My Essay Blog

Restaurant owners don’t run a cash machine 24/7. They face the reality of being observed by thieves undercover and this alone is a serious threat not only to the business but to the safety of the management, staff and customers. The most difficult part about this harm is there is no certain point one realizes that there is a thief lurking around the corner waiting for the right time to attack. And the sad part about it is there are a big percentage of theft casualties done by employees.

Yes, that’s right. Employee theft is one of the serious threats that a restaurant owner has to accept. Each year, there is an estimate of over $52 billion loss because of this reason. The percentage is up to 95% and the numbers already indicates a high risk of getting robbed by one of your employees anytime.

The fact is, there is no actual way of stopping this sad reality but it’s best to still think one step ahead of the culprit. You need to start to work on your very own backyard to prevent employee theft. Make sure that you’re aware with your employees’ behavior physically, mentally and professionally. Analyze your employees’ habits such as the borrowing property of others without permission or borrowing money from co-workers regularly.

Also, what your employees do outside work is one of the possible factors of employee theft. Does this employee drink a lot or does she have a habit of buying items more than what she earns? Family and previous employment background also gives useful clues in learning more about your employees’ behavior. Of course, you don’t need to do this to every employee since it will take much time and it’s even incorrect to meddle with the personal lives of others. Just do extra investigation to certain individuals who give off clues unconsciously during work hours.

Don’t accuse anyone without proper evidence. If something has been stolen, be sure that you report it the police and let them do rest. The one responsible for the crime may not admit it and even lie to you directly but don’t take justice on your own hands.

There’s a little misinformation about home organization and getting organized I need to clear up.

These are the myths of home organization…

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Myth #1: You have to be born organized to live organized, right?

Wrong! Some people mistakenly believe if you don’t have organization in your blood, it’s going to be nearly impossible to make the changes to how you live and enjoy the simplicity of being

organized.

For instance, my wife Megan definitely does not have organization in her blood. But she is a completely different person today than she was the day we got married. She’s come over to my side and has proven to herself that being organized beats the heck out of living

with the nasty side-effects of clutter.

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Myth #2: You have to spend a lot of money to have the right kind of storage.

That’s definitely not the case.

First off, there are so many discount stores fighting for your business some of the latest organizing systems are being practically given away and certainly will get the job done.

Secondly, storage doesn’t have to be fancy. In fact I use more items from discount craft stores and yard sales for storage than I do from the big name stores.

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Myth #3: It takes a lot of energy and motivation to get your home organized.

This is absolutely false.

It’s really only a matter of changing the way you do things and thinking differently about the excess of material things people today own.

And you certainly don’t have to take it all on at once. There are some simple rules you can start to live by that will make disorganization a thing of the past.

Even if you are not the cause of the clutter and it’s a spouse or kids living with you, you can all learn what it takes and just make a few simple changes to live a better life…being organized.

As mentioned in Part 1, there are some countries that are very popular now amongst the expat community. They all have their own appeal and it can be quite confusing and stressful deciding as to where to start.

My proposed 10-step program is designed to help you decide on a country you would like to make your paradise.

Make a list of the world’s top overseas havens.

Step 2: Write down a list of your personal preferences and priorities. Write them down in order of priority. The list may include things such as climate, cost of living, taxes, culture, language, healthcare, accessibility to your home country infrastructure and government incentives for foreign investors.

Step 3: Consider the pros and cons of each of these countries according to your priorities. Make a tally sheet for each country.

Step 4: With the information you have gathered, limit your choice down to 3 countries.

>Step 5: My next step and motto is always: “Try before you buy”, so plan to spend time in each of the countries chosen.

Step 6: While you are in each of the countries use your time wisely and look into, living costs costs, employment or business possibilities, transport means, education standards, schools, personal safety issues, postal services and banking services, Internet availability etc.

Step 6: Meet with seasoned expatriates who are living and working in the country.

Step 7: Look at as many properties for sale as you can.

Step 8: Set up meetings with experts on residency for all 3 countries.

Step 9: Look at all your facts and identify which country aligns most with your priorities and preferences as well as your values and the kind lifestyle you want to live.

Step 10: Make your choice, plan an extended stay if possible, don’t look back and enjoy the process.

