Consistency – The Model to Increase Your Success

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When it comes to business, consistency is absolutely a key to success. Becoming and staying as consistent as you need to be to achieve your goals is not always easy, but it is a behavior that anyone involved in business would do well to learn and apply.

The truth is that more businesses fail than succeed. Statistically, the odds of any new business actually ‘making it’ and becoming profitable enough to sustain itself are slim. But how can you overcome the odds? What can you do to propel your business to a place where it can not only be successful, but also grow and prosper? To accomplish success on this level, you need to embody several behaviors and habits, but one of the most crucial of these is consistency.

If you can learn to be consistent, then your talent can be fully realized and your ideas can be given a fair chance of working. You would be amazed at how many businesses, started by talented and intelligent people, fail because they neglect to continue in their good habits, day in and day out. A lot of factors come into play, but there is no substitute for being determined, reliable, and consistent.

Becoming the ‘Model Of Success’

One of the key concepts to understand, as it relates to consistency, lies in the idea that you need to ‘become what you desire to become’. In other words, don’t just hope that your business will succeed. Instead, start living it on a day to day basis. Embody your ideas to the point where you make them real. When you believe in you and in your business enough, you can only succeed!

If your company was really busy and successful, then you would most likely need to do things a certain way to generate that result and outcome. But for a new start up, for a business that has not grown to that point yet, or even for a business that is older but hasn’t grown a whole lot in past years… a lot can be accomplished by, for example, showing up to work and putting in the hours that you would be required to put in if your business were incredibly busy and successful.

Being consistent in a way as simple as showing up to work, day in and day out, is often overlooked. Many people do not realize how much good a consistent presence on their part can do for their business, even if they have employees who can manage things while they are not there. For example, showing up to work and having little in the way of business actually going on might seem like a waste of time, but you can utilize down time to further your ideas in other ways, which in turn can help to expand and increase your success to the next level – and we all have a next level. For example, you could work on networking or marketing to grow your client base. You could also get into social media marketing or do more in this area, and utilize that to reach out to possible new clients who can use your products or services.

There is also a need to be consistent in the areas of marketing and advertising, especially as they relate to any online ventures. Consistency in these areas has, time and time again, tied itself to successful businesses. In fact, a lot of successful people have said that it is not actually talent or a natural affinity for leadership that sets a profitable businessman apart from one that is not. The only real common denominator among those on incredibly successful levels is the fact that those who remained consistent in their endeavors, and stuck it out when things got tough, often ended up creating a more profitable business. Overnight success stories might sound fun, but you would be AMAZED at how much went on behind the scenes that the public will never know about. A lot of ‘overnight success stories’ were only made possible because the businesses involved remained consistent in their day to day activities, even when things were not going so well.

The Benefits of Consistency

By remaining consistent, you will be ready to jump at any opportunity that might come along. The restaurant owner, for example, who consistently stays open on Mondays when he is never very busy, could very well find his restaurant the most popular place to eat on Mondays if he is the only one who will commit to staying consistent by staying open on such a slow day. The entrepreneur, who is attempting to market his business online, might be tempted to miss a few blog posts here and there… but if he does, he will cause readers to notice that content is not as ‘regular’ as it used to be, and this will result in a loss of interest on their part.

Think about the types of businesses that you utilize every day. Where do you buy your groceries? Where do you go out to eat? Where do you buy clothes? Who is your dry cleaner? Have you ever tried to do business with a company that never managed to be reliable? There is nothing more frustrating than needing something, only to realized that the business you planned on using is ‘closed’ for the day due to ‘personal reasons’. This is the kind of inconsistency that will really drag a business down.

In the end, consistency is all about keeping things steady, regular, and reliable. Consistency is going to be one of the most important assets that your business will ever build for itself, and building it will result in increased sales, clients, and success!

If you have been struggling a little bit in the consistency department (as most people do), then I challenge you to put new energy into making your part in your business as reliable and as consistent as you can. Don’t misunderstand that consistency means that you are set in your ways and that you never look outside the box to try new things that can help your business grow even more. You will no doubt soon realize how many opportunities such an attitude will open up for you!

