Author Archives: schatzi

5 Secrets of Article Writing

Posted on by

Article writing can be easy if you let it be that way. Too often, people spend hours staring at a screen, typing the occasional word or two and then hoping for inspiration (which never comes). Unless your work is going to be the subject of a peer review or published in a prestigious journal, treat it for what it really is. A piece of good information that meets the needs of your potential readers. Nothing less, nothing more.

1. Decide on a title or headline

This doesn’t have to be the final title but it needs to be at least good enough for you to be able to frame the rest of the article around.

For instance, this article started out with the title “Secrets of Article Writing”. The final title will include the number of secrets I’ll be revealing. Most likely 5 but it could be anything between 3 and 30 depending on the subject matter and how much or little you want to write about the tips you’re offering.

2. Use bolded sub-headings

Numbered sub-headings like the one above this sentence make it easy to keep track of the quantity of points you’re writing about. That’s why I’ve been lazy in this article – it saves me going back and counting how many tips I’ve used.

They also help the reader stay on track – there’s something about numbered lists that makes most of us want to read every single item in the list, just in case.

But non-numbered sub headings are equally OK.

They break up the look and feel of the article.

3. Keep your sentences short and snappy

Short sentences are easier to read than long ones. If you use any of the reading score options such as the one built into the Yoast WordPress SEO plugin you’ll know that.

They also help to keep your article from wandering all over the place.

And they’re easier to read.

Reading on-screen (which is where most of us read nowadays) is more tiring on our eyes than reading from a book or magazine or newspaper.

Short sentences and short paragraphs help make up for that and mean that even long articles don’t appear as daunting when we first meet them.

4. Keep it interesting

Unless you’re writing a technical manual or a corporate brochure, you need to engage your audience.

Which means keeping your writing interesting.

The easiest way I’ve found to do that is to write as though I was replying to an email or talking to a friend.

Rather than write as though I was taking a high level exam in written English.

You can get away with abbreviations and even slang (I’d stop short of swearing in print but some people do that as well) so long as the words you write make sense.

5. Spell check and proof read

There’s no excuse for incorrect spelling. Just copy and paste your words into a word processor and run the spell check if you don’t spell well and your browser doesn’t offer a spell check.

Proof reading is also worth doing as it saves any of the really obvious glitches that can inadvertently creep into your prose. It doesn’t take long and has saved me from embarrassing errors on more than one occasion.

5 Secrets of Article Writing

Posted on by

Article writing can be easy if you let it be that way. Too often, people spend hours staring at a screen, typing the occasional word or two and then hoping for inspiration (which never comes). Unless your work is going to be the subject of a peer review or published in a prestigious journal, treat it for what it really is. A piece of good information that meets the needs of your potential readers. Nothing less, nothing more.

1. Decide on a title or headline

This doesn’t have to be the final title but it needs to be at least good enough for you to be able to frame the rest of the article around.

For instance, this article started out with the title “Secrets of Article Writing”. The final title will include the number of secrets I’ll be revealing. Most likely 5 but it could be anything between 3 and 30 depending on the subject matter and how much or little you want to write about the tips you’re offering.

2. Use bolded sub-headings

Numbered sub-headings like the one above this sentence make it easy to keep track of the quantity of points you’re writing about. That’s why I’ve been lazy in this article – it saves me going back and counting how many tips I’ve used.

They also help the reader stay on track – there’s something about numbered lists that makes most of us want to read every single item in the list, just in case.

But non-numbered sub headings are equally OK.

They break up the look and feel of the article.

3. Keep your sentences short and snappy

Short sentences are easier to read than long ones. If you use any of the reading score options such as the one built into the Yoast WordPress SEO plugin you’ll know that.

They also help to keep your article from wandering all over the place.

And they’re easier to read.

Reading on-screen (which is where most of us read nowadays) is more tiring on our eyes than reading from a book or magazine or newspaper.

Short sentences and short paragraphs help make up for that and mean that even long articles don’t appear as daunting when we first meet them.

4. Keep it interesting

Unless you’re writing a technical manual or a corporate brochure, you need to engage your audience.

Which means keeping your writing interesting.

The easiest way I’ve found to do that is to write as though I was replying to an email or talking to a friend.

