What Are the Habits of Highly Successful People?

Have you ever wondered what those highly successful people have that you don’t seem to? Or maybe you are one of the successful people and you’re curious as to how your personal habits and outlook have influenced your success.

Here are some of the habits of highly successful people.

Independence, Interdependence, and Dependence

Successful people tend to know the difference between these three concepts, and recognize that interdependence is the key place to be. Too much independence can inhibit success, because inevitably we need others to help us on our way. Excessive dependence prohibits success, too, but in a different way. Dependence means total reliance on others, which can rapidly turn you into a burden!

In contrast, interdependence is the healthy recognition that you need others to succeed – you need for people to buy your product, or approve your work, or give you some much-needed encouragement. But interdependence recognizes that you have an active role in your success. Interdependence is not passive.

Taking Action

Highly successful people tend to be proactive. They don’t spend all of their time coming up with ideas and forming personal ethics and principles, and then stopping there. Being successful means getting something done, so eventually those ideas and principles will need to be put into action. People who succeed think through their goals first, but they get beyond the thinking stage and move into the proactive realm.

Goals

Setting out to accomplish something without a goal in mind is not very conducive to success. As noted above, successful people do think things through before taking action. So setting goals and seeing that they are doable is a good first step toward success. It’s also important to note if those goals really fit what you value personally. You may lose your motivation to succeed if you aren’t working toward something you value.

Prioritize

Yes, successful people know how to prioritize. Putting “first things first” helps propel people toward success. There is, after all, an order in which things are done most effectively and efficiently. Successful people recognize what’s really important, and concentrate their energies there first.

Understanding Others

These days, many people are slow to seek understanding and quick to “flame” others. Sources say that success depends, in part, on seeking to understand others before you try to get others to understand you. This is probably because people appreciate being “heard” and understood, and will be much more likely to help you in your efforts. Remember, you need others to succeed!

Unique Nail Trends for 2012

There are colors for eyes, lips and cheeks, but what about nails? You can accessorize your look for day, evening, work or social hour – right down to your fingers and toes. Here are some ideas for you beyond the ordinary. Are you game?

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Tips for Home Pedicures

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Storage Solutions for Your Laundry Room

Chances are you spend more time in your laundry room than you’d like. It makes sense to make the space as pleasant and appealing as possible. No one likes to do laundry in a dungeon. Storage solutions can change the overall look and feel of any laundry room.

#1 Hampers

Instead of one large hamper or a pile on the floor, consider purchasing different hampers for various needs. For example, you might purchase a hamper for every member in the family. A label maker or cute note card tied to the hamper can be used to identify the owner. Or you might assign a hamper to the different types of laundry. One hamper might be used to store clothes that need to be washed in cold. Another hamper can hold towels and linens.

#2 Collapsible Drying Rack

A collapsible rack to dry line dry items can come in very handy. When you’re not using it, you can fold it and store it in a corner cabinet. When you need to dry delicates or cold wash items you can unfold it and stand it upright.

#3 Detergents, Fabric Softeners, and More

Detergents and fabric softeners tend to get a bit messy. An easy to clean storage cart, bin, or shelf can be an extremely useful tool. Consider a wheeled cart with large shelves so you can organize your items. If it has wheels you can pull it out when you need it and tuck it away when you don’t. Another solution is a utility shelf. Attractive storage bins make it easy to store your detergent in an attractive and useful way.

#4 Pocket Jackpot

What do you do with all of the items found in the pockets of jeans, jackets, and shirts? A clear jar can be a fun way to build an interesting collection of items. A simple mason jar is an easy storage solution. If you want to match a color scheme you can get crafty with a bit of decoupage.

#5 Folding Station

It often makes good sense to fold the clothing right after it is taken from the dryer. A folding table and a hanging rack make the job easier. If you’re tight for space, you can find folding tables that mount to the wall. They fold up when they’re not in use.

Take a look around your laundry room and examine the space. How can simple storage solutions help you create efficient laundry solutions? How can you use storage to help add charm and visual appeal to your laundry room? A few simple steps and you can turn your laundry room into a fun, or at least mildly appealing, place to be.

Storage Solutions for Your Home Workspace

Your workspace is one of the most important areas in your home. If it feels cluttered and disorganized, you may feel the same. Yet, when it feels clean and structured, it improves your ability to get things done. Organization can have a profound effect on your productivity. Let’s explore a few tips and tactics to organize your home workspace with simple storage solutions.

Shelving

Shelving helps you get materials off of your desktop and onto the wall where you can see them more clearly. Shelving can also provide much needed structure to a room. For example, a line of shelves that sits a few feet over your desktop can help make the room look larger. And of course it provides you with space for storage.

