Designing the Superior Man: 15 Powerful Qualities (Part 1)

This is Part One (of Three) describing 15 qualities of the ideal man. Each part will discuss 5 key qualities to embrace in order to design the superior man.

As a father to a beautiful two-year-old girl and a husband to an amazing woman, I am constantly seeking out ways to improve myself. There are a number of books and articles describing how to be a better man, however, there is one book that stands above the rest as the guide to being the ideal man or a Randian Hero – this book is The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand.

In this fantastic novel, Howard Roark is the hero. He is a brilliant and innovative architect who never compromises or deviates from his principles. Just as a man similar to Roark in today’s society, he is criticized and persecuted by people who are willing to compromise personal integrity. Where Roark does not attempt to influence people, his enemies practice the art of manipulation and use their ability to control the weak. These people represent the parasites of the world and they exist all around us.

In order to be a better man, we can use Roark as our example of what every man should strive to become. Using examples from The Fountainhead and similar books, we can identify key traits of superior men. Here are the first five qualities of the ideal man.

1. Squash the Parasite

“No man can give another the capacity to think.” – Ayn Rand

Superior men move the world forward. Nothing is given to them, they ferociously work for everything they have. Ayn Rand described two types of men: those who survive by the independent work of his own mind or as a parasite fed by the minds of others. Strong men do not need others, where a parasite needs others and feeds off them like a leech.

Parasites fear strong and powerful men. They will never confront you but will use manipulation tactics to attack you behind your back. I work with a large number of them and have been attacked by multiple. These parasites feel entitled and push their work off on others, yet, still attempt to take credit.

I am a leader under attack in my organization. Those parasites I work with are peers and others in superior rank. I am not afraid to confront them. When I do, they use tactics you would expect from a cockroach. Recently, I had a couple of them use these tactics in an attempt to remove me from my post.

2. Start Counting When it Hurts

“I only start counting when it starts hurting, when I feel pain, that’s when I start counting, cause that’s when it really counts.” – Muhammed Ali

This quote was in response to a question directed at Muhammed Ali when he was asked how many sit-ups he could do. He provided the perfect response!

Superior men are black belts in the mind and body. They do not fear to attempt new things, even if those things leave them feeling awkward or embarrassed. These elite men are not afraid to enter the arena and do not start thinking about success until it hurts.

One of our greatest leaders once said, “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who at best knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.” – Theodore Roosevelt (excerpt from Daring Greatly by Brene Brown)

3. Stop Caring

“Stop letting people who do so little for you control so much of your mind, feelings, and emotions.” – Will Smith

You can interpret #3 in two ways: stop caring about anything and give up, or you can use the correct interpretation and stop caring so much about what other people think of you.

Superior men take control of their life. It is an amazing feeling when you simply stop caring about what other people think. Start eliminating things in your life that do not matter, that add no value. Focus only on the things and people that add value to your life. In fact, immediately stop communicating with people who add no value, purposely ignore these parasites who try to bring you down. Be candid with these people if you do have to acknowledge them. If they ask you a question or confront you (in person, on the phone, or electronically) either ignore them or provide a simple response, regardless of the intent of the conversation – “No” – this is the perfect response.

4. Fight For and Defend Your Family

“The first rule about fight club is you don’t talk about fight club… The second rule about fight club is you don’t talk about fight club.” – Chuck Palahniuk

Just to be clear, I am not advocating the reenactment of the movie Fight Club (as fun as that might be), however, you must know how to fight and defend yourself. You do not have to become the next Jean-Claude Van Damme or Bruce Lee, but you must know enough to protect those you love. A man who cannot physically defend his family is not a man. That comment may rub some of you the wrong way, but I don’t care (see #3 and #5).

If your wife or daughter were in danger, could you live with yourself if you failed to defend them? Even if you attempted to defend them, could you? If you answered “No” then you need to man up and start training.

