Personal Tech

If you need to post a new article, but you can’t think of anything to write about you may find these techniques useful to break through your writer’s block.

Let’s say your website is about painting houses.

Go to a search engine. Any search engine. Google, Yahoo, Bing or any search engine. Enter a general term such as “House Painting.” If you want be more specific you could enter “painting woodwork” or “painting trim.”

Or if your website is about Dog Training you may enter “dog training + sit,” “dog training + heal,” “dog training + down” or anything that you can think of. If you can’t think of anything just enter “Dog training.”

You will get thousands of results. That should give you a good start. If you want even more ideas try using the alphabet soup method. Take your search term and enter any letter before or after your search term. Go through the entire alphabet if you wish.

For example if you enter “tax deduction” and want more ideas try “a tax deduction” or “tax deduction a.” Then go with “b tax deduction” or “tax deduction b.” You can continue doing this until you get to the letter z. This will generate thousands of ideas for you to write about.

Try this twist on the same method. Instead of using a search engine use a “how to” website. You could look at “how dot com” or “answers.yahoo dot com” or “eZine articles dot com.

Once you have a good list of results pulled up on your computer, what can you do if you’re still stumped? This may sound a little dodgy but you can do it without any problem if you do it right.

Open one of the articles generated by your search. See if it give you any ideas. If so, just do your thing. Tap away on your keyboard. If you still can’t think of anything to write yourself you could simply rewrite an article you like.

CAUTION. Do not copy and paste. If you do search engines will actually lower your rankings. You don’t want that. On the contrary, you want to improve your rankings in the search engines.

To do that you must create “original” content. So if you read somebody else’s work and rewrite it putting it in your own words, search engines view that as “original” and your rankings will improve.

A side benefit of rewriting other’s articles is that you get to look at different writing styles. You can pick up pointers and other tips and tricks by using another author’s article as a template for your work.

You may even develop your own favorite style or styles as a result of exposure to other people’s work.

By using these techniques you should always be able to come up with new, original, quality content for your blog or website anytime day or night, 7 days a week. Whenever you need to come up with a new post.

How the Business of Branding Works to Meet Your Sales and Marketing Goals

One of the most important elements in making sales is the ability to build trust and rapport with prospects.

In person it’s easy. You shake hands, strike up a conversation and build a connection.

But online sales are a bit different.

Often times you are doing business with strangers who have never met you. They have doubts about who you are, if you can create the results they are looking for, and if you are specialized enough to understand their needs.

Moreover, today’s consumers are craving more connection and authenticity from companies they do business with.

And this is where business branding comes in.

Your business brand defines who you are. It’s the heart of your business. Branding helps to identify and differentiate your business in the marketplace. It defines and positions your business in order to separate you from a sea of competitors.

Branding creates an emotional connection and turns regular customers into raving fans. But how do you build an effective brand?

Here’s 5 ways to build a business brand that will strengthen your relationship with your target market so they will be more inclined to do business with you:

1) Claim your Niche. It’s really important to define who your perfect customers are. Brands that try to appeal to a wide audience are weak.

Instead, when you define your target market with a specific niche, it allows you to speak more powerfully to their needs.

2) Be the Top Expert. Being a dentist in your home town puts you in the same class as all the other dentists in your area.

But what if you are the top holistic dentist using all-natural products running a “green” dentistry practice? That brand may attract clients from all around the country.

Accentuate your strengths. Claim your title. If you are not the best, you can be the first, the biggest, the #1 trusted choice.

Find a way to set yourself apart as top dog in your industry. Then constantly read, learn and grow to keep your leading edge. When consumers see you as an authority they’ll seek you out.

3) Be a Wow. Seth Godin talks about “Purple Cowing” your business: “Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable”. Offering VIP value to your customers helps you stand out.

Instead of just being an oil change shop, imagine if you have a cappuccino maker, offered a mini back massage, and had a big screen TV within a high-end lounge that customers could wait in. You could charge premium fees for a business with “over the top” service and amenities.

Maybe you offer “freaky fast” service like the Jimmy Johns sandwich chain. Or perhaps you offer personalized services that make your customers feel special.

Do what it takes to stand out from the crowd and be remembered for something your customers will be wowed over. The more you strive to make your existing customers feel special, the more they will tell others about you.

