Inspire Others By Sharing What Inspires You

by: Trevor Hill
It was still dark when my alarm went off. In those first moments of waking, all I could hear was the patter of rain on the window. That just made bed all the more warm and cozy. I listened again and the rain gently continued; surely I could stay a little longer.

Then out of the gloom came the first tentative notes of a blackbird's song. Then some more notes, slightly stronger. The blackbird seemed to be testing for response. It was like we might call inquiringly into an empty house - 'hello' (pause) 'hello?' (longer pause) 'Is there anybody there?'

There was an answer - another bird called quietly. The blackbird sang back and soon another voice joined in. Now the blackbird, getting more confident, launched into the beautiful melody that defines the spring. In just a few minutes, many other birds were roused to take part so that a full chorus announced the dawn.

Birdsong like this I find truly inspiring. Yet if the blackbird had not taken the lead, starting out as a solo voice, the chorus may never have happened. In a way it's the same with us humans.

When others take the lead, conversations can focus on negativity, complaining and narrow horizons. What if you were to share what you find inspiring? You could create some inspiring conversations with two immediate benefits:

1. You will become inspired by telling others about what inspires you

2. You will inevitably inspire some of the people you tell

In the longer term, you will also be encouraging others to tell their inspiring stories: there is a potential generative effect.

Sharing what inspires you may sound fine among close friends but what about the wider picture? You may feel that it would be awkward to share this in certain contexts - at work for instance. Yet these places are often where some inspiring input is needed most.

No one wants to be labelled 'wacky' so when we share our inspiring stories, we can do it with social skill and sensitivity.

Here are some suggestions where you could start:

1. Art (in its widest sense) is a great place to start. Whether it is music, film, painting, writing or whatever, our culture already gives us 'permission' to find it inspiring. What art experience do you find inspiring?

2. The natural world is another area where people feel comfortable about expressing inspiration. This is helped by the increasing awareness and concern for our natural environment. Like my account of the dawn chorus, what do you find inspiring in the natural world?

3. Biographies - life stories - are another category where we can share inspiration. Who inspires you? What is the reason? Who would be in your top 10?

4. You may have a good cause or favourite charity that generates inspiring stories. This covers a whole range of possibilities and, when you look at the generosity of donations, you can see that many people are inspired by them. What cause do you find inspiring?

So whether it is over lunch, in the office or on the road, there will be opportunities to share what you find inspiring. Take the lead and watch for the difference you will make!



About The Author
Trevor helps people who want to be energised, motivated and fulfilled, especially in their working lives. If you would like to receive regular articles like this one or get a FREE copy of Trevor's 'Passport To Inspiration' simply sign-up at http://www.inspiration-at-work.co.uk

3 Solutions To developing A Positive Attitude

by: Dan Sayers
In today's rat race, it is ever more important to be on top of your game and have a 'I can do this' attitude to take on the challenges of life. Like most things a positive attitude is not something that occurs overnight. Much like you dedicate time every week to lifting weights in order to build your physical body, you must dedicate time to build your mental body.

In this article, I will give you 3 ways to help you create a positive attitude.

1 - The Social Factor

The truth of the matter is - the people you choose to be with the majority of your time influence how you behave the most If most of your friends are sorry sods it is more than likely that over time you will share the same glum attitude they possess.

The solution?

Be outgoing. Go and seek out people whom you believe will be a positive influence on your life. This could be people on your local sports team or your siblings. What you want to learn from them is the way in which they have developed their attitudes and behaviours

2 - The Human Constant

Another matter of truth - We as people subconsciously devote efforts to making our picture of reality constant. This is why we build psychological resistance to change.

So how do we make use of this?

Make a positive attitude a constant factor in your life! A vision board is a large board you can place in your room or office where you make a collage of the things that comprise your vision. For example, if you want to develop a positive attitude, you might place pictures of people with healthy attitudes you want to role model or strategies you want to implement to make your goal a reality. Also, you can put post-it notes everywhere, reminding you of your goal and keeping it a constant in your life; in your car, on your desk, on the kitchen bench, everywhere! For example, the post it note could read: 'I have a positive attitude'

3 - Mind Monitoring

The third way to develop a useful attitude is to have positive self talk. This means keeping watch of your train of thought. If you have a lot of negative thoughts like 'I'm not good enough and 'I'm useless' its time to give your brain a shakeup. Focus on disrupting negative thought patterns and replacing these with positive or motivational patterns.

To further combat your negativity, whenever you find yourself talking negatively, cut that as well. Replace it with a positive or neutral topic or say nothing at all.

If you want further information, I recommend my calm nerves website, a review of a book which details mind strategies for success in life, including steps on how to build a positive attitude.

About The Author
Dan Sayers has read various self help books by popular authors including Wayne Dyer and Eckhart Tolle.

http://www.calm-nerves.com

How Well Do You Listen?

by: Neil Graber
Listening is one of the most important skills you can have. It means being attentive to the other person and doing more than just creating the impression the conversation is important to you. You need to show the other person that you value what they are saying by giving them your full attention. Your ability to listen will have an impact on your effectiveness at work and home as well as your success in relationships with others.

One would think we are better listeners than what we really are considering the importance of hearing what others say. Some studies identify we hear somewhere between 20 – 50% of what another is sharing with us. Most of us would not want our relationships or our success determined with those odds.

By becoming a better listener, we will understand others better, have more facts upon which decisions can be based, will avoid some conflicts as we hear all the facts presented, and will better relate to what the other individual is feeling. I’m sure you have heard the term “active listener” before, but let’s take a few moments to review what that really means.

