E-Learning-EARNING PER SHARE

From Ken Little,Your Guide to Stocks.

For example, companies A and B both earn $100, but company A has 10 shares outstanding, while company B has 50 shares outstanding. Which company’s stock do you want to own?
It makes more sense to look at earnings per share (EPS) for use as a comparison tool.
You calculate earnings per share by taking the net earnings and divide by the outstanding shares.
EPS = Net Earnings / Outstanding Shares Using our example above, Company A had earnings of $100 and 10 shares outstanding, which equals an EPS of 10 ($100 / 10 = 10). Company B had earnings of $100 and 50 shares outstanding, which equals an EPS of 2 ($100 / 50 = 2).

So, you should go buy Company A with an EPS of 10, right? Maybe, but not just on the basis of its EPS. The EPS is helpful in comparing one company to another, assuming they are in the same industry, but it doesn’t tell you whether it’s a good stock to buy or what the market thinks of it. For that information, we need to look at some ratios.

Before we move on, you should note that there are three types of EPS numbers:
Trailing EPS – last year’s numbers and the only actual EPS
Current EPS – this year’s numbers, which are still projections Forward EPS – future numbers, which are obviously projections

Soucrce-http://stocks.about.com/od/evaluatingstocks/a/eps1.htm

EARNING PER SHARE

Meaning #1: the portion of a company's profit allocated to each outstanding share of common stock

The portion of a company's profit allocated to each outstanding share of common stock. EPS serves as an indicator of a company's profitability.

Calculated as: Net Income-Dividends on preferred Stocks/Average Outstanding shares

In the EPS calculation, it is more accurate to use a weighted-average number of shares outstanding over the reporting term, because the number of shares outstanding can change over time.

However, data sources sometimes simplify the calculation by using the number of shares outstanding at the end of the period.Diluted EPS expands on the basic EPS by including the shares of convertibles or warrants outstanding in the outstanding shares number.

Investopedia Says: Earnings per share is generally considered to be the single most important variable in determining a share's price. It is also a major component of the price-to-earnings valuation ratio. For example, assume that a company has a net income of $25 million.

If the company paid out $1 million in preferred dividends and had 10 million shares for one half of the year and 15 million shares for the other half, the EPS would be $1.92 (24/12.5). First, the $1 million is deducted from the net income to get $24 million.

Then a weighted average is taken to find the number of shares outstanding (0.5 x 10M+ 0.5 x 15M = 12.5M).An important aspect of EPS that's often ignored is the capital that is required to generate the earnings (net income) in the calculation.

Two companies could generate the same EPS number, but one could do so with less equity (investment) - that company would be more efficient at using its capital to generate income and, all other things being equal, would be a "better" company. Investors also need to be aware of earnings manipulation that will affect the quality of the earnings number. It is important not to rely on any one financial measure, but to use it in conjunction with statement analysis and other measures.
Related Links: The math may be simple, but to make informed investment decisions, investors need to understand the many varieties of EPS and what each represents.

Types Of EPSLearn how this key metric is calculated and how it is used to judge market performance. Earnings Forecasts: A PrimerConsensus estimates can send stocks spiraling - but are they representing reality? Surprising Earnings ResultsCompanies can manipulate their numbers, so you need to learn how to determine the accuracy of EPS. How To Evaluate The Quality Of EPSEPS helps investors analyze earnings in relation to changes in new-share capital. Getting The Real EarningsThese unofficial forecasts hold the potential for insider insight - and investment risk. Whisper Numbers: Should You Listen?

Source-http://www.answers.com/topic/earning-per-share

Top Ten Investing Books And Books to Read

1) The Intelligent Investor
This is perhaps the most important and influential book ever written about value investing. Originally published in 1934 by Ben Graham, this work has been heralded by such notable investors as Warren Buffett as "the best investing book ever written". In it, Graham presents two types of investing styles - one for every day people who don't want to think about their portfolios ("defensive") and the business man or woman who wants to enjoy maximum returns ("enterprising").

2) One Up on Wall Street
As many of you have heard me say, One up on Wall Street is, in my opinion, the first or second book any new investor should read. In it, famed mutual fund manager Peter Lynch teaches you how to use what you already know to make money in the market.

3) The Essays of Warren Buffett
Anyone who is worth their salt as an investor has read the Berkshire Hathaway shareholder letters, written by Buffett. In this book, Professor Lawrence Cunningham selects and arranges these corporate "essays" by topic and relevance. It is a great tool to have handy and can teach you a lot about management, business valuation, investing philosophy, the use of stock options, economic and accounting goodwill and more.

4) Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits & Other Writings
Philip Fisher is one of the most prominent and important financial thinkers in history. In this book, he examines the fifteen qualities of an excellent business. When this approach is coupled with Graham's "value" method, it can be a very powerful thing.

5) Security Analysis
Security Analyis was originally written by Professor Benjamin Graham in 1934. Five editions and a million copies later, the seven hundred page investing treatise will teach you how to analyze and value almost any investment. If you take more than a casual interest in building your networth, this book will change your life.

6) How to be a Billionaire
In this 250+ page book, the author takes you through the strategies of many of America's billionaires, going back more than 100 years to such names as Getty and Rockefeller, and ending with such modern-day titans such as Bill Gates. It examines each of their strengths in an easy-to-digest format. This book is a fun and informative read.

7) The Interpretation of Financial Statements
Do you want to learn to read and understand financial statements? This classic investment book makes it simple. No matter how experienced an investor, this...

8) Steps to Financial Freedom

Renowned expert Suze Orman discusses nine steps each person can take to put themself on the road to financial independence. Not just limited to investment, this book covers everything from retirement to life insurance. It is an excellent companion if you are looking for a well-rounded approach to bring fiscal responsibility and discipline to your life.

9) Rich Dad, Poor Dad

Rich Dad, Poor Dad was Robert Kiyosaki's first best-selling book. In it, he advocates financial independence by means of investing, real estate, owning businesses, and the use of finance protection tactics.
Rich Dad, Poor Dad is written in what is meant to be an entertaining anecdotal manner to make finances interesting. The most central element stressed by Kiyosaki is the advocacy of owning the system or means of production, rather than being an employee of someone else.

