The Evolution of Animation in Web Design

The internet has become an inseparable part of the current generation’s lives. Each and every second of our lives, we are given the opportunity to learn new things and to know the newest updates about whatever it is happening all around the world. We sometimes also marvel on how a website can look so pretty and posh or how it can integrate high-tech features all in one click. Animation can be a part of it, in which if used in the correct way, it can bring much more life and personality to the websites which are just ordinary and plain. For that reason, check out the timeline of evolution of animation in web design included below:

The 19th Century

Web design was pretty much a very strange and abstract concept in the 19th century. However, animation had made its early development through the invention of tools which were used to play movies on a screen. Scientist Thomas Edison invented something which is called a Kinetoscope in New York, and in another part of the world, Lois Lumiere invented the cinematograph. Together with his brother Auguste Lumiere, Lois Lumiere later created the first motion picture in history. The aforesaid first motion picture was presented in the year of 1895 in Paris, and it was dubbed as the birth of film and animation.

The 20th Century

Animation had made several breakthroughs in the 20th century although for web design itself it was really still a beginning. One of the landmark events that took place in the 20th century was the birth of Disney cartoons. In 1927, Disney created a popular animation series with its main rabbit character named Oswald although its distribution rights were taken over by Universal. Three years later in the year of 1930, The Warner Bros. Cartoon made its debut with its first movie which was originally a spinoff of Disney’s Mickey Mouse. From thereupon, the 20th century’s animation history consisted of mostly Warner Bros and Disney cartoon movies although later on there is a solid competition as well coming from the MGM studio.

Web design was nowhere to be found at least until the end of the 20th century around the year of 1989 where a few monochrome pixels made up the very early concept of computer design. At that time, the designs were mostly made up of only symbols and tabulations, and it was pretty much the dark ages of web design. Web design was brought to life in the year of 1995. In 1995, browsers were capable to display images although it was only in form of tables already existing in HTML, but that was definitely a start. Using table was very nearly the most common method for web designing during the aforesaid years, since it was considered as a method to conveniently present things vertically in pixels or grids. This gave rise to what was known as slicing designs where designers would create a complete fancy layout but developers would divide it into smaller pieces to make the designs work.

JavaScript was invented later on that year and it was considered as a major breakthrough to the limitations of HTML tables. JavaScript allows more incredible things like a popup window or a dynamic modification of order. However, as it is known until now, JavaScript can only be layered above the fabric that creates the web work which requires loading the two separately, and for that reason, JavaScript comes second compared to CSS web designing method (which was unavailable until a later time). As the year progressed, the Flash technology was promoted in 1996 and just like JavaScript; it took the web designing concept to a whole new level. By using Flash, web designers can create any shape, layout, animation, interaction and use different fonts. The convenience did not end there because Flash produced an end-result that is packed together as one file which can be sent to the browser for instant display. Somewhere along the line, websites are decorated with a lot of tiny GIF files with different moving pictures and clips. The invention of Flash undoubtedly plays a major role in bringing more people to integrate animation in web design, and this was further enhanced by the increasing popularity of CSS in 1998. Even though Flash was regarded as one of the most significant web-designing breakthroughs at that time, it was extremely heavy for websites and as a result the website’s loading time will take significantly much longer.

The CSS, or Cascading Style Sheets, was seen as a more flexible method to structure a design viewed from a technical standpoint. CSS basically separates a content from its presentation, making the formatting and look to be taken care of in CSS although requiring the content to be dealt with in HTML. CSS did not really flourish until years later when the majority of browsers supported it completely despite the fact that it was known to be buggy. Despite this fact, CSS provides a great relief for designers because it is not really a coding language but it uses a rather declarative communication. As a result, to be a web designer, one does not need to know how to code as long as he/she understands how CSS does work. CSS remains popular as a method to make animations for a website because it is relatively lightweight compared to using JQuery which can really slow the website’s loading speed as well as performance. CSS is recommended for making animations that will appear nice on all types of devices without the need of making it heavy.

The 21st Century

Animation and web design altogether are considered as something familiar and common during the 21st century. The integration of Flash, CSS and JavaScript for the purpose of web-designing has been easier and easier day after day. Different to its original decorative purposes, animations are now considered to be a method for improving the usability of a website. In other words, animations are now used to ensure the easier use of your website, for example by making your website’s navigation to be a lot simpler and much more convenient.