To summarize, I am not saying it is easy not to look back, but always keep in mind that you’re not alone and not without a plan. Use the outline of the 10-step program, do your homework, speak to experts in the field and if you really want to live a different and better life, commit yourself to getting into action and maybe this is the year that it will make happen for you.

Next week, in part 3, I will post suggestions for what you need to do to when you are about to take up residency.

Quote of the week

“Create a definite plan for carrying out your desire and begin at once, whether you are ready or not to put the plan into action.” Napoleon Hill

We would love to hear how your plans for expatriation are progressing? Which country are you moving to? What helped you make your decision? What difficulties have you encountered if any? Your share could help someone else in a similar situation.

All across the country there are millions of individuals who are interested in pursuing a career as a singer. There are many individuals who have a natural talent for singing, but others may not. That does not mean that a person should give up their dream; however, it does mean that they may have to work harder to achieve it. When dealing with singing that extra work may involving taking singing lessons.

A singing lesson is often taught by an experienced teacher, also commonly known as a voice coach. This teacher works with their singing students to perfect their singing voice and make it the best that it can possibly be. There are a number of choices when it comes to taking a singing lesson. Many individuals prefer to take face-to-face singing lessons while others may not have the time or the money to have personalized lessons. This is why many individuals end up purchasing singing lesson equipment.

Singing lesson equipment often comes in the form of a DVD or a CD. There are thousands of different DVDs and CDs available for purchase that offer assistance when learning to how sing or work to perfect an existing singing voice. These items can be purchased from a wide variety of different locations including music stores, book stores, traditional retail stores, or online. While shopping in a traditional retail store may have benefits, there are many individuals who prefer to order online singing lesson items.

There are a number of benefits to ordering online singing lesson items. One of those benefits includes the selection of products available. Due to limited floor space not all retail locations can carry a wide selection of items, including singing lesson DVDs or CDs. This causes may retail stores to focus only on selling the most popular singing lesson titles. The most popular singing lesson DVDs and CDs are often nice; however, they may not be the best choice for what you are looking for.

Online retail stores and online auction sites do not have the floor space problem that many retail stores do. This is why it is easier to find a wider selection of online singing lesson items. If you are looking for materials on learning to sing country music versus just learning to sing traditional music you may have better luck purchasing online singing lesson products.

In addition to a wider product selection it is also possible to find a better deal purchasing online singing lesson equipment. Online shopping has increased in popularity over the past few years and a number of retail stores and individuals are interested in making a profit; therefore, there has been an increase in the development of online stores. This increase in competition often forces retailers to offer their products at a lower price than what it is being sold at in a traditional store. It is highly likely that you can order online singing lesson equipment for a fairly low price over the internet.

Ordering online singing lesson equipment over the internet is a great way to purchase quality products that may not be found in most retail stores. If you are interested in taking a singing lesson you should compare the cost of face-to-face lessons versus purchasing online singing lesson equipment. You may be surprised exactly how much money you may end up saving.

So you think understand the principles of manifesting but you cannot explain why these things are not coming to you. You believe that we create our reality. You understand the laws of attraction, and believe that what we think about we attract into our experience. You have even been practicing these principles, that is, when you remember to. When you think about it, you are repeating affirmations such as: My perfect relationship is available and I deserve to have it. My income level is constantly increasing. Okay, then, why is that perfect relationship or more income not what you’re experiencing?

You may be trying to blame your parents for instilling some limiting belief that money is bad or that there is something spiritual about suffering. It really doesn’t matter where some of your beliefs come from or how many of them you have. There is a way around this. You need to focus on the beliefs that do serve you better such as: The Universe is full of abundance. The Universe wants to bring my desires to me. Even the Bible says, Ask and it shall be given.

You may be feeling unworthy. If you don’t think that you deserve to be happy and successful, how can you possibly create that in your life? Remember again, that the Bible tells us that all things are possible.

You keep waiting. Okay, so you are 1) believing that it IS possible to have all you desire. And, 2) you are now feeling worthy. You feel like you have done your part and now you are just waiting for the Universe (or God, if you prefer) to fulfill those desires. There is another little piece here that could perhaps be the missing link. Take action. But wait a minute here you say. I thought that I just have to ask and know that the Universe will supply, and presto! it appears. Let’s see how taking action can assist in this process.

