10 Qualities of Irresistible Women - Billionaire Wives

What do you want for your love life? 

Do you want to keep it simple and stress-free, ending up with any man who comes your way? Or are you willing to work hard, living a fantastic life, and ending up with a successful husband who loves you with all his heart? I hope it's the latter! Sure, it's tempting to want a simple, stress-free love life. That's why I encourage my readers to become great women. I want you to be fantastic. I want you to be irresistible. I want you to catch any man you fancy in the future! The key to marrying a billionaire, according to the media, is beauty, Grace, charm, intelligence, manners and a talent for flattery help, of course. Yet from Melania Trump on down, billionaire wives have been expected first and foremost to be stunners — well-decorated accessories and showcases for their husband’s wealth. But today’s billionaires are different, I'm sure you'll agree with me that most billionaires today are smart, hardworking and visionary people. Here are some secrets to follow ;

# 1 - Not Just about Beauty 

Sure, when you look at the wives of billionaires, it's easy to think, "Wow, they sure look good. They were lucky to catch the eye of their billionaire husbands." That's not really the case.  “looks are great — but brains are even better.” It also helps for a billionaire wife to be successful in her own right.

# 2 - "Behind Every Man's Success is a Woman"

You may be surprised to know that some billionaire wives are even smarter and more successful than their billionaire husbands! So don't just work on your looks. Work on your mind, too. What have you done for your mind lately? Have you been reading good books? Have you been learning new skills? Have you been putting up businesses and supporting causes for the community? Keep on moving!

# 3 - Have a Life of Your Own

Some women think that billionaire wives do nothing but go around spending their husbands' money. That's NOT true! Many wives of billionaires today are billionaires in their own right --working hard, taking risks, serving the community, etc.   

Sergey Brin — In 2007, the Google guy married Ann Wojcicki, who he met when he sublet a garage from Ms. Wojcicki’s sister. She is a Yale grad who was working as a health-care analyst when they met. She’s now launched her own biotech firm. See? Now that she's the husband of Google's co-founder, she could just as well stop working and live comfortably for the rest of her life. But she didn't. she had a life of her own. She didn't stop working, and instead opened an entirely new business centered around her expertise!

# 4 - Know that It's not Just About You 

I'd like to give another example of a well-known billionaire wife. She's Melinda Gates, the wife of the billionaire head of Microsoft, Bill Gates. She's done some notable work at her husband's community, developing some of its better-known products. But Melinda doesn't spend all her time at Microsoft. In fact, she devotes a large chunk of her time, resources, and attention to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which focuses on reducing extreme poverty in Africa and improving education in America. To date, she and her husband bill have donated more than 24 billion dollars to the Foundation.

# 5 - They're Not Money-Grubbers

Billionaire Michael Dell — The computer king’s wife, Susan Dell, is no slouch in the business department. She’s chairman of her own fashion line, called Phi, and a triathlete,constantly working on improving her performance in the sports she loves.  She didn't heed the temptation to just sit back and enjoy the billionaire lifestyle. Instead, she hustled to live up to the title of "billionaire wife.' Today, Susan heads her own fashion line. That's right -- she owns her own company!

# 6 - Many of Them are Actually Kind-Hearted

Kindness never killed anyone and this quality is present in most women in abundance.It is common that excellent men are usually drawn into those women who really care much about them and their career. They appreciate women who would accompany them when they are depressed and who share the jollity with them when they achieve success.

# 7 - Possess a Gentle Souls 

To err is human, hence, a forgiving heart is a necessity in trivial daily life. Forgiveness is the ladder to happiness and strong, romantic relationship. Not every excellent man is perfect, thus, they seek for women who would understand them with tolerance, who DON'T think about themselves all the time. After all, how many of us has donated any money to eradicate poverty in africa?

# 8 - They Want an Equal, not a Bauble

They both had the  same  set  of  attitudes,  beliefs  and  values,  and  both  believed  that  attaining  financial independence was worth making  short-term  sacrifices. 

Billionaire Kenneth Griffin — The Citadel hedge-fund chief is married to Anne Dias Griffin, who runs her own asset-management firm, Aragon Global Management. This is proof that the key to a good financial marriage — unlike the key to a good hedge fund — is high correlations.

