Change is Happening
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Spending Time Alone
The next series of blogs are going to be on topics of self care. This is from another blog I had written awhile back and thought since it is the beginning of the year, it is an appropriate topic to share about.
The first segment of this series is on spending time with yourself. In this hectic world and fast-paced society, it has become even harder to spend some alone time. Jackie Kennedy Onassis taught her children well. She taught them to spend some alone time by themselves in the morning. In my opinion, this is a huge step in self discovery. There is no set time of day to do it. It is all about doing it on a regular basis.
It is all about showing up consistently. Can any of you relate that you are having issues with this? So, with that said, this week I urge you to spend one hour with yourself. Find out what you like and who you are. Make a contract to yourself that you will set aside at least one hour by yourself on a piece of paper and sign it. Make a commitment.
Some ideas to spend sometime alone are:
- Journal.
- Meditate.
- Go out in nature, like the woods and take a nice walk, journal, breathe the fresh air, bird watch.
- Walk on the beach — I live in Jupiter, FL and you can take your dog –Listen to the sounds of the ocean, feel the ocean air on your skin, clear your mind. You can also take a swim. The salt water is very healing.
- Go to a concert, an art show. Take in the music, admire the creativity. Find what style and genre of music or are that you enjoy.
- Try an ethnic restaurant that you have always wanted to go to and try their food.
- Do something that you have been wanting to do that you have been putting off.
The point of this exercise is to discover who you are, what you like, and to step outside of your comfort zone and get out of the rut — remove the dullness in your life. Remember, make a contract to yourself that you will spend one hour this week with yourself. Do not make excuses and do not listen to the chatter in your head. Also, avoid all naysayers and be around people who supportive.
I have to say, this week, I did my assignment. I walked on the beach and it felt so healing and I watched the waves go in and out. How soothing!
I look forward to hearing your comments.
Start off the New Year in check!
Start off the New Year with the Utilities App that keeps you in check!
The Utilities App has several “sub apps.” that will keep you on track: 1)the Clock that will keep you on time by using its several functions, 2) the World Clock, 3)the Compass, and 4)the Voice Memo.
Alarm Clock
Alarm clock where you can, of course, set the alarm for any time of day;
World Clock to set the hour, city, and time zone;
Timer to keep you on time!
Stop watch for sports activities.
The features of the alarm clock you can add or delete the particular time. Also, choose the day by checking off each one.
You can also choose the sound, snooze, and repeat.
Timer this is definitely the one that will keep you on time! Just choose how many hours or minutes, the sound, and press start. Just make sure to stop when the timer goes off!
The next and last one of the clock is the stop watch, which is self explanatory.
World Clock
You can choose the city by doing a search and adding your time zone that will appear on the top center of your iPhone.
Compass
If any of you were a girl or boy scout this one will bring back memories. This compass is a bit fancier.
Just choose the location, a map will
appear on the screen then choose the destination you want to go to. Make sure there isn’t anything that is in the way to affect the directions. The Compass can function like the Maps app. There are some other features that you can experiment with.
Voice Memo
Last but not least is the Voice Memo app. Looks like a radio station microphone that you can speak into. Just press the record button on the left and when you are finished, press the stop button on the right. Nice way to make mental notes in audio.
Enjoy the Utlities app that is an iOS app already on your iPhone.
If you are frustrated with not knowing how to use this app or other features on your iPhone, schedule a tutorial. Don’t delay, start today!
You too can make a difference
You too can make a difference. How? It does not have to be big; it could be as simple as putting a smile on somebody’s face. Another example might be is to volunteer at your local animal or homeless shelters. Me, I am modeling for Breast Cancer at Meet me at the Promenade in Downtown Boca Raton on October 22. That is when Make a Difference Day is. I invite you all to make a plan for Saturday, 10/22 to “Make a Difference.”
I look forward to hearing your comments.
LinkedIn’s New Causes & Volunteer Section
LinkedIn has added the new volunteer section to the profile, This gives the job seeker experience to potentially land a job. By volunteering it demonstrates you care, it shows that you are contributing to society , and increases your network — you never know who you are going to meet. Many hiring managers have hired job candidates based on job candidate’s volunteering.
Now it is time to add the causes you support and volunteer experience to your profile. Check off the types of causes that are of interest to you, then enter the names of the organizations that you support and last but not least, enter your volunteer experience, such as the duties you performed, the years you were there and you are well on your way.
Best of luck. I look forward to hearing what kind of results that you are getting by adding this section to your LinkedIn profile.
The New Look of LinkedIn
The New Look of LinkedIn on your mobile phone. Wow! Check it out. Just like it says. “Get started”. Click on the tab and do your status updates, go to my inbox, get the latest news, go to my groups, my profile, and or prospect and network. All of this is right in the palm of your hand.
Just think You can do this anywhere or at anytime.
You can also conduct searches, share and more.
The LinkedIn mobile app has definitely improved and one can do a lot more. I have to say for the short time this app has been available, it is rapidly evolving to an amazing mobile app. Give it a test drive and see where it takes you.
Liking Facebook’s new features!