- Pay attention to the other individual – focus on the speaker and ignore the distractions around you. Don’t attempt to guess where the person is going with the conversation or how you will respond. Watch the speaker’s body language as well as listening to their words.

- Demonstrate you are listening – with your own body language and gestures show the other individual you are completely focusing on their words. At appropriate times, provide small verbal comments so they know you are listening..

- Give feedback to the speaker – to ensure you are understanding the message they are sharing, repeat certain information back to the speaker or ask clarifying questions.

- Don’t interrupt – allow the speakers to keep their train of thought and finish their message.

- Respond once they have finished talking – at the end of the message, the speaker is most likely looking for your response. When providing your comments, be open and candid, but also be respectful and caring in your words.

When listening over the telephone or the computer, you may also wish to jot down notes to later reference when providing feedback or asking questions. As you do not have the ability to see the person speaking in this case, listen more carefully to the words and how they are conveyed.

As in the case of listening over the phone, to truly hear what people are saying, you need to also listen to what they are not saying. Listen carefully to detect feelings or unsaid words in the conversation, or if certain words are given extra emphasis and others less emphasis. Each may impact the overall message more than just the words that are actually said.

Being a good listener will require concentration and perhaps breaking some of the listening habits we possess today. For the most part, focus on the other individual and what they are saying, wait for them to finish, and think before you begin to rattle off a response. Effective listening skills are critical to your success in creating and keeping relationships. Now perhaps we will understand why we have two ears and only one mouth.

About The Author
Neil Graber, Life Style Mentor and Successful Entrepreneur, is helping many become the next success story. Whether you're looking to create an extra few thousand dollars per month, be an ex-corporate executive, or the next millionaire Mom, Neil can assist you to create a second stream of income and greater peace of mind. visit : Success http://netweb-ads.com/neilandsue

The Meaning of Success

The Meaning of Success
Success, would you know it if you found it? It is difficult to measure success since the yardstick of success is nebulous and ever changing. Is success a destination or the journey? “On my way to success, I lost my happiness. How I wish I had smelt the roses! ”, laments an anonymous writer. But tread we must the lonely road to success. Sir Winston Churchill, former British Prime Minister once said that “Success is going from failure to failure without a loss of enthusiasm”. As one of the great leaders of the last century he should know.

This theme has been repeated often in our poetry, literature and plays. Who can forget the poignant story written by Robert Bruce and the famous quote, “Try, try and try again, until you succeed.”

Learned men have always said that success is something that cannot be measured and differs from person to person. All of us want to succeed in our own unique way and we strive for it. But what is success is unknown to many of us. Are fame, name and money success? Can you term material gains as success in an individual’s life? The answer is a big NO. Motivational and Personal Development experts feel that happiness is the answer to success. In this material driven world if a person can stay happy through his highs and lows then it can be called success.

The poet David Frost said that ‘don’t aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally’. How true. If you are passionate about what you do, you are sure to excel in that field, leading to success in your career. Professional success leads not only to happiness but also to innovate in your chosen field. If every individual can identify their core strength and work on it then success is sure to be achieved leading to happiness and satisfaction. Whether you are an artist or a writer or a doctor or a software programmer, being ardent and fervent about your work will show in what you do, leading to fame and name. Many achievers have said that once you achieve success you feel empty inside. But I beg to differ. If you are committed to your work with passion and zeal you won’t feel lonely. Professional success is like an aphrodisiac. You will want to achieve it again and again. British author Michael Korda says that ‘Your chances of success are directly proportional to the degree of pleasure you derive from what you do. If you are in a job you hate, face the fact squarely and get out’.

We must attract success not chase it.

Many times, it is seen that a person with tremendous leadership traits, fails when he sets up his own shop. Qualities like hard work, tenacity and perseverance which seemed an asset somehow turn into a liability. This is due to the fact that they fail to take any responsibility. Don’t play blame games in case of failure. As an entrepreneur, you have to accept that the buck stops with you, each and every time. Taking responsibility is a major act of a true leader. All these attributes in a leader helps him in attaining success.

Abraham Lincoln, lost the Presidential election eight times before he finally became the President. His purpose and goals were clear in his mind and he did not give up. He said “try and try until you succeed” and that’s exactly what he did. Success and failure are like two sides of a coin. Sometimes it is heads and other times tails. If you can accept both with positive attitude, you are sure to succeed. The purpose of experiencing failure is to appreciate success when it comes to you.

‘I think we worry about failure too much. I don’t think that failure very often can hurt anybody. Its fear of failure that will absolutely destroy you’ says the learned Jack Lemmon. Just as the story of a spider inspired Robert Bruce to try and win his battle, it’s only your guts, determination and motivation that help you to achieve success in life.

Even in personal life success depends on a positive attitude, motivation to stay in a relationship as well as being sincere and dedicated to your loved ones which lead to success in the relationship. Very often we confuse issues and get side tracked leading to despair and heart ache. It is always wise to look at your cup half full. Achievement and motivation are like Siamese twins. One doesn’t exist without the other. When these two go hand in hand success is certain. This is true not only to professional life but to personal life as well.

