Thursday, November 17, 2016

What An 86 Year Old Man Can Teach Us About Procrastination

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I want to tell you the story of Hank.

I work in the Real Estate industry in San Antonio, TX and in our community, Hank is considered The Lion of our business. I train, coach, and teach real estate agents how to become better at what they do. Hank has been doing that for 40 years, he puts me to shame, and that is after a whole other career in The US Air Force where he served hazardous duty, posted all around the world, and protected The President of The United States.

If I ever feel myself getting cocky, all I have to do is look down the hall and see Hank, and I remember that I have a long way to go.

My Business Hero

An elder statesman now, Hank could kick back. He could rest, play golf, collect stamps…….But not this man. At 86 years young he works a full day every day at our brokerage and then often teaches real estate courses at our local school at night. I often joke to new agents that I am hiring that he will never quit, he will not go quietly. The truth is, he is my business hero and I would be heartbroken to see him not here.

Hank sat in a chair in my office yesterday, told me he felt “Like Crap” and that is sucks getting old. This has become our ritual. I am a crazy morning person, comes with having small kids that have to be at school before the rooster crows, which means I usually beat him here. He will walk into my office, sit down, and we catch up. Sometimes it’s nothing more than small talk, sometimes its much larger issues. The truth is I could speak to him all day.

Don’t hustle. Don’t try.

His demeanor and his attitude about the world are outstanding to me. I have never once heard this man say “What’s in it for me?” Do you know what he complains about? Not having enough work! He so wants to share his knowledge and passion for real estate that no matter how many agents I hire, it’s not enough. And he is heartbroken every time I hire an agent and then they don’t amount to much. Don’t hustle. Don’t try.

See these are foreign concepts to Hank. It just isn’t in his DNA. Why would you choose this job, or any job, and not give it all you have? Think about it like this. Hank does not work for the money. He has a very comfortable retirement. But he out works and out hustles people half his age, or less, who do need the money. These people have families to feed and bills to pay, yet he works harder than many I know. Why?

This is not to say that we do not have outstanding agents in our brokerage, we do! I am biased but I think we have the best team in the industry. This is more a symptom of the industry as a whole. It isn’t what you see on TV. For the most part, it isn’t glamorous, and it certainly isn’t easy.  Sometimes there can be big bucks……..sometimes, but often you are fighting for all you have, especially in the beginning. Some agents go on to have wonderful, fulfilling careers, and others flame out. Most never even really get started. If I knew the answer as to why then I would be a billionaire. I would have bottled it and sold it time and again.

Why Then Did I Succeed and Others Do Not?

I never set the world on fire as an agent, but I was successful. I hustled every day ( most days ) and fed my family. I was proud of the job that I did. When I think about it though, I had no special training. No secret was given to me when I started. I am not any different than those students sitting in real estate school right now. I had no special knowledge or hidden insight, yet I had a career I could be proud of and now I am happier than I have ever been in my life. Why then did I succeed and others do not?

If I had to guess I would say that I succeeded simply because I refused to procrastinate. In the beginning, I rarely knew what I was doing but I did something. Maybe I learned this from Hank. This is his life every day. If I didn’t, then I am sure that I re-learn it from him on a day in and day out basis. He is a role model to me of how a man should behave, and treat others.

Each time I write an article for LifeHack, I give it to Hank to read before I submit it to my editor. He never fails me. He always likes the content but doesn’t like the way I wrote it. I can completely respect that. There is never any BS when it comes from Hank.

Yesterday, in my office, he told me the next time I write, it should be on procrastination. So we can get these agents off their duffs and get them hustling. I completely agree and thought what better way to do that than to remind them and the world…………that this 86-year-old man is cleaning your clock and shows no signs of slowing down.

These lessons are not confined to the Real Estate industry. Not by a long shot. Each one of us can use Hank as a model for how to go about our daily lives.

Hank, of course, is not his real name. I have never asked but I am sure he would tell me that writing about him is useless. I think, however, that his story needs to be told.

Let me leave you with this, though:

If Hank is the exception and not the rule, then what are you? After all, you decide. Procrastination is a choice.

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4 Home Improvement Hacks for this Winter

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Winter is fast approaching and, along with the weather, many of our thermostats are dropping down to survival mode temperatures. The luxury temperatures that we could afford to maintain in the fall seem impossible in the face of winter winds. Unfortunately our utility bills can’t drop as well.