10) Financial Shenanigans: How to Detect Accounting Gimmicks and Fraud
The second edition of Howard Schilit's book teaches investors to detect financial fraud and aggressive accounting in annual reports, financial statements, and SEC filings. There are dozens of real-life examples ranging from film to tech companies. If you take more than a casual interest in your investments, you should consider owning this book

Improve Your Body language -Effective communication

Continuing from the previous post 6 reasons to improve your body language, here is just a few of many pointers on how to improve your body language. Improving your body language can make a big difference in your people skills, attractiveness and general mood.
There is no specific advice on how to use your body language. What you do might be interpreted in several ways, depending on the setting and who you are talking to. You’ll probably want to use your body language differently when talking to your boss compared to when you talk to a girl/guy you’re interested in. These are some common interpretations of body language and often more effective ways to communicate with your body.

First, to change your body language you must be aware of your body language. Notice how you sit, how you stand, how you use you hands and legs, what you do while talking to someone.

You might want to practice in front of a mirror. Yeah, it might seem silly but no one is watching you. This will give you good feedback on how you look to other people and give you an opportunity to practise a bit before going out into the world.

Another tip is to close your eyes and visualize how you would stand and sit to feel confident, open and relaxed or whatever you want to communicate. See yourself move like that version of yourself. Then try it out.

You might also want observe friends, role models, movie stars or other people you think has good body language. Observe what they do and you don’t. Take bits and pieces you like from different people. Try using what you can learn from them.
Some of these tips might seem like you are faking something. But fake it til you make it is a useful way to learn something new. And remember, feelings work backwards too. If you smile a bit more you will feel happier. If you sit up straight you will feel more energetic and in control. If you slow down your movements you’ll feel calmer. Your feelings will actually reinforce your new behaviours and feelings of weirdness will dissipate.

In the beginning easy it’s to exaggerate your body language. You might sit with your legs almost ridiculously far apart or sit up straight in a tense pose all the time. That’s ok. And people aren’t looking as much as you think, they are worrying about their own problems. Just play around a bit, practice and monitor yourself to find a comfortable balance.

1. Don’t cross your arms or legs – You have probably already heard you shouldn’t cross your arms as it might make you seem defensive or guarded. This goes for your legs too. Keep your arms and legs open.
2. Have eye contact, but don’t stare – If there are several people you are talking to, give them all some eye contact to create a better connection and see if they are listening. Keeping too much eye-contact might creep people out. Giving no eye-contact might make you seem insecure. If you are not used to keeping eye-contact it might feel a little hard or scary in the beginning but keep working on it and you’ll get used to it.
3. Don’t be afraid to take up some space – Taking up space by for example sitting or standing with your legs apart a bit signals self-confidence and that you are comfortable in your own skin.
4. Relax your shoulders – When you feel tense it’s easily winds up as tension in your shoulders. They might move up and forward a bit. Try to relax. Try to loosen up by shaking the shoulders a bit and move them back slightly.
5. Nod when they are talking – nod once in a while to signal that you are listening. But don’t overdo it and peck like Woody Woodpecker.
6. Don’t slouch, sit up straight – but in a relaxed way, not in a too tense manner.
7. Lean, but not too much – If you want to show that you are interested in what someone is saying, lean toward the person talking. If you want to show that you’re confident in yourself and relaxed lean back a bit. But don’t lean in too much or you might seem needy and desperate for some approval. Or lean back too much or you might seem arrogant and distant.
8. Smile and laugh – lighten up, don’t take yourself too seriously. Relax a bit, smile and laugh when someone says something funny. People will be a lot more inclined to listen to you if you seem to be a positive person. But don’t be the first to laugh at your own jokes, it makes you seem nervous and needy. Smile when you are introduced to someone but don’t keep a smile plastered on your face, you’ll seem insincere.
9. Don’t touch your face – it might make you seem nervous and can be distracting for the listeners or the people in the conversation.
10. Keep you head up. Don’t keep your eyes on the ground, it might make you seem insecure and a bit lost. Keep your head up straight and your eyes towards the horizon.
11. Slow down a bit – this goes for many things. Walking slower not only makes you seem more calm and confident, it will also make you feel less stressed. If someone addresses you, don’t snap you’re neck in their direction, turn it a bit more slowly instead.
12. Don’t fidget – try to avoid, phase out or transform fidgety movement and nervous ticks such as shaking your leg or tapping your fingers against the table rapidly. You’ll seem nervous and fidgeting can be a distracting when you try to get something across. Declutter your movements if you are all over the place. Try to relax, slow down and focus your movements.
13. Use your hands more confidently – instead of fidgeting with your hands and scratching your face use them to communicate what you are trying to say. Use your hands to describe something or to add weight to a point you are trying to make. But don’t use them to much or it might become distracting. And don’t let your hands flail around, use them with some control.
14. Lower your drink – don’t hold your drink in front of your chest. In fact, don’t hold anything in front of your heart as it will make you seem guarded and distant. Lower it and hold it beside your leg instead.
15. Realise where you spine ends – many people (including me until recently) might sit or stand with a straight back in a good posture. However, they might think that the spine ends where the neck begins and therefore crane the neck forward in a

Montgomery Burns-pose. Your spine ends in the back of your head. Keep you whole spine straight and aligned for better posture.
16. Don’t stand too close –one of the things we learned from Seinfeld is that everybody gets weirded out by a close-talker. Let people have their personal space, don’t invade it.
17. Mirror - Often when you get along with a person, when the two of you get a good connection, you will start to mirror each other unconsciously. That means that you mirror the other person’s body language a bit. To make the connection better you can try a bit of proactive mirroring. If he leans forward, you might lean forward. If she holds her hands on her thighs, you might do the same. But don’t react instantly and don’t mirror every change in body language. Then weirdness will ensue.
18. Keep a good attitude – last but not least, keep a positive, open and relaxed attitude. How you feel will come through in your body language and can make a major difference. For information on how make yourself feel better read 10 ways to change how you feel and for relaxation try A very simple way to feel relaxed for 24 hours.
You can change your body language but as all new habits it takes a while. Especially things like keeping you head up might take time to correct if you have spent thousands of days looking at your feet. And if you try and change to many things at once it might become confusing and feel overwhelming.
Take a couple of these body language bits to work on every day for three to four weeks. By then they should have developed into new habits and something you’ll do without even thinking about it. If not, keep on until it sticks. Then take another couple of things you’d like to change and work on them.

source-http://www.positivityblog.com/index.php/2006/10/27/18-ways-to-improve-your-body-language/

Tips on Improving Memory

Most of us express dissatisfaction with our memory, especially when we want to recall some detail and we can't. Some examples are, an address or a telephone number, the time of a meeting, somebody's name, etc. Even people who I think have an excellent memory, complain that they forget things. In their case, perhaps their mind refuses to be cluttered with a detail which doesn't seem important to them at the time. Later, for some reason, they want to contact that person, and they can't recall the name or other details of that person.
Memory works like a bank. You can get to it, only if you put it there. If you didn't deposit it, you can't collect it when you need it.