A lot of today’s animations are produced with the help of lightweight JavaScript and CSS coding which essentially put moving elements into a website without making it too heavy. One of the main purposes of integrating animation into a web design would be to grab the viewer’s attention and for that reason, a lot of websites utilize shaking effect for their sign-in and log-in interface to let users know if they have typed the wrong username or password which does not match with the system. Animations can also trigger the viewers to interact more with the website, making it easier for them to finalize purchases or to scroll down the offers. Although there are a lot of different features that can be integrated into a website nowadays, web-designers must take into account the effect to a website’s performance and loading speed.

Even so, nowadays web-designing takes on a whole new challenge that is to become mobile-friendly. A website can work perfectly just fine when viewed on a computer but it can be faulty once when viewed from a mobile device. Web designers need to understand well how devices can display the same layouts differently, especially when it comes to tiny mobile phone where there is a content-parity issue as well. Access speed can also be an issue, because when too many loading contents are put in a website, it will cause the internet quota to run out rather quickly.

One of the methods undergone by many web designers and basically tech savvy people was to improve the concept of column grids. In 2007, the grids and frameworks mechanism were enhanced in such a way that it became a 960 grid system with a twelve column division to allow easy web designing especially for mobile phone use. They also thought about creating a standard for commonly used elements such as buttons, forms and navigations which can be packed together in a convenient manner for reusing. For this purpose and because website and apps become increasingly integral in nature, frameworks like Bootstrap and Foundation became really popular.

In 2010, web-designing turned to a whole new different direction because people seem to prefer a very plain and simple design with more focus placed to the content’s website. This includes using exquisite photography and typography in which simple visual elements (or also known as the Flat design) are also an important part of the designing process. It was all about sophistication in simplicity. As for the newest updates on evolution on web designs, new units like the viewport height and viewport width were introduced in CSS in 2014 to provide greater flexibility with regards to elements positioning. CSS also now provides the Flexbox concept which allows creating and modifying a layout to be really simple when it used to require typing up a lot of codes into the computer.

 

11 Tips to Create a Winning Value Proposition for Your Business

Identifying your customers’ wants and needs may be bothersome and sometimes time consuming, but once you have define them, you have most of your marketing dilemma solved.

If you want your business to have an edge over other competitors, there is a way to improve this by simply using UVP or unique value proposition, it gives real worth and benefits that almost certainly only your company can offer.  What are the rules in making an exceptional value proposition?

1. Have a Target audience.

 

When making your proposition, put out of your mind about trying to please anyone who goes to your website and only focus on your target patron. Appealing to every guest leaves you with a weak UVP that doesn’t appeal to the majority of your customers. It’s imperative that you recognize who your clients are and what they want the most. Find out what they like and how you can use these motivations to strengthen your UVP. Having a target audience can help you to appreciate your bona fide customers.

 

2. Have a connection with your customers

 

Once you recognize who your real customers are, seek out to recognize his challenges and how you can assist him to overcome it. This is only achievable if the shopper is prepared to share important information about what product he values. You can after that input these values in your UVP; this makes your value proposition a consumer focused one.

 

3. Evaluate competitors UVPs.

 

To have an edge from your rival competitor, you must be familiar with what they are offering. Take time to learn their value propositions and strategies after which you could be able to shape your own proposition in a manner that out classes them. Make out what the opposing company had already done, and know what you can do offer a different variety.

 

4. Determine the uniqueness of your product

 

If your industry offers a product or service that not any of your competitors is using or offering, you would most probably come out as an industry leader. This is even an advantage for you if you can really shine in that particular field. Keep in mind your points of differences as you battle for customers, you need an exceptional value proposition that stands out from the rest and that could promote your product to your customers.

 

5. Dismiss stereotypes.

 

When you are setting up to render services in a business rocked by stereotypes, you can use your proposition to debunk those myths and to lean towards your favor. For instance, if you are into an industry that is against gender stereotypes, you can make a UVP that visibly affirms your pledge to “break the meta.”

 

6. Make a mission statement.

 

A strapping UVP should be more than just a complex marketing plan; it should resound with a comprehensible mission statement. Once you recognize what your company stands for and capable of, you can make a value proposition that connects with the undertaking of your brand. This would also mean that your mission statement must be something that is unique from the lot and coveys your product in a magnificent manner.

