The Funda of Debt & Banking

from Trakin' the india business buzz by Arun Prabhudesai

I stumbled upon this 47 minute presentation called “Money as Debt” by Paul Grignon and trust me, this has cleared many of the doubts that I had.

The videos will show you how the Banking started and what shape it has taken over the years – and how does modern banking, Debts and deposits function in today’s modern world.

These set of 5 10-minute videos will be a great education for you and I suggest you bookmark it for future reference, if you are not able to view them now.

Self Employment: Positive Resultant of Global Downturn

Self Employment: Positive Resultant of Global Downturn

from Trakin' the india business buzz by Arun Prabhudesai

Recent volatility in Global Market did pose a question on the credibility of outsourcing market; hundreds of highly trained and hard working professionals recruited from India’s best colleges/universities were laid off to save the multi billion dollar companies from vanishing.

These moves not just made consideration of uncertainty in one’s career important but also lead to changes in trend of employment statistics in India. And as said “Change is always good” (at least I believe so!) the situation demanded the working population to think about other possibilities.

Self Employment came out as a major resultant of the situation. No doubt the idea doesn’t promise six digit salary and added perks and luxury but it does manage to give self reliance to an individual.

Many of you might question how does it save one from uncertainty? In fact it escalates the same. For that doubt I don’t have any sound fact to defend but a simple logic, just the way in a highly paid job we tend to bestow our faith in its management (obviously run by key individuals), in case of self employment the onus falls on one’s self (SELF EMPLOYMENT).

So, this form of employment is more than just earning money (analogy is intended for the perks). Indian employment sector is witnessing evolving growth pattern in this area.

The dependency rate which is estimated to be around 17.1 (17 for 100 working people) for India in 2025, is expected to go down if the trend continues. Until now rural India has dominated this sector with self employment of 57% among males and nearly 62% among females. The corresponding figures in urban India were 42% for male and 44% for female.

Though there are reasons to cheer for the shifting trend as it reflects the growing entrepreneurial values among the masses and the healthy quest to explore possibilities there are reasons to be concerned about as well.

Our government is still contemplating to give this sector its share of recognition, self employment is still regarded as part of Unorganized Sector, which could be a major turn off for aspiring participants.

Moreover, while education system does play its part to inculcate basic skills among youth, traits like creativity and innovation can’t be taught, they can be harnesses and honed. MNC’s can play a vital role here to make up for the missing attribute of our present education system.

So instead of working aimlessly for these big corporations’ youth can work for a reason, this not only offer challenges to ones skill but the psychological factors can release many from the gloominess of mundane and extracting work life.

Would love to hear your views on this!

[The post has been written by Kirti Agarwal, an engineer by profession and aspiring consultant/analyst. you can reach her at kirtee.agarwal@gmail.com ]

The art of staying in the present

The art of staying in the present

Concentration is about living in the moment - which unfortunately isn't as easy as it sounds

Aakash Chopra

July 30, 2009

Comments: 17 | Text size: A | A

	Did Tendulkar never once think of playing the cover-drive during his 241 in Sydney? Unlikely © AFP
Related Links Players/Officials: Sunil Gavaskar | Sachin Tendulkar

Ever since I started playing cricket I've been told about the importance of concentration and how it's the key to batting for a long time and scoring a lot of runs. There has always been plenty of emphasis on this aspect of the game. I'd often hear a commentator say that a lapse in concentration cost the batsman his wicket, or a coach telling me to concentrate harder whenever I couldn't put the bat to ball.

Though I understood the importance of concentration fairly early in my career, I didn't entirely understand the concept itself. And I wasn't the only one.

What exactly is concentration?
A few years ago I was selected to play in the Challenger Trophy (before I made my international debut). We had an interactive session with Geet Sethi, the billiards player, whose definition of concentration remains etched in my memory. He said that concentration is simply remaining in the present. The longer you can remain in the present, the greater your span of concentration. Sounds easy, right?

Nearly two decades of playing cricket has taught me that it isn't. The mind has the peculiar ability of wandering off at the first available moment, and it doesn't need any permission. You might be in the middle of an important match, playing an important knock or bowling the most crucial over, but the mind has a mind of its own. Two places it likes to wander off to are the past and the future.

I'd either start feeling bad or good about what had happened in the past - the ball before - and get disconnected from the present, or I would start worrying about or prematurely celebrating events in the future, getting away from the task at hand.

Whatever happened in the past or might happen in the future does not have, or at least should not have, any bearing on the ball you're going to bowl or play next. All that matters is what you do with that particular ball. Remaining in the present is the only way to concentrate.

One needs to start concentrating once the bowler starts his run-up and the concentration has to be at its peak from the time of delivery till the ball hits the bat. (Of course, this changes for fielders, who need to be alert till one of them fields the ball.)

How can you improve your concentration?
Most games of cricket go on for at least six hours at a time, with occasional breaks. Now concentrating for a few minutes at a time is quite difficult, let alone six hours. So the idea is to switch off after every delivery and then switch on before the next. Switching off means allowing the mind to wander away for a few seconds before getting it back on track. This is not restricted to only batting and bowling; fielders do it too. One needs to relax before starting to concentrate again.

Batting or bowling in the nets can be instrumental in improving concentration, since one needs to concentrate ball after ball in that situation, with very little time in between (as there are usually about six or seven bowlers operating at all times).

