Remodeling

After, close to two years, it should surprise no one, many are, at the least, tired of this horrendous pandemic, or even, far – more, fatigued, and sick – and- tired of it, and the impact on our lives! However, this should not, and cannot justify, the utter – disregard of some, in terms of respecting the greater good, and abiding by basic, common sense, public health, protective measures! How did this become another, political issue, with so many, apparently putting their personal/ political interests and agenda, first? How many more must get infected, hospitalized, put others, at – risk, and/ or die? Many seniors have lost their battle, as have the immune – compromised, and we still do not know all the potential longer – term ramifications and impacts! Why does this nation, despite its efforts and spending, have, among, the lowest vaccination rates, in the world, among first – tier, developed nations? Everyone is tired of this, and would like, a return to normal, but, the efforts of a minority, harms our overall efforts, and the potential to optimize our efforts! With that in mind,this article will attempt to briefly examine and review this, and why, we must do better.

1) Conspiracy theories: For some reasons, some prefer to believe unfounded, opinions, and accept them, instead of facts. It began with denials, transformed to accusations, and created harmful resistance. Is there anyone, who has not witnessed or experienced the loss of someone close? While, everyone is entitled to an opinion of their own, they are not, to their own set of facts. It is one thing if your actions only harmed you, but quite – another, when it puts others,at – risk!

2) Politics: Why has this become political, like so many, apparently, common sense, issues, have? There is a huge difference between a viable solution,and well – considered, plan, as opposed to blaming and complaining, denials, and stubbornness!

3) Data and science matter: Mike Bloomberg likes to say, “In God We Trust. All others, bring data,.” History shows, it takes a science – based, plan, endorsed and supported by public health, medical, and scientific personnel and experts, to create a meaningful, fact – based, efforts.

4) Mandate resistance: Although we have seen public health mandates, in the past, it seems we are experiencing the most polarized nation, in recent memory! Just because one doesn’t agree, does not mean, he knows more than the experts!

Either, we proceed, in a more unified manner, or we prolong the horrors. Wake up, America, before many others, lose this battle! It’s up to, each of us!

While the thought of having your own business is very exciting, it is quite tempting to work as few hours as possible and not put your heart and soul into it. This article has advice on how to stay serious about your home business to ensure you are able to make a living from it.

Can you describe what your home business does within the span of an elevator ride? When you can explain your business in a couple of sentences, you can impress potential customers or clients. You can even shorten it into a slogan!

Keep two phone lines, one for home and one for the business. This helps avoid you answering the phone unprofessionally and helps customers see it as a business.

Starting a home business can be exciting, but it also takes a ton of initiative and a burning desire to bring your dreams into reality. If the needs of your business call for it, you may want to construct a separate structure for your business on your property. This keeps customers out of your house, and may even be legally required for certain businesses in certain municipalities. You can also keep your home life better divided from your work life if they happen in different buildings!

Research current market prices for any product or service you are selling. Make sure to know the full range from high to low. Look at your competition, and aim to offer more competitive prices. If you offer a comparison between yourself and the competition, however, highlight your good points rather than their bad points.

Set goals you want to achieve daily. Some things may be harder to achieve than others, but a set of reasonable goals can be reached with effort and time. Also, try to balance your home and work life during the day.

If you want to save money, your business expenditures must be documented. Keep track of your business expenses, including vehicle costs and internet. When you run your own business, many of these essential expenses become tax deductible. Even if it is just for a small amount, deduct them as well. Every penny counts.

The tips in this article will help you run your home business successfully. If you put in the work, others will feel good about using your business and you will find that you can make a decent living. You are still a professional, so make sure to act this way.

Here’s to the question of the day…
How do you stand out in a crowd?

“By being different.”

Great slogans set you apart and form lasting impressions in your customers mind. No matter how good someone was if they came second they’ll never be able to scratch number one.

People always remember the first time they saw something spectacular. That great game, that magnificent play, that fabulous song, something one of a kind that created a lasting memory.

The great news is you’re already one of a kind; all you need to do is play to your strengths, time will take care of the other stuff.

Often newbies worry about starting out and writing about topics that already have a lot of content: “What if someone has already written about this?” “How will I be able to write about it too?” Being unique is the only way to stand out in a saturated market.

Be Unique – - Be You

No one can tell your stories quite like you can.

