Monday, June 28, 2010

The Difference Between a Debt Management Program and Personal Relief Plan

A debt management program focuses on a proper management of your financial liabilities and continuation of your ability to repay your debts on time. On the other hand, a personal relief plan focuses on elimination of your debts so that you enjoy relief from your financial problems.
Management of debt is advisable when you are beginning to face money problems. Relief options are best utilize when you know that you are facing money problems and need to escape it as quickly as possible.
If you do not prepare a debt management plan on time and follow it properly, you will end up facing personal money problems. The only option available is to go in for a personal relief plan.
Debt consolidation, conversion of unsecured debt into secured debt, interest holidays, alteration of the terms and conditions of repayment-all these options fall under the ambit of debt management programs. All this will help you plan your finances better and repay your debts by extracting maximum value out of the income you earn.
On the other hand, you can go in for a personal relief plan like debt settlement which will help you reduce your debts by 50%-70%. Once the debt amount comes down, your monthly payment amount will be reduced and you will have extra cash in your hand.
Further, the personal relief plan aims for complete reduction of all your unsecured debt down to zero with in the specified time frame. This is not the purpose or goal of a debt management program. Rather, it tries to place you in a situation where you can continue using debts to boost your finances without losing control.
The difference between debt management and personal relief may seem technical and theoretical. Yet, it is very important because you may end up going in for a personal relief plan when all you need is a debt management plan. In such a scenario, your financial position will take a huge hit and you will find it difficult to overcome your problems.
It is impossible to rely on the advice of any specific service provider unless you are confident of getting impartial advice. Since you always face the risk of getting biased advice, you should check out independent sources of advice like the internet and also make use of debt relief networks to find the right service provider. All this will help you analyze your financial condition and choose the right remedy.
If you are over $10k in unsecured debt it would be financially prudent for you to consider a debt settlement. There are organizations that exist called "Free Debt Relief Networks" that are a great place to start in locating legitimate debt settlement companies in your region. They provide free debt help and know where to locate the top performing debt settlement firms.

Monday, June 7, 2010

Employee Motivation

What Is Employee Motivation?

Employee motivation is simply a technique that a business and/or corporation implements in order to give the individuals working in the capacity of that company an incentive to push forward, and give all they have to their work. In order to motivate employees to do what it is that they need to do, and make that additional step to exceed expectations, many employers offer incentives. One of the most popular and effective types of incentives that you can provide to your employees are travel incentives. This type of motivation has been used in a number of businesses - some of which are Fortune 500 companies - successfully for many years now!

The Hierarchy of Maslow

Maslow is noted for his extensive work and studies in the field of psychology. During the peak of his career, he determined that all people, regardless of sex, gender, age, and/or culture have at least five basic needs. He developed a hierarchy system that identifies each of the needs. While each of these five components can apply to many different aspects of a person's life, Maslow insisted that the flow of needs should be addressed in a "bottom up" fashion. This means the very bottom need must be met before one can move up. If you manage employees, it is essential that you understand the hierarchy and know where to start. The following details the five needs, starting with the bottom, and some examples of each:

1.    Physiological - This covers things that are part of who we are physically. Examples of the needs in this section include food, sleep, and even homeostasis.

2.    Safety - This means security in the job, at home, and everywhere else.

3.    The Need to Be Loved and/or Needed - This includes relationships with coworkers, bosses, family members, etc....

4.    Basic Esteem - This covers respecting others, being respected, the sense of accomplishment, and confidence.

5.    Self Actualization - This is the need where we can solve problems such as those that occur in the workplace, and where we accept certain facts as truth in our lives.

Employee Motivation and Incentives

Now, as more and more companies succeed in implementing the use of incentives to encourage and motivate, many of these businesses are wondering when they should and when they should not provide incentives such as travel packages. I use a simple method in order to determine which employees qualify for incentives, and which employees do not qualify. I never reward incentives like travel packages for those that those people within the company that are doing what is expected of them. Sounds a little harsh, right?

