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THE INTERNET: RESEARCH LIBRARY AT YOUR COMPUTER FINGER TIPS

Many people who are now comfortable using the Internet remember very different experiences before the computer became a staple in the home. When doing research, it meant spending hours at the library. You could either find books or periodicals on the shelves or submit a special request to access special files and records stored under lock and key. If you needed to look up something that the library did not have on hand, then it was possible to ask the librarian to do some research for you. The library has been relying on computers for years before people had their own personal computers.

Things have sure changed! You can now do an astonishing amount of online research by using a variety of search techniques explained in this report. Not only is a world of information available online, you can access the same information the librarian used to obtain for you many years ago. You can read websites, log into library sites around the world, obtain research articles and reports, and generally obtain a wealth of information on every topic under the sun.

Research, by the way, is not something only students find useful. Everyone needs to do research at some point in his/her life even if he or she is not a student. Homeowners may need to research how to shop for insurance or new appliances. Senior citizens might need to research the newest Medicare regulations and determine how they will impact health coverage. Businesses do research to define competition, markets, and meet product and service research and development needs. Of course, the student is still out there writing research papers and theses or trying to find the best science project for a class project that will net him or her an “A+” as a grade.

This report will tell you how to access much of the various kinds of information available on the Internet. You will learn how to identify information resources and then search the Web in pursuit of information and statistics that meet your needs. By using a methodical approach for online research, you will be able to easily access the appropriate sources for research. In other words, with your computer and Internet access, you have a personal research library right in your home or office. You don’t have to trudge down to the library except on rare occasions.

In the following sections, you will learn how to use your Internet as a research library. It will review how to access the Web, the kinds of research information available, and how to do an efficient search. It’s a great world when you can sit in the comfort of your home and have a world of information at your computer fingertips!

DOT--WHAT?

There you sit with the keyboard under your fingers and a topic you want to research. You type in a keyword or question reflecting the information you need and thousands of results are listed. Studies have shown that many people never go more than three pages deep into the initial search results. Even if true, that does not automatically mean that what you see on your screen is what you really need in order to do the right research.

The vastness of the Internet can be overwhelming. But its very vastness is what makes it such a powerful research tool. You can literally browse the Web and find information posted from around the world. The information can be accessed directly by reading websites not requiring access permission or by joining organizations that maintain online records. Chances are that your local library is one of those sites. Your library card will often give you the right to log into the library’s website and access online catalogues, articles, and research reports.

But here is the great news. If your local library doesn’t have a site or doesn’t have the information you need, you can access government information sites, university websites, articles written by credible individuals, or a number of other online sources. The power of the Internet to provide the research information you need is unlimited if you know how to go about finding the useful and reliable sources.

A report on using the Internet for research would not be complete without discussing the need to evaluate information as to its credibility. One of the drawbacks to the Internet, which can be overcome, is the fact that anyone can post information without regard as to whether it is true or not. So you want to find those sources you can rely on for accuracy and develop the skill to verify information as to its credibility.

The first thing to understand when doing Internet Research is recognizing the URL, which is the extension in the Internet address domain name. When you do an inquiry using a search engine, a variety of sites will be listed in the results pages. Looking at the extension can often help you zero in on the kinds of sites you wish to access.

.net – indicates personal websites developed by individuals
.com – indicates businesses selling goods or services
.org – indicates a non-profit organization
.gov – indicates a government site
.edu – indicates an educational institution

In the beginning, anyone developing an Internet website probably had a .net extension, which led to the .com used for businesses. But it is clear that those simple days are over as the Internet has grown to become a

vast storehouse of information for individuals, businesses, agencies, institutions, governments, and charities. They all have something to tell you, and it is your job to narrow your search to those particular sites that will provide the information you want and need.

CHOOSING THE ENGINE TO DRIVE YOUR TO DRIVE YOUR RESEARCHRESEARCH

The complexity of the Internet is no more apparent than in the variety of Internet search engines now available. The search engine is what goes out on the Web and looks for the sites that match your query. Each search engine uses keywords as the basis for doing a Web search. Some sites are geared more towards personal research, while others, like Google Scholar, search for peer-reviewed scholarly materials.

SEARCH ENGINES THAT DRIVE YOUR QUERY

Following is a list of some of the more popular search engines available for doing online research.

