Get in Shape

Almost everyone is getting conscious about their health. Not only women, but men are also concern with their body getting the right and healthy shape. I, myself did some research about this. I also want to get in shape. I just know that getting in shape will really boost my health and at the same time my self-esteem. I now wish to share with you the summary of all the readings I had on different tips on how to get the right shape for your (my) body.


Mind over body

Losing weight is looked by most of us as a great challenge. This is quite true in the sense that we need to tame ourselves from staying away from goodies that will ruin our plan. The key is getting the right mind set. We've learned from grade school that "eating is healthy food is a must". There are two things that should be emphasized with this lesson:

1. Eating is a must = Never skip meals
2. Eat healthy food = No junk food

Engraving these two equations in our minds will greatly influence our actions toward our eating habits.

Another line to keep in mind is: YOU ARE NOT ALONE. Getting healthy is the trend (finally). If you think you're losing self confidence because of your shape, you have to know that people are with you with this burden. You need not to be so shy about anything. If you have some plans such as getting a work-out program on your favorite gym, share it with your friends or with your family and invite them to join you. Going on with a new healthy routine will be more fun if you're with the people you want to be with.


Look for Substitutes

We want to get in shape without depriving ourselves from eating delicious food. However, we should remember the second equation stated above: "NO JUNK FOOD". So if you love soda or creamed chocolate shakes, try to make a major head turn from it and look for fruit shakes. Fruit shake is refreshing and at the same time, healthy. If you love eating snacks, stay away from ice cream and get a bowl of fresh fruit salad. There are a lot of healthy goodies around us, we just often end up munching chips and popping soda.

Gym is one thing, but there are a lot of alternatives

Did you know that jumping ropes gives you a great cardiovascular workout? It is very cheap and portable at the same time. Also think about the calories you'd burn up with a couple of minutes of jumping.

You love dancing? You can burn up hundreds of calories for an hour of having fun with your groovy moves.

AND BY THE WAY...

Forget these not:

1. Avoid fried food
2. Salads with fatty mayonnaise is a "no-no"
3. Sugar = calories
4. Sit up straight

and...

Include these on your to-do list

1. Take your multivitamins
2. Sleep
3. Drink lots of water

Good luck to us! Cheers!

Deliver an effective speech

I like to share with you some points that may help you with public speaking. As from what most of us have experienced, talking before a crowd can actually weaken our knees, wet our palms, shake our voices, and so much more. These points may somehow assist you whenever you need to speak before the audience (may it be a large crowd or three panelists).

Point #1 Know your audience
Being a speaker to a crowd, first thing you should consider is to know your listeners. This will greatly help you from point of planning the outline of your speech to choosing appropriate words and strategies of getting their attention.

Point #2 Nothing beats preparation
If you have the time to prepare for your speech, please do so. Try to make a simple plan on how you want your points to be delivered. Making an outline will be a great help. In this manner, you will keep track of each point you want to drive to your audience. This will also help you avoid forgetting important details that you want to emphasize.

Point #3 Don't let them scare you. Scare them.
Put this in mind: The reason you are speaking in front of them is because you have something for them to learn. In addition, if you have prepared, you have nothing to be scared about. Audience often evaluate the speaker even before you speak. If they see that you are confident, they will most likely think you're competitive enough to listen to. If you show them you're scared, you will never get their attention.

Point #4 Catch their attention and never let it go
Since you know something about your audience, this point should be easier. The next thing to accomplish is to catch their attention. You can do so by giving a very interesting introduction. You can crack jokes, tell a short story, you choose. It really does not have to be related to your speech. It's about getting their attention and making an impression.

Once I was asked to talk for at least 3 minutes inside a classroom. I used the technique of the senator delivering a political speech in the movie "Maid in Manhattan". It's about how he handled the tension whenever he spoke in public by merely using a paper clip. Silly introduction but it really worked.

Point #5 No 'uh...' and 'ah...' fillers
This syndrome may be avoided by good preparation. The more you do this, the more your speech gets boring.

Point #6 Be sensitive to your audience
When you speak in front of a crowd, you should be aware if you still hold their attention or if you have already lost them. In this manner, you can do necessary acts to get them to listen to you. No speech has ever been successful without the audience attention.

Point #7 Do not practice in front of a mirror
You see, the point #6 talks about being sensitive and conscious about what your audience feels. If you will be practicing on a mirror, you only see yourself, which makes you focus also to yourself. Practice in front of your friends instead. Ask their cooperation to observe and then give their comments (or constructive criticisms) for you to make your speech more effective.

Well, I really hope this would help you with your speech. :p

How to know if you're profiting from selling?

Break-even Analysis. This is a small tool that helps entrepreneurs project how many units of their products must be sold in order to break-even. Break-even is the point where total revenue is enough to cover total costs.

Break-even analysis is a simple computation. It points out the relationship between revenues, costs and profits. in computing break-even you need to get the following data:

Price - Unit price of the product being sold
Variable cost (per unit) - costs that change in proportion to output (raw materials, energy costs etc.)
Total fixed Cost - expenses that do not change regardless of production (rent, property tax, equipment)

Your firm breaks even when total revenue is enough to equal its total costs.

Here is the formula of Break-even analysis:


Example:

Assume that Claire's Printing Services charges $0.20 per print. If fixed costs are $30,000 a year and variable costs are $0.10 per print, Clair can compute her break-even point as follows:


As a planning tool, Claire can set his goal. This tool can tell her how much volume has to increase to break-even if she's currently operating at a loss or how much volume he can afford to lose and still break even.