Thursday, May 11, 2023

“Live” to be famous


Once, there was a girl named Emma who always dreamed of becoming famous. She tried everything she could, from posting pictures of herself in trendy outfits to making videos of her singing, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get the response she desired from social media. Emma began to spiral into a deep depression, feeling hopeless and alone. One day, she decided to take drastic action, she got everything ready for a live stream and as she went live, she pulled out a knife, looked at it, and then, looked straight into the camera while making her last statement - "I'll be famous now."

Emma took her life that night, and the video of her death spread like wildfire across the internet. People were horrified by what they saw, yet couldn't look away. The video went viral, and for a while, Emma was famous for death in a way she could never achieve in life.

The day following Emma's death, something strange began to happen. People who had watched the live stream started committing suicide in various ways. They all left eerie and cryptic messages on their social media accounts that read, "We'll be famous together". Soon, the news started to circulate about the strange behavior connected to Emma's death.

It was a few days after Emma's death that things really started to take a dark turn. Those who had watched the live stream reported experiencing a strange hallucination. In their nightmares, Emma appeared to them, but she was no longer just a ghostly apparition, she seemed more real and a personification of the evil that had somehow taken over the internet. In their dreams, Emma whispered to them- "You'll always be forgotten."

As more and more people continued to commit suicide, the world was gripped in terror. All humanity seemed to be losing its mind, and no one knew why. Science could not explain this strange phenomenon that defied all logical explanations.

In the end, it was discovered that an evil entity had taken residence on the internet, feeding off the insecurities of those who sought validation from the online world. A few months after Emma's death, the internet was shut down completely to save humanity from the curse of the entity that fed on their fear and self-loathing.

Emma never did get the fame and validation she so desperately craved. Instead, she became a symbol of the dangers of social media and the insidious nature of the internet itself, a reminder to all of us that sometimes, we need to step back and live in the real world for a while.

Thursday, March 9, 2023

5 Reasons To Stop Spending on Online Games

Online games are a popular form of entertainment, but they can also be a financial burden. It's easy to get caught up in the excitement and start spending money on in-game purchases. However, it's important to set limits and avoid overspending. Here are some tips to help you stop spending on online games:

1. Set a budget

Determine how much money you can afford to spend on online games each month and stick to it. Keep track of your spending and adjust your budget as needed.

2. Avoid impulse purchases

Don't make in-game purchases on a whim. Take the time to think about whether the purchase is necessary and if it fits within your budget.

3. Use free-to-play options

Many online games offer free-to-play options that allow you to enjoy the game without spending any money. Take advantage of these options and avoid spending money on unnecessary in-game purchases.

4. Disable in-app purchases

If you find it difficult to resist in-game purchases, disable them on your device. This can help prevent you from overspending.

5. Find alternative forms of entertainment

If you're spending too much money on online games, consider finding alternative forms of entertainment that don't require spending money.

By following these tips, you can enjoy online games without breaking the bank. Remember, it's important to prioritize your financial health and avoid overspending on non-essential items. 

Wednesday, March 8, 2023

5 Easy Steps to Smart Saving

Smart Saving can be challenging, especially when you have bills to pay and expenses to cover. However, being smart in the way you save can make a significant difference in the long run. In this document, we will explore some tips on how to be smart in saving.

Step 1: Set goals

One of the best ways to be smart in saving is to set goals. Determine what you want to save for and how much you need to save. This will help you stay focused, motivated, and on track.

Step 2: Create a budget

Creating a budget is another essential step in smart saving. Knowing how much you earn and how much you spend is crucial to identifying areas where you can cut back and save more.

Step 3: Automate your savings

Automating your savings is an effortless and effective way to save money. Set up an automatic transfer from your checking account to your savings account each month. This way, you won't forget to save, and you will be less likely to spend the money that you intended to save.

Step 4: Use technology to your advantage

There are many apps and tools available that can help you save money. From budgeting apps to cashback sites, take advantage of these resources to help you save more.

Step 5: Shop smart

Shopping smart can also help you save money. Look for sales, use coupons, and avoid impulse purchases. Additionally, consider buying items in bulk or waiting for seasonal sales to get the best deals.

Conclusion

Smart Saving requires discipline, patience, and a willingness to make changes. By setting goals, creating a budget, automating your savings, using technology to your advantage, and shopping smart, you can save more money and achieve your financial goals.

Sunday, March 5, 2023

Importance of Life Insurance


Life insurance is a crucial aspect of financial planning, yet it is often overlooked. It is an agreement between an individual and an insurance company, where the insurer provides financial security to the policyholder's family in the event of their death.

Here are several reasons why life insurance is important.