- About.com
- Ask Jeeves
- Dogpile
- Exalead
- Excite
- Google Scholar
- Google
- Hotbot
- Infomine
- Metacrawler
- Public Record Search System
- Scirus
- Yahoo

In addition to these sites, there is an index site found at https://lii.org/, called the Librarians’ Internet Index, that provides easy access to a number of websites sorted by categories such as business, government, media, and reference.

Clearly there are a number of search engines you can use. Some, such as Yahoo and Dogpile, are geared towards the everyday user. Others are designed to find scholarly, peer-reviewed websites that can be used in formal research documents and papers. Peer-reviewed information is that which has been reviewed by recognized experts in the field and approved by them as reliable and truthful.

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Introduction

Hello and welcome to our short, beginners guide on increasing your running speed and also transforming your body with sprint training

Sprinting is an excellent form of exercise, whether you are actively training for competitions, playing competitive or social sports or simply using it as part of your cardiovascular routine. To begin this guide, we’re going to spend a few moments discussing what sprinting is – and isn’t – and also take a look at the history of sprinting.

What is Sprinting?

Sprinting is defined as a competitive running event that is 400 meters or less. Most sprinting events are 100, 200, or 400 meters. Most of them last less than 60 seconds because sprinters are running as fast as they can during the entire length of the race. Some sprinting competitions include relay races that involve 4 runners each sprinting a certain distance. Sprints in a training sense can also mean doing a particular cardio exercise with all out intense anaerobic effort for a brief period followed by rest

Sprinting Verses Running

Although sprinting and running use the same muscle groups and are essentially the same thing, there are some key differences. Sprinting, as mentioned before, involves athletes moving as fast as they can for the whole sprint in an anaerobic environment, making it much more intense than running. From a metabolic standpoint, that means you’re using glycogen rather than oxygen for your muscles, which wears you out a lot faster than a well-paced run.

Running, on the other hand, is slower and less intense than sprinting, so events are much longer and require aerobic fitness. Running competitions include the 5k (3.1 miles), the 10k (6.2 miles), half-marathons (13.1 miles), and full marathons (26.2 miles). Running uses oxygen to keep you going, so you can maintain your pace for longer, which is why you have to run for at least 10 minutes for it to be considered exercise.

Origin of Sprinting

Sprinting dates back farther than any other competitive sport. In fact, it was the first type of athletic competition that was ever recorded. The earliest record came from the original Olympic Games in 776 B.C. Some experts believe that sprinting may have been the only competition at the very first Olympics. At that time, the race was one stade in length, which is about 200 meters.

Modern Olympics

When the modern Olympics were created in 1896, they included two sprinting events: 100 meters and 400 meters. Then, in 1900, the 200-meter dash was added. Relay races were included starting in 1912 with the 4 x 100 race and the 4 x 400 race. At that time, only men were allowed to compete in the Olympics, but when women were included in 1928, sprinting events were on the list.

Benefits of Sprinting

There are many benefits to sprinting. It can increase your maximum heart rate and capacity to exercise. Sprinting also burns a large amount of calories in a short amount of time and can boost your metabolism, making it a great way to lose weight and transform your body composition without needing to spend hours on a treadmill. Some people use sprinting as part of a weight-training program because it uses a big group of muscles all at once and helps to strengthen them.

Well that’s a brief intro into sprint training and what we’ll be covering in this guide. In the following chapters, we’re going to focus in on the different aspects of sprinting and help you develop a plan to get the most out of every sprint session.

Are you ready to begin?...

Let’s dive in!

Chapter 1 – Why Are Some People Faster Than Others?

When you think of outstanding sprinters, you probably think of Usain Bolt. But what makes him so much faster than the average person? Surely there’s more to it than a good training routine. In this part of the course, we’re going to take a closer look at how a person’s genetics and physical build plays into how fast of a runner they are.

Muscle Fibers

What type of muscle fibers you have will predispose you to be a better long-distance runner, sprinter, or leave you somewhere in the middle. Marathon runners tend to have a higher proportion of slow-twitch fibers which help them go the distance. Sprinters usually have more fast-twitch fibers that allow them to go faster for shorter periods of time.

The average person is born with a pretty even mixture of these two muscle types. However, there is some evidence that shows that you can get about 10 percent of these to switch by carefully training them, so even if you weren’t among the few gifted sprinters that were born with more fast-twitch muscle fibers, you can still train to get a few more on your side.

