1. Set the theme. “There is something in the air today.” With those words, Jobs opened Macworld. By doing so, he set the theme for his presentation (BusinessWeek.com, 1/15/08) and hinted at the key product announcement—the ultrathin MacBook Air laptop. Every presentation needs a theme, but you don’t have to deliver it at the start. Last year, Jobs delivered the theme about 20 minutes into his presentation: “Today Apple reinvents the phone.” Once you identify your theme, make sure you deliver it several times throughout your presentation.

2. Demonstrate enthusiasm. Jobs shows his passion for computer design. During his presentation he used words like “extraordinary,” “amazing,” and “cool.” When demonstrating a new location feature for the iPhone, Jobs said, “It works pretty doggone well.” Most speakers have room to add some flair to their presentations. Remember, your audience wants to be wowed, not put to sleep. Next time you’re crafting or delivering a presentation, think about injecting your own personality into it. If you think a particular feature of your product is “awesome,” say it. Most speakers get into presentation mode and feel as though they have to strip the talk of any fun. If you are not enthusiastic about your own products or services, how do you expect your audience to be? (more…)

1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.

This sounds easy, but in practice is incredibly difficult. Phrases such as toe the line, ride roughshod over, stand shoulder to shoulder with, play into the hands of, an axe to grind, Achilles’ heel, swan song, and hotbed come to mind quickly and feel comforting and melodic.

For this exact reason they must be avoided. Common phrases have become so comfortable that they create no emotional response. Take the time to invent fresh, powerful images.
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1. Decide What You Want. Some people get down thinking “I never get what I want,” but if you ask them what they want they can’t really articulate it. That’s usually because they haven’t put a lot of thought into it. Don’t worry, it happens to a lot of us. We’re just busy living life: going to work, going to school, buying the groceries, paying the bills, taking the dog to the vet, blah, blah, blah.

Get off that treadmill for one afternoon. Set aside 1-2 hours just for you! During that time, think about what you really want. Write down everything and then boil it down to your top 10, top 5, top 3, and number one thing that you want.

2. Reality Check. Goals should be realistic, but they need not be easy. So a goal to date Heidi Klum might not be realistic, but a goal to date a woman who has all the attributes and values you like would be more attainable. Maybe you long to go back in time or bring back a loved one who you’ve lost. That’s not realistic, but instead you could set upon a goal to live a life or find a person who embodies similar elements to what you had before. If your goal is to make $1 million dollars, break it down into shorter term goals that are doable. When you hit those short term milestones it will give you encouragement to continue on your journey. Lastly, remember that goals don’t have to be about getting things or people, they can also be about how you want to live your life on a daily basis. (more…)

1. Recognize it and sit with it.
The first thing you need to do when boredom surfaces is to become aware of it. How often do your actions mindlessly drift in the direction of pointless and non-productive activity (like reading and promoting the Paris Hilton/Nicole Richie article)? Instead of contributing to the problem, become part of the solution and sit in silence with your boredom. Instead of taking negligent action, take NO action. Eventually you will start acting again, but with greater consciousness…and that is a good thing!
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1. Start Saving Money Now, and Continue to Save Money Forever. One of my major problems before I discovered the world of personal finance is that I would pay everyone, but I would never pay myself. I had no problem sending the cable, car insurance and energy bills each month, but I always forgot to pay myself, i.e. save. Now I’ve opened a high-interest savings account, and plan on saving even more as my income continues to grow.

2. Stop and Think About Prospective Purchases for at Least 30 Seconds. I’m an impulse buyer, I always have been. This might be the “typical male shopper” shining through, but when I see something I want, I typically convince myself that I can afford to purchase it. This is especially easy when buying gifts for those I love. I’ve taken to thinking about purchases before I make them in the stores, or if online, I like to leave the website I am about to buy from and do some research to confirm the utility of the product or search for a better deal. (more…)

Step 1. Visualize

Where have you been in your life? How did you get to where you are today? How will you get where you want to be tomorrow?

It is important to understand where we’ve come from and how we are going to get to the next step in our lives. By visualizing where you want to be, you start helping your mind formulate ways to achieve that next goal in your life. It’s a powerful tool and one that many successful people have used to find their own happiness in life.

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1. Condense Your Main Message. Ideally you should get it down to a 30 second blurb. How do you do that? Start with the goal of your speech. Is it to convey knowledge? If so what is the main thrust? Perhaps your goal is to inspire your audience to take action. If so, what action do you want them to take Maybe your goal is to make your audience feel something. This is your overarching message. Write your first draft without attention to length at first. Once you’ve done that, then condense it. When you deliver your speech, touch on it at least 3 times or whenever appropriate, but be sure to include it in the beginning, middle, and especially at the end.

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• Understand what it is that will make you happy. Everyone has unique requirements for attaining happiness and what makes one person happy may be very different from what makes someone else happy. Revel in your individuality and do not worry about whether or not your desires are comparable to those of your peers.
• Make a plan for attaining goals that you believe will make you happy. Your mood will very likely increase as your pursue your goal because you will feel better about yourself for going after something you value. (more…)