures there’s always someone around the corner to remind you. No one remembers your audacity, your persistence or tenacity. Nor they focus on the negativity.

Unless you refuse to listen to the naysayers you will always live a life less than. You’ll always be too terrified to do anything. And too unsure of yourself to risk something. And that will always be the predominant voice. The one that tells you that you’re worthless, pitiful and not worth a single breath of air. As a kid that was the voice I listened to more, the one that said I couldn’t do anything and I always wrestled with the voice.

I would do things that scared me, but until I believed I could achieve it that’s when my confidence grew. Confidence is like a flower, the more water it gets, the more it grows. No water and it wilts away. Flowers should be protected at all times because with it, the world is normalized.

Failures are there to teach you a lesson. Often we’re too blinded by our pain to realize what the lesson is. I used to have stage fright and every time I got onto the stage my knees shook. No trick in the book worked, I was laughed off stage. Cried after it, but I made a promise I would conquer it. I’ve done almost every act on stage. I was in debate club and we had to do it on stage. I sang on stage, did public speaking. After two years of doing that, I conquered stage fright. Was it easy? Nothing in life is easy and that’s what failure teaches us.

Past failures will never ever define you. They’re as an obstacle, a roadblock and a minor annoyance. That’s it and until you realize this past failures will always define you. Your past failures don’t define you and once you understand this you will be able to get up and focus on the now. You will be able to move forward with your life.

Your Strengths

We live in a society that loves pointing out weaknesses. Often it’s with a snicker or a gleeful look. That oh you do this and that. Sometimes it’s constructive criticism, but most times it’s destructive. It depends on who the person is, are they saying it to build you up or tear you down.

At the end of the day, you are your biggest supporter and if you don’t remind yourself of what you can do no one will. I had to take a year off school because my parents couldn’t find money to send me to school. For one year, I had to watch as people moved forward with their lives. Many graduated from university, others got great jobs and I was at home. I was so despondent, depressed that the thought of getting a job in the meantime never crossed my mind.

In that year I lost myself, who I was and what I wanted to become. I kept thinking of my weaknesses and it’s recent that I have started to think more about my strengths. Life is unpredictable, to remain steady you need to remind yourself of who you are. Keep thinking about your strengths. When you do this, you’ll conquer every obstacle you face. When you use focus on your strengths this will help you to get up and keep moving forward.

Gratitude

This one will sting a bit. We’re so lost in our own world that we never think of what we have or how far we have come. There are people in the world who have more troubled lives. Literally a life were they’re not sure when the next meal will be. It feels good to wallow in self pity, to be down and that’s why a lot of people do it.

When you do that it’s almost as if you’re patting yourself on the back for a job well done. You have opportunities that a lot of people wish for. Taking that for granted is a slap in the face to your parents, God and the people in your life.

We all do it, I do it. That’s why it’s important to remind ourselves of what we have and not we don’t have. You might not have a six figure job, but you have people who love you. You might not have a BMW or Mercedes, but you do have a car. Even if you don’t have a car, you have legs.

I’m not trying to make you feel terrible, but there’s always going to be something we don’t have. When you’re grateful, life gets a whole lot brighter.

Also Related: 5 Habits That Will Change You For The Better

The People You Have in your corner

This is one of the most important things to remember. I’m not going to say anything corny or cheesy, but it’s important to remember you’re never alone. That you have people who will help you if only you ask. And at times we forget this or we are too proud to ask for help.

We believe it makes us look weak or scared. But isn’t that the reality, we’re terrified of something, be it hairy eight-legged creatures that make you jump or drowning in the ocean. We all go through problems. Sometimes in order to rise up your loved ones need to lift you up. Doing life alone is not only lonely, but petrifying.

What steps do you take in order to get your confidence back? Let me known in the comments section.

KEEP P USHING

VANESSA