10 Steps To Clear Thinking

Does your mind sometimes feel like a television station you can't quite tune in? You know there's an interesting program on - or several, but everything is mixed with static. What if you could "tune in" at will, have clear thinking whenever you want it? Try some of the following.

Ten Clear Thinking Techniques And Tips

1. Take a walk. Science will eventually prove this to be a great way to improve the quality of your thinking, but don't wait for the proof. Aren't there enough other reasons to take a walk anyhow?

2. Stay away from sugar. If you want to understand what brain fog is, eat a sugary donut on an empty stomach, then do math problems twenty minutes later. What you will experience, along with the "sugar blues," is brain fog. At least lay off sugar and simple carbohydrates when you need to think clearly.

3. Organized space means clear thinking. It's rare that a person can actually work better in clutter. Organised working space means you won't have the thought "where is that..." distracting your mind.

4. Get better sleep. Sleep requirements vary, but the minimum for most is somewhere around five hours. Some suffer if they sleep less than eight hours. The research, however, indicates that after a certain minimum quantity, the quality of sleep is more important to normal brain function.

5. Try meditating. No time? Just close your eyes, relax, and watch your breath for a while. Accept that your mind will wander, but continually return your attention to your breath. Five minutes of this, and afterwards you'll feel a boost in your brainpower.


6. Resolve your "mind irritations." Watch your busy brain. Maybe a call you need to make has been bothering you, just below consciousness. Find these stressors, and do something to let them go. For example, make that call, or put it on a list, and your mind will let go of it for now. Just seeing a problem and saying, "There's nothing I can do about this until Friday," will often stop unconscious worrying.

7. Don't drink alcohol. At least don't drink too much. While moderate amounts can be conducive to creative thinking, all the evidence says that it is bad for the long-term health of your brain.

8. Make decisions quickly. Nothing gets in the way of clear thinking like a dozen decisions hanging around unmade. If nothing else, decide when you'll make the decision.

9. Get some fresh air. Go outside and breath deeply through your nose. You'll get a good dose of oxtgen to your brain, and the change of surroundings can help clear your mind.

10. Satisfy your physical needs. Clear thinking is easier if you aren't too hungry, thirsty, or hot.

You can think more clearly starting today. There are certainly more than ten ways, but you really only need to make a few of them a habit to have a more powerful brain. Why not try one or two right now? 

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Blogging: What it is and why you need one

It is hard not to at least notice the word "blog" or "blogging", with the frequency it seems to pop up in subjects ranging from politics to pornstars. Odds are that you have noticed it unless you have been living in a cave for the last four years. But even with that kind of familiarity of the word, few can say exactly what a blog is. 

To understand the blog, first of all a little history is in order. The word "blog" is short for the word "weblog". A weblog is a word coined early in the internet age to designate a journal or diary type page mainly consisting of personal thoughts and reflections. Most of the time it is updated frequently and can range in topic from the mundane to the profound. Sound familiar? It should. What it really is when you get rid of the hype is the good old fashioned diary which has been with us almost as long as language itself. 

How long have "blogs" been with us? Well, one of the first instances could easily be ascribed to a work called "Kakheperresenb's Complaint", written by none other than the egyptian scribe Kakheperresenb himself. (Please don't try to pronounce the name. You WILL get a headache. We will call him "K" from this point forward.) "K" made one of the first recordable blog entries in history circa 2000 BC. Of course "K" didn't have the resources and technology we did today and his audience was probably limited considering the fact that most of the population was illiterate. 

"K" left with us the memorable phrase, "'Would I had phrases that are not known, utterances that are strange, in new language that has not been used, free from repetition, not an utterance which men of old have spoken.'' Obviously even then people with a blog were STILL trying to figure out what to write!

But no seriously, the blog IS the way to reach fame and fortune and make a little money on the side. Just ask Darren Rowse, whose most recent (August 2005) income total from Adsense was a little over $16,000! Yeah, that WAS three zeroes behind that 6. Not bad for a guy writing his own comments and ramblings about everything from sports shoes to bad movies. Of course Darren went so far as to even take a course in college on "Entrepeunerial Blogging". Needless to say he must have paid attention.

But you need not take a course to have a good blog that generates hits. Blogger extroidinairre Chris Wright started his by simply posting job openings for engineers which he came across during his own job search. Word got around and before long he realized his hit count was going up and up and up… You get the picture. If you write something interesting that people need to know they WILL come to you – invited or not. As Chris's own story perfectly illustrates.


So run this by me again, you say? You mean ALL I have to do is just start writing stuff about – NOTHING?