Lactate Threshold

This refers to how much lactate you can take before you have to slow down. Lactate is a natural waste product of muscles as they’re working, particularly if they’re working in an anaerobic state like when you’re sprinting. A higher threshold means being able to run faster and that you’ll be able to maintain that faster speed for longer, which is especially important when you are running at full speed. Fortunately, sprinting training helps to increase this lactate threshold.
Physical Form

This has a little less to do with genetics and more to do with your overall physical state. Obviously if you’re carrying a few extra pounds, you’re not going to be able to move as quickly as someone who’s not. This goes for muscle weight as well, which is why most of the sprinters you see are lean without much muscle mass to slow them down.

Running Form

Important points in your overall form include how your foot hits the pavement, how long your strides are, and how clean your gait is. All of these things put together and more make up your form. As you perfect your form through repeated exercises, you will become a better, faster, and more efficient sprinter. While some people naturally have a better form, it can be gained through practice.

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My friend Kevin is one of the smartest people I know, hands down. Nobody even comes close.

I went to a pretty good, highly ranked university in California. In my close circle of friends, Kevin outshone everybody else. It's as if he can figure out complicated math equations at the back of his head.

In fact, one time, we were talking about the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle while eating pizza. There I was, completely stumped about this theory, and my friend Kevin broke it down in between bites of a slice pizza. That's how brilliant he was and still is.

Kevin was so sharp that he only needed to show up in class once, and that is to take roll so that the professor doesn't drop him on the first day, and he’d refuse to go to the class ever again. When exam time rolls around, you can count on Kevin to get at least an A. He did this like clockwork.

In fact, in many cases, he got awards and honors and he didn't even have to show up for the lectures. I remember laughing when he asked me for any notes that I had for a class he completely ditched. I was laughing because I thought that he was just wasting his time. How can this guy ever pass, much less get an A, when he didn't even bother to show up?

Boy, was I surprised when the guy got better grades than I did. And he didn't cheat. That's how talented Kevin was and still is.

But Kevin, just like most people, has a weakness. We all have our own peculiar and particular shortcoming. It comes with the territory. Kevin is no exception.

His problem was self-discipline. He had a Ferrari engine, but he did not want to drive it in a disciplined, methodical and systematic way.

Now, he is twice divorced, living in an apartment whose rent he could barely afford, and constantly drinking his problems away.

When I think about the life of my friend Kevin, I not only focus on the missed opportunities for career advancement and accomplishments that he is otherwise capable of achieving, I also think about the rest of us. I think about how we missed out because he did not get his act together to fully unlock his potential so the rest of society could benefit from his genius.

Kevin could have been the next dotcom billionaire. He could have been the next Web 2.0 genius that revolutionized technology. But there he is, in the San Francisco Bay Area, struggling to get by on what essentially is a minimum wage.

What's going on? How can somebody with so much potential end up with so little?

It turns out that self-discipline is not a neat little trait that we can choose to have. It is THE trait for ultimate success. Without self-discipline, everything else falls apart.

You may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, and that’s okay. As long as you are self-disciplined enough to figure out what you need to learn so you can achieve a little bit more tomorrow, eventually, you'll get there.

Self-discipline is crucial because there are so many distractions trying to divert our attention from what's important and what is truly worthy.

You have to understand that life is full of rewards. But the problem is, the biggest rewards that life has to offer are only attained through a long, sustained period of focused effort.

Discipline is crucial for everything in our lives.

This book gives you a practical framework on how to practice and develop self-discipline so you can become more successful in all areas of your life. It helps you develop a new mindset so you no longer have to continue to struggle.

Eventually, you will reach a point that things seem to magically fall into place. It's not because there is actual magic involved, but because you are so disciplined that opportunities come to you and things start to flow.

You can achieve this state, but the price is high and the journey is long. Are you willing to take that journey?

There are many definitions of self-discipline, but I prefer one supplied by the American philosopher and writer Elbert Hubbard. He said self-discipline is "the ability to do what you have to do when you have to do it, whether you feel like it or not."

Self-discipline is a crucial life skill that enables you to succeed in anything you choose to do. Again, this doesn't necessarily have to do with money. These can involve your relationships. This can also involve your health.

As you probably already know, if you're like most Americans, losing weight is no joke. It requires a tremendous amount of self-discipline because hey, let's face it, when given a choice, we'd rather eat pizza. We'd rather chomp down on a burger or enjoy some fried chicken. But it takes a lot of discipline to eat salad day after day.