Starting today, commit to being consistent in at least one area that you have struggled with lately. Try to isolate the most inconsistent parts of your business, and concentrate on making that the most reliable part of your operation. You would be amazed at how much of a difference this will make for your company!

6 Tips for Using Rapid Prototyping

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Rapid prototyping helps you build and test ideas for product development. It helps you know if your idea can be turned into a good product in an efficient manner. Given below are a few tips to help you build rapid prototyping models with great success. With these tips, you will be able to go through the process without any problem. Read on to know more.

1. Manage complexity

Actually, the aim of this approach is to test the impact of different models on their performance. If there are lots of variables, you may want to be careful when combing them in the same breadboard. Moreover, if you have some difficult models, you should break them into different builds isolating complex systems. Then you can join them to simulate the actual product.

2. Test parameters

The role of rapid prototyping is not limited to finding out whether an idea can work or not. As a matter of fact, a good breadboard lets you know the variables that allows the process to work. What you need to do is design the system based on the variables that you think can have a great impact on the performance. And don’t forget to test.

3. Go for speed

At first, it’s not a good idea to get the perfect parts. Just go for what is good enough. What you need to do is get the maximum number of off-the-shelf parts. Actually, it’s faster, cheaper and gives you the freedom to change the parts when required. If possible, you may want to go for items with short lead-times and variety.

4. Critical parts

When using off-the-shelf components, you will find custom pieces as well. Fabricating these pieces yourself is also a good idea. Actually, this is the fastest way. You can also tweak them as you find out that your initial design was not the best one. For these parts, using rapid prototyping methods is not a good idea. At this phase, you don’t need to make custom injection parts, especially if rapid prototyping components get you what you want.

5. Robustness

As far as rapid prototyping goes, nothing is worse than ignoring something that is part of your learning process. If you think that you may need a stronger component, you should take steps to make it happen. At this point, you should not worry about cost, design or simplicity. You can take care of that later on.

6. Get Ready to iterate

Following the points given above, it will be possible for you to learn and discover that you need to change or get rid of some of your work. While doing so, you will experience an unexpected scenario. So, what is the solution? The solution will be there if you become iterate and flexible.

If you follow these suggestions, you will be able to get what you want. Learning these things in the beginning will help you save time and money down the road. Also, it will increase your chance of success. Hopefully, this will help you get success.

Small Business Owners: Eliminating Organizational Waste to Increase Profits

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You’ve heard it said often… Management can be broken down like this; eliminate, automate, delegate. You must always eliminate anything (and everything) that is not working, is wasteful, too costly, has no return on investment (ROI), and is not making the right kind of progress for your business.

Automate everything you can. This includes client reminders, billing, marketing, promotions, follow-ups, etc.

Delegation is REALLY important, and most often not done. It’s not done enough because we (you, me and most everyone) has a hard time “letting go.” Basically, we’re control freaks. You must determine your value per hour and NEVER do work that is below that pay level. Begin by delegating (outsourcing) all the things you loath.

It will instantly free your time for doing “HUBU” – your Highest Use and Best Use of your time to attract the next big client.

No one talks about how to eliminate unproductive routines, corporate bureaucracy and ‘administration trivia’ that kills ambition and sap energy for far too many employees. That’s demoralizing for employees and a waste for companies, which badly need the full energy and commitment of all their workers to keep or make the business profitable.

No one talks about how to evaluate the true causes of organizational drag — all the practices, procedures and structures that waste time and limit output — not just the symptoms. The symptoms may seem minor annoyances and inconveniences that could be wiped out without much effort – too much process steps to get orders out, too many meetings, meaningless goals, and time wasted on work that no one will even care about.

But those symptoms stem from fundamental problems. Companies wind up in trouble and squander the time, talent and energy of their workforce when they lose focus, spend money on things that don’t make a difference to employees or the future of the business, and use operating models that are out of whack.

Below are some areas that waste can be eliminated from an organization or restructured to help it to become more profitable.

• Board of Directors — being complacent and procrastinating on leadership, governance and compliance issues. Also, delaying or distorting strategic decisions that overlook waste and high costs, hastily conceived and harmful cost reductions, missed new product and business development opportunities and poor long-term investments that destroys shareholder value(profits).