# 9 - Dress to impress

Billionaires are looking for a partner who will fit in at company functions, cocktail parties and local benefits. This means that you should always be well-groomed. Get regular facials and manicures. Little details like skin and nails show that you take good care of yourself. Get plenty of exercise, and stick to a healthy diet to keep your body in shape and your energy level high.

# 10 - Reliability - Get your degree

Wealthy men are usually well-educated, and well-educated men need a partner who can carry on a decent conversation. Many people have the impression that billionaires care only about landing trophy wives, but this assumption is erroneous. Like any man, the billionaire may be initially attracted to the beautiful woman who hasn't read a newspaper since the Clinton administration, but he certainly won't marry her. You will need more than your cleavage to hold his attention, so pick up a book. Billionaire Larry Page — The other Google guy married Lucy Southworth, a Stanford “biomedical informatics doctoral student” — which sure beats “interior decorator” as far as billionaire-wife job titles go.

Now here's the question: 

Do you have that kind of mentality in you?

Do you have what it takes to look beyond your own self-interests?

CAN YOU MATCH A BILLIONAIRE HUSBAND?

Remember one thing -- the most successful, the most responsible, and the most commitment-ready men out there DON'T stay put. They keep moving. They keep growing. And they keep finding ways to become even BETTER men as time goes by.

And here's the thing -- they'll want their girlfriends and wives to keep up with them. They'll want the women in their lives to be just as dynamic, if not more so, than they are. And they definitely don't want a "trophy wife!"  After all, the most successful men out there definitely WON'T look for a woman who's only going to depend on them!