4) Build a Tribe. Create a community your fans can be a part of. Some ways to do that are:

a. Share frequent updates with your fan base on Social Media and in your newsletters.

b. Tell them insider information about future offers, releases or launches.

c. Give them exclusive discounts or gifts with purchase.

d. Reward them for their loyalty. We offer incentives for those who refer others to us.

e. Recognize top fans publicly.

5) Give Back. Want your brand to become legendary? Find ways to give back so your business brand leaves a legacy. Here’s some ideas:

a. Create a scholarship program

b. Align yourself with a nonprofit

c. Get involved in projects in your community

d. Pay it forward on social media

Find your own way to touch the world and leave your mark in a way that only your company can.

Struggling to Define Your Business Brand?

Susan Friesen is the founder of eVision Media, a boutique web development and Digital Marketing firm of over 15 years that specializes in designing, building and marketing professional, unique websites for entrepreneurs, businesses and organizations.

Do you have a website or blog you publish content to every day but still not able to get enough visitors?

Have you just created your very first blog and are keen to try out all the ways to promote it?

This article presents 10 smartest and most effective strategies you can use to promote your blog and instantly attract visitors who are genuinely interested in your niche.

1. Stop Tweaking / Modifying Your Blog

Are you spending too much time tweaking your blog to give it the right feel? Let me tell you, the overall design does not matter to your audience as much as your content does. Instead of tweaking your blog every now and then, focus on creating content that is fresh, engaging and informative for your readers and make them come back for more.

2. Creating Pillar Content

Producing quality content is one of the biggest challenges for bloggers because creating high-quality content on a regular basis isn’t easy. Good content makes a powerful impact on your audience, which is why it is important that you take the time to create the high-quality pillar content that can solidify your blog’s reputation. Pillar content refers to a series of posts that represents your blog’s best content. It includes all the great posts that you will refer new visitors to for their usefulness.

Great content serves as a go-to source for good and informative message for your audience within your particular industry. Pillar posts provide major support to your blog and are considered a very important component or staple of your blog. When you start promoting your blog, pillar content will serve as your bait to attract more traffic.

Once you have set up your blog, the very first strategy you should implement is to create relevant posts and populate your blog with some really new, yet interactive information.

3. Don’t Focus On Monetizing Your Blog Too Much

Many new bloggers create blogs to earn money. Although there is no harm in earning money, putting too many banner ads on your blog can become too distracting for your audience. If there are too many, they can make your blog look really ugly and they can actually take your visitors away from your blog. Do you still think this could be a great way to promote your blog? I bet you don’t. In fact, you should focus on building your email list and a targeted pixel list. Both of them will help you get what you’re desperately looking for, more visitors and more money by re-targeting your visitors through paid ads.

4. Research Your Niche and Find Out Who and What Matters

A very important step you should take before starting your blog is to thoroughly research your niche. You should need to spend know all the ins and outs of your niche and know who matters, for instance, who are the influencers, big players and small players contributing to the niche in their own capacities. You should make a list of all the competing sites, channels, podcasts, influencers, communities and groups that are working within your particular niche. It’s very easy with SE Ranking competitor research.

By doing so, you will have a major reference file of all your competitors within your niche. You will be able to see what they are doing and talking about and also all the items they are putting for sale and products that are popular among your audience.

5. Reach Out To Your Audience

Once you have your blog nicely set up and great content to pull your audience in, start promoting your blog. Take out the detailed list of all the influencers, big players and small players you’re made prior to starting your blog. Keep a close eye on the small players, because you need them for blog promotion. You can start by offering them testimonials, case studies or even a blog post they would be interested in publishing. It is important for you to start a one-on-one relationship with the big and small players. By contribute on other people’s’ sites through commenting and sharing their work on your blog, they will start to recognize you and connect with you.

6. Become An Expert In Your Niche

Whether your niche is SEO, Digital Marketing, Content Marketing or any other, you should not only attain extensive knowledge about your niche but also present it in an interactive and engaging way through your blog. Your future audience is waiting to read content that addresses them and their needs. It is the power of your writing and expert analysis that will help you attract your audience.

