There are principles you can follow so that you can construct positive affirmations. These are both simple and effective. Following are some steps you can take that will help you devise a strategy so that you can create and use your own affirmations to bolster your self-esteem and help with depression problems.

Step One: What are your standards going to be?

What are your standards going to be as you build self-esteem and work on your depression? You’ll need to decide this before you actually start writing them. For example, think of someone who’s not depressed and who has high self-esteem. What do they look like to you in your mind’s eye? Define those standards based upon this person as you see him or her, and then decide what you’re going to do with your affirmations to become confident and self-assured, like that person. It’s helpful, for example, to know what confidence and happiness looks like; if you’ve got a picture in your head in regard to what that looks like, it’s a lot easier to do. Affirmations can help you improve your self-esteem and alleviate your depression by working with your subconscious mind directly. Your subconscious mind responds directly to affirmations, so you need them to be as specific as possible. They’ll need to be based upon “definite actions,” which represent good self-esteem to you. For example, maybe good self-esteem means that you have the courage to interact with others comfortably in social situations, negotiate when you need to, and so on. Figure out what means “confidence” and “happiness” to you, and then come up with actions that support this.

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Step Two: What’s your formula going to be?

Affirmations need to contain four things: They need to be based in present tense; they need to be positively rather than negatively stated; they need to be in the first person; and they need to be based on action. So, for example, you might say:

“I’m the master of my business negotiations.”

“I easily approach strangers and engage them in casual conversation.”

“I easily close sales.”

“I have discipline and focus when I do my exercise program.”

All of these things have the following things in common:

They all happen in the present

They’re all stated in first person

They’re all based on a specific action

They’re all affirmatively rather than negatively stated

Once you’ve written your affirmations based upon this to bolster self-esteem and help alleviate your depression, the next step is to…

Step Three: Rehearse your affirmations

In order for your mind to fully “believe in” your affirmations so that you can work on depression problems and bolster your self-esteem, you’ll need to do them on a regular basis. For example, you could do them in the morning and then in the evening, both times out loud. It’s important to do it this way, because you’re training your mind to think differently. You have to do it consistently, or it’s not going to work. It’s like exercising; you have to do it consistently in order to see results. So say your affirmations everyday, twice a day. If you get bored with them, you can always write new ones. Do this every day for life, and you’ll see that your depression problems will begin to heal themselves, as your self-esteem also improves.

This is a video for those who want to live a more positive, abundant life! Visit The Good Life blog for inspiring articles: www.wealth-prosperity.info Music produced by Rob Cooke of Powerbook Studio www.powerbookstudio.com
Video Rating: 4 / 5

photos by Ron Sombilon Gallery

www.TacoTimeCanada.com
www.RonSombilonGallery.com

FRANCHISE OPPORTUNITIES

With plans to expand all across Canada, there are plenty of opportunities for hard-working and driven business people to enjoy the security and support provided by TacoTime®.

Our mission is to make money with our franchisees rather than off our franchisees. Maybe that’s why the average tenure of a TacoTime® franchisee is more than 15 years.

If you can cut through the “get rich quick” schemes, the internet can be a legitimate revenue generating resource! Countless individuals have become millionaires by finding ways of providing products and/or services via the Internet. Here e-marketers and current or future home-based business owners can find legitimate ways to make money on the internet as well as tried and true work from home resources to help you get started. Let’s begin with the most common ways to make money online:

Buying and Selling/Ebay

Drop-shipping

E-trading

MLM (Multilevel Marketing) and Direct Selling

Affiliate/Referral Programs

“Out of the box”

Performing a much needed services

E-bay Selling – Buying and selling products online is one of the most common and well known methods of making money online. The key is to find a product that is in high demand, for example: electronics, apparel, video games, etc. You then need to out think your competition, and on sites such as Ebay, competition can be fierce. The most important step here is to find a product you are familiar with both so you can more knowledgably market the product and so you can accurately answer your customer’s questions. This establishes their faith and trust in you as a competent seller. If you’re having trouble finding a product start by asking yourself what you’re knowledgeable and passionate about. You can then research accompanying products and see how well they are selling on Ebay already. Ebay also offers tools to help you get started such as an inexpensive storefront if you don’t want to build your own.