Self-Discipline Enables you to Focus

When you are self-disciplined, you learn how to keep your focus trained on your priorities. You decide on your goals and you prioritize what the most important thing is on a day to day basis.

Once you're able to do that, your self-discipline then kicks in and you're able to zero in on that day after day. Your thoughts, your words, and your actions flow towards that goal.

Of course, you're doing many other things, but there is a recurring theme in your life. There's this consistent focus. You're not just spinning your wheels or chasing your tail.

There is a point to your day because, at the back of your mind, you're inching one step closer to that grand accomplishment. This requires training. It also requires the ability to say no to shallow temptations and shortcuts.

There are plenty of those. In fact, there are too many. When you instead choose to focus on the big picture and take care of the things that you need to focus on, every action you take and every day you spend brings you closer and closer to the desired outcome.

Now, this doesn't mean that your journey is going to be faster. This definitely doesn't mean that your journey will be smooth or everything would be easy.

In fact, when you're working towards a big goal, there are almost always challenges you didn't anticipate. It's as if life is throwing you one curve ball after another.

But, interestingly enough, when you are disciplined, you find it in you to solve those problems and overcome those setbacks as they appear. They don't knock you out. They don't make you quit. They don't rob you of your resolve.

They don't do any of that. Instead, you find it in you to put one foot in front of the other as you move towards that ultimate victory. That is self-discipline.

It's not sexy, and it's not overly dramatic. This is not the movies. It's not like you have all this conspiracy of people working against you and there are all sorts of thrills, chills and spills along the way. No.

In most cases, a personal journey of self-discipline involves doing the same thing over and over again, every day. It's drudgery. There's nothing sexy about it at all.

But your character is changing with each step. You become stronger and stronger as you turn down one temptation after another.

Eventually, you will reach a point where you're saying, "Why am I doing this? There are so many other easier things I can do. There are always that other shortcuts that I could have taken. Why am I doing this?"

You have to find the "why." In other words, you have to find the purpose. Otherwise, it's going to be hard to take that next step.

Self-Discipline isn't as Hard as You Think

Self-discipline actually isn't as difficult as most people assume. Now, I'm not saying that it's easy. What's important is to understand that it has two phases.

In the first phase, you don't know what you're doing. The task that you're trying to be disciplined at is new to you. It's very challenging at this phase. You're trying to figure things out.

But once you get used to it, there is a tipping point where it becomes easier and easier. You do achieve a point of momentum. The key is to get there.

Once you have fully adjusted, self-discipline actually becomes so easy. Why? It has become a habit. It's almost automatic.

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GETTING IN ON THE ACTION

Social networking holds the promise of being the next biggest marketing arena in town. However, the rules are far different on social networks like Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter for marketers than they are for conventional formats like television ads or direct marketing campaigns. A more subtle approach is required because of the policy that many of the social networks do not allow direct solicitation of their members. Even so, you can see that making money online on a place like Facebook can be done, just not as directly as with other types of revenue-making sites.

BEING GENUINE

One of the ways that marketing on Facebook differs tremendously than from other types of sites is that authenticity counts. You can't just put up a Facebook page and expect to gain fans or to be befriended, unless you have something to offer people in these networks. Generally, the currency is yourself and how interesting and how much you contribute to the community.

Set up a profile that shows who you are and why people would like to befriend you, and they will be more likely to associate with you. Place tons of links and spam about your commercial ventures before generating a personal relationship with your audience and you're either likely to get ignored or to lose friends. In the worst cases, the administrators of the site might suspend your account if you actively solicit people via Facebook email like you would during a regular Internet marketing campaign. There are some things you can do on these sites to make money, and there are some that are clearly against the terms of service. Spamming people's inboxes for commercial purposes is strictly forbidden.

HOW DOES ONE MAKE MONEY, THEN?

Obviously, you have to start by generating traffic to your profile. From there, you have a number of social strategies to gain attention from your friends and to have sales opportunities. In some cases, like the Marketplace, an application that allows you to buy and sell things to users of Facebook, you are allowed to sell something directly on Facebook. Other times, you are going to have to get creative and learn ways to make things that people on Facebook want, like applications, and use them to generate income.

There are also Social Ads, a place to buy advertising for your products and services online. You can even use them to advertise affiliate offers that you are marketing. You can use leverage from one advertising program, like Google, and combine it with Social ads to get more traffic to your offers and
get some clicks too. These are just a few ways and we will discuss many more.

