10 Ways to Gain Confidence

We all want to become more confident and feel good about ourselves so we can live our very best life. Most highly successful people are known to be confident. They know the art of gaining confidence and the importance of improving their self confidence in the face of obstacles. How to gain this confidence and joining the league of successful people is not difficult. The key to this self confidence is to be true to yourself and your capabilities. Knowing how to be confident is an important skill and mastering this art will help you succeed in life. Following are tips on how you can gain confidence and improve your self image:

• Understand your capabilities and strengths: Take time out to think about whom you are, what you believe in and what is important to you. Evaluate your capabilities and strengths. Decide what you want from life.
• Accept who you are: Have the courage to accept yourself as you really are even though you are not what someone else thinks or wants you to be. Believe in yourself that you are a pretty good person. You have your own talents, skills and abilities that make you extraordinary.
• Develop a sense of control: When you feel very much in control of yourself and your life, you will feel confident enough to do and say things that match with your values and aspirations. Establish a sense of direction based on your behavior and always aim at objectives.
• Do something you enjoy: Engage yourself in activities that you enjoy doing or playing like writing or painting. You can also try learning something new that you always wanted to do. Once you master things you enjoy, you will feel competent and capable.
• Relax: Learning to become more relaxed is very important in life. People who are more relaxed have fewer memory problems and are prepared to face obstacles in life. You can relax by practicing meditation techniques including Tai Chi.
• Positive people and thoughts: Surround yourself with people who are confident and caring. Wash out negative thoughts from your mind. Negative relationships drain energy from your body and create situations in which you lose your self esteem.
• Make a list of your accomplishments: Value whatever you achieve in life. An accomplishment however small it is, is still an accomplishment.
• Be true and honest to yourself: Being true to yourself means knowing exactly what you want and having a plan to achieve it. Self-confidence comes when you know that you have the capacity to get what you want in life.
• Do not fear failure: It is extremely important to remember that if you predetermine that you are bound to fail, then you will. Instead of being preoccupied with the fear of failure and loss, as most people are, concentrate on opportunity and achievement.
• Write out your thoughts: Maintain a journal and write down all things you want to do and accomplish. Take notice of day to day achievements and failures and think of possible reasons for them too. When you pen down your achievements and failures, you get into writing the thoughts that affect your self confidence throughout the day.

People are not born with good self-confidence. Most of us have to work at it. Eventually it will develop from your thinking and the things you do daily to make yourself feel good.

18 Common Phrases to Avoid in Conversation 

By Kristyn Kusek Lewis

Some things should never be said―like these phrases. Here, what to say instead.

What Not to Say About Someone’s Appearance

Don’t say: “You look tired.”
Why: It implies she doesn’t look good.
Instead say: “Is everything OK?” We often blurt the “tired” comment when we get the sense that the other person feels out of sorts. So just ask.
Don’t say: “Wow, you’ve lost a ton of weight!”
Why: To a newly trim person, it might give the impression that she used to look unattractive.
Instead say: “You look fantastic.” And leave it at that. If you’re curious about how she got so svelte, add, “What’s your secret?”
Don’t say: “You look good for your age.”
Why: Anything with a caveat like this is rude. It’s saying, “You look great―compared with other old people. It’s amazing you have all your own teeth.”
Instead say: “You look great.”
Don’t say: “I could never wear that.”
Why: It can be misunderstood as a criticism. (“I could never wear that because it’s so ugly.”)
Instead say: “You look so good in skinny jeans.” If you slip, say something like “I could never wear that…because I wasn’t blessed with your long legs.”

What Not to Say in the Workplace

Don’t say: “That’s not my job.”
Why: If your superior asks you to do something, it is your job.
Instead say: “I’m not sure that should be my priority right now.” Then have a conversation with your boss about your responsibilities.
Don’t say: “This might sound stupid, but…”
Why: Never undermine your ideas by prefacing your remarks with wishy-washy language.
Instead say: What’s on your mind. It reinforces your credibility to present your ideas with confidence.
Don’t say: “I don’t have time to talk to you.”
Why: It’s plain rude, in person or on the phone.
Instead say: “I’m just finishing something up right now. Can I come by when I’m done?” Graciously explain why you can’t talk now, and suggest catching up at an appointed time later. Let phone calls go to voice mail until you can give callers your undivided attention.