Women desire a man who is confident and not afraid to kick the crap out of someone if needed. They want a man who will defend them and treat them with respect. The ultimate man will fight for his wife and family when needed, yet treat his wife with the chivalrous respect she deserves… rewards will come!

5. Don’t Be Afraid to Piss People Off

“The secret to success is to offend the greatest number of people.” – George Bernard Shaw

Strong and confident men have a profound impact on people. They project confidence through their appearance, the way they speak their mind, and through bold innovations. Confident people propel the world forward. These people are also not afraid to piss people off. These men are assertive, candid, and they take risks.

High performing men are not afraid to break the rules… after all, rules are put into place so we can work around them. By possessing an unlimited confidence and not caring about pleasing other people, these men live for their own success. They do not allow or wait for other people to determine their success – if that means pissing people off on their way up, then so be it.

Featured photo credit: IMDB via imdb.com

The post Designing the Superior Man: 15 Powerful Qualities (Part 1) appeared first on Lifehack.

from Lifehack http://ift.tt/2ffhB7h

5 Hacks to Make Your Life Easier Around the House

Every day we use hundreds of products for different purposes, and we never realize that sometimes we throw out commodities, which could be used for various other purposes.

Using a product for something other than its original purpose, but in turn satisfying, is a lifehack. Today, in the age of the internet ,thousands of people share their ideas and uses for various day to day products.

Here are 5 lifehacks I think could make your day –

1. Using The Top Of A Bottle On Sealed Packages –

Image Courtesy

If you cut off the top part of a bottle, you can use it to seal a packet. Take a chips packet for example. You fit the packet into the bottle head and use the bottle cover to seal it down. This suppresses air from entering the packet.

You can use the bottle top for chips, rice or just about any packet you need to preserve.

Don’t worry about the bottom half of the bottle. You just made new glasses to drink from. Decorate and file the endings for a beautiful set of plastic drinking glasses.

2. Placing Newspapers At The Bottom Of Your Garbage Bin

Image Courtesy

By placing newspapers in your garbage bin, you reduce the risk of an unwanted spill. The liquid content in your garbage is collected in the paper, and it avoids the spread of any liquids outside the bag.

Not only does the paper absorb all the water, but by placing folded paper at the bottom, the garbage bag retains a shape easy to use. The bag will always have the paper as its base and never sink to the bottom of your bin.

3. Using A Pen Spring As A Charger Cable Holder

Image Courtesy

The biggest problem an iPhone user faces today is the breaking of the charger cable. Though fragile, they can be fixed. Take the spring of a pen and run the cable through it. This keeps the cable intact and makes sure it does not bend or break.

This works well for Android users or just about any cable at all. It prevents the wires from being stretched and increases the life of each cable.

Running the cables through paper clips attached to a table reduce the chances of a wire falling to the ground and getting tangled. Plus it allows the user to easily choose the cable of his choice.

4. Power Up Your Alarm

Image Courtesy

Waking up in the morning can be a problem. Especially if your phone isn’t loud enough.

Place your mobile phone in a glass, with the speaker facing the bottom of the glass. The sound will bounce off the glass producing a stronger, shriller sound and make sure you wake up.

Make sure the glass is away from you, so you have to move a little to turn it off. Although, you may need more help if you sleep on futon beds. These beds are designed for comfort and are a luxury at your fingertips.

5. Cleanliness Blending In

Image Courtesy

If you cook a lot or every day for that matter, the blender must be your best friend. You need to look after it the same way it looks after you.

If you can’t stand that hidden bit of blend behind the blades of your blender, throw in a little soap and water. Blend and rinse. And notice your blender shine once again.

Conclusion

Look out for more lifehacks as you keep going and share your experience with the world. Lifehacks can help solve a lot of daily issues we oversee. So why complain when the answer is right in front of you.