  Drawbacks to Ebay selling are:

 Finding or creating a profitable product

 Ebay can be very time consuming (Plan to spend 20-30 hrs/week)

 This is a very competitive market so you will have to find a way to stand out above the others

Drop-ship- Drop shipping can be done on Ebay as well with several other marketing ideas such as your own web site. With drop shipping you act as the “middle man” between buyer and vendor. The benefits are that you never have to mess with inventory and shipping. You simply find a product, sell it, then rely on the vendor to ship it. This can save you time and money in that you have no inventory to worry about and you do not have to make constant trips to the post office or UPS to ship your items. Another benefit is that you’re never stuck with a garage full of products that won’t sell. Your first step is to obtain a drop ship directory to find vendors who will drop ship. With enough research this can be done free of charge if you’re willing to put the time in yourself, or you can pay approximately – to obtain a legit directory. That money will save you more in the long run as you know they will be legitimate vendors. Use caution here, as there are a lot of fake drop shippers who are actually just middlemen themselves trying to earn a commission. WorldwideBrands is a good place to start your search as they are certified drop shippers, registered with the BBB, and offer over 8 million products to choose from.

Drawbacks to drop-shipping are:

The drawbacks to drop shipping can be negated by taking the time to find a good vendor.  Otherwise the drawbacks can include:

Dealing with backorders – make sure the product is actually available BEFORE listing it on Ebay

Returns can be a headache if you’re mixed up with a bad vendor.

E-trading is a trend growing more in popularity every day.  Forex and Etrade are both online trading companies which offer tutorials to teach you how to trade. With Forex you can begin trading with an investment as small as and you aren’t charged commissions or exchange fees. They also offer “real time” price quotes. The key here is to research it and know what you’re truly getting yourself into before rushing in. This certainly isn’t a method to jump blindly into!

 Drawbacks:

To see a larger return, plan to invest at least 0.

The market fluctuates greatly! Due to the short term nature of trading, daily updated are crucial. Hourly updates are highly recommended. This allows you to stay more informed and aware of trends and changes that will cause the value of your investment to fluctuate.

4.   Due to the influx of scams in the MLM and Direct Selling market, this online business opportunity is often misrepresented and thus overlooked. False and misleading claims about income potentials made by dishonest distributors and “affiliates” have flooded the market and made it rather difficult to have faith in any of these ventures. MLM, Multi-Level Marketing, are companies with a product to sell and choose to do so by word of mouth advertising or by paying independent distributors to sell their products. The distributors make money selling the product, but make even more money by bringing in more distributors. The more distributors they bring in, the more money they make, as they usually get a percentage of the profits generated by any distributors they recruit. Direct Selling is essentially MLM but marketing more expensive products. Since you make a higher commission due to the higher cost of the product, you can make more money with less recruits. The key here is to find legitimate companies with good commission structures. Look for established companies and research them well. Don’t waste your time on small, newly started corporations. They are potentially less credible and those that are truly credible may not last in today’s market.  In order to be successful at MLM and Direct Selling, you must have the desire and motivation to run your own business. First, you have to learn the ins and outs yourself, then you have to teach it to your recruits so that they are just as successful as you are. A major benefit here is that once you have successful recruits your income becomes residual. Even if you decide to stop selling, your recruits are still out there making you money. Keep in mind that as with any business venture, there are start up costs. Prepare to invest anywhere from – 0 for MLM and 0 – 00 for Direct Selling. However, if you’re motivated enough you can make that investment back in no time.

 Drawbacks:

The main drawback here is the invasion of the scam artist. With the ease of building a web site and the creation of Photoshop, it’s very easy for anyone to create a legitimate looking web site. All too often people are cheated out of their hard earned money simply because they got caught up in a sales pitch and forgot the most important rule – RESEARCH!!! This research can be done on the Internet free of charge and often takes less than 10 minutes to divulge a scam! So be sure to do that research before handing over your credit card info.