Many of us will face mounting electricity and gas costs just to make our homes comfortable over the winter. These costs, along with the other damage the cold can do to an unprepared home, are enough to remind one of the devastating winters that early American settlers suffered.

Fortunately, there are steps that you can take that were not open to the English colonists. By utilizing new and old technologies you can knock digits off your energy bill and save money this winter.

1. Solar Tech

We usually associate solar energy with hot sunny days, but the sun shines in the winter as well. Solar panels are still an effective energy producer in the winter as long as you keep them well-maintained and free of snow and ice.

A solar powered central heating system in the right state can cut your energy bills to practically nothing. For example, a solar powered home in Oregon could collect energy almost every day of the winter, thanks to the cloud-blocking properties of the Cascade Range.

The energy savings doesn’t stop at the end of winter. A solar powered home is an investment for years to come.

2. Smart Winter Insulation

Your home’s insulation is your first defense against the cold. It’s critical that it be completely intact and working for you to get the most out of your home’s heating and air.

If you conduct a home energy audit and discover that you have insulation leaks in one or more parts of your home get those fixed as soon as you can. Since insulation repairs can be very costly and time-consuming, you may want to consider closing vents and doors to affected rooms until the necessary repairs can be made.

If you don’t have to use the rooms often, block off the bottom of the door with a blanket or something else thermally insulating so that the warm air in the rest of your home doesn’t go to waste.

3. Keep Your Heater in Good Shape

Your heating system is the keystone for a comfortable winter. While an entirely broken heater might save you some money, you’ll be in for quite a chilly winter. Meanwhile, a heater that’s just barely pulling through will cost you a lot more than it needs to.

The happy middle ground is a fully functioning heater that’s in good shape. Having your heater at its best will save you money and keep your comfortable at the same time.

In order to keep your heater in good shape, you should schedule regular maintenance with a professional before the coldest weeks of winter come in. October and November are both great times to do this as you won’t be quite so reliant on your heater, but you also won’t be leaving much time for things to break down before the worst of winter starts.

4. Don’t Forget About the Rest

It’s easy to think that saving money during the winter comes down to managing your heating energy well, but there’s a lot more to it than that. A cold winter can take its toll on a lot more than just your furnace.

Be sure to blow out your sprinkler system before the freezing temperatures come or you’ll be paying a lot to get that fixed in the spring. It’s also important to prepare your lawn tools for winter so that they’re there for you when the grass starts growing once again.

There are a lot of things that we all look forward to with winter. I know I’m excited for hot chocolate and warm fires. As long as we’re ready for the tough parts of winter, we can enjoy the fun parts with zero stress.

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Top 10 Tools That Will Revolutionize Screenshots in 2017

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Modern operating systems come with several built-in options for taking screenshots. The most popular one is the Print Screen button, but apart from this, there are also small applications such as the well-known Snipping tool in Windows 7. However, if you want an advanced screen capture program, you may consider using one of the following:

1. MegaBackup

Right now, it is one of the most popular applications in the market. MegaBackup’s Screenshot Editor is incredibly easy to use and does not require any special knowledge. You can either share the screenshot or just press the Shift button to enter the edit mode. Once you open the editor, you will get access to many interesting functions such as changing the colors, adding texts, blurring particular aspects, and inserting the arrows.

2. Jing

Jing is the hot TechSmith’s product for taking the screenshots, sharing them, and adding the visual elements. There is a trial version for testing purposes. You can either capture screenshots or record videos. However, the second option is limited to only five minutes. There are the text box, captions, arrows, highlights, and other benefits.

3. FastStone Capture

This is indeed a powerful and lightweight software with a lot of outstanding features. Once you enter the editor, you will notice the tools for resizing, watermarking, cropping, adding special effects, arrows, annotations, and much more. You can also generate the automatic filenames, adjust the zoom level, etc. The output location and the format are customizable.

4. Ashampoo Snap

If you are after an ideal piece of software for screen capturing, editing, and recording, then this is indeed among the best ones available out there. The stunning screenshot is the synonym for Ashampoo Snap. You can capture anything visible on your screen and decorate it with some excellent tools including various texts, annotations, arrows, and special effects.

5. Snagit

Whether you want to grab the entire screen or just a particular area, Snagit will do it for you with a single click. Turning your images into the perfect messages has never been easier. You are allowed to put your own comments or emphasize particular objects using the various shapes, arrows, and highlights.

