Monday, 6 June 2022

The Best Way To Find Your WHY


There are a small percentage of the population that spend a great deal of time trying to identify their true purpose in life. This is agonizing for them and some will find their true WHY and others will not. 

 

The reality is that some people just don’t care about their WHY. They are happy for life to control them and drift along day by day. But you need to find your WHY because it is very important. Once you know your true reason for being then you can pursue this with passion and vigor to attain complete fulfillment.

 

Ways you can Find your WHY

 

Most people try to find their WHY using trial and error. They jump on every opportunity that they can to see if it leads to the Promised Land. This may work in a very small number of cases but will fail most of the time.

 

Another thing that you can do to try and find your WHY is to follow others. Maybe you have a friend or someone else that you are close to that you believe is a lot happier than you are and want to do the things that they do.

 

So, you decide to set the same goals that they do in the hope that you will find the same fulfillment. The problem is that you are not going to be as committed to these goals as your friend is. When your heart isn’t really in something then there is not much chance of you achieving your goals.

 

Maybe you have seen something on TV or on the Internet. You see people are really happy with this so you decide to pursue it as well. But you need to bear in mind that most of this is marketing and that the people looking happy in the ads are being paid to do this. Please don’t believe everything that you see on TV or the Internet.

 

Finally, you can decide to really find your true purpose in life. It is not going to be the easiest path for you to take but you know it is the right one. Trying to follow the passions of others is rarely the best thing to do. You need to know what your true passions are and then do everything possible to follow them.

 

We are all different and all have different passions. Only when you identify what yours really are will you find fulfillment. So don’t waste your time with trial and error or following someone else because it is not going to work.

 

Ask yourself Questions to find your WHY

 

If you want to find your true purpose in life then you need to take the time out and ask yourself some soul-searching questions. This is not going to be an easy task and it will take you time to do this. But the rewards are certainly worth it because discovering your WHY is one of the best things that you can do in life.

 

So, find yourself somewhere quiet where you can spend some quality time asking and answering the right questions to find your WHY. You don’t want any distractions while you are doing this. Bring your journal with you or a pen and paper as you will need to write down your answers. Here are the questions to ask yourself:

 

  • How can I improve the life of others?
  • What are the things that I do where time seems to pass by quickly?
  • What did I really enjoying doing as a child?
  • When people ask me for help what help do they want?
  • What would I do if I didn’t have to worry about money?  

 

Use your answers to these questions to determine your WHY and create a WHY statement.



The 3 Pillars Of The Bitcoin Blockchain


Blockchain technology supports the Bitcoin network. It is extremely secure and now many organizations across the world are seriously looking at it for not just financial transactions but for their supply chain processes as well. In this article we will discuss the 3 pillars of the blockchain technology behind Bitcoin.

 

The Decentralization Pillar

 

Before the invention of blockchain most transactions over the Internet involved a central server. This server stored all of the essential data that supported the service that it provided. A good example of this is the banking system. Your bank stores your money and when you need to pay someone you have to use them and they charge you for this.

 

Client server technology is everywhere online. When you use a search engine to find something your query ends up on a central server which dispatches the information that you asked for. The problem with client server is that there are a number of vulnerabilities:

 

  • The biggest and most obvious of these is that everything is stored in one place. This makes a central server a real target for hackers. 
  • If there's any operational issues with a central server, the whole system grinds to a halt.
  • The data held on a central server can be compromised which shuts down the whole operation.

 

The solution to these centralized vulnerabilities is decentralization. With a decentralized network all computers have the same information stored. If you want to interact with someone else on a decentralized network you can do this without any third-party intervention. You can send and receive Bitcoins without the use of a bank and a centralized server.

 

The Transparency Pillar

 

A lot of people do not fully understand the concept of transparency when it comes to blockchain technology. Isn’t the Bitcoin network supposed to be private? Yes, it is but it is also public for verification purposes.

 

You need to understand the concept of public and private keys here. A public key is used on the blockchain to show that you have made a transaction. Your private key is never shared. It is linked to your public key to make the transaction valid.