7. Post Comments

Commenting on blog posts and participating in various forums and social groups is often seen as a way to get backlinks. But if it’s done right, no such issue will arise. Always post comments on blog posts only when you have something meaningful and informative to add. Make sure to use your own name to do it, and not your brand. Participate in niche groups and influential communities on social media. Present yourself as an authority in your niche and genuinely help people. Don’t just drop links.

8. Create An Interactive Conversation Flow And Acknowledge Your Readers

When creating content, make sure it is engaging enough to get the audience talking. Your posts should pose questions from your audience and encourage them to respond or share their own similar experiences. Your audience can talk to you via blog comments or email, make sure to acknowledge them and reply to them. This will encourage facilitate interaction.

9. Monetize Your Site

When it comes to earning money from your blog, take a proactive approach, because it can bring organic traffic. When you offer a product or service on your site you can attract your target audience. By creating a profit funnel, you cannot only generate more leads but also generate a lot of revenue in the next few months.

10. Use Paid or Sponsored Media

Utilizing paid or sponsored media is a viable option and an effective strategy for blog promotion. It includes blog promotion through Facebook ads, Google ads, promoted tweets, YouTube pre-roll ads, and much more. These social networks can bring an incredible amount of traffic, as well as, hundreds of leads to your site.

More businesses than ever are recognising the power of the online marketplace. The internet offers unrivalled opportunities to connect with potential clients and customers, share your message, and convert interest to sales.

But for many, the disadvantage has been that the online marketplace is crowded, even oversaturated. There is more competition than ever before, and standing out is a challenge.

Clarifying your mission, offering genuine value, and ensuring that you are highly visible, are all vital aspects of achieving success online.

That’s where the tips below come in! Here, we explore five powerful ways that you can raise your profile online and create a genuine connection between your business and its customers.

1: Collaborations

You can stand out in the online marketplace by joining forces with colleagues, peers, and complementary companies in your industry. You could run joint offers, discounts, or campaigns, as well as give interviews to local magazines or websites.

A collaborative, engaging approach tends to work very well online, as this is the perfect space for interaction between businesses and customers who may be all over the world!

Collaborating with others on a piece of content or specific project also means that when the time comes to promote your work, there will be several businesspeople immediately on hand to lead the promotional efforts – all of whom will have an interest in ensuring the work is seen by as many people as possible.

2: Search Engine Optimisation

The first and arguably most important aspect of standing out online can be summarised as SEO (Search Engine Optimisation).

When a potential customer types words related to your business into a search engine like Google, Bing, or others, search engine optimisation is what will help your company to be one of the first results! Appearing high up – even on the first page – of the search results can be crucial for attracting customers.

Search engine optimisation is one of the most powerful tools you can use to attract clients, achieve sales, and grow your business. This is because online search engines are now one of the first places that customers go when looking for specific products or services.

More companies than ever are recognising the value of search engine optimisation and investing in professionals who can create search engine optimised content for them that will generate huge amounts of traffic.

3: Social Media Campaigns

Social media platforms are a great way to generate interest in your business, engage potential customers, and convey your values and products in an interesting way. Standing out in this space can be challenging however, but carefully constructed social media campaigns can help.

Perhaps you are launching a new product, have a special offer coming up, or want to engage in discussions of a pressing industry issue.

In these cases, creating a week’s worth of related content designed to drive customers towards a particular product, service, or blog post on your website, could be especially helpful – teaching customers step-by-step how your business can support them and what assistance you can provide.

Don’t underuse social media by only posting fun or eye-catching material! Merge this approach with a strategic drive towards your products and services, while always conveying their value, and you will have a great chance of success.

4: Events

Consider holding special events – whether online or in-person – that can generate additional interest and engagement with your business. Live Q&As or product demos, for example, can be conducted completely online, while in-person events could include conferences or ceremonies, or speeches from industry experts perhaps.

Whether you choose to operate remotely or in-person, events can be a great way to do a launch, create a buzz, or educate customers on the value and uses of your products.

5: Awards

If your circumstances allow and it is appropriate for your business, consider giving awards or recognition to peers for delivering excellence in your industry; this could lead to collaborations and mutual growth with businesses who complement yours.

If you run a travel business, consider reaching out to a market-leading travel insurance company, for example. Or if you run a stationery business, how about connecting with an art materials supplier?