The trigger movement
Most players follow a set routine - adjusting the equipment, or something else - that acts as a trigger to snap them out of wander mode and back to the game. Greg Chappell would look at the crowd after playing every ball; MS Dhoni fiddles with his bat and gloves; I scratch the leg-stump mark on the pitch with my shoe; Jason Gillespie used to stop for a few seconds and take a deep breath at the top of his run-up.

Staying in the game
While it's important to switch off and allow your mind to wander, one still needs to ensure that it doesn't drift too far away. For example, a captain has to still think about the field placements and plan his course of action, like bowling and fielding changes. A fielder is supposed to always be looking at the captain or bowler for instructions on any possible changes in the fielding position before starting to concentrate again. A batsman weighs his options of scoring runs off the next ball. I call this not-so-focused form of concentration "staying in the game".

The zone
Then there are some - we call them geniuses - who seemed to get into the zone at will: the state of mind where everything flows automatically. You don't consciously switch on or off, your mind doesn't wander into the past or the future, you're constantly aware of your surroundings and almost always play the ball on its merit or bowl where you want to bowl. We all have times when we get into such states, but to do it on a consistent basis is an art that only a few have mastered. Sachin Tendulkar seemed to get into the zone more regularly than the rest.

How can one attain that state at will?
Honestly, I don't know for sure. I've gathered over the years that even the greatest minds can wander. Thoughts keep coming into your head regardless of whether you want them to. The best way to deal with them is to acknowledge their presence rather than trying to ignore them. Trying to push the thoughts away gets you involved and takes you away from the task at hand. When you leave them unattended, they disappear. Tendulkar's innings in Sydney in 2004 is the perfect example of not paying heed to the thoughts that try to intrude. He didn't play a cover-drive for most, if not all, of his innings of over 200, and I refuse to believe that the thought of playing the shot didn't cross his mind, especially once he was set.

	Sunil Gavaskar once told me that when you reach a milestone your mind takes you to the ones you love most. You feel an immediate connection to those close to you who are watching you achieve the feat and your heart goes out to them and with it your mind too, which results in a loss of concentration

When are we most vulnerable to losing concentration?
I used to think that staying in the present was important only at the beginning of the innings. After all, it's only at the start, when we're plagued with self-doubt, that we are most susceptible to failure; once we get that elusive start, everything falls in place. But I've learned that I was mistaken. A loss of concentration can occur at any point during an innings, and most often does when you're feeling good, like after going past a milestone, when you drop your guard a bit.

I once asked Sunil Gavaskar about it, and he said that when you reach a milestone, the mind takes you to the ones you love most. You feel an immediate connection to those close to you who are watching you achieve the feat and your heart goes out to them, and with it your mind too. You thank everyone on the ground by raising the bat, thank God for his blessings, and your family members in your heart. At such times the mind is anywhere but on the cricket field, and you often end up taking the long walk back before realising what's happened. His advice to me was to recognise that emotional surge and allow yourself a little time to regroup; perhaps spending a few overs at the non-striker's end at such times is a good idea.

The external factors
Bowlers and fielders, especially the ones close to the bat, often try to talk the batsman into playing a poor stroke. Few batsmen succumb to the tactic and lose focus; the majority have their own ways of dealing with it.

Sunny bhai told me that the best way is to ignore the comments and even avoid eye contact with the talkers. On the contrary, someone like Matthew Hayden relishes a chat with the bowler and the fielders. Then there's Brian Lara. The Indian team would decide before the start of a series against West Indies to leave him alone, because if you try to get under his skin he starts concentrating harder and then is almost impossible to dislodge.

Even the crowd has a role to play. But contrary to popular belief, a hostile crowd doesn't have as much of an impact as a cheering crowd.

I remember getting hit on the helmet in Melbourne during the Boxing Day Test in 2003, and 70,000 people cheered Brett Lee and Co to do it again. But the only effect it had on my game plan was to make me more determined. On the other hand only 30,000 people egging me on to hit another four off Daniel Vettori in my debut Test, in Ahmedabad, was enough to lure me into a false stroke. I got ahead of myself and was dismissed.

We now know that regardless of whether we know the definition of concentration or not, whether we play cricket - or any other sport or for that matter - remaining in the present is the essence to being successful. We all do it unconsciously, and perhaps that's why we slip out of it without knowing, but if we manage to do it consciously, at will, keeping close tabs on our mind, we'll be able to control it a lot better and produce better results.

Former India opener Aakash Chopra is the author of Beyond the Blues, an account of the 2007-08 Ranji Trophy season. His website is here

Feeds: Aakash Chopra

Learning via Self-Experimentation

Learning via Self-Experimentation

by Josh Kaufman

You can improve your life and work amazingly quickly by making a simple mental shift: treating everything you do as an experiment. You can experiment with any and all aspects of your life: your health, your energy, your work, your relationships, your side projects, etc. All it takes is a willingness to try something new for a little while just to see what happens. This post will help you design experiments that will teach you how you work best.

Step 1: Define the Objective

Before you conduct an experiment, it’s essential to define exactly what it is you want to improve.Often, our objectives are too hazy to be useful: “I want to be rich” or “I want to feel good.” Defining exactly what it is you want helps you understand whether or not your experiment has been a success, as well as help you find ways to improve your results over time.