  1. It provides financial protection to the family of the policyholder. In the event of the policyholder's untimely death, the insurance company pays out a lump sum amount to the beneficiaries. This amount can be used to pay off any debts, cover living expenses, or even pay for children's education.
  2. Life insurance can act as an inheritance for the policyholder's family. It can help to provide a financial cushion, allowing the family to maintain their lifestyle after the policyholder’s death.
  3. Life insurance can help to cover funeral expenses. Funerals can be expensive, and life insurance can provide the necessary funds to cover these costs.
  4. Life insurance can provide peace of mind. Knowing that your family will be taken care of financially in the event of your death can provide a sense of security and comfort.

Conclusion

Life insurance is a vital aspect of financial planning. It provides financial security to the policyholder's family and can act as an inheritance, cover funeral expenses, and provide peace of mind. It is important to consider purchasing life insurance to ensure that your family is protected in the event of your untimely death. 

What Is Social Media?

The term media are the communication outlets or tools used to store and deliver information or data. This can be in different forms such as printed papers, digital data, arts, and other numerous forms of information.


Social Media, on the other hand, is a computer-based and internet-based communication that uses different advanced technologies. This way of communication lets you interact with people, share ideas and information, and even connect with your friends and family through virtual networks and communities. Social Media has grown significantly as it is already widely being used in different fields even in education, government, businesses, religious organizations, etc.

What qualifies as social media?

Identifying whether an app or website is considered social media is a little bit tricky because it only covers a subset of media that can be social. However, we can consider an app or website as social media by its potential for mass collaboration (mass communication, team collaboration, people engagements, etc.) which is the key value of social media. When we say the potential for mass collaboration, it is the capability of the service to attract people to engage and collaborate with other people. 

Types of Social Media?


Type

Definition

Example

Traditional Social Networking Sites

Social networking sites help us connect with friends, family, and brands. They encourage knowledge-sharing and are all about personal, human-to-human interaction.

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn

Social Review Sites

Sites that display reviews from its community members for all sorts of locations and experiences.

TripAdvisor, Zomato

Image and Video Sharing Sites

Sites that allow users to share image content, infographics, and illustrations

Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok

Video Hosting Sites

Platforms where creators put together content and share it to an optimized streaming platform.

YouTube, Vimeo, Kumu

Community Blogs

Shared blogging platforms give people a space to express their thoughts and connect them with the readers.

Medium, Tumblr

Discussion Sites

Sites that allow people to ask questions or make a statement on which can other people can share their thoughts and opinions.

Quora, Reddit

Sharing Economy Networks

Sites wherein people want to share something that they have together with people who might need it.

Airbnb, Rover


Monday, February 13, 2023

How to Become an Effective Manager

Effective business operations have managers with strong sense and individuality in their operating styles. One’s management style is an outgrowth of one’s basic philosophy regarding how things should be done and how they implement their philosophy in the workplace.


Throughout history, there has been no definite type of management approach, thus resulting in five known management perspectives – the classical approach, the behavioral approach, the management science approach, the contingency approach, and the systems approach.


The classical approach emphasizes the use of organizational efficiency to increase success; the behavioral approach seeks to increase organizational success by focusing on the human variable; the management science approach values the use of the scientific method and quantitative techniques to increase organizational success; the contingency approach highlights that what managers do in practice depends on a given set of circumstances or situations; and lastly the systems approach values on the idea that to fully understand the operation, the entity must be viewed as a whole.


No two management styles will be exactly the same, even though the same elements may exist. Overall management can be classified either as closed or open. Closed continuum is classified as formal, directive, autocratic, authoritarian, inflexible, and cold; open continuum is classified as informal, informative, participative, cooperative, flexible and warm.


An organizational structure is necessary in order to create an organized procedure for meeting company objectives. To be effective, a number of factors must be taken into account as an organizational chart is developed. These elements are vertical and horizontal dimensions, chain of command, line and staff, authority and authority levels, responsibility and accountability, power and departmentalization.


There may be times and situations in which so-called staff positions may also exert direction and authority on others. This will depend in part upon the management style of the manager and how he and she delegates authority and responsibility. Management attitudes regarding organization charts need to be open and flexible enough to allow for change as need dictates.


The private sector has found it essential that the various media functions connected with education and training activities be carefully organized and operated in an efficient and cost-effective manner. Certainly, well-trained employees are essential in today’s highly competitive and complex world if a company is to secure a fair share of the market.


Just as an entity must have an organizational structure, so must it also have controls to guide directions, operations, and activities if the entity is to achieve anything. In the management of today’s service organization, the company must develop a personal awareness, create organizational knowledge, and provide operational methods to administer and accommodate the needs of the center in its relationship. The company can easily address this element by establishing rules, procedures and policies.