‘The men who try to do something and fail are infinitely better than those who try to do nothing and succeed’ Lloyd Jones

Instead of just lamenting that you are not lucky enough to get success it is better to catch the bull by its horns. Take charge of your life and set about by starting with a positive thought. A single positive thought can lead to many big achievements in life. Consider for a moment the Law of Attraction; Rhonda Byrne in her book ‘The Secret’ says that, thoughts are powerful and transform themselves into things. We are like communication towers transmitting at different frequencies. When we transmit powerful positive signals which reach out to the universe, it brings forth beautiful and fruitful results in the form of success. If you transmit sad and negative thoughts you only get what you have transmitted.

This is the difference between success and failure. Be clear in your mind what you are asking for. Remember there is no limit, no constraint to thinking big.

Success is often the result of taking a misstep in the right direction- says Al Bernstein. "There is no failure only feedback" is a cornerstone of Neuro Linguistic Programming.

And finally, real success is achieved when there is undisturbed peace of mind.

About The Author

Daniel Britton is a UK based Author, Inspirational Speaker and Success Coach. For more success related resources visit the SuccessBlog at http://www.ursuccess.net and for a great FREE book to get you started go to http://www.ursuccess.net/home.html

How To Simplify Your Life and Reduce Clutter

by: Marilyn Bohn
People often ask me how they can find more time in their day to do all the things they want or need to do. Do you have time to do fun things with your family and friends? Do you have time to do all the things you have scheduled to do every day? As a professional organizer I suggest it may be as easy as getting rid of clutter and simplifying your life and your schedule to help you find time for everything you have “on your plate”.

So how do you simplify your life? Here are 11 simple tips to do just that:

Do you feel you are a slave to electronics? I was faxing some information one day and I was telling the machine to hurry up. A co-worker pointed out that technology has made us impatient. A fax gets information to another person in a matter of seconds where it used to take hours or days for the person to receive the information and yet I was complaining that it was taking a few extra seconds.

Take a look at all of the technology you are tied to. It can be overwhelming. Set boundaries for all of your technical gadgets. For example: Screen calls using caller ID. Let your answering machine or voice mail take some of your calls. On your automated greeting, make it clear when you are available and when you are not available. Set a specific time each day to return calls, and return emails. Set a timer for the amount of time you will surf on the internet. By limiting yourself to a specific time to be on the computer it will free you up to do other things.

Do you feel you are on information overload? Information sources are seemingly unlimited, narrow your focus. Cut back on the number of publications you subscribe to. This will immediately help you in getting rid of clutter because you stopped clutter before it started to pile up in your home.

Limit yourself to the number of websites you visit for information. Focus solely on the main sources you rely on most. That is not to say not to branch out, just don’t get lost in all the sources there are to get information.

I teach classes as a professional organizer and I ask my students if they watch television. I am surprised at the amount of people who say they don’t watch any TV. I have certain shows I watch and I set my timer to remind me when they will start so I don’t have to have the TV on before the show starts and possibly get sucked into watching another show. If you are a TV watcher tally up how many hours you spend watching TV on a daily basis. Cut the number of hours the TV is on and plan activities with your family instead or do something nice for yourself.

Another way to simplify your life and get rid of clutter is to make a place that is your own private sanctuary. Make a place where you can find peace and solitude. It may be your bedroom, a patio or maybe in the bathroom where you can lock the door and turn up the music so you can’t hear little hands pounding on the door asking you what you are doing. Set aside a few minutes every day to sit, relax, meditate or do nothing. Or your sanctuary may be to take a walk where you can plan and think about things meaningful to you.

By getting rid of clutter and simplifying your life you will be happier, and have more hours in your day to do what you want and need to do. You'll have time to stop and smell the roses.

About The Author
Marilyn is a professional organizer who works with women and seniors in clearing clutter and providing organizing tips. Clearing clutter helps those she works with to have less stress in their lives and feel more joy in living.

Marilyn invites you to visit her website http://www.marilynbohn.com where you can find organizing solutions. You will find fun stories and free organizing tips in her blogs, articles and videos.