Another drawback is the high drop out rate in MLM’s. Lack of adequate training from the recruiter and/or the recruiter’s lack of motivation are to blame. Remember, you’re not the only recruiter. The person you recruit then becomes a recruiter him/herself which directly affects your cash flow. Taking the time to choose your recruits wisely, training them well, and getting them pumped up and excited about the product and the income potential are key to holding on to good recruits!

In today’s economy, direct selling can be a challenge. The reason is that you are attempting to sell higher market items during a time when most don’t wish to part with their money. Both your end customer and your recruits may not have the money to purchase or invest, and it will take an amazing sales pitch on your part to convince them to do so!

5.   Affiliate programs can be an inexpensive and ideal option. Affiliate programs allow you to sell someone else’s product without having to talk to people in person or on the phone and without spending your own money to do so. As an affiliate you choose a product to sell, then you advertise that product through various avenues – a lot of them FREE – then you collect anywhere from 50-100% commission when the product sells. 100% commission you ask? Yes it’s true! A lot of companies will offer their first product at 100% commission to you, because they upsell, (sell other products in connection with the initial product), to make their real money.   This is a very inexpensive way to make money as most affiliate programs are free since you give them free advertising and bring them customers! The cost to you can be as little or as much as you would like it to be. You can advertise freely on blogs, articles, etc. or you can invest in a cheap domain/hosting package and create a web site to advertise the product. The choice is up to you. The key here is to join a few affiliate programs and create multiple streams of income. Top affiliates doing so can truly earn thousands of dollars per week simply promoting someone else’s product! Another key here is to make sure all products/companies are legit. This will result in future sales from the same customer, positive reviews in the community, (which means future sales from others), etc. There is a lot of money to be made in this venture if you’re willing to do the research first and make sure you’re not getting involved with a scam product/company. 

Drawbacks: 

You have to do your research and not get caught up in a sales pitch! All companies claim to have the best product/program, so a little research can go a long way in this arena.

You have to know how to drive traffic to your affiliate sites. No traffic equal no sales! If you don’t know how to reach the most people, research it and find the best methods. A little tip: find popular blogs…put your link in your signature then post on those blogs. Be sure to choose a blog topic and create a post that has to do with the item you’re trying to sell. For example, let’s say you wish to promote a dog training product. Then you would find popular dog training blogs, create a post related to dogs and dog training, and include your signature and link within that post. Free advertising at its best!

6. Outside the Box: It may seem difficult in today’s day and age to think of something that hasn’t been done, but surprisingly enough it happens every day. Think of the infomercials you see on tv. Most of those products are unique and so simple we just cannot believe we didn’t think of them first. So put some thought into it. Think about what you do every single day and how you could make that task easier. For example, look at the “space age bags” product that you can put clothes, bed linens, etc in then vacuum and make massive storage space in your home. Another example is, I heard of a guy that created a very simple website that surveyed people who were searching for real estate. He created a very simple site with a very simple questionnaire asking people things such as their price range, number of rooms desired, location, etc. He then made millions by contacting real estate agents and selling this information to them. When you think of every type of business out there that could benefit from such leads, the possibilities seem endless! The key here…GET CREATIVE!!! 

7. Performing much needed services! There are millions of forums online in which people advertise and are willing to pay for services. For example: I have a product to sell. My product is amazing, but I am not a writer. So I just can’t seem to write copy that will adequately promote my product. So I advertise in a forum that I am willing to pay anyone who can write an awesome ad to sell my product. You respond with the best offering/price. I pay you to write my copy for me. It’s that simple! The possibilities are endless! So think of something you’re good at and then search Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc. for forums related to your interest. Once you join the forums look for posts that are requesting these services and respond to them.

Drawbacks:

Be sure to work out a payment arrangement suitable to both parties so you don’t deliver a product and never get paid.