• President – wasted authority, responsibility, ability, talent, technology and knowledge by spending to little time on ‘strategic issues/vision’ and ‘operational improvements strategy’ by accepting positions work on multiple boards that are not relevant to the company but provide networking and resume building opportunities for them. Not executing plans that improve shareholder value(profits).

• Administration (wasted efforts) — outdated technology, lack of current policies and procedures, poor tracking of costs, expenses, lost files, inadequate reports, inefficient ordering methods, no competitive bidding, facilities inefficient for operations and employees mindset of ‘we know what we are doing’. Senior executives having too many meetings that have little or no direct impact on company value (profits).

• Human Resources – Poor Employee Handbook, Ambiguous Employee Responsibilities/ Inadequate Job Descriptions, Irregular Employee Evaluations, Outdated Employee Benefits, Poor job training, high employee turnover and improper employee tracking, record keeping systems and the ‘don’t rock the boat’ mentality.

• Finance/Accounting (wasted profits) — credit losses, poor refund/returns tracking system, poor budgeting (profit planning system), Excessive Expenses, Slow Collections from current/former customers, delayed invoicing, inefficient record keeping (inventory/order management) and idle money

• Sales (wasted business opportunity) — neglected customers, uncalled prospects, lack of sales, calls on unqualified prospects, unsatisfied customers, high pressure sales tactics, rash promises and out-moded compensation structures

• Marketing Communications (wasted actions) — executing old marketing plan (targeting wrong customer audience), ineffective advertising, no publicity, lacks ROI measurement, poor coordination with other internal departments, outdated marketing material, outdated marketing message, no coordinated social media marketing presence, uninformed about company plans, internal employee communications lacks credibility and the ‘they can’t handle the truth’ mentality by senior management

• Operations (wasted products/services) – unused capacity, wasted labor, poor training, absenteeism, slow work pace, idle employees, spoiled work, out-dated methods and equipment.

• Ownership (wasted investment) – no profit on investment and the it’s a ‘write off’ mentality.

No one shows you how to attack the root causes of organizational drag listed above, which allows companies to eliminate unnecessary work, re-energize the workforce and at the same time, put the business on a better course. Making improvements allows you to ‘raise the bar’ in the organization by following the three R’s.

• Refocus on strategic priorities

• Resets the budgets

• Redesign the operating model

Refocus on strategic priorities

Refocus the organization on the most important business units, customer segments and geographies in which the company has a repeatable formula for growth and a ‘right to win’.

A. Within business units, eliminate any sources of profitless volume.

1. Look closely, company may have stretched their brands and used product portfolios to customers and market in which they are undifferentiated and profits are weak. This contributes to drag as well as costs that rob resources from better and potentially, more profitable ideas.

Reset the Budgets

How companies allocate money can contribute to organizational drag by keeping nonessential work going on. But it is not easy to make the tough decisions to refund.

I recommend profit planning based on zero-based budgeting and planning to make the choices clearer.

A zero-based budgeting and planning process using stretch targets challenges conventional thinking and brings forth bolder ideas.

Redesign the Operating Model

After streamlined portfolio and reset budgets, it is important to redesign the operating model —- that is, the way the company is organized to deliver on its strategy. Thinking ‘customer-back’ or ‘frontline-back’ provides lens to eliminate work. Just ask: How does this activity help to serve the customer better? Or How does this activity or information serve the internal stakeholders better? —- Companies need to look at inefficiencies cross-functional, cross-geographical or cross-business unit activities, where no executive or team has any account activity.

Assess your current state operating model. You then need to identify the waste in your operations top to bottom. By identifying the seven wastes of lean which provide a lens and a language to identify waste in your own work. Ask yourself these questions:

Transportation: How many hand offs do I have in my work? Inventory: How big is my queue of work tasks? Motion: How much time do I spend searching for information? Waiting: Does my work sit idle waiting for other tasks or information? Overproduction: Do I perform some tasks long before they are needed, while other tasks are late? Over-processing: Do I do more than is necessary, such as three-paragraph emails where one sentence will suffice? Defects: Do I have tasks I must rework?