 

7. Give various benefits to your customers.

 

Your patrons will only want to pay money for products that they are sure that will solve their problems. An effective value proposition must fully state the advantages of your offered service, in words that a common customer can understand. Similar to any other system, your business must bring value to its customers. Incorporate in your proposition actual end results that a frequent buyer would stand to be benefited by purchasing your product.

 

8. Ask Advice from successful players.

 

Being an owner of a business, there are other players that have by now succeeded at what you are just starting. Taking a point in time to learn from flourishing companies helps develop your value proposition. Appraise each Business’s UVP and try to know how it affects their product differentiation. You can, if it would be beneficial to you incorporate it to your own personal value proposition.

 

9. Maximize Credibility

 

In order to have a valuable proposition, it is important to substantiate it with a lot of credibility. Deliver what you have promised.

 

10. Inspiration

 

There are times when inspiration can bring you back on why you have started such business. Thus, it is important to keep you going.

 

11. Focus

 

Your focus must not only be on increasing the income of your business, you should always bear it in mind to give importance on your customers. Make them happy and satisfied.

 

 

 

7 Modern Sources of Cheap Advertising for Small Businesses

Every small business, company, or industry needs incoming and tight revenue so as to justify all those efforts and keep its transactions running. However, resources and the company’s cash flow are a bit limited. It cannot engage in things which involve high-profile marketing options and advertising campaigns. Because of this, a lot of small businesses which venture in different fields do not mind the essence of advertising as one. Most view these things as unnecessary expenditure and would normally insist that it can wait for a while. Most small business prefers to focus on advertising campaigns after it had already garnered or achieved a strong revenue stream.

 

 

 

Fortunately, small business should no longer worry because there are a lot of possible solutions. Here are some of the solutions to have a cheap advertising in order to help your business.

 

Community Involvement

 

Serving on the board and holding an important committee and volunteering in a local organization can be a good way to get cheap advertisements. Although this kind of business will not bring great traffic into your business, it will nevertheless, give your business the right clients and health for your business’ growth. Community involvement will give you a positive ROI.

 

Facebook Ads

 

Due to the fact that Facebook is free for use by anybody, most of the small businesses take this advantage in order to promote their business. Facebook has a very good potential power when it comes to advertising campaigns because most individuals online are using this social media. However, the Facebook platform is pretty much easy to use, every user must remember to narrow down their prospects until he can identify precisely his valuable and loyal candidates. What is great about using Facebook Ads is that you can set a $5 budget and your set for the day. It’s pretty much flexible and inexpensive.

 

Other Social Media Opportunities

 

Facebook is not the only social media that offers free and flexible advertising campaigns. LinkedIn and Twitter are also good competitors that complement a universal reach. You can also try Snapchat, Tumblr, Instagram, Pinterest, and other social platforms.

 

Yahoo And Bing Search Ads

 

Nowadays, Google PPC ads get a lot of audience, but, due to the huge attention and because of the competition, the cost of its advertising for campaigns has boosted. If you are tight on your budget, you can try Yahoo and Bing search ads because it has lower rates compare to that of Google PPC. Users pay for their ads per click.

 

Niche Advertising

 

Companies like BuySellAds focus on specializing in bringing businesses together with numerous advertisement opportunities. In niche advertising, you will be able to see lower rates of potential internet traffic. However, you can still have advertise in a cheaper amount. If you are fortunate and can find a niche audience, you will end up having high rated conversation. You can even get great opportunities for as low as $20 if you’re lucky.

 

StumbleUpon

 

If your business is looking for a stable and strong niche, then StumbleUpon is perfect. The rates go as low as $0.05 per click. In order to best use StumbleUpon, it is necessary that you make sure that the users stay on your page for a few seconds.

 

Guest Blogging

 

If you are passionate and determined about your business and you have an extra time, you can get free advertising by just writing any topic and get your work featured on a forum or blog.

 

What you need to remember is to bring anything to your business that is worth more than what you have spent. Find out what strategies best apply to your business and take it to the new level.

 

50 Ways to Feel Better About Yourself

 

Sometimes the world will get you down. Here are 50 ways to feel a little better about yourself, and to conquer those dark feelings whenever they surface.

Take A Second

 

Close your eyes, and take several long, deep breaths.

 

Pep Talk

 

Give yourself a brief, inspirational pep talk.