A lot of people insist, "My memory is terrible, or "I can't remember anything." In most of the cases, their memory is fine. The power to remember is certainly there. They just need to take the time to learn ways to "register" the events more clearly, so they can 'recall" them more successfully, later. In this article, I will briefly describe what we need to do to improve our memory and in later articles, I will write in more detail about them.

l. Positive expectation. Believe that you have a good memory. If you believe you have a poor memory and you can't remember anything, your mind will do everything to prove you right. It is better to think that your memory is basically good. When you learn better memory techniques, you will have a better memory. The reason that someone you know has a better memory is that he or she, knowingly or automatically, is using better memory techniques.

2. Interest and importance: Recall of a particular event or detail depends on the interest we take and the importance we assign to that detail or event, at the time when it is taking place. We remember so much more about people, places, and topics which fascinate us. When you are greatly interested in a subject, you pay close attention and your brain releases chemicals to form deeper "imprints" on the cells that store memory. Those can literally become "long lasting impressions. "

3. Pay attention: If you want to recall something, pay close attention to it at the time. The problem may not be memory, the problem may be one of attention. People who have a good memory, pay close attention to events as they happen. Also, you may well know that the level of interest and importance we assign to a person or an event, determines how much attention we are going to pay it at the particular time it is occurring.

4. Memory is an active process. The more active attention you pay, the more details you observe, the more you think, reason, and comprehend, the more associations you make of what you know with what you are trying to learn, the more you will retain and be able to recall, later on. Good memory is a state of the active mind.

5. A relaxed mind helps memory: Learn with a relaxed mind. Recall the learned material with a relaxed mind. Let's take as an example a situation where you misplace your car keys. If you get too agitated with yourself in trying to recall something, as is the case in this example, you are in for frustration. But, if you relax your mind, and calmly go through the events backward, you are more likely to remember where you left them.

6. Reduce anxiety. While mild anxiety can increase interest and attention, high anxiety can impair attention and concentration, and therefore, limit the recall of learned material. That is why, if we are too anxious during a test, we forget what we earlier knew very well. Actually, your memory is okay but anxiety is interfering with it. Management of test anxiety has helped many students in their test performance.

7. Monitor depression. Depression can impair the interest and joy in the events surroundings us. As a result, too little energy is left to recall anything. Some depressed persons become more anxious and depressed thinking, "I have lost my mind. " Once depression is treated, memory as a general rule, returns to the normal.

8. Use your favorite sensory channel. Some remember better what they see, "visual memory, " and some remember better what they hear, "auditory memory. " If you are someone who remembers better what you hear, then listen to a book on tape, rather than reading it. For other material, tape what you want to learn, and then listen to it for better recall.

source-http://www.mindpub.com/art079.htm

Professional organisation

Nowdays organisation is emerging in terms of thousands.Employee strength is also increasing day by day.All employee in any organisation need not be having same skills.Five fingers of our hands are never be same know.Then how come all employees are too intelligent.

It is highly absurd to think all are intelligent.There average skilled employee and above average employee also will be there.

The ability of organisation to motivate the below average employee to become best person.

"There is a dark before the dawn".The soul responsibility of all organisatin to motivate and concentrate to develop employee skills.

sometimes when we motivate employee,the average skill person becomes extraordinary person.This is simply how well we approach them and how we handle them.Instead of telling it is impossible for you to finish the tasks and tell them it possible.Because impossible become i m possible.

Every experience we have is designed to make us stronger.Be part of motivator.

Assets Allocation-Finanicial planning

You have many options for where to invest your money, and every option has a different risk/reward ratio. You can put all your money in the high risk/reward basket, such as aggressive growth stocks, and you may enjoy great gains, but you’ll also suffer huge losses when things go badly. On the other hand, you can put all your money in the low risk/reward basket and keep your assets secure, but then your gains will be very modest.

If your gains are taxable, you need to make about 7% just to stay even, since you have to cover inflation + taxes (based on typical USA figures).

The point of intelligent asset allocation is to enjoy strong gains without taking on too much risk of losing your entire principal and having to start over from scratch.

So you want to have some money in the aggressive growth bucket, so you have the potential to enjoy some big wins when things go well. But you also want to keep some money in your secure bucket, so you have backup funds to get back in the game if your aggressive investments go bust. Asset allocation involves determining how much to put in each bucket.

I’ve made mistakes on both sides. As a young adult, I kept all my money in a regular savings account, earning minimal interest while the market was soaring. Then in my late 20s, I put most of my money in stocks that lost 70-80% of their value during the dotcom bust, and it took me a while to rebuild those cash reserves. Both of these were good lessons for me.
A financial investment example
As an interesting illustration from the course, consider this hypothetical example. Suppose Erin and I are each going to invest $100,000 for 25 years, and we want to maximize our returns.

I decide to play it safe and stick the whole $100K in a fairly secure investment that yields 7% per year.

Erin decides to split her money into $20K chunks and invests in five different vehicles, which perform as follows:
$20K is lost completely
$20K returns 0%, so you only get the original $20K back
$20K is invested at 5%
$20K is invested at 10%
$20K is invested at 12%

Who gets the better total return? Let’s see how the numbers add up:
My 7% investment turns that $100K into $572,542 after 25 years.
Erin’s returns are as follows:
$20K lost = $0
$20K @ 0% = $20K
$20K @ 5% = $69,626
$20K @ 10% = $241,139
$20K @ 12% = $395,769
So Erin’s grand total is $726,534. That’s $153,992 more than what my 7% investment earned. It’s interesting that 40% of her initial investment returned zero or negative returns, and another 20% underperformed my 7% return. But those higher returns of 10% and 12% really pay off. Even though most of Erin’s picks were poor performers, being right just 40% of the time was all she needed.

By diversifying her investments, Erin was able to participate in the big winners while not being wiped out by the losers. Of course it would have been great if she could have invested the whole amount at 12% or more, but this example assumes she did her best to pick five potential winners.

To optimize your long-term investment gains, you need to optimize your asset allocation. Maybe you start with 1/3 of your money in safe investments like municipal bonds, another 1/3 in growth funds, and the last 1/3 in aggressive growth stocks. Over time these percentages will drift as each bucket grows at a different rate, so you need to rebalance them.