6. Gadwin PrintScreen

Gadwin Systems have recently launched the latest version of their PrintScreen application. Select your own output direction and choose between six different picture formats. Along with this, there is the advanced editor which is incredibly easy to use. To make your screengrab more appealing, just use anything from the toolbar.

7. Screenpresso Pro

A brand new software with the key features of screen capturing, editing, video recording, and sharing. The convenient and dynamic image editor will allow you to edit or highlight the best aspects of your screenshot. You can crop it and add reflection, borders, colorful text bubbles, callouts, text boxes and spotlights.

8. ScreenHunter Pro

Due to its uniqueness and innovative image editor, this screen grabber has earned an enormous popularity. It is extremely comfortable and flexible to produce fantastic screenshots with a single click. You can watermark your images, resize them, add texts, annotations, various color effects, and borders. There is also the automatic filename generator built in.

9. SPX Instant Screen Capture

It is a straightforward tool for creating professional screenshots. The latest version contains many improvements. The 15-day trial period is enough to fall in love with this wonderful software. Enhancing the images is exciting and funny because there are so many excellent features such as adding time and date, signature, annotations, and a lot more.

10. HyperSnap

This is the ultimate combination of the perfect screen capture application and the powerful image editor. Whether you are making tutorials, presentations, or some other materials, HyperSnap is undoubtedly the ideal solution. You will enjoy using its image manipulation potentials while producing top-notch screengrabs at the same time.

These tools will undoubtedly provide you the best user experience when it comes to taking a screenshot. Each and every one of them contains many sophisticated features that will ensure the top-notch quality as well as ease of use. Whether it is resizing, cutting, or enhancing particular elements, these 10 tools will never let you down.

Featured photo credit: https://stocksnap.io/ via stocksnap.io

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Black Friday: 12 Crazy Facts You Didn't Know Before

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Black Friday is finally here! Millions of shoppers are ready to stay in the long lines to get the best deals. But do you know that Black Friday is only the third busiest shopping day of the year, behind the Saturday before Christmas (“Super Saturday”) and the day after Christmas? Well, the real story behind Black Friday is a bit more complicated. Here are 12 crazy facts you didn’t know before about Black Friday.

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3 Things You Should Do When You Release An Album

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Releasing music is a huge step in any musician’s career, but many musicians miss crucial steps when they release an album or single. If you want to ensure the success of your release, and grow to a point where you can make a living from music, you need to make sure you do things properly from a legal standpoint, as well as a music promotion standpoint.

Here are 3 things you should do every time you release new music.

1. Copyright your music

While your music is protected under copyright law the minute it is put into a tangible form (so, once it’s recorded), it’s much easier to enforce upon infringement when your music is actually registered with the copyright office.

Additionally, registering your music with the copyright office can earn you extra royalties from music streaming services. Streaming services pay what are known as mechanical royalties directly to songwriters and publishers for the rights to play their music. For smaller musicians, they do this by sending a Notice of Intent (NOI) to the songwriter in the mail to let them know they’ll be streaming their song, and then they send payments via check through the mail. If your music isn’t registered with the U.S. copyright office, you’ll never see any of this money.

If you’re unsure about how to copyright a song, your best bet is to consult a music attorney. Rather than paying them to do it for you, ask them to show you how to do it so you can do it yourself the next time around.

2. Get proper distribution

Finding the right music distribution company is an important step in releasing new music. With music fans consuming music from a variety of services and platforms, such as their mobile device or web browser, it’s important to make sure your music is everywhere.

Almost every digital music distributor is going to get your music on the popular services, but some distribution companies do release on more platforms than others. Make sure you find the one with the biggest reach.

Reach isn’t the only important factor, however – it’s also important to consider the cost. Some distribution companies charge a fixed fee and pay you 100% of the rights (such as TuneCore) while others charge a lower subscription fee, but take a percentage of the royalties paid back to you (like CDBaby). Choose the type of distribution service that’s best for your current situation, and ultimate, the one you think you’d be most happy working with.

These services don’t reach every service. Some streaming services like Dozmia and SoundCloud get music directly, so consider these services as well when releasing new music online.

3. Promote your music

Once you’ve gotten the copyright for your songs and have distribution in place, the final step is to promote your music.