The post 5 Hacks to Make Your Life Easier Around the House appeared first on Lifehack.

from Lifehack http://ift.tt/2ffevQy

4 Essential Ways to Help Protect Your Children From Pneumonia

Fall and winter bring chilling temperatures, less sun, and more rain. You’ve probably heard that colds aren’t caused by rain or cold weather. But believing this common myth may be better for you – and this becomes critical if you have children.

Don’t worry, here are a few effective ways you can help protect your children from pneumonia during the cold seasons.

Is Catching a Cold When it’s Cold Really Just a Myth?

Is it just a popular myth that you’re more likely to catch a cold when exposed to cold temperatures? Maybe not — doctors found evidence that cold viruses infect you easier during the colder seasons. They found preliminary evidence that exposure to cold temperatures suppresses your immune system. They also found that the rhinovirus (major cold-causing virus) can multiply easier in your body when your body temperature is lower (it’s most optimal for the virus when your body is at 91 degrees Fahrenheit).

They ran studies on mice cells and found that when the airways are exposed to cold air, the immune cells are less able to send signals between themselves to coordinate blocking the rhinovirus from replicating itself.

Don’t let your guard down because you’ve heard the myth is wrong. In fact, you should protect your children and yourself even more, when it’s cold out because your immune system has a harder time fighting cold-causing viruses.

Why Cold Prevention is More Important for Children

Simple colds and flus can turn into pneumonia – and children are more susceptible to developing pneumonia from these and other respiratory infections. According to the American Lung Association, children are generally at high risk for pneumonia. Pneumonia is the leading cause of hospitalization among U.S. children. Worse, pneumonia is the cause of 15 percent of worldwide deaths of children below 5.

Your children most likely won’t die from contracting a cold this winter, but being aware and proactive in protecting your children from colds and flus during the cold seasons helps lower any risk.

Here are four things you should be doing:

1. Give Your Children Daily Vitamin C Supplements

What’s a famous go-to when you have a cold? Orange juice – because of its vitamin C content. Scientists have now found proof justifying this traditional remedy. Researchers found that vitamin C boosts your immune cell count and your immune cells’ ability to capture invading viruses. It also boosts production of virus-fighting molecules (called interferons) made by your immune system. Vitamin C has also been found to directly lower virus replication. When researchers gave animals vitamin C, it boosted their defenses against both viruses and bacteria, which can both cause pneumonia. They also found that your body uses up vitamin C when fighting off pneumonia – so at the very least, keeping your vitamin C stores up helps your immune system fend off pneumonia-causing germs.

How do these findings play out in the real world? Natural News interviewed Dr. Andrew Saul, Ph.D. who advocates for finding natural cures before seeing your doctor. He testifies that he was able to cure his pneumonia within three hours of a non-stop vitamin C therapy. But, his testimony is a bit biased since there’s some personal gain (in terms of his self-cure books) involved.

Natural News also tells of another patient using the same non-stop vitamin C therapy. The New Zealand native was near death, being attacked by both leukemia and pneumonia. The therapy reversed both diseases and he eventually walked out of the hospital on his own!

But both “miracle cures” involved non-stop intravenous vitamin C of very high doses. Unless you’re a trained healthcare professional, it’s not a remedy you can easily resort to whenever you get the sniffles. It also may be dangerous, and you should ask your doctor before ever trying it.

Instead, bulletproof your children’s and your immunity by taking vitamin C supplements with them every day. It’s better to prevent colds and flus from taking hold than resort to overboard remedies when you’re already sick in bed. (As a bonus, taking vitamin C supplements before or after your daily workout helps prevents oxidative damage and stress caused by free radicals created when you exercise!) All you need to do is make sure your children pop a vitamin C pill before you send them off to school and you can rest assured they’re safer from colds and flus.

If your children find it hard to swallow pills, you can give them a glass of vitamin C-packed lemon water with their everyday breakfast instead.

2. Install a Chimney

If you cook your children’s meals on a wooden stove, you could be increasing their risk for pneumonia. But if you invest in a chimney for your stove, you’ll help lower their risk. Researchers found that households with chimneys installed to their wooden stoves have a 30 percent lessened risk of severe pneumonia in toddlers. The chimneys also lowered carbon monoxide exposure (which can harm your children’s nervous systems) by 50 percent.