There are aspects of SEO that seems to scare people away due to the perceived complexities involved. Using there are certain things in search engine optimization helps to guarantee that your website will be set up in an ideal way that allows both crawlers and visitors to navigate it easily. Here we will take a look at the how a canonical tag can help to improve SEO results.

What Exactly Is A Canonical Tag

A Canonical tag allows Google and other search engines to understand which page is the original when compared to other similar pages. Many sites will have pages that are almost identical and sometimes completely identical and without the use of a canonical tag those pages could be flagged as duplicate content and receive a penalty for it. The tag itself should be placed in the head section of the HTML code on any page that is considered original content and the page that you want search engines to know is the most important page.

How Does A Canonical Tag Look Like?

The tag is added from the non-canonical page to the canonical one. It is sort of a redirect for the search engines.

How Do You Choose Which Page To Place A Canonical Tag On?

Very often you might have a situation that has several choices, but one page that makes the most sense and that is the one to place the tag on. In some cases, however, it might not be as obvious which page you should choose. In this situation, it is not a problem because all you have to do is simply to choose one. The point of this SEO practice is simply to let the search engines know which page they should consider being the original content so that you avoid a duplicate content penalty. In addition to optimizing the page for the search engines, it also helps visitors as they get directed to the most friendly URL.

How Does The Use Of These Tags Improve SEO Results?

Anytime you have pages that are similar to one another, and you select one of those pages to carry a canonical tag it will improve the overall result of your SEO strategies. The reason for this is that the search engine will know which version is the one they should consider as the original content. The search engines will then count all of the links to all of those pages for the 1 page that carries the tag. It is a way to redirect all traffic to the tagged content without having to do a redirect.

Our businesses also differ in terms of interface with clients. If you do “business to business” transactions, the number of people you interact with on a daily basis may differ from someone whose business relies on interacting with consumers. Appointments may be more practical in some instances than others. You have to tailor-make how you manage access to your particular situation if you are to eliminate distractions. Having said that it is important to note that some people do not mind spending the whole day at the office entertaining friends, visitors, and casual acquaintances dropping into the office whenever they feel like it. Do not be that kind of person. It sets the wrong kind of example to junior staff and can harm one’s productivity because these people take up time that you do not have and besides you want to cultivate a professional environment.

The demands of the day are enough to fill the eight working hours available unless if you tend to stay back and play catch up. How do you stay competitive in the market if there is no separation between work and play? Anybody serious about success and achieving effective results will put boundaries that are clear so that there is no confusion. Entrepreneurs are more susceptible to this especially when the workplace is easily accessible. The fact that you are your own boss even puts more responsibility on you to maintain self-discipline and self – management. I have written a whole book called, “Achieve More through Self – Leadership. In it I walk you through the practicalities of how you can get better results through managing self.

Appointments are an important way of not only managing time but managing life. They help you become more structured and productive. Some people seem not to be able to honour their appointments. I once attended a job interview that was supposed to start at 10:30am. By 11:30am there had been no communication about what was happening or when the supposed job interview was going to take place. I decided at the point that this company was probably not good enough for me to join because if you don’t respect people’s time you probably do not respect them.

You may be saying appointments are just not for me yet you never rock up at the doctor, dentist, lawyer or hairstylist without an appointment. Why is that the case? Because you simply won’t see the dentist without an appointment. They have given you conditions acceptable to them. We tell the world around us how to treat us by what we allow.

Some people are always available when you want to see them. If you are always free to see people at short notice, you are probably not that organized. The one who owns a diary will manage the one who doesn’t own one. Why? Because the one without the diary is always available, even though he is very likely to forget important meetings, dates and engagements because of a lack of organization. I used to have a boss who kept a diary and whatever you promised to do in the line of work, he would write down, including the day and time you said he would have it by. You would of-course forget because you didn’t record it like he did and when the time to deliver comes, guess who would be found wanting. It was then that I decided that I do not commit to an action that I am not willing to write down because, what’s written gets done!