 

With the Bitcoin blockchain you can see the public keys associated with all transactions. No other financial system has ever had this kind of transparency. There is a much-needed level of accountability with blockchain that financial institutions certainly want.


When you have a blockchain public address you can view all of the transactions made using that key. A lot of financial institutions are looking at blockchain because of this but some are concerned that it will force their hand to reveal all of their transactions!

 

The Immutability Pillar

 

Blockchain technology creates immutable records. This means that after verifying a transaction you cannot change it. Once your transaction is added to the blockchain there is no turning back. You cannot reverse the transaction.

 

The immutability in blockchain comes from the cryptographic hash functionality. The blockchain system takes input strings of any length and converts these to an output string of a fixed length. The Bitcoin blockchain uses the highly secure SHA 256 algorithm.

 

Blockchain is basically a linked list of transactions. Each block has a hash pointer connecting it to the previous block. If a hacker tries to change the details of a block it will affect the entire blockchain which is impossible to do.

 


The Three Different People In Life And Why You Need To Choose The WHY Path


All human beings do the things that they do for a reason. They also avoid doing certain things for a reason as well. The reasons behind some of the things that we do are obvious. We eat because we are hungry and want to survive. We bathe because we don’t want to be dirty and smell bad.

 

But there are other things that we choose to do, or avoid doing, that have more complex reasons behind them. If you know someone that works a job that they really hate then have you ever wondered why they do this? The obvious answer that most people will come up with is “they need the money” or “they are desperate”.

 

But there are other reasons that can come into play here. Some people just don’t want the extra responsibility that comes from working a higher paid job. Others avoid applying for better jobs because they do not have the confidence and belief in themselves that they can do the job.

 

When you look at the overall population, we believe that there are three different types of people in this world. In this article we will examine these and explain why it is your interest to choose the WHY path. You will understand this more as we go along.

 

1. The Drifter People

 

This accounts for the vast majority of the population. They may have dead end jobs or they might have reasonably good jobs but they have no idea what they really want from life or which direction they are heading in. These people drift along in life and “go with the flow”. They don’t like change and are usually happy to be a drifter.

 

If you were to stop one of these people in the street and ask them what they really wanted in their life then they would not be able to tell you. They may come up with a few material things like a nice house and a car but they do not have any real plans.

 

Ask them where they want to be in the next 5 years and you will get a blank look. Most of them don’t know where they will be in the next 5 days. These people never set any goals for themselves with the exception of setting New Year’s resolutions to lose weight and other things that they never follow through on.

 

2. People that find themselves Stuck

 

These are a much smaller percentage of the population who are not happy with their current situation and want to change it. They want to identify and follow their true purpose in life but they are stuck trying to find it.

 

As a result of being stuck then tend to go off in all different directions searching for that thing that will make them fulfilled. This is better than being a drifter but very frustrating as you are largely relying on luck to find real meaning in your life.

 

3. People that know their real purpose in life

 

This is an even smaller percentage of people that have identified their true calling in life. The know exactly what their WHY is and they are driven to achieve it. They have goals and plans and work on them relentlessly every day.

 

We recommend that you choose the WHY path. When you discover your true WHY in life you can set the right goals and attain total fulfillment. Don’t let life dictate your future – take control right now and identify your true purpose in life and go after it.

 


Why Is Bitcoin So Popular?


When Bitcoin launched in 2009 the promise was that it would allow financial transactions on a peer-to-peer network without the need for any financial institutions or government control. A lot of people that knew about it at the time were very excited about the possibilities while others were somewhat skeptical.

 

The digital currency was actually a secondary consideration. It was the blockchain technology that so excited the creators and those that were part of the peer-to-peer community. But the Bitcoin currency has turned out to be a lot better than was expected. There are several reasons for its significant growth in popularity.