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10 Tips for Time Management

Time management is one of those skills no one teaches you in school but you have to learn. It doesn't matter how smart you are if you can't organize information well enough to take it in. And it doesn't matter how skilled you are if procrastination keeps you from getting your work done.
Younger workers understand this, and time management is becoming a topic of hipsters. One of the most popular blogs in the world is Lifehacker, edited by productivity guru Gina Trapani, and her forthcoming book by the same name is a bestseller on Amazon based so far on pre-orders.
In today's workplace, you can differentiate yourself by your ability to handle information and manage your time. "Careers are made or broken by the soft skills that make you able to hand a very large workload," says Merlin Mann, editor of the productivity blog 43 Folders.
So here are 10 tips to make you better at managing your work:
1. Don't leave email sitting in your in box."The ability to quickly process and synthesize information and turn it into actions is one of the most emergent skills of the professional world today," says Mann. Organize email in file folders. If the message needs more thought, move it to your to-do list. If it's for reference, print it out. If it's a meeting, move it to your calendar.
"One thing young people are really good at is only touching things once. You don't see young people scrolling up and down their email pretending to work," says Mann. Take action on an email as soon as you read it.
2. Admit multitasking is bad.For people who didn't grow up watching TV, typing out instant messages and doing homework all at the same time, multitasking is deadly. But it decreases everyone's productivity, no matter who they are. "A 20-year-old is less likely to feel overwhelmed by demands to multitask, but young people still have a loss of productivity from multitasking," says Trapani.
So try to limit it. Kathy Sierra at Creating Passionate Users suggests practicing mindfulness as a way to break the multitasking habit.
3. Do the most important thing first.Trapani calls this "running a morning dash". When she sits down to work in the morning, before she checks any email, she spends an hour on the most important thing on her to-do list. This is a great idea because even if you can't get the whole thing done in an hour, you'll be much more likely to go back to it once you've gotten it started. She points out that this dash works best if you organize the night before so when you sit down to work you already know what your most important task of the day is.
4. Check your email on a schedule."It's not effective to read and answer every email as it arrives. Just because someone can contact you immediately does not mean that you have to respond to them immediately," says Dan Markovitz, president of the productivity consulting firm TimeBack Management, "People want a predictable response, not an immediate response." So as long as people know how long to expect an answer to take, and they know how to reach you in an emergency, you can answer most types of email just a few times a day.
5. Keep web site addresses organized.Use book marking services like del.icio.us to keep track of web sites. Instead of having random notes about places you want to check out, places you want to keep as a reference, etc., you can save them all in one place, and you can search and share your list easily.
6. Know when you work best.Industrial designer Jeff Beene does consulting work, so he can do it any time of day. But, he says, "I try to schedule things so that I work in the morning, when I am the most productive." Each person has a best time. You can discover yours by monitoring your productivity over a period of time. Then you need to manage your schedule to keep your best time free for your most important work.
7. Think about keystrokes.If you're on a computer all day, keystrokes matter because efficiency matters. "On any given day, an information worker will do a dozen Google searchers," says Trapani. "How many keystrokes does it take? Can you reduce it to three? You might save 10 seconds, but over time, that builds up."
8. Make it easy to get started.We don't have problems finishing projects, we have problems starting them," says Mann. He recommends you "make a shallow on-ramp." Beene knows the key creating this on ramp: "I try to break own my projects into chunks, so I am not overwhelmed by them."
9. Organize your to-do list every day.If you don't know what you should be doing, how can you manage your time to do it? Some people like writing this list out by hand because it shows commitment to each item if you are willing to rewrite it each day until it gets done. Other people like software that can slice and dice their to-do list into manageable, relevant chunks. For example, Beene uses tasktoy because when he goes to a client site tasktoy shows him only his to do items for that client, and not all his other projects. (Get tasktoy here.)
10. Dare to be slow.Remember that a good time manager actually responds to some things more slowly than a bad time manager would. For example, someone who is doing the highest priority task is probably not answering incoming email while they're doing it. As Markovitz writes: "Obviously there are more important tasks than processing email. Intuitively, we all know this. What we need to do now is recognize that processing one's work (evaluating what's come in and how to handle it) and planning one's work are also mission-critical tasks."