You may be saying, “what if my business feeds off the “walk-ins? The fact that your business relies on walk – in customers should not be an excuse for disorder. Sometimes those who drop in unannounced may indeed be potential customers, suppliers, cold-calling salespeople, and even worthwhile business contacts. There is nothing wrong if the call is beneficial to you and your business but I believe there must be a structure and way of doing things that follows certain pre-set principles. I remember seeing a poster in an office that said “if you don’t have anything to do please don’t do it here”. It’s humorous yes, but true. Appointments help to structure your day and helps you allocate time to what’s important. This means you can focus on your most important asset: the paying customer. There is nothing as bad as walking into a place wanting to do business and staff are inattentive because there is just a demand on their time. I am more understanding if the personnel are not busy entertaining social visits at work.

In conclusion, you know your business situation better than any of us. All we can do is make recommendations that will enable efficiency that leads to growth. Some of you may actually need a personal assistant who will put order in your office and focus on the things you are not willing to do that will enable to focus on the highly value things you ought to do such as running a business.

Do you think successful people are just plain lucky?

Successful people did not become successful because they were lucky.

They did not achieve success by accident. Being at the right place at the right time, meeting relevant people, reading the appropriate book, did not come about accidentally or by luck.

Luck is brought about by Labour Under Correct Knowledge.

Successful people prepared themselves. Instead of giving up on anything they started and wanted to achieve they got stronger by learning more.

Success is a methodical, orderly and deliberate process of deciding what you want to do with your life, what are the steps that you need to undertake to get you there, and lastly what you will do once you get there.

One of the most important aspects, if not the most important aspect to success, is the ability to visualise your successful outcome and stay focused on it until you achieve it.

“Imagination is more important than knowledge, knowledge is limited.” – Albert Einstein

Successful people understood the potential power behind knowledge, yet they also understood that, for them to close the gap between where they are and where they wanted to be, they would have to piece together the enigma that is most often referred to as “life”.

They had to build a picture, a vision, of success in their mind, and then go about taking action on creating that envisioned life.

In much the same way, you have to be serious about your present and future, you need to have the knowledge that is required so you, too, may close the gap: you need to be and remain determined to devote yourself to taking massive action to build your business of succeeding in life.

You, too, will need to see the end, your dream and destiny that you desire in your mind’s eye. It is up to you to take the necessary and relevant action to make it all happen. It’s just like going to the doctor with a particular health problem.

The doctor may prescribe a medication for you to take four times a day, yet he cannot be there with you to ensure that you are taking the medication.

It comes back to deciding to be responsible for your life.

Have you noticed how it all stems from that one attitude? Being responsible for your own life.

Your success, your being responsible 100% for you to live your dream life starts here.

When you accept 100% responsibility for yourself and your current life situation, you will have the power to move towards those things you truly desire in life: which is success in all areas of your life.

This life-changing article is about possibilities and opportunities, knowledge and tools. It will help expose your unique course in life.

It will inspire, support and motivate you to excel, to do what successful people do, to have all that successful people have, and to become a shining example of a successful person.

Here, you’re not being told what you couldn’t do, instead you are being told to shoot for the stars. And above all, you are being shown how to shoot for those stars.

“A person is what he thinks about all day long.” – Emerson

Interesting thought, wouldn’t you think? So much so, it’s worth repeating: “A person is what he thinks about all day long.”

Success and happiness cannot happen if you possess the same old thoughts and beliefs.

If you do not change your mind, if you do not get rid of the unsupportive thoughts and beliefs, you will inevitably remain stuck in your old ways. Not much, if anything, will change.

Let’s give you a quick overview on how change comes about:

Your BEHAVIOUR, how you act (or perhaps do not act), controls your success or failure. Your ability to attain high levels of success is dependent upon your actions and behaviours. Your results are the outcome of your behaviour. Now let’s consider where your behaviours come from and what controls them?

Your FEELINGS command your behaviour. Every action that you take is first filtered through your feelings that reside in your subconscious mind. How you feel about something determines what you do and how well you do it. So where do your feelings come from?

Your ATTITUDES create and influence your feelings. Your attitude is your perspective from which you view life. Whatever attitude you have about anything will affect how you feel, which, in turn, affects how you act. Where do your attitudes come from?

Your BELIEFS create, control and influence your attitudes. What you believe about anything will determine your attitude about it, which will create your feelings, and then which will direct your behaviour and action. Belief patterns are so powerful that two people who are in the same situation could perceive things completely differently. It only requires us to believe what we see and how we see it. We all have thousands of beliefs – big and small. And where do your beliefs come from?