 

Smile

 

Look in a mirror and force yourself to smile. It really works!

 

Grateful List

 

Make a list of 5 things that you are grateful for and carry it with you.

 

Call For Help

 

Pick up the phone and call a friend and tell them your worries.

 

Laugh

 

Watch silly YouTube videos or your favourite comedy movie.

 

Pamper Yourself

 

Take a morning or evening to truly pamper yourself.

 

Meet Up

 

Meet up with one of your friends for a drink or for coffee.

 

Accept And Move On

 

Take a second to acknowledge things aren’t going too well today, accept it, and get on with your day.

 

Be Positive

 

Positive thoughts breed positive actions.

 

Goals

 

List all the things you wish to accomplish, and keep it with you.

 

Shut Off Your Phone

 

Shut off your phone for a few hours.

 

Meditate

 

Try and set up a regular routine to meditate or practice yoga.

 

You Are You

 

Comparing yourself to other people is counter productive. You are you.

 

Be Healthy

 

We only get one life, and with it one body. Eat healthier and exercise regularly.

 

Shop

 

Head to the shops with some friends and treat yourself to some new things.

 

Home Facial

 

Giving yourself a home facial will not only work wonders for your skin, but also your mood.

 

Cry

 

Sometimes there’s nothing better to do than have a good cry and let it all out.

 

Pride

 

List 5 things you’ve done in your life that you are proud of.

 

Take A Walk

 

Head out right now and take a short walk, with no company but yourself.

 

Night In

 

Instead of going out, save some cash and invite some friends over for pizza and movies.

 

Sing

 

Put on your favourite song or album loud and sing along as loudly as you want.

 

Meet A Stranger

 

Talk to the person behind you in the queue or next to you at the bar.

 

Clean And Tidy

 

Clean your desk, room, house. Whatever it is you’ve been putting off for weeks!

 

Clothes

 

Go through your closet and if you haven’t worn something in over 18 months, donate it to a clothing bank.

 

Gifts

 

Purchase a random gift for a friend or family member.

 

Pets

 

Sit down with your dog or cat if you have one and pet them calmly. It will help to relax you and lower blood pressure.

 

Nostalgia

 

Look back at some of your favourite memories with a drink.

 

Hug Someone

 

Head out right now and find someone to hug!

 

Smile At Strangers

 

Smile at everyone you meet. Smiling makes us feel better, and you can never be too kind to strangers.

 

Be Confident

 

Even if you’re feeling down in the dumps, throw those shoulders back and stand tall.

 

Be Spontaneous

 

Do something different today out of your routine. Go somewhere new, try something different, anything.

 

Write It Down

 

For 20 minutes, simply write down everything you can think of that’s bothering you or worrying you.

 

Nature

 

Nature truly is a wonderful thing that puts things into perspective. Appreciate it.

 

Don’t Delay

 

If you’re hung up on someone, either ask them out or forget about them. Don’t dwell for months!

 

Force Out Negativity

 

Literally force out negativity thoughts and replace them with positive beliefs and mindsets.

 

Plan A Holiday

 

Think about your ultimate vacation, and begin to plan it down to the fine details.

 

Power Board

 

Get a billboard, and plaster it with pictures of your idols, loved ones, favourite quotes and lyrics, and places you’d like to visit.

 

Forgiveness

 

Sometimes the best way to move forward is to finally forgive ourselves for those mistakes that happened years ago.

 

Should Have, Could Have

 

Although it is important to learn from the past, dwelling on the past has no benefits to anyone.

 

Indulge

 

Make the time to indulge in one of your favourite things, it could be a hobby or even a food or drink.

 

Love Yourself

 

Love yourself and others, and always be kind.

 

Nobody’s Perfect

 

Stop striving to be perfect, and start striving to be the best that you personally can be.

 

Achievements

 

Consider everything that you’ve accomplished in your life, and accept that you are pretty great.

 

To-Do List

 

Finally do that one item that’s been one your to-do list since last year.

 

Hobbies

 

Begin a new hobby, or rekindle interest in one that you haven’t had the time to pursue recently.

 

Positively Positive

 

Head over to the Positively Positive website to feel better about life and yourself.

 

Say No

 

If you have too much going on, or if you aren’t feeling your best, don’t be afraid to say no.

 

Challenge Yourself

 

Challenge yourself to something new that you haven’t tried before, and force yourself out of that rut.