10 Deadly Sins of Negative Thinking

The way to overcome negative thoughts and destructive emotions is to develop opposing, positive emotions that are stronger and more powerful.” - Dalai Lama
Life could be so much better for many people, if they would just spot their negative thinking habits and replace them with positive ones.
Negative thinking, in all its many-splendored forms, has a way of creeping into conversations and our thinking without our noticing them. The key to success, in my humble opinion, is learning to spot these thoughts and squash them like little bugs. Then replace them with positive ones. You’ll notice a huge difference in everything you do.
 Let’s take a look at 10 common ways that negative thinking emerges — get good at spotting these patterns, and practice replacing them with positive thinking patterns. It has made all the difference in the world for me.
1. I will be happy once I have _____ (or once I earn X).
Problem: If you think you can’t be happy until you reach a certain point, or until you reach a certain income, or have a certain type of house or car or computer setup, you’ll never be happy. That elusive goal is always just out of reach. Once we reach those goals, we are not satisfied — we want more.
Solution: Learn to be happy with what you have, where you are, and who you are, right at this moment. Happiness doesn’t have to be some state that we want to get to eventually — it can be found right now. Learn to count your blessings, and see the positive in your situation. This might sound simplistic, but it works.
2. I wish I were as ____ as (a celebrity, friend, co-worker).
Problem: We’ll never be as pretty, as talented, as rich, as sculpted, as cool, as everyone else. There will always be someone better, if you look hard enough. Therefore, if we compare ourselves to others like this, we will always pale, and will always fail, and will always feel bad about ourselves. This is no way to be happy.
Solution: Stop comparing yourself to others, and look instead at yourself — what are your strengths, your accomplishments, your successes, however small? What do you love about yourself? Learn to love who you are, right now, not who you want to become. There is good in each of us, love in each of us, and a wonderful human spirit in every one of us.
3. Seeing others becoming successful makes me jealous and resentful.
Problem: First, this assumes that only a small number of people can be successful. In truth, many, many people can be successful — in different ways.
Solution: Learn to admire the success of others, and learn from it, and be happy for them, by empathizing with them and understanding what it must be like to be them. And then turn away from them, and look at yourself — you can be successful too, in whatever you choose to do. And even more, you already are successful. Look not at those above you in the social ladder, but those below you — there are always millions of people worse off than you, people who couldn’t even read this article or afford a computer. In that light, you are a huge success.
4. I am a miserable failure — I can’t seem to do anything right.
Problem: Everyone is a failure, if you look at it in certain ways. Everyone has failed, many times, at different things. I have certainly failed so many times I cannot count them — and I continue to fail, daily. However, looking at your failures as failures only makes you feel bad about yourself. By thinking in this way, we will have a negative self-image and never move on from here.
Solution: See your successes and ignore your failures. Look back on your life, in the last month, or year, or 5 years. And try to remember your successes. If you have trouble with this, start documenting them — keep a success journal, either in a notebook or online. Document your success each day, or each week. When you look back at what you’ve accomplished, over a year, you will be amazed. It’s an incredibly positive feeling.
5. I’m going to beat so-and-so no matter what — I’m better than him. And there’s no way I’ll help him succeed — he might beat me.
Problem: Competitiveness assumes that there is a small amount of gold to be had, and I need to get it before he does. It makes us into greedy, back-stabbing, hurtful people. We try to claw our way over people to get to success, because of our competitive feelings. For example, if a blogger wants to have more subscribers than another blogger, he may never link to or mention that other blogger. However, who is to say that my subscribers can’t also be yours? People can read and subscribe to more than one blog.
Solution: Learn to see success as something that can be shared, and learn that if we help each other out, we can each have a better chance to be successful. Two people working towards a common goal are better than two people trying to beat each other up to get to that goal. There is more than enough success to go around. Learn to think in terms of abundance rather than scarcity.
6. Dammit! Why do these bad things always happen to me?
Problem: Bad things happen to everybody. If we dwell on them, they will frustrate us and bring us down.
Solution: See bad things as a part of the ebb and flow of life. Suffering is a part of the human condition — but it passes. All pain goes away, eventually. Meanwhile, don’t let it hold you back. Don’t dwell on bad things, but look forward towards something good in your future. And learn to take the bad things in stride, and learn from them. Bad things are actually opportunities to grow and learn and get stronger, in disguise.
7. You can’t do anything right! Why can’t you be like ____ ?
Problem: This can be said to your child or your subordinate or your sibling. The problem? Comparing two people, first of all, is always a fallacy. People are different, with different ways of doing things, different strengths and weaknesses, different human characteristics. If we were all the same, we’d be robots. Second, saying negative things like this to another person never helps the situation. It might make you feel better, and more powerful, but in truth, it hurts your relationship, it will actually make you feel negative, and it will certainly make the other person feel negative and more likely to continue negative behavior. Everyone loses.
Solution: Take the mistakes or bad behavior of others as an opportunity to teach. Show them how to do something. Second, praise them for their positive behavior, and encourage their success. Last, and most important, love them for who they are, and celebrate their differences.
8. Your work sucks. It’s super lame. You are a moron and I hope you never reproduce.
Problem: I’ve actually gotten this comment before. It feels wonderful. However, let’s look at it not from the perspective of the person receiving this kind of comment but from the perspective of the person giving it. How does saying something negative like this help you? I guess it might feel good to vent if you feel like your time has been wasted. But really, how much of your time has been wasted? A few minutes? And whose fault is that? The bloggers or yours? In truth, making negative comments just keeps you in a negative mindset. It’s also not a good way to make friends.
Solution: Learn to offer constructive solutions, first of all. Instead of telling someone their blog sucks, or that a post is lame, offer some specific suggestions for improvement. Help them get better. If you are going to take the time to make a comment, make it worth your time. Second, learn to interact with people in a more positive way — it makes others feel good and it makes you feel better about yourself. And you can make some great friends this way. That’s a good thing.
9. Insulting People Back
Problem: If someone insults you or angers you in some way, insulting them back and continuing your anger only transfers their problem to you. This person was probably having a bad day (or a bad year) and took it out on you for some reason. If you reciprocate, you are now having a bad day too. His problem has become yours. Not only that, but the cycle of insults can get worse and worse until it results in violence or other negative consequences — for both of you. 
Solution: Let the insults or negative comments of others slide off you like Teflon. Don’t let their problem become yours. In fact, try to understand their problem more — why would someone say something like that? What problems are they going through? Having a little empathy for someone not only makes you understand that their comment is not about you, but it can make you feel and act in a positive manner towards them — and make you feel better about yourself in the process.
10. I don’t think I can do this — I don’t have enough discipline. Maybe some other time.
Problem: If you don’t think you can do something, you probably won’t. Especially for the big stuff. Discipline has nothing to do with it — motivation and focus has everything to do with it. And if you put stuff off for “some other time”, you’ll never get it done. Negative thinking like this inhibits us from accomplishing anything.
Solution: Turn your thinking around: you can do this! You don’t need discipline. Find ways to make yourself a success at your goal. If you fail, learn from your mistakes, and try again. Instead of putting a goal off for later, start now. And focus on one goal at a time, putting all of your energy into it, and getting as much help from others as you can. You can really move mountains if you start with positive thinking.