Your THOUGHTS create, control and influence your beliefs. Your thoughts are real and are immensely powerful. Everything you accept from the outside world and everything you feed yourself from within is a product of your thoughts. Everything starts as a thought.

So, it goes without saying you need to learn to control your thoughts. And when you do, you will automatically control your beliefs, your attitudes, your feelings and, consequently, your behaviour and actions.

The big secret to success:

Learn to control your thoughts and you will influence your behaviours and actions. It’s all a mind-set. That’s what we’ve been saying all along.

Success is predictable and is not achieved by accident.

Have the mind-set of the successful people and you will achieve success. Believe and it is yours!

“There is a great future in front of you, you can leave your past behind.” – Joel Osteen

Science of success experts have concluded that the brain is a goal-setting organism.

That is fantastic news for us: for whatever goal we give to our subconscious mind, it will work for us day and night, 24/7, to achieve it for us; to make it a reality.

The principal breakthrough that scientists made was that we do not need to waste our precious time and effort trying to change old thoughts and behaviours: we just simply create new ones.

And the other discovery they made was that we can continue to create new thoughts, new memories, new behaviours, new skills, and learn new things for as long as we are alive on this earth.

Now, with the new discoveries in recent years, it has been scientifically proven that our capacity to achieve and succeed literally has no limits.

Our brain has the capacity to continually learn during our entire lifetime.

Our brain can form new thoughts, can have new memories, and can learn new things by the millions, no matter what your age is. By the millions.

That’s how many new things we can learn, that’s how many new skills we can learn, that’s how many new thoughts we can have, that’s how many new behaviours we can adopt.

This is encouraging because there is no limit on your capacity to achieve new things.

No limits whatsoever for the human brain to learn, memorise, develop, achieve and perform at higher levels than ever imagined. It makes no difference what your age is: you are capable of learning anything new that you want to learn.

That adds to what we spoke of earlier: no more excuses.

“The future belongs to those who prepare for it today.” – Malcolm X

Your brain has the capacity to achieve way beyond what was ever thought possible. So now is the time to break out of your limited thinking and start dreaming big and imagining unlimited possibilities.

Becoming successful is not impossible.

It is a choice you make through a decision. Every day, step-by-step, you may climb the mountain of success if you’ve decided to do so, if you’re committed to accomplish what the others think impossible.

Design your future now.

Prepare to receive what you desire.

Thanks to the phenomenal advances made in cognitive science and the development of NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming), personal change, personal transformation, has come a very long way.

In fact, personal growth is no longer a mystery.

NLP has brought to light that change, transformation and growth can be fast, reliable, and even fun. It has shown us that we do not need to spend thousands of hours slaving away to increase our creative-thinking abilities.

By practicing a few simple exercises and applications, you can start your creative juices flowing, and you may even amaze yourself at the quality and quantity of good ideas that you can come up with to expedite your success.

It can allow you to achieve something you seek within days and months as opposed to years and decades. That’s the power of the progress science has made on how the brain works, and also how you can have your mind to be your best ally in achieving anything you want.

Learn to live as you like by no longer living as you dislike.

Are you ready to get on the road to success and fulfilment?

Bear in mind, much like everything else in life, success requires practice and massive, consistent action.

“Success doesn’t mean the absence of failures; it means the attainment of ultimate objectives. It means winning the war, not every battle.” – Edwin C Bliss

Do you feel as if you’ve outgrown your circle of friends? Perhaps you do not feel safe or understood any longer. There may be fewer and fewer things you can share with people in your habitual circle, and it leaves you feeling lonely or isolated. If so, you are not alone. Welcome to one of the core dynamics of continuous growth!

As we continue to evolve, many of us struggle with a sense of not quite fitting in with our traditional community or tribe: we may have expanded or changed beyond the borders of tribal norms, and no longer find the same sense of belonging there. Other members may have tightened the tribal rules to foster a sense of security. As a result, we may feel a sense of disconnection or alienation.