Why? According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), open fires for cooking are a major cause of children’s pneumonia. Experts found that smoke exposure can aggravate the condition of children with mild pneumonia. In fact, in the study, the smoke exposure made it more likely that medical intervention would fail, which led to 35 percent of the infected children dying. But using a chimney helps keep indoor pollution from cooking away from your children’s lungs.

Robert Hanflig, the owner of Pellet Stove Parts, advises that choosing the right chimney is vital for keeping smoke out of your home’s air. A chimney’s draft (vacuum function) is drastically lessened if it’s not 2 feet taller than any raised part of your roof that’s 10 feet from the chimney. If you have a flat roof, the chimney must be at least 3 feet above it.

3. Get Your Children Vaccinated

Vaccination is unanimously recognized as the most effective way to prevent childhood pneumonia. The NIH reports that vaccination prevents 1,075,000 child deaths by pneumonia annually. They advise vaccination for Hib and pneumococcus in children, as these are the two leading causes of children’s pneumonia deaths.

But vaccines can have staggering side effects, which include thousands of medically recorded cases of seizures and encephalitis. Although it’s unlikely that your children will experience any side effects, the risk is still there. Instead, you can choose to boost your children’s cold and flu defenses with vitamin C and other immunity-boosting supplements, like antioxidant-rich green tea and coffee bean extracts.

4. Give Your Children Hand Sanitizers

Touching infected surfaces then touching your nose, eyes, or mouth later is one of the most common ways cold-causing germs enter your body. Why? People wipe their noses with their hands all the time then touch doorknobs, desks, and other common fixtures. Cold-causing viruses usually survive for 24 hours outside of a host, but depending on the surface, some viruses can survive for a whole week! If your children touch an infected surface, these germs are now on their hands and only a nose-scratching or an eye-rubbing moment away from entering their bodies.

Hand sanitizers can be expensive, but teaching your children to use them often can help prevent these cold- and flu-causing pathogens from entering their bodies. Researchers studied the hands of participants after they used a hand sanitizer and found greatly lowered numbers of infectious viruses on their skin. They concluded that using hand sanitizers after your hands come into contact with public objects can help protect you from exposure to these germs, but since it doesn’t completely disinfect your hands of cold-causing viruses, it’s not foolproof.

The cold seasons bring risk to your children of developing pneumonia. While no method can assure your children 100 percent protection, implementing these four ways effectively lowers their risk significantly. According to Justin Eichler, lead editor of Posta news, children of certain ethnicities are more susceptible to dying from pneumonia (like Maori and Pacific Islanders whose risk are about six times higher). If your children are of these higher-risk ethnicities, you should strongly consider getting them vaccinated, which offers the most protection from pneumonia.

Featured photo credit: langll via pixabay.com

The post 4 Essential Ways to Help Protect Your Children From Pneumonia appeared first on Lifehack.

from Lifehack http://ift.tt/2dJOtQo

Pheasant Island: The Island That Changes Sovereignty Every Six Months

Less than six kilometers before river Bidasoa, near the French-Spanish border, empties into the Atlantic Ocean, there lies a small river island called Pheasant. It was here, in 1659, that representatives from France and Spain met and signed the Treaty of the Pyrenees, officially ending the Thirty Years War. The treaty also drew a new border that runs along the Pyrenees mountains, and then follows the Bidasoa river to the Bay of Biscay in the Atlantic Ocean, forming a natural border between France and Spain. As is usually the case with borders that follow the course of a river, the French-Spanish border was fixed along the center of the river. Ideally, the border should have cut right through Pheasant Island splitting the 1.6 acre island into two halves, with France and Spain controlling their respective sides. But the Treaty of the Pyrenees agreed upon a different kind of arrangement, by which Pheasant Island became a condominium.