THE MARKETPLACE

You can load this application from the main Facebook page via the toolbar at the bottom of your Facebook interface. It will allow you to add items via geographical location to the Marketplace. There are different areas in the Marketplace. There is an “Items for Sale” area, Housing, Vehicles, and Jobs. You can add your own listing to any one of these areas, but the audience will be filtered by geographical results.

LOCAL SALES

Your results and the results that others see are based on the geographical region you put in your profile. This can be changed to view a wider geographical region of sales, but for the most part, they will be local sales that you see, and you have to deliberately change this setting to see results from other geographical regions. That means that if you are a local business, it can be a great way to advertise some of your offerings. If you want buyers from all over the globe, it'll be harder to use this part of Facebook for your offerings. However, there are other ways to get people back to your sites to market to them later.

THREE WAYS TO ADVERTISE

1. Sell It Pretty self-explanatory. You are going to put a price on some item and try to sell it. There are multiple categories that you can choose from to keep your sales item more highly visible.

2. Give It Away Used for pets, but could be used to give away a freebie that is associated with your business. Just because you're not selling something doesn't mean that you shouldn't try to collect more friends or traffic back to your profile via this way.

3. Ask For It Generally, this is for buyers who are wanting a particular item. It isn't for selling things, but it's still in the Marketplace because people may have trouble finding what they want. You can check these ads to see if you have something someone else wants and then sell it to him/her.

WAYS TO USE THE MARKETPLACE

Even if you are selling real estate, you can go and post a ad in housing. If you are a car dealer, you could use the vehicles area to sell a car. Any other type of item will most likely go in the “Items For Sale” area. Try to stick to the terms of service and only offer products that don't get your account banned.

SOCIAL ADS

Advertising is a viable way to get traffic to your sites and offers, and Facebook has its own version of advertising called Social Ads. These advertisements can be very finely tuned due to the demographic data that Facebook collects on all of its users. You can use social ads to advertise your own offerings or applications on Facebook that you create. There is no restriction to advertising your own offerings even though it's a social network site. You do have to pay for the service, and it is one of the ways in which Facebook generates income, but it also can generate income for you too if properly used.

CPC AND CPM

All you have to do is to set up a campaign, either a CPC (cost-per-click) or CPM (cost-per-impression) model. In the CPC model, you will pay an agreed upon price for each click that is generated from your advertising. In the CPM model, you will pay per every 1000 impressions, which is how many times your ad was loaded onto a Web page. Either way, you can set up great advertisements within a budget that is suitable for you.

UTILIZE FACEBOOK’S DEMOGRAPHIC DATA

Next, you will want to figure out who you will target with your campaign. You can set various demographic restrictions on your ad, which would be nearly impossible to do elsewhere. That's because Facebook collects all of this data and serves up ads based on who you tell it to serve, not based on keywords or large groups of undefined or unknown people. When you create an ad campaign in Facebook, you can be assured that it is being served up to people in the demographic you have targeted, thereby increasing the potential for income.

MAKE MONEY ADVERTISING WITH FACEBOOK

In addition to advertising your website, your links, and your affiliate offers, you can also advertise your events and applications within Facebook. This will generate a lot more attention for these areas and can produce income if more people attend your event or if your application goes viral. At some point, you can sell the application and generate income that way too.

Social ads appear to the left of everyone's profile. They show up exactly how you tell Facebook to post them, and they are very popular with users. As long as you only advertise things that are in accordance with Facebook's policies, it is an ethical way to promote your offerings on Facebook without offending anyone by spamming.

CREATE AN APPLICATION

Applications are third party software applications created by programmers that can be selected and downloaded by users of Facebook to perform some function or to entertain them. It may come as a surprise to know that YouTube was once just an application embedded within MySpace and it grew so popular that it eventually got its own website, and the rest is history. There is big money in applications, and creating them is not that hard, even if you're not a programmer. You just need a good idea.

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Money Chakra: The Journey Begins

Chakra has various interpretations of the definitions as well as functions of chakra, since people are recently more aware of the significance of chakras and how they play a role in balancing the physical, mental and spiritual state.

However, chakras can be simply explained as the energy centers that exist within our bodies. Its name originated from an old Sanskrit word that means “wheel”, “circle” and “cycle”- which describes the spinning motions of Prana ( vital life force energy) at these points.

These energy points serve as openings for Prana to flow through our physical bodies, where it will be taken up and collected to be transformed and emitted for use. These energy centers correspond exactly to the seven main nerve ganglia and are responsible for regulating physiological processes like the immune response, organ functions as well as psychological processes such as our emotions and behavior.