There are a number of smart shelving solutions to consider. You can look for wall mounted shelves. This system provides you with infinite flexibility. You can also look for bookshelves and shelving units. There’s a bit of reduced flexibility with this approach; however, some shelving units can serve dual purposes. For example, they can provide an aesthetic and functional way to divide a room.

Bins and Baskets

Bins and baskets help you gather like items and remove them from view. They also provide visual appeal. And they can be used atop shelves, on surfaces like your desk, or on the floor. When using bins and baskets, consider purchasing similar colors, textures, and materials. This will help provide a clean and uniform look to your home workspace.

For example, if you want a clean and fresh look you might purchase white fabric bins to place on your shelves and tabletop. A line of white fabric bins running the length of a shelf can look organized and professional.

Items with a Purpose

There are a myriad of storage solutions for the home workspace. Visit any office supply store and you’ll find dozens of pencil holders, file cabinets, and other items. It’s easy to go a bit crazy. Make sure when you’re shopping for storage solutions that you already have a purpose in mind. For example, if you like to keep back issues of magazines then a few matching magazine holders might be an appealing and useful way to store them.

Home workspace organization can take a bit of time and planning. Consider how you use the space and what systems and storage solutions fit your needs. Then, to create a uniform and visually appealing space, purchase items that match and complement each other.

Smart and Simple Pantry Storage Solutions

The kitchen pantry is a wonderful place. It’s also a place that can quickly become a cluttered nightmare. The way to eliminate and prevent clutter is to have smart and simple storage solutions.

Keep the Purpose in Mind

There are so many beautiful and amazing storage solutions for the kitchen and pantry that it’s easy to get carried away. The problem, and you may have experienced this, is that the solutions can be so complicated that you don’t actually use them.

Instead of impulse shopping and buying storage solutions that you have to fit your life around, find solutions that fit your existing habits and lifestyle.

For example, there are wonderful and absolutely gorgeous spice storage systems built for the pantry. However, if you use your spices by the stove you may find that running to the pantry every time you need oregano just isn’t helpful. A wall mounted spice rack or drawer organizer may be a better solution.

Up and Out of the Way

One of the simplest ways to organize your pantry is to use tiered systems. For example, a shelving stacker can help you see the labels on cans, bottles, and other pantry items. You can fill simple jelly jars or mason jars with staples like nuts, dried fruit, and beans. Place a label on each jar and stack them on a tiered shelving unit.

Gather Like Items

Another simple storage solution for your pantry is to group like items together. For example, you might find a shallow cardboard, resin, or fabric box and store all your baking essentials in the box. You might place all of your oils and vinegars on a lazy Susan and place it on a pantry shelf.

A Few Tips to Consider

Remember that when you’re purchasing any storage solutions for your pantry, everything should be easy to clean. Wood and fabric aren’t great materials for pantry storage. Plastic solutions are ideal. And plastic can be aesthetically appealing too.

One unified color helps create a clean and streamlined look. When you’re creating storage systems and solutions, consider making everything one color. For example, a row of white storage bins on the top shelf of your pantry can give the space a light and fresh look.

Label makers are wonderful! Label makers are easy to use. They’re also easy to remove. That means if you change your system you can simply peel off the label and add a new one.

The first step to an organized pantry is to step back and take a look at how you use it. What items do you store in your pantry and how would you like to access them? Simple solutions are often the most effective.

Preparing a Thanksgiving Meal for Your Family

Most family gatherings are punctuated by food. Thanksgiving is one of the biggest of all. Everyone comes together for a good meal. So, what will you serve this year?

Setting Up the Menu

It seems that you can never please everyone with your menu. So, this year, why even try? If you are the founder of the feast, you have a certain amount of leverage here. Executive decisions are within your control. But, don

Planning This Year

Undoubtedly there are always horror stories that circulate about the office party gone wrong. Things can get a bit hairy sometimes, but do your best to avoid all that this year. Here are some tips to help you plan a successful party.

If your boss asks for volunteers to help plan the office party, sign on. Unless you are part of the planning, you cannot be assured of getting some of the ideas that you want included. And, you can learn to work from a budget.

Getting Everyone in the Festive Mood

Poll the office

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Parenting Phrases That Defy Argument

With kids, especially teenagers, you might think that they were born to be lawyers. They can seem to turn your words around on you in a second. If you are dealing with this issue, we can help. Below you will find out ways to phrase your words so that there is no mistake as to what you are saying to your child.