Be sure to ALWAYS deliver quality content and what you promised to deliver! Forums are made up of tight knit communities and they will let each other know very quickly how they felt about the quality of your product. Their reviews can be your greatest asset or your biggest downfall!

I would highly recommend that you don’t let any of the drawbacks discourage you, as most can easily be overcome! All of these strategies are proven money makers and the most common ways to make money online. Any business has its drawbacks, so don’t let that stop you! Just minimize the risk and move forward in your plans! With a little diligence, hard work and research you can truly achieve your goals!

photos by Ron Sombilon Gallery

www.TacoTimeCanada.com
www.RonSombilonGallery.com

FRANCHISE OPPORTUNITIES

With plans to expand all across Canada, there are plenty of opportunities for hard-working and driven business people to enjoy the security and support provided by TacoTime®.

Our mission is to make money with our franchisees rather than off our franchisees. Maybe that’s why the average tenure of a TacoTime® franchisee is more than 15 years.

In order for you to make money online fast, you should possess the following qualities:

01- Determination

02- Consistency towards your goal

03- Confidence on your skills

04- Willingness to learn and progress

How do you define an entrepreneur? He’s a risk taker that is creative and innovative. He’d always want to work on his own where he defines the rules of the game. Similar is the case with all online money makers. They are special people who don’t want to work on a straight nine to five job. Instead, they aim high, put in more efforts and make more money than an ordinary average person. So when you’re planning to make money online, you are about to join a league that’s special on its own.

When you have decided to make money online fast, you have to evaluate yourself. What is your unique selling proposition? What are your weaknesses? Questions like these help you judge your capabilities and prepare you for the future. As for the ways that help you earn money online, let’s start with eBay. To allow you to begin money making, you have to understand its system in detail. With just a computer and internet connection, this will take just three days. And as soon you as practically do things, you will realize how easy and simple it is to make money online through eBay.

Another effective method to quick money making is affiliate marketing – the fastest growing trend on the Internet to date. The first step in affiliate marketing is to choose an appropriate affiliate program. This is the most important of all as your potential earnings depend on the program you opt for. Also, you should know that most good affiliate programs take some time to get rolling. Therefore, you have to earn credibility and trust as a beginner by getting fully involved in the program.

And lastly, one of my favorite ways to make money online fast is to develop your freelance career on the Internet. There are hundreds of freelance auction websites that help skilled individuals earn money on the Internet. All you need to do is sign up with these and start contacting potential employers. As you progress and earn good ratings, you are likely to earn more and prove yourself as an entrepreneur. Good luck!

Affirmation has been used by successful people for centuries. It has helped many ordinary people achieve

extraordinary results in their lives. It has turned many failures into successes. It has made many miracles happen

in the history of human evolution. However, the majority of people who use affirmation find that it doesn’t work. Why

is this the case? What are the elements that people have missed when they use affirmation techniques? I constantly

ask myself these questions, and seek for the answers. The result is, no one book gives the complete answer. Some tips

given in one book work for a specific situation, but not for others. Other books give other tips that work for other

situations, but not for this. I have tested and filtered out the ineffective ones, and left only what I call the

ultimate effective technique secrets.

The purpose of affirmation:

Before I give you the effective techniques, I must make you understand the true purpose of affirmation. Simply stated,

the purpose of affirmation is to pass a command from the conscious mind to the subconscious mind. The subconscious

mind has the ability, in anything it accepts as true, to do whatever it takes to turn it into reality. The purpose of

an affirmation is to pass a message to the subconscious mind, and to make it believe the message is true. So this

brings us to the first element of an effective affirmation.

1.The affirmation must be believable to the subconscious

mind

Most of the affirmations people use, fail at this first stage. They tend to give an unrealistic message to the

subconscious mind, hoping for a positive response. If you are financially broke, and you say to yourself “I earn

0,000 per year”, is this believable to your mind? If your body is totally out of shape, and you say to yourself

“I am very attractive”, is this believable to your mind? I doubt it.