3 Ways to Select the Best Zipper for your Travel Luggage

When you check your travel bag before purchasing one, the Zipper is the most important component to look out for. Frequent travelers and Global trotters should pay attention to the quality of zipper on the luggage bag before buying one. If the zipper of your bag is broken, you can’t travel after all.

Low-quality luggage zipper could break easily and when this happens, the situation may be so awkward. Can you imagine how horrifying it would be seeing everything you are carrying spilled on the way?

Therefore, as a luggage manufacturer, the choice luggage zippers by travelers above should be a guide to selecting best zipper for your luggage bag project.

1. Know the Zipper type 

Know the Zipper type commonly used by manufacturing companies on luggage

There are many luggage zippers in the market from different zipper manufacturing companies. However, two of these are the most commonly used.

• Coil zippers

Since they are made from nylon or polyester, they are commonly called nylon zippers. These zippers are not only durable; they are also of a reasonable price. Also, these zippers possess self-healing abilities which make them retain their original when twisted or tampered with. Precisely, this is why they are preferred by luggage manufacturers.

• Chain zippers

When compared with the coil zipper, these zippers are made either of metal or molded plastic. They create a perfect zipper system highly secured and durable with the teeth interlocking perfectly. However, the metallic teeth nature makes them inflexible and more expensive than the coil zipper. Because of these two issues, the chain zippers rarely find admirers in the luggage manufacturing companies, however durable or secured they are.

2. Access the Luggage zipper

Having known the most commonly used luggage zippers, these few tips will guide you while accessing the zipper.

• Closed-end zippers are better compared to open-end zippers.

Closed end zipper is a better choice when it comes to travel luggage. The reason for this is because, since the zipper opens at opposite ends, even if one of the zippers pair breaks, the luggage bag is still useful with the other functioning zipper.

• The bigger the zipper the better for the luggage bag

This is very true that the bigger zippers are stronger and long-lasting than the smaller size zippers.

• Water resistant zippers are better for travel luggage with valuables

For someone who carries valuables like expensive watches, camera or whatever else, buying a travel luggage with water resistant zipper should be the best choice. This should be a zipper selection guide to luggage manufacturers.

• Chose zippers pulls with big holes.

While people who prefer being extra safe use locks for added safety, zipper pulls with very small holes may not let lock shackles through.  Ensure to buy a zipper pulls with lager holes that permit lock shackles for your project.

• Smart Zippers Are today’s choice.

Today, luggage manufacturing industries incorporate smart zippers in their travel luggage. These zippers have tampered resistant zipper pulls connected to hidden clips. This makes it impossible for thieves to make way with travel luggage without getting caught. If you often travel with valuable, getting a travel luggage with a smart zipper should be the best choice.

3. Know Zipper maintenance and care

It is not enough to know the zipper choice for your project or classification but also very important to know zipper maintenance tips for both the luggage manufacturer and the buyer.

Luggage zippers require proper care and maintenance if they must keep their functionality and increase their longevity.

Tips

• Never stuff the luggage bag.

Luggage zippers can break easily when you try to close an overly filled bag. If the longevity of the zipper must be kept, always fill your bags to their optimum holding capacity and never go beyond.

• Lubrication may be needed

Mostly, water-resistant zippers must be given careful attention. If these zippers are not lubricated with silicone grease, paraffin or Teflon spray for a long time, they could become distorted and difficult to operate.

• Do not attempt to open or close a slider if you can’t do it.

The first reactions of most people to sliders that refuse to open or close normally are to exert a force it. If you don’t have any idea on opening or closing a slider, it’s better to leave it and think of ways better to do it. Exerting for on it may cause more harm than good. The best way to make this open or close properly is to apply lubricating spray to the elements. With a short time, a little effort should make the slider work perfectly.