There are seven major chakras present in the body - Root Chakra, Navel Chakra, Solar Plexus Chakra, Heart Chakra, Throat Chakra, Third Eye Chakra and the Crown Chakra. Each chakra is different in a sense that they have specific qualities, which corresponds to the refinement of energy from the base-level (the first six chakras) up to the higher vibration spirit-level awareness (the 7th chakra).

The three lower chakras (Root Chakra, Sacral Chakra, Solar Plexus Chakra) are associated with core emotions and needs, as the energy circulated at this particular area vibrates at a lower frequency and is denser in nature. Meanwhile, the four upper chakras (Heart Chakra, Throat Chakra, Third Eye Chakra and the Crown Chakra) correspond to our higher mental and spiritual aspirations.

The different chakras each have a specific color associated to it, which can be attributed to its energetic existence. The frequency of the vibrations it emits results in the different colors that are characteristic of the different chakras; this can be explained by the manifestation of the different colors we see, which is essentially the vibration of electromagnetic waves emitted by light at different frequencies. In chakra healing exercises, which will be given later, color plays an important role.

Each chakra point is equivalent to a specific aspect of human behavior and development; the balanced flow of energy at these different energy points ensures that the body functions smoothly.

However, a blockage or unbalanced flow of energy in any one of these energy points will result in the manifestation of health and/or emotional and behavioral problems. This leads to the inability to lead an abundant life, as issues in one part will often have overreaching consequences on the other parts of your life.

The main intention in discovering our chakras is to learn how to master each chakra’s essence and unite them all in a balanced energy field. When we are able to identify the different energy fields and balance them out accordingly, this will in turn reunite all our detached inner elements to a higher conscious of self-awareness.

But How Is This Related To Money?

As mentioned earlier, each chakra represents a certain part of our bodies as well as consciousness or behavior. A disruption in balance in any one of these chakras will have an impact on either our health or emotional and behavioral states - which will indirectly impact the state of abundance in our lives. This also includes abundance in terms of our finances.

A person’s ability to manifest money in life would be affected significantly, as well as their attitudes towards money. For example, an imbalance in a certain chakra would result in a person’s low self confidence, which is crucial when it comes to making decisions and pursuing opportunities.

This will then end up with the person not being able to earn more money in life to live the kind of life that they want.

Hence, in the coming chapters, we will address the seven major types of chakra and their specific characteristics, as well as the psychological and physiological aspects that it corresponds to. We will also look into how an imbalance in any of these chakras can affect us financially. Later, with regard to each chakra problem, we will also suggest practical steps as well as exercises you can take tore-align your chakras, ensuring that you achieve abundance financially, as well as in all other aspects of your life.

The Root Chakra

This chakra is located at the area between the genitals and anus, which is known as the perineum. It is represented by the color red - owing to the fact that it vibrates at a lower frequency.

The Root Chakra is all about being physically there and having a sense of belonging in any giving situation. It also corresponds to your survival instincts where it gravitates into a point of trust and self-preservation.

If this chakra is active and balanced, you feel grounded, stable and secure. You don’t find it hard to put your trust on people. You will feel present in your current being and feel connected and rooted to your physical body.

However when this chakra is weak and not activated, you may feel inferior in terms of your appearance where this can be your weight, height or body shape. You may also feel that you’re not pretty enough and you do not have direct control of your life. You feel that you’re not good enough and can easily feel unwelcomed when it is not the case. Therefore, you are in a constant battle of fear and tension.

It is also possible for your Root Chakra to be over-active. If this is the case, you are easily agitated by the slightest provocation. You might also be someone who is materialistic and be overcome by greed. This may result into addiction of different sorts.

For instance compulsive gamblers, drug addicts, alcoholics, video-game addicts as well as shopaholics. These are all results of an overly active Root Chakra. When you’ve become comfortable in that state, it is hard for you to revert back and change for the better.

This particular scenario can be observed with teenagers nowadays who are rebellious and are caught up in social ills as a result of wanting to prove their point and identity crisis. This happens when they do not have a sense of self, and are willing to do anything because of peer pressure to feel more worthy of themselves.

