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Stress Management

Psychology

Weight Loss

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Entertainment




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Entertainment

Sadly, very few people, from the lowest workers to the top executives, know the ins and outs of etiquette for business lunches. Simple things that their mom probably taught them when they were growing up at home have been forgotten, and business universities are apparently not teaching business etiquette. Here are some tips to give you confidence, and help you avoid the typical blunders.

Remember that a business lunch is just that, business. It's not a time to flirt, drink heavily, joke or ask a girl for a date. The last thing you want to do is embarrass your boss in front of his business guest so that he has to call and apologize for your actions later.

Don't talk with food in your mouth. Many times when you are eating, someone will ask you a question. Wait to answer until your mouth is empty. Learn to take small bites so you can quickly swallow what's in your mouth if necessary.

Don't take for granted that the client is interested in a social encounter with you. Even though you may enjoy each other's company over a business lunch, it is not the time to ask for a date.

When you are going out to lunch with a new client or someone you don't know well, offer to meet him at his office. You can go together to the restaurant. This will prevent you from being embarrassed if you don't recognize your client at the restaurant.

Be kind to the waitress and the other people where you eat. If you are kind to the client and rude to the restaurant workers, it will leave a bad impression with your client. No matter what happens, even if the waitress spills something on your new suit, respond in a kind manner.

Never talk bad about your competition. Do business in such a way that your company will outshine all of the others. If your client does business with the other company and you bad mouth them, he may feel that you are bad mouthing him, as well. Allow your business to speak for itself.

Be a good conversationalist. When there is a lull in the conversation, ask a question about the other person or bring up a topic you think he might be interested in. People enjoy talking about things they enjoy. The entire meal doesn't have to be about business.

Find out everything about your client's type of work before you go to lunch. With the internet at your fingertips, you can do a 15-minute search before you leave. It will make him feel more at ease if you have some knowledge about his type of work.

Even if you don't have your glasses with you, and you can't read the bill, don't ask your client to help you figure out the tip. There is nothing worse than letting him know how much you spent to take him out to lunch. He can figure it out pretty well for himself if he wants to know.

Business lunches are a great way to promote your business and pick up new clients. Avoiding common blunders will set the stage for a future business venture, and help you build your company on a firm foundation.

Copyright

Designing a small business Logo is a critical step in a business' image and brand identity. An effective logo communicates the focus of the business and targets its market. The logo should be clear, easy to print on letterheads and other promotional items, and recognizable to your company.

Before finalizing your business logo, it's important to understand who will own the copyright to it because it's that person who is granted exclusive rights to the art. "Exclusive rights" means the owner of the copyright has the sole right to produce and reproduce the art. In other words, if you don't own your logo's art, you cannot take the image to print it on promotional items such as pens, pads of paper, or on advertisements.

When we discuss logos in terms of copyright, it is not the actual name of the small business that is being protected, but rather, the artistic element within the logo that is protected. In other words, two businesses could have the name 'Rock Your Soul' but each one would own the copyrights to their individual logo designs. Should another small business use your logo design, they would be infringing. A Trademark, on the other hand, could be used to protect the actual name of the Small business because it is associated with the identity of the small business.

As a general rule, the person or people who create the small business logo are the owners of the copyright. However, there are a number of exceptions where the creator of the work is not the owner of the copyright. These include a commissioned work, a work made in the context of employment, transfer of copyrights, and licensing of copyrights.

If you hire someone to make your small business' logo, then you, as the commissioning party, own the copyrights to the logo. When you are hiring someone for the purpose of making your logo, it is definitely advisable to have a contract that states you own the copyright.

Another instance where the logo might not belong to the artist who created it is if the small business logo was created during the course of employment. In this case, if it was part of the scope of your job to create the art (i.e. you work at a design firm that creates logos for businesses), you do not own the copyrights – the company that employs you does. To add another layer to this, if the company was commissioned by the small business to make the logo, then the small business would own the copyright to the logo, as discussed above.

In some cases, the owner of the small business logo may actually choose to transfer all or some of the rights afforded by copyright law. This would require a written agreement detailing which copyrights are being transferred for the logo.

Lastly, the copyright owner for the small business logo could be licensed out if the business chooses. This means you grant permission to someone else to use your logo for a specified cost. In this case, you would still retain all the copyrights (unlike when you transfer the rights to someone else) and can specify the terms of the license.

Disclaimer
The above information is meant as a general guide to further your copyright knowledge and does not constitute legal advice. For questions about your specific small business logo, you should consult a copyright lawyer in your country.