When your riskier investments lose money, rebalancing means transferring money out of your secure bucket to get back in the game and try again. And when your riskier investments pay off big, rebalancing means transferring money back to your secure bucket to lock in your gains. This strategy allows you to continue enjoying some big investment payoffs without taking on too much risk.

Beyond financial planning
After the financial planning course I realized that the strategy of asset allocation can be applied to other areas of life, such as work, relationships, and health.
Consider how you allocate your time. You can think of your time as consisting of several buckets, each having a different risk/reward ratio. If you have a full-time job that pays a flat salary, then most of your time is allocated to the security bucket, so you might want to shift some of that time to the entrepreneurial bucket to participate in the game for much greater gains. Maybe your job pays $20/hour, and you have the option of trying to make $50/hour doing consulting on the side, but your consulting efforts don’t always pay off. Some hours you make $50, but others you make $0. And as you slide the risk/reward ratio further, you may put yourself in the game for some of those delightful

$10,000 hours.
You can also use non-monetary criteria for each bucket. With physical exercise you could have different buckets for allocating your time to aerobic conditioning, endurance training, strength training, stretching, sports, and fitness education. Each of these buckets will have a particular impact on your physical health. You would then allocate a certain percentage of your available exercise time to each of these buckets in accordance with your fitness goals. I remember when I started exercising regularly, all I did was running (aerobics). Then I got into distance running (endurance). Today I do about 40% aerobics, 45% strength training, and 15% disc golf (sports). I had the most balanced allocation when I trained in Tae Kwon Do, which was a great blend of everything.
It’s up to you to decide what particular allocation works best for you, whether you’re trying to get better returns on your money, your time, your energy, your goals, or something else. Working like a monomaniac on any one thing for too long will unbalance you, as will neglecting a key area for too long. Intelligent asset allocation can help you consciously determine the right mix that keeps you in the sweet spot of balancing risk vs. reward, work vs. leisure, strength vs. flexibility, solo time vs. social time, and so on.

source-http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2006/10/asset-allocation/

Taxes in India-Joke

A little boy wanted Rs.50 very badly and prayed for weeks, but nothing happened. Finally he decided to write God a letter requesting the Rs.50.

When the postal authorities received the letter addressed to God, INDIA, they decided to forward it to the Prime Minister of the India as a joke.

The Prime Minister was so amused, that he instructed his secretary to send the little boy Rs.20.The Prime Minister thought this would appear to be a lot of money ( Rs.50) to a little boy, and he did notwant to spoil the kid.

The little boy was delighted with Rs.20, and decided to write a thank you note to God, which read: "Dear God: Thank you very much for sending the money.

However, I noticed that you sent it through the PrimeMinister Office (North Block) in New Delhi, and those Donkeys deducted Rs.30 in taxes ... "

How to Win Friends and Influence People-WLB

Fundamental Techniques for Handling People:

• Don't criticize, condemn or complain.
• Give people a feeling of importance; praise the good parts of them.
• Get the other person to want to do what you want them to by arousing their desires.
  

Six Ways to Make People Like You:

1. Be genuinely interested in other people.
2. Smile.
3. Remember and use people's names.
4. Encourage others to talk about themselves and listen to them.
5. Discuss what the other person is interested in.
6. Make the other person feel important.
   
   

Twelve Ways to Win People to Your Way of Thinking:

1. Avoid arguments.
2. Show respect for the other person's opinions. Never tell someone they are wrong.
3. If you're wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically.
4. Begin in a friendly way.
5. Start with questions the other person will answer yes to.
6. Let the other person do the talking.
7. Let the other person feel the idea is his/hers.
8. Try honestly to see things from the other person's point of view.
9. Sympathize with the other person.
10. Appeal to noble motives.
11. Dramatize your ideas.
12. Throw down a challenge.

Nine Ways to Change People Without Giving Offense or Arousing Resentment:

1. Begin with praise and honest appreciation.
2. Call attention to other people's mistakes indirectly.
3. Talk about your own mistakes first.
4. Ask questions instead of giving direct orders.
5. Let the other person save face.
6. Praise every improvement.
7. Give them a fine reputation to live up to.
8. Encourage them by making their faults seem easy to correct.
9. Make the other person happy about doing what you suggest.

source-How to Win Friends and Influence people-by-Dale carnegie

SELF GROWTH

You Can Always Be Better Than You Are Now


"There is little difference in people, but that little difference makes a big difference. The little difference is attitude. The big difference is whether it is positive or negative."
- Clement Stone



"Never react emotionally to criticism. Analyze yourself to determine whether it is justified. If it is, correct yourself. Otherwise, go on about your business."
- Norman Vincent Peale

You Can Always Be Better Than You Are Now
by © Arthur, The Motivation Home


Everyone are born with two natures. As we grow up through life, one wants us to advance forward and the other one want us to step backward. The one which you cultivate the most as you grow up in life become the kind of person you shall be. Your own inner will power is going to decide which one shall remain permanent with you for the rest of your life.

If you were to read the thoughts of successful people, they have something in common. Many succeed by their own supreme effort of their own will power. That enough proof that human have the will power to find ways to succeed if they really want to. A human is therefore a director of their own life. Good success habits can be acquired and so does bad failure habits that will hinder your success.

History have shown that a good for nothing person who break his/her old habit can amount to something big if they really want to. The real purpose of reading good books are to simulate and awaken your inner will power so that you can take action on the possibilities.

Never let fate alone determine whether you are rich or poor. Never let the words of another person determine whether you should be angry, happy or sad. They can say what they want but you have the power to ignore them if their sole purpose is bring you down.

Don't let the precious years go by without setting a definite goal. If you want to be rich, then take the action and learn how to be rich. With today knowledge economy, how rich a person can grow is determine by their ideas, not how big their pocket are.

If you want to be a top gun in your career, then start planning how you can become one. Go to the library and start reading books and learn from the career expert. Next, put the knowledge into action. If you need additional qualification, then plan out a time to sign up for the course. There are always ways for you to better yourself.

When you start asking yourself "what can you do to better yourself", then the answer is "taking action to do something is still better than those who do nothing to improve themselves". Many people achieve very little in their life not because they can't achieve something big. Most who under achieve simply live their life without a definite goal and slept through their days caught in the same routine of work, lunch, dinner and watching too much TV programs when they reach home.

Life can only furnish you with the opportunity to improve yourself. Whether you do it or not depends on what your goal is. Therefore, at beginning of every month, you should sit down and spend time to examine the progress that you have made.