What if you are currently broke, and you want to make 0,000 per year? What if you are out of shape, and you

want to make yourself attractive? I find the best and easiest way is to use the word “I choose” in your

affirmation.

Instead of saying “I earn 0,000 per year.”

Say “I choose to earn 0,000 per year”

Instead of saying “I am very attractive”

Say “I choose to feel that people find me attractive”

Do you feel the difference?

2.The subconscious mind seeks for proof

There is a misconception that the affirmation must be repeated thousands of times before it can be installed in

the subconscious mind. This is not necessarily true. You can use the repetition method to embed your affirmation,

but there is an easier way. It is, at the time you find the proof, state your affirmation. Many people stay in poverty

because they associate pain with money. Whenever they spend their money, they think of their bills, loans etc. This

will automatically lead to ultimate pain. It is the feeling you attach to money that makes you rich or poor.

How can we turn this to our advantage? Instead of feeling pain when spending money, what if we associate pleasure

with it? Next time when you go out shopping, at the moment you take out your money or credit card, say this

affirmation to yourself “I always have more than enough to spend.”

See how you feel. This works because the subconscious mind sees the proof. As long as you have some money left in your

pocket, this affirmation is always true, so the subconscious mind will believe it.

How about if we combine the first and second methods together and make an affirmation like this: “I choose to

feel that I always have more than enough to spend.” Say this at the time you spend your money. See how you feel.

You don’t have to repeat it thousands of times, a few times of real life proof will make your subconscious mind believe

it.

3.The affirmation must trigger feelings

A fact about the subconscious mind is that it does not speak in words, you can only communicate with it through

feelings, and emotions. There are two methods that you can use to trigger your feelings. The first method is to use

words that involve feelings. Words like “fun, enjoyable, comfortable, delightful” will work effectively. The second

method is to use imagination. Visualize that the situation stated in your affirmation has already come true. See

yourself in that situation and feel the feelings.

4.The affirmation must obey the 3 Ps factor.

The 3 Ps are Positive, Present Tense, and Personal.

Affirmations must be stated positively. Instead of saying “I am not fat”, say “I choose to stay slim”. The reason for

this is that before the mind knows the meaning of, “I am not fat”, it must think of what fat means first. So saying

that statement will inevitably lead to the feeling of being fat.

Affirmations must be in the present tense. Many books mention this. However, I only agree to some extent. If you

say “I have a luxury car”, your mind will not believe you. The reason I include this here is that once it is combined

with the first technique, it will work perfectly. Now say “I choose to have a luxury car”. Your mind will do its best

to bring it into reality.

Affirmations must be personal. Your subconscious mind only works for you, not for others. If you say “Ann loves me”,

it will not be effective, because you have no control over Ann. Now say “I choose to feel that Ann really loves me”.

This time you are in control, because you can control your own feelings.

5.Personal development affirmations should be stated in the comparative

“I am confident” may not be as effective as “I am becoming more and more confident”.

An even better affirmation might be “I choose to feel more and more confident”.

The reason for using the comparative, is because there is no end to how much more confident you can become.

Otherwise, your mind may think you are already confident enough, and it will not need to do any more work.

These 5 techniques are the most effective ones that I have found from my research on affirmations. If you can use all

the 5 techniques, I guarantee your results will be amazing. Even if you only use one or two of the techniques stated

here, you will find your affirmations will become far more effective.

Find More Affirmations Articles

How can body language make this possible? For one thing, using positive and confident body language will help you gain a favorable first impression from customers. Additionally, being able to read non-verbal cues from the person you are talking to can help you get a better understanding of their feelings and avoid possible misinterpretations and misunderstandings. By having the appropriate verbal and non-verbal communication skills, a person can have more effective interactions with others, which will always be advantageous to him.

Common Body Language

There are common patterns that are evident in our body language, which will be discussed here. But before anything else, here are some general gestures and their corresponding meanings. When a person is leaning forward, it means he is interested in what you have to say.

If he crosses his arms in the chest, it means he does not agree with you, does not want to listen to you, or is threatened by you. When he fidgets or talks too fast, it means he is nervous, afraid, or keeping something from you.

