5 Tips For Raising Confident Children

Many parents focus on their children’s education and careers as their primary concern.  Although these are important factors in kids’ lives, so is their self-worth.  The more confidence that children have, the more likely they are to have healthy relationships throughout their lives and succeed in their ambitions.  Insecurities can hold them back in all areas and even lead to getting into trouble with the law.

Here are some of the best ways to set your children up for success by helping them feel confident.

Be a Great Example

Remember, kids are tiny sponges.  If you want your children to be a certain way, the best way to ensure it happens is to be that way yourself.  Show your children how to be confident in their own day-to-day actions.  If you struggle with confidence, then try faking it!

Setting a great example helps your kids model their own behaviors off your own.  Focus on the positive, recognize your talents, and tackle life’s challenges in stride.  They’re watching.

Focus on Their Strengths

An old-fashioned way of parenting is focusing on everything your child is doing wrong rather than right.  Although recognizing areas that you could grow in can be helpful, their downfalls aren’t the only thing you should focus on.

Recognize where they excel and encourage them to do more of what they are good at. Encourage them to keep trying even if they have room for improvement.

Encourage Failure

One of the biggest reasons why people struggle with insecurity is because they feel that failure isn’t acceptable.  The truth is that failure can often be one of your greatest tools in becoming the best version of yourself.  Encourage your kids to fail and explain that trial and error is the best way to get ahead in life.

People who are too afraid to fail take fewer risks in life.  Kids should know that failure doesn’t mean the end of everything but rather an opportunity to dust ourselves off and try again.

Words of Praise

People of all ages benefit from words of praise and encouragement.  Tell your child regularly that you love and appreciate them.  Praise is one of the best things that you can do to remind them that they’re worthy.

Encourage Goal Setting

Goals are one of the most helpful things that you can do to help your children achieve what they want in life.  Help your child develop a list of things they’d like to achieve and remind them to take note of how much progress they’re making.  

Checking in with your progress and measuring your success is a critical part of achieving your goals.  You’ll be doing them a world of good by preparing them for turning dreams into actions.

Tips for Staying Organized at Home

Helen Lee Schifter can provide a few tips to help people stay organized at home. These tips are not referring to a filing cabinet or maintaining a structured method of keeping track of things such as children’s classes, homeschooling, personal life, chores, or anything like that. Rather, these tips are focused on keeping one’s house clean on a daily basis.

One is much less likely to get distracted when his or her house is clean and straight.

Stay on Task

The more neat and clean the house is, the more one will want to stay on task to keep it that way. The first step in keeping one’s home clean is to really buckle down and make sure that it is, in fact, clean. However, with multiple kids, this task is often a monumental undertaking. It may take me two hours to get it into some semblance of order, and it could take one another two hours to get it picked up and straightened up, but it is the effort will largely be worth it.

Do it yourself

Also, the best way to keep organized at home, is for one to do it himself or herself. First, one should knock out the very basics: empty the dishwasher and take the dirty dishes to the sink. Next, fold the clothes that are not folded and put them away in drawers; wipe down the counters; wipe off the toilets; wipe down the sinks and bathroom door handles; when the floor is wet, mop it; when the children go outside to play, make sure to pull the cushions off of the couch and put them in the living room. 

These tips should not be misconstrued into thinking that one has to have superpowers. Rather, taking small, simple steps and actually wanting to have a clean home and a happy home are sufficient.

Organize the Garage

An organized garage means it will be easier to put the cars away for the winter. There are other less obvious ways to keep an organized house and they do not require cleaning. Some of the least obvious ways are also the easiest. These are ways to keep things organized in the homes that involve no cleaning at all, other than picking up and putting things away.

For example, turn the light off and on. Try to keep the rooms in the home that are commonly used dark at night. It’s a great way to keep them organized and make the rooms a haven that people can escape to. It’s also helpful in making sure there are not too many items left out. Turn off all the lights and keep things neat. If there is a lot of clutter, the light can always be turned back on after the room is cleaned.

Keep Furniture in Sight

Moreover, another helpful tip is to turn the tables toward the door. Try to keep the furniture where people can see it at all times. It will make it easier to put things away. If there are lots of little things laying around that are out of place, try to make sure the stuff on top of it can be seen. If that’s not possible, try to clean it off at least once a week.

All these tips are simple ways to effectively and efficiently stay organized at home.