Find out why you have not achieve the result you want and plan out ways on what you can do to get closer to what you want. Remember, time pass are forever gone. You can always be better than what you are now if you are willing to put in the effort to "Just Do It".
Copyright © Arthur A motivation a day will make your day a GREAT DAY.
Today is the first day of your life to live the rest days..Have a Optimistic day..Wish you all best

Hair-Care Tips

1.Comb your hair regularly. Combing helps spread the natural oils through hair, making it look shinier and healthier.

2.Massage scalp regularly to increase oil secretion.

3.Always wash your brush and comb when you shampoo your hair. Avoid lending your brushes and combs to others.

4.Don't wash you hair in soaps or harsh shampoos. They are highly alkaline and will upset your hair's natural pH balance.

5.Avoid sratching scalp with finger nails or fine combs, because damage to scalp causes damage to hair.

6.Leave your hair untied for atlease four hours a day. This eases the pressure on your scalp and gets blood circulation back.

7.Finally, follow a healthy and balanced diet. Nothing promotes hair growth better.

Basic Hair Care
We recommend that you follow the suggestions listed below to help you to get your hair into a good condition.
Cleansing
Your should wet your hair with warmish water and using only a little amount of shampoo get it into a lather in your hands and then apply it onto your hair.
The choice of shampoo should reflect you own type of hair and how you wish to present yourself.
Conditioning
1.After you shampoo your hair it is important to use a conditioner on every occasion as a conditioner will help the hair cuticle cells and help to get them to lay flat. it will also allow the hair when dry to be more easily looked after.

2.The conditioner that you use is very important and there are different formulas for dry hair and for hair that is more greasy.

3.It is essential that you make regular trips to a hairdresser every six to eight weeks otherwise there is a danger of getting split ends in your hair.However, by keeping your hair clean and conditioned following the plan above you will be able to ensure that your hairdresser is able to really get the best look and shape to your hair.

Healthy Hair
1.Healthy hair responds to what you eat in the same way as your skin and the whole of the rest of your body.

2.Iron deficiency is the biggest problem for non genetic hair loss amongst women in Britain.

3.For iron to be absorbed in the body Vitamin C and Lysine acid needs to be taken.

4.If you do not eat alot of red meat then it could be difficult to absorb enough iron, so it is advisable to consider using a supplement. It is very important to look after your digestion by eating vegetables and fruit on a daily basis. It is also important to eat the following foods on a regular basis.

5.Salads, Figs, Almonds, Dates, Peas, Beans, Lentils, Sesame seeds, Salmon, Tuna, Sardines.

5.It is also important to drink alot of water and keep your caffeine content down to a minimum by drinking very little tea or coffee, chocolate or any cola drinks.
Unlike your skin your hair cannot repair itself. That's why you need to care for it and protect it - for the state of your hair reflects your internal health.

• To revive your hair's natural health and shine, follow this:
  Keep your scalp clean and cool.
  Nutrients are the key to healthy hair, but to be effective, they must reach the roots. So, whatever you use, you must learn to massage it in well, using the pads of your fingers.
  


• Tension in the scalp or fatty deposits block blood circulation, drying the sebum and thus starving the hair roots. So, message scalp with a god oil to improve circulation and free the hair roots of dry sebum.
  


• Make a pre-shampoo conditioner with natural herbs like henna, 'shikakai', neem, sandalwood, 'amla' and 'brahmi' and add curd and eggs to it. Apply to scalp to beat dryness and lend bounce to otherwise limp and dull hair.
  Follow a balanced diet rich in minerals, proteins and vitamins, the essentials for healthy hair. Especially good are iron, sulphur, zinc-B complex and vitamin C.

Mutual Funds in India

Mutual Fund is an instrument of investing money. Nowadays, bank rates have fallen down and are generally below the inflation rate. Therefore, keeping large amounts of money in bank is not a wise option, as in real terms the value of money decreases over a period of time.
One of the options is to invest the money in stock market. But a common investor is not informed and competent enough to understand the intricacies of stock market. This is where mutual funds come to the rescue.A mutual fund is a group of investors operating through a fund manager to purchase a diverse portfolio of stocks or bonds. Mutual funds are highly cost efficient and very easy to invest in. By pooling money together in a mutual fund, investors can purchase stocks or bonds with much lower trading costs than if they tried to do it on their own. Also, one doesn't have to figure out which stocks or bonds to buy. But the biggest advantage of mutual funds is diversification.Diversification means spreading out money across many different types of investments. When one investment is down another might be up. Diversification of investment holdings reduces the risk tremendously.On the basis of their structure and objective, mutual funds can be classified into following major types:
Closed-end funds
Open-end funds
Large cap funds
Mid-cap funds
Equity funds
Balanced funds
Growth funds
No load funds
Exchange traded funds
Value funds
Money market funds
International mutual funds
Regional mutual funds
Sector funds
Index funds
Fund of funds

source-http://www.iloveindia.com/finance/mutual-funds/closed-end-mutual-fund.html

Personality

Personality

As we are all aware 'personality' is referred to one's traits,both negative and Positive.You are made of liabilities and assests;You have within you the desire to Succeed,the desire for self fulfilment and desire to be happy.

When you look into the mirroe sometimes you could see a smiling face and yet sometimes a frowning face.You find within yourself quite opposing traits.Your negative side is a liability,which is needed to be corrected;Your positive traits are constructive and they are your assets.No one else can change your personality,unless you desire it.

To cultivate a better personality:

1. Do one thing at a time,aim at one goal at a time.


2. Live in the present.


3. Donot forget to learn valuable lessons from yesterday's mistakes.


4. Stop criticising yourself and others.


5. Aim at self-improvement.


6. Subject yourself to an honest self-appraisal.


7. Donot be prejudiced about others;Learn to listen and listen to learn.


8. Donot give up any task until you finish it.If you make a mistake,try again.


9. Excerise your imagination and creative power to achieve success.


10. Donot forget the saying personality is to a man what perfume is to a flower.

11 STEPS TO FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE

The ultimate financial dream is to have enough money and investments to pay for your desired lifestyle without ever having to work another day for the rest of your life. Many people reach financial security, but few reach financial independence. Many people live the good life while they are working, but in retirement are forced into a less expensive life style because they failed to plan for the golden years. Many people spend like they are wealthy, but few accumulate enough assets to become financially independent. The following are definitions to help you understand the points of this article.
Financial Independence - The ability to maintain and pay for the life style of your choosing without having to work for the rest of your life.
Financial Security - The ability to maintain the lifestyle of your choosing, but having to work to earn the money to pay for this lifestyle.
This article focuses on financial principals that will help you achieve financial independence.
Money is not a root of all evil.But love of Money is a root of all evil
1. Live Below Your Means - You cannot accumulate wealth if you live a life style more expensive than your earnings. You should set your spending below your earnings so that you can save from 10% to 20% of your pre-tax earnings. Without obeying this first principle, you need not be concerned with those that follow.
2. Budget Your Spending - Almost everyone without a budget spends more than they think they spend. You need to have a personal budget and stick to it.
3. Watch The Big Ticket Items - Real estate agents may typically tell you that you can afford a house equal to 3 times your family gross income, after considering the deduction of home mortgage interest on your taxes. But if you limit your purchase to, say, twice your annual gross income, you can cut your monthly mortgage payments by 35% freeing up cash that you can invest in growth stocks or mutual funds. The same is true for cars, boats, etc. Buy what you need but stay within your means.
4. Launch a Disciplined Saving and Investing Plan - Get in the habit of saving and investing. Pay yourself first. Each month when you pay your monthly bills, make your first payment to your savings account, mutual fund or investment account. Force yourself to develop a discipline. The earlier in your life you begin an investment program , the longer you have for your investments to grow and accumulate. If you understand the time value of money, you know that the longer you have your money invested, the larger the growth.
5. Do Not Buy a Vacation Home or Condo - Unless you plan to live in a home more that 6 months out of the year, don't buy it. Almost anything that you can buy, you can also rent, and you only pay for the time that you use the property. Even if you plan to retire and move to a particular place in 10 or 15 years, do not buy until you are ready to make the move. More exciting developments may appear before your move, and the wealth you create by having the money invested will probably far outweigh the savings you realize by buying today.
6. Don't Take on Financial Responsibility for Anything that Eats - Recognize that the more you have, the greater the cost and the longer it will take you to reach financial independence.
7. Protect Yourself From Disaster - Make sure that you have adequately insured your family for the loss of income if a bread winner dies or becomes disabled. Make sure that you have adequate life insurance, particularly during the child rearing years, and realize that you are far more likely to become disabled than you are to die. Also make sure that you have adequate health insurance for every member of your family.
8. Avoid Credit Card Debt - Use credit cards as a matter of convenience only. If you cannot pay off the entire balance when the bill arrives, you cannot afford the purchase you are contemplating.
9. Pay as Little as Legally Possible in Income Taxes - You should plan your tax situation every year and attempt to pay the lowest amount possible. One way is by keeping much of your net worth invested in growth stocks whose gains come largely from price appreciation, rather than dividends. If your employer sponsors a 401-K plan, income deferral or retirement program, max out your contributions in order to defer the taxes. Contribute to an IRA account, even if you cannot deduct the contribution. The growth is tax deferred until retirement.
10. Invest, Don't Trade - Buy investments that you are willing to hold for many years. Buy into companies that you believe will grow and prosper for many years. This appreciation in price is not taxable until you sell and you pay no taxes until that time. Very few individual investors are able to trade in the stock market on a short term basis and make money. Keep a long term focus and forget the day to day fluctuations.
11. Hire an Astute, Independent Financial Advisor - Your most trusted source of independent financial advise may not be your stock broker or financial planner, but your CPA. An astute CPA can offer you advice on everything from clever tax strategies to investment planning. Be sure to hire an advisor that is focused on increasing your wealth. Make sure that you carefully evaluate any investment where the person selling you the investment is earning a commission from the sale.

Footprints in the Sand!

Last night I had a dream. I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. Across the sky flashed scenes from my life. For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand: one belonged to me, the other to the Lord.
After the last scene of my life flashed before me, I looked back at the footprints in the sand. I noticed that at many times along the path of my life, especially at the very lowest and saddest times, there was only one set of footprints.
This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it. “Lord, you said once I decided to follow you, You’d walk with me all the way. But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life, there was only one set of footprints. I don’t understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me.”
The Lord replied, “My son, my precious child, I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of suffering, when you could see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.”
Author Unknown

Time

Imagine there is a bank that credits your account each morning with $86,400. It carries over no balance from day to day. Every evening deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day.
What would you do? Draw out every cent? Of course !! Each of us has such a bank.
It's name is TIME.
Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds.
Every night it writes off, as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose.
It carries over no balance. It allows no overdraft.
Each day it opens a new account for you.
Each night it burns the remains of the day.
If you fail to use the day's deposits, the loss is yours.
There is no going back.
there is no drawing against the "tomorrow".
You must live in the present on today's deposits.
Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness and success!
The clock is running.
Make the most of today!!!
To realize the value of ONE YEAR, ask a student who failed a grade.
To realize the value of ONE MONTH, ask a mother who gave birth to a pre-mature baby.
To realize the value of ONE WEEK, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper.
To realize the value of ONE MINUTE, ask a person who missed the train.
To realize the value of ONE SECOND, ask a person who just avoided an accident.
To realize the value of ONE MILLISECOND, ask the person who won a silver medal in the Olympics.
Treasure every moment that you have! And treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time.
Time waits for no one.
Yesterday is historyTomorrow is mysteryToday is a giftThat's why its called the present....
We so often neglect to show our friends our much we care.