Keep a list of what you are looking for, and make notes when you observe those specific instances. Identify the cause of that waste. You aren’t going to eliminate everything, and certainly not all at once. But if you have multiple observations, you can make choices about the best opportunity to improve.

Note, understanding and taking deliberate steps to mitigate identified wasteful process areas in all business units will drastically reduce all kinds of cost and increase profitability regardless of what industry your organization plays in.

The idea of categorizing seven wastes is credited to Engineer Taiichi Ohno, the father of the Toyota Production System (TPS). Although the classifications were intended to improve manufacturing, they can be adapted for most types of workplaces.

The following are the seven wastes, as categorized by Taiichi Ohno:

• Overproduction — Manufacture of products in advance or in excess of demand wastes money, time and space.

• Waiting — Processes are ineffective and time is wasted when one process waits to begin while another finishes. Instead, the flow of operations should be smooth and continuous. According to some estimates, as much as 99 percent of a product’s time in manufacture is actually spent waiting.

• Transportation — Moving a product between manufacturing processes adds no value, is expensive and can cause damage or product deterioration.

• Inappropriate processing — Overly elaborate and expensive equipment is wasteful if simpler machinery would work as well.

• Excessive inventory – This wastes resources through costs of storage and maintenance.

• Unnecessary motion — Resources are wasted when workers have to bend, reach or walk distances to do their jobs. Workplace ergonomics assessment should be conducted to design a more efficient environment.

• Defects — Quarantining defective inventory takes time and costs money.

Since the categories of waste were established, others have been proposed for addition, including:

• Under-utilization of employee skills — Although employees are typically hired for a specific skill set, they always bring other skills and insights to the workplace that should be acknowledged and utilized.

• Unsafe workplaces and environments — Employee accidents and health issues as a result of unsafe working conditions waste resources.

• Lack of information or sharing of information — Research and communication are essential to keep operations working to capacity.

• Equipment breakdown — Poorly maintained equipment can result in damage and cost resources of both time and money.

After you have identified and categorized ‘mission critical’ wasteful business practices/process areas in business units that need and can be to be resolved. Develop specific solutions for specific waste instances. Don’t try to eliminate waste in broad themes.

By identifying, improving and eliminating wasteful areas throughout the organization that decrease profitability. A business owner can increase their ‘profits’ on the bottom line in a good or bad economy.

Make Sure Your Business Is Properly Protected

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If you are starting or operating a small business, you know the importance of maintaining its financial stability. Everything from managing cash flow to keeping current with tax liabilities is crucial. Another key contributor to the firm’s financial strength is ensuring your business is protected against risks. While unexpected situations may occur, you can explore insurance options to limit the impact that an unplanned event could have on your most important assets. Start by understanding your current policies, and identify areas where you and your business may be exposed to risk. The following list includes types of insurance you may want to consider:

The basics of business insurance

Among the more fundamental forms of insurance that apply to most businesses are:

· General liability: This type of insurance provides coverage for legal issues ranging from injuries on your property to claims of libel or slander.

· Product or professional liability: If your business manufactures, distributes or sells products at the retail level, this insurance protects against claims relating to product defects. The level of risk you incur depends on the types of products you sell and their potential to do harm. Professional liability coverage pertains to firms that provide services. This coverage, often referred to as “errors and omissions insurance,” protects against mistakes that could occur.

· Commercial property insurance: Just as you need insurance on your home, the same is true for your business property, even if you rent your business space. This insurance protects the valuable assets in your company from risks such as fire, flood damage, vandalism or theft.

Specialized types of insurance

Depending on the focus and state of your business, different types of insurance may be necessary. Be sure you review these options and others in your industry to determine what’s right for you:

· Business insurance for the home: If you run your business out of the home, it is likely that standard homeowner’s insurance will not cover risks associated with the business. Check your policy to see if separate or additional coverage is needed.

· Worker’s compensation: If you have employees, you will likely need to have a worker’s compensation policy in place to cover injuries or deaths that could occur while doing business.

