How to Be Successful in Life

Regardless of how old you are, where you live, or what your career goals are, everybody's ultimate goal in life is to be happy and successful. Read this article to learn how to achieve success in both your external life (i.e. your circumstances) and internal life (i.e. emotional well being).

 Achieve External Success

Identify your passions. Before you can achieve success, you will have to define what success means to you. While it may take years to realize what you want to do with your life, identifying your passions, interests, and values will help you set goals and give your life a sense of meaning. Ask yourself the following questions:

• What do you want your legacy to be?
• How would you like to be remembered by others?
• How do you want to make your community a better place?
• What are your subjects of interest?

Make a list of your goals, and what you might do to achieve them. Be sure to address both short-term and long-term goals; try to think beyond financial/career goals.

• Consider which subjects you enjoyed studying in school, and why. This can help give you an idea of what you may be best at or more interested in.

Live purposefully. In order to achieve your dreams and be the person you want to be. You will have to start paying attention to your actions. Ask yourself, is what I'm doing going to lead me to where I want to be in life?

• If you find yourself constantly bored, daydreaming about the future or past or counting down the minutes until the day ends, it is probably because you feel disconnected from what you're doing. Consider changing careers or majors to a field that you care about but remember that it could mean changes you are not thinking of. Does that job pay enough to support yourself? Is it something you might get bored of eventually? Do I really want to commit to that job?
• Cherish your time. Try to spend your free time doing things that you enjoy doing, rather than wasting time. For example, rather than spending your weekends watching television, spend them partaking in your hobbies or spending time with loved ones.
• Remember that the concept of "wasted time" is relative. Not everything you do has to be productive in the conventional sense, but it should be engaging and enjoyable.

Be educated. Education gives you the knowledge, skills, and credibility to achieve your maximum potential. In terms of financial success, statistics have shown that the more education you have (i.e. the higher degree you achieve), the more money you are likely to make.

• In 2011, the median weekly earnings for high school graduates was $638 while those with bachelor's degrees made $1053. That same year, those with masters or doctoral degrees made $1263 and $1551.
• Not all education has to be formal. Apprenticeships and long-term training programs are also positively correlated with higher incomes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=XI1ik-tuQtI

Tried and True Small Business Advertising Ideas

 
                                   The Yellow Pages.

Although use of the printed yellow pages is on the decline, there’s still a lot of people who use the yellow pages to find the businesses they’re looking for – and they won’t find you if your small business isn’t listed there. Get the biggest printed yellow page ad you can afford; the more visibility the better.  As a more modern alternative consider the online version.

                              Newspaper advertising.

Besides box ads and advertising inserts, local newspapers also often offer special advertising features showcasing particular businesses – all powerful small business advertising opportunities. Don’t overlook special interest newspapers as an advertising idea if they exist in your area. They may be delivered to exactly the audience you want to reach.

                                                                                 Direct mail.

Direct mail can be very effective small business advertising – and is much more favorable received than other direct marketing media, such as email or telemarketing. And even if you don’t have a mailing list, you can still geographically target your mail.

Magazine advertising.

This advertising idea can be a very effective way of reaching a target market. The trick is to choose the magazines or e-zines that best match the market you’re targeting.

 Business cards.

 Sure, they’re advertising. Every time you hand one out to a prospective client or customer, you’re advertising your small business. But why not take this advertising idea further.

Cable TV advertising. 

So you can’t afford to advertise your business during the Super Bowl. That doesn’t mean you have to miss out on the household reach of TV. Cable TV companies offer advertising ideas within the budget of small businesses, from advertising on the TV Guide Listings or Real Estate channels through running infomercials. 

 Radio advertising.

Another advertising idea you may not have thought of is radio advertising. Running ads on a local radio station can be both effective and relatively inexpensive. 

 Local website advertising.

More people are spending more time online than ever before. Cover all your small business advertising bases by ensuring that your business is listed on websites providing business information for your local area. Many municipalities, for instance, offer business listings on their sites. 

 Email advertising.

If you already have an in-house mailing list or are able to develop one, email advertising can work for you. I see this advertising idea as more of a way to communicate with current customers than to bring in new ones because of the ever-growing hostility to spam. 

& 

Cross-promotion. 

 Joining forces with other businesses can greatly increase your advertising power and your marketing reach. shafeeq khan explains how this advertising idea works and how to jump-start your cross-promotion efforts in Attract More Customers through Cross-Promotion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfhzSfNtWyM&feature=youtu.be