Objectives come in two general forms: goals and “states of being.” A goal is something that you measure or quantify: dollars in a bank account, number of current customers, body mass index, etc. Goals have a definitive end-state; you know when you’ve achieved what you set out to do. For example, if your goal is to run a marathon, you know you’ve done it when you cross the finish line. If there’s not a finish line, it’s not a goal.

States of Being are more qualitative by nature: it’s a quality of your experience in the present moment, with varying degrees of noticeability. For example, having a clear mind, feeling energetic or calm, or being excited about the progress you’ve made are all states of being. Both types of objectives are valuable – the purpose is to clarify what you’re trying to do so that you can find a few things to try that might help you get there.

Step 2: Define the Experiment

Once you have your objective, take a few minutes to come up with a few ideas about what you could try to bring you closer to your objective. Do a bit of research – pick up a book or find a website about what you’re trying to do, and learn as much as you can. Your experiment ideas don’t have to be complex or involved: small, simple changes are best. (For more information on successful behavioral change, check out Changing For Good.)

Once you have a shortlist of experiments to try, pick one and decide how long you’ll be conducting the experiment. I recommend experimenting for a minimum of three days, and a maximum of 30. There’s no need to commit anything for the long term – experimentation is just trying things out to see what happens, so there’s no need to put unnecessary pressure on yourself. If you like the change, you can keep going; if not, you can stop and try something else.

Your experimental design doesn’t have to be perfect – it’s an experiment, after all. If you find your objectives changing, it’s not a big deal – it means you’re learning something!

Step 3: Collect Data During Your Experiment

Once you have an experiment to try, spend a few moments planning how you’ll collect data about your progress. For goals, quantitative measures are typically best, so find some simple and unobtrusive way to collect the data you’re after. (If it takes a lot of effort, you probably won’t do it.)

For states of being, capturing your thoughts or mental states in a journal or tape recorder is best. Set some sort of reminder (calendar, phone, etc.) to ping you regularly throughout the day, so you remember to record your experiences. After the experiment, you can revisit your notes to evaluate the results.

What I’m Currently Trying to Optimize

To give you some ideas about things to try, here are a few of the experiments I’ve been conducting over the past few months. My objective is a particular state of being: a mental state of clear, focused attention conducive to writing new material for the book.

Diet – Food plays a major role in energy and attention levels, so I’ve been optimizing what I eat. Kelsey and I have been largely vegan (no meat or dairy; I eat some fish) for ~3 years now, which has had a profound impact on our energy levels. Most of my dietary experiments are designed around introducing a new variable, testing for a number of weeks, then removing to identify contrast. Over time, I’ve found that my energy levels are best with a breakfast of granola + small cup of espresso, 6-8oz of apple cider and a green-food energy bar every ~2.5 hours, and a daily multivitamin / two 1g omega-3 capsules after dinner or before bed. I’m currently experimenting with Amino Acid and Vitamin D supplementation to ensure my brain is getting enough raw materials to produce the neurotransmitters associated with attention, focus, and concentration. (A quick note on bio-hacking safety: the body is an extremely complex system, so make sure you do a great deal of research before making any sudden or drastic changes. For example, many people are Vitamin D deficient due to lifestyle, but it’s also possible toexperience adverse symptoms if you’re hypersensitive or get too much. When in doubt, check with a doctor.)

Exercise – I work from home, and when things are busy it’s sometimes difficult to remember to get out of the house and get enough exercise. Exercise is critically important for optimal brain function, so I introduced a structural change: a walking treadmill, which I’ve combined with a standing desk that allows me to walk while I’m on the computer. (To use the computer, I have to stand on the treadmill, and it doesn’t take any effort to turn it on.) Walking at a pace of 1.8 / 2.2 miles per hour, I walk 3-4 miles (barefoot) almost every day, and Kelsey and I also take a ~3 mile walk in Central Park every evening after dinner. As a result, I’ve noticed a huge difference in my energy levels and quality of sleep each night.

Ear Plugs – I’ve been regularly using earplugs, both while working and at night while I sleep. New York City is a noisy place, and recent research suggests that ambient noise reduces your ability to focus. After a few weeks of using earplugs, I’ve noticed a significant increase in my ability to concentrate for extended periods of time. (Note: comfort is a big deal for extended use – get the soft silicone earplugs vs. the foam plugs if you try this yourself.)

Time Tracking – taking Peter Drucker’s advice, I used an iPhone application called Eternity to do detailed time tracking for several weeks. I split my daily work into several categories (Administrating, Connecting, Creating, E-mailing, Exercising, Relaxing, Researching, Teaching, and Other) and used the application to save start and stop times during the day. The results were better than expected: I’m doing productive work 10-12 hours each day, 60% of which are either creating something new, researching, or teaching. I only spend 30-40 minutes on e-mail each day, but I still tend to check it a lot, so there’s an opportunity to batch process more than I am already. I would also benefit from taking a few more rest periods throughout the day (quick walk, 20 minute nap, etc.) vs. working until I fizzle out. As humans, our perception of time is very fluid, so it’s likely that I never would have known these things unless I conducted this experiment.

Give it a Try!

Treat everything in your life as an experiment, and you’ll be amazed at how quickly you improve the quality of your life and work. By investing a little time and energy into trying new things, you’ll quickly learn what works for you.

Running an experiment? Share your results with other PMBA members in the Community!

Like this post? Be sure to share it with a friend or colleague!

