December 19, 2011 – 12:32 pm
It can be difficult to find the confidence you need to achieve a goal or even live the life you’re looking to lead. Confidence is an extremely important aspect of our lives, yet we all struggle with it at one point or another. Have you ever found yourself in that position?
Emily knows all about this. She pinged me through Google+ asking me how to build she can build up her confidence, particularly when so many of the factors affecting self confidence are beyond our control. In the video below, I offer up the one strategy that can get you the edge you need to reach your potential and overcome any self-sabotaging behavior.
Take a look:
How you ever felt like life was throwing you curve balls and testing you in some way? How you ever felt like no matter what you did, you could not succeed? How did you overcome it? What did you do to change your situation. We would love to hear from you.
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By Ja-Naé Duane
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Also posted in Uncategorized
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Tagged building confidence, confidence, confidence building, how to be confidence, How to Be Confident, how to build confidence, in confidence, level of confidence, self confidence, self-esteem, what is confidence
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December 13, 2011 – 12:03 pm
Have you ever felt like you had a fantastic idea, were working hard on something that everyone should know about, or thought that people would line up at the door once they knew what you knew? You’re not alone. Jason was like that as well.
Jason had been trying to negotiate this deal for a while now. As a start-up with very little money coming in, he could not afford to do everything that this potential partner was looking for. They were too big. It would be an amazing opportunity, if he could land it. “All I am doing is giving in this deal. Where is the WIN-WIN,” Jason thought. “I’m bringing a ton to the table. No, I do not have the clients that these guys have, but my resources must be worth something too. Isn’t there value in having me as a partner?”
When Jason came to me and recanted his story, it became clear what the issue really had been. “Jack, you haven’t realized your true worth yet,” I said to him. He stared at me with a puzzled look. I could tell that he was wondering if I had listened at all to what he was telling me. I [...]
August 23, 2011 – 12:42 pm
The English language has made us equate failing with being a failure, when in fact failing is necessary in order to succeed. If we never allow ourselves to fail, then, unless we are born perfect, we’ll never attempt to learn or do anything that risks failure. When I started my first business, I made many mistakes and “failures” before I got it right. I didn’t give up or get discouraged because I understood that failing was just a step towards success. And I was right.
In order to succeed, you must allow yourself to fail. By embracing failure, you create an environment where mishaps invigorate rather than crush you. In fact, I would suggest you go so far as to aim to fail. If you haven’t failed, you haven’t been taking risks or learning anything. To me, that would be the biggest failure.
You’ve probably heard Edison’s quote about failing 1,000 times while inventing the light bulb, “I have not failed 1,000 times. I have successfully discovered 1,000 ways to NOT make a light bulb.” Great minds like Einstein and Lincoln had the same attitude.
How have you failed? What’s the most [...]
By Ja-Naé Duane
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Also posted in Creativity, Innovation, Strategy, Uncategorized
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Tagged fail, how to fail, how to succeed, Ja-Nae, janae, succeed in, succeeding, succeeds, to succeed
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August 9, 2011 – 10:15 am
It’s been way too long since I’ve been out of the country, but with the Artist Retreat around the corner, I’m really getting excited. A few of the attendees (Are you one of them? Would you like to be? Contact me for more information!) asked me how to learn a language and learn it quickly. It’s a great question. That’s why I rounded up some great language apps that will help you kick your second or third language into high gear:
Tweets: Twitter is understated as an educational tool. Twitter allows you to learn new languages and practice them a little bit. Click here a compilation of some “linguistic twitterers”.
LiveMocha.com – Livemocha divides a language into courses, units, and lessons. Lessons are divided into four types of activities: learn, review, write, and speak. What’s nice is that you can also make flashcards from the content in the lessons, or you can make your own flashcards. There is even a chat feature, so you can connect with people learning the same language you are.
Babbel — If you’re looking for something that you can use on both your computer and smart phone, Babbel fits the bill. It provides exercises and [...]
By Ja-Naé Duane
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Also posted in Adventure, Arts, Creativity, Language, Uncategorized
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Tagged artist retreat, benefits of learning a foreign language, foreign language institute, foreign language standards, foreign language teacher, foreign languages, how to learn a language, language apps, learn a language
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Summertime can only mean one thing for me, sitting with family and friends in the wonderful weather sipping on a beer. After several lively discussions about our favorite beers, my family deciding to start a little competition: to see who makes the best beer.
Of course, this is all in fun.
My favorite beer is St. Bernardus, a Belgian classic, while my dad can’t get enough of stouts.
During the course of this “competition”, I have discovered a few great apps that are centered around beer, and allow my family and me to learn about what we’re drinking. Here are my top five favorite beer apps:
iBrewMaster — As an artist, I love to create, and brewing my own beer allows me to indulge in the tasty side of creativity. This app makes home brewing easy for a novice like me. It comes with 50 pre-installed recipes and instructions to ensure you don’t make any mistakes along the way and end up with the perfect beer at the end.
onTap Beer App — After I drink a particularly tasty beer I’ll often want to make sure to write it down so that I can return to it again and again. This iPhone app makes recording [...]
Have you ever wanted to jump off a roof? You’re not alone. During parkour training, they teach you how to do it and successfully.