 

Acknowledge Your Feelings

 

It’s normal to feel a little down sometimes. Admitting that we are currently not at our best can be incredibly liberating.

 

The Number-One Way to Get More Website Traffic

 

In today’s generation, the only way or at least the number one way in order to get a lot of website traffic is to simply let your online audience grow. Many people already know that, what most of these people do not know is that the number one way to increase website traffic effectively is through the use of search engine optimization (SEO). This can be supported by the report made by Ascend2 in founding out that SEO has become one of the top tactics being used by successful marketers. Although SEO may sometimes sound like a very mysterious and dangerous way to involve your business in because not everyone is Web-savvy, it is actually an easy task when you get a hang of it.

A lot of studies show that the best way to increase your usage or improve your SEO is to create contents that are relevant. In other words, content that is useful and important to your target clients is the top priority.

 

Here are some of the ways on how you can increase or improve your SEO.

 

First: Know Yourself

 

You should first focus on knowing yourself and the things you want. You must be crystal clear so that you can focus thoroughly on your goals. Also, you always need to remember that you should stick to your goals and take it one step at a time. You don’t need to rush. Besides, rushing will only cause your problems.

 

Second: Give What Your Customer Wants

 

After knowing yourself and what you want, the next step knows the kind of customers you want to invite. Make sure that you are working and exerting all those efforts to the right person or customer. Make sure that your advertisements and other marketing ideas are done in favor of your prospect.

 

Third: Content Relation

 

In order to make your SEO work, you need to relate the contents of your articles or posts to your business. Make sure that your content will sound like an advertisement so that your clients won’t get bored. Make it interesting and if possible, give your clients the opportunity to get involved.

You must keep your content simple and concise. Always remember that short contents work best in online optimization. Every article or blog post should not be more than 1,000 words. You can also use numbered or bulleted lists to make things clearer. Subheadings are also a good way to break the content in order not to make the reading tiresome.

 

Another thing that you should remember is that whenever you are writing your content; write it like you are talking to your viewers. Your blog post or articles does not necessarily need to be something like a school paper or report. It will only bore your readers. Trust me, an article or blog posts written in a conversational manner will work best on the Web.

 

Share your content with other people. Don’t keep it locked on your website. Look for a way to link your article with other posts so that people can easily discover it. In this way, you will be able to expand your content and get more audience to boost up your website traffic.

You also need to work on different keywords on your article. You can use Bing Keyword Research Tool or Google AdWords Keyword Planner in order to come up with the perfect keyword that is popular among the readers. Whenever you use keywords, it is best that you place it either in the headings or subheadings of your article or post.

 

In order to get more website traffic, it is important that you should implement all basic tips stated above.

 

 

8 Things You Must Immediately Do After Losing Your Smartphone

Ever experienced that you have lost your smartphone and you don’t know what to do? If yes, the continue reading the article because this will definitely show you how to handle things when you lose your smartphone.

 

Lock Your Phone

 

Always make sure that the sensitive or important pieces of information on your phone are locked. Download an application that requires a password before anyone can access it. You can lock or prevent someone from accessing your private info by locking your phone down remotely. Another way to do this is by logging into your Find My iPhone account or Android Device Manager on another device and you will be able to manually lock your phone.

 

Call/Text

 

The first thing you should bear in mind when you lose your smartphone is to call or text it. You might never know that there is a Good Samaritan holding your phone. If you called or texted it and there is no answer, then you should better result to other ideas, especially when you called the phone and you are not able to contact it.

 

However, if your phone is locked and there is no one who can access to your contacts, it is just best to call your phone. Just make sure that you have done it before the battery is dead. In this way, you have a harder time contacting it.

 

Lock-Screen Message

 

Setting up a lock-screen message will also help when you lose your phone. Once your smartphone has been locked down, the only possible way to get it back is by using your password. A lock-screen message will give whoever possesses your phone the idea that you are looking for it. You can add a phone number or any contact information to your lock-screen message.

 

Via GPS

 

You can also look for your phone using GPS. If you have called your smartphone and you were not able to get other person on the other line, you should try locating your phone via GPS locating service. It is also important to remember that this process would need to be activated on your phone in order for you to access them from another device. Find My iPhone and Android Device Manager will help ease your troubles.