· Auto insurance: Vehicles specifically owned by the company require full insurance. Employees using their own cars can be covered by personal insurance policies in most cases, but be sure to check with your insurer. You may need additional insurance to protect the company in case one of your employees has insufficient coverage.

· Business interruption insurance: A natural disaster or other catastrophic event could disrupt your business operation for days, weeks or even months. This form of coverage can compensate businesses for income lost during such periods. Generally, it is most suitable for a business that operates from a specific location, such as a retail store.

· Cyber or data breach coverage: If sensitive information about employees, vendors or clients is stored within your computers and other devices, there may be a financial impact if your business is subject to a cyber-attack. This insurance can help cover costs associated with notifying affected parties, public relations and legal action.

· Employment practices coverage: Employers can be subject to legal actions from employees and others, including accusations of discrimination, harassment or wrongful termination. Policies are available to protect against these costs.

· Directors’ and officers’ liability: This coverage protects individuals in positions of authority in the company if they are sued over business decisions or actions taken.

· Life insurance: If you share ownership of the business, think about what happens to the firm if one of you passes away unexpectedly. Is another owner in a financial position to purchase an additional share in the company? Life insurance can be a key part of your succession plan.

Look for solutions that are suitable

There is no “one-size-fits-all” solution when it comes to business insurance. The types of coverage you need and the size of your business can guide you in finding the best approach. Working closely with financial and insurance professionals can help you sort through your goals and determine an appropriate protection strategy.

Five Awesome Group Events for You and the Squad

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Looking for something new and fun to do? Group events tend to go the standard routes – dinner, movies, or meeting up at a bar, to name just a few. Get out there and do something different with your group and you’ll not only have an awesome time doing new things, but you’ll also bond with your crew in a whole new way. Check out a few great options for your next day or night out.

Spend a Day at the Park

Spend a day at the park with your pals. Bet you haven’t spent an afternoon playing frisbee, flying kites, or throwing around a football in years! Have some fun with your team and beautiful Mother Nature. Enjoy the boost your pals and the pure sunshine bring with a day at your local park or other outdoor venues.

Volunteer With a Local Non-Profit

There are few things as rewarding as volunteering. For alternative group events, why not get people together to serve a great cause? Whether it’s building homes, cleaning up a park, or planting a garden, there’s a perfect organization out there to support with your friends or co-workers. Not only will it feel good to get out and make a difference in the community, but you’ll also be able to learn about others and their leadership, time management, and natural communication skills.

Cheer on Your Team at a Sporting Event

Take your entire team to the ball game for a fun and memorable group event. Between brews and burgers, get to know your friends or co-workers and their favorite teams. There’s something about a sporting event that takes one back to childhood. Revisiting those days and swapping sports tales will make for a memorable experience.

Be a Tourist For the Day

Sometimes it’s great to explore your town through the eyes of a tourist. If you’re coming up short on team outing ideas, why not try a guided tour throughout your city, or hit up the hottest out-of-towner spots. Who knows, you may enjoy seeing things from the outside in and build a deeper appreciation for your hometown. Plus, it’s always fun to explore the best of your city!

Challenge Friends to a Game Night

Host a game night to encourage a bit of friendly competition. All you’ll need for this party is a few board or card games, some snacks, and plenty of space to seat your guests. Go old school with classic favorites like checkers or Twister, or do something analytical like Scattergories or Scrabble. No matter what you choose, your guests will enjoy feeling like kids again.

Group events don’t have to be stressful or, worst of all, boring. Inject some fun and team building into your next gathering with one of these ideas, and you’ll be ready for an enjoyable time with those closest to you.

Different World Views of Art

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Art through the centuries acquired different forms and conceptions. First of all there was naturalism, then developed romanticism, and then there was impressionism, followed by cubism, which was followed by surrealism and finally trends moved on to postmodern art. Here I would like to provide my understanding on various schools of art.

Naturalism proceeded out of mimesis. The aim of art was to mimic nature. A classic example of mimetic art would Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. Mona Lisa lives through the ages for its enigmatic style. Another example would be the Last Supper by Da Vinci. Art became permeated heavily with religious motifs. What has naturalism contributed to the world? An answer would be representation of a mimetic ethos. There is very little to interpret in naturalistic art but we can admire its imitation of nature. I would also like to take Michelangelo’s sculpture of David. What would a postmodern interpretation take? It would perhaps couch it as being gay.