Face- The eyes can very visibly show a person’s emotions. If the eyes are twinkling, it means the person is amused and excited; if the eyes are wide open and dilated, it indicates nervousness and fear. The eyebrow movements also have meaning; if they are raised, it means that the person doubts what you said; if it’s lowered, it means the person is frustrated, upset, or angry. Blinking also conveys a message; frequent blinking of the eye indicates nervousness.

Arms- As mentioned above, when the arms are folded in front of a person’s chest, this indicates negativity. There are other arm signals as well, such as placing the arms on the sides, which means that the person is open and will listen to you. On the more emotional aspect, one arm gesture, self-hug, means that the person is insecure and needs to be comforted.

Neck and Chest- When the neck seems stiff, this means the person is nervous, afraid, or not in agreement with you. When a person’s chest is drawn out similar to how “big people” do it, then it shows confidence. However, withdrawn chest would mean the person is shy, defeated, or sad.

Legs- When a person is sitting down, and his feet are placed behind the knees, it means that he is interested in you, your thoughts, and ideas. Crossed legs indicate a closed mind, whereas legs that are wide open would mean the person is overly confident and is trying to dominate the conversation.

Improving Your Body Language

The objective here is to use only body language that will give others the impression that you are a confident and positive person. Begin with a smile, a firm handshake, and keep your head up to let others know that you are at ease and sure of yourself in their presence. When listening to them, lean forward and keep your eyes focused on them to show that you care and are interested in what they have to say. If you are not entirely a self-assured person, this can be difficult at the onset, but with practice, you can learn and become natural at using body language to your own benefit.

You could lose your business- your own source of income, and when you do, your finances could crash. This is why along with being able to manage your own people effectively (if you have people working for you), you should also be an effective self-manager. Unless you can be good at managing yourself, you will not be able to manage your business successfully.

Here are some “Rules for Self-Management:”

1. Stop making excuses. People who lack self-management skills are those who have endless excuses that they give to themselves and others. You often hear them say, “I wasn’t able to complete the project on time because” and they do this way too often. Be accountable, face the facts, and deal with it accordingly.

2. Manage your time wisely. This means avoiding things and activities that will only waste your time. Do things that count, in terms of how much revenue this will give you, instead of focusing too much on trivial matters.

3. Set rules for yourself. You need to be strict with yourself especially because you are more inclined to lose focus when you earn a living from home. Setting your own personal rules will prove to be more beneficial thank you think.

You Are An Effective Self-Manager If:

1. You always prepare yourself for tomorrow. It is necessary that you write down everything you need to do the next day so that you can be ready for it. Make a to-do list and arrange your tasks according to their level of importance. You may think that a to-do list is a waste of time but in all actuality, it is a very useful tool to help you keep track of things you need to do today, tomorrow, or at a certain time in the future.

2. You are bent on seeing results ASAP. Other people are “conditional” which means that they only work on their tasks if certain conditions they set have been met. For example, telling yourself, “I will work on this project today if I sell product X to 2 customers.” An effective self-manager works regardless of the situation or condition; whether they are doing good in the business or not, whether they feel like working or not, they work, work, and work because they know it is the right thing to do.

3. You value your time. A self-manager values his time well because he knows that time wasted is money wasted. If something needs to be done, he makes sure it is completed on or before the deadline. He uses his time productively because he knows that it could spell the difference between a profit and a loss for his business.

4. You set realistic goals. Dreamers often have very high expectations on themselves and they end up not only failing to meet those expectations, but also withdrawn and frustrated. A self-manager knows the difference between what can be done and what cannot be done, and makes sure he aims for realistic goals. He plans things well and makes smart decisions.

Individuals who are self-confident, on the other hand, are high achievers. They know their strengths and do what they can to hone their weaknesses. Self-confidence is defined as a person’s belief in himself, the belief that he is very much capable to succeeding in a given situation.

How does a person build confidence in himself?