 

Wipe It Out

 

You should always remember to wipe out all the data that are present on your phone for security purposes. You might never know that the person possessing your phone has an ill motive. With all your accounts and passwords being accessed by a stranger, you should bear in mind to wipe all those pieces of information.

 

Protect Your Account

 

Since your phone is locked by now, it is still not a very bad idea to make efforts in protecting the accounts on your phone. As per Gizmodo, one must log out from their social media, email account, and other online websites, so as to protect your password and account. It is never too late to try it.

 

Service

 

You also need to remember to suspend your service. Once you have a suspicion that your phone was stolen, it is always best to be in a cautious mind and result to the suspension of your service. You don’t want to deal with high charges and other data usage bills which were compounded or used by the person who possessed your phone.

 

Report

 

Once you have lost your phone, especially when it has been stolen, you can report it to the authorities so that you will have someone to help you in looking for it. Although this way may be sometimes considered as a lost cost, some of those individuals reporting the incident miraculously found theirs.

 

 

 

 

 

5 Things You Can Do Today To Sell More

Are you having a hard time picking up or boosting your sales up? Are you tired of always having the same amount of gross or net income? If yes, then you should consider these 5 things in order for you to sell more. Just remember that selling products or managing a business is not a get rich quick scheme. All your efforts and ideas should be motivated towards a certain goal.

Product Knowledge

 

One of the important things you need to learn when you are selling a product is the knowledge on what and how the product works. The features, specs, and other pieces of information regarding the product will help you sell more products.

 

Product Usage

 

Ask yourself, “When was the last time I used the product I’m selling?” Selling a product is not all about selling it to other people, it is also important that you yourself, the seller, knows the quality of the product you are selling. In this way, you will be able to market the product you are selling properly. Using the product will convince or make people believe that the product you are selling is worth their money. You should always bear in mind that in selling a product, the performance of the product and your experience are two different things.

 

Using the product will make you more confident in convincing your buyers or customers and you will even be more knowledgeable about the performance. Can you ever imagine selling a piece of chocolate bar which you have never tasted? You won’t be able to share and relay the right enthusiasm to the consumers. In a gist, not trying or using the product you are selling will make you a less effective and unproductive salesman.

 

Study Other’s Methods

 

When you have the time, you can look into the methods of your competitors (in a legal way) or you can so some research on how to improve your methods. Look into the background of big time businessmen or salesperson and study their attitude, ways, and means. Learning from other people and asking help can really help you become a successful salesperson. You can even learn new approaches in selling your product. Also, find some motivational quotations and read it once in a while so that you will not lose your path. Keep in mind that if others can do it, why not you?

 

Venture New Things

 

In selling, you need to consider trying something new. Whether it is a new product or new method of selling, it does not matter as long as you are trying something new. Although it is easier to repeat your methods or stick to the things you good at, trying something different will not hurt. It can even spice up your skills or invite more customers.

 

You can change your strategy when it comes to questioning, formulate different answers to different questions, change the types of customers to pursue, and other things which can get you better results. If you don’t want to have the same results over and over again, you need to consider a lot of options and do something different.

 

Remember to focus on one change at a time. Selling products is not a get rich quick scheme, thus, no hurry is required.

 

Rest

 

You are only human; never deprive yourself from getting some rest. Being a salesperson, it is important that you are not burnout or exhausted most of time. You have to see to it that at the morning you wake, your body is fully charged and equipped for the challenges you will encounter.

 

Getting some rest will lessen mistakes and regrets. Enjoy your day and never forget to take good care of yourself. Spend time with your family. Get out and see the wonders that the world can offer. Have a break once in a while.

 

 

10 Mistakes Smart People Never Make Twice

We are all humans, and humans make mistakes. This includes very smart and successful people who seem to be flawless in every step of their way. Making mistakes are actually a crucial part of your learning process. Some mistakes are so common that it is unavoidable to repeat, but some people can be so stubborn and careless in making the same mistakes over and over again. However, these are the mistakes that smart people learn from, but cautious to never repeat in the future:

Being Genuine and Honest

A lot of people have made the mistake of trying to impress everyone, at least during high school or college. Trying to impress everyone normally will never produce a good result, since in the process someone can be seen as fake, phony and not genuine. Smart people can see through people who are being fake to them, and they do not follow their mistakes. They focus on making others like them by showing their genuine and honest self.