When you take action, any action in the direction of your desire, you are showing the Universe that you are serious. It also facilitates the process because you have focused your attention on your action instead of your waiting. This action need not be huge earth-shattering stuff. This action can come from feeling of inspiration, intuition, or even coincidental events. One very important thing to keep in mind when you do take action: be sure to feel good about it, about yourself and what you want beforehand. Now you know how to assist the Universe in fulfilling your dreams.

Well not really, you have to know where you are and where you want to be in order to improve anything. So deciding that your time management skills are poor, and learning how to get better and where you want to be is time well spent. How ever in saying that if you’ve been searching for time management information for days now, and are still looking for a perfect solution there’s a chance you’re procrastinating. Just one trait of someone with poor time management.

So what can you do to start improving your time management right away?

Make lists and prioritize

Often it’s not that people aren’t effective with their time rather they just don’t spend the time they have doing the right things. We’re all guilty of this at one time or another, but some of us are habitual with it. The easiest way to determine if you do this is to make a list each morning, or the night before of the things you need/want to accomplish

the following or that day. Once you have your list prioritize the items from greatest to least importance. Now spend a day and perform the tasks in the order you prioritized them. This does two things.

a.) It shows you what you need to accomplish in a day so you now have some urgency because you know there are other tasks to get done not just the one you are currently working on.

b.) It ensures that the most important items are being taken care of first.

There are times when we can’t finish every item on our list but at least we took care of the most important issues first.

Learn to say no

You can’t do everything for everyone. Following our list exercise above it’s obvious that if you have a list of 20 things and only time for 10 of them in a day then it’s hard to accept additional activities from others. Of course there are trade offs that a more important task could come along and you exchange it for another task you were going to do that day. This gets into another discussion on life priorities such as friends, family, career, remember balance is also important. But you can’t do everything so if the boss wants you to work late that night, but your supposed to see your son’s hockey game

you have to be able to say no somewhere.

Don’t book every moment of your day

Now while we’ve preached lists, daily organization, and learning to say no you do need to leave some room for flexibility. Booking up every moment of your day so that you’re on a minute-by-minute schedule can be a big problem if a mini crisis occurs in the day that wasn’t accounted for.

Use other tools

Using day planners, or PDA’s to keep track of appointments and to do lists will save time and promote organization on all levels. Also keeping good contact information whether it be in a contact database on your computer or in an address book will save time when you need to contact people.

Are you a person who loves challenges, or hates them? I must admit I’ve spent most of my life as a person who hates them. I always thought of challenges as frustrating, maddening obstacles keeping me from where I want to be. I even used to take them personally, feeling like the universe must hate me and like to see me struggle.

As I grow older and (hopefully) wiser - I find my competitive nature rising up to meet these challenges, and I’m learning to see them differently. Most of us know that great rewards require great sacrifice and effort. You know the old saying that nothing worthwhile comes easy? In a sense that’s true. If everything we wanted was handed to us, we probably wouldn’t have alot of appreciation for it. On the other hand, when we work hard for something and then see it manifest before our eyes, we get such a powerful sense of pride and accomplishment. We can point to it and say, “I did that. It was tough, but I did it anyway.”

Challenges are truly opportunities. Opportunities to grow and learn, to strengthen ourselves, to test ourselves and our faith. They reveal how badly we want to create the dreams in our hearts, and how hard we’re willing to work for them. This is such a blessing. It may not seem that way at first, but with a tiny shift in attitude, we can see that we have been handed an incredible opportunity.

The next time life hands you a challenge, stop and consider for a moment what it means. Is the universe saying “no”, or “I want you to try harder?” Don’t look at challenges as an end, look at them as a door leading to your heart’s desires. That door might be locked, but you have the key. Maybe you forgot where you put the key, or you forgot that you even had it to begin with. It might take some effort and patience to find it again - or you might even have to create a new one, but believe that you will, even if you’re not sure how yet.

I’m learning that it’s not important to have all the answers right now. When challenges rise up before us, we may not know how to get around them, or through them. It might seem hopeless at first. Challenges can seem so overwhelming when we don’t have a solution. However, life itself is very much like this too. Sometimes life is akin to bumping around in a dark room, trying to find the light switch. It is possible to get through the room without finding the light switch immediately, we just need to step slowly and carefully. Moment to moment, we find our way.