No two person’s life is laid out in exactly the same way; bottom line people will be able to relate to your experiences too.

I know – - it’s a very bold statement indeed.

What’s the biggest thing you have going for you?

Put it in a bold statement. “Discover how, I-a relatively new-online marketer managed to unlock the secret code behind face book marketing… ”

The example above drives home the point of making a bold statement. A powerful statement like that triggers all sort of reactions with your audience… “He’s got the-secret code-to face book marketing.”

I’ve been struggling to do that for months, who is this person? I want to know what they know. You need to make it attractive, a little showmanship is good at this point don’t go overboard though.

Who are you trying to attract?

What do your words represent to your customers? A necessary question; because people remember slogans more than they remember company names. Great slogans represent positive experiences: joy, freedom, support, good health you name it we all aspire to have them.

If those words came over the radio while we were at home watching our favorite “TV” show it would cause us to say: “Hey! Everyone be quiet I need to hear this.” Want one. Need one. I’m not sure if I can afford it but I got to have it.

In other words a great slogan offers us something we want… something we’ve been yearning for the whole time and now – - it’s finally here… Everything you do as a marketer you do for someone else.

So who’s it for and what words do they respond to?

Organize your ideas and create a profile

How have you been spending your time over the past few years?

If you made some advancements why not catalog your experiences, your information might just be the missing link to give someone the breakthrough they need

Do you have a hot piece of information on something new; do you have a new revolutionary way of doing something others are struggling with?

So how do you classify what you do? Well – - sum it up in a few lines and see what happens.

Don’t do it just for the sake of doing it

It should be natural… it should be… you!

Some people try to be different just because they like the attention.

Don’t make your uniqueness about thrill seeking – - make your uniqueness about expressing all you have bottled up inside.

And then put it in a great online marketing slogan so that your customers will remember…

Online marketing has taken over the marketing industry considering that this is where most people spend their time. The fact that even mobile devices are largely used to browse the internet means that a huge number of people do access the internet on a daily basis hence brands that have an online presence have a higher chance of being more visible compared to those that don’t. However, visibility is of no value if you as a brand do not pass a compelling message to your targeted audience to make you stand out from the competition.

The content you upload or post on your website and your social media channels is of utmost importance. Content that is optimized for search engines will rank you highly in search results, but then you also need to have the right content to push your traffic into sales. It can determine your interaction with your readers and the kind of marketing impact you have on your targeted audiences. But why exactly does content matter in SEO?

It bridges you to your customers

Content is what speaks directly to the customers on your behalf. Unlike face to face interactions where it is easy for customers to verify details regarding your brand, you completely rely on the content you post to offer all necessary details and convince the customers enough to trust in what you are offering. Without proper content, your traffic will not be valuable and will instead move to the next available brand offering the same products.

It remains accessible

This is especially compared to ads that come at particular scheduled times. Content unlike such ads can be accessed by your customers at any given time, hence it can bring value when the customers are ready to buy. Many brands have included blogs on their website so it is easy for their readers to find whatever information they could be looking for increasing chances of them buying from you. As long as your marketing strategy is on point, you can be sure your content will fetch you good value.

It answers pressing questions

Sometimes all that customers need to know is how to do certain things or where to find certain this. When you are able to offer them the answers to their most pressing questions via the right content, you gain their trust and credibility which pays off in the end. Apart from just letting them in on your business and what you are involved in, you can add relevant information to answer questions related to whatever field you are in. With such kind of content you also stand a chance to take your search engine rankings even higher.

It sells

Your content is your most effective sales pitch. This will especially pass if you accompany it with high quality, relevant photos and even videos that are related to the kind of business you do. The fact is that people tend to trust more in things they have seen or things they know how to operate and this is what content will do on your behalf.

In the world of search engine optimisation, 2017 was a busy year in terms of an increase in voice search and stricter rules for AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages). In 2018, there have been some more exciting developments that you can adopt to stay ahead of your competitors. Keep reading to stay up-to-date with the latest SEO marketing trends.

Personalised Search Results

During the last few years, customised search results have developed steadily and are taking centre stage in 2018. Irrespective of whether it is browser cookies, individual search history, location or interests, Google has been emphasising on the importance of personalising SERPs (search engine results pages) for individuals. Personalised is expected to continue to be the point of emphasis thanks to proliferation of smart speakers and other such technological advancements. As this is making it a daunting task for businesses to determine how they are ranking or what they are ranking for, more and more businesses are turning to professional SEO marketing agency for assistance.