Work-life balance: Ways to restore harmony and reduce stress

If your work life and personal life are out of balance, your stress may be running high. Here's how to reclaim control.By Mayo Clinic staff
Finding work-life balance in today's frenetically paced world is no simple task.
Spend more time at work than at home, and you miss out on a rewarding personal life. Then again, when you face challenges in your personal life, such as caring for an aging parent or coping with marital problems, concentrating on your job can be difficult.
Whether the problem is too much focus on work or too little, when your work life and your personal life feel out of balance, stress — along with its harmful effects — is the result.
The good news is that you can take control of your work-life balance — and give yourself the time to do the things that are most important to you. The first step is to recognize how the world of work has changed. Then you can evaluate your relationship to work and apply some specific strategies for striking a healthier balance.
How work invades your personal life
There was a time when employees showed up for work Monday through Friday and worked eight- to nine-hour days. The boundaries between work and home were fairly clear then. But the world has changed and, unfortunately, the boundaries have blurred for many workers. Here's why:
Global economy. As more skilled workers enter the global labor market and companies outsource or move more jobs to reduce labor costs, people feel pressured to work longer and produce more just to protect their jobs.
International business. Work continues around the world 24 hours a day for some people. If you work in an international organization, you might be on call around the clock for troubleshooting or consulting.
Advanced communication technology. Many people now have the ability to work anywhere — from their home, from their car and even on vacation. And some managers expect this.
Longer hours. Employers commonly ask employees to work longer hours than they're scheduled. Often, overtime is mandatory. If you hope to move up the career ladder, you may find yourself regularly working more than 40 hours a week to achieve and exceed expectations.
Changes in family roles. Today's married worker is typically part of a dual-career couple, which makes it difficult to find time to meet commitments to family, friends and community.
Married to your workIt can be tempting to rack up the hours at work — especially if you're trying to earn a promotion or some extra money for a child's education or a dream vacation. For others, working more hours feels necessary in order to manage the workload.
But if you're spending most of your time at work, your home life will likely pay the price. Consider the pros and cons of working extra hours on your work-life balance:
Fatigue. Your ability to think and your eye-hand coordination decrease when you're tired. This means you're less productive and may make more mistakes. These mistakes can lead to injury or rework and negatively impact your professional reputation.
Family. You may miss out on important events, such as your child's first bike ride, your father's 60th birthday or your high-school reunion. Missing out on important milestones may harm relationships with your loved ones.
Friends. Trusted friends are a key part of your support system. But if you're spending time at the office instead of with them, you'll find it difficult to nurture those friendships.
Expectations. If you regularly work extra hours, you may be given more responsibility. This could create a never-ending and increasing cycle, causing more concerns and challenges.
Sometimes working overtime is important. If you work for a company that requires mandatory overtime, you won't be able to avoid it, but you can learn to manage it. Most importantly, say no when you're too tired, when it's affecting your health or when you have crucial family obligations.
Striking the best work-life balance
For most people, juggling the demands of career and personal life is an ongoing challenge. With so many demands on your time — from overtime to family obligations — it can feel difficult to strike this balance. The goal is to make time for the activities that are the most important to you.
Here are some ideas to help you find the balance that's best for you:
Keep a log. Track everything you do for one week. Include work-related and non-work-related activities. Decide what's necessary and what satisfies you the most. Cut or delegate activities you don't enjoy and don't have time for. If you don't have the authority to make certain decisions, talk to your supervisor.
Take advantage of your options. Find out if your employer offers flex hours, a compressed workweek, job-sharing or telecommuting for your role. The flexibility may alleviate some of your stress and free up some time.
Learn to say no. Whether it's a co-worker asking you to spearhead an extra project or your child's teacher asking you to manage the class play, remember that it's OK to respectfully say no. When you quit doing the things you only do out of guilt or a false sense of obligation, you'll make more room in your life for the activities that are meaningful to you and bring you joy.
Leave work at work. With today's global business mentality and the technology to connect to anyone at any time from virtually anywhere, there's no boundary between work and home — unless you create it. Make a conscious decision to separate work time from personal time. When with your family, for instance, turn off your cell phone and put away your laptop computer.
Manage your time. Organize household tasks efficiently. Doing one or two loads of laundry every day, rather than saving it all for your day off, and running errands in batches are good places to begin. A weekly family calendar of important dates and a daily list of to-dos will help you avoid deadline panic. If your employer offers a course in time management, sign up for it.
Rethink your cleaning standards. An unmade bed or sink of dirty dishes won't impact the quality of your life. Do what needs to be done and let the rest go. If you can afford it, pay someone else to clean your house.
Communicate clearly. Limit time-consuming misunderstandings by communicating clearly and listening carefully. Take notes if necessary.
Fight the guilt. Remember, having a family and a job is OK — for both men and women.
Nurture yourself. Set aside time each day for an activity that you enjoy, such as walking, working out or listening to music. Unwind after a hectic workday by reading, practicing yoga, or taking a bath or shower.
Set aside one night each week for recreation. Take the phone off the hook, power down the computer and turn off the TV. Discover activities you can do with your partner, family or friends, such as playing golf, fishing or canoeing. Making time for activities you enjoy will rejuvenate you.
Protect your day off. Try to schedule some of your routine chores on workdays so that your days off are more relaxing.
Get enough sleep. There's nothing as stressful and potentially dangerous as working when you're sleep-deprived. Not only is your productivity affected, but also you can make costly mistakes. You may then have to work even more hours to make up for these mistakes.
Bolster your support system. Give yourself the gift of a trusted friend or co-worker to talk with during times of stress or hardship. Ensure you have trusted friends and relatives who can assist you when you need to work overtime or travel for your job.
Seek professional help. Everyone needs help from time to time. If your life feels too chaotic to manage and you're spinning your wheels worrying about it, talk with a professional, such as your doctor, a psychologist or a counselor recommended by your employee assistance program (EAP).
Services provided by your EAP are usually free of charge and confidential. This means no one but you will know what you discuss. And if you're experiencing high levels of stress because of marital, financial, chemical dependency or legal problems, an EAP counselor can link you to helpful services in your community.
Remember, striking a work-life balance isn't a one-shot deal. Creating balance in your life is a continuous process. Demands on your time change as your family, interests and work life change. Assess your situation every few months to make sure you're keeping on track.
Balance doesn't mean doing everything. Examine your priorities and set boundaries. Be firm in what you can and cannot do. Only you can restore harmony to your lifestyle.

10 Tips for Getting Your Work/Life in Balance

by Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D.
Here are 10 tips to help you achieve a better balance in your life. Take a moment to read and reflect on these tips -- and then get your life in balance!

1. Negotiate a Change with Your Current Employer. Progressive employers recognize the value of good employees, and many are willing to find ways to help current employees deal with short-term or permanent changes caused by family situations. The changes can include flextime, job-sharing, telecommuting, or part-time employment. Your first step is to research your employer's policies and methods of handling previous requests. Then go to your boss armed with information and a plan that shows how you will be an even more valuable and productive employee if you can modify your current work situation.
2. Find a New Career. Some careers are simply more stressful and time-consuming than others. If you need more time for yourself or your family, now may be the time to explore careers that are less stressful and more flexible.
3. Find a New Job. Rather than a career change, perhaps you simply need to take a less stressful job within your chosen career. This change may involve working with your current employer to identify a new position, it may involve a full job-search, or it may involve temping or becoming a consultant or starting a freelancing or other home-based business.
4. Slow Down. Life is simply too short, so don't let things pass you in a blur. Take steps to stop and enjoy the things and people around you. Schedule more time between meetings; don't make plans for every evening or weekend, and find some ways to distance yourself from the things that are causing you the most stress.
5. Learn to Better Manage Your Time. Avoid Procrastination. For many people, most of the stress they feel comes from simply being disorganized -- and procrastinating. Learn to set more realistic goals and deadlines -- and then stick to them. You'll find that not only are you less stressed, but your work will be better.
6. Share the Load. Even though we may sometimes feel we're the only ones capable of doing something, it's usually not the case. Get your partner or other family members to help you with all your personal/family responsibilities. Taking care of the household, children, or parents should not be the responsibility of just one person.
7. Let Things Go. (Don't Sweat the Small Stuff.) It's simpler said than done, but learn to let things go once in a while. So what if the dishes don't washed everyday or that the house doesn't get vacuumed every week. Learn to recognize the things that don't really have much impact in your life and allow yourself to let them go -- and then not beat yourself up for doing so.
8. Explore Your Options. Get Help. If you are feeling overwhelmed with your family responsibilities, please get help if you can afford it. Find a sitter for your children, explore options for aging parents, and seek counseling for yourself. In many cases, you have options, but you need to take the time to find them.
9. Take Charge. Set Priorities. Sometimes it's easier for us to allow ourselves to feel overwhelmed rather than taking charge and developing a prioritized list of things that need to get done. You need to buck the trend. Develop a list. Set priorities. And then enjoy the satisfaction of crossing things off your list.
10. Simplify. It seems human nature for just about everyone to take on too many tasks and responsibilities, to try to do too much, and to own too much. Find a way to simplify your life. Change your lifestyle. Learn to say no to requests for help. Get rid of the clutter and baggage in your house -- and your life.
    

