10 Things You’ll Love About Being Alone

Some people love being by themselves; they have no trouble feeling comfortable with it and truly enjoy their own company. However, there are a great many people who have a terrible fear of being by themselves and seek the company of others at all times. I feel, that there are many advantages to being comfortable with your own company and that it is a ‘skill’ that all of us should learn.

At some point in our lives we are likely to find that we’re living solo and it’s a boost to know that you can be in that situation and not fall apart. Also, I tend to think that business entrepreneurs should treat their position as one of ‘flying solo’. So, what are the advantages of being able to enjoy life alone? Here are 10 benefits to start with:

Recharge your batteries

Being with other people uses a fair amount of energy, both emotional and physical. We have to put a significant amount of effort into keeping friends and family happy and that effort uses up fuel. Time out alone lets you recharge your batteries.

Time to think

When people and activity constantly surround you, your mind is being bombarded by distractions. It’s impossible at times to ”think straight” as they say. It is also very difficult to reflect on your own life and make new plans and decisions. You need some time alone to do this.

Discover your feelings

When we’re in company, we automatically tend to focus on catering for the other people’s emotions, unless of course we’re total narcissists who only think about our own needs. This also applies when you’re living with a partner and you focus on keeping them happy to the detriment of your own feelings. Time alone, especially when you’re in a relationship, allows you to get back in touch with the reality of what you’re feeling, untouched by consideration for others.

Please yourself

Do you like going bowling? Perhaps not, but your friends or partner do – so you go! In other words, you compromise. It’s the only way to have a relationship. But, when you’re on your own, you can do exactly what you want! And, pleasing yourself doesn’t make you selfish!

Increase productivity

Do you have a special project you’d like to start, but constant company is getting in the way? Yes, there’s nothing like time alone for increasing productivity!

Enjoy relationships more

What is it they say? “Absence makes the heart grow fonder” and there’s little doubt that when you’ve been in your solitary ‘cave’ for a while, you appreciate the company of your friends much more.

Increase your independence

When being alone is a challenge, mastering it is a great feeling and when you realise that you can be on your own without the world stopping you feel stronger and more independent.

Focus on your happiness

While you are in your own company – only your happiness matters!

Don’t apologise

Similarly, there’s nobody to apologise to. Stayed out a bit late? Well, who is going to complain? Not you!

Act alone

You will learn how to make decisions and take action without asking others if it’s OK for you to do it. You will learn to trust your own instincts!

And, there you have it – 10 great reasons to love being alone!

Whoa! I’m going to Barbados

“Welcome aboard Coconut Airways” is one of the opening lines of band Typically Tropical’s 1970s hit “Barbados” that captured the swaying palm trees and steel band vibe of this Caribbean island that has a particularly British ‘twist’ to it. 

It’s one of those happy tunes—and what they call a ‘one hit wonder’ that is irresistibly corny, but makes you feel happy, just like Barbados.  I heard a statistic the other day that visitors rate the friendliness of Barbadians so highly that it’s responsible for 39% of repeat visits to the island. It must be great for a nation to known for that rather than punctuality, or something similarly bureaucratic.

I like the Britishness of this island and it’s one of the reasons I’ve been taking holidays there for quiet a few years now. Did you know that its nickname “Bimshire” appears in the Oxford English Dictionary and that Bajans (the slang name for anyone from Barbados), which is the name for a person from Barbados, still love to take afternoon tea, although, there might be a splash of local rum in the china cups? Its name actually comes from the Spanish for “the bearded ones” and I think we can assume that when the Spaniards first landed the natives hadn’t discovered Gillette razors. I don’t blame them, I quite like a bit of designer stubble myself.

Great weather and white beaches

Barbados is in the tropics, so it’s sunny year round with an average daytime high of 30°C / 86°F. In fact, Barbados has over 3,000 hours of sunshine annually! Fortunately, because it’s surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and its location, there are trade winds that create a cooling breeze so it’s never unbearable. Depending on what you prefer, the driest months are December to May and June to October will keep you ducking out of tropical rainstorms. I have to say that I don’t mind these, because they dry up quickly and they add a ‘refreshed’ feel. There’s something compellingly tropical about the smell of lush foliage after a rainstorm and the way the water drips off the leaves, while you’re wandering around in your swimwear.