Rather than giving up when obstacles appear in your path, look at them as welcome challenges. The biggest challenge is choosing your own attitude. Will you get flustered and angry, or will you get excited and determined? Will you lay down and cry, or will you roll up your sleeves and get to work? Some of us take on a victim mentality when obstacles arise, and I can see why this happens. It does feel like the universe is picking on us, doesn’t it? I think we’ve all been there!

Why not change your mindset and think of obstacles as a personal challenge? Rather than feeling like the universe is picking on you, challenge yourself to figure out a solution. Say to yourself, “Okay, such and such has happened, now what am I going to do about it”? Put your problem-solving skills to work.

Once we begin to change our attitude about obstacles and challenges, they can actually become fun. Our competitive human nature rises up and gets ready to win, no matter what. We develop a steely determination to not be beaten.

In fact, I like to pretend there is a great critic in the sky who laughs mockingly at me and says, “You can’t do that.” I simply grin wickedly, roll up my sleeves and say, “Watch me!”

Time management is an efficient tool of performing the tasks within a given time limit. In this context, Vilfredo Pareto found a law i.e., 80-20 law.

Origin

The law can find its roots in the year 1906. Pareto was working on finding the explanation to the economic disparities in the world. His theory had many takers and backed by various experts of that era. One of them was Dr Juran who observed that it can be applied not only to any particular field of study but also in general.

Meaning

This 80-20 rule lays the emphasis on the lesser of anything. It says that the greater of anything is the least important. As his findings states that there is a small group (20%) who owns a major share (80%) of world’s wealth. As per the law, the most significant are less in quantity. And what is in ample amount is the most insignificant.

Detailed Analysis

The time and the task management ensure that the theory fit perfectly in any condition. The stress is on the need to manage the few. This significant part would ensure the attainment of the larger part. This could be well interpretive in the super star theory. According to which efforts must be directed to manage the 20% to achieve 80%.

Steps To Adopt the Theory

This law of time and energy management can be applied in day-to-day life also. The understated points have to be taken into account:

1) Avoiding Useless Tasks:

The most important part of management is to avoid tasks that take toll of time. This would not hamper him/her to concentrate on the most sort-after activities.

2) Foresight:

While planning, the tasks must be selected diligently so as to ensure secure future returns. As today’s solutions have definite impact on tomorrow’s outcome.

3) Keep an Eye on Highly Valued Task:

The overall efforts must be streamlined in order to concentrate on the most important 20%. If one works in this way over a period of time, the outcome would be beneficial.

Time management works on this 80-20 principle. This, in the long run ensures the efforts and time are consumed rightly working on the most important 20%. If this aspect is taken care of wisely, the efforts would definitely prove fruitful.

We have thousands of choices we can explore in order to reach our ultimate destination. Some of these pathways appear safe, so many of us prefer to try this route. And while this path can be blissfully easy for awhile, and we feel safe, we fit-in, we have friends, family and jobs that are pretty “normal”….we can eventually run into a boulder that life has placed somewhere along the way. And it refuses to let us go around it. We can’t ignore it, we can’t pretend it isn’t there, and we can’t go through it unaware.

We can try to forcefully move this boulder….but it’s too heavy. We can find some lever to propel it away from us….but the boulder is heavier than any available lever…….So….what can we do?

Perhaps because we have no other choice, we alter our pathway. We go off the safe byway we have grown so accustomed to and we venture into the “wilderness”…where there are no boundaries, no guarantees, no other beings….It can be a scary time. The confusion. The fear of the unknown. The deep sense of loss. The indecisiveness about how to move beyond this nowhere place. It’s dark. It’s lonely. We are frightened at first….perhaps afraid we will get lost. But usually (what I have found) is that in taking this detour we grow braver. We see there are no monsters out there. We become more determined, We discover that each new off-shoot provides us new information about the world, the things that are possible in this world and even to our own astonishment of how much we have changed in our minds, our hearts and our thoughts.

Some of the things seen on this alternate route will be things no other person will ever be able to see in the exact same manner that we have seen them. We soon discover we would never go back to that “other” pathway again, for while it is indeed “safer”, it is so much more limiting and so much less colorful than the path that we find ourselves routing.

All of us have the capacity to be innovative. However a obstacle to getting us started may be a belief that we do not possess whatever genes it takes to be imaginative. If one believes they lack any sort of creativity, it is difficult to engage in the task of seeing things in a new light. And when one labels oneself a “noncreative” person, a self-fulfilling prophecy is set in motion, often prompting a person to retreat from considering even small changes in their script.