Facebook’s latest updates makes inviting friends to your fan pages easier. All you have to do is go to the fan page and change it to your “Use Facebook as___” and then you choose Invite Friends. Then a drop down menu pops up, and first it goes to recently interacted with or you have a choice of cities of where your friends are, simply put: this new feature filters your friends in specific cities, which is a nice feature if you want to target a specific area. Another added bonus is you can invite friends from your groups as well. It is about time Facebook make it easy to invite fans to fan pages. The invite friends is an improvement over to suggest friends, which only had a box with no filter, just had pictures of friends and those that had been previously invited were grayed out, like the new feature does.
Also sharing links with photographs is another way to attract fans. Here is how it works. At the top right of the part where you share there is a tab and it provides a choice to share with everyone or to customize. The customize option allows you to choose your audience by “Making it visible to fans with” by choosing country and language. 
These are some of the new and easy features to increase your fan base and do specific target marketing. I welcome feedback on how you are utilizing these features.
Dropbox, the ultimate time saver
Are you sick and tired of the old and archaic way of attaching a document to an email? You don’t have to anymore. The Dropbox application is here and will be your ultimate time saver. File sharing has never been easier for the business owner, friend, or family member. This user-friendly application can be saved on your computer, phone, laptop. You can also update on one device and will sync to the other. What is really nice is that Dropbox is Mac and PC compatible. Also, you can now save and share files such as documents, videos, and files to all of your computers and smart phones. How? To share files, just view the file, then tap the link icon and tap on the email link. You also have the choice to Copy Link to Clipboard so you can paste the link into the app. Just email whom you want to send the file to and then send it. Done! Another great feature is if an emergency should arise, for example, if your computer crashes, you will still be able to access your folders on the Dropbox website. Dropbox is now available on mobile devices, such as the iPhone.
Just download Dropbox on your iPhone by downloading from the App Store free of charge. Once you download the app on the iPhone, you will be able to view your documents, photos and videos from your iPhone. This application makes it very convenient when you are traveling or you are at a meeting, you can just access the Dropbox application and you are set. You can even share your files via Facebook, Twitter, text or email as well as photos and videos by uploading the files from the iPhone to the Dropbox folder, it is that simple. All you have to do is just press upload tab, then tap the plus sign, and select the photos and videos you want to upload, choose the location, presto!
The only downside of Dropbox is the basic account, which is free of charge, is 2GB. However, you can always upgrade for more space. If you don’t share a lot of files or photos free would work nicely. Boy, what did we do before mobile apps and file sharing? If you want more space for your Dropbox app, all you have to do is refer your friends to register and more space will be provided.
Want some simplicity in your life, you like to share photos, videos, and files with your friends, families or clients, why not get started with Dropbox. This is a very handy app that is very efficient and a huge time management saver!
Ways to clear the mind and renew the spirit
This week I decided to write about ways to clear the mind. Let’s face it as social media experts, we are working on the computer all day, our minds get very full and the brain conks out.
I recently attended a Women’s Empowerment Event by Inspiration University and heard Kimberly West from Allow Your Spirit to Soar speak about some ways to clear the mind. One of them was to go the beach and take nice walks, another one was to create a nice oasis outside of your home, and meditation. As a result of attending her workshop, I decided to follow suite. I went to Lowe’s and purchased a couple of plants to put outside my patio so I can go outside and breathe the fresh air and to clear my mind. I also, since I only live literally 5 minutes away from one of the most gorgeous beaches in the world, I go there four to five times a week and take nice walks and yes, I do bring my dog Maxwell.
I make time for myself. I know for me working on a computer for clients and for myself can get crazy and at time I feel my brain will explode. So these are some of the actions I have taking.
Journaling is another way to clear the mind. Just sitting down for 20 minutes, showing up to the morning pages is cathartic. It is amazing what happens when your write things down on paper, this exercise also clears out, as my coach, Paulette Halpern eloquently says, “Head trash”.
Gratitude is another way to change your attitude and shift your thinking immediately. Writing out what you are grateful for creates the space for more good.
What are actions that you take to clear out your mind? I look forward to hearing your responses.
Square app, the perfect solution for collecting money!
Are you sick and tired of running around collecting from your clients? You angry over lost revenue of lost time and gas? Well, have no fear, the Square App is here….the perfect solution. All you have to do is go to iTunes, download the app on to your smart phone free of charge (Droid and iPhone) or your iPad. The apparatus to attach to swipe the credit card is free as well. All you have to do is activate your account by filling out the info and you are on your way.
How much does it cost? 2.75 percent a swipe. But how much does it cost you in gas, the time that you lose chasing clients to pay your bills? Plenty. Another great feature is there are no monthly fees, commitments or contracts. Just straight 2.75 percent per swipe. The information is secure and the info is not stored on the server, so no worries.
How do you get a receipt? Sign on the dotted line, and your receipt will be either emailed or text.
You want to track how much you bring in each day, just download the report.
This is a very simple application that will save you lots of time and, most importantly, improve your bottom line as well as give you piece of mind.
For more details, go to https://squareup.com/.
Once you submit the payment, your money will be deposited into your account the next day!