In the end, the key word is balance. You need to find the right balance that works for you. Celebrate your successes and don't dwell on your failures. Life is a process, and so is striving for balance in your life.

Skopos Theory in Practice

Skopos in Practice: Building an Appealing Brand Image in the Translation of Soft News
By Zhao Ning,a lecturer of the English Department at Sanjiang University, Chinadaniel76543210 [at] yahoo . com . cnAbstractThe Skopos theory posits that translation is produced for particular recipients with specific purpose(s) in a given situation. The maturing of the Skopos theory results in the dethroning of the source text and the de-mystification of "equivalence," foregrounding the significance and implication of "purpose" that contributes to the translation as a sort of social construction. In a small case study, the translation of a piece of soft news regarding the launch of theme collections by Swarovski is analyzed by comparing my translation and the version from PR Newswire. The significant differences between my version and PR Newswire's one demonstrate the Skopos in practice that determines the adoption of different translation strategies. The purpose of constructing a glamorous, graceful and vibrant brand image of Swarovski leads me to present a polished version with literary style, which is characterized by a refined and evocative vocabulary, whereas PR Newswire may treat this translation as one of numerous daily assignments of "hard news" that is to be completed as soon as possible. So its translation is direct, plain and down-to-earth and reads like an unsophisticated draft version in comparison with my version.Theoretical background of SkoposIn 1980s, translation was increasingly conceptualized as cultural transfer rather than a linguistic operation. Translation is appreciated as socially-enacted communicative practices, which is oriented towards the function of the target text (Snell-Hornby 1990). Regarding translation as one type of social action, Vermeer (1989a) claims that translation is produced for particular recipients with specific purpose(s) in a given situation (Skopos). A translator accomplishes his/her translation assignment with such purpose(s) in mind. The specification by the client on the translator's task (commission) is treated as an essential prerequisite for the realization of Skopos. According to Vermeer (1989a), the goal of the translational action and the conditions under which the anticipated goal shall be attained are negotiated between the client and the translator. The translator assumes authority as an expert, who is consulted with and has right to decide what role the source text could play in his/her professional job. The target text is "functional" to fulfil the expectations and needs of target audience. Vermeer (1989b:20 in Nord 1997: 29) explains Skopos rule as follows: "[T]ranslate/interpret/speak/write in a way that enables your text/translation to function in the situation in which it is used and with the people who want to use it and precisely in the way they want it to function."The goal of the translational action and the conditions under which the anticipated goal shall be attained are negotiated between the client and the translator. In this way, the source text is deprived by the translator of its primary and sacred status whenever s/he thinks this is appropriate for the achievement of the designated Skopos. The source text merely serves as one of various information sources utilized by the translator, not the first and foremost criterion in translator's decision-making (Aveling 2002). As Hönig (1998: 9) notes, "the source text should no longer be seen as the 'sacred original,' and the purpose of the translation can no longer be deduced from the source text, but depends on the expectations and needs of the target readers." The Skopos theory allows the translator to have freedom to act as an expert and take responsibility for his/ her approach. In the Skopos theory, the way a target text is intended to be received basically determines which translation strategy is the most suitable one. There are three major kinds of purposes: (a) the general purpose as to why the translator performs this translation; (b) the communicative purpose (e.g. to inform); (c) the strategic purpose aimed at in employing a particular procedure (e.g. literal vs. free translation) (Hatim 2001). Here "the end justifies the means" in translation (Nord 1997:29). In other words, translation strategy is determined by the intended function of the target text, which may not be same as that of the source text. As a "cross-cultural event," the target text (a "translatum") could assume a different sociolinguistic and pragmatic significance in a different sociocultural context (Vermeer 1998). Vermeer (1986:33 in Snell-Hornby 1990:82) claims, translation is a "complex form of action, whereby someone provides information on a text (source language material) in a new situation and under changed functional, cultural and linguistic conditions." The relativity of function with varied and prescribed aims renders the objective of a sole, ultimate, and perfect target text invalid (Snell-Hornby 1990). Translation presupposes a purpose (Skopos) and is guided by it. Moreover, the meaning is not fixed and static in the linguistic manifestation. It depends on the negotiated and oppositional readings by the receivers (Hall 1980). Different receivers (or even the same receiver at different times) would attribute and assign different meanings to the source text. Nord (1992:91) argues that "a 'text' can be as many texts as there are receivers."Skopos theory challenges the notion of "equivalence" proposed by Nida (1964). Dynamic-equivalence translation is defined by Nida (1964:136) as a rendering of "the closest natural equivalent to the source-language message" in both meaning and style, which generates similar responses on the receivers in the target culture as compared with those on the receivers in the source culture. The dethroning of the source text and the multiplicity of readings and purposes lead to a multiplicity of translation(s), which runs counter to said equivalent effect. In this way, equivalence may be one possible aim in translational action(s) (Aveling 2002). Nord (1997:35) dismisses "equivalence" as "a static, result-oriented concept." As Reiss and Vermeer (1984:113 in Shuttleworth & Cowie 1997:19) claim, "the message produced by the translator must be interpretable in a way that is coherent with the target recipient's situation."The application of Skopos in the translation of soft newsIn order to illustrate the effective operation of Skopos, the translation of a piece of soft news regarding the launch of theme collections by Swarovski (a world-renowned jewelry brand) is analyzed by comparing my translation and the version from PR Newswire, a worldwide news service (http://www.prnewswire.com/). The "meaning" in the explanation below refers to the literal meaning except explicitly stated. For the two translated versions in full, please see the appendix below.The original (http://newsblaze.com/story/2004052807390200003.mwir/topstory.html):