Improved Image and Video Search

Videos and images have heavily featured in online interactions over the last couple of years. Faster Internet speed and social media platforms like, Facebook and Instagram are some of the contributing factor to this, which led to increased engagement. To keep pace with enhanced engagement, Google and also other search engines have been modifying the way videos and images show up on search results. Even though SEO marketing with videos and images is challenging, it fetches high return on investment.

Voice Search is Gaining Traction

In 2018, the sale of smart speakers, such as Apple HomePod, Amazon Echo and Google Home continue to increase. This is making voice search grow in importance. As opposed to typing in a search query on mobile devices or computers, users can now save time and use their voice to get the search results that they are looking for. However, voice search queries greatly differ from typed search queries. To keep up, you need to ensure that the keywords or phrases used are as natural-sounding as possible.

Rise of Hyperlocal Marketing

Hyperlocal marketing took off in 2017 as a way to target audience in close proximity to one’s business. Thanks to technological advancements, it is now possible to target the local community a lot more closely. In fact, you can even target individuals by analysing user behaviour, purchasing history, location, interests and so on. So, you need to pay attention to your local SEO efforts in order to grow your brand locally.

Prevalence of the Knowledge Graph

Knowledge graph of Google has been around since 2012, but it has only recently started to replace featured snippets when web users are asking questions. Compared to featured snippets that include an extracted summary from a webpage, along with the link to the page, knowledge graphs provide users with a lot more. For instance, if you search for a movie, the results will not only show you the usual summary, but also information about the actors in the movie, movie times, theatres, movie’s social media pages and so on. Since knowledge graphs provider users with more information than what they have entered into Google search, it is increasingly replacing featured snippets to provide users with a fantastic search experience.

Moving Beyond Google

Google is undoubtedly the dominant search engine and you need to optimise your web pages according to its algorithms. But, everybody is not using Google and you cannot depend on one single source for getting search engine traffic. Moreover, search engines like, Yahoo and Bing have a high conversion rate. So, optimise your web pages for Google, as well as, other search engines.

Stay ahead of your competitors by implementing the aforementioned SEO marketing trends. If you require more information, get in touch with well-known professionals offering SEO services.

Our businesses also differ in terms of interface with clients. If you do “business to business” transactions, the number of people you interact with on a daily basis may differ from someone whose business relies on interacting with consumers. Appointments may be more practical in some instances than others. You have to tailor-make how you manage access to your particular situation if you are to eliminate distractions. Having said that it is important to note that some people do not mind spending the whole day at the office entertaining friends, visitors, and casual acquaintances dropping into the office whenever they feel like it. Do not be that kind of person. It sets the wrong kind of example to junior staff and can harm one’s productivity because these people take up time that you do not have and besides you want to cultivate a professional environment.

The demands of the day are enough to fill the eight working hours available unless if you tend to stay back and play catch up. How do you stay competitive in the market if there is no separation between work and play? Anybody serious about success and achieving effective results will put boundaries that are clear so that there is no confusion. Entrepreneurs are more susceptible to this especially when the workplace is easily accessible. The fact that you are your own boss even puts more responsibility on you to maintain self-discipline and self – management. I have written a whole book called, “Achieve More through Self – Leadership. In it I walk you through the practicalities of how you can get better results through managing self.

Appointments are an important way of not only managing time but managing life. They help you become more structured and productive. Some people seem not to be able to honour their appointments. I once attended a job interview that was supposed to start at 10:30am. By 11:30am there had been no communication about what was happening or when the supposed job interview was going to take place. I decided at the point that this company was probably not good enough for me to join because if you don’t respect people’s time you probably do not respect them.

You may be saying appointments are just not for me yet you never rock up at the doctor, dentist, lawyer or hairstylist without an appointment. Why is that the case? Because you simply won’t see the dentist without an appointment. They have given you conditions acceptable to them. We tell the world around us how to treat us by what we allow.

Some people are always available when you want to see them. If you are always free to see people at short notice, you are probably not that organized. The one who owns a diary will manage the one who doesn’t own one. Why? Because the one without the diary is always available, even though he is very likely to forget important meetings, dates and engagements because of a lack of organization. I used to have a boss who kept a diary and whatever you promised to do in the line of work, he would write down, including the day and time you said he would have it by. You would of-course forget because you didn’t record it like he did and when the time to deliver comes, guess who would be found wanting. It was then that I decided that I do not commit to an action that I am not willing to write down because, what’s written gets done!