Rather than write as though I was taking a high level exam in written English.

You can get away with abbreviations and even slang (I’d stop short of swearing in print but some people do that as well) so long as the words you write make sense.

5. Spell check and proof read

There’s no excuse for incorrect spelling. Just copy and paste your words into a word processor and run the spell check if you don’t spell well and your browser doesn’t offer a spell check.

Proof reading is also worth doing as it saves any of the really obvious glitches that can inadvertently creep into your prose. It doesn’t take long and has saved me from embarrassing errors on more than one occasion.

How to Cope With Exam Failure

Posted on by

You spent countless nights burning the midnight oil. In the end, you still did not make it. You failed your exam.

It is definitely normal to feel distraught or depressed, especially if you have given it your all. However, you cannot allow your temporary failure to get in the way of your future success.

Learn to cope with exam failure quickly and effectively:

1. Know that you are not alone. Everyone has gone through plenty of failures, and some of them have worse experiences than you. Winston Churchill did not pass sixth grade. Though he became a prime minister in 1962, he lost all of the other elections he participated in. Abraham Lincoln did not become a successful businessman and lawyer, as well as lost a lot of public elections.

But just imagine, if they had allowed failures to get the best of them, they would not have achieved worldwide recognition.

2. Tell yourself: it is just a temporary setback. Like the examples above, you will not be a failure all your life. Use subliminal messages to pull yourself from the dumps. Every day you can remind yourself the following:

  • This failure is only temporary.
  • I can definitely rise above these challenges.
  • I know I can achieve success.
  • My persistence and confidence can bring me to places.

There are plenty of other subliminal messages downloads you can use, and they are personalized for people who have to deal with failures.

3. Try again. Check if there is a possibility you can retake the exam. If you cannot, you can just make up for your failure in your next examination. In the meantime, you can put more effort into what you are doing.

4. Prevent yourself from falling into depression. The last thing you want to happen is to be depressed. It will only make things a lot worse. You will lose proper concentration, you will not sleep and eat well, you will lose a lot of weight, and you will get sick so easily.

Though it is normal for a person who has failed to feel depressed, it should not last for a very long time. If it does or you think it is getting worse, immediately seek help.

5. Practice proper stress management. You also do not want to go through a lot of stress. Stress is often one of the leading causes of anxiety and depression. Take a breather. Go out with friends or family. Take a trip or a retreat. Do something productive with your time like taking up a sport. By the time you are ready to take the time, you will feel refreshed.

6. Meditate. Meditation helps a lot when you want to be grounded on the present. You do not worry about the past or the present. Meditation can also clear your mind, so it is easier for you to accept and believe in the subliminal messages and affirmations.

7. Obtain wisdom. As they say, experience is the best teacher. Consider your failures as ways to determine your mistakes. Then learn from them.

Steps to Applying for School

Posted on by

Applying to school can be an overwhelming experience. There are so many questions that need to be answered. Most people have questions like, what school should I go to, what do I want to get into, how do I apply, and what are the requirements to get in? The process for applying to college can be made easier by following a few simple steps.

Before you apply to a school make sure you have visited the schools you are most interested in. While at the school talk to the counselors about the different courses and find out what you are interested in studying. The school counselors can help answer any questions you may have. By doing this one step you will know which schools you are interested in and save money by not applying to the ones that you don’t like. Another thing to do before applying to school is make sure you have all your test scores and transcripts ready. Schools will be asking for these so you need to have them handy. Make sure you know which schools need what scores and documents.

After you have chosen a school to apply to make sure you have all the necessary items. Some of these include letters of recommendation, essays, extra-curricular activities, and test scores. Most schools will require 3 letters of recommendation. These include letters from teachers, counselors or coaches. The letters are to be written by people who will write positive things about you. When filling out the application, most schools will have you write an essay. Make sure to be creative but also have the correct grammar and punctuation. The essay is a way for the schools to see your creative side and the way you think. Extra-curricular activities can help boost your application. Anything from sports to student government can be helpful on your application. Schools are looking for students who are well rounded and can be a good addition to their establishment. The last thing is to make sure you have all the right test scores and transcripts so you can send them in with your application.