No, not exactly. As always, in the internet world and in the real world, content is king. Your writing must be somehow funnier, sharper, wittier, smarter, more bizzare or just plain weird in order for people to link to you and as a result drive up the hits to your blog and hence fatten your pocketbook.

But notice how many options you have. You don't have to depend on your education. Nor do you need a rich and lavish lifestyle that you can blog about while others read with envy. If you can make the boring, dreary life of the average nobody funny and interesting people will come regardless. As mentioned earlier – CONTENT is king.

Good content = more visitors = more banner hits = more money.

So you want to know how to get started with this blogging thing?

It's really pretty easy. There are a number of places that will allow you to host your own blog and most of them do it for free. Blogger is probably the most popular. But there are others. Try some of these on for size if you had rather go the more individual route:

Livejournal – This is the "kinda" cool and hip virtual location for the blogger crowd. You can link to other people by topic and it has some other cool features like the ability to allow posts from only certain people.

Diaryland – Diaryland doesn't hids it's origins. In fact it does it's best to try and make your weblog look as close as possible to the good old fashioned diary/journal that we all know and love. They have a smaller and more intimate community than some of the other locations.

What if you are not sure you want to get started but instead want to just read blogs of others for a while until you get a better idea of what you want to say?

Well there are PLENTY of sites that do nothing but list and aggregate blogs of other people. Here are just a few to get you started:

Globeofblogs – Globe of blogs has a real international flavor. You will find blogs from literally everywhere here.

Blogarama – Another compendium of various blogs on subjects ranging from weird to wonderful.

Blogsearchengine – This site cut's to the chase. If you want to search for blogs they will do it for you. Just enter in the subject of your interest.

Top-blogs.com – Okay so you want to know other success stories? Check out those near the top of the listings here. You will then see what it takes to reach the top.

Well, hopefully you know enough to get started on your own blog by now. So what are you waiting for? Get out there and BLOG! 

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Has Someone Stolen Your Identity? Here Are 8 Ways to Tell

Right now, someone could be using your identity to start a new credit card, to get a loan, to drain your checking or savings account. In some cases, you might not find out about the theft for weeks, sometimes even months. Unfortunately, the longer it takes to discover the crime, the more damage will be done and the harder it will be to rectify that damage.

Thankfully, there are some ways for you to detect identity theft before the problems progress too far. Below are some of those methods.

1. Errors on your credit report – By checking your credit report yearly, you'll be able to determine if anyone is opening up accounts in your name without your permission. Otherwise, you may not learn there is a problem until you need to take out credit.

2. Mail problems – One of the least-technological ways to commit identity theft is stealing mail. If you aren't receiving mail or if you aren't getting items in the mail that you are expecting, such as credit card bills, then you may be a victim of identity theft.

3. Being rejected for credit you didn't request – As you may already know, if a creditor rejects your request for credit, he or she must send you a letter in the mail explaining the reason for the rejection. If you begin getting these letters, but you haven't been requesting credit, then that's a good sign someone is using your identity.

4. Being the victim of pretexting – Pretexting is a scheme involving the Internet or the telephone. Someone contacts you claiming to be a legitimate organization's representative, then they'll ask for your personal information, possibly a PIN number or a checking account number. If that has happened to you and you've given out that information, then there's a good chance you'll be a victim in the near future.


5. Changes in your credit balances or checking account amounts – Unexplained changes in any of your financial accounts should be a big signal to you that something is not right. That's why it's a good idea to check all of your balances weekly and compare them to your estimates. As soon as you spot a discrepancy, you need to follow up with your financial institution.

6. Being denied credit – Sadly, some people don't discover they have been identity theft victims until they go to buy a car, get a second mortgage, or open a new credit card. If you thought you had good credit but are getting denied, then it's a good time to check your credit reports, even if you've already done your yearly check.

7. Being contacted by debt collectors – When you start getting calls or letters about unpaid debts, which you don't recall having, you should never automatically pay them. Instead, send a written request for more information about the debt. By law, the creditor must supply you with this information.

8. Having some types of spyware on your computer – While not all spyware leads to identity theft, you need to realize that it can pose a serious threat to your privacy. Your passwords, credit card information, and online activities could have been monitored by unknown third parties, which leave you vulnerable to an attack. 

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Are computer viruses spread by the media?

If you believe what you hear in the media, there are an awful lot of viruses going around. No, I'm not talking about the make-you-sick kind of virus, though they get plenty of airtime, too. I'm talking about the kind of virus that enters via your internet connection rather than your nasal passages. 