10 Trendy Men's Hairstyles to Try this 2013

Justin-Timberlake - Classic curly hair

Hugh Jackman - Short Straight Hairstyle

Kendrick Lamar - Crown Cut Hairstyle 

Michael Fassbender - Thinning Hair Crown Cut

 Bradley Cooper - Formal, Short and Wavy Hairstyle

James Franco - Short and Curly Hairstyle

Channing Tatum - Peaked Cut Classic Hairstyle

 Ewan McGregor - Wavy and Top-Heavy Hairstyle

Damian Lewis - Side Part with slight lift in the front

Rory MacDonald - Deep Side Part Hairstyle

10 Habits that Could Damage your Brain

According to World Health Organization the following are such habits that will damage  your brain severely:

No Breakfast 

People who do not take breakfast are going to have a lower  blood sugar level. This leads to an insufficient supply of nutrients to the brain  causing brain degeneration.

Overreacting 

It causes hardening of the brain arteries, leading to a decrease  in mental power.

Smoking 

It causes multiple brain shrinkage and may lead to Alzheimer  disease.

High Sugar consumption 

Too much sugar will interrupt the absorption of  proteins and nutrients causing malnutrition and may interfere with brain  development.

Air Pollution 

The brain is the largest oxygen consumer in our body. Inhaling  polluted air decreases the supply of oxygen to the brain, bringing about a  decrease in brain efficiency.

Sleep Deprivation 

Sleep allows our brain to rest. Long term deprivation from  sleep will accelerate the death of brain cells.

Head covered while sleeping 

Sleeping with the head covered increases the  concentration of carbon dioxide and decrease concentration of oxygen that may  lead to brain damaging effects.

Working your brain during illness 

Working hard or studying with sickness may  lead to a decrease in effectiveness of the brain.

Lacking in stimulating thoughts 

Thinking is the best way to train our brain,  lacking in brain stimulation thoughts may cause brain shrinkage.

Talking Rarely 

Intellectual conversations will promote the efficiency of the  brain.

Please pay caution and try to avoid such  situations!! LINK

10 Benefits of Rising Early, and How to Do It

“Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise” - Ben Franklin, famously  


1. Greet the day. I love being able to get up, and greet a wonderful new day. I suggest creating a morning ritual that includes saying thanks for your blessings. I’m inspired by the Dalai Lama, who said, ” Everyday, think as you wake up, ‘today I am fortunate to have woken up, I am alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others, to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings, I am going to have kind thoughts towards others, I am not going to get angry or think badly about others, I am going to benefit others as much as I can.’ “ 


2. Amazing start. I used to start my day by jumping out of bed, late as usual, and rushing to get myself and the kids ready, and rushing to drop them to school and come in to work late. I would walk into work, looking rumpled and barely awake, grumpy and behind everyone else. Not a great start to your day. Now, I have a renewing morning ritual, I’ve gotten so much done before 8 a.m., my kids are early and so am I, and by the time everyone else gets in to work, I’ve already gotten a head start. There is no better way to start off your day than to wake early, in my experience. 


3. Quietude. No kids yelling, no babies crying, no soccer balls, no cars, no television noise. The early morning hours are so peaceful, so quiet. It’s my favorite time of day. I truly enjoy that time of peace, that time to myself, when I can think, when I can read, when I can breathe. 


4. Sunrise. People who wake late miss one of the greatest feats of nature, repeated in full stereovision each and every day — the rise of the sun. I love how the day slowly gets brighter, when the midnight blue turns to lighter blue, when the brilliant colors start to seep into the sky, when nature is painted in incredible colors. I like doing my early morning run during this time, and I look up at the sky as I run and say to the world, “What a glorious day!” Really. I really do that. Corny, I know. 