Your Money Chakra

Constantly feeling bouts of anxiety, stress or guilt over money? Is it difficult to handle your finances well? Or is it hard to accumulate material wealth?
These issues may very likely be caused by blockages or imbalances in the Root Chakra which usually manifests itself in the form of fear and major insecurities about survival - this ties in closely to financial security, as our basic needs in life are dependent on this aspect.

With an unbalanced root chakra, you will constantly feel insecure when it comes to your finances, even if your income is a sizeable amount. Your survival energy is centered on money, and every bill or expense that comes your way makes you feel behind. You have an unhealthy obsession with money and feel the constant need to keep finding ways to earn more money, and feel stressed when you don’t.

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Chapter 1: Who Should Be a Leader?

Leadership is a topic that will typically interest businesses, managers, and CEOs. It is certainly very true that these are people who should try to understand what makes a good leader, and who can benefit from following leadership tips and advice.

In this book, we will be addressing the concept of leadership primarily from this angle. Most examples will pertain to leaders within organizations – whether those are charitable organizations, or whether they are massive corporations.

Leadership is a Life Skill

That said though, leadership is a life skill that should appeal to many more people than that!

That’s because leadership is something that we are all called upon to provide at some point. One of the most common examples given is the parent-as-leader. If you are a parent, then you are required to provide guidance, tutelage, mentorship, and discipline for your children.

There will be times when you must inspire your children to be the greatest versions of themselves. But there will also be times when you need to provide strict and stern instructions that could save their lives!

And of course, there will be battles when trying to send them to bed!

An influential leader will know how to listen and make the child feel heard, while at the same time giving them the space and the protection they need to grow.
Leadership is a Superpower

Then there is the leader who emerges in a crisis. In this situation, leadership is a superpower.

Imagine that you’re in a public space when suddenly the place collapses. You are trapped beneath the rubble and everyone is panicking, trampling one another. You need to work together in order to get help, and then to ration food and look after the injured.

In this situation, the person who rises to become the leader will be the person who is the most informed, and the person who is the most confident. If no one takes that mantle, then the situation could go south very quickly.

Being an influential leader is something that everyone should be capable of, so that they can rise to the occasion when it arises.

Leadership Outside of Work Environments

Finally, leadership is something that can make your social life and even your dating life that much more enjoyable. In every relationship and certainly every group dynamic, there is a power structure. Being the leader means being the one who gets to call the shots, who decides the activity, and who takes responsibility.
If you can be that person, then you’ll find it does wonders for every aspect of your career.

So while leadership largely pertains to businesses, this is something we all should strive to cultivate. That’s why throughout the book, we’ll also be looking at how lessons and examples apply to those that are not working within an organizational hierarchy.

Chapter 2: What Makes a Good Leader?

Leadership is incredibly valuable then, but unfortunately, it is not simple and easy. In fact, to demonstrate just how challenging leadership can be, keep in mind that a lot of people – including those who are in leadership roles – actually have no idea how to be a leader!

We have an image of what leadership means, and we often think of it as being “in charge.” That means we need to micromanage our staff, and it means that if they do something wrong, we need to shout at them. Right?

This couldn’t be further from what a good leader is.

Many leaders make the mistake here of thinking that they should act almost like a parent – where their team are the children. That means shouting when someone does something wrong, it means setting strict rules, and it means taking a “what I say goes” approach.

This is entirely the wrong attitude! When you approach your leadership role in this manner, you effectively smother the creativity and free thinking out of your team. That in turn means they are far less likely to do their best work. It also means they’re very likely to spend a lot of their time feeling extremely stressed and not doing their best work. In fact, this could eventually leave to them quitting!

Many an office has slowly crumbled as a result of staff being literally driven out of their organizations.

Apart from anything else, it is not your place to shout at or reprimand your staff. You simply have no right to do so. If someone fails to hand work in on time, or if they are repeatedly late, and you then admonish them like a child in front of the entire team… what kind of message does this send?

Do you really think they are going to be at all likely to do their best work the next day?

And what about their colleagues and friends?

You are not their Mother or Father. They are free people who can act as they so wish. You don’t have any real authority over them, and you certainly aren’t superior to them.

Of course, if their behavior isn’t congruent with what you need from your team, then you can politely end the agreement between you. But that is not the same as yelling at someone until they run out of the office crying. You are equals who have made an agreement and they have simply chosen to terminate the agreement. Understand this.

Likewise, don’t make idle threats about their employment or their position. Some managers will literally tell their staff that they “have the power to fire them, you know.” Again, do you really think this is going to encourage an optimum performance?