What Not to Say During a Job Interview

Don’t say: “My current boss is horrendous.”
Why: It’s unprofessional. Your interviewer might wonder when you’d start bad-mouthing her. For all you know, she and your current boss are old pals.
Instead say: “I’m ready for a new challenge” or a similarly positive remark.
Don’t say: “Do you think I’d fit in here?”
Why: You’re the interviewee, not the interviewer.
Instead say: “What do you enjoy about working here?” By all means ask questions, but prepare ones that demonstrate your genuine interest in the company.
Don’t say: “What are the hours like?” or “What’s the vacation policy?”
Why: You want to be seen as someone who focuses on getting the job done.
Instead say: “What’s the day-to-day like here?” Then, if you’ve really jumped through every hoop and time off still hasn’t been mentioned, say, “Can you tell me about the compensation and benefits package?”

What Not to Say About Pregnancy and Babies

Don’t say: “Are you pregnant?”
Why: You ask, she’s not, and you feel totally embarrassed for essentially pointing out that she’s overweight.
Instead say: “Hello” or “Great to see you” or “You look great.” Anything besides “Are you pregnant?” or “What’s the due date?” will do. Save yourself the humiliation and never ask.
Don’t say: “Do you plan on breast-feeding?”
Why: The issue can be controversial, and she may not want to discuss her decision publicly.
Instead say: Nothing. Unless you’re very close, don’t ask. If you slip, make up for the blunder by adding, “And do you feel comfortable telling me?”
Don’t say: “Were your twins natural?” or “It must have been hard for your child’s birth parent to give him up.”
Why: You’re suggesting that natural conception is better than in vitro fertilization (IVF) or adoption.
Instead say: To a parent of multiples, try a light “Wow, you have your hands full!” To an adoptive parent, say the same stuff you would to any other parent: “She’s adorable!” or “How old is he?”

What Not to Say to a Single (or Newly Single) Person

Don’t say: “You were too good for him.”
Why: You are basically saying she has bad taste. And you’ll be embarrassed if they ever patch it up.
Instead say: “His loss!” It gets the same point across without disparaging her judgment.
Don’t say: “I’m glad you got rid of him. I never liked him anyway.”
Why: She’ll wonder about your fake adoration for him while they were together.
Instead say: “I’m confident you’ll find someone who will give you exactly what you want.” It focuses on what’s to come, not on the dud you’re glad she’s done with.
Don’t say: “How could someone as perfect as you still be single?”
Why: A statement like this comes off as a backhanded compliment. What she hears is “What’s wrong with you?”
Instead say: “Seeing anyone?” If she’s tight-lipped about her love life, move on to other topics.

What Not to Say During a Fight with Your Beloved

Don’t say: “You always” or “You never” or “You’re a [slob, jerk]” or “You’re wrong.”
Why: Speaking in absolutes like “you always” and “you’re wrong” is playing the blame game, and resorting to name calling makes your partner feel helpless, which puts him on the defensive and makes a bad fight worse.
Instead say: “I’m upset that you left the dishes in the sink again. What can we do so that this stops happening?” Starting with the pronoun I puts the focus on how you feel, not why he’s in the doghouse, and it will make him more receptive to fixing the problem.
Don’t say: “If you really loved me, you would…”
Why: The more you treat your partner as if he’ll never satisfy you, the less satisfied you’ll be. Controlling your partner by imploring him to do something isn’t a good way to build intimacy.
Instead say: “I feel taken for granted when you don’t help around the house. I would feel better if we could…” The best way to keep a productive fight from becoming a dirty one is to be clear about why you’re upset and then offer a solution.
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Interesting Facts About Your Dream

Interesting Facts You Did NOT Know About Dream

Dreaming is one of the most mysterious experiences in our lives but what do we actually know about dreams? Here are some interesting facts that you probably didn't know.

You Forget 90% of Your Dreams

Within 5 minutes of waking, half of your dream if forgotten. Within 10 minutes, 90% is gone. The famous poet, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, woke one morning having had a fantastic dream, he put pen to paper and began to describe his “vision in a dream” in what has become one of English's most famous poems: Kubla Khan.

Blind People also Dream

People who become blind after birth can see images in their dreams. People who are born blind do not see any images, but have dreams equally vivid involving their other senses of sound, smell, touch and emotion. It is hard for a seeing person to imagine, but the body's need for sleep is so strong that it is able to handle virtually all physical situations to make it happen.

Men and Women Dream Differently

Every human being dreams but men and women have different dreams and different physical reactions. Men tend to dream more about other men, while women tend to dream equally about men and women. In addition, both men and women experience sexually related physical reactions to their dreams regardless of whether the dream is sexual in nature; males experience erections and females experience increased vaginal blood flow.