The 100 ways to live 100 years

The tips and suggestions given below are deep research and collection of author for the last 30 years in this field. They are most authentic and tested in most of the cases. The suggestions given here can be adopted in your life without any doubt as they don't have any side effect and based on the laws of nature.
Foods
Take food less than your hunger - It has been established through experiments that the life expectancy of a person goes up two times, if his food intake is reduced by 40%.
The Golden gifts of the nature for you:-
Pomegranate (Anar)- Contains all the important minerals and vitamins required by our body
Honey - Collected from flowers, a superb gift from nature.
Coconut water - The water of green coconut lifted from the earth, and after processing at many stages stores the health nectar with great potentialities of health and vigour.
Amla - provides us with many essential vitamins, best for all types of heart diseases.
Bel - the superb gift from nature, highly useful for stomach ailments and digestive system.
Take vegetarian and fibrous foods (All raw vegetables and fruits fall in this category) - avoid fried and greasy food..
Take your meals preferably two times a day- Avoid meals after sunset
Food in less quantity but of high nutritious value can lead to a longer and healthier life..
Include in your daily diet - Curd, Amla, Sprouted black grams, Apple, Honey, Almonds, Soyabeans, Lemon, Raw Onion, Garlic (preferably roasted -avoid raw)
Daily intake of green leafy vegetables in large quantity eliminates the wrinkles on face. There are instances of people having improved their eyesight by eating these only.
Yellow ripe Pumpkin (Sitafal) contains beta- Carotene, as found in Carrots and gives energy to the heart.
Totally avoid Tea and coffee - They contain toxic substances, which damage the liver in the long run. Tea takes approximately 6 hours to digest and plays havoc with the metabolism of the body. Continuous consumption of tea or coffee is said to result in damage to modular oblongata, which links up all body nerves with the brain, and therefore, controls all body functions.
Avoid Sugar as far as possible, it brings Aging, Cataract and Acidity.
Keep fast atleast for one day in a week taking only fruits.
Keep fast atleast for 24 hour in a fortnight taking only water.
Keep fast atleast for a day every month, without water.
Instead of bed-tea take hot water.
Daily drink water kept in a copper vessel overnight, with magnet kept underneath it.
Drink water with Rudraaksha beads soaked in it overnight.
At least three times a week take dry fruits/ nuts like Almonds, Peanuts, Raisin etc.
Keep changing your cooking oils to supply the body with all types of necessary nutrients.
Don’t take salt in excess. Use as little salt as possible. Just observe that any food provided by nature is never salty in taste, it is always plain, sour or sweet. Excessive salt corrodes our body like sea water, which is never allowed to be drunk even if a person is thirsty.
Add following sprouts to your daily diet:
Black grams sprouts - for heart and diabetes.
Moong (Green lentil) sprouts - a general tonic
Methi (Fenugreek) seed sprouts - For activeness and diabetes.
Soyabeans - Contains 9 types of proteins
Wheat grains sprouts- for vitamin E and long life
Bottle Gourd (Ghia) - It is packed with nutrition, and recommended for high blood pressure and urinary disorders.
Food supplements & general tonics
Vitamin B complex is the most useful and effective diet supplement and should be added to your daily intake of meals. It is mostly found in the uncooked sprouts of different grains.
Bio-chemic combination no -28 , which contains all the 12 essential salts for the body should be taken regularly. It is a general tonic and should be taken after meals to prevent common diseases.
Daily intake of vitamin C (Ascorbic acid) increases life span of body.
Remember all dairy products produce heart diseases - try to avoid them or restrict their quantity.
Remember all types of spices produce cardiovascular diseases.
Exercise & Yoga
Human body is like an automobile it needs the following:-
Lubrication - Proper exercise is the lubrication of body, it increase circulation and flexibility..
Battery charging - Solar plexus is the battery of body and is charged through Pranayam, the yogic breathing.
Cooling Systems - Relaxation provides the cooling of body.
Fuel - Proper diet, food, air, water and sunlight provides the fuel for body
Balanced Driver - Mind is the driver of body. It can be balanced and controlled by meditation and concentration
Do light exercises regularly.
Don’t do strenuous exercises like fast running, body building as they increase the metabolism rate of your body
Brisk walking is the best exercise to keep control on diabetes and heart problems
By living at a cold place (Hill stations), the metabolism rate of the body decreases and the age increases
Deep breathing up to the naval and retaining it for sometime helps in increasing the life span of a person
The normal ratio of our breathing i.e. inhaling, retaining and exhaling should be 1:4:2
Keep your posture erect
Try inhaling the breath from left nostril during day time and from right nostril during the night time
Our internal organs are more important as our outer organs in keeping us healthy. So to keep the liver, stomach and lungs etc in a healthy state. Daily walking in the morning and evening is very essential.
It is possible to even reverse the heart problems by not using oil or ghee at all, by taking only boiled vegetables, doing yogic exercises, and by living a tension free life.
Mind, Temperament and way of living
There is no yoga greater than the control of mind.
Keep your mind busy and active with lot of physical work.
Keep yourself happy and at peace - avoid anger and hot temperament
By meditation, high blood pressures, forgetfulness & aging process can be controlled
Keep enchanting the Maha-mritunjaya Mantra in case of health problems.
Take life as it comes, don’t get disturbed by the ups and downs of life. Eat & drink in moderation, have religious faith, work hard and adopt the habit of early to bed and early to rise.
It was the finding of survey done in Japan, that a large portion of centenarians were engaged in the Agriculture or Forestry as their primary jobs.

Miscellaneous
Take hot water after every meals to control the fatness and improve digestion.
Early in the morning, without cleaning your teeth of mouth drink a glass of water so that all the accumulated sliva in your mouth goes back to your stomach. This method in principal is similar to homoeopathy and is used widely in Japan to prolong the life span and cure many diseases automatically.
Mr Morarji Desai, the former Prime-Minister of India resorted to auto-urine therapy when he had tried all types of therapies and failed to get any cure out of them.
After washing your face with water don’t wipe it off. Let it dry itself on the face. It keeps the face skin young and healthy.
Sleep with your head towards south., it helps to improve the blood circulation of body, due to the body’s alignment with earth’s magnetic field.
Sleep with the leg side of your bed higher than your head side. It increases the blood circulation of your body more towards head side. It keeps you young and rejuvenates your body functions.
Take magnetic water -You can prepare it by keeping a glass of water with two magnets, one on top with north pole facing downward and second under it with south pole facing up, kept overnight and drink in the morning.
Daily intake of Aspirin, even one fourth of a 100mg tablet, avoids chances of heart attacks. Aspirin stops the Aging process by keeping the tissues flexible - it is also good for eyes. (Take only with the advice of doctor.)
Daily apply a drop of mustard oil mixed with some water into your nostrils. It is beneficial for your eyes and keeps the breathing passage clear and smooth.
Daily rub mustard oil on the toe of your feet, it helps in the improvement of eyesight.
Smoking, or intake of tobacco in any form narrows down the arteries and restricts the blood circulation.
The secret of Chinese who lived up to 250 Years - Even in modern times there is an instance of a Chinese whose name was “Lichigian” who reached to a life span of 250 years using the great Indian herb called India Pennywort (Brahmi). He said he is regularly using this Indian herb and he has achieved such a long life by regularly using this herb.
Available for the benefit of our web friends - The secrets of people who lived to more than 100 years at very nominal cost through email or in printed form - It also includes the recipes of soups and juices which one must have daily to prolong his life span. A very useful and a must for every one. – Don’t miss the Golden Opportunity as you have only one life to live.

http://www.livelongto100years.com/longlife.html

Morning Prayer !