 

Transactions are Private

 

The concept with Bitcoin is that it was totally anonymous. Anyone could make a transaction from anywhere to anywhere in the world and nobody would know who was involved. These days to use Bitcoin exchanges to make transactions you do need to provide some personal details but it is still a lot more anonymous than other financial transactions.

 

A good example of this is when using Bitcoin to make purchases from vendors both in online stores and brick and mortar stores. You can complete the transaction without having to provide any of your personal information to the vendor.

 

More Businesses are accepting Bitcoin

 

The growth of Bitcoin has led to more and more businesses adopting it. They will accept it as a form of payment and also use it to make payments to outsource workers in different countries. 

 

With large brands such as eBay, Intuit and the DISH Network embracing Bitcoin more people are becoming interested in the digital currency. A lot of people have now decided to invest in Bitcoin because of this.

 

The Security of Bitcoin

 

Over the last few years there have been some serious data breaches happening to well-known companies such as target. The cyber criminals who committed these breaches stole personal information about the customers of these companies. They then sell this information on the black market.

 

With Bitcoin and the underlying blockchain technology you can make financial transactions without the need to provide sensitive financial information. The decentralized ledger in Bitcoin is extremely secure and virtually impossible to hack. There is no exposure of Bitcoin wallets when making financial transactions.

 

Transactions are Cheaper

 

To send money to another person using your bank will often cost you quite a bit in transaction fees. These rise considerably if you need to send money to someone in another country. 

 

International payments also take time as well and it is not uncommon to have to wait a few days for a transaction to clear. There are very small fees involved with Bitcoin transactions and it is a lot faster to make a transaction to another country.

 

You can Hide with Bitcoin

 

This is not a good thing but it is another reason for the popularity of Bitcoin. Some people use it to make illegal transactions on the Dark Web. We are not condoning this in any way but it is no surprise that Bitcoin is popular because of this.

 

Bitcoin is reasonably Stable

 

While there is a degree of volatility with Bitcoin it is actually more stable than some fiat currencies. There is a limited number of Bitcoins so you can’t create more to cause inflationary problems. 

 


Why Your Business Needs A WHY Statement


A WHY statement for a business is known as a “mission statement”. It is similar to a personal WHY statement in a number of ways. Having a good mission statement is important but most business owners don’t bother to create one. Or they write one for a business plan and then never look at it again.

 

Writing a good mission statement is essential. If it is done in a rush and doesn’t encapsulate all of the important things about your business then it is a complete waste of time. In this article we will explain why it is so important to create a strong mission statement and take the time and effort to do so.

 

It Provides Direction

 

A good mission statement will always clearly state the direction of a company. It will include the main goal of the business and this is important for customers, employees, suppliers and stakeholders to know.

 

As your business launches new products and services your customers and employees will understand why you have done that if you have a strong mission statement. They will see how they align with the direction that the company is heading in and will be more committed to them.

 

It will provide Employee Unification

 

In any company that has a number of different departments there is often a disconnect between them. These days many businesses outsource work to skilled freelancers and external companies and this makes the problem worse.

 

For example, if the company is planning to launch a new product, then it is very likely that most of the departments and a number of outsourcers and external companies will be involved. If no strong mission statement exists then there is a much higher chance of the overall goal of the project being lost on different people.

 

When you have a strong and explicit mission statement and you share this with all parties it makes it a lot easier for everybody working on the product launch project to see how they fit in and how important their role is.

 

A Mission Statement helps to maintain Focus

 

When a company grows and expands their reach it is often the case that both the bosses and the workers will lose their focus. If your business has a strong mission statement then this can be avoided. 

 

Loss of focus can really harm the reputation of a business. Its brand can suffer and so can its overall image. With a strong and explicit mission statement in place it will provide guidance to all during periods of growth. The mission statement will remind everyone of the main goal and help to keep its reputation intact.

 

Creating Accountability with a Mission Statement

 

Any business will exist to fulfill a specific purpose or need and this needs to be stated clearly in your mission statement. A business needs to be accountable so that it can continue to improve and serve its customers better. If the overall purpose of the business is unclear then it is going to be difficult, if not impossible, to make these improvements.