You may be saying, “what if my business feeds off the “walk-ins? The fact that your business relies on walk – in customers should not be an excuse for disorder. Sometimes those who drop in unannounced may indeed be potential customers, suppliers, cold-calling salespeople, and even worthwhile business contacts. There is nothing wrong if the call is beneficial to you and your business but I believe there must be a structure and way of doing things that follows certain pre-set principles. I remember seeing a poster in an office that said “if you don’t have anything to do please don’t do it here”. It’s humorous yes, but true. Appointments help to structure your day and helps you allocate time to what’s important. This means you can focus on your most important asset: the paying customer. There is nothing as bad as walking into a place wanting to do business and staff are inattentive because there is just a demand on their time. I am more understanding if the personnel are not busy entertaining social visits at work.

In conclusion, you know your business situation better than any of us. All we can do is make recommendations that will enable efficiency that leads to growth. Some of you may actually need a personal assistant who will put order in your office and focus on the things you are not willing to do that will enable to focus on the highly value things you ought to do such as running a business.

Do you think successful people are just plain lucky?

Successful people did not become successful because they were lucky.

They did not achieve success by accident. Being at the right place at the right time, meeting relevant people, reading the appropriate book, did not come about accidentally or by luck.

Luck is brought about by Labour Under Correct Knowledge.

Successful people prepared themselves. Instead of giving up on anything they started and wanted to achieve they got stronger by learning more.

Success is a methodical, orderly and deliberate process of deciding what you want to do with your life, what are the steps that you need to undertake to get you there, and lastly what you will do once you get there.

One of the most important aspects, if not the most important aspect to success, is the ability to visualise your successful outcome and stay focused on it until you achieve it.

“Imagination is more important than knowledge, knowledge is limited.” – Albert Einstein

Successful people understood the potential power behind knowledge, yet they also understood that, for them to close the gap between where they are and where they wanted to be, they would have to piece together the enigma that is most often referred to as “life”.

They had to build a picture, a vision, of success in their mind, and then go about taking action on creating that envisioned life.

In much the same way, you have to be serious about your present and future, you need to have the knowledge that is required so you, too, may close the gap: you need to be and remain determined to devote yourself to taking massive action to build your business of succeeding in life.

You, too, will need to see the end, your dream and destiny that you desire in your mind’s eye. It is up to you to take the necessary and relevant action to make it all happen. It’s just like going to the doctor with a particular health problem.

The doctor may prescribe a medication for you to take four times a day, yet he cannot be there with you to ensure that you are taking the medication.

It comes back to deciding to be responsible for your life.

Have you noticed how it all stems from that one attitude? Being responsible for your own life.

Your success, your being responsible 100% for you to live your dream life starts here.

When you accept 100% responsibility for yourself and your current life situation, you will have the power to move towards those things you truly desire in life: which is success in all areas of your life.

This life-changing article is about possibilities and opportunities, knowledge and tools. It will help expose your unique course in life.

It will inspire, support and motivate you to excel, to do what successful people do, to have all that successful people have, and to become a shining example of a successful person.

Here, you’re not being told what you couldn’t do, instead you are being told to shoot for the stars. And above all, you are being shown how to shoot for those stars.

“A person is what he thinks about all day long.” – Emerson

Interesting thought, wouldn’t you think? So much so, it’s worth repeating: “A person is what he thinks about all day long.”

Success and happiness cannot happen if you possess the same old thoughts and beliefs.

If you do not change your mind, if you do not get rid of the unsupportive thoughts and beliefs, you will inevitably remain stuck in your old ways. Not much, if anything, will change.

Let’s give you a quick overview on how change comes about:

Your BEHAVIOUR, how you act (or perhaps do not act), controls your success or failure. Your ability to attain high levels of success is dependent upon your actions and behaviours. Your results are the outcome of your behaviour. Now let’s consider where your behaviours come from and what controls them?

Your FEELINGS command your behaviour. Every action that you take is first filtered through your feelings that reside in your subconscious mind. How you feel about something determines what you do and how well you do it. So where do your feelings come from?