5. Breakfast. Rise early and you actually have time for breakfast. I’m told it’s one of the most important meals of the day. Without breakfast, your body is running on fumes until you are so hungry at lunchtime that you eat whatever unhealthy thing you can find. The fattier and sugarier, the betterier. But eat breakfast, and you are sated until later. Plus, eating breakfast while reading my book and drinking my coffee in the quiet of the morning is eminently more enjoyable than scarfing something down on the way to work, or at your desk. 


6. Exercise. There are other times to exercise besides the early morning, of course, but I’ve found that while exercising right after work is also very enjoyable, it’s also liable to be canceled because of other things that come up. Morning exercise is virtually never canceled. 


7. Productivity. Mornings, for me at least, are the most productive time of day. I like to do some writing in the morning, when there are no distractions, before I check my email or blog stats. I get so much more done by starting on my work in the morning. Then, when evening rolls around, I have no work that I need to do, and I can spend it with family. 


8. Goal time. Got goals? Well, you should. And there’s no better time to review them and plan for them and do your goal tasks than first thing. You should have one goal that you want to accomplish this week. And every morning, you should decide what one thing you can do today to move yourself further towards that goal. And then, if possible, do that first thing in the morning. 


9. Commute. No one likes rush-hour traffic, except for Big Oil. Commute early, and the traffic is much lighter, and you get to work faster, and thus save yourself more time. Or better yet, commute by bike. (Or even better yet, work from home.) 


10. Appointments. It’s much easier to make those early appointments on time if you get up early. Showing up late for those appointments is a bad signal to the person you’re meeting. Showing up early will impress them. Plus, you get time to prepare. 


How to Become an Early Riser 

* Don’t make drastic changes. Start slowly, by waking just 15-30 minutes earlier than usual. Get used to this for a few days. Then cut back another 15 minutes. Do this gradually until you get to your goal time. 
* Allow yourself to sleep earlier. You might be used to staying up late, perhaps watching TV or surfing the Internet. But if you continue this habit, while trying to get up earlier, sooner or later one is going to give. And if it is the early rising that gives, then you will crash and sleep late and have to start over. I suggest going to bed earlier, even if you don’t think you’ll sleep, and read while in bed. If you’re really tired, you just might fall asleep much sooner than you think. 
* Put your alarm clock far from you bed. If it’s right next to your bed, you’ll shut it off or hit snooze. Never hit snooze. If it’s far from your bed, you have to get up out of bed to shut it off. By then, you’re up. Now you just have to stay up. 
* Go out of the bedroom as soon as you shut off the alarm. Don’t allow yourself to rationalize going back to bed. Just force yourself to go out of the room. My habit is to stumble into the bathroom and go pee. By the time I’ve done that, and flushed the toilet and washed my hands and looked at my ugly mug in the mirror, I’m awake enough to face the day. 
* Do not rationalize. If you allow your brain to talk you out of getting up early, you’ll never do it. Don’t make getting back in bed an option. 
* Have a good reason. Set something to do early in the morning that’s important. This reason will motivate you to get up. I like to write in the morning, so that’s my reason. Also, when I’m done with that, I like to read all of your comments! 
* Make waking up early a reward. Yes, it might seem at first that you’re forcing yourself to do something hard, but if you make it pleasurable, soon you will look forward to waking up early. A good reward is to make a hot cup of coffee or tea and read a book. Other rewards might be a tasty treat for breakfast (smoothies! yum!) or watching the sunrise, or meditating. Find something that’s pleasurable for you, and allow yourself to do it as part of your morning routine. 
* Take advantage of all that extra time. Don’t wake up an hour or two early just to read your blogs, unless that’s a major goal of yours. Don’t wake up early and waste that extra time. Get a jump start on your day! I like to use that time to get a head start on preparing my kids’ lunches, on planning for the rest of the day (when I set my MITs), on exercising or meditating, and on reading. By the time 6:30 rolls around, I’ve done more than many people do the entire day. [ LINK ]

10 Habits of Life to Improve

Forgive others and yourself: Life is too short to hold on to regrets, grudges or disappointments. Free yourself by forgiving others and yourself and letting go of any negative energy.