It begins with making a decision. One must accept that there is a confidence issue that needs to be addressed. Unless the person actually realizes and accepts his own weaknesses, it would be difficult to change anything.

Once acceptance has been made, the next step is to go through the five elements of self- confidence, and these are: self-awareness, intention, perception, visualization, and taking action.

Self-awareness allows you to know yourself completely. With this process, you will know what it is you want to achieve in life, your goals and dreams, as well as your motivation. This also helps to help you recognize your own attributes and competencies, and at the same time, pinpointing the areas that need to be improved. Asking questions is needed in order to make a person more self-aware. A good example question is: “What qualities do I have that help me excel at work?”

Once self-awareness has been established, the next element, which is intention, follows. This element enables you to answer the question: “Why do I need to become confident in myself?” Find out your reasons as well as your goals for such an endeavor.

The third element is perception. This will help determine how much you can achieve in your goal of building self-confidence. You see, if you develop a mindset that says you have the capacity to become self-confident, then there is no doubt that you can make this happen. Conversely, if you do not really believe this, if your mindset is full of negativity, then it just would not work.

After you have developed a positive perception towards changing yourself, the next thing to do is to visualize. Create mental images of yourself being confident when conversing with others, during meetings, and social gatherings. These visual images will be embedded in your subconscious and will increase your chances of achieving your goal.

Lastly, take action. Having the right attitude and the right mindset is good but this is not enough; you must practice. When you make a conscious effort to be confident in the way you speak and deal with others, it will eventually come in naturally to you. Have courage to approach people during lunch break; offer to take on a project; or you can even go to your boss and talk to him about a great idea that you have. These things will little by little help you in becoming more confident about yourself and your abilities.

You have every potential to succeed in your endeavors- you just need to believe in yourself.

Leadership roles are vital to the success of any organization, and it goes without saying that companies are always on the lookout for people who have good leadership skills to help them achieve their overall objectives. Unfortunately, many individuals are not very confident with the skills that they have and as a result, career growth opportunities continue to evade them. The solution to this is simply to learn and develop certain leadership qualities. It is not rocket-science and in fact, the concepts are very simple. The challenge mainly is to be able to apply these every day until such time they become a part of you.

Below are the top three qualities that every effective leader possesses:

Quality #1: Action-Orientation

A leader must have a strong desire to make things happens. Being able to plan, implement, and execute is very important because in the corporate world, many factors could trigger people to be ineffective, especially when they procrastinate all the time. Leaders are reliable and take accountability for everything that involves the responsibilities given to them by their superiors. They are always “on the go,” full of energy and enthusiasm to get things moving.

While many others are busy doing non-work related activities, leaders get the job done. They work hard and they work smart because they feel fully responsible for the outcome.

To become action-oriented, use the following suggestions:

1.Be quick in making decisions, instead of wasting time mulling over trivial matters.

2.Always see the positive side of things.

3.Be cheerful in performing your tasks.

4.Make use of your time wisely to get more out of it.

5.Act, act, and act.

Quality #2: Influence

Leaders are people who can convince others to believe in their ideas and opinions. They can create change with a goal of improving the current situation. To learn how to influence others is not easy, but Dale Carnegie has outlined some great tips on how you can do this.

1.Respect other people’s thoughts and opinions.

2.Listen with your eyes, heart, and ears.

3.Steer clear of arguments, and never try to win them.

4.See it from their point of view.

5.Encourage and give sincere compliments.

6.Make others feel valued.

7.Do not boss around.

Quality #3: Commitment

One of the qualities that can truly set leaders apart from the rest is their commitment. When effective leaders make a commitment, they stand by it no matter what. While some of us will easily give up when faced with hardships and challenges, a leader will face these head on with no signs of backing down. They know that they are perceived as role models of their team and they always do their best to set a good example by staying committed to their objectives and goals.