Your ATTITUDES create and influence your feelings. Your attitude is your perspective from which you view life. Whatever attitude you have about anything will affect how you feel, which, in turn, affects how you act. Where do your attitudes come from?

Your BELIEFS create, control and influence your attitudes. What you believe about anything will determine your attitude about it, which will create your feelings, and then which will direct your behaviour and action. Belief patterns are so powerful that two people who are in the same situation could perceive things completely differently. It only requires us to believe what we see and how we see it. We all have thousands of beliefs – big and small. And where do your beliefs come from?

Your THOUGHTS create, control and influence your beliefs. Your thoughts are real and are immensely powerful. Everything you accept from the outside world and everything you feed yourself from within is a product of your thoughts. Everything starts as a thought.

So, it goes without saying you need to learn to control your thoughts. And when you do, you will automatically control your beliefs, your attitudes, your feelings and, consequently, your behaviour and actions.

The big secret to success:

Learn to control your thoughts and you will influence your behaviours and actions. It’s all a mind-set. That’s what we’ve been saying all along.

Success is predictable and is not achieved by accident.

Have the mind-set of the successful people and you will achieve success. Believe and it is yours!

“There is a great future in front of you, you can leave your past behind.” – Joel Osteen

Science of success experts have concluded that the brain is a goal-setting organism.

That is fantastic news for us: for whatever goal we give to our subconscious mind, it will work for us day and night, 24/7, to achieve it for us; to make it a reality.

The principal breakthrough that scientists made was that we do not need to waste our precious time and effort trying to change old thoughts and behaviours: we just simply create new ones.

And the other discovery they made was that we can continue to create new thoughts, new memories, new behaviours, new skills, and learn new things for as long as we are alive on this earth.

Now, with the new discoveries in recent years, it has been scientifically proven that our capacity to achieve and succeed literally has no limits.

Our brain has the capacity to continually learn during our entire lifetime.

Our brain can form new thoughts, can have new memories, and can learn new things by the millions, no matter what your age is. By the millions.

That’s how many new things we can learn, that’s how many new skills we can learn, that’s how many new thoughts we can have, that’s how many new behaviours we can adopt.

This is encouraging because there is no limit on your capacity to achieve new things.

No limits whatsoever for the human brain to learn, memorise, develop, achieve and perform at higher levels than ever imagined. It makes no difference what your age is: you are capable of learning anything new that you want to learn.

That adds to what we spoke of earlier: no more excuses.

“The future belongs to those who prepare for it today.” – Malcolm X

Your brain has the capacity to achieve way beyond what was ever thought possible. So now is the time to break out of your limited thinking and start dreaming big and imagining unlimited possibilities.

Becoming successful is not impossible.

It is a choice you make through a decision. Every day, step-by-step, you may climb the mountain of success if you’ve decided to do so, if you’re committed to accomplish what the others think impossible.

Design your future now.

Prepare to receive what you desire.

Thanks to the phenomenal advances made in cognitive science and the development of NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming), personal change, personal transformation, has come a very long way.

In fact, personal growth is no longer a mystery.

NLP has brought to light that change, transformation and growth can be fast, reliable, and even fun. It has shown us that we do not need to spend thousands of hours slaving away to increase our creative-thinking abilities.

By practicing a few simple exercises and applications, you can start your creative juices flowing, and you may even amaze yourself at the quality and quantity of good ideas that you can come up with to expedite your success.

It can allow you to achieve something you seek within days and months as opposed to years and decades. That’s the power of the progress science has made on how the brain works, and also how you can have your mind to be your best ally in achieving anything you want.

Learn to live as you like by no longer living as you dislike.

Are you ready to get on the road to success and fulfilment?

Bear in mind, much like everything else in life, success requires practice and massive, consistent action.

“Success doesn’t mean the absence of failures; it means the attainment of ultimate objectives. It means winning the war, not every battle.” – Edwin C Bliss

Do you feel as if you’ve outgrown your circle of friends? Perhaps you do not feel safe or understood any longer. There may be fewer and fewer things you can share with people in your habitual circle, and it leaves you feeling lonely or isolated. If so, you are not alone. Welcome to one of the core dynamics of continuous growth!

As we continue to evolve, many of us struggle with a sense of not quite fitting in with our traditional community or tribe: we may have expanded or changed beyond the borders of tribal norms, and no longer find the same sense of belonging there. Other members may have tightened the tribal rules to foster a sense of security. As a result, we may feel a sense of disconnection or alienation.