Practice gratitude and appreciation: Focus on everything good in your life and you will feel grateful. Also, appreciate the wonderful people around you.

Live each day as though it were your last: In that way, you will be living in a state of purpose with non-attachment to people or things and in one of love.

Meditate or pray: You open up a direct link between yourself and spirituality when you meditate or pray. You come closer to your creator energy and experience peace, clarity and joy. You will reach a balanced state between your mental, physical, emotional and spiritual realms.

Suspend judgement: Judgement energy is dense, dark and heavy. Let go of judging and criticising others and yourself. Everyone is on a different path and some appear to be farther ahead on theirs than others. No path is better or worse than another. Learn to accept.

View every experience as a gift: If you look back at occurrences in your life, you can easily see how even the worst situations ended up teaching you valuable lessons. This resulted in putting you in the perfect place for your continuing development.

Stay consciously aware of all your thoughts and feelings: It is easy to fall into bad patterns of complaining and feeling like a victim of society and your life. When you catch yourself in the negative zone, switch to one of gratitude and positive thinking.

Treat your physical body as your temple: Your body is the only vehicle you've been given for this ride called life. The better you care for your body by eating a healthy, balanced diet, by following a regular exercise routine and by giving your body the rest it requires, the more you will feel increased vitality.

View the world through the eyes of a child: Children are happy observing and feeling the wonder and beauty in every single thing. They can't get enough. Look at everything and each human being as a child would and you'll be in a constant position of surprise and enliightenment.

Give lots of love from your heart: It's all about love. Love is the highest vibration. Allow yourself to receive love unconditionally from others. And, offer love from your heart in the same way to others and yourself and you will attain the highest state of awareness and bliss possible.



-

10 Ways to Live Up to 100 Years

Eat Seafood

Shrimp, oysters, crabs and fish are rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Nutrients and minerals in seafood can make improvements in brain development and reproduction and has highlighted the role for seafood in the functionality of the human body.

Drink a Lot

Water has a lot of health benefits. You should drink water at least 2 liters or 8 glasses a day and even better if you drink water instead of beverages containing alcohol, caffeine or sugar water to help keep the body fresh and long-lived to 100 years easily.

Self-Catering

You have the ingredients to cook, is free from preservatives and no sugar or excessive salt, much better if you planted your own vegetables, freshly collected, rich in nutrients and antioxidants and vitamins. It restored youth to the brain and body.

Exercise Regularly

Studies have indicated that people who always exercise such as walking regularly 3-5 times per week have live longer than those who are less physically active especially in elderly people who refused to move. If you are physically active it makes your body organs work better. Do not take medicines as much as possible. 

Throw Away your Stress

Don't keep it to yourself the feeling of stressed and anxious all the time, you need to drain it off. It is important to recognize and deal with stress that affects your heart. Recent studies have indicated that women under the age of 50's and postmenopausal who have problems with anxiety have increases the risk of heart disease.

Meditation

The mind must be in good condition, and by prayer, meditation, and breathing can it find a sense of balance and peace.

Work and Skills

Talent and knowledge are a great factor in doing work, but not necessarily to the fullest. Just find your strength and eliminate your weaknesses, then creativity will ensure the rest.

Always in Good mood

Stress-free. Though there are external pressures coming from almost everywhere, it is important to keep the logic of life smoothly.

Try New Things

Variety is the spice of life, and by learning new things can the brain be stimulated. So try grabbing that cup of coffee with the opposite hand.

Think Positiive

The dynamic power of positive thinking heals the whole body, mind and spirit, which results to longevity and a happy life. What we say to ourselves, as well as those from other people, affect our lives in one way or another.

10 Ways to Have a Thrifty Living

Saving money isn't all about whether or not you know how to score screaming bargains.
It has more to do with your attitude toward money. Just think of those who don't fit the filthy-rich stereotype. People like Warren Buffett. As explained in the book The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko, personal finance has as much to do with people's traits as it does with money. Many millionaires, in fact, have frugal ways. Understanding how personal traits can influence your finances is an essential ingredient for building wealth.