Employees should not receive incentives that are performing within their job duties. When they agreed to the job, they accepted their responsibilities as a bare minimum. They committed to do this and that. While you can encourage them if they are struggling, or even brag a little when they hit metrics, you should never provide incentives for this type of performance. If you do, they will continue to expect the rewards. When they do not see any, resentment and hostility will develop - the attrition rate may even be high.

If you see an employee that is exceeding expectations, this is the employee that deserves an incentive - especially travel incentives. This means that this employee is having a positive impact on the business, and if they are rewarded for it, they will continue to strive to only get better in their work. You know what this means, right? It means that your business will become more successful overall!

Why Travel Incentives?

I know I keep harping on travel incentives as a tactic for employee motivation, but I am going to explain to you why I think this type of incentive is a productive means of achieving the success that you want to see your business accomplish. The following outlines some of the reasons that I believe this type of reward is effective:

1.    Everyone loves to go on a vacation - especially if it somewhere unique and away from home!

2.    Individuals who receive these types of incentives often feel as if they are highly valued in the company that they work for, as many are luxury vacations that include first class rooms and accommodations. By providing your employees with first class service all the way, you are also going to receive first class service from that employee over and over again!

3.    If you purchase travel incentives for your employees, you actually save a lot of money because of the fact that these, purchased in bulk, cost very little on the dollar. While allowing your employees to travel all over the world, you are saving the company some major money!

Conclusion

Employee motivation and incentives are two topics that should be priority in each and every single business around the world. There are some instances in which incentives should not be issued, but in other cases, employees should receive these rewards. The basis for this would be if an employee proves to be exceptional and exceeds expectations as set forth by their job descriptions.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Get Rid of A Public Speaking Fear by Making Your Speech Interactive

This is one of the easiest ways to develop a genuine connection with your audience, and break out of the mindset of just giving a lecture that you think no one wants to hear.

What do I mean by "making a speech interactive"? What I mean is involving your audience directly in the content of your speech not only by presenting material that is informative and interesting, but also by giving members of your audience a chance to actually participate in your speech.

Many speakers actually discourage audience participation in a speech, for a variety of reasons. Some think that encouraging audience anticipation would open the door for heckling; others think that it will make it too hard for them to stay focused on the material in their speeches; still others simply fear the idea of interacting with audience members.

However, audience participation can be a very valuable tool for gaining your audience's trust and support, and for presenting a speech that audience will take home with them and remember for years and years. When you get your audience involved in your speech, you are teaching them, not just telling them. And people learn more and retain knowledge better when they are taught material, instead of just having it told to them.

So, how can you make your speech interactive, so that you can engage your audience, and create a conversation rather than a lecture? First, make sure that you ask questions that are audience focused. Sometimes, this will mean that you are directing a question to the entire audience in general; other times, this will mean that you are directing your question at the audience as individuals.

Sometimes it's okay to address the audience in general, but more often than not, you will want to ask questions that make each individual audience members feel that you are talking directly to them. Instead of opening your speech with, "So how are all of you today?", you can ask, "So how are you today?".

If you want to dig to a deeper level and make your opening even more personal to each individual member of the audience, you can ask questions designed to make individual audience members think about their own personal experiences and feelings - here's an example:

"Good morning. How has your day been so far? Have you accomplished what you hoped to accomplish before you came to this presentation? How do you feel about the way your day has gone so far?"

See, a simple "How are you?" is a very general question. If you stopped and counted, you'll probably find it people ask this question to you at least a couple dozen times a day. And so how do we respond? Usually, it's, "Fine, thank you. And you?" The problem with that is that we never actually stop and think about how we really are feeling at that particular moment in time. We hear the standard question, and we give the standard answer. There's no real thought involved, and we don't really get to take inventory of how we're feeling about our lives right
now.