 

Falling For the “Too Good To Be True”

It is usually easy to feel whether something or someone is too good to be true, although some people may often choose to ignore their intuition. A lot of times, this kind of people are undeniably charming especially at times when they talk about their success and how they can help you to be successful too. You must keep in mind that if it sounds too easy and straightforward, it is too unrealistically good to be true and therefore the aforesaid people may have tricks up their sleeves. Smart, successful people realize that there is no free lunch in the world, and therefore they are usually careful about trusting and getting involved with a person.

 

Dismissing Advice That You Sought For

It is normal for people to seek advice from other people in times of difficulties or doubt. Seeking for opinion and advice from someone who really knows you inside out and is wise enough to see the matter from an objective point of view can be very helpful. These kinds of advices will be very personalized and knowledgeable, however a lot of people ended up ignoring the advice because they are so stubborn to believe that they know best. Smart people comprehend the possibility that another perspective can add a fresh insight to an issue, especially when they themselves sought for it.

 

Doing Nothing but Achieving a Good Result

Most people have taken short cuts to achieve something that they want in life. Many people take their exam without spending a single second revising; however, they can still manage to get a good result. Contrary to popular belief, successful people do not actually prefer this method because good results achieved by doing nothing is just pure luck. Relying on pure luck may backfire eventually, and it will hold them back from maximizing their efforts.

 

Lead, Without The Approval From Others

A lot of people think that they can lead their company, family or friends. What they do not realize is that sometimes other people do not want them to lead, and such coercive decision to do so ended up causing them to lose respect. Smart people get that people can be really offended when they try to lead without approval because it implies that they know better. Instead of being bossy and trying to lead, create a discussion forum where everyone can express their concerns and inputs for the benefit of the group.

 

Not Claiming Responsibility

It is easy to just blame other people or other factors except for yourself when something goes wrong. It can be hard to actually accept and claim responsibility for something that does not work out. However, smart people may learn from experience that accepting the responsibility creates possibility to change for a better life in the future.

 

Putting Other People First

Being a people pleaser usually is motivated by the desire of being accepted and liked in a new environment, where this includes always putting other people’s happiness and business first instead of one’s own. Smart people avoid doing this, because this will take so much time that they have nothing for themselves. Instead, they take care of everyone else once they have done what they needed to do first.

 

Repeating the Same Thing for a Different Result

Some people like to do the same thing over and over again however expecting the result to be better or different for every single time they do it. On the other hand, smart people quickly realize that if a method does not work, they will have to find a new way to accomplish whatever task that they currently are trying to finish. Regardless of the result, doing the exact same thing over and over again will very possibly cause you to be highly irritated and frustrated.

 

Trying To Change Other People

You have the ultimate control of your life; however, this does not apply to other people’s lives. Many people have tried to change other people, mostly for the betterment of those people themselves. However, as successful and smart people have realized, you cannot make someone to change unless they want to do so themselves.

 

Wanting Reward Fast

Smart and successful people do not achieve what they have achieved in a blink of an eye. They have endured through a long process of working hard before achieving the reward that they deserve. This applies to everyone, so do not be frustrated when you do not get what you have been working hard for immediately. Find motivation to keep going and you will eventually get the reward that you have been waiting for.

 

How Can Vulnerability Lead to Success?

 

 We Are All Vulnerable

 

All our lives we are led to believe that vulnerability is a weakness, something that we should try to eradicate or at least not portray to others, especially in business. We put on a mask of our best selves while on a first date, a job interview, on social media, or even on a night out with friends. The truth is however that everyone has vulnerabilities, and we all know that other people do too. So what are we actually gaining by hiding them away and portraying this fake illusion of someone who has no flaws whatsoever?

Of course it’s natural to want to try and hide our weaknesses away, it’s in our nature. We as humans are very sociable creatures, and what better way to induce sociability and communication than by portraying yourself to be this ideal version of yourself to others? If they found out about your true self and your little habits and fears, surely they’d go running for the hills! Heaven forbid they should realise that you have vulnerabilities as they do.

 

People Like Vulnerability

 

In actual fact, research has suggested time and time again that vulnerability is actually paramount to success. In 1997, Arthur Aron who is a social psychologist performed an experiment which demonstrate the correlation between vulnerability and deeper connections. The experiment put strangers together who had to ask each other a series of questions. One group were given fairly superficial questions, while the other group had some very personal, prying answers to give. The results were that the second group felt themselves to have formed stronger, more meaningful connections and had a much more intense bonding session than the others. Two of the participants even got married after meeting each other during the research study!