Awaken the Leader in You

Awaken the Leader in You
Ten easy steps to developing your leadership skills
by Sharif Khan
The miracle power that elevates the few is to be found in their industry, application,and perseverance, under the promptings of a brave determined spirit.. . Mark Twain
Many motivational experts like to say that leaders are made, not born. I would argue the exact opposite. I believe we are all natural born leaders, but have been deprogrammed along the way. As children, we were natural leaders - curious and humble,always hungry and thirsty for knowledge, with an incredibly vivid imagination; we knewexactly what we wanted, were persistent and determined in getting what we wanted, and had the ability to motivate, inspire, and influence everyone around us to help us in accomplishing our mission. So why is this so difficult to do as adults? What happened?
As children, over time, we got used to hearing, .No,. .Don.t,. and .Can.t.. .No! Don.t do this. Don.t do that. You can.t do this. You can.t do that. No!. Many of our parents told us to keep quiet and not disturb the adults by asking silly questions. This pattern continued into high school with our teachers telling us what we could do and couldn.t do and what was possible. Then many of us got hit with the big one . institutionalized formal education known as college or university. Unfortunately, the traditional educational system doesn.t teach students how to become leaders; it teaches students how to become polite order takers for the corporate world. Instead of learning to become creative, independent, self-reliant, and think for themselves, most people learn how to obey and intelligently follow rules to keep the corporate machine humming.
Developing the Leader in you to live your highest life, then, requires a process of unlearning. by self-remembering and self-honoring. Being an effective leader again will require you to be brave and unlock the door to your inner attic, where your childhood dreams lie, going inside to the heart. Based on my over ten years research in the area of human development and leadership, here are ten easy steps you can take to awaken the
Leader in you and rekindle your passion for greatness:
1. Humility. Leadership starts with humility. To be a highly successful leader, you must first humble yourself like a little child and be willing to serve others. Nobody wants to follow someone who is arrogant. Be humble as a child . always curious, always hungry and thirsty for knowledge. For what is excellence but knowledge plus knowledge plus knowledge - always wanting to better yourself, always improving, always growing. When you are humble, you become genuinely interested in people because you want to learn from them. And because you want to learn and grow, you will be a far more effective listener, which is the #1 leadership communication tool. When people sense you are genuinely interested in them, and listening to them, they will naturally be interested in you and listen to what you have to say.

2. SWOT Yourself. SWOT is an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Although it.s a strategic management tool taught at Stanford and Harvard Business Schools and used by large multinationals, it can just as effectively be used in your own professional development as a leader. This is a useful key to gain access to selfknowledge, self-remembering, and self-honoring. Start by listing all your Strengths including your accomplishments. Then write down all your Weaknesses and what needs to be improved. Make sure to include any doubts, anxieties, fears, and worries that you may have. These are the demons and dragons guarding the door to your inner attic. By bringing them to conscious awareness you can begin to slay them. Then proceed by listing all the Opportunities you see available to you for using your strengths. Finally, write down all the Threats or obstacles that are currently blocking you or that you think you will encounter along the way to achieving your dreams.
3. Follow Your Bliss. Regardless of how busy you are, always take time to do what you love doing. Being an alive and vital person vitalizes others. When you are pursuing your passions, people around you cannot help but feel impassioned by your presence. This will make you a charismatic leader. Whatever it is that you enjoy doing, be it writing, acting, painting, drawing, photography, sports, reading, dancing, networking, or working on entrepreneurial ventures, set aside time every week, ideally two or three hours a day, to pursue these activities. Believe me, you.ll find the time. If you were to video tape yourself for a day, you would be shocked to see how much time goes to waste!

4. Dream Big. If you want to be larger than life, you need a dream that.s larger than life. Small dreams won.t serve you or anyone else. It takes the same amount of time to dream small than it does to dream big. So be Big and be Bold! Write down your One Biggest Dream. The one that excites you the most. Remember, don.t be small and realistic; be bold and unrealistic! Go for the Gold, the Pulitzer, the Nobel, the Oscar, the highest you can possibly achieve in your field. After you.ve written down your dream, list every single reason why you CAN achieve your dream instead of worrying about why you can't.

5. Vision. Without a vision, we perish. If you can.t see yourself winning that award and feel the tears of triumph streaming down your face, it.s unlikely you will be able to lead yourself or others to victory. Visualize what it would be like accomplishing your dream. See it, smell it, taste it, hear it, feel it in your gut.
6. Perseverance. Victory belongs to those who want it the most and stay in it the longest. Now that you have a dream, make sure you take consistent action every day. I recommend doing at least 5 things every day that will move you closer to your dream.

7. Honor Your Word. Every time you break your word, you lose power. Successful leaders keep their word and their promises. You can accumulate all the toys and riches in the world, but you only have one reputation in life. Your word is gold. Honor it.
8. Get a Mentor. Find yourself a mentor. Preferably someone who has already achieved a high degree of success in your field. Don.t be afraid to ask. You.ve got nothing to lose. Mentors.ca is an excellent mentoring website and a great resource for finding local mentoring programs. They even have a free personal profile you can fill out in order to potentially find you a suitable mentor. In addition to mentors, take time to study autobiographies of great leaders that you admire. Learn everything you can from their lives and model some of their successful behaviors.
9. Be Yourself. Use your relationships with mentors and your research on great leaders as models or reference points to work from, but never copy or imitate them like a parrot. Everyone has vastly different leadership styles. History books are filled with leaders who are soft-spoken, introverted, and quiet, all the way to the other extreme of being outspoken, extroverted, and loud, and everything in between. A quiet and simple Gandhi or a soft-spoken peanut farmer named Jimmy Carter, who became president of the United States and won a Nobel Peace Prize, have been just as effective world leaders as a loud and flamboyant Churchill, or the tough leadership style employed by .The Iron Lady,. Margaret Thatcher. I admire Hemingway as a writer. But if I copy Hemingway, I.d be a second or third rate Hemingway, at best, instead of a first rate Sharif. Be yourself, your best self, always competing against yourself and bettering yourself, and you will become a first rate YOU instead of a second rate somebody else.

10. Give. Finally, be a giver. Leaders are givers. By giving, you activate a universal law as sound as gravity: .life gives to the giver, and takes from the taker.. The more you give, the more you get. If you want more love, respect, support, and compassion, give love, give respect, give support, and give compassion. Be a mentor to others. Give back to your community. As a leader, the only way to get what you want, is by helping enough people get what they want first. As Sir Winston Churchill once said, .We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.. ■
_________________________________________________________________________
Sharif Khan is a professional speaker and author of highly acclaimed, Psychology of the
Hero Soul, an inspirational book on awakening the Hero within and developing peoples.
leadership potential. You can reach him at sharif@herosoul.com or visit www.HeroSoul.com