Once you have done all these things you are ready to apply to a school. The process can be made easier and less overwhelming if you have the knowledge you need. Follow the above steps and you will be on your way to attending the school of your dreams.

Benefits Of Advanced Driving Course

Posted on by

Are you looking for a perfect kind of advanced driving course to enhance your driving skills? What is the necessity to attend these courses and in what way will they be helpful to you? It is important to find answers for the above raised questions before joining these courses. Driving skills are very important and not every individual can master this. Driving is an art. It has to be mastered and of course it will be come by sheer experience. A person who drives for the first day will not be perfect but it is important to follow the basic rules. There are many traffic rules to be followed while driving.

Pertaining to traffic rules and driving rules will help the individuals to drive safely. Ultimately, it is a matter of life and death matter for which these rules have to be followed religiously. Most of the individuals do not consider taking these courses. Even if not on a full time basis, it is important to undertake at least once in a life time. Advanced driving course is prepared according to the Driving standards that are followed in the country. It will teach the individuals about the facts that have to be kept in mind while driving on the road. A drive in the highway is very different from a drive in a congested road. The conditions will differ and it is important to exercise caution on congested roads. Having a clean record as a driver is very important to have lower insurance premiums.

What are the benefits of taking advanced driving course?

• First and foremost, it will give immense amount of confidence to the driver. This course will make him capable of overcoming incidents and modern day hazards such as the busy roads, congested and slow moving traffic.

• The second most important thing is that the individuals will get special discounts while renewing the insurance packages. Following these laws will help him to be a clean and green driver following all road rules. It could consider as a reward for driving in a clean way during these credit crisis periods.

• Advanced driving course is very helpful to modern day youth. They prefer speed driving and rash driving. It is important to understand the ill effects of rash driving. It threatens the life of the driver and also other commuters. This is a life threatening problem and proper awareness has to be created.

• Advanced driving course will help the drivers in overcoming various problems during raining season, and any other extreme climatic conditions. It will also give an idea about how to control the vehicles during unexpected situations.

Driving courses are an integral part of life and they should not be neglected. Every individual will have an idea on how to drive on various road conditions. These courses will not have any kind of assessment at the end. However, they do track your progress.

You Do Not Need a College Degree to Succeed Online

Posted on by

Some people who do well online or offline in a home based business do not even have a high school or a college degree.

One of the most important traits of those people who do well, is that they all have a strong belief that they will succeed in their business venture.

Here is a great statistic:

20% of America’s millionaires never set a foot in a college and some of them dropped out before they graduated. 23 of the 230 Americans who were listed as billionaires in the past 2 years never got a college diploma. That is amazing.

Although a formal degree and a strong commitment to lifelong learning is essential to a persons success, a formal degree is not that important like it was 50 years ago.

Same thing with thousands of people in the online business world. Many of them never got a college diploma and are doing very well. Meaning that they were able to quit their jobs and stay home, while enjoying life.

When I went to college, I dropped out after 2 years. I went and studied GENERAL BUSINESS but I figured out that this will probably not get me anywhere so I left college and did not earn a degree. Yes, some people in my life where a little disappointed in me but to be honest with you, I didn’t really care.

That was back in 2001-2002 when I dropped out and started to look for a business opportunity online and found one a few months later. Did I succeed right away or after a short while. No……It took me a few years to figure things out and in the past 2-3 years, I have been working at home full time and also helping others succeed online too.

Just because society tells us that we should get a good education so that we can get a good job, does not mean that this is the path that we should take.

Again, some of the most successful people in the world like Bill Gates (Owner of Microsoft who is worth close to $48 Billion) never graduated college. In Bill’s situation, he went to Harvard University but then dropped out to build Microsoft.

Some of the greatest musicians, athletes, and movie actors are all college dropouts.

What’s My Point?

You don’t need a college degree to succeed in some sort of a online business opportunity.

You only need a strong desire, a willingness to succeed, the right tools, and be an action taker.

It does not matter what you education background is or isn’t. If you want to succeed online or in a home business, you too can make it. If someone ever tells you that you need a college degree to start or run a successful home based business offline or online, don’t believe them. You really do not need one.

Even if you do have a college degree, it doesn’t matter.