The truth of the matter is that often kids can call parents on something that they say because we, as parents, aren

Keeping It Simple: Tips for Achieving Success

When it comes to achieving success, more and more sources are saying that the key is to keep it simple. Let’s apply that principle to various areas and see how it works.

Simple Expectations

Starting with simple expectations helps get you off on the right foot. Success is not the same thing as perfection. Perfection is, simply put, an illusion. Success can be a reality; it’s basically just getting the job done.

Determine what your expectations are, and make sure they’re realistic. “Make absolutely no mistakes” is not, for instance, a realistic expectation. Keeping it simple, think instead along the lines of “I will try not to make mistakes.”

Simple Marketing

Business success and simple marketing tend to go hand-in-hand. Heavy-handed, over-planned marketing strategies can fall flat and prohibit success. Also, over-complicated marketing can take a much bigger chunk out of your time and ultimately inhibit productivity. Ultimately, your plans have to come to fruition in the form of action. Success is, after all, getting something done.

Simple marketing plans involve the principle of seeing a niche and filling it, or determining a need and offering your price to fulfill it. Seeking out businesses that need help and improvement is a great (and simple) place to start.

Simple Goals

You may be more likely to succeed if your goals are simple, too. This doesn’t mean your goals aren’t tailored to your specifications; it just means they are not so complicated that you get caught up in them at the expense of productivity. It’s productivity, after all, that helps you reach your goals, whether in the home or the workplace.

Simple Desires, Simple Satisfaction

Here’s a simple principle you may not have thought of: will your desires, if you achieve them, bring you satisfaction? Really considering this is one of the key elements of succeeding in obtaining not only your desires, but the right desires for you.

For example, do you desire a neater, more organized home? If you achieved that, would it give you true satisfaction? If not, then maybe you need to adjust your desire to fit something that will be meaningful if you obtain it, such as a well-organized kitchen. This also helps narrow down your desires, making them more achievable.

Another aspect of this is to determine what your desires are on a conceptual level rather than specifics. Then you can apply other things to it. For example, do you value hard work? Academic achievement? Intelligence? Quality? Think about what you really value and adjust your desires accordingly.

Ideas for Hosting a Thanksgiving Gathering

Thanksgiving is a time for family and friends to enjoy being together and to celebrate the autumn season. If you are willing to take the plunge this year and have everyone gather at your home, here are some ideas to help you get started.

What seems like a simple meal with those you know and love can quickly turn into a disaster if you are not careful. It

How to Plan Your Closet Makeover

Tired of a cluttered closet? Do you waste time each morning looking for clothing and accessories? Do you forget that you have certain items simply because they’re buried in your closet? A closet makeover may be in order. Here’s how to plan it successfully.

Step #1 Empty Your Closet

It sounds like a huge undertaking. However, the only way to really determine what you need is to know what you have. That begins by emptying your closet. It’s also a great time to purge items you never use, and put other items in storage. Consider first creating four piles: keep, sell, donate, and toss.

Then sort your keep pile by purpose. For example, you may have a pile of belts, a pile of fitness clothing, casual clothing and business attire.

Step #2 Assess Your Needs

Now that you know what you have, you can start determining what you need. For example, if you have belts and no place to put them, you may want to add a belt rack to your closet. If you have an abundance of sweaters, you may benefit by creating separate sweater boxes or shelving. If you like to hang everything up, then you may want to add tiered racks to your closet so you have space to hang up everything.

Step #3 Find the Solution

There are so many beautiful storage solutions for closets. Unfortunately, they’re also extremely expensive. The good news is that simple solutions can still give you the closet you want and need. For example, you can find shelving systems at your local hardware or home store. They cost significantly less than a custom closet solution.

Tips to Make Over Your Closet

Envision your closet as an empty space. It’s easy to take a look at it and see restrictions. You see a shelf. You see a closet rod. However, when you eliminate the existing fixtures from your imagination, it’s easier to see the possibilities. Make the most of the space you have.

List the possibilities. Instead of going with the first plan that comes to mind, list all of the potential solutions. Then hit your closet with a tape measure and a notebook. Have fun with this process and you’ll likely come up with some innovative solutions.

Uniformity creates visual appeal. One of the reasons the custom closets look so wonderful is that they embrace uniform lines, textures, and colors. You can achieve the same visual appeal. Use the same color shelving, storage boxes, racks, and rods. Use fixtures to create clean lines. And upgrading the storage materials upgrades the look of your closet. For example, fabric storage boxes are more visually appealing than plastic.

Planning a closet makeover is the first step. The second step is implementing it. Make a list of the materials you need, find the best price and have fun with your new closet.