Music promotion in today’s music industry takes place offline and online. When it comes to offline music promotion, things can get costly very quickly, and results are hard to measure, so for newer musicians, it might be best to find ways to promote your music online for free.

Here are a few ways to do that.

  • Social Media

When using social media as a marketing channel for your music, it’s important to not think of it as a promotional channel, but as an engagement channel.

Social media platforms are more and more trying to show content to their users that will engage them and keep them on the service, so if you can provide this, you’ll be in front of more people. If your profile has a high level of engagement, then once you say something about your music, people will see it.

  • Blog

Writing blog posts is a great way to increase traffic to your band’s website. When you publish articles, think less about simply updating your fans about the on goings of your music career and more about how you can be helpful to them.

Publishing content that’s helpful to your audience is likely to get shared around social media, and can even rank well in search engines to drive more free traffic to your website.

  • Get Reviews

One of the hardest things for musicians to do is get their music reviewed by influential bloggers, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. When reaching out to bloggers, make sure you target your outreach efforts to bloggers who actually care about your style of music. It doesn’t make sense to reach out to a heavy metal blog if you’re a hip-hop artist – you’d just be wasting your time.

Go to Hypemachine, look for music blogs within your niche, and start engaging on their websites. Maybe send them an email about how awesome a recent review was with some of your thoughts on the same album. When you have these relationships in place, it’s much easier to share your music with these bloggers and get your music heard by their followers.

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Been In An Accident Lately? Read This

When you’re hurt in some kind of accident, there are a lot of concerns that arise. Will you have enough money to afford the life you’re accustomed to? Can you take care of your family? Will you be forced to go back to work before you’re physically ready because you need the paycheck? Will you ever recover from your injuries and lead a normal life again?

An serious accident can stop you in your tracks. It’s terrifying to think you could lose everything you’ve worked so hard for. You probably know that insurance agencies are not really that excited to give you loads of money for an accident even if you are entitled and really deserve it. It’s good to know what to do to fight against their process so you get what you need to rehabilitate and get back to your life again.

They put a price on your pain and suffering

It may seem a bit crazy that an accident settlement is determined on the invisible factor of pain and suffering. We all have different pain tolerances and suffering really is subjective. Say you lose a finger, which isn’t worth that much. Your passion in life is to play the piano. Your suffering is going to be far more than someone who doesn’t rely so much on having all 10 fingers. Pain and suffering sits under the legal umbrella of physical, emotion and mental injuries. It’s a measurement of how much less you enjoy your life after your accident.

Of course, this is crazy, but if you want to get what you’re entitled to, you have to accept it and figure out how to make it work for you. Know that insurance adjusters are trying to pay you as little as possible while avoiding a lawsuit. If you don’t feel good about the numbers they’re giving you for pain and suffering, I’d usher out a little “lawsuit” threat and see if they do a bit of recalculating. It’s risky for an insurance company if you file a lawsuit and the case goes to trial. Going to court takes all the control away from them, especially if the judge is sympathetic to your case. All of the calculations of what you’re worth go out the window and you have the upper hand over the insurance agency.

Insurance companies pay you a little while paying themselves more

Regardless of what you’re entitled to, an insurance adjuster’s job is to pay you out as little as possible. It’s their job to look at the facts and figure out how much the case is worth. They aren’t working for your interests; they’re working for a company. The less they pay you, the more profit the company gains.

Your entitlements include:

  • Tangible expenses like medical bills and costs. This includes those that have already been incurred and costs necessary in the future.
  • Loss of wages.
  • Damages for pain and suffering.
  • Emotional distress damage.

You may not be able to put all of this information and fight your case on your own. When it comes to emotional distress damage or pain and suffering, your case is stronger when you have an expert opinion. Not only should you be getting a regular check up from your doctor to monitor physical issues, you should also see a psychologist. It could be helpful to talk to someone but you also need a pro to prove you have suffered emotional damage. If you hired a lawyer, this would be a part of their checklist to ensure you get the payment that’s due to you.

You can help measure your pain and suffering by collecting evidence through documentation. Maybe it seems ruthless to have your friends take pictures of you when you’re crying after your accident. To really get what you want, you have to fight fire with fire. Photographs and personal journals can be used to illustrate the amount of physical and emotional pain you’re in. Your friends can also attest to the changes they’ve seen in you since the accident. These are all relevant when it comes to determining how down and out you are.