To Survive or Thrive?

by Rosie Reilman

I absolutely love this quote from Brandon Uttley's post, Stop Worrying About the Economy and Start Living Your Life!

The fact is, neither you nor I have any impact whatsoever on what happens with the government. Sure, we vote, we pay taxes and all that—but when it comes to something as monumental as the very financial system itself, we are pretty powerless. And no amount of worrying about it is going to do you or anyone else any good.

My advice is to control what you can, which is all between your ears. You can tune out all the negative news and energy, all the stuff you can’t control, and focus on the stuff you can. Stop complaining and blaming the economy, the government, the banks, etc. and do your part to make the world better—starting with your attitude and outlook.

Because it's so easy to find excuses. Yes, the recession is a big deal. But you still have control over you. If you're looking for ways you can take control, how about reading Take Your Vitamins from Harry Hoover's THINKing. He gives solid advice on how to improve your business - getting back to your customers and your employees and taking care of them: "marketing vitamins" as he cleverly terms them. So what can you do to change your business today? What can you do in your life or work to make it better? How can you better yourcommunity?

What would it look like if we decide to help out each other first instead of worrying about ourselves all the time? The same old thing isn't just going to work in this time. 

If we look to providing value to the people we come in contact - customers, business partners, etc - then maybe in a way we can take care of one another first and in turn the business will come to us. Maybe, just maybe, not only can we "survive" a bad economy but also better ourselves and our relationships with one another while doing it. Instead of just surviving, maybe we can thrive.

Copy right of the above article belongs to Rosie Reilman and her Blog: ttp://riveting.rosie.reilman.com/

How to Reinvent Your Personality

by GuyKawasaki

Check out "Strategic Change."  In this posting, the Psychology Today staff explain how to change your personality. I've seen people make changes like this--though within narrow confines--so you can do it. For related stories, see Psychology.alltop.

Increase the Effectiveness of Learning

by GuyKawasaki

In a posting called "How to Become a More Effective Learner," Kendra Van Wagner explains ten simple things you can do to increase the effectiveness of your learning. It includes ideas like teaching other people what you've learned, gaining practical experience, and stopping trying to multitask. Important lessons for anyone who wants to change the world.

Ten Ways to Use LinkedIn to Find a Job

by GuyKawasaki

Searching for a job can suck if you constrain yourself to the typical tools such as online jobs boards, trade publications, CraigsList, and networking with only your close friends. In these kinds of times, you need to use all the weapons that you can, and one that many people don’t—or at least don’t use to the fullest extent, is LinkedIn.

LinkedIn has over thirty-five million members in over 140 industries. Most of them are adults, employed, and not looking to post something on your Wall or date you. Executives from all the Fortune 500 companies are on LinkedIn. Most have disclosed what they do, where they work now, and where they’ve worked in the past. Talk about a target-rich environment, and the service is free.

Here are ten tips to help use LinkedIn to find a job. If you know someone who’s looking for a job, forward them these tips along with an invitation to connect on LinkedIn. Before trying these tips, make sure you’ve filled out your profile and added at least twenty connections

1. Get the word out. Tell your network that you’re looking for a new position because a job search these days requires the “law of big numbers” There is no stigma that you’re looking right now, so the more people who know you’re looking, the more likely you’ll find a job. Recently, LinkedIn added “status updates” which you can use to let your network know about your newly emancipated status.

2. Get LinkedIn recommendations from your colleagues. A strong recommendation from your manager highlights your strengths and shows that you were a valued employee. This is especially helpful if you were recently laid off, and there is no better time to ask for this than when your manager is feeling bad because she laid you off. If you were a manager yourself, recommendations from your employees can also highlight leadership qualities.

3. Find out where people with your backgrounds are working. Find companies that employ people like you by doing an advanced search for people in your area who have your skills. For example, if you’re a web developer in Seattle, search profiles in your zip code using keywords with your skills (for example, JavaScript, XHTML, Ruby on Rails) to see which companies employ people like you.

4. Find out where people at a company came from. LinkedIn “Company Profiles” show the career path of people before they began work there. This is very useful data to figure out what a company is looking for in new hires. For example, Microsoft employees worked at Hewlett-Packard and Oracle.

5. Find out where people from a company go next. LinkedIn’s “Company Profiles” also tell you where people go after leaving the company. You can use this to track where people go after leaving your company as well as employees of other companies in your sector. (You could make the case that this feature also enables to figure out which companies to avoid, but I digress.)

6. Check if a company is still hiring. Company pages on LinkedIn include a section called “New Hires” that lists people who have recently joined the company. If you have real chutzpah, you can ask these new hires how they got their new job. At the very least you can examine their backgrounds to surmise what made them attractive to the new employer.

7. Get to the hiring manager. LinkedIn’s job search engine allows you to search for any kind of job you want. However, when you view the results, pay close attention to the ones that you’re no more than two degrees away from. This means that you know someone who knows the person that posted the job—it can’t get much better than that. (Power tip: two degrees is about the limit for getting to hiring managers. I never help friends of friends of friends.) Another way to find companies that you have ties to is by looking at the “Companies in Your Network” section on LinkedIn’s Job Search page.

8. Get to the right HR person. The best case is getting to the hiring manager via someone who knows him, but if that isn’t possible you can still use LinkedIn to find someone inside the company to walk your resume to the hiring manager or HR department. When someone receives a resume from a coworker even if she doesn’t know the coworker, she almost always pays attention to it.