10. Don't buy things you don't need.
To get the most from the money that you have, it's essential to have a basic understanding of the difference between wants and needs. Chances are that a lot of things that you assume are needs are only wants you have disguised as needs in order to justify purchasing them. Basic needs are food (including water), shelter and clothing plus the essentials needed to work so that you can provide those basics. That means that the TV (and virtually every other gadget in your house) is a want and not a need. Having the willpower to buy only those things that you really need (being frugal doesn't mean being stingy, but it does mean that any wants you do have are specifically saved and budgeted for as opposed to impulse purchases) is essential to getting the most out of frugality. Simply put, if you don't need it, don't buy it, no matter how good the price.


9. Buy when you have the money.
One of the basic premises of frugality is having the money to pay for the things that you buy. By budgeting and saving for those things that you want and paying for them with cash rather than using credit card, you ensure you aren't paying far more than you should be for the products and services that you buy.


8. Purchase by value, not price.
One of the biggest misconceptions about being frugal is that those who are frugal only purchase things that are cheap or the very lowest price. The truth is that those who are frugal always try to buy the best value taking into account other factors such as the life expectancy and additional upkeep costs that come into play beyond retail price. This often means looking at the long term cost of an item rather than just the initial purchase price.


7. Always be patient.
Those who embrace frugality rarely have the latest and greatest gadgets that have just hit the market. Instead, those who are frugal wait for the early adopters to embrace the technology until the point at which the price falls to a reasonable level as the gadget makes its way to the masses. Those who are frugal are usually a generation or two behind on the latest gadgets, but they still perform the functions that need to be done and they get them for a fraction of the price.


6. Do buy used.
A basic tenet of frugality is to get the best value from what you purchase, and this often means purchasing products used. Those who are frugal are more than happy to let someone else pay full retail price and absorb the premium pricing for products that are depreciating assets (think of the difference in price between a brand new car and a two-year-old vehicle, as an example). Used products are often a fraction of the price of the new models and in many instances perform the needed task just as well.


5. Look for alternatives before buying.
If you need something, automatically going out and buying it is not an approach that a true frugal person would take. Instead, before spending any hard-earned money on something that may only be used a few times, consider alternatives.


4. Ignore the Joneses.
Part of living a frugal life is understanding that life isn't a competition over who has the most stuff. It's important to concentrate on your and your family's needs, and not what others are spending their money on. Just because your neighbors bought it doesn't mean that you need to go out and buy something on par or better.


3. Don't pay full retail price.
When you are going to make a purchase, you should never pay full retail price for it. There are a number of ways to avoid paying full retail such as using coupons, finding discounts, waiting for sales and negotiating a lower price. With a bit of preparation and forethought, there is never a reason to pay full retail price for anything you purchase.


2. Never waste.
One thing that those who are frugal hate is waste. While this obviously includes the waste of money, it also goes beyond money to such areas a wasted resources and wasted time. Efficiency is a frugal person's friend, and those who are frugal tend to follow the green mantra of reduce, repurpose, reuse and recycle for the things that they do possess.


1. Do things yourself.
When something needs to be done, the first choice to perform the task should be yourself rather than hiring someone else to do it. Frugal people tend to be do-it-yourself experts and do not pay others to do things that they can easily do by themselves. When they don't know how to do something, they research it to see if it is something that they can do with the proper instructions or something sufficiently complicated that it's best to let an expert handle. While it may take some practice at first, getting these 10 ways down will make your savings account look a lot healthier in the new year.

10 Guides to Discover your Passion

Following your passion can be a tough thing. But figuring out what that passion is can be even more elusive. This guide won’t be comprehensive, and it won’t find your passion for you. But it will help you in your journey to find it.