 

You need to make it clear in your mission statement what your business wants to accomplish. This will help to hold both the business owners and employees accountable and ensure that everyone is striving to achieve the same goal.

 


Getting The Best Results From Your WHY Statement


It is no easy task to identify your real purpose in life and write a compelling WHY statement that will drive you forward. In reality this is going to take a lot of time and effort to get it right. So when you make this kind of investment in your WHY statement you want to make sure that you get the most out of it afterwards.

 

In this article we will explain how you can do that. As soon as you have your WHY statement written you can start to do these things which will help to transform your life for the better. Don’t just write your WHY statement and then not take any action and follow through on it. If you don’t take action then there is no point writing your WHY statement.

 

Use your WHY Statement to set inspiring Goals

 

Only a small percentage of the population actually set goals. Some of these people choose to do this at New Year when they are in a drunken haze. We do not recommend this as it rarely works out well. Others will set goals with a clear head but they end up going for goals that they are not totally committed to and then fail to achieve them.

 

You may be wondering why anyone would set themselves goals that they are not really committed to. Well, it happens a lot and sometimes this can be other people influencing us to do something that seems like a good idea at the time.

 

For example, you may have a close friend that has decided that they want to climb Mount Everest. They put pressure on you to do this with them. You agree because you value their friendship but you do not really have any desire to start mountaineering.

 

You go to classes with your friend and soon lose interest. Your heart is not in it like theirs is. So, what do you do? Well, you may have to dream up some credible excuse why you cannot pursue this goal with them. Maybe lie about a physical problem that you have which prevents you from climbing mountains?

 

This kind of thing can be completely avoided when you have a clear and compelling WHY statement. You will have clarity about where you want to go with your life and there will be no need for you to be influenced by others.

 

It will be a lot easier for you to identify and set your goals when you have a powerful WHY statement. You will also be totally committed to achieving the goals because they are in line with your real purpose in life. It doesn’t get any better than that.

 

Let your WHY Statement Guide your Decision Making

 

Without truly knowing what your purpose in life is it will be very easy for you to make the wrong life choices. You will be vulnerable to any temptations that come your way and to ride the wave of the “next big thing”.

 

Most decisions that you need to think about have consequences. People that drift along aimlessly in life rarely consider these consequences and as a result end up living a life that they don’t want.

 

When you have a powerful WHY statement as a guide you will make a lot better decisions in your life. It doesn’t matter how big or small the decisions are you can use your WHY statement to guide you down the right road.



Avoid These 4 Creativity Killers


When you are trying to boost your creative intelligence there are things that you need to avoid to give yourself the best chance of success. If you don’t do this, it doesn’t matter how much time and effort you spend on using different creativity techniques you are not going to get the optimal results.

 

We call these 4 things creativity killers. You need to know what they are and you must avoid them. In this article, we will explain what these are and what you can do to avoid them. Some of them are easy to avoid and others not so easy.

 

1. Being in a Creativity Stifling Job

 

This is one of those that is not so easy to avoid. A lot of jobs do not require you to use any of your creative talents. The boss shows you how to do the job and then you need to follow these instructions forever until someone changes them. That someone is not going to be you.

 

In a lot of jobs, you will be actively discouraged from trying to come up with creative ideas and new ways of doing things. This is a pretty short-sighted thing for a business to do but it does happen a lot. So, what can you do if you have a creativity stifling job?

 

The most obvious answer is to get another job where you can use your creativity. We appreciate that this is easier said than done. If this is not an option for you then change your routine at work. Go out for lunch and find an area where you can be creative. Spend time with different people every day to get a fresh perspective.

 

2. Being too Connected

 

What we mean here is that you are so involved with everyone and everything you never have time for creativity. Every minute of every day you are busy doing something. If this is you then you need to change this right now.

 

Everyone seems to have a smartphone these days and they just spend too much time with it. It really is not necessary for you to respond to every notification you receive immediately. Look at different ways that you can disconnect yourself so that you can free up some creative time.