You Can Experience an 0rgasm in Your Dream

You can not only have s e x as pleasurable as in your real life while dreaming, but also experience an o r g a s m as strong as a real one without any wet results. The sensations felt while lucid dreaming can be as pleasurable and strong as the sensations experienced in the real world.

We Only Dream of What We Know

Our dreams are frequently full of strangers who play out certain parts – did you know that your mind is not inventing those faces – they are real faces of real people that you have seen during your life but may not know or remember? We have all seen hundreds of thousands of faces through our lives, so we have an endless supply of characters for our brain to utilize during our dreams.

Not Everybody Dreams in Color

full 12% of sighted people dream exclusively in black and white. The remaining number dream in full color. Studies from 1915 through to the 1950s maintained that the majority of dreams were in black and white, but these results began to change in the 1960s. Today only 4.4% of the dreams of under-25 year-olds are in black and white. Recent research has suggested that those changing results may be linked to the switch from black-and-white film and TV to color media.

Dreams Prevent Psychosis

In a recent sleep study, students who were awakened at the beginning of each dream, but still allowed their 8 hours of sleep, all experienced difficulty in concentration, irritability, hallucinations, and signs of psychosis after only 3 days. When finally allowed their REM sleep the student's brains made up for lost time by greatly increasing the percentage of sleep spent in the REM stage.

Animals Dream Too

Studies have been done on many different animals, and they all show the same brain waves during dreaming sleep as humans. Watch a dog sleeping sometime. The paws move like they are running and they make yipping sounds as if they are chasing something in a dream.

Body Paralysis

During REM sleep the body is paralyzed by a mechanism in the brain in order to prevent the movements which occur in the dream from causing the physical body to move. However, it is possible for this mechanism to be triggered before, during, or after normal sleep while the brain awakens.

Dream Incorporation

Our mind interprets the external stimuli that our senses are bombarded with when we are asleep and make them a part of our dreams. This means that sometimes in our dreams we hear a sound from reality and incorporate it in a way. For example you may be dreaming that you are in a concert while your brother is playing a guitar during your sleep.

Precognitive Dreams

Results of several surveys across large population sets indicate that between 18% and 38% of people have experienced at least one precognitive dream and 70% have experienced déjà vu. The percentage of persons that believe precognitive dreaming is possible is even higher – ranging from 63% to 98%.

If You Are Snoring, Then You Can Not be Dreaming

This fact is repeated all over the Internet, but I'm a bit suspicious whether it's really true as I haven't found any scientific evidence to support it.

Note: Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is a normal stage of sleep characterized by rapid movements of the eyes. REM sleep in adult humans typically occupies 20-25% of total sleep, about 90-120 minutes of a night's sleep)

Water, The Next Oil

Water, The Next Oil! 

"I begin with the name of Allah, the most merciful".

Water, or more aptly the lack of it, is the biggest challenge faced by the human race. The foremost necessity of life, the very base of human composition, the basic right of every human being, "water" is not as abundant as once was believed.

To emphasize the direty of the situation at hand let us quickly go through some of the facts at hand.

• Only 1% of the total water resources on earth are available for human use. While 70% of the world’s surface is covered by water, 97.5% of that is salt water. Of the remaining 2.5% that is freshwater, almost 68.7% is frozen in ice caps and glaciers.


• Canada controls about 20% of the earth's fresh water.


• Up to 30% of fresh water supplies are lost due to leakage in developed countries, and in some major cities, losses can run as high as 40% to 70%.


• About 90% of sewage and 70% of industrial wastes in developing countries are discharged into water courses without treatment, often polluting the usable water supply.


• A person living in Sub-Saharan Africa uses about 10-20 (2.6-5.26 gallons) litres of water a day; on average, a Canadian uses 326 litres (86 gallons) a day. [Courtesy: The water project]

Well, what the above stats tell me is very straight and simple. Water is scarce. Our treatment in usage of water has caused us to even magnify the effects of this natural scarcity. We have been unimaginative and indifferent to "water" as problem. I have certain arguments to substantiate my interpretation of the problem.

1. It is absolutely true that 1% of water in the world is fit for human use. But the question that I pose is.... When man thought of flying, he knew that he was naturally not equipped for it, when he thought of going to the moon, he knew it was not his place to be, so when man realized that 97.5% of the Earth's water was unfit for him why didn't he make efforts to make it usable. I don't think it was impossible for "mighty man", I just believe we have been careless.