How to Meal Plan with Coupons

Meal planning takes much of the guesswork out of cooking. It ensures you know what you’re going to make each day. It also helps you save a bit of money because you’re going to the supermarket with a list. Just buy what’s on the list, nothing else, and you’ll save money. But there’s another way you can save money with meal planning, and that’s by integrating it with couponing.

Step #1 Gather Your Weekly Supermarket Flyers

The first step is to sit down with the weekly sales flyers. This is where you’ll learn that chicken breasts are on sale and blueberries are a buck a pint. Base your initial meal planning on the flyers, because the majority of your meals will be from the produce section and there generally aren’t too many coupons for produce.

Inevitably, once you have an outline for your meals that week, you’ll need to also add some staples to your list. These may be things like yogurt, cereal, and bacon for breakfast on Sunday, crackers for the kids’ lunches and so on. It’s time for the second step.

Step #2 Scour Coupons

Now it’s time to tap into all of your coupon resources. These may be in your newspaper supplements, in your mail box and in magazines. You can also find downloadable and printable coupons online. It’s a great money-saving resource.

Clip or download only the coupons that match items on your list. You’ll ideally find coupons to cover just about every staple on your list and you may find some produce coupons too. Produce coupons are usually for bags of vegetables or salads. Sometimes you can find coupons for eggs and milk too. Clip these!

It’s also a great idea to clip any coupons that you think you might use next time. You can then work next week’s grocery list around the flyers and the coupons you already have. Additionally, don’t forget to clip coupons for household products like paper towels. Sometimes it just makes sense to stock up.

Step #3 Go Shopping

Head to the store and shop from your list. In a perfect world every item on your list will either be on sale or have a coupon, or both. Track your savings. Also track how your weekly meal planning went. Did you have to run to the store mid-week for anything? Make adjustments to your meal planning routine to prevent this from occurring.

Meal planning is a super way to save money and to reduce stress. Add in a smart couponing strategy, and grocery shopping becomes an efficient and budget friendly process.

How to Keep Your Nails Healthy

You do an awful lot to your nails. And, they have a lot to say, in turn, about your health. If you want to maintain healthy nails on your fingers and toes, here are a few ideas on how to care for them properly.

Some people polish their nails to keep them covered up. Why? Because their natural ones don

How to Handle Unwanted Parenting Advice

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How to Diffuse a Temper Tantrum

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How to Develop a Couponing Mindset

There’s a difference between wanting to save money with coupons and actually clipping them and using them. In fact, many people clip coupons from time to time. However, they often forget to use them. You can use those coupons, clip more coupons, and save more money with a couponing mindset.

What Is a Couponing Mindset?

It’s the desire to never spend full price on any item. It’s the desire to save money. Yet the desire has to be strong enough that you actually follow through. Follow through is easier when you have three things:

* Results
* Support
* Systems

Results First – The Thirty-Day Plan

One of the easiest ways to develop a couponing mindset is to see how much money you can really save. The tactic, then, is to create a thirty-day plan. Commit to cutting coupons, downloading them to your loyalty card, and actually using coupons every single time you go to the store. Save your receipts and track how much money you saved over the course of a month.

You may also want to track the time you spent clipping and searching for coupons. Chances are it won’t take more than an hour or two a week. If you save $300 that month, that works out to about $40 to $75 dollars for an hour of your time.

Support – You Can’t Go It Alone

Unless you’re single and living alone, you need the support of your family to help you with saving money this way. That means people don’t stop at the supermarket on the way home to pick up snacks unless they have coupons for those snacks. You can also enlist your family members or roommates in the coupon cutting and meal planning. That way everyone is involved.

One way to get support is to put the money you saved into an account for something special. For example, you might save for a trip to Disney. If you’re saving $300 or more a month then that trip for Disney will arrive quickly.

Systems – Get Organized

Finally, systems can help you not only remember to clip coupons but also to remember to use them at the store. There are a few different systems to consider.

* Systems to find and clip coupons – When will you clip coupons each week? What websites, magazines, mailings, and other resources will you use?

* Systems to organize coupons – How will you store and organize your coupons? You can organize them by expiration or category. You can store them in a binder or an envelope.

* Systems to save the most money – You can maximize your savings by finding stores that double coupons, have meal planning with coupons, loyalty card savings and more.

* Systems to remember to use your coupons – Carry them with you. Make a list and attach your coupons to the list. There are many options to consider. Find one that works for you.

Once you’ve experienced the money you can save with couponing, you’ll have a couponing mindset. Embrace the concept. Create systems and find support.