Another style of art that developed during the 18th century was romanticism. What is romanticism? The poet Wordsworth defined romanticism as the spontaneous overflow of feelings. Romanticism captured feelings on to the canvas. The canvas became permeated in rich colors of the baroque. Romantic painting is fanciful and ornamental. When we think of romanticism in the postmodern age we encounter a catharsis with the past. Goya’s exhibit: Saturn devouring his son can be taken as a classic example. The grotesque Saturn is portrayed as an admirable beauty. Romantic painters are endowed with passionate neurosis. Feelings and emotions lie with us to contemplate in ravishment.

Another school of art which developed during the beginning of the 19th century was impressionism. The great masters of impressionism are Van Gogh, Monet, and Gauguin. Impressionism is a unique style of art. Impression is marked by a wide usage of brilliant colors. Strokes were left like scars on the canvas. Impressionism was marked by a tendency of art to become modern. Van Gogh was a brilliant artist who etched out paintings in a style that marked a departure from his predecessors. When we look at Van Gogh’s starry night, we get a passion that is akin to listening of music. Similarly Gauguin’s painting: ‘where do we come from and where do we go’, highlights mythical allegories in brilliant dashes of color.

Another school of art which developed during the beginning of the 20th century was Cubism. Its master exponent was Picasso. With the advent cubism art left its mimetic modes and became the sole creation of the artist. Cubism had a tendency to portray art in abstract terms. Picasso’s La Demoiselles D’ Avignon presented harlots. Their features especially their breasts, hips and asses were made incongruous with oedipal fantasies. Another notable creation of Picasso was the Guernica. Guernica is fantastic rendition of the horrors of bombing Basque, presented in abstract terms. When we look at Guernica we become fascinated to the point of disgust. Cubism highlighted that art can be repulsive.

The next school of art which developed by the middle of the 20th century was Surrealism. My most loved surrealistic artists are Dali and Paul Delvaux. Dali’s most famous painting is the ‘persistence of memory’. Surrealism following Freudian psychoanalysis attempted to portray art with a conglomeration of reality and fantasy. In the painting, persistence of memory, we find melting clocks hanging on trees and covered by an embryo. The tree can be symbolized as a phallic construct. The melting clocks portray time as flowing with the literature of streams of consciousness. The embryo can represent the artist’s oedipal trauma. Delvaux most famous painting is the call of the night. In the ‘call of the night’ a barren land is seen with skulls. There is a nude standing on the open with luscious vegetation growing on her head. There is also a nude whose head is covered standing outside a building with a candle on her head. Delvaux is trying to portray ancient fertility rites in modernistic terms. The painting can also be interpreted as a sexual awakening. Thus surrealism attempted to portray dream with reality.

Next I would like to focus on postmodern art. Postmodern art is contemporary and tends to be a rebellion against existing artistic norms. In postmodern art normal objects are presented in unusual terms. For an example: we can take Marcel Duchamp’s inverted urinal. Postmodern art is also famous for inventing pop-art, where cartoons, comic strips and consumer products were drawn as artistic representations. Another interesting example of postmodern art is Rodin’s thinker. The thinker can be interpreted in two ways. One in a way that a person has constipation, another as an intellectual poised in thought. Postmodern art freed art from all inhibitions and pre-existing conceptions.

What Is a Supermodel?

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Supermodels are the world’s most exclusive models who have worked with the world’s top class designers and brands such as Versace, Alexander McQueen and has an extremely compelling portfolio too. To top on to that, supermodels are paid way higher compared to usual models and of course if the pay is good, the work increases too.

The term ‘supermodel’ refers to models who are renowned local and internationally for a certain period of time. They can be paid up to tens of thousands for a day of their hard work. Supermodels have a tendency to be more than simply lovely countenances fronting magazines and ruling the catwalks. They have identities and they are regarded for their ability as models, as well as for their capacity and accomplishment in making it into the select rundown of the top workers in the business. Supermodels rarely need to go for castings as designers and clients have already known them for years and guarantees that supermodels definitely can represent their product.