• Detached elements from tape

Putting pressure to zip up an overfilled luggage bag may cause the elements to detach from the tape. Once the elements are detached, there is no way you can fix them back. The only remedy is to replace the zipper. However, avoiding this is simple; never force to close the two elements when they are far from each other. If ever you succeed forcing them closed, they might force themselves detach from the center and that still cause the damage. The elements will sure close smoothly when they are near each other.

• Slider getting stuck on Fabric

If a slider gets stuck on fabric and it’s forced to open, it will get stuck even more especially if fabric threads have got stuck. Simply pull back the slider as gently as possible then remove the stuck fabric or thread carefully.

Featured photo credit: www.eaglecreek.com via eaglecreek.com

The post 3 Ways to Select the Best Zipper for your Travel Luggage appeared first on Lifehack.

from Lifehack http://ift.tt/2eFvZ5f

4 Ways to Watch Kids Shows without Cable TV

Watching kids’ shows on an app is perfect if you don’t want to pay for cable, your child only wants to watch one show again and again, or you need to entertain your children ASAP, likely in a public setting.

Before I was a parent I told myself that my child would play with blocks and read books and I would not rely on kids’ shows to entertain them. Ha! My daughter has usurped the tablet. At this point, it’s used as toddler entertainment – something I had always judged other parents for. That being said, my daughter does love books and blocks, but sometimes mommy needs to get things done, and a kids’ show will give me at least ten minutes of uninterrupted time to (insert housework here).

Here are my tried, tested and true apps for streaming educational and entertaining kids’ shows.

1. PBS KIDS

The PBS KIDS Video App  app is updated with new episodes of their top kids’ shows every week. Notable series include Sesame Street, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood and Curious George.

The colorful interface is easy for kids to use, with large buttons and pictures of their favorite characters. There is also a great parent resource section, which includes information about each series, and the option to stream through the TV using Chromecast.

Not only is it available for Apple and Android, you can also get it as an app for your Nook or Kindle. This makes it ideal for travel, but only within the United States.

2. Knowledge: kids go

Knowledge: kids go is the Canadian answer to PBS KIDS. It’s an app designed for kids age two to eight, with thousands of full-length videos. They regularly update their library with the latest episodes that appeared on TV that week.

The library of kids’ shows is organized by interests, like “Science Stuff” and “Robots, Aliens and Dragons”, which makes it easy to find something new your child might like. Their top shows include Paw Patrol, Wild Kratts, and Doozers (as in Fraggle Rock). The app also includes educational games.

There is a parents’ section that allows you to set a time limit, enable closed captioning, and put it into Baby Lock Mode (my favorite).

3. YouTube Kids

Many cable networks make their kids’ shows available for free on YouTube.  YouTube Kids is a safe and easy way for your kids to watch these shows, but without potentially linking to questionable content in the side bar.

Parents can customize the YouTube Kids app by selecting the age level of the user (all kids, preschool, or school age), setting a timer to let children know their screen time is up, and disabling the search function. You can also stream this app to the TV.

Unlike the above apps, YouTube Kids does contain paid ads to provide the content for free.

Expert Advice: I use YT Kids in combination with a screen lock app so my daughter doesn’t accidently exit while watching.

4. Netflix Kids

I’ve written about my love for Netflix before. One of the many reasons I love it is because you can sign into a kids’ account that only links to family-friendly content, and you can choose the maturity level. You can stream to your TV, and watch it on all types of mobile devices.

Netflix has a variety of kids’ shows and films of various lengths, both old favorites and original content. Another perk is that you can stop a show part way through and continue from that point later on.

The only downside to the Netflix app is that it doesn’t have a screen lock option, and, in my experience, doesn’t work with touch lock apps.

All of these apps are child-friendly and free (barring the subscription price of Netflix). I prefer not to pay for apps, but if streaming a video keeps my child happy while we’re dining out, I’ll eat the data charges.

The post 4 Ways to Watch Kids Shows without Cable TV appeared first on Lifehack.

from Lifehack http://ift.tt/2dHTsWJ