2. We have taken water for granted because we always have thought that air and water are there for ever and would never perish or get scarce. The wastage in developed counties and the pollution in developing countries have brought us to the point where "water" seems to be the next decider in the world power scenario.

3. With Canada having 20% of the water resources, a script is ready for an epic story of exploitation and inequality.

The things that we cannot control are not worthy of a discussion. What we can do and must take up as emergency measures is to conserve. Inability to take this problem seriously might drive us back to dark-ages when a well owner would exploit thousands of Arabs because he had access to water and they didn't.

We should try to limit our usage of water, not because "WE" don't have it but because majority of the people we share this world with are deprived of it. If water flows in your tap, it is a privilege. Remember, "Where you are today, they were. Where they are today you might be tomorrow."

What A.M. and P.M. Stand For

What A.M. and P.M. Stand For

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Today I found out what a.m. and p.m. stand for.  And no, it’s not, as my first grade teacher told me, “After Midnight” and “Past Midday”. LIES!!!  Though, funny enough, not really that far off the translated versions of the Latin words for which a.m. and p.m. actually do stand for.
It turns out, a.m. stands for “ante meridiem”, which is Latin for “Before Midday”; p.m. stands for “Post Meridiem”, which is Latin for “After Midday”.
Interestingly, this finally clears up for me one of the interesting quirks of the 12 hour clock system where time counts from 12 a.m. to 1 a.m. and likewise goes from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., which always seemed odd, but now makes perfect sense given what a.m. and p.m. stand for.
Source:AskOxford Word Abbreviations

Interesting Facts About Countries

 Interesting Facts About Countries

Alaska



More than half of the coastline of the entire United States is in Alaska.

Amazon



The Amazon rainforest produces more than 20%
of the world's oxygen supply.

The Amazon River pushes so much water into the Atlantic Ocean that, more than one hundred miles at sea off the mouth of the river, one can dip fresh water out of the ocean. The volume of water in the Amazon river is greater than the next eight largest rivers in the world combined and three times the flow of all rivers in the United States.

Antarctica



Antarctica is the only land on our planet that is not owned by any country.
Ninety percent of the world's ice covers Antarctica.
This ice also represents seventy percent of all the fresh water in the world.
As strange as it sounds, however, Antarctica is essentially a desert;
the average yearly total precipitation is about two inches.
Although covered with ice (all but 0.4% of it, ice.),
Antarctica is the driest place on the planet,
with an absolute humidity lower than the Gobi desert.

Brazil



Brazil got its name from the nut, not the other way around.

Canada



Canada has more lakes than the rest of the world combined. Canada is an Indian word meaning 'Big Village'.

Chicago



Next to Warsaw, Chicago has the largest Polish population
in the world.

Detroit



Woodward Avenue in Detroit, Michigan, carries the designation M-1,
so named because it was the first paved road anywhere.

Damascus, Syria



Damascus, Syria, was flourishing a couple of thousand years
before Rome was founded in 753 BC,
making it the oldest continuously inhabited city in existence.

Istanbul, Turkey



Istanbul, Turkey, is the only city in the world
located on two continents.

Los Angeles



Los Angeles' full name is:
El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de Los Angeles de Porciuncula
-- and can be abbreviated to 3.63% of its size: L.A.

New York City



The term 'The Big Apple' was coined
by touring jazz musicians of the 1930s
who used the slang expression 'apple' for any town or city.
Therefore, to play New York City
is to play the big time - The Big Apple.

There are more Irish in New York City
than in Dublin, Ireland;
more Italians in New York City
than in Rome, Italy;
and more Jews in New York City
than in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Ohio



There are no natural lakes in the state of Ohio, every one is manmade.

Pitcairn Island



The smallest island with country status is Pitcairn
in Polynesia, at just 1.75 sq. miles/4,53 sq. km.

Rome



The first city to reach a population of 1 million people
was Rome, Italy in 133 B.C.
There is a city called Rome on every continent.

Siberia



Siberia contains more than 25% of the world's forests.

S.M.O.M.



The actual smallest sovereign entity in the world
is the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (S.M.O.M).
It is located in the city of Rome, Italy,
has an area of two tennis courts
and, as of 2001, has a population of 80
-- 20 less people than the Vatican.
It is a sovereign entity under international law,
just as the Vatican is.

Sahara Desert



In the Sahara Desert, there is a town named Tidikelt, Algeria,
which did not receive a drop of rain for ten years.
Technically though, the driest place on Earth
is in the valleys of the Antarctic near Ross Island.
There has been no rainfall there for two million years.