Things I’d recommend to do

Atlantis submarines: 

if you don’t dive or snorkel, or you have kids with you, then take this underwater voyage on a craft that submerges to 150 ft and travels across a coral reef teeming with bright colored fish. The tour lasts 90 minutes, but please note that children must be a minimum of three foot tall. It’s simply brilliant and all the family will love it.

Barbados Concorde Experience: 

believe it or not, at the island’s main airport you can tour Concorde G-BOAE and watch an exciting sound and light show on the side of the plane. It’s a better way to spend your time before flying home than in the duty-free shop.

Garrison Savannah: 

it’s one of the world’s famous racetracks and a great place to go for fun and a picnic. Highlight of the Barbados season is the Sandy Lane Gold Cup. Members of Crypto888 will have an added interest in the Sport of Kings now because of the sports arbitrage betting programme.

There are lots of plantations to visit and see how they lived back in the day and you can get a really amazing Sunday lunch at Sunbury Plantation House. The historic part of Bridgetown is really fascinating and if you’re looking for some local nightlife then you must go to Oistins Fish Fry on Friday nights. It’s a street party where the women fry the local catch and there’s live calypso and reggae, plus beer and rum. Yes, of course there’s rum! I bet you want to sing “Whoa! I’m going to Barbados” now!

5 Reasons to Work with an Online Business

I know that for many of the multi-level marketing people I’ve met over the years, the opportunity to be involved with a home-based business with flexible hours is one that saved them from poverty to put it bluntly. 

I’ve met many single parents in particular who have been ‘saved’ by working with an MLM, simply because it has meant they had flexible working hours that they could fit around their children. They were also their own boss and worked when they needed to. 

The MLMs that require meeting customers in their homes and workplaces could be scheduled to fit with childcare and nobody fired anybody because a kid got sick and the parent had to stay home and look after them.

1. Make Money Online

Now I’d like to share a new MLM development with you and demonstrate why working online can give you the financial success that we all desire. Indeed, since many of us got into using the Internet, it has changed our economy in so many ways. 

Remember when eBay started? The idea of bidding for a product against a bunch of other people was really quite revolutionary. Yes, the auction idea is very old, but how many people outside of antique dealers and art collectors, go to an auction? No, eBay was a revolution because it brought the auction concept into everyone’s home. Plus, you could become an eBay seller. 

There was a home-based business right there!  And there are so many more that I could go on all day! But what are the five reasons that an online business can help you make money – well here goes.

2. Scalability

The Internet allows you to scale your business up quickly when success happens fats. If you own a bricks & mortar shop it’s much harder to grow with demand. Uber and Amazon are excellent example of success stories that have taken advantage of scalability. Some features of this are: 

• Immediate access to 3 billion potential customers (the number of people online worldwide)
• It’s inexpensive to set up a great website these days
•  Low set-up and business running costs
• Social media provides almost free publicity

3. Time is money

The Internet is pretty fast and efficient these days and you’ll find that your time to money ratio is

much better here and that allows you to focus on the big ideas rather than sweat the small stuff – the software can do that for you!

4. Creating a loyal following

An online business gives you better opportunities to create a fanbase and you’ll find that on-site reviews and recommendations, plus social media sharing are extremely effective ways of attracting new customers who turn into followers.

5. Maximise your time

The Internet has made it possible to take an idea from the drawing board to online within 24-hours if you have a mind to do that. Talk about an efficient way to get a business going! And once customers start validating your product by buying it, they’ll be freeing up your time to think of your next big idea.

Now is the perfect time!

Don’t delay – the time to get a successful business online and start making money is today! Get that website up, join that network marketing company and create your own online sales team - it will be the best investment you ever make!

Tips to Improve Your Public Speaking

My Friend Jarle Thorsen publicly speaking
during a recent Crypto888 seminar

In network marketing, I often find myself having to get up in front of a room full of people and deliver an inspiring talk that gets the whole room pumped and ready to take action. I’ve been doing it for many years, and I can now do it without getting the sweaty palms, dry mouth and lurching stomach that I used to get when I first started in this business.