To show commitment, you should:

1.Adhere to company policies and standards

2.Complete tasks on or before the deadline

3.Help your team members in performing their tasks and improving their performance

4.Continue to hone your skills and capabilities

But just as relationships can bring joy and fulfillment to your life, it can also be one the primary causes of stress. Since we all have different personalities, there are instances when disagreements arise, when opinions clash, and when you just cannot get along with the other person, be it your spouse, child, sibling, colleague, boss, clients, and customers. When this happens, stress would eventually develop and this could blow out of proportions if not managed properly. Keep in mind that relationship-related stress is inevitable and there is absolutely no way to get rid of it, but you can reduce stress by effectively managing it.

How can stress be managed? Let us begin by understanding that there are many factors that cause relationship-related stress. One of the keys to manage stress is to take control of these factors and not be controlled by it. Below are the most common of all:

1.Taking advantage of the other person’s weaknesses

2.Using abusive words

3.Shouting at the other person

4.Giving offensive remarks

5.Being rude

6.Lying and cheating

7.Causing bodily harm

8.Refusing to speak to the other person

9.Spreading rumors about the other person

10.Intentionally avoiding the other person

Secondly, it is also essential for you to have a mindset that looks to adapt to the person and the situation, whenever necessary. Many people have difficulty dealing with others because they refuse to change themselves for them and instead, they wait for the other person to change or simply wish for the situation to go away. Husbands and wives complain about their spouse’s annoying habits but tend to overlook their own shortcomings; employees criticize their co-workers and superiors for the way they perform their tasks and responsibilities and yet they fail to check their own abilities to see if there are areas they need to improve on. A person needs to accept that in order to have better relationships, he has to be the first one to change and adapt, and never the other way around. Hoping and wishing that things will turn out for the best without you exerting efforts to actually make it happen is only going to cause undue stress.

Lastly, engage yourself in fun and worthwhile activities that will ease tensions from work and personal life. Hitting the gym can be a good stress buster. If the people around you are causing you too much stress, it is best that you take some time out away from them. A short vacation is ideal however if the circumstances will not allow this, you can always spend an afternoon someplace quiet all by yourself to give you time to gather strength and rethink about how you can deal with the troubling situation.

Effective listening takes place when the person not only listens with the intention of answering, but rather, he listens because he wants to understand. Therefore, he:

· Focuses on the listener

· Listens to his message

· Listens to what the person is interested in

For you to become an effective listener, you need to first get rid of the barriers to listening, which are:

1. Being preoccupied. When you are doing too many things at one time, it makes listening very difficult to do.

2. Making assumptions. When people are already assuming things, they will not be very keen on listening to what the other person is actually trying to say because they think they already know the answer.

3. Making judgments. It is human nature to judge and pre-evaluate people; and unfortunately, this is one of the reasons why we are not able to listen effectively. We should keep an open mind if we are seeking to understand the listener and his message.

By eliminating these barriers, you are now a step closer to enhancing your listening skills.

Now, in addition to this, you also need to follow the tips mentioned below:

1. Ask intelligent questions. By asking questions, you get a better picture of what it is the speaker is trying to say. A note to remember: when asking questions, ask relevant ones and make sure you listen to the answer given.

2. Take down notes. Taking notes of what has been said will not only enable you to understand, but it will also help you remember. Many pieces of information could be overlooked or forgotten because these were not written down.

3. Avoid interruptions. Impatient individuals can hardly wait to interrupt but you should know that interruptions will not really lead you anywhere; if you want to understand the message, let the speaker talk.

4.Practice active listening techniques. These techniques include paraphrasing and summarizing; these not only help you understand better but they also make the speaker know that you are in fact intently listening to him.

5. Be an empathetic listener. One should listen with the ears, eyes, and the heart.  This means that he must not only focus his attention to the speaker but also be a vicarious listener; empathy will allow him to better understand by putting himself in the speaker’s shoes.

Listening is not a talent or an innate ability- it is a skill. One must make a conscious effort to really listen to the other person in order for him to become effective. Try it slowly every single day and pretty soon, you will become a natural at it. Once you have significantly improved this skill, you will come to realize that this will have a profound effect on your relationships with others.