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Introduction

Have you heard other people talking about Optimal Living and are wondering what it is and whether it could help you to achieve more of your goals in life? In this guide, we take a closer look at what optimal living is all about and how you can make changes to your life to exploit its full potential.

Optimal living, at its heart, is all about finding the perfect balance in your life to help you achieve the goals that you’ve set yourself. It’s about becoming more productive, more successful and forging stronger and more positive relationships in every area of your life. Working towards continuous improvement is at the core of optimal living.

Of course, living optimally isn’t something that always comes to us naturally. We must implement changes to improve our mental and physical well-being and we can do this by utilizing certain lifestyle hacks.

What’s a lifestyle hack? It’s a simple change that you can put in place that will revolutionize the way you do things. The point of a lifestyle hack is that it’s a shortcut or trick to increase your efficiency and productivity in all areas of your life.

Why are lifestyle hacks so beneficial for your mental and physical well-being? The modern world is a hectic and frantic place. We’re all working harder than ever before, trying to achieve more in our working and personal lives, while striving to stay fit and healthy both mentally and physically at the same time.

It’s a tall order. Simplifying how we live our lives can make a huge difference to the way we face the world, and this is where lifestyle hacks can prove indispensable. These simple methods are quick and easy to implement but can simplify and improve how we live exponentially. You’ll find that you’ll soon see positive changes that ripple out across all aspects of your daily life.

Are you ready to find out more about the lifestyle hacks that you can put in place in your own life? Then read on and discover ten easy changes that will help you to enjoy the best possible physical and mental health every day of the year.

Chapter 1: Track Your Sleep

Sleep is a vital element for both physical and mental well-being. Without enough sleep, you can’t function effectively daily. Not only does a lack of sleep impact negatively on your productivity at work and home, but it can even cause you some serious medical issues. Poor quality sleep can lead to mental health problems such as anxiety and depression, not to mention physical issues such as hypertension and heart disease which can have severe and lasting repercussions.

However, while we know that we should all be getting at least 8 hours of sleep every night, it can be difficult to achieve that goal. Whether you work shifts, have family responsibilities or are struggling to get all your school or college work done, fitting in enough rest can be a serious challenge. So, how can you resolve that problem? The answer could lie in tracking your sleep patterns.

How and Why Can You Track Your Sleep?

Thanks to the latest technology, you can have access to sleep tracking functionality at home. You can now buy wearable sleep trackers that will keep track of your sleep patterns so that you can become more aware of the length of time you sleep, the stages of sleep that you reach and the quality of sleep that you’ve enjoyed.

These days, we can customize more things in our life than ever before. We can personalize our clothes, phones and homes, so it makes sense to be able to personalize your sleep patterns too. Not all of us need the same amount of sleep every night, but if you track your patterns you can come to a better understanding of how many hours is right for you.

If you’re having sleep problems, a wearable sleep tracker will help you to pinpoint the cause of your sleep issues. At one time, the only option was to go to a sleep lab to get a professional assessment. Now, you can have similar functionality in your comfortable bed. With the accuracy and accessibility of modern sleep trackers, you can spot problematic patterns and change your habits for the better.

If you track your sleep patterns, you will also begin to wake at the optimal time. Many of the best sleep trackers have a smart alarm

to wake you when you’re during the lightest sleep stage. This stops you from waking groggy and irritable. Instead, you’ll feel ready and rested from the get-go for a more productive day.

The Benefits of Sleep Tracking

If you invest in a sleep tracker, you can improve your sleep quality and, in turn, the quality of life you can enjoy. More of us a stressed and anxious than ever before, so getting enough quality sleep is imperative.

If you are sleep deprived over extended periods, you are vulnerable to medical problems, both physical and mental. Heart disease, respiratory disease and type II diabetes have all been linked with insomnia.

While we’re very aware of what we’re doing during the day, during the night, our routines often get lost. We’re used to monitoring behavior patterns during the day, from what we eat to how much exercise we get, so we should start to do the same during the nocturnal hours.

If you track your sleep, the greatest benefit is that you’ll start to spot links between your sleep patterns and overall wellness. For example, you’ll discover whether drinking coffee or consuming caffeine impacts negatively on your sleep or whether the alcohol that you drink affects the quality of your rest.

You’ll also find out whether the time at which you exercise affects your sleep patterns, whether exercising in the evening or morning is most beneficial for you, as well as whether spending time outdoors improves or worsens your rest.