Here’s how :
1. What are you good at? Unless you’re just starting out in life, you have some skills or talent, shown some kind of aptitude. Even if you are just starting out, you might have shown some talent when you were young, even as young as elementary school. Have you always been a good writer, speaker, drawer, organizer, builder, teacher, friend? Have you been good at ideas, connecting people, gardening, selling? Give this some thought. Take at least 30 minutes, going over this question — often we forget about things we’ve done well. Think back, as far as you can, to jobs, projects, hobbies. This could be your passion. Or you may have several things. Start a list of potential candidates.
2. What excites you? It may be something at work — a little part of your job that gets you excited. It could be something you do outside of work — a hobby, a side job, something you do as a volunteer or a parent or a spouse or a friend. It could be something you haven’t done in awhile. Again, think about this for 30 minutes, or 15 at the least. If you don’t, you’re probably shortchanging yourself. Add any answers to your list.
3. What do you read about? What have you spent hours reading about online? What magazines do you look forward to reading? What blogs do you follow? What section of the bookstore do you usually peruse? There may be many topics here — add them to the list.
4. What have you secretly dreamed of? You might have some ridiculous dream job you’ve always wanted to do — to be a novelist, an artist, a designer, an architect, a doctor, an entrepreneur, a programmer. But some fear, some self-doubt, has held you back, has led you to dismiss this idea. Maybe there are several. Add them to the list — no matter how unrealistic.
5. Learn, ask, take notes. OK, you have a list. Pick one thing from the list that excites you most. This is your first candidate. Now read up on it, talk to people who’ve been successful in the field (through their blogs, if they have them, or email). Make a list of notes of things you need to learn, need to improve on, skills you want to master, people to talk to. Study up on it, but don’t make yourself wait too long before diving into the next step.

6. Experiment, try. Here’s where the learning really takes place. If you haven’t been already, start to do the thing you’ve chosen. Maybe you already are, in which case you might be able to skip to the next step or choose a second candidate to try out. But if you haven’t been, start now — just do it. It can be in the privacy of your own home, but as quickly as possible, make it public however you can. This motivates you to improve, it gets you feedback, and your reputation will improve as you do. Pay attention to how you feel doing it — is it something you look forward to, that gets you excited, that you love to share?
7. Narrow things down. I recommend that you pick 3-5 things from your list, if it’s longer than that, and do steps 5 & 6 with them. This could take month, or perhaps you’ve already learned about and tried them all out. So now here’s what you need to ask yourself: which gets you the most excited? Which of these can produce something that people will pay for or get excited about? Which can you see yourself doing for years (even if it’s not a traditional career path)? Pick one, or two at the most, and focus on that. You’re going to do the next three steps with it: banish your fears, find the time, and make it into a career if possible. If it doesn’t work out, you can try the next thing on your list — there’s no shame in giving something a shot and failing, because it’ll teach you valuable lessons that will help you to be successful in the next attempt.
8. Banish your fears. This is the biggest obstacle for most people – self-doubt and fear of failure. You’re going to face it and banish it. First, acknowledge it rather than ignoring or denying it. Second, write it down, to externalize it. Third, feel it, and be OK with having it. Fourth, ask yourself, “What’s the worst that can happen?” Usually it’s not catastrophic. Fifth, prepare yourself for doing it anyway, and then do it. Take small steps, as tiny as possible, and forget about what might happen — focus on what actually is happening, right now. And then celebrate your success, no matter how small.
9. Find the time. Don’t have the time to pursue this passion? Make the time, dammit! If this is a priority, you’ll make the time — rearrange your life until you have the time. This might mean waking earlier, or doing it after work or during lunch, or on weekends. It will probably mean canceling some commitments, simplifying your work routing or doing a lot of work in advance (like you’re going on a vacation). Do what it takes.
10. How to make a living doing it. This doesn’t happen overnight. You need to do something, get good at it, be passionate about it. This could take months or years, but if you’re having fun, that’s what’s most important. When you get to the point where someone would pay you for it, then you’re golden — there are many ways to make a living at that point, including doing freelance or consulting work, making information products such as ebooks, writing a blog and selling advertising. In fact, I recommend you do a blog if you’re not already — it’ll help solidify your thinking, build a reputation, find people who are interested in what you do, demonstrate your knowledge and passion.
I told you this wouldn’t be easy. It’ll require a lot of reflection and soul-searching, at first, then a lot of courage and learning and experimentation, and finally a lot of commitment.
But it’s all worth it — every second, every ounce of courage and effort. Because in the end, you’ll have something that will transform your life in so many ways, will give you that reason to jump out of bed, will make you happy no matter how much you make.
I hope you follow this guide and find success, because I wish on you nothing less than finding your true passion.