9. Find out the secret job requirements. Job listings rarely spell out entirely or exactly what a hiring manager is seeking. Find a connection at the company who can get the inside scoop on what really matters for the job. You can do this by searching for the company name; the results will show you who in your network connects you to the company. If you don’t have an inside connection, look at profiles of the people who work at the company to get an idea of their backgrounds and important skills.

10. Find startups to join. Maybe this recession is God telling you it’s time to try a startup. But great startups are hard to find. Play around with LinkedIn’s advanced search engine using “startup” or “stealth” in the keyword or company field. You can also narrow by industry (for example, startups in the Web 2.0, wireless, or biotech sectors). If large companies can’t offer “job security,” open up your search to include startups.

11. Build your network before you need it. As a last tip, no matter how the economy or your career is doing, having a strong network is a good form of job security. Don’t wait until times are tough to nurture your network. The key to networking (or “schmozing”), however, is filled with counter-intuitiveness. First, it’s not who you know—it’s who knows of you. Second, Great schmoozers are not thinking “What can this person do for me?” To the contrary, they are thinking, “What can I do for this person?” For more on schmoozing, read “The Art of Schmoozing.”

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Here are two more ways I can help you in your job search. First, for an aggregation of hundreds of newly posted jobs, check out Jobs.alltop. Second, to really stay on top of what’s the latest news about LinkedIn, go toLinkedin.alltop; this will turn you in a true LinkedIn power user. Just remember me when you’re rich and famous!

Addendum: "Using LinkedIn to Find a Job" by Kaye Monty

Take the ball and go home

from Seth's Blog by Seth Godin

Bullies can't be bullies when they are alone.

If you work with a bully, this is all you need to know. They need you.

A bully is someone who uses physical or psychological force to demean and demoralize someone else. A bully isn't challenging your ideas, or working with you to find a better outcome. A bully is playing a game, one that he or she enjoys and needs. You're welcome to play this game if it makes you happy, but for most people, it will make you miserable. So don't.

The way to work with a bully is not to try to please her or to question the quality of your work or to appease her or to hide from her.

The way to work with a bully is to take the ball and go home. First time, every time.

When there's no ball, there's no game. Bullies hate that. So they'll either behave so they can play with you or they'll go bully someone else.

Call her on her behavior (not who she is, but what she does). "I'm sorry, but when you talk to me like that, I'm unable to do good work. I'll be in my office if you need me." Then walk out, not in a huff, but with a measure of respect for the person (not the behavior).

This is a shocking piece of advice. It might even get you fired. But it will probably save your job and your sanity. Most bullies are deeply unhappy and you might just save their skin. If you're good at what you do, you deserve better than a bully.

Two Simple Ways to Form New Habits Without Really Trying

from Zen Habits by guest

Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Haider Al-Mosawi from Personal Growth Map.

Forming new habits is often seen as a huge commitment that only a few fortunate souls - blessed with a naturally high dosage of willpower - can ever accomplish. The rest of us can only content ourselves with silly attempts to change, only to default to our old ways.

But the problem isn’t really with forming new habits. It’s our approach to forming new habits that makes life difficult.

To make your life much easier, here are two simple ways you can use to form new habits that will help you get great results without really trying!

Half Habits

The most common approach to forming a new habit is to attempt to create it with a single leap from your old way to the new way, without any transition period. You smoke and you want to quit smoking. You drink coffee and you want to cut it out of your diet. You don’t exercise and want to join the gym to exercise on a daily basis. To achieve your goals, you rely on commitment and willpower.

But as you have experienced time and time again, your willpower will dwindle a few weeks down the road (if you survive that long) and drag your commitment down with it, leaving you with your old ways… if not worse!

That’s because to go from one way to a totally new way is unnatural. It comes as a shock to your mind, body and soul and they will fight fiercely to return to a way that is familiar to them.

What’s the solution, I hear you ask?

Well, that’s a good question, and I’m glad you asked it :)

A solution I would recommend would be to go for half habits.

What does that mean?

Rather than trying to commit FULLY to a new habit, you simply take a step in its direction.

For example, instead of immediately joining a gym in order to become healthy, if your body has almost forgotten what “physical activity” means, incorporate a mini-exercise routine at home. That way, you don’t feel guilty that you’re not going to the gym every day, and you’re not taking something on that will be met with resistance. It’s a small adjustment that you won’t have difficulty keeping up.

An advantage to half habits is that you accept that you need to go through a transition period from old habit to new habit. You accept this as something natural and not a failing on your part.

Your focus then turns to the progress that you are making instead of the times you fall off the wagon!

“Oh great! I exercised four times this week!” instead of “OH MY GOD! I haven’t exercised for THREE days this week!”

And with half habits, you can effectively take on a number of habits without feeling any pressure!

I managed to cut down on coffee and soft drinks, started blogging almost daily, reduced the amount of food I eat, began waking up early in the morning and developed a range of other mini-habits that have popped up here and there without me making any serious attempt to form them. The last time I drank a soft drink I actually felt disgusted because I didn’t enjoy the taste (my preference is moving towards drinking water). I didn’t force myself to stop drinking soft drinks. I simply said to myself: I would like to start drinking more water and removing soft drinks from my diet. And I went in that direction with the acceptance that I might be having a soft drink occasionally.