Glam Your Creativity and Design Your Photo Book Your Way

Nothing jogs your creativity like photobooks. From designing to choosing the ultimate cover to suit your story, you can be sure to have fun. However, having an exquisite design for your story can be a daunting task if you do not know how to design a photo book.

MixBook’s custom templates give you the freedom to create unique and minimalist designs that give you control over your finished piece. Choose a design that will inspire your folks to keep turning pages without distracting them from the main story.

How to design a photo book

Have a purpose

What is your story? Having a story to tell gives you a purpose in mind and the purpose will guide you throughout the creation process. For instance, if your photo book is a portfolio, your main aim will be to showcase your best shots for an ultimate impact.

Think of having these technically excellent images placed each on a single page with accompanying text if possible, to enhance your story. Not only will your book look distinguished, but it will also be safe to handle.

However, if the book is a collection of your holiday photos, you would consider making it more playful. You want to show your audience the places you visited and the various cultures you came across. Unlike a portfolio, you will include various layouts.

Sort out your photos

To make it easy for you to layout your photos, only select the images you would like to use in your story. Having more than a thousand photos for a hundred-paged photo book will slow down your selection process.

Avoid using duplicates and photos that are off-focus or poorly composed. However, if you have a dud (unsatisfactory shot) with a special meaning, you can lower its opacity and have it on a background.

Though there is no perfect number of images to use to tell a story, a few of your best photos will make your book look outstanding and professional.

Photo arrangement

Sequencing your photos does not have to be ultimate. However, your arrangement will depend on your story. While you might wish to have a chronological order in a holiday tradition to show where and how you spent each holiday, you can group your best of the best collections by color, theme, or texture.

While sequencing your photos, you will realize that while some photos are perfect standing on their own, others might look better when you pair them up, especially if they boast the same theme or color.

Avoid overwhelming your photos.

Your photos will vividly tell your story and must therefore remain the focal point. Deviate from the temptation of distracting your audience by overwhelming the shots with several frames, fonts, and backgrounds. However, if you must use a distraction, make sure it enhances your story.

Font type

Using texts will jog your mind to the dates and names, and the captions will help your viewer relate to your story. Therefore, use a style that is appropriate to your story and audience.

Additionally, it would be best if you also used a font type that reflects your design. For instance, you can use handwriting on your baby’s initial yearbook.

Creating a photo book is fun and there is no ultimate way of creating one. However, if you want your story to look great and impeccable, connect it right from the cover to the inside pages.    

How Can Benefit Your Mental Health

The world is a stressful place today. There is a global pandemic, the country has times of turmoil, and there are times of uncertainty. There are some things that a person can do to help with their mental health and help them stay sane throughout these times. Prayer is one of the best things a person can do for their mental health and mental stability. According to Father George Rutler, prayer is one of the best forms of meditation for the mind and the body.

Keep the Faith

A person needs to keep faith that things will turn out in their favor. While there are an illness and other issues that are happening a person needs to keep faith that times will change and things will get better. Prayer is one way to do this. Even through challenging times a person can rely on their higher power to make things right.

Grateful

While it is easy to see what people do not have and feel like everything is going wrong, praying gives a person a chance to look at what they do have and what they are thankful for. While people may not have the luxuries they used to have there is still a lot to be thankful for. Most people still have their homes and food on the table. There are little things in life that often get overlooked. Praying is a way to bring them back and make a person think about all that they are fortunate to have.

Meditation

Praying is one of the best ways to engage in meditation. When a person prays they are calm, they are focusing on something peaceful and relaxing. Meditation will allow a person to be at peace even if they only pray for a couple of minutes. Taking some time each day to pray will help a person relax and they will feel less stress in their life.

Sense of Purpose

People are busy now and it seems they never have a moment for themselves. Prayer will change this. Prayer will go back to allowing a person to know their purpose. When they pray a person will think about all the roles they play during the day and which ones are the most important. A person may be a caregiver, parent, or play another role. Praying will allow them to know what roles are important and separate themselves from the other stressors that are having an impact on their life.

Coping

When a person feels like they have no hope, prayer can give them some coping skills that they need. They will think about how they can get past this time or hardness and everything will be okay.

When a person is looking to relax they should pray. There are many physical and mental benefits to prayer. A person can think about all that is good in their life and relax knowing that a higher power is watching over them and taking care of them.