What the mainstream media often don't tell you--at least, in most radio and television newscasts and in the crucial headlines and opening paragraphs of newspaper articles-- is that many of these "viruses" are not viruses at all. 

What Computer Viruses Really Are 

The main reason the mainstream media always are in alarm over viruses is that they tend to call any malicious computer program a virus. In reality, there are at least eleven distinct types of malicious software, or malware, commonly affecting computers today. The most common of these are worms, Trojans, and spyware. 

So, what's the difference between computer viruses and the other types of malware? The difference is that computer viruses are just about the only ones that regularly shut down computers and cause other obvious damage. The most common of the other kinds of malware--worms, Trojans, and spyware--are usually only detectable with a special scan. 

The Real Danger of Computer Viruses 

If the other types of malware are so unobtrusive that they can only be detected with a special scan, then what's to worry about? For starters, these programs are called malicious for a reason: they are designed to cause some kind of damage, if not to your computer, then to someone else's. 

Worms are most famously used to damage, destroy, or disrupt other computer networks than the one on which the host computer is located. For instance, worms have been used by website owners to shut down rival websites by sending overwhelming numbers of requests to the computer that hosts that website. Worms have also been used to send out viruses to other computers, often without infecting the host machine--after all, what would it benefit the worm to shut down its host computer? 

Trojans, in turn, are often used to insert worms and other malware on your computer, even if the Trojan itself does no damage. 

But even if you don't care what happens to anyone else, you should still be concerned about one kind of malware: spyware, a kind of malware that, true to its name, collects data from your computer and sends it back to a remote host. 

Most spyware is only interested in monitoring your internet usage so it can tell other programs, called adware, what advertising to popup on your computer. However, there are criminal spyware programs that steal financial data, or perform a thorough identity theft. Don't think you have personal or financial data on your computer? Some spyware programs contain a keylogger, which is a program that copies whatever you type, usually in order to snatch passwords. Even if you keep no financial information on your computer, if you ever buy anything over the web, the keylogger would allow its owner to buy stuff using the same information you typed in to buy stuff yourself.

Why Blame the Media?

Given the danger of all these different types of malware, isn't it a good thing that the mass media are becoming hysterical about it? And can't they be forgiven the sloppy reporting of calling Trojans, worms, spyware, and other malware "viruses"?

No, no, no.

This is a classic case of bad reporting doing more damage than no reporting at all. In this case, the damage bad reporting has done is to promote a common myth that goes something like this: "The only malicious software is a virus. Viruses damage your computer. Therefore, if my computer is working OK, my computer has no malicious software. I only need to scan my computer for problems when there is a sign of problems."

Thanks to this myth, many people complacently let their antivirus software go months out of date, not wanting to be bothered with scheduling an automatic update. Just as bad, many people don't have any extra software to combat the other types of malware that may not be covered by antivirus software.

In fact, it's not uncommon for people who have found malware on their computers after a scan to say, "but I never had malware on my computer before!" But how would they have known if they had never scanned!

Until the biggest mainstream media--and especially television--start educating the public about the need to have their computers automatically scanned at least daily, the world will continue to have major, drawn-out problems with malware that could have been wiped out as soon as soon as the anti-malware software makers discovered it.

And until that day, the mainstream media will have many more opportunities to run hysterical stories about "viruses," thereby forcing them to sell more newspapers and broadcast to even larger audiences of people who suck at the information trough yet somehow never become full. 

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Increase Blog Traffic In 15 Minutes

The sales process is about building relationships with current and potential customers and using a mailing list is an excellent way to help establish communication as well as build more traffic to a site or blog from those who have signed up up for your mailing lists. 

Most people already have a process for contacting existing mailing1 lists, but what if you haven't built a list yet... a mailing list that does not have any subscribers is rather useless. The good news is with an aweber account and a Wordpress blog RSS feed you can perform a quick and incredibly easy three step process that is guaranteed to increase your mailing list opt in rate. 

1. First you will need to logon to your aweber account (or sign up for one if you haven't already). What you will want to do is setup a split test requiring that will have to make a couple of web forms. You can also do this with web forms of the sidebar variety however my testing shows that the popunders forms convert vastly better than the sidebar forms. Remember to make each of the popunder forms different, mix them up with different styles, fonts and colors. 

2. On the bottom of the web form page in aweber there is an option for creating a split test. Select this and setup each of your web forms to display half of the time in a fifty-fifty split 
test. If you want to test more than two that is fine just break up the display rate evenly. 