 

3. Copying others

 

You have been asked by your boss to come up with some new ideas for the company website. Most people in this situation will look at what their competitor is doing and suggest that this is copied. It is OK to look at the work of other creative people for inspiration but it is not a good idea just to copy them.

 

Anyone can copy someone else. It is the easy way out and you do not need to use any creativity to do this. Don’t just follow what others do – find inspiration elsewhere and come up with your own ideas.

 

4. Ignoring what others are telling you

 

This is something that a lot of entrepreneurs do because they are so focused on their own ideas. Not listening enough to others can happen elsewhere of course. When you listen to others you will gain a different perspective on things and be able to learn from their ideas. Don’t deprive yourself of this opportunity.

 


Using Mind Mapping To Develop Your Creativity


There are quite a number of tools available that will help you to develop your creativity but mind mapping is one of the easiest to learn and use. You will find that a lot of people with high levels of creative intelligence use mind maps all of the time because it really helps them to come up with those precious creative ideas.

 

One of the reasons that mind mapping works so well for the stimulation of creative ideas is because it is a visual tool. Your mind is able to process things a lot better with visuals so you need to take advantage of this.

 

Mind Mapping is easy

 

There is nothing difficult about mind mapping. All that you are doing is creating a picture with the thoughts that are in your head about a problem that you want to solve. You will find a lot of resources online that explain the concept of mind mapping and how to do it.

 

One of the best ways to learn mind mapping is through watching videos. YouTube is your friend here as there are many videos available on the subject of mind mapping. With these videos you can watch someone create a mind map from scratch and easily pick up on what they are doing.

 


You can Draw or use Software

 

In its simplest form, you can create a mind map with a pencil and a piece of paper. We recommend that you use a large sheet of paper as it is very easy to run out of space when you are drawing your mind map. You also need to leave some room for expanding your mind map as new thoughts come to mind.

 

There are many software tools that you can use to create mind maps if you prefer to use a computer to create one. Some of the premium mind mapping tools are very expensive as they have many bells and whistles. You do not need this to get started with mind mapping. Go for a free program such as Free Mind as it will do everything that you need.

 

How does Mind Mapping Work?

 

When you create a mind map you record your thoughts in one place. It is different to writing them all down as you want to use keywords or short phrases to represent your thoughts rather than long sentences.

 

You will start a mind map by adding your main goal to the center of the map. Always have a goal such as a problem that you need to solve. Then you create different branches from this which contain the different aspects of the problem or goal.

 

These branches are all linked to the central goal and you can have different tiers of branches. Anything that connects directly to the central goal is a tier one branch. Each tier one branch can have tier two branches and so on. 

 

Main Advantage of Mind Mapping

 

After you have added all of your initial thoughts about a problem that you want to solve to a mind map you have a very powerful visual aid that will help you to generate more thoughts. It is easy to see the “big picture” with a mind map as it is all there in one drawing. If you try to remember all of these thoughts you are very likely to forget some of them.

 


Sunday, 5 June 2022

What Really Is Creative Intelligence?


You may have heard the term “creative intelligence” before and never really knew what it meant. Well, in this article we will answer this and tell you about the 5 most common traits that people with creative intelligence have.

 

Creative Intelligence Definition

 

The truth is that there are a number of definitions about creative intelligence. It is vital that you understand that it is really about the mindset that you have and it is not some kind of method that you employ. When a person has creative intelligence, they see things in a different way to others.

 

Creative people are able to come up with new ideas and new ways of thinking. They are not constrained to mainstream thinking as most of the population are. A creative person will look at a situation and interpret it in a different way. 

 

Creativity is not just Imagination

 

While it is true to say that people with creative intelligence have a more powerful imagination than those that don’t, it is not all about being imaginative. A creative individual will have a different perception on things and will trust their intuition to come up with solutions to problems.