So you do not need a college degree to succeed online. If you are looking for a legitimate work at home business opportunity online, then I recommend that you click on the banner below and sign up. As soon as you do, I will work with you one on one and teach you how to succeed with it.

Remember this, my goal is to help you succeed online. I have helped many people before you and I want to help you too.

Career Planning: The Importance of Keeping Your Resume Current!

Posted on by

Career planning is important in keeping your career moving forward and measuring your progress against your overall plan. One of the most valuable steps in your career plan is to keep your resume current.

If you are planning a midlife career change, having a well written resume that carefully lists your current accomplishments will allow you to quickly respond to possible new career opportunities. So now is the time to update your resume and put in place a process to periodically keep your resume current.

If you examine a copy of your old resume and compare it with the latest in writing resumes you’ll see that there have been a number of significant changes over the past ten years or so.

Currently marital status, hobbies (unless absolutely relevant to the position applied for), other personal information and references are not included. Also, listing a job objective is not longer standard but has been replaced by a skills or qualifications summary.

To often a resume writer falls in love with all the bells and whistles in their word processing program. Resist this temptation; you want the layout of your resume to be clean, easy to read and professional. No colors, pictures or multiple fonts.

Many employers now electronically scan resumes searching for keywords related to the specific job. Keywords are found by pulling nouns from the job announcement. Make sure the keywords appear naturally in your resume. Resumes that make the “cut,” are then reviewed by the recruiter for specific skills and qualifications.

If you haven’t kept an up-to-date atta-boy (girl) file with your career plan now is the time to reconstruct one. List all of you achievements, copies of your performance reviews, laudatory letters and emails and anything else which demonstrates your accomplishments.

Now quantify each accomplishment. Money saved, costs reduced, sales increased, projects completed on time under budget should be your starting point. When finished you should have more than three accomplishments for each position. List the top three or four on your resume for each job held in the last 10-15 years.

Take the balance of the accomplishments, put them aside and save to possibly use when you refocus your resume. Today in writing resumes you want to list accomplishments based on the needs of the employer, and if applying for a specific job opportunity you will want to tailor your resume to match as closely as possible to the needs of the job
If you have a friend who recently went through a successful job hunt you might want them to review your completed resume. Ask for feedback and then make appropriate changes.

Print out a number of copies of your finished resume on quality paper. You’ll now have a copy ready for the unexpected job opportunity. Moreover, you’ll have the basic outline with supporting information to tailor the document, if required, to meet the needs of a prospective employer.

If you keep your atta-boy (girl) file current updating your resume should be a relatively easy exercise. Of course you should update it whenever, you get a new job or position. If you move you should correct the contact information. Keep your resume and the supporting information current and you’ll be prepared for any possible career opportunity.

How to Find a Beginner’s HO Scale Train Set

Posted on by

For the person looking for a starter HO scale train set for themselves or perhaps as a gift for a son, daughter, or grandchild, Bachmann trains are a nice and affordable way to get you started with HO scale train sets and model railroading in general. In the following paragraphs, we will answer your questions and offer suggestions about specific sets and what you should look for in your first model train.

What should you look for in your first train set? Probably one of the most important things you should look for is the ease to which you can assemble and operate your model train. We believe the HO train sets from Bachmann are easy to assemble and operate with their e-z track system and controllers. You are able to operate your train very soon after you get it out of the box if you want to. We believe this is a very appealing point for the person wanting to give a train set as perhaps a birthday or Christmas gift.

Also, cost is another thing to think about with your first train purchase as you wouldn’t want to go out and spend a bunch of money and then decide you don’t like model railroading. However, I have never heard of a person who started model railroading and didn’t find it an enjoyable hobby. Model railroading is a hobby that can last you a lifetime if you want it to. Bachmann offers many affordable starter trains and also a good variety to choose from.

Bachmann has several different types of HO scale sets including passenger sets, freight sets, and themed sets such as the Bachmann Royal Gorge sets which is one of my favorites. This set comes complete with a diesel engine and passenger cars along with the easy to assemble track and speed controller. All of the train sets from Bachmann come with track and speed controllers.