Plain Language

What is Plain Legal Language?
Some Definitions
Professor David Kelly, Chair of the Victorian Law Reform Commission:
We attempted to demonstrate the difference between plain English... and the drafting style which prevails in Australia by rewriting the Takeovers Code, one of our most complex pieces of legislation, in plain English. Our aim was not to make it intelligible to the average citizen. That would be impossible. The average citizen has insufficient grasp of the commercial context. Our aim was simply to make it as intelligible as possible to those who were familiar with the relevant context. Lawyers, regulators and others in the takeovers industry have responded enthusiastically to our redraft. It is less than 60% the length of the original and vastly more clear. In the course of our work, we indentified a number of recurrent defects which contribute to the confusion of the original.
The CLIC Plain Language Centre diffferentiated between plain language and clarified legal language. Gail Dykstra wrote:
"Plain language" is "language simplified to make it readily understandable by the average person. It is language stripped of unnecessary complexity, but not stripped of style. It is perhaps language at the lowest common denominator. It is reader-focused language. "Clarified or simplified language" on the other hand is "language that has been worked on to improve its understandability, but retains technical terms (terms of art), if necessary. It can rely on the assumption of commonly held knowledge of how the legal system or government operates in order to understand the language.
Garth Thornton, Legislative Counsel of New Zealand, at the 9th Commonwealth Law Conference, 1990:
Does plain language solve communication problems? The prophets of plain English aim high. For example - "Plain language marries content and format to create documents that can be understood by anybody." (Gayle Dykstra) How realistice are statements of that kind, particularly as they apply to statute law? The successful communication of the content of a statute depends on two variable factors in every case. The first is the comprehensions skills of the individual receiver fo the message...The second variable factor is the intrinsic complexity and other characteristics of the subject matter of the message. Communication depends on an overlap of the linguisitic experience of the sender and receiver of the message. There must be a shared context of both linguistic expereience and social experience if ambiguities and other comprehension problems are to be avoided or resolved. A major factor inhibiting easy understanding of the effect of a statute is that no law stands alone. A statute is a strand in a complex web. Every statute reaches out and interacts with other statutes and also the common law. A comprehensive understanding will depend on Interpretation legislation, criminal practice, the law of evidence, concepts such as natural justice and remedies such as certiorari.
Report of the Law Reform Commission of Victoria, Page 45, Para. 71:
The plain English movement does not require that laws always be drafted in such a way as to make them intelligible to the average citizen. However, it does require that every effort be made to make them intelligible to the widest possible audience. There is no justification for the defects in language and structure which were noted in Chapter 2 and which sharply reduce the range of people who are capable of comprehending a document. Many legal documents are written in such a way that not only the people to whom they are directed but also judges and skilled lawyers have extreme difficulty in comprehending them. In such a case, it is not unfamiliarity with the subject matter or a lack of technical knowledge which causes the problem; it is the language and structure of the document itself. These should be improved, not in the hope of making the document intelligible to the average citizen, but in order to make it intelligible - and immediately intelligible - to as many of those as possible who are concerned with the relevant activities.