It is for this reason that one might consider not attempting to make major alterations in ones behavior all at once, but rather take small steps. Each successful small step serves as a reinforcer for taking the next step. Success breeds success. Remember, a creative step need not be measured by its length.

From a distance, you can see things you can’t see when you’re up close and personal. The difference is in working ON a circumstance rather than of operating IN it. It’s all too easy to plug away at something but miss the important distinctions needed to create an elegant result.

From high among the clouds, homes and highways appear tiny and toy-like. Looking out the window while riding in an airplane lends a unique perspective. Suddenly, our crowded and important cities seem like just a small part of a busy universe. Change of pace techniques like listening to calming music, taking a long walk , and meditation are all possible ways to disengage. Traveling to another location either actually or through a favorite book or film are also good ways of finding a new perspective. You open the door to greater intuition and increased serenity.

With a shift comes new perspectives, insights, and ahas. These sparks of insight are the reward for entering into and making friends with the dark unknown. Over time these sparks join together to illuminate a new vision for your future.

Indigenous people created a ritual space to help them handle the dark days of winter while waiting for the shift to increasing light. In the process they devised a way to hold the darkness so that it created a space of profound insights and hope.

Within The Seasons of Change, the Winter Solstice represents the time of darkness, the dark night of the soul. At first people feel lost, afraid, worried, even frantic because they can’t find a way out. It’s when they surrender to not knowing the answer that they relax into the darkness and merge within it in a way that changes how they see themselves. To ones grateful astonishment this does for you what you were certain you could not do for yourself. It solves the dilemma; it finds the way. And, all you need to do is follow.

Explore areas of your life that you love, and others that you fear. And don’t mind making some noise in the process….if that’s you. Feel life, choose to experience the power of the moment when you achieve something previously thought impossible and relish every single minute of it. You will know you have found your harbor, physical or otherwise, when you feel in your heart that you have been reborn into a life that is in this moment is just the right shape, size, and composition.

Tips to organize files in real-space

If you have a system that isn’t working, it’s probably because it is not the system outlined below. Simplicity of effectiveness is vital for a real-space filing system.

To organize files in real-space it should take no more than 1 minute to add so me thing new to your system and no more than 30 seconds to retrieve something.

Organize Files - Preparation:

Get a large sturdy metal filing cabinet.

Get box files and card files.

Get an electric label maker.

Chuck out hanging file guides.

Organize Files - Implementation:

1. Grab a card file as soon as you have paper work that you want to reference for later use.

2. Create a label with the electric label maker with a word/phrase that very obviously identifies what the

papers are about.

3. Put the labeled file in your filing cabinet in A to Z order.

Maintenance of Organized Files:

On computer start a file listing everything that’s in your real-space filing cabinet from A to Z.

Keep your computer file updated by occasionally flicking through your filing cabinet (it will take less than 10

minutes) to check for items that are not on your computer file and adding anything new.

Consider that if you currently have trouble keeping on top of the way you organize files it’s probably because the way you have been doing until now is not this simple strategy. The approach outlined above is purposely extremely simple. It really works to do it like this.

With that technique for how to organize files in real-space dealt with, we can now think about your way to organize files on your computer.

Tips to organize files on computer

Experience with clients has taught me that often someone has more clutter on computer than in their home or office.

The computer can be a source of great enjoyment and productivity if you organize files on it well. I realize that it doesn’t take up any real space in your

home or office, which is probably why people let it get so bad, but I found that it effects my clients satisfaction and productivity immensely.

Sure there are plenty of manuals on using the computer but I discovered that there was no simple, straightforward explanation of keeping on top of where everything on computer is. So I created an approach that I show my clients and here is the basics of it.

Is it frustrating or even somewhat anxiety provoking sometimes to approach the computer? Such feelings are caused by thinking of the amount of time it will take to find what you want whilst half-thinking that it really shouldn’t be so out of hand.

Well we’re about to turn things around. Get into the habit of creating folders on your computer for various topics. Put everything relevant to each topic into the appropriate folder.

Create more folders within existing topic folders for sub-topics. E.g. You might create a folder called Health. In that you might have folders for Diet,

Exercise, Sleep.

Spend time on that process and you will finally feel that you can organize files on your computer very very well indeed.