If you have a youngster that is a fan of Thomas and you want to introduce them to model railroading, then Bachmann trains is the place to be. There are five really nice HO scale Thomas and Friends trains to choose from. There is even a holiday Thomas and friends train called the Thomas’ Holiday Special. This HO scale train set would be an excellent choice to start your model railroading adventure at Christmas.

No matter what your interests are, you can probably find a nice HO scale train set that suits your interests to help you get started in model railroading. Good luck choosing and happy model railroading.

Executive Coaching Training – Why it is Easier to Coach Executives Than Other People

Posted on by

Despite the fact that executive coaching proved to be almost recession-proof, many coaches hesitate to train and master this field. The ‘Executive’ is often perceived as being a tough target for coaches to hit. Executives are important busy people. They are remote, hidden behind layers of secretaries, assistants and underlings. They are aloft, sailing above us all in their corner offices and business networks. They are tough, brisk, and efficient. They are cunning, charismatic and posses a bourn tendency to command. They are also pure fiction. Or at least – the imaginary portrait of them that I just painted here is.  

The truth is that executives are people. They have problems just like any other people; often more than others, because their lives tend to be more complicated. Most executives do posses some qualities of excellence or they would not have been promoted to their rank. However, such qualities mainly have to do with their professional side. It does not necessarily mean that they possess any special wisdom or superiority in other fields.  

Strip away the power suites and polished offices, and you find that executives are as human as any other. They have good traits and bad habits. They strive to succeed but make mistakes along the way. They are usually able to see a broader picture, yet still suffer from embarrassing blind-spots. They struggle to balance their personal lives with their careers. Worst of all is the fact that their position often insulates them from others, and limits the number of people that they can communicate with freely.  

A coach, once he won the executive’s trust, actually have his job easier than when coaching other people. Executives are used to consider facts and look for results. They are trained to separate their emotions from the matter at hand, and their job requires them to consider the long term as well as the immediate situation. These are all things that a coach often struggles with his client to achieve. Executives are used to plan and to act, thus making it much easier to get tangible coaching result. Meaning your coaching succeeds faster and more often. And not less important – one can usually charge them more for coaching.  

The myth of the executive as a tough client probably reflects the perceived difficulty in marketing coaching to executives. But it is not true that coaching them is difficult. If you thought that executive coaching training is not for you, think again. 

 Find out how to become a successful executive coach and leave the ranks of the ‘Part time’ coaches. Get the cutting-edge free report ‘7 Steps to Become a Successful Coach’ at http://www.ecoachingsuccess.com.

Child Learning Game – Are Educational Games Online Any Good?

Posted on by

A lot of parents make the mistake that any educational games online are good for their children. However, most of these parents underestimate how much money children plow into internet websites, simply by virtue of browsing and clicking. With this in mind, you should be aware that many websites simply put any old game up in order to get people to click their ads.

However, there are many sites out there where you can find educational games online that are both good for your children, and do not lead them on to dangerous or pornographic websites. I advice you to use parental control software program. It gives you the ability to hold children accountable, and provide security measure to protect them. Young children are impressionable and by being able to see their activities online with PC Tattletale, it helps to know where to aim the conversations and activities.

Educational games online are generally limited by the fact that they must be web-browser based. This is not a problem for math games, word games, or basic activities, but if you want to get a fully-interactive and comprehensive educational game for your computer, you will probably have to walk into a software store. However, educational games online can be an excellent, cheap way of teaching your children important concepts and skills.

At Kidsgames.Org website you can find over 900 educational games online that are all good for developing various skills used in school. These educational games online are suitable for children up to age ten. If your child is over that age, try looking at Nobelprize.ORG website where you can find a few educational games online that are based around the work of this year’s Nobel Prize laureates.

As an elementary school teacher, and a member of the “old school”, I was a little skeptical when children started to play educational games online. Since then though I have realized that as long as the children are guided and watched over properly they can easily find educational games online all by themselves, or with a little nudging. Once you find a good selection of games it is easy to encourage the children to play these games and learn the skills they have to teach. Often these are math or language skills, but there are also social values and ethics embedded into educational games online as well.

Microsoft is on the verge of unleashing a new technology that will allow multiple children to play educational games online at the same time. By using multiple mouses which control multiple pointers, children will be able to work together in groups of up to five – all playing the same educational games online. This will allow greater classroom cooperation and improve group work.