In truth, each one of us belongs to many tribes simultaneously: there is your original tribe – the family you were born into – and then there are all the communities of choice you have joined: your work tribe, your social circles, your faith-based community, your neighborhood, and more. These communities are not static; they are in continuous flux because they consist of individuals who are in continuous states of change. When there is a lot of change happening in either the individual or the community, a sense of dissonance results.

How are we to deal with this? First, it is important to recognize that tribal allegiances were historically forged for survival. They were adapted over the course of centuries to ensure the safety and survival of the group. Survival required that individuation be sacrificed for the trade-off of security.

In modern society, the tables are flipped. Whether we enjoy it or not, change is essential for survival at every level of being. The pace of change is driven by technological advances and happens with increasing rapidity: sociologists estimate that more change has taken place in society over the course of the past 100 years, than in the totality of the previous 6,000 years. Individual adaptation now is a requirement for survival, and the pace of individual change does not always match the pace at which our various tribal communities evolve. The resulting dissonance can cause intense friction and pain.

Dissonance also results from confusion between the concepts of ‘connection’ and ‘community.’ We tend to equate one with the other, when they really relate to different qualities. Connection relates to connectivity: the objective physical technology or media that enables us to build community, but which does not represent the quality of that community. Connectivity simply offers the opportunity to connect with others through internet, texting, phone calls, or any other social networking options.

Community is the result of building relationship through meaningful interaction over time. There is no shortcut; it is a process that develops when bonds of trust and intimacy are nurtured and honored.

And here lies a caveat: When we confuse connectivity with community, we depersonalize the sacred nature of true community and start relating to people as objects. Instead of developing intimacy over time, we collect friends on social network sites or try to buy people’s allegiance. Yet friending is simply an act of connecting; it does not create intimacy.

In fact, social experiments indicate that technologically dominated connectivity results in alienation and social collapse over time. In a groundbreaking social experiment conducted by Josh Harris, one of the founders of social networking on the internet, he found that the more people’s private lives were exposed by 24/7 technology, the more their sense of intimacy and relationship deteriorated until the community collapsed in violence and self-destructive behavior.

It is time to revisit our concepts of community so we can create tribes that offer a true sense of intimacy and belonging.

In his 1987 book, The Different Drum: Community Making and Peace, psychologist M. Scott Peck described several core characteristics of true community. Beyond the obvious components of inclusivity, commitment and participatory consensus, Peck pointed out the quality of embracing diversity through realism. When each member contributes their unique viewpoint from a place of humility and goodwill, the community benefits from a broader perspective in which to better grasp the full context of a situation. In other words, mutual tolerance helps members to embrace one another’s different viewpoints as an integral part of the whole, instead of imposing a forced compliance to groupthink or cohesion.

In an environment like this, members experience and express compassion and respect for one another. They allow others to share their vulnerability, to learn and grow, and to express who they truly are. When conflict arises, they learn to resolve it with wisdom and grace. Members listen to and respect each others’ gifts, accept each others’ limitations, celebrate their differences, and commit to find solutions together rather than to fight against each other. Indeed, the true spirit of community is the spirit of peace, love, wisdom and power. The source of this spirit may be seen as an outgrowth of the collective self or as the manifestation of a Higher Will.

Does this description of community sound spiritual to you? It is indeed, because Spirit is the common denominator among all of us, regardless of how separate we feel from others.

As human beings, we often experience a socio-economic sense of separation from others because of different opinions, beliefs, expectations, language, culture, or interests, since each one of us expresses these in a way uniquely different from anyone else. And still, we continue to differentiate! In this ongoing process, we continue to evolve or devolve in response to life. A community that felt like a good fit last year may no longer work today; the places where we felt embraced, now may suffocate us. Over the course of a lifetime, we can expect to outgrow and change allegiances to many of the tribal communities we once belonged to.

And yet, when we transcend the layers of physical appearance, mental beliefs and socio-economic conditioning, we find in the presence of Spirit a common denominator in everyone around us. Perhaps it is time to expand our tribal definitions to embrace a spiritual community that includes all of mankind as children of God.

Mother Teresa admonished her nuns to see Jesus in every leper they encountered, to find His presence as they looked into the eyes of the homeless. When we can look past the issues that divide us to find omnipresent Divinity in each other, we will uncover the foundations of true community.