Lastly, managers at any level are basically concerned with four management activities: planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. All four functions require the application of decision-making knowledge and skills. Decision making is part and parcel of the manager’s job, for problems come in all sizes and share and arrive at most opportune times.


Most managers are in their jobs because they like making decisions. To be an effective manager, it follows that a successful program is characterized by system, direction, and leadership. Order will eliminate otherwise inevitable confusion, duplication of effort, waste of time and money.

13 Things You Should Give Up If You Want To Be Successful

Sometimes it is important to give up on some habits for us to become successful. We are all creatures of habit and we are designed to think and act in a certain way. This becomes a problem if the habits we have are actually toxic and are hindrances on our path to success. Here are some things you must let go to achieve success.


1. Give Up On The Unhealthy Lifestyle

“Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.” — Jim Rohn

If you want to achieve anything in life, everything starts here. You have to take care of your health, and there are only two things you need to keep in mind:

  • Healthy Diet
  • Physical Activity

Small steps, but you will thank yourself one day.

2. Give Up The Short-term Mindset

“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.” — Mae West

Successful people set long-term goals, and they know these aims are merely the result of short-term habits that they need to do every day.

These healthy habits shouldn’t be something you do; they should be something you embody.

There is a difference between: “Working out to get a summer body” and “Working out because that’s who you are.”

3. Give Up On Playing Small

“Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people will not feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone, and as we let our light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” - Marianne Williamson

If you never try to take great opportunities or allow your dreams to become realities, you will never unleash your true potential. And the world will never benefit from what you could have achieved.

So voice your ideas, don’t be afraid to fail, and certainly don’t be afraid to succeed.

4. Give Up Your Excuses

“It’s not about the cards you’re dealt, but how you play the hand.” ― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

Successful people know that they are responsible for their lives, no matter their starting point, weaknesses, and past failures.

Realizing that you are responsible for what happens next in your life is both frightening and exciting.

And when you do, that becomes the only way you can become successful. Remember that excuses limit and prevent us from growing personally and professionally.

Own your life; no one else will.

5. Give Up The Fixed Mindset

“The future belongs to those who learn more skills and combine them in creative ways.” ― Robert Greene, Mastery

People with a fixed mindset think their intelligence or talents are simply fixed traits, and that talent alone leads to success — without hard work. They’re wrong.

Successful people know this. They invest an immense amount of time on a daily basis to develop a growth mindset, acquire new knowledge, learn new skills, and change their perception so that it can benefit their lives.

Remember, who you are today, it’s not who you have to be tomorrow.

6. Give Up Believing In The “Magic Bullet.”

“Every day, in every way, I’m getting better and better” — Émile Coué

Overnight success is a myth.

Successful people know that making small continual improvements every day will be compounded over time, and give them desirable results.

That is why you should plan for the future, but focus on the day that’s ahead of you, and improve just 1% every day.

7. Give Up Your Perfectionism

“Shipping beats perfection.” — Khan Academy’s Development Mantra

Nothing will ever be perfect, no matter how much we try.

Fear of failure (or even fear of success) often prevents us from taking action and putting our creations out there in the world. But a lot of opportunities will be lost if we wait for things to be right.

So “ship,” and then improve (that 1%).

8. Give Up Multi-tasking

“You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks.” ― Winston S. Churchill

Successful people know this. That’s why they choose one thing and then beat it into submission. No matter what it is — a business idea, a conversation, or a workout.

Being fully present and committed to one task is indispensable.

9. Give Up Your Need to Control Everything

“Some things are up to us, and some things are not up to us.” — Epictetus, Stoic philosopher

Differentiating these two is important.

Detach from the things you cannot control, focus on the ones you can, and know that sometimes, the only thing you will be able to control is your attitude towards something.

Remember, nobody can be frustrated while saying “Bubbles” in an angry voice.

10. Give Up On Saying YES To Things That Don’t Support Your Goals

“He who would accomplish little must sacrifice little; he who would achieve much must sacrifice much; he who would attain highly must sacrifice greatly.” — James Allen

Successful people know that in order to accomplish their goals, they will have to say NO to certain tasks, activities, and demands from their friends, family, and colleagues.

In the short term, you might sacrifice a bit of instant gratification, but when your goals come to fruition, it will all be worth it.

11. Give Up The Toxic People

“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” ― Jim Rohn

The people we spend the most time with, add up to who we become.

There are people who are less accomplished in their personal and professional life, and there are people who are more accomplished than us. If you spend time with those who are behind you, your average will go down, and with it, your success.