So, asking specific, directed questions can help your audience not only stay involved in your speech, but also take inventory of their own experiences and feelings. And once you bring them to that point where they are evaluating experiences in their own lives, you can rest assured that they will stay involved in your presentation, and support you while you are giving your speech.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

IMPROVE YOUR SOCIAL SKILLS

Social skills are something we learn by seeing how others do this. There is one type of social skills for social networks such as Facebook, but there are also other skills to be developed when you're hosting a dinner for friends or heading over to your first job interview. Let's take some of these skills grouped in each their category, and let's follow up at the end of this article
  • Social skills on the internet
  • Social skills when hosting a dinner
  • Social skills when going to a job interview
Social skills on the internet
Social skills on the internet involve sharing information with others. When you have specific knowledge in a field of interest you can build trust by sharing what you know with others in forums and in mailing lists. Even when someone writes an update on Facebook about being discouraged about bad weather or a broken relationship, you can offer your sympathy for their situation.
When you share little bits of yourself with others, you will begin to build trust - a highly useful thing which you could never buy anywhere. All the good will you're building by being a sociable person is what will come back as extra orders because people will - sometimes unconsciously - think of you because you have shown good talents in a related situation.
Social skills when hosting a dinner
When hosting a dinner, having extra wine - and mineral water for those who need to drive - should be part of good preparation. Make sure you have more than enough food, and be sure everything is handy and ready so you can share yourself with your friends during social events. There are obviously things that need to be done during the last minute, but preparation shows respect towards your guests, and show them you enjoy their company.
Close your laptop, and concentrate on the people around you. E-mails could stay on the server an hour longer without you losing anything. Most of us know there are different time zones anyway, and if they are too impatient to wait for you to have time to give them a reply, you need to educate your online contacts. If they complain they can look elsewhere for advice. That will establish yourself as a person that can prioritize between different assignments.
Social skills when going to a job interview
When you're entering a company for the first time, holding the door for that busy person that needs to exit the door may be exactly the test to see what type of person you are. Cellphones have made this possible, and your future boss will be far more receptive when he receives the SMS saying: "It is a courteous guy entering for job interview. He held the door and smiled."
At least you can start at a far better level than the person who overlooks these little, yet so very important, details.
In Conclusion
Be courteous in all your dealings. When you start off your day by being motivated to make at least one person happy every day, you're bound to be the happiest person yourself. Being sociable develops your attraction towards friends and colleagues, and why not give others a chance to like you?

WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR INSPIRATION FROM?

I challenge you to start thinking about some of the major influences you have had in your life so far. As long as you have friends, family, you work or are involved in your community in some way, you will be open to the influence of others. The challenge is to analyse who or what is influencing you, and what are they creating in you?
Our beliefs or actions can be influenced in many different ways. Watching, listening, studying or experiencing the results that certain behaviours generate will affect how you see things consciously and subconsciously.
I find it interesting to think about how I have been influenced by the different events of my life. We are taking in extraordinary amounts of information every day. As long as you are talking to others, listening to others, watching television, reading newspapers, surfing the Internet, calling your friends, reading literature, experiencing life in general, you cannot escape the information that is flowing around you.
Information is interesting, as we often assume that what is said or written is true. We need the ability to distinguish between what is opinion and what is fact.
How do we filter that information, to only use the information that is going to help you achieve your goals? How do you decipher between what is useful information and what is potentially harmful information?
Ask yourself what or who are some of the influences that you have had in your life? What beliefs do you hold, or what actions have you taken as a result of these influence?
Here are the philosophies I have developed around listening to the opinion of others:
- I only wish to take the advice of those who have already achieved what I am aiming to achieve.
- Be mindful when participating in office chit-chat, networking events, dinner parties and family events: one needs an ability to distinguish between fact and opinion.
- Surround yourself with a team of professionals with the validated experience and knowledge to help you achieve your goals.
Self-development is also a powerful influence; here are my philosophies on self-development:
- Read at least one self-development book per month (ideally one per week).
- With knowledge, motivation and action, anything is possible.
- Learn by studying how other successful people have achieved their results.
It has been said that the books you read and who you associate with is a reflection of where you will be in five years time.
One challenge I set you is to minimise the amount of news you watch. Next time you watch a news broadcast, take note of the percentage of stories that are about death, destruction and despair. Be open minded about what value it is bringing to you. People have said to me, but I should know about what is going on in the world. Yes, that may be true, however my challenge is that why do I only have to know about what bad things are happening in the world? If you like the news, make sure you even out what information you are feeding your mind before you go to sleep at night. Have a motivational book by your bedside and read a few chapters or a few pages before you go to sleep.