Another great advantage to half habits is that some habits help reinforce each other!

Cutting down on coffee helps you get more quality sleep, which helps make it easier to wake up early, which gives you more time to do quality work, etc.

You transition towards new habits without feeling burdened by unrealistic commitments and can enjoy making progress in your life.

And what’s the other way you can form habits easily…?

Timeless Habits

One of the major obstacles we face in trying to adopt new habits into our lives is simply that we don’t have the time to do so!

If you want to start exercising, you need to fit exercise sessions into your schedule. But that involves some planning, and you might already have too many commitments that stop you from squeezing in exercise into your busy week.

But that doesn’t mean you cannot develop new and positive habits!

Not having the time is no reason to remain stagnant. There are many small adjustments and changes we can do here and there that require no extra time whatsoever!

Do you need any extra time to replace coffee with green tea, or soft drinks with water?

Do you need any extra time to sprinkle your day with a few more smiles?

There are SO many ways we can move forward in life without needing to make any hefty time commitments, and these changes will help us realize how easy it is to form new habits and will also lead us to enjoy the many benefits these habits can bring to our lives!

Give these two ways a try, and find out how easy it is to form new habits and move your life forward!

The Golden Nuggets From This Article

To make the application of the lessons in this post easier to apply, here’s a summary of the key points mentioned, split between Theory (the ideas you should bear in mind) and Practice (what you need to do to make use of what you just read)

Theory

• Forming new habits isn’t hard, nor does it require a lot of willpower. The problem is with our approach to habit-formation
• There are two simple ways to habit-formation that makes it easy to accomplish: 1) Half Habits 2)Timeless Habits
• Half Habits: Rather than aim to form a new habit fully, aim to make progress in the direction of the new habit. You will gradually re-adjust, and the approach is much more natural than expecting to form a new habit with a single leap
• Timeless Habits: There are many, many habits we can develop that require absolutely no time commitment. Replacing coffee with green tea, or soft drinks with water doesn’t take any extra time to do but can bring about great benefits into our lives

Practice

• Half Habits: For all the habits you intend on adopting, instead of focusing on the destination (forming the new habit fully), think of the next step you can take in the direction of these habits and make a slight adjustment to adopting these habits
• Timeless Habits: Come up with ways you can make simple changes to what you eat, how you behave, etc. that can bring about positive results in your life, without needing to free up any time on your schedule to form these new habits

To read more from Haider Al-Mosawi, check out his blog: Personal Growth Map.
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If you liked this article, please share it on del.icio.us, StumbleUpon or Digg. I’d appreciate it. :)

THE 5 MILLION FREQUENT FLYER MILE CHALLENGE

This is the true story of how I’ve earned more than 300,000 Frequent Flyer miles in the past five weeks thanks to mileage bonuses from new credit cards. If you’re up for it, you can do this too – and if you’d prefer a more conservative strategy, you may still be able to earn at least 50,000 new miles.

In short, I’ve spent $500 and a few hours of my time in exchange for 300,000 miles that are worth at least $12,000 to me. I’ve closely monitored my credit score along the way, and the effect has been minimal.

The goal of the 5 Million Frequent Flyer Mile Challenge is to help at least 100 readers earn 50,000 miles or more in the next 30 days.

Here are all the details in almost 3,000 words, a free tracking spreadsheet, and a 12-minute video I recorded live from Mexico in late December.

Disclaimers

WARNING: This is not for everyone. Most of the credit cards I used for this Frequent Flyer arbitrage experiment are only available for U.S. residents. There are a few cards you can get in Canada and the U.K. to replicate this on a smaller scale, but otherwise, you’re on your own.

You’ll also need to have good credit to begin with, since presumably the banks don’t want to give out up to $100,000 in new credit lines to just anyone – although ironically, they never verified my income or (lack of) employment, so you never know.

Lastly, if you have any kind of problem with debt or credit card spending, this project is definitely not for you. I have a healthy paranoia about debt, so it’s not a problem for me, but if you can’t possess a credit card without spending money you don’t have, please don’t do this.

Those are the disclaimers, and here’s the fun part.

The Video

On the 12-minute video below you can see the spreadsheet I use to track the applications, the results, and the miles I received. I recorded this live on location in Mexico, where I was facilitating my Annual Review and spending time with Jolie for our end-of-year vacation. The video is not professional quality in any way – it’s just me talking through the process and explaining which credit cards I used. If you get bored partway through, you can find most of the information in the rest of the post.

(Having technical problems or want a larger version? Try this link.)

How It Works

First, some background: I used to earn more than 200,000 Frequent Flyer Miles each year without flying, thanks to the work I did with Google Adwords and Adsense. Those days are long gone now, and with the declining economy, I needed a new source. I’ve taken advantage of credit card bonuses occasionally in the past, but this time I decided to get serious about it.

Over the course of a few weeks, I applied for and received 13 new credit cards that each included bonuses of at least 20,000 Frequent Flyer Miles.

I was accepted for every single card I applied for, and received $102,100 in new credit that I will never use. What I will use are the 300,000 bonus miles I was awarded for accepting the cards. After meeting any minimum spending requirements, most of the cards will be unused, consolidated, or canceled over the next few years. Not everyone will be want (or be able) to emulate this challenge, but I know that enough people will that I decided to put it all out there for you.

Just as importantly, many other people will be able to use this strategy on a smaller scale and earn at least 50,000 new miles within the next month.