Spiritual community transcends all socio-economic borders, beliefs and backgrounds. It is inclusive because it operates on voluntary self-responsibility and mutual compassion, and its doors are open to everyone.

Building this type of community takes time: time to listen, to hear, to respond and to participate. Take a few moments to read the description of spiritual community again. Then, make time in your life to foster that type of connection with people who matter to you. You are one of the architects of community in your life, and you can participate in building a tribe where you belong.

What would happen to you if your home life was more organized than it is right now? Can work-life balance be achieved? What are the tools at our disposal? Could scheduling appointments and keeping them at home help us save time and prioritize?

What is the challenge we face? I sometimes find that time spent at home can be the busiest time, especially in the times we live in. Imagine someone working from home, home-schooling children, and sometimes even doing a side hustle. Imagine also the full-time home-based entrepreneur. How do they manage to do all they need to do in a day?. We are living in a time when many entrepreneurs and even company employees have adopted work- at – home culture. This comes with its challenges as the lines become blurred between home and work. These blurred lines and constraints on the limited resource called time result in over-worked, under-rested, burnt-out individuals. Whilst good time management has been encouraged and indeed, embraced in the workplace, I believe more needs to be done in changing the mindset for the elusive work-life balance to be achieved.

What are the tools at our disposal? To manage time effectively at home, there are many interventions one can employ including setting goals for the day, prioritizing wisely, setting a time limit for every task, organizing oneself, and instituting the discipline of appointments. Yes, an appointment at home! We can spend time pontificating on the pros and cons of each intervention, however, I believe we need to focus on appointments and see how this can powerfully change the course of one’s day regardless of whether it’s a workday or weekend. Life is busy as it is without any intrusions. The question is how do you handle the one who announces that they are at the gate. These can be friends, neighbors, a salesman of some product you do not even need. I am not promoting regimentation here but rather a culture of filling your day with what’s important. Everything that we succeed at is because we carefully plan and execute it. I am a firm believer that you cannot manage time if you do not manage yourself thus I implore you to incorporate planning and appointments into your repertoire. I am not talking about something I do not do. I have to achieve many things in a day therefore I set appointments with my work, others, and myself.

Could scheduling appointments and keeping them on the home front help us save time and prioritize? Whereas we have established that it is a normal business practice to set appointments and keep them, we need to abandon the liberal open-door policy of allowing all and sundry to have access to us as and when they please on the home front. Please understand where I am coming from. We each have greatness within us but for us to achieve it we need to culture great habits. Employing the use of appointments at home and seeing only those people you had agreed to see removes non-essential encounters especially during the most productive hours. I know this will vary with culture, geographical region, or even level of affluence, whether you live in a low density or high-density residential area, but doesn’t negate the need to be organized and effective. Controlling access determines how organized you are and how well you will work and rest when the time for scheduled rest comes.

What do we need to do differently? We need to be disciplined and diligent, learn to say no, now is not a good time, let’s make an appointment for next week. What are the benefits of this approach? You are not always fire-fighting to meet deadlines, You are not always tired because you have not taken time out to rest. You have set aside enough time to spend with your loved ones or a loved one. If you are a busy person, I am sure you appreciate what I am saying. Whether it’s time to work uninterrupted, family time, or “me-time”, it takes some kind of order to enjoy it.

I am not saying that those that come unannounced are bad people. No, not at all, they probably are people you enjoy spending time with. Nevertheless, there must be prior communication so that you can attend to your visitor(s) when it is convenient for both you and them. It can be quite disrupting and a whole day can just pass by without achieving anything that you had planned to do.

As we grow older we begin to appreciate that rest and recovery need to be scheduled. The fact that I am relaxing doesn’t mean that I don’t have anything to do. One therefore cannot assume that just because you are at home you are available. Maybe you have scheduled that time to rest. That is important. You need to make an appointment with yourself, spouses need to also set aside time for each other. Parents need to schedule a time to spend with their children. When you have some sort of order in your life you determine who sees you and who you see. It also means that your relationships will be healthy and that makes you a happier person.

In conclusion, I believe that the work-life balance can be achieved. There are many tools at our disposal just like it is in the workplace.I believe we could do more and be happier if we are disciplined enough to make only the commitments we can keep.I am certain that setting appointments and keeping them at home help us save time and prioritize.