 

A creative person is always more curious than other people and they use their curiosity to innovate. They have resources at the subconscious level that they can call upon when they want to generate creative ideas and be innovative. Most people that have a high level of creative intelligence have the following five traits:

 

They Look beyond the Norm

 

Society tries to mold us into thinking in a certain way. A person that is creative refuses to be drawn in to this kind of thinking and will look for alternatives. They are not satisfied with the answers provided by the “status quo” and prefer to generate more diverse ideas.

 

Being more creative means moving away from the norm and this can be difficult as other people find this difficult to accept. You must get past this if you want to be more creative and learn to go your own way.

 

They Look beyond their own Knowledge

 

If someone has been doing something the same way for years it doesn’t mean that this is the only way, or indeed the best way, to do it. Creative individuals are prepared to look beyond the knowledge that they have and use their powers of curiosity here. They will never accept the adage of if something is not broken it doesn’t need fixing.

 

They Thrive on Ambiguity

 

Most people will do all that they can to avoid an ambiguous situation because it can be very stressful for them. The creative person deliberately looks for ambiguity because they know that it will provide them with a chance to be innovative. They are comfortable dealing with uncertainty and ambiguity.

 

They are willing to Experiment

 

Not every new creative idea is going to stack up so the person with high creative intelligence is willing to take more risks and experiment. Their intuition tells them that an idea is good but they will still test it through experimentation.

 

They are prepared to Mix it Up

 

Creative people know that they can generate the best ideas when they are not faced with the same routines all of the time. They are very willing to immerse themselves in situations which they are not at all familiar with. 

 


Make Brainstorming And Lateral Thinking Your Creative Friends


Once you have mastered the basics it is time for you to use more advanced creativity tools. Two of the best tools that you can use are brainstorming and lateral thinking. Brainstorming is definitely the easier of the two, but we encourage you to explore both of these tools to really give your creativity a boost.

 

What is Brainstorming?

 

It is likely that you have heard of brainstorming before. Many creative people use brainstorming as it helps them to collate all of their ideas for solving a problem and generate new ones that are creative. The concept of brainstorming is really simple to grasp.

 

You can use the brainstorming technique on your own or in collaboration with others. It is a good idea to do both. What you will do is to write down every single idea that you come up with without passing any judgment on any of the ideas.

 

The easiest way to perform brainstorming is to use large sheets of paper. You can then capture all of the ideas that you come up with on paper. After you have finished brainstorming, you can then evaluate all of the ideas and look to group them together if this is possible.

 

Like you do with mind mapping, you need to start off by writing your goal or defining the problem that you want to solve in the most succinct way. Then you just let your mind run free and just write down every idea you can think of.

 

Brainstorming in teams has always been a good bay to generate creative ideas. It is always good for you to get the perspective of other people and listen to the ideas that they have. Nowadays, a lot of brainstorming sessions are happening through video conferencing which is fine. As long as someone is responsible for recording the ideas and displaying them it will work.

 

There is a load of information about brainstorming online so you have no excuse. Be sure to use this excellent technique to help you generate more creative ideas.

 


How about Lateral Thinking?

 

Lateral thinking is tougher to master than brainstorming but it can be a lot more powerful when it comes to generating great creative thoughts. With lateral thinking you will be challenging the obvious. You will look at the perception behind the current way of thinking and come up with different approaches.

 

We all tend to think about things based on logic or our experience. This causes us to generate automatic responses when we are thinking about a problem. Lateral thinking forces you to break these automatic responses so that you can come up with different ideas.

 

There are four processes with lateral thinking that you need to learn and practice. The first of these is idea generation which is designed to help you break away from traditional thinking. Process number two is called “focus” and the concept here is that you will open up your mind to various other possibilities.

 

The third process in lateral thinking is harvesting and you use this to evaluate all of your ideas so far. Finally, there is the “treatment” process where you look to see if any of your ideas will be a good fit for the real world.

 

Take the time to learn and master brainstorming and lateral thinking as these are great tools which will help you to generate a lot of creative ideas.