4 Reasons Your Online Store is Failing and How to Fix This

Over the past few years, ecommerce has become an integral part of any sound business strategy. The trend continues to gain momentum with online sales expected to account for a huge 17.5 percent of all retail sales worldwide by the end of 2021.

Whether you’ve recently set up your online store or you’ve been a player in this new field for some time, you already know that there are a number of challenges to overcome. It can feel like, despite your best efforts, you just aren’t getting the sales and attention you deserve.

That’s why we’ve put together a diagnostic list of 4 reasons your online store may be failing and how to address them.

1) Your Digital Presence is Weak

A huge part of any successful online business is exposure and credibility. If you run your business through your website only, you’re missing out on thousands of potential leads.

Through social media bios like this one, you can market your product to the correct userbase. Start with all the usual suspects, such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Along with generating leads, it will give you the opportunity to interact with buyers and solicit feedback.

2) You Don’t Have A Marketing Plan

With so many drag and drop features and easy to use websites like Shopify, it can be tempting to think of your online business as a ‘set-and-forget’ situation.

No matter how good the shopping interface is, you need a marketing plan. At the very least, you need to be able to monitor important trends, such as how long users spend on your site and which items end up stuck in the virtual cart. You can do this using analytics tools (many available for free), such as Google Analytics

3) Your Prices Are Too High

A common mistake is to mark product prices up too high. With fierce competition, your product needs to be unique and coveted to command an exorbitant price.

Monitor your competitors to determine a reasonable price point. If you got your item from Aliexpress, for example, do not mark it up by 500%. Prospective customers will know with a simple Google search and lose faith in your business.

Additionally, using analytics discussed above, you can identify which products users abandon in their shopping cart, as ill advised pricing (or high shipping costs) are likely stopping customers from completing the purchase.

4) No Unique Selling Point

In an oversaturated market, you need to set yourself apart. That means determining your unique selling point. Your product does not have to be unique, but your delivery does.

For example, if you’re re-selling jewellery from a wholesaler, set yourself apart from competitors by taking your own product photos to add legitimacy. Also consider adding a hand-written note to each order to endear customers and make your business more memorable.

Running an online business will always be challenging, but by observing the above, you will almost immediately see your sales start to raise.

Public vs. Private Schools

When a parent is sending their child to school they can choose to send them to public or private education. Public school is free to all students and funded by tax dollars. A parent needs to pay out of pocket to send their child to private school. According to Benjamin Cory Harow, there are pros and cons to both public and private education.

Teaching Staff

In public schools, there are often experienced teachers. Private schools have new teachers since they do not pay them as high of a salary. This does not mean that one teacher is better than the other. Public school teachers need to complete more hours of professional development each year on many different topics.

Class Sizes

Private schools tend to have smaller class sizes. There is a better student to teach ratio in private schools. This will allow the students to get more attention and help from the teacher. With social distancing class sizes are getting smaller everywhere but private schools still usually have fewer children in the class than public schools.

Cost

This is a big issue for parents when it comes to looking at schooling for their children. Public schools are paid for by tax dollars. The parents may need to buy some school supplies and that it is. Private costs cost on average $11,000 a year. The cost will vary based on the school but there is a fee for this education. This is something parents need to think about and see if they can afford it.

Diverse Classes

Both of the schools need to offer the state curriculum and follow the common core standards. There are some other focuses that private schools can take. Private schools often focus on the arts. They offer additional classes in music, theater, and related courses. Public schools may not have the budget to offer these specialized courses. If a student is interested in the arts then the private school may be a better choice for them. In the high school years, private schools focus on preparing a student for college. They have additional gifted classes and advanced placement courses that look good on the transcripts. The students are also learning the skills needed to be successful in college. This can be beneficial if a student is going to college and they want to get a head start on the preparations.

Test Scores

Students in private schools often do better on state and other tests. They score higher on these tests. It can be due to the smaller class sizes and more attention from teachers. They can cover more information that can help the students on these tests.

These are some of the pros and cons of public and private schools. Both schools will provide a basic education. Some things will vary. A parent needs to think about what the best education will be for their child and then find the school system that will fit them best.

5 Items Everyone Should Have in Their Gym Bag

Many people decide to undergo physical fitness in one of their local gyms. As you start to make this a routine in your life, you’ll start to notice that you’ll need certain items when you get to the gym. Here are five must-have items that should be put in your gym bag so that you never have to miss out on getting the best workout possible.