In truth, each one of us belongs to many tribes simultaneously: there is your original tribe – the family you were born into – and then there are all the communities of choice you have joined: your work tribe, your social circles, your faith-based community, your neighborhood, and more. These communities are not static; they are in continuous flux because they consist of individuals who are in continuous states of change. When there is a lot of change happening in either the individual or the community, a sense of dissonance results.

How are we to deal with this? First, it is important to recognize that tribal allegiances were historically forged for survival. They were adapted over the course of centuries to ensure the safety and survival of the group. Survival required that individuation be sacrificed for the trade-off of security.

In modern society, the tables are flipped. Whether we enjoy it or not, change is essential for survival at every level of being. The pace of change is driven by technological advances and happens with increasing rapidity: sociologists estimate that more change has taken place in society over the course of the past 100 years, than in the totality of the previous 6,000 years. Individual adaptation now is a requirement for survival, and the pace of individual change does not always match the pace at which our various tribal communities evolve. The resulting dissonance can cause intense friction and pain.

Dissonance also results from confusion between the concepts of ‘connection’ and ‘community.’ We tend to equate one with the other, when they really relate to different qualities. Connection relates to connectivity: the objective physical technology or media that enables us to build community, but which does not represent the quality of that community. Connectivity simply offers the opportunity to connect with others through internet, texting, phone calls, or any other social networking options.

Community is the result of building relationship through meaningful interaction over time. There is no shortcut; it is a process that develops when bonds of trust and intimacy are nurtured and honored.

And here lies a caveat: When we confuse connectivity with community, we depersonalize the sacred nature of true community and start relating to people as objects. Instead of developing intimacy over time, we collect friends on social network sites or try to buy people’s allegiance. Yet friending is simply an act of connecting; it does not create intimacy.

In fact, social experiments indicate that technologically dominated connectivity results in alienation and social collapse over time. In a groundbreaking social experiment conducted by Josh Harris, one of the founders of social networking on the internet, he found that the more people’s private lives were exposed by 24/7 technology, the more their sense of intimacy and relationship deteriorated until the community collapsed in violence and self-destructive behavior.

It is time to revisit our concepts of community so we can create tribes that offer a true sense of intimacy and belonging.

In his 1987 book, The Different Drum: Community Making and Peace, psychologist M. Scott Peck described several core characteristics of true community. Beyond the obvious components of inclusivity, commitment and participatory consensus, Peck pointed out the quality of embracing diversity through realism. When each member contributes their unique viewpoint from a place of humility and goodwill, the community benefits from a broader perspective in which to better grasp the full context of a situation. In other words, mutual tolerance helps members to embrace one another’s different viewpoints as an integral part of the whole, instead of imposing a forced compliance to groupthink or cohesion.

In an environment like this, members experience and express compassion and respect for one another. They allow others to share their vulnerability, to learn and grow, and to express who they truly are. When conflict arises, they learn to resolve it with wisdom and grace. Members listen to and respect each others’ gifts, accept each others’ limitations, celebrate their differences, and commit to find solutions together rather than to fight against each other. Indeed, the true spirit of community is the spirit of peace, love, wisdom and power. The source of this spirit may be seen as an outgrowth of the collective self or as the manifestation of a Higher Will.

Does this description of community sound spiritual to you? It is indeed, because Spirit is the common denominator among all of us, regardless of how separate we feel from others.

As human beings, we often experience a socio-economic sense of separation from others because of different opinions, beliefs, expectations, language, culture, or interests, since each one of us expresses these in a way uniquely different from anyone else. And still, we continue to differentiate! In this ongoing process, we continue to evolve or devolve in response to life. A community that felt like a good fit last year may no longer work today; the places where we felt embraced, now may suffocate us. Over the course of a lifetime, we can expect to outgrow and change allegiances to many of the tribal communities we once belonged to.

And yet, when we transcend the layers of physical appearance, mental beliefs and socio-economic conditioning, we find in the presence of Spirit a common denominator in everyone around us. Perhaps it is time to expand our tribal definitions to embrace a spiritual community that includes all of mankind as children of God.

Mother Teresa admonished her nuns to see Jesus in every leper they encountered, to find His presence as they looked into the eyes of the homeless. When we can look past the issues that divide us to find omnipresent Divinity in each other, we will uncover the foundations of true community.