But if you spend time with people who are more accomplished than you, no matter how challenging that might be, you will become more successful.

Take a look around you, and see if you need to make any changes.

12. Give Up Your Need To Be Liked

“The only way to avoid pissing people off is to do nothing important.” — Oliver Emberton

Think of yourself as a market niche.

There will be a lot of people who like that niche, and there will be individuals who don’t. And no matter what you do, you won’t be able to make the entire market like you.

This is entirely natural, and there’s no need to justify yourself.

The only thing you can do is to remain authentic, improve and provide value every day, and know that the growing number of “haters” means that you are doing important things.

13. Give Up Your Dependency on Social Media & Television

“The trouble is, you think you have time” — Jack Kornfield

Impulsive web browsing and television watching are diseases of today’s society.

These two should never be an escape from your life or your goals.

Unless your goals depend on either, you should minimize (or even eliminate) your dependency on them, and direct that time towards things that can enrich your life.

This list is a great place to start. But it doesn’t stop there. Identifying what’s holding you back from winning isn’t enough.

Once you recognize your bad habits, you need to make changes. You need to replace your bad habits with positive habits—make them a new way of life so you can be more successful. 

Use this guide only as a reference to help you stop doing things that are holding you back from being successful. More importantly, always continue to strive and look for better ways to achieve optimum success.

Saturday, February 11, 2023

Harmful Food and Drug Combinations: Antibiotics, Anti-hypertensive, Anticoagulants, and NSAIDs

Some people engage in eating whatever they assume to be digestible without taking many things into consideration. This habit endangers not only their health, but even their very lives.

The combination of specific food and drugs either causes efficacy reduction or toxic production and this often happens unconsciously. Unfortunately, these people are unaware that harmful interactions can occur whenever such medications are combined with specific food since they are normally harmless when taken individually. What used to be a cure for the body has now turned into a poison.

Read on to know more.

1. Antibiotics

- As its name implies, antibiotics are given by your physicians in order to eliminate and kill bacteria from your system. They also help get rid of viruses and fungi. While taking the medication, it is a must for you to avoid alcohol consumption. Alcohol’s effect on our body causes reduced water retention due to evaporation from heat loss and diuresis. When combined with antibiotics, the adverse effect can happen. The most common ones are headaches and stomach upsets. But the most worrisome reaction would be that of metronidazole (Flagyl) and tinidazole (Fasigyn) which can cause irregular heartbeats.

- Cipro (Ciprofloxacin) is a drug commonly used since it targets a wide range of bacterial infections. Unfortunately, it would be useless if taken with dairy products due to its calcium content. Calcium easily binds to Cipro causing a reduced effect. Refrain from taking dairy products such as cheese, yogurts, or milk within 2 hours before and after taking the medication.

2. Antihypertensive

- These medications are designed to lower the complications of cardiovascular diseases caused by hypertension by lowering blood pressure. Examples are ACE inhibitors (ACEI) and calcium channel blockers (CCB). All of these drugs have the potential to interact with food.

o ACEI – these drugs prevent the conversion of angiotensin I to angiotensin II which is primarily a vasoconstrictor. An adverse effect of this is hyperkalemia since the sodium content in the circulation is decreased. In this relation, foods rich in potassium should be avoided so as to prevent complications. Toxicity level is manifested by tingling sensations, nausea, dysrhythmias, and fatigue.

o CCB – the calcium channels of our smooth muscles (vascular system) help in vasoconstriction and when blocked helps lower blood pressure. When taken together with grapefruit and peppermint, it causes an added effect resulting in increased blood pressure drop to more than what is desired. Life-threatening effects of hypotension are likely to occur if not prevented.

3. Anticoagulants

- These medications are prescribed as blood thinners. Vitamin K facilitates the formation of blood clots and thus food rich in this component should be avoided. Examples rich in Vitamin K are spinach, asparagus, broccoli, lettuce, and cabbage. On the other hand, you should avoid garlic, onion, and vitamin E since it has an added effect on the drug leading to bleeding.

4. NSAIDs

- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or NSAIDS are drugs that are commonly taken as pain relievers or anti-inflammations. Normally, the enzyme cyclooxygenase (COX) helps in the production of prostaglandins. Prostaglandins help in the protection of the stomach lining. NSAIDs block the COX enzyme causing reduced production of prostaglandins. In this connection, alcohol and food rich in acid content should be avoided. It is also not advisable to take this medication on an empty stomach.

These are just a few of the most common harmful food and drug interactions that should be avoided. The single best way to avoid such complications is to prevent the administration of over-the-counter medications and consult a physician. It is also beneficial to read the labels first before taking the medication. This way, you prevent serious irreversible damage.