What is Parkour?
According to Wikipedia, Parkour is the non-competitive sport of traversing mainly urban landscapes by running, climbing and jumping. Participants run along a route, attempting to navigate obstacles in the most efficient way possible, using only their bodies. Skills such as vaulting, rolling, swinging and wall scaling are employed. Parkour can be practiced anywhere, but areas dense with obstacles are preferable and it is most commonly practiced in urban areas.
Parkour Basics
Watch this video to understand so basic positions and moves:
Now, while using these basic principles, here is guide on how to jump off a roof:
1. Cue Motivation Music: Before you begin, get your ass-kicking soundtrack in place. Here are a few crowd sourced ideas:
Meron Langsner’s pick:
Emily Torres’ pick:
Naomi Pierce’s pick:
And of course, who could forget the song during the Ocean’s Twelve “Laser Dance”.
2. Run: In order to gain speed to leverage later, give yourself enough runway to get a running start.
3. Jump Forward: When jumping, jump forward. This will allow you to attain momentum horizontally and further your reach.
4. Leg Extensions: As you’re approaching the ground, [...]
Optimism has been a shared trait amongst some of the most successful people in history. But what is optimism and more importantly, is it something that can be learned?
Definition of Optimism –noun
A disposition or tendency to look on the more favorable side of events or conditions and to expect the most favorable outcome.
You can decide which attitude to have – who would you rather be? When an optimist is faced with bad news or a challenge, they react in a specific way. They:
Don’t take it personally.
Can see that there are external forces impacting the situation.
View negative situations as minor obstacles that can be conquered.
But how do you not take it personally? How can you not blame yourself for the things that go wrong in your life? How can you not worry when things are going so well that the other shoe is bound to drop at any moment? If this is what you know and how you normally react, how can you change such a core behavior?
Everyone feels that way once in a while. You are not alone. The key is to turn it around and work the situation to your advantage before it gets out of control; [...]
You know the saying, “Some people are just lucky,” right? We’ve all heard it. My friend Dan is definitely one of those people. No matter what he does, it always works out for him. Do you know anyone like that?
“I find that the harder I work, the more luck I have. -Thomas Jefferson.
The truth is “luck” is just a characteristic in success people and here is how you can create your own luck:
I. Position Yourself: Lucky people will constantly put themselves in a position to be “lucky”. They show up to the table, they connect and they tell others what they need. They know nothing will happen if they just sit back and wait for it.
II. Prepare: Lucky people usually prepare for the great things that happen to them. Whether it is doing creative investigation work to network with the right people or taking facts and skills learned at an earlier time and applied to a new situation, lucky people always prepare for situations.
III. Solutions: Lucky people know that there is more than one way to make things happen, so they are constantly in search for ways for things to go there way. And if they cannot find a solution, [...]
By Ja-Naé Duane
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Also posted in Adventure, Creativity, Uncategorized
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Tagged bad luck, get good luck, good luck charms, Happiness, how to create luck, pot luck, quotes on luck, symbols of luck, what is luck
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Do you shy away from the unknown or do you welcome the unexpected? Ever since I was a little girl I have thrived on curiosity and questioning things. However, many colleagues I know in business stick like glue to the familiar. They rely on the routine things that have served them in well in the past, and avoid anything new and different. This attitude can maintain stability, but if you’re not curious you are doomed to the same experiences without ever growing in business or in life.
This article by Donald Latumahina at Lifehack tells of the virtues of curiosity. Curiosity gives you a fresh perspective, allowing you to discover fresh ideas. Being curious makes you more observant and opens up new worlds and possibilities you wouldn’t otherwise consider while also adding the spice of variety to your life.
Some of my best ideas for projects, as well as some of my best adventures, have come from stepping outside of my comfort zone and following my curious nature.
For these reasons, curiosity should be a quality you cultivate. So here are some things you can do to be more curious in your life:
Do Not Ignore the [...]
By Ja-Naé Duane
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Also posted in Adventure, Arts, Creativity, Innovation, Marketing, Philosophy, Strategy, Uncategorized
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Tagged curiosity quotes, curious quotes, find happiness, finding happiness
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We all dream about living somewhere else, right? Even if we love where we live now, it is the romantic notion of trying something new, something exotic. Am I right?
I posed this question on Facebook this morning, “If you could move anywhere, where would you go and why?” Here are some of the answers:
“I live where I most want to be. Not sure why anyone would do otherwise.” -Michael Troiano
Though I agree with Mr. Michael, I am somewhat nomadic in nature and like to test out places before I decide to hang my hat and call somewhere home. Why? before I commit to a significant move, I want to know that I can be equally as happy in my new location as I am in Boston.
For the freelancers out there, here are 3 ways to discover new cities and which location would make you happiest.
I. Air BnB: The beauty of being a freelancer is that you can work from anywhere. So, why not sublet your place out and try out a new city for a month. I love using Air BnB because of the built in community component, rating system, as well as the variety of housing possibilities. You can [...]
By Ja-Naé Duane
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Also posted in Adventure, Creativity, Spirituality, Strategy, Travel, Uncategorized
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Tagged achieving happiness, Adventure, Happiness, land living, life style, lifestyle, lifestyle online, live anywhere, the freelancer
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