Spain



Spain literally means 'the land of rabbits'.

St. Paul, Minnesota



St. Paul, Minnesota, was originally called Pig's Eye
after a man named Pierre 'Pig's Eye' Parrant
who set up the first business there.

Roads



Chances that a road is unpaved:
in the U.S.A. = 1%;
in Canada = 75%

Russia



The deepest hole ever drilled by man is the
Kola Superdeep Borehole, in Russia.
It reached a depth of 12,261 meters
(about 40,226 feet or 7.62 miles).
It was drilled for scientific research
and gave up some unexpected discoveries,
one of which was a huge deposit of hydrogen
- so massive that the mud coming from the hole
was boiling with it.

United States



The Eisenhower interstate system requires
that one mile in every five must be straight.
These straight sections are usable as airstrips
in times of war or other emergencies.

Waterfalls



The water of Angel Falls (the world's highest) in Venezuela
drops 3,212 feet (979 meters).
They are 15 times higher than Niagara Falls.

30 mind blowing old pc ads

30 mind blowing old pc ads

Article on mind blowing old pc ads

My dad used told me that he had worked on Apple Lisa in the 80′s of the 20th century which cost him around $10,000 and i used to laugh at that because now we can have computer 100 times more powerful than Apple Lisa with much cheaper price. Today i stumbled upon some old PC ads that will make you laugh and possibly appreciate what you have.


10 MB Drive for $3398.00
Today you can get a 1TB drive for $85.00
1TB is around 100,000 times larger than 10 MB


This is an early laptop with 64k of memory
Today Laptops have 2 to 4 Gigs of memory
4Gb is about 64,000 times larger than 64k


Here are two disk systems, 80 MB for $12K and 300 MB for $20K
Today you can get a DVD that holds 4 Gigs for $0.75 each
A 4 GB DVD is about 14 times larger than 300MB disk


Here is a 16K ram Memory Card, $495.00
Today you can get 4 GB RAM for $99.00
4GB RAM is about 256,000 times larger than 16K


This is an Early Modem Delivering 48000 BPS
Modems today deliver 56K
56K is around 12 times faster


This early PC is offering Dual Floppy drives and 128K of RAM
Today PCs have 2 to 4 GB of RAM
4GB RAM is about 32,000 times larger than 128K


Yes this was my first video game system. Yes those are the joy sticks. Today game systems are far more advance in graphics, controllers etc.


Here is another early Laptop, this one can expand up to 640 KB RAM Today Laptops have 2 to 4 GB or RAM.


Checkout this Amiga. Promoting the quality of graphics it can produce.


Apple dose it again, 5Mhz with 1MB RAM
Today PCs are more than 3Ghz with 4GB RAM
3Ghz is 600 Times faster and 4GB RAM is 4000 times faster than 1MB RAM


This Atari Computer have 48K of RAM and offers 128 colors.
Today PC’s have 4GB RAm and offer 32 Bit Color which is 4.2 Billion Colors


The TRS-80 was produced in the Late 70′s and the early 80′s with 1.7 Mhz processor and 4KB RAM


This early PC offered a 13″ screen for just $3,300.


Not sure about the specs but the shapes makes it look like a typewriter


The Price is coming down, This PC offers 4KB of RAM for only $249.00


The ACE 1000 offers 64K RAM and includes upper and lower case keys, Plus num lock.
Today PC’s offer 4GB RAM and all include shift keys and num lock


This PC offered 4K RAM and a cassette player.
Cassette players are almost obsolete now.


This was the latest and greatest design


The TRS-80 was produced in the Late 70′s and early 80′s with1.7 Mhz processor and 4KB RAM.


This computer has 10MB of Hard Drive for $3,495.00
today you can get a 1TB Hard Drive for $85.00


one of Mac’s early computer offering 32 Bit Processor


This one has 15Mb hard drive for $2,495.00


This tandy 5000 offers a blazing 20 Mhz processor and 2MB of RAM


Here is a PC in Briefcase, complete with modem and 5″ Monitor.


Checkout the joystick and other options that come with this PC.


Produced in early 80′s, The VIC-20 came with 5 KB RAM


For only $999.0 you can get this PC that offers 384K RAM and 20M Hard Drive Case.


Here is a basic PC that offered 4K RAM that you had to hookup to a TV


Another personal PC that offers 4K RAM for under $199.99, but didn’t come with a monitor


The ZX81 offered 1K RAM but extended up to 16 K RAM and could hookup to any TV.