Spiritual community transcends all socio-economic borders, beliefs and backgrounds. It is inclusive because it operates on voluntary self-responsibility and mutual compassion, and its doors are open to everyone.

Building this type of community takes time: time to listen, to hear, to respond and to participate. Take a few moments to read the description of spiritual community again. Then, make time in your life to foster that type of connection with people who matter to you. You are one of the architects of community in your life, and you can participate in building a tribe where you belong.

What would happen to you if your home life was more organized than it is right now? Can work-life balance be achieved? What are the tools at our disposal? Could scheduling appointments and keeping them at home help us save time and prioritize?

What is the challenge we face? I sometimes find that time spent at home can be the busiest time, especially in the times we live in. Imagine someone working from home, home-schooling children, and sometimes even doing a side hustle. Imagine also the full-time home-based entrepreneur. How do they manage to do all they need to do in a day?. We are living in a time when many entrepreneurs and even company employees have adopted work- at – home culture. This comes with its challenges as the lines become blurred between home and work. These blurred lines and constraints on the limited resource called time result in over-worked, under-rested, burnt-out individuals. Whilst good time management has been encouraged and indeed, embraced in the workplace, I believe more needs to be done in changing the mindset for the elusive work-life balance to be achieved.

What are the tools at our disposal? To manage time effectively at home, there are many interventions one can employ including setting goals for the day, prioritizing wisely, setting a time limit for every task, organizing oneself, and instituting the discipline of appointments. Yes, an appointment at home! We can spend time pontificating on the pros and cons of each intervention, however, I believe we need to focus on appointments and see how this can powerfully change the course of one’s day regardless of whether it’s a workday or weekend. Life is busy as it is without any intrusions. The question is how do you handle the one who announces that they are at the gate. These can be friends, neighbors, a salesman of some product you do not even need. I am not promoting regimentation here but rather a culture of filling your day with what’s important. Everything that we succeed at is because we carefully plan and execute it. I am a firm believer that you cannot manage time if you do not manage yourself thus I implore you to incorporate planning and appointments into your repertoire. I am not talking about something I do not do. I have to achieve many things in a day therefore I set appointments with my work, others, and myself.

Could scheduling appointments and keeping them on the home front help us save time and prioritize? Whereas we have established that it is a normal business practice to set appointments and keep them, we need to abandon the liberal open-door policy of allowing all and sundry to have access to us as and when they please on the home front. Please understand where I am coming from. We each have greatness within us but for us to achieve it we need to culture great habits. Employing the use of appointments at home and seeing only those people you had agreed to see removes non-essential encounters especially during the most productive hours. I know this will vary with culture, geographical region, or even level of affluence, whether you live in a low density or high-density residential area, but doesn’t negate the need to be organized and effective. Controlling access determines how organized you are and how well you will work and rest when the time for scheduled rest comes.

What do we need to do differently? We need to be disciplined and diligent, learn to say no, now is not a good time, let’s make an appointment for next week. What are the benefits of this approach? You are not always fire-fighting to meet deadlines, You are not always tired because you have not taken time out to rest. You have set aside enough time to spend with your loved ones or a loved one. If you are a busy person, I am sure you appreciate what I am saying. Whether it’s time to work uninterrupted, family time, or “me-time”, it takes some kind of order to enjoy it.

I am not saying that those that come unannounced are bad people. No, not at all, they probably are people you enjoy spending time with. Nevertheless, there must be prior communication so that you can attend to your visitor(s) when it is convenient for both you and them. It can be quite disrupting and a whole day can just pass by without achieving anything that you had planned to do.

As we grow older we begin to appreciate that rest and recovery need to be scheduled. The fact that I am relaxing doesn’t mean that I don’t have anything to do. One therefore cannot assume that just because you are at home you are available. Maybe you have scheduled that time to rest. That is important. You need to make an appointment with yourself, spouses need to also set aside time for each other. Parents need to schedule a time to spend with their children. When you have some sort of order in your life you determine who sees you and who you see. It also means that your relationships will be healthy and that makes you a happier person.

In conclusion, I believe that the work-life balance can be achieved. There are many tools at our disposal just like it is in the workplace.I believe we could do more and be happier if we are disciplined enough to make only the commitments we can keep.I am certain that setting appointments and keeping them at home help us save time and prioritize.