3. Like the regular forms there is nifty link you click to generate the html code to run the split test. In the case of Wordpress blog simply insert that code by using the template editor into the header file. Right after the closing html head tag is the perfect spot to insert the aweber provided code. If you have difficulty using the built in Wordpress file editor copy the code over to notepad and then copy it back to the editor when finished making changes. Always remeber to make a bacup copy of your Wordpress files before modifying them!

Remember to verify the test is working by visiting the main home page of your site. After getting a good number of visitors check the statistics tabulated in the aweber account. Then based on the split test results add new popunders to the test to replace the poorer converting form. It is important to experiment with words, phrases and text styles to target those that convert best.

After the initial setup you probably do not need to make any changes to the aweber opt in form split test, again depending almost entirely on the volume of traffic and specifically the number of unique displays during that time frame. So far to date I have been spending no more than a few minutes every month adding new variables into the split test for each of my sites. The results have been very positive so far having resulted in a minimum of a two percent increase of mailing list subscribers. 

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The Importance of a Reliable Home Security System

We live in a very insecure world, dominated by robbery and crime. Due to the pronounced differences between the classes of society, cultural conflicts and various other factors, worldwide crime rates have known an exacerbated increase in the last decades, rendering modern society a very unstable and unsafe environment. Every day we hear about all sorts of crimes, robberies and thefts, making us doubt the safety of our homes, possessions and even our lives! 

People are feeling more and more insecure inside their homes these days and they reinforce their doors and windows, install extra door locks, and even buy guard dogs to provide them protection. However, it is very important to note that experienced robbers can easily break through to a wide range of home defenses, the previously mentioned precautions only providing a false sense of security. In addition, recently conducted research has revealed that most burglaries and robberies take place while the owners are at home, exposing the home owners and their families to a serious risk! 

In present, the only effective means to protect your home against robbers is to install a reliable home security system. Only after you have equipped your home with an efficient alarm system you can actually feel 100 percent safe inside your home. A house equipped with a modern, solid security system is definitely not an easy target for robbers. Even the most experienced robbers will think twice before breaking inside a house equipped with a modern security system. However, even if they break inside a house with a security system installed, robbers will trigger the alarm, alerting the local monitoring station and the police.


As soon as you order a home security system, a team will promptly deliver and install it for you. Home security systems are easy to use, allowing users to control a series of features via keypad. The security system is password-protected, requiring you to type in the previously established password before you can change the settings of the alarm system. After you have typed in your password, you can easily arm or disarm the alarm system, or change various specific settings. Once armed, the alarm will be triggered by any attempt of breaching inside the house. In order to ensure that your home is effectively protected, you should install motion detectors to every door and window of your house.

Home security systems are monitored non-stop by a local monitoring station. When the alarmed is triggered, the security system will promptly signal the monitoring station and you will be immediately contacted on the phone by a member of the security team, in order to confirm whether your house has been breached or the signal has been triggered by accident. If you don't answer the phone or give the incorrect password, the monitoring station will quickly alert the police.

A reliable home security system is a very effective means of protecting your home. As soon as you equip your house with a modern, effective security system, you are guaranteed maximum protection and ongoing monitoring for your home. 

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Corporate Team Building - Shake 'Em Up To Wake 'Em Up

Team building has become somewhat of a buzz word in corporate circles over the past few years. Many corporate event planners toss the term 'corporate team building' around willy-nilly as part of their marketing talk - but their events don't always live up to the team building promise. For an event to actually transform and cement new ways of working together, it has to offer more than just lip service and a group trip to go fly-fishing. 

Successful corporate team building events have a number of elements in common: 

1. The opportunity to see the roadblocks to successful communication and teamwork

2. The chance to see co-workers in unfamiliar roles and situations

3. The necessity to work together toward a common goal

4. The support needed to forge productive new ways of working together

Good corporate event planners take those cut-and-dried concepts and turn them into a fun learning experience. The true geniuses in the corporate event world can create amazing and transforming events that will shake up your organization and wake up inspiration that you never knew existed in your company. Experienced planners of team building events know how to bring your coworkers and employees together in new ways that highlight the strengths you know they have, and show them how to use those strengths to build a solid service or production team that simply can't be beat. 

Chillisauce, a UK company that specializes in corporate events and group tours, explains that team building challenges can be beneficial in highlighting how work obstacles are overcome by working together. Among the fun team building activities that they've offered are a Limousine Treasure Hunt, a Spy Mission, Dragon Boat Racing and the opportunity to participate in It's a Knockout! 

Other companies plan 'Service Days' that may include building a children's playground for charity or pitching in to completely renovate a home for a local charity. In any case, the value of the day is in the lessons carried home at its end - that the team can overcome anything by getting to know each other and working together - as a team with unique members. 

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