HOW TO ATTRACT A LADY

There are many things to be considered when you want to learn how to get a girl to like you. The first thing is the demeanor of yours and the countenance. The way you present yourself is the one thing that makes a telling impression on the minds of the partner. When you are talking to a girl of your age group then you may probably know a few things that the girls are interested in.
Talk about such things which would make her interested in and also choose a topic so that she can talk about it too. Letting her do the talking has a positive side to it like you can know more about her and also you can listen to her talks and make her feel important. This is how you get girls to like you.
Never let a silence grow which can then mean all curtains for you. To break the silence you should be ready with a pre planned talk and that topic should make much sense at the given situation. The conversation starter must be of great timing. If you miss the timing then you got to cover large ground. You will fall behind the eight ball if you fail to make a good impression at the first sight. Once you are sure that the girl is ready to take the next step then it will be great for you to ask her out. Mind you that you use polite and the diction is right when you are asking her out. Do not mince your words and make her feel bad.
Once you are confident with your relationship with a particular girl then you must be the one who takes the next step. The amount of time that you have to spend for planning the topics of talk is very much elaborate and you will reap the gains at a later stage in the form of faith the girl keeps on you.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

ATTRACTION AS A FUNCTION OF ENERGY(VIBRATION)

Each and every person, each feeling, each thought and every thing becomes Energy, which radiates and vibrates a signal. According to the Law of Attraction, as these signs are being transferred and relayed, signals of similar frequency are attracted magnetically back to the sender. For instance, your most dominant vibration, which is molded or shaped as an outcome of one's feelings and thoughts, attracts an equal frequency from the world.
Therefore, what you may experience, is always a match in vibration to your dominant vibration. It is All About The Vibe. "Good, good, vibrations...I am picking up good vibrations"-by the Beach Boys. When the song of the Beach Boys entitled, "Good Vibrations" peaked on the pop charts in 1966, the theory or notion of vibrations and energy was still fairly new and novel to several individuals.
But 40 years later, more and more people are coming to know and understand that it is all about the vibe. And still more and more individuals are coming to perceive and understand the Law of Attraction and how our vibrations measure whether we are attracting into our lives what we do not want or what we do want.
So in order to vibrationally align with your desire, the most significant thing here is to feel good. The equation is like this: feeling good=good vibrations. Select Thoughts that Feel Make You Feel Better. Abraham Hicks said, "Reach for the thoughts that feel good so that what always comes feel good." Most persons have the habits of thinking that do not feel favorable and do not serve them well.
For instance, when you fear about the recent decline or financial crisis, or fearing sickness, or not having enough money. Once you already identified and established what your feelings (and gut) are trying to tell you, it is simply just a matter of selecting thoughts which feel good like---love, appreciation, joy, optimism, empowerment, freedom over thoughts which feel bad or filled with negativity such as unnecessary worry, fear, obsessive pride, despair, hopelessness, and powerlessness.
As you begin to consistently and gently select better and uplifting thoughts, your life will improve and enhance on each level. The tactic here is to pay attention on how you feel because your feelings provide you with feedback about what you are creating and attracting. If a thought feels bad for example, you are in the process of attracting personalities and certain situations and circumstances which you do not want.
On the other hand, if a thought feels nice, then, you are in the course of attracting of what you do want. Here is One Message For You to Take Home Regarding Vibrations: To attract what you do want and prevent attracting what you don't want, then opt for Good Vibrations instead-aim for those thoughts which feel nice! When you concentrate and focus on feeling better and imagining your life the way you desire it to be, you have to raise your vibrations so it should be parallel with your desires and start attracting what you want.