So what do one need to deserve the supermodel title? Having a gorgeous face of course one of it, but mainly includes one’s quirky uniqueness – birthmarks, gaped tooth, mole, wide eyed, skin condition and of course walk.

Let’s take a look on the few supermodels who breathe among us today,

1. Tyra Banks

Tyra is known for her huge forehead and the ability to change her styles of work for different shows. Not to mention her super fierce walk too.

2. Karlie Kloss

Miss Kloss is renowned for her great height (6ft2), extremely lanky toned legs and her brains! Model, fashion trend setter, baker and coder. How many girls do you know code?

3. Gisele Bundchen

This Brazilian beauty who’s the top highest paid model of all time is known for her high cheekbones and perfect measurements that every designer look for in a model.

4. Naomi Campbell

This gorgeous British black beauty who broke all walls against her kind was the first black woman to appear on the covers of French Vogue and Time. She’s known for her naturally fierce look and lengthy legs that helped her earn the supermodel title.

Moreover, it takes one model to strive hard for years to reach supermodel level. Supermodels like Giselle Bunndchen who holds the most expensive modeling contracts of all time, have every designer’s dream measurements that meet all high fashion requirements, photograph and moves like a goddess descended from the golden gates of heavens. Even if you have something really unique about you doesn’t mean you’re definitely able to receive the supermodel title, only a handful of top models come out as supermodels.

Certainly due to the tremendous high supply of models that are incoming into the fashion industry, demand for top quality models increases hence competitions spikes up along as well. Turning the modeling industry even competitive than before.

If you’ve that dream to come up as supermodel, go for it! A dream will forever remain as a dream if you don’t work for it. It’s not going to be easy, but thrive with determination and you might be part of that handful who comes up as supermodel in few years time.

Increase Your Productivity by Finding Time for Quiet

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Distractions are everywhere today, and quiet is hard to come by. It’s a fact of life in the 21st century.

We live in an age of constant connection, instant access and googling everything. And as wonderful as that can be, sometimes don’t you just feel besieged with task, choices, opportunities, and information?

The on-line marketing expert Connie Ragen Green once wrote: “Choose time every day that is designated just for you.” She then went on to specifically suggest that you find time for an hour of quiet contemplation and then an hour of productive writing.

While two one-hour blocks of time may be difficult to find each day, I enthusiastically support the general idea of setting aside time every day for quiet. And here’s why I say that:

  • Self-care is the root of your successful time management. It replenishes your energy and sharpens your focus.
  • It reinforces your sense of your own power. You are in charge of your time choices, and you always have choices, no matter what. This helps overcome stress and feelings of victimization that can accompany overwhelm.
  • Giving yourself the gift of time for quiet and contemplation gets your creative ideas flowing like water from its well-spring.

BONUS TIP: As I mentioned above, finding two one-hour blocks of time in your day won’t always be possible — at least not for most of us. So, one thing I’ve found very helpful in my own life is to “think small.”

You might try looking at your time in 15-minute increments. That way you’re less likely to set aside an activity (like spending quiet time) by telling yourself you just don’t have enough hours in the day. You can nearly always find 10 or 15-minutes.

And you know what? You’ll be amazed at how thinking in these smaller time increments can change things for you. Chunking tasks down into smaller timeframes makes them that-much-more possible, whether it’s a self-care activity or something on your to-do list, Smaller steps make it easier to start, and you can’t get anywhere until you do start — so “thinking 15” is an excellent addition to your time toolbox!

How do you make time for quiet and contemplation in your life?

Thousand Pillar Hall – An Acoustic Marvel in Madurai Meenakshi Temple

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India is very famous for its temples. Thousands and thousands of temples built and maintained from time immemorial. The sculptures and the building techniques will speak itself the glory of the great tradition.

Madurai is situated at 462 kilometers south of Chennai (Madras as it was known in earlier times). The famous Meenakshi Amman Temple is located in the centre of the city. Inside the temple, there are famous halls like Marriage Hall, Thousand Pillar Hall etc.

The Thousand Pillar Hall is very famous for its beautiful construction.