Adjusters offer you less even when they know you should get more

Here’s where it gets just plain greedy. It’s the last thing you want to think about getting into an action, that your insurance company would actually try to rip you off, but it’s reality. Adjusters do some number crunching to figure out the maximum you rightfully deserve, then they usually reduce their offer to you by 25 to 50 percent. They do this in order to get a bit of wiggle room during settlement proceedings.

Whatever you do, don’t take the first offer an insurance company offers you. They don’t expect you to anyway so do a little bit of your own tallying of what you should receive. It’s easy to calculate how much you’re spending on medical bills and your doctor has likely eluded to how long your rehabilitation will take. You know more than anyone what your pain and suffering levels are. If you feel depressed or unmotivated, it could take years after the initial accident to live a normal life again.

You don’t need to sell yourself short so don’t pay attention to the explanations and excuses an insurance company throws at you. It’s simply to avoid paying you what you’re owed. The good news is usually the courts are on your side and if you’re not satisfied with settlement offers, you have the option to file a civil lawsuit. This takes the power out of insurance adjuster’s hands in which case, they’ll probably offer you a lot more. You’ll have enough money to take your time getting healthy again and not having to worry about your future.

Featured photo credit: Alexas Fotos via pixabay.com

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Five Ways To Eat And Train Like A Professional Athlete

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It takes more than the myth of natural talent to reach the summit of the sporting stratosphere. We exist in a generation where performance levels continue to elevate, records persistently being shattered and the annals of sporting history rewritten incessantly. Many of us watch in awe and marvel at the incredible exploits of these individuals, but what is it that separates them from the chasing pack?

Beyond a shadow of a doubt, these superhumans of sport are no ordinary beasts – their dedication is unrivaled and their desire to succeed is as intense as the training regimes they put themselves through, day after day, week after week for an entire season. After all, these are the sacrifices and prices you have to pay if you want to be the very best athlete.

Naturally we are all inspired by our sporting heroes, but there is no universal approach or routine for world-class athletes to live and die by. Their training programme is structured around many different facets including their sport, body type and age, but by following and implementing these five methods into your schedule – you too can train and eat like a champion.

1. Increase Your Intensity

A real energy sapper. High intensity workouts will push your body to the limit and generate superior improvements in fitness far quicker than a typical steady-state cardio workout. Repeated shorts burst of frenetic and furious exercise followed by bouts of less intense movements or even complete rest will prove to be an efficient way of burning more fat and increasing your metabolism.

These are just two of the many benefits associated with pushing yourself hard into the anaerobic zone by using this simple concept which is scientifically proven to produce extreme results.

2. Progressive Overload

It is commonplace for individuals to be rhythmic and monotonous in their workouts, but you have to be relentless in your quest to ensure your performance level refrains from plateauing. Try to increase and vary the workload involved during your sessions to force your body to make changes in an environment outside of its comfort zone. This can be done through heightening the demands on your body such as lifting the same weight for more reps or raising your top speed when cycling.

Keeping your body guessing by changing your routine will ensure you continue to see results even after months of consistent training.

3. Avoid Undernourishment

Theoretically the logical line of attack to lose weight is simply to avoid calories, but this hypothesis is counterproductive. The very best athletes will eat little and often to ensure they stay fueled and avoid fatigue, whilst still being able to apply themselves thoroughly during their workout.

Rigorously restricting your calories means that your body will find it difficult to hold onto every calorie because you’re eating schedule is so insubstantial. This mode of starvation will mean more energy in, less out and all your hard work exercising will be in vain.

4. Stay Hydrated

Many of us fail to stay hydrated when competing and instead look to caffeine to stimulate our performance levels. However, drinks such as coffee can often dehydrate you due to the excessive caffeine content. Regular intakes of water throughout the day will keep you hydrated and your muscles lubricated, so after your workout it is more straightforward process to replace what you’ve lost. Try to aim for two liters a day.

5. Recovery

This overlooked component is a vital part of a top athlete’s life on a day-to-day basis and involves strict discipline ranging from applying ice to sore muscles to getting sufficient sleep to making certain their body has time to recuperate. It is imperative that you cool down properly and consume a high-protein meal or snack within half an hour of completing your regime to help increase the impact of your exercise. This will prevent your body from using its own muscle tissue for energy and help advance muscle synthesis.

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