Computer-assisted Translation

Computer-assisted translation, computer-aided translation, or CAT is a form of translation wherein a human translator translates texts using computer software designed to support and facilitate the translation process.
Computer-assisted translation is sometimes called machine-assisted, or machine-aided, translation.
Computer-assisted translation and machine translation
Some advanced computer-assisted translation solutions include controlled machine translation (MT). Integration of MT into computer-assisted translation has been implemented in various ways by various parties. Although this type of technology is neither widely known nor available to individual translators, carefully-customized user dictionaries based on correct terminology significantly improve the accuracy of MT, and as a result, they improve the efficiency of translation process.
Overview
Computer-assisted translation is a broad and imprecise term covering a range of tools, from the fairly simple to the more complicated. These can include:
Spell checkers, either built into word processing software, or add-on programs;
Grammar checkers, again either built into word processing software, or add-on programs;
terminology managers, allowing the translator to manage his own terminology bank in an electronic form. This can range from a simple table created in the translator's word processing software or spreadsheet, a database created in a program such as FileMaker Pro or, for more robust (and more expensive) solutions, specialized software packages such as LogiTerm, MultiTerm, Termex, etc.
Dictionaries on CD-ROM, either unilingual or bilingual
Terminology databases, either on CD-ROM or accessible through the Internet, (such as The Open Terminology Forum, TERMIUM or Grand dictionnaire terminologique from the Office québécois de la langue française)
Full-text search tools (or indexers), which allow the user to query already translated texts or reference documents of various kinds. In the translation industry one finds such indexers as Naturel, ISYS Search Software and dtSearch.
Concordancers, which are programs that retrieve instances of a word or an expression and their respective context in a monolingual, bilingual or multiligual corpus, such as a bitext or a translation memory.
Bitexts, a fairly recent development, the result of merging a source text and its translation, which can then be analyzed using a full-text search tool or a concordancer.
Project management software that allows linguists to structure complex translation projects, assign the various tasks to different people, and track the progress of each of these tasks.
Translation memory managers (TMM), tools consisting of a database of text segments in a source language and their translations in one or more target languages.
Systems that are nearly automatic as in machine translation, but allow user decisions for ambiguous cases. These are sometimes called human-aided machine translation.
Translation memory software
Translation memory (TM) programs store previously translated source texts and their equivalent target texts in a database and retrieve related segments during the translation of new texts.
Such programs split the source text into manageable units known as "segments." A source-text sentence or sentence-like unit (headings, titles or elements in a list) may be considered a segment, or texts may be segmented into larger units such as paragraphs or small ones, such as clauses. As the translator works through a document, the software displays each source segment in turn and provides a previous translation for re-use, if the program finds a matching source segment in its database. If it does not, the program allows the translator to enter a translation for the new segment. After the translation for a segment is completed, the program stores the new translation and moves onto the next segment. In the dominant paradigm, the translation memory, in principle, is a simple database of fields containing the source language segment, the translation of the segment, and other information such as segment creation date, last access, translator name, and so on. Another translation memory approach does not involve the creation of a database, relying on aligned reference documents instead (e.g. Star Transit).
Some translation memory programs function as standalone environments, while others function as an add-on or macro to commercially available word-processing or other business software programs. Add-on programs allow source documents from other formats, such as desktop publishing files, spreadsheets, or HTML code, to be handled using the TM program.
Language Search Engine Software
New to the translation industry, Language Search Engine software is typically an Internet based system that works similarly to Internet search engines. Rather than searching the Internet, however, a language search engine searches a large repository of Translation Memories to find previously translated sentence fragments, phrases, whole sentences, even complete paragraphs that match source document segments. It leverages more from translation memories than traditional translation memory software.
Language search engines are designed to leverage modern search technology to conduct searches based on the source words in context to ensure that the search results match the meaning of the source segments. Like traditional TM tools, the value of a language search engine rests heavily on the Translation Memory repository it searches against.
Terminology management software
Terminology management software provides the translator a means of automatically searching a given terminology database for terms appearing in a document, either by automatically displaying terms in the translation memory software interface window or through the use of hot keys to view the entry in the terminology database. Some programs have other hotkey combinations allowing the translator to add new terminology pairs to the terminology database on the fly during translation. Some of the more advanced systems enable translators to check, either interactively or in batch mode, if the correct source/target term combination has been used within and across the translation memory segments in a given project.
Alignment software
Alignment programs take completed translations, divide both source and target texts into segments, and attempt to determine which segments belong together in order to build a translation memory database with the content. Many alignment programs allow translators to manually realign mismatched segments. The resulting translation memory file can then be imported into a translation memory program for future translations.

Translation Tips

Many people believe that translation is an easy thing and all you have to do is to change words from the source text into the equivalent words of a target text. However, this is not true since some phrases, if translated literaly, would make no sense. Translation is a very complicated process which has to consider many factors - the genre and the style of the original text, the translator's competence, the timeline allocated to the project and many more. There is a great number of useful translation tips available online and offline, yet every translator has their own reliable methods and techniques, built on expertise and time. Here, we summarized the most essential translation tips that can come in handy both for the oral translation and the written translation. Oral Translation Tips Interpreting - simultaneous, consecutive and whispering - is considered to be the most difficult type of translation. To achieve great results in this domain, an interpreter is expected to (a) have a high level of competence in different areas, (b) understand and critically analyse the translated information, (c) know how to highlight the key elements in the text, (d) constantly enrich their professional vocabulary, etc. The personal features of an interpreter - such as a quick reaction, clear articulation, and bright mind - are also of great importance. The most essential interpretation tips are as follows:In advance familiarize yourself with the topic of the speechNote down main points of the speech - it'll help you when interpretingTranslate and clarify the meaning of special terms and key words prior to interpretingEstablish friendly relations between you and the speaker at a consecutive translationRemember to pronounce words distinctly and clearlyProduce a brief summary at the end of the speech - it helps to clarify conclusionsReact quickly and be ready to work under pressureEnjoy what you are doing ..:-) there won't be a second chanceTransmit a clear message to the target audience Written Translation Tips Written translation is completely different from any other type of translation. As a rule, there is no need to react instantly - you can take your time, think, choose a better variant, use a dictionary, consult a specialist, etc. Like any other translation it should convey the meaning and the music of the source language. Also, you need to be very accurate with the language and give proper weigh to stylistic features. The most important translation tips are as follows:Translate meaning not words! Rely on your wits and savvy - it can prove to be helpful when translating a difficult text Ask a specialist or a native speaker to proofread your translation so that it sounds natural Never accept a project which you know is not within your abilities Skills and translation expertise come with time - remember it! Language nuances do matter when making a professional translationA good translation is worth taking time for! The way documents are organized in one country may not be understood in anotherEmulate the original style of the author, be it humorous, wordy, with colloquial or scientific language, etc.