The hall, even though called as thousand pillar hall, it has only 985 pillars. The pillars are erected in such a way as to fall in line from any angle we view..

In the year 1983, an expert team from audiology department went in to the hall and carried out an extensive study. They have used latest scientific gadgets and found that there is absolutely no echo in any part of the temple even with all the crowd around the sound level seldom exceed 80 dB (decibel)

Naturally the noise level in a quiet surrounding will be 40 dB, in a crowded street about 80-85 dB and at the airport when a jet aircraft takes off, it will be about 100 dB.

According to the team headed by Dr Kameswaran, an ENT specialist, there appears to be a built-in mechanism in the precincts of Madurai temple for containing the echo. The total noise does not exceed a specific level which would make it unpleasant to the visitors.

The temple is an acoustic marvel, observed the experts. Near the road there is one Ashta Shakti Hall. There the noise level is only 40 dB.

The team members said that with this ambient noise it is possible for a person to contemplate and meditate the Divinity.

Roughly about 5000 to 6000 people visit the temple daily. And the sound level recorded during the peak hours is of the order of 70 dB to 80 dB.

It implies that the artisans were aware of the basic principles of acoustics. The huge icons on the unpolished pillars, the distribution of vents, the allocation of open space all around, are all mechanisms to contain the noise level. The arrangements are so made that is not crude but there is an artistic planning combining utility with beauty. This arrangement strangely contrasts with arrangement made in certain modern buildings where instruments for breaking noise and absorbing sound are hung from the roof in a very clumsy and unartistic manner.

This hall is a classic example of perfect sound engineering technique. The average height of each pillar is about 12 feet. The pillars depicts four kinds of motifs, one consisting of moulded squares, the other with rampant dragon, the third with a figure of a deity and the fourth that of a donor or his family. The unpolished pillars of exactly of same size and shape are placed at mathematically accurate positions. These aspects have made the hall echo resistant.

In addition, the pillars are so peculiarly arranges that anyone sitting at a specific spot could view a central figure without any obstruction in any position. At any position inside the hall, in consequence to the arrangement of the pillars, there open up around us 16 colonnades of varying width and such length of each side that the perspective afforded by them is simply marvelous.

The expert team rightly described the thousand pillar hall as an acoustic marvel.

Thousands of such intricate wonders are hidden in these Indian temples.

Discard or Repair

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Every so often it happens that one of the statues I make becomes damaged. It breaks in half or just loses a leg or another small piece. That is a nuisance of course. I made a beautiful statue and that should stay in one piece. Besides, once a statue is broken it is hard to sell it because it’s value has been decreased.

I might restore it. For instance when I really liked the statue myself and wanted to keep it for my own or when I know people still want to buy it regardless of the damage. I started to call it restoration instead of reparation ever since someone asked me to restore something. I carefully put all the pieces back together and the moment I realized it was whole again gave me such enjoyment it convinced me that in some cases reparation precedes discarding. Crummy work should be disposed of all the time. That is not worth wasting your time on.

For restorations I always use a white adhesive designed for wood. It is really strong and becomes transparent when it is dry. Now you should stick the two pieces exactly together the first try. Closely observe how they should be fixed towards each other. Some of the glue may be squeezed out but that doesn’t matter, you can easily remove that with a knife afterwards. Try to maintain the pieces in the same position while holding it together. When the small fringe of glue no longer draws back into the fissure you can put it aside to dry. If glue still bulges out, cut it away with a sharp knife. Don’t worry about missing fragments. You can easily make up a paste consisting of some crushed up ceramics of the right colour and a bit of glue. Either use the small blob of clay you sometimes find at the bottom of a statue or use whatever lies around that happens to have the desired colour. Preferably use the same material the statue was made of. Carefully wad this paste into the cavity. You may have to repeat this several times due to the glue shrinking when it dries. Make sure to resemble as much as possible the original coating of the statue using a spatula or a small knife. You could even use a crayon to color the wadded piece. You’re missing some shiny enamel? Clear nail polish works just as well! If the fracture is something small, like a tail of a leg, try to incorporate a thin piece of silk at the bottom. That will not show and adds a lot of extra strength.