Yes, practice made me more perfect, that’s for sure, but I also studied tips on how to improve my technique, and that’s what I’d like to share with you. I believe in using the best, and I know there are plenty of public speaking websites around, but personally I go the big guys when I want help and that is Toastmasters International or TI as I shall refer to them here.

Giving a Sales Pitch

These are always a bit nerve-wracking because often so much depends on doing it well. You want to persuade people to hire you, buy your product or something similar. TI suggests that you take an inverted pyramid approach. This means delivering your most important point in the first few sentences, e.g. the main benefits of the product. Then, supply the evidence for your claim and, finally, end with a summary and call to action.  Success depends on how well you deliver your initial proposal, although, as TI points out, if they don’t, you may find that they are persuaded by your evidence.

To reinforce your words, make sure you use the two following tools:

• Clear and well designed visual aids
• Offer a Q&A period after your talk

The best way to handle a Q&A is this:

• Anticipate some questions and rehears your answers
• Make sure your answers support what you’ve said in the pitch
• Be polite and patient with questions that are irrelevant or are designed to trip you up deliberately.
• Break down complicated questions in a series of parts and answer them one by one.
• Don’t let yourself be panicked in making hasty and muddled replies.

 Managing your body language

We all have distinctive ways of using gestures when we’re talking. Some people wave their glasses in the air and some people can’t say a sentence without flinging both hands around. Others keep pushing their hair back and so on. When you’re in a public speaking situation you should try to use gestures to your advantage and not let them distract from what you’re saying.  Here’s how:

•  Make good eye contact with individuals in your audience. This is more effective than gazing across the entire audience
• Be aware of your mannerisms, such as crossing your arms, sticking your hands in your pockets, and stop yourself from doing them.
• Use your body and facial expressions to emphasise certain verbs – it creates a feeling of action.
• Move around the stage to talk about different topics and get closer to the audience during the question period.

Of course, there are many other public speaking situations, especially if you are involved in a good MLM business, but these general tips are good for many of them. Good luck with your public speaking, I hope these tips from TI help.

Listen to Your Gut Instincts

How many people have said to you “Listen to your gut!” when you ask them for advice about what you should do in a given situation? Several, I’m willing to bet.

Following your instincts is even more important when you’re an entrepreneur, but not everyone has the innate confidence in their gut feelings that some people just seem to be born with. So, here are a number of tools you can use to help you use your gut instincts.

Move out of your comfort zone

It is very easy to get stuck in a rut and ignore the fact that you are in a place that isn’t really helping you to move forward. When you’re an entrepreneur, you also don’t want to admit that your great idea isn’t working, especially if you’ve put a lot of effort into it. It’s also easy to lie to yourself and believe that it’s going just fine, when in fact it’s turning into a major flop. So, always try to remain objective about any of your projects because that way you’ll be able to ‘hear’ what your gut is telling you.

Build a suggestion box

Perhaps not literally build one, although that might have a purpose in some situations. I’m thinking more of asking people your respect and trust for opinions about your project. There are two ways other people can help you: having a person support your positive instinct about an idea can be the catalyst for your actually doing it; on the reverse side of this, a person who questions an idea may actually make you reappraise your project before you start and find you’ve ignored a flaw. Getting a second opinion from trusted advisers is a very important part of your toolbox.

Always follow your instincts

Having said all that about trusted advisers, I will also say that if you feel that their opinions just aren’t quite right because something inside is telling you that, then do not betray your own instincts and go with another person’s opinion. Weigh up advice, consider the other person’s expertise in relation to your own, but never take anybody else’s word as gospel. It is your vision in the end that matters.

Don’t lie to yourself

One of the ways in which new business founders avoid paying attention to what is really happening is by being ‘busy’. Business blocks out reality, because it feels good to be busy and being very active with meetings, phone calls and emails signals that what you’re doing is successful – right? Yes, I know we all think that, but it’s wrong. Plus, when you’re multitasking you’re actually being less productive.

What I do is create a set of large goals right at the start and every day I do three things that serve those goals. They don’t have to be big things, but they must be aligned with my ‘big picture’. While I’m focused on those tasks, I’m not distracted by the conversations that don’t serve what I want to achieve.

So, now you know when to trust your gut. It’s a vital part of business success.