Reusable Water Bottle

Being able to stay hydrated throughout your workout is a must. Having a reusable water bottle that you can easily fill up at the water fountain at your gym is an easy way to ensure that you have the water that you need.

While regular water bottles can supply you with hydration, they are typically harder to remember to restock every time you need to go to the gym. When you use a reusable water bottle, you can simply leave it in your bag and refill it whenever you’re at the gym.

Gym Clothes

How many times have you headed to the gym and turned around simply because you didn’t have the right clothes to workout? The reality is that not having gym clothes in your gym bag can leave you open to skipping more and more workouts.

To avoid this excuse, you’ll want to pack gym clothes into your bag. If possible, consider packing a couple of different outfits so that you can choose which one you want to wear for that day.

When it comes to packing gym clothes, remember that you’re going to need your shorts or pants, a shirt, and undergarments. Also, make sure that you have your workout shoes in your bag so you can avoid that as an excuse to skip the gym as well.

Cleaning Products

After you’re done with your workout, it’s likely that you’ll be quite sweaty and need a shower. If you’re interested in taking a shower at your gym, you’ll need to pack your regular items like shampoo and soap.

However, if you’re just looking for a quick way to refresh before heading home, you can consider one of the many cleansing wipes that are available on the market. Make sure that you always throw in your deodorant as well so that you can avoid any excess body odor while at the gym.

Snacks

Whether you snack before you start your workout or after, you’ll need to have those snacks ready. It’s best to keep multiple snacks in your bag so that when you run into a hunger fit, you have the food you need to replenish and refresh. There’s nothing worse than going to start your workout feeling ravished. Do yourself a favor and pack a couple of protein bars, bags of nuts, and anything else that you need to refuel your body so that you can get the most out of your workout.

Headphones

Lastly, you don’t want to forget your headphones or your earbuds. Listening to your favorite tunes while working out can be a great way to stay motivated and psych yourself up to continue. You should purchase a separate set of headphones or earbuds just for going to the gym. This way, they can stay in your gym bag.

Getting your gym bag stocked up with the items that you’re going to need will be a central component of your workout routine. When you have everything at your fingertips, you have no excuses for skipping the gym. The above are just five of the many items that you may need in your bag. It’s best to assess what you need in the gym and then stock these items in your gym bag so that they are there when you need them.

A Fat Girl’s Confidence – Must Read

In a time where society has declared that skinny is good and fat is bad, Patrice Shavone Brown has written a must-read for every girl who has or is struggling with weight. In A Fat Girl’s Confidence, Brown proclaims that being healthy and confident no longer equates only to being skinny. She provides you with the tools necessary to build self-esteem and confidence, to find beauty from within as a fat girl.

Having been labeled as obese at the age of 30, Brown writes from personal experience. She both learned to manage her weight and accept the shape of her body. She also acknowledges that throughout her journey, it was not easy to learn to love herself amidst all the hurtful comments from family members.

We live in a time where everyone feels the need to make snap judgements and seemingly innocent remarks such as, “You look like you’ve lost weight!”. These comments often come at a time when we do not want them and certainly do not need them. Instead of promising instant progress or gratification from reading her book, she recognizes that confidence must be built and strengthened through repetition. If you continue to always look to others for a stamp of approval, it will be very hard to give yourself permission to be confident.

A portion of A Fat Girl’s Confidence is dedicated toward a seven-day workbook of exercises meant to boost the beauty and self-love everyone can find within. Each day begins with a positive affirmation, inspirational wisdom, and then finishes with an activity to help you feel comfortable and confident in your body. The first few days focus on loving and being happy with who you are, while convincing yourself that you are more than enough. The last few days acknowledge the strength that can be found from associating with other fat girls, complete with a final affirmation of confidence.

The second half of the book stresses the importance and benefits of journaling. Brown insists that writing down your thoughts is a great way to monitor your overall mental health and wellbeing. In doing so, you can not only track patterns of positive or negative thoughts, but also reduce stress and feel as if you vented to a close friend. Taking this a step further, she also reminds readers that they are not alone. Sharing stories and supporting other fat girls can be a fruitful learning experience for all.