The Cost

The cost for my experiment can be summarized as follows:

• $497 in annual fees (I’ll cancel, consolidate, or ask for a free extension on 
  • he cards before the second year’s fees become due)
  • 3-4 hours of my time
  • 4% decline in my credit score

  Since I regularly use Frequent Flyer Miles for high-value redemptions, I wasn’t worried too much about the monetary cost. As I’ll explain below, the miles I earned are worth thousands of dollars to me. I also didn’t mind the time investment, since the idea was intriguing to me and I wanted to see how far I could take it.

  Before conducting the experiment, however, I was somewhat concerned about the effect on my credit score. I had always heard that your credit score goes down whenever you apply for a new account. Each step of the way, I closely monitored my own report to see what the real effect would be – and I was pleasantly surprised.

  Before applying for the cards, I was in the 98th percentile of U.S. credit users. Presumably this was because I have 10 years of good credit history, only a couple of late payments over the years, and no pattern of defaulting or maintaining high balances. After I had applied for eight new cards, I checked again and noticed that I had fallen to the 95th percentile – hardly a significant amount since it is already so high and I have no plans to apply for a mortgage. A couple of weeks after applying for five more cards, I checked again and saw that I had fallen a tiny bit further to the 94th percentile.

  In other words, the effect was noticeable, but not seriously damaging. Despite the fact that my credit report listed all the accounts and new inquiries, banks continued to send me new credit cards every week. I was never declined, and never asked to provide any additional information.

  At one point I thought the banks were slowing down on the offers of credit, since I received a low $2,000 limit on one card after getting 4-5 others of $10,000 or more – but the following week, another card arrived with a $14,500 limit. We could probably talk for a long time about how crazy the U.S. banking system can be, but that’s another story.

  (Practical Info: I use MyFico.com to monitor my credit, but you can also get a free copy of your report from all three credit bureaus every year atAnnualCreditReport.com. There are other sources as well that I did not thoroughly investigate.)

  The Benefits

  Most importantly, I now have 300,000 new Frequent Flyer miles available to me on all three worldwide airline alliances. I can use these miles for all kinds of awards, including these possibilities:

  • 12 Round-Trip Domestic (U.S. and Canada) Tickets
  • 15 Tickets within Europe or Asia
  • Up to 15 Domestic Upgrades or 10 International Upgrades
  • 6 Round-Trip Tickets to Europe from the U.S.
  • 3 or 4 Round-Trip Business Class Tickets to Anywhere

  Those are a few examples, and of course I’ll choose the awards that make the most sense to me for my own goals. Based on how I travel and how I will optimize the awards, I conservatively estimate these miles to be worth at least $12,000 to me.

  Once I realized that my credit score would not go down and the fees were reasonable, it was a no-brainer. Spend $497 and invest a few hours of time, get $12,000 in free flights. I like it.

  I also received numerous intangible benefits through the process:

  • 8 Alaska Airlines Space Available Upgrades
  • Airline Lounge Passes (multiple)
  • Companion Airfare Discounts (multiple)
  • 6,000 Mile Discount on a Northwest Awards Flight
  • Hilton Gold Status
  • Hertz Gold Status
  • Enterprise Gold Status
  • Free Weekend Car Rental with Hertz, Budget, and Enterprise
  • Other random perks that are still arriving in the mail each week

  In reality, some of those things sound nice, but I don’t really need them. I’d love to give them away, but unfortunately most of them are not transferable.

  All the Details

  Here are the cards I applied for:

  1. Citi AA Visa Signature ($0 annual fee for 1 year, 25000 miles)
  2. Citi AA Mastercard ($0 annual fee for 1 year, 25000 miles)
  3. CitiBusiness AA Mastercard ($0 annual fee for 1 year, 25000 miles)
  4. Chase United Visa Signature ($79 annual fee, 25000 miles)
  5. Hilton HHonors AmEx ($0 annual fee as long as you have another AmEx, 25000 miles + 10000 bonus miles)
  6. Delta Gold Personal AmEx ($0 annual fee as long as you have another AmEx, 20000 miles)
  7. Alaska Air Visa ($79 annual fee, 20000 miles)
  8. Northwest Worldperks Visa ($0 annual fee for 1 year, 25000 miles)
  9. Continental World Mastercard ($85 fee, 25000 miles)
  10. Continental World Biz Mastercard ($85 fee, 20000 miles)
  11. US Airways DM Visa Signature ($90 annual fee, 25000 miles)
  12. US Airways Premier World MC ($79 annual fee, 25000 miles)

  There are a couple of cards I’ve skipped for now – the Virgin Atlantic AmEx andBritish Airways Visa, for example. I may come back to these later depending on when all my other miles post up. There are also cards for JetBlue and Southwest(among others), but I rarely fly on those carriers, and I don’t think I could use the points for much else.

  Keeping Track of Everything

  After I realized my credit score wouldn’t drop significantly with all the increased applications, the greater problem was figuring out how to keep track of the information. I mean, most people don’t walk around with 12 new credit cards in their pocket, right? I also had to remember which cards I had applied to and on what date.

  To stay on top of everything, I made a spreadsheet to track the date I had applied for each card, when it was received and activated, any requirements I needed to meet in order to earn the miles, and so on. If you’re up for some version of this, you can download the template or open it in Google Docs (Gmail users) to add your own details in.