 

Vulnerability And Success

 

Okay, so we’ve established that opening up and sharing vulnerabilities can build stronger and deeper connections, but what about success? Well recently Javier Sarda researched the consequences of writing vulnerable blog posts. It was discovered in actual fact that the more personal the blog post, especially if displaying a vulnerable side, had much more shares and comments than other blog posts from the same author.

 

Entrepreneur Tim Ferris even opened up about his long struggle with depression online, and his battle with frequent suicidal thoughts. Although you would naturally be put off sharing something so personal with the world, readers really connected with him and his exposure and content grew as a result.

 

Successful businessman Derek Halpern explained in one blog post how his childhood was very difficult and he was often surrounded by drug and alcohol abuse. This fragile side to the entrepreneur actually made people warm to him and again increased exposure.

 

Get Out There

 

So in conclusion, sometimes we have to battle that inner natural urge to hide our vulnerabilities, be it in a job interview or on a first date. It won’t be nearly as disastrous as you imagine it would be, in fact studies have proven that it will probably have the opposite effect. Open up about yourself and you will connect with people on a much deeper level, and positive results will follow. Successful connections with other human beings equal a successful life.

From Victoria Secret To Kora Organics How Miranda Kerr Transformed Herself From A Model To An Entrepreneur

Miranda Kerr, the successful Victoria Secret supermodel, is famous not only for being astonishing beautiful, but also because in 2009 she launched how own skincare line, Kora Organics. She entered the modeling world at the age of 13 and her career advanced rapidly. She became a Victoria Secret’s Angel in 2007 and a few years later she was ranked as one of the highest-earning supermodels in the world.

She followed the path of entrepreneurship and now, at the age of 32, she is running Kora organics, a line of skin-care products made form plant based ingredients. During an interview she stated that her idea of business came from a genuine passion for leading a healthy life. What you apply on your skin is as important as a balanced diet or exercising.

The organic cosmetic products commercialized by KORA are a great alternative to the chemical-based ones that are known to cause harmful side effects. For Miranda Kerr, whose skin is very dry, finding the adequate skin products was a hassle, so she decided to take matters into her own hands and come up with the ideal recipe for skin products able to feed and protect the epidermis properly.

She has also authored two self-development books: “Treasure Yourself” and “Empower yourself” that any person who wants to get out of the slump should read. Here is a list of valuable lessons we can learn from Miranda Kerr, a supermodel, certified health practitioner and single mother.

The best business idea is right in front of you

Maybe you have a hard time finding the right idea for your business venture. You’re probably not looking in the right direction. Follow Miranda Kerr’s example and try to come up with a solution for one of your own needs. Since you have accurate information about what the actual problem is, you won’t have to spend precious time doing research.

Learn from your mistakes

Miranda Kerr backs the idea that progress can only be achieved through drawing conclusions from your failures. It’s humanly to make mistakes, so do not dwell on them too much. Instead, embrace your defeats. Don’t let the past anchor you down.

Nutrition matters

Achieving the perfect body she is known for took a lot of self-discipline. A good nutrition plan will provide the necessary energy to carry out your daily activities in a productive manner. According to her, drinking a glass of warm water with lemon in the morning will improve digestion throughout the day.

Embrace spirituality

Meditation and prayer are two very important activities in Mrs. Kerr’s schedule. She also believes that no matter what your views on religion are, you should be tolerant. Negative judging of others based on subjective matters such as religious beliefs is entirely wrong.

Get organized

You will benefit in all areas of your life from developing time management skills. You may ask yourself: how is Merinda Kerr able to perform so many activities within such a small time interval? The answer is simple: she prioritized her schedule. When you do this, you need to evaluate the utility of the activities you want to include in your schedule.

Treat others kindly

Mutual respect, honesty and kindness are key aspects of true friendship. In addition, one should never judge others based on rumors. You need to work in someone else’s shoes first in order to understand his motives.

Even though she achieved wealth and a high social status, she never stopped learning and taking on new challenges. She is currently involved in a lot of exciting projects and interested in new business ventures. Follow her example and one day, after you will overcome a long series of hardships, you will finally reach your life goals.