Depending on what stage of confidence you are at, you may find some parts of this book more helpful than others. Perhaps the daily activities will be the most crucial in starting your fat girl journey off on the right food. Or maybe the participation in daily journaling groups with other fat girls will unlock new doors, new areas of self-actualization. Either way, you will feel a sense of great accomplishment when you reach the end. The final pledge will, without a doubt, solidify the dedication needed to unleash the bold, beautiful, confident fat girl within you. Order your copy on Amazon now!

Importance of Growing Network Connections

Diego Ruiz Duran has committed fully to his career and has made quite the name for himself as a Criminal Defense Lawyer. Fighting for controversial people is a big challenge and studying how to best protect people is quite important. Mr. Duran networked with Jose Luis Nassar.

That network connection alone propelled him to start his own firm which was his lifelong dream. This alone is a powerful example of why having a strong network and advisory group can be the difference in having life success or not.

Improving the Network

By being a professor and instructor in Mexico City regarding law he is able to further improve his network. Duran has become an amazing expert in both criminal law and constitutional law. He is truly an inspiration. In effectively managing his network and career Mr. Duran has had to be quite effective in boundary setting and picking and choosing which clients are effective for him to work with.

To maintain high profile cases he has to be somewhat selective. This can be career killing for a young lawyer but he successfully pulled it off and launched his career to great heights.

He has maintained worldwide recognition but he has always been very careful to maintain his clients privacy in all cases. He knows how to maintain truth and is headstrong about doing the best for his clients, especially because the media can quite often present un-true and unfavorable stories.

Strengthening the Network

He continues to keep his network strong through his teaching and is able to always connect with young new lawyers and learn about the pressing issues from today. Duran graduated with top scores from Escuela Libre de Derecho and his strong support system really helped him create a top firm.

He firmly believes that Mexico has a very complex delivery of justice there. Criminal justice is quite messy and people should be allowed to accuse and use the accusatory system but he believes that the accused deserves the right to a fair trial and to have the best chance of a fair defense.

Stay Human

It is very important to keep the Human element and understand that humans are not perfect. He has also made quite the reputation for helping reduce gender based valance which is quite a big problem in Mexico and across the world at large.

This is such a deep rooted world problem, and we need strong advocates and lawyers helping make the world a bit safer one case at a time. He is known to be the best of the best for this.

Growing your network can help either launch a career, or take your career to the next level. It is important to always look for mentorship and help just like he did, and also look for ways to give back to the youth coming after you just like Duran does through his teaching.

5 Tips To Spruce Up Your Yard For Spring

Spring is just around the corner, and your yard is crying out for attention.  The winter months can do a number on the beauty of your yard, and springtime is the best time to start undoing the bleak effects of the cold.  

When the weather warms up, going outside is quite a treat.  Make sure going outside in your yard is everything it should be, and consider these helpful tips for sprucing up your yard for spring.  

1. Prune the bushes and shrubs

Pruning back your bushes and shrubs in the late winter, early springtime to get the most healthy, lush look from your plants.  Blooming shrubs will bloom in a more full manner, if you take the time to trim them back a bit before the weather changes.  

It’s also important to remove all the trimmings and any other debris from around the base of your trees, bushes, and shrubs.  Winter commonly leaves such messes behind, but it’s no big deal to pick up a bit.  

2. Fertilize the lawn for a lush result

A lush, green lawn is a great way to set the tone for spring and summer activities.  Your friends and family will love taking a day outside when the grass is an inviting playground around your home.  

Fertilizing the lawn once a year is a useful way to encourage even growth.  Regular mowing and tending is necessary to maintain the beauty of a great lawn, so invest in a capable lawnmower.  

3. Add a water feature to the yard

If you really want to go fancy in your yard endeavours, you could consider adding a water feature to your landscape.  Water provides a zen element to your outdoor spaces, and a great water feature could be the centerpiece of a relaxing space.  

Do a little research, and decide what you truly want in a water feature.  You may want a stone fountain with a natural look, or you may want something a bit bigger to spruce up your outdoor space.  

4. Clean up the patio furniture and ready the grill

Spring is the beginning of family barbecues and fun in the sunshine.  It’s time to get the patio furniture in shape and ready for hosting all the fun that lies ahead.  Clean up the patio furniture, and get the grill ready to make some food.  

5. Plant some flowers around the place

Add the finishing touches to your yardscape with some colorful flowers.  Planting flowers around the yard will result in a colorful expression of spring when the temperatures begin to warm.  Make sure you’re choosing the right flowers for the occasion, so you can enjoy their blooms throughout the summer months too.