  *Click here to download the spreadsheet template*

  ***

  Your Turn – Here’s What You Can Do

  I could have kept this information to myself, enjoyed the 300,000 new miles, and perhaps included the details in my upcoming Travel Ninja product. Instead, I decided it would be a lot more fun to put it out there for all of you, in hopes that it will help more people be able to travel wherever they want.

  I know that not everyone is comfortable with applying for a dozen new credit cards, but the beauty of this strategy is that you only need to apply for (and be accepted by) one card for every 25,000 miles you want. If you want 100,000 miles for two tickets to Europe, for example, then you apply for four cards. If you want a First Class ticket to anywhere in North America, then you apply for two cards.

  In other words, you can match your number of card applications to your risk level and that’s how many new miles you’ll earn. And of course, if you have a spouse or partner, they can also earn miles through their own applications, potentially doubling whatever new mileage you end up earning.

  Let’s break it down further based on your personality and what you’re willing to do:

  For the Adventurous – You too can earn 300,000 new miles or perhaps even more. Start by paying MyFico.com for a copy of your credit report to make sure you’re comfortable with a slight drop in the score. Then, apply for the cards in the rough order I did above. It may not make much difference, but the Citi AA cards are some of the better ones, so I’d work on getting those first in case you get declined later. Be sure you use the spreadsheet to keep track of everything; unless your memory is better than mine, you’ll probably forget some of the details if you don’t write them down.

  For the Conservative – You may be wary of applying for so many credit cards at once (I certainly was when I started). If so, start with a couple of them and see what happens. Are you approved? Do the miles post in a reasonable period of time? You can move on and do more if you want, or just enjoy a free flight or two to the destination of your choice.

  Regardless of which path you pursue, here are the actions you need to take:

  FIRST - You’ll need to join the Frequent Flyer programs of the airlines you end up requesting credit cards for. Do that before applying for the card (it’s always free and can be done on the airline’s web site).

  Here are the ones that match the cards I listed above:

  • American
  • Alaska
  • Continental
  • Delta
  • Northwest

  (soon to be merged with Delta; do this quickly)

  • United
  • U.S. Airways

  And here are the optional ones:
  
  Virgin Atlantic
  British Airways
  Southwest
  JetBlue

  SECOND – Choose your cards. You should match the cards you get to the airline or alliance you want to fly with, but I have a couple of general recommendations – first, the AA Citibank cards, including the AmEx and the Visa OR the Mastercard, are especially good since they have no annual fee for the first year. If you have a business, get one personal card and one business card.

  Next, the U.S. Airways cards are best used in combination, so if you’re getting one, you might as well get the other to earn a total of 50,000 miles. If you’re loyal to one of the other airlines (United, Alaska, Delta, or Continental), do those cards afterwards.

  THIRD – Meet any minimum spending requirements for the cards you choose. These requirements will be disclosed upon application, and you’ll want to keep track of them in the spreadsheet template or elsewhere.

  By the way, if you’re worried about not being able to spend enough to qualify for multiple mileage bonuses, there’s a trick for this too: buy $1 coins from the U.S. Mint. They come in boxes of $250 each, and you can exchange them at your bank for the same value. With free shipping, it won’t cost you anything at all, and you’ll also earn additional miles for the “purchase” of the coins.

  FOURTH – After the miles post, don’t wait too long to plan your trip. Mileage valuations are going down, and it’s best to use them quickly. I include a few tips for redeeming awards in the Discount Airfare Guide, and if there is enough interest I’ll provide a full tutorial for everyone in the near future.

  That’s pretty much it. Be sure and cancel the cards before the year is up, so that you don’t have to pay for the second year. (If you do forget and they charge you, you can still cancel the next month and get the money back. If you are concerned about a credit score hit after cancellation, you can also try your luck by requesting a free extension.)

  In short, if you meet the basic requirements and are willing to invest a bit of time, you can really rack up the miles and opportunities for free trips with this strategy. I’m looking forward to using my 300,000 miles, but I’m even more excited about creating mileage wealth for many of you through the challenge. Yes, there is a group challenge – because every good goal has a good follow-up. Here’s this one.

  The 5 Million Mile Challenge

  A while back I asked you to pick one place you’d like to go in the next three years and showed you how $2 a day can get you there. Well, if you can fly for free, that makes it even easier.

  I’ve spent several hours compiling this information for you, and I have two easy requests in return. First, use this information wisely. As mentioned, if you are in debt or have cut up your credit cards to keep from charging something you can’t afford, please don’t do this.

  But for everyone else, if you are able to use this information to easily earn at least 25,000 miles (one free ticket anywhere in North America), please let me know.

  I’m making a Google Docs spreadsheet to track the information you submit. But for now, please post in the comments section and include this info:

  1) Your name (however you want it to be displayed in the list I’m making)

  2) The amount of miles you expect to receive (based on the cards you decide to apply for)

  The goal is to create new “mileage wealth” of 5 Million Miles in the next 30 days. I promise to report the full results back to you, and I hope that this will help at least 100 people travel for free on their next adventure.

  How does that sound? Oh, and if you have any questions about the logistics, post them below.

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  P.S. Lastly, if you’ve enjoyed reading this detailed information about my experiment, please help me spread the word. Use the blue Stumble button to vote for the article, and tell your friends on Twitter or elsewhere so they can get their own 50,000 (or more) miles.