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Justine Shoolman is a Founder of Copyright Creators (CC), a service inspired by the shortfalls of "poor man's copyright". CC protects copyright for life with no membership or renewal fees. Visit CC today to receive 4 free registrations to protect copyright online.

Weight Loss

Do you want to learn how to lose weight fast without taking synthetic diet pills and fat burners? Some try strict dieting while others enroll in a gym to pump some irons. A good alternative that you can try is conservative fasting.

Some people start fasting to jumpstart their weight loss programs while others fast in order to detoxify their body. But you can try fasting to enjoy quick weight loss.

The key to learning how to lose weight fast is to understand the importance of creating caloric deficiency. Through fasting, you are effectively creating this deficiency so you can push your body to burn more fats at an accelerated pace.

There are two methods of fasting. The first one is extended fasting where you will subsist only on water for a few days. The other method is conservative fasting. It involves intermittent short burst fasting, usually lasting for one day only. What you should learn is conservative fasting.

The objective of conservative fasting is to trick your brain so it can detect a caloric deficiency. The brain controls the fat burning function. If it detects a deficiency of calories, it will start accelerating its fat burning function in order to supply your body with enough energy. So this will lead to faster weight loss.

Learning how to lose weight fast is not really difficult if you can grasp the essentials of the conservative fasting method. The key to successful fasting is discipline. You need to strictly follow your fasting program in order to get the best results.

It is best if you cleanse your colon first before you start a serious fasting program. If you have a cleaner digestive tract, then you can minimize the production of unhealthy enzymes during your fasting periods.

You have to ensure that your body is capable of fasting. Consult a health professional first, so you can determine if fasting is suitable for you. A professional dietician can also help you especially in creating suitable pre and post fasting meal plans.

Start your fasting program during times that it will not disrupt your major activities. So it is best if you can fast during weekends or during your rest days. This way, you will not be tempted to eat fast foods and snacks.

After a short fasting period, never eat a heavy meal. Allow your digestive system to adjust by introducing small amounts of food or easy to digest a liquid diet. You can eat a full meal later once your digestive system achieves equilibrium.

When you start a conservative fasting program, you will surely enjoy faster weight loss. There is no need to hire a weight training coach or buy expensive programs just to learn how to lose weight fast.

Psychology

Experiencing grief is a normal part of life. And as normal as it is, it doesn`t make it any easier. Grief can make you feel so many terrible emotions at once that you might feel like you want to climb into bed and never come out. There are stages that someone who is grieving will go through on their journey to recovery. These stages might help someone who is going through grief to understand where they are at and what stages might come next.

The first normal part of grieving is the denial stage. Usually, you are grieving because of the loss of something or someone is so tragic that it seems almost unreal. Sometimes things happen so fast that it is hard to process the information so quickly. It can often seem surreal to think about someone being gone; it is such an unusual concept to have a loved one gone forever.

It may be hard for you to accept it and so you may deny that it has even happened. It will take lots of support from loved ones and time to realize that it has happened. When you have felt the impact of time, realizing that a loss has occurred may feel just as painful as it did when you first found out.

These emotions might trigger the next stage which is feelings of anger. Your rage might be so built up after lying dormant inside of your denying stage that you might let it all out. Sometimes this anger just stays inside of you and nobody even knows that you are angry. But it is important during this stage to talk to loved ones and get support.

Just talking about it and letting it off your mind might help you work through your emotions. When you feel angry you will also feel helpless because there is nothing you can do to change the situation in the case of a loss.

The next stage in grief is feelings of depression. This is a brutal feeling that can make your entire being feel miserable and drenched in sadness. Your insides and outsides might hurt even as your mind copes with grief.

Often when sadness is so strong that it turns into depression, the whole situation can make a person not want to get out of bed or function at all. They may not want to eat, sleep, drink or even talk to anyone. Some people who are very depressed just stare ahead of them and tune the world out. Or someone can be depressed and their loved ones do not even know anything about it.

Feeling depressed can make you not want to take care of yourself. You may not feel the need to shower or brush your teeth because you feel that the grief your feeling is too over-powering and nothing else matters. Feeling depressed is normal, however, there has to be a restricted amount of time of feeling this way. If it goes on too long it can ultimately change the life you have led forever. Depression time slots can vary from person to person, but the time it lasts should not make the person feel uncomfortable with it.

The last stage is accepting it. It is a long and lengthy process to get to this stage and it can leave a feeling of peace within yourself. Sometimes receiving grief counseling can encourage special things that you can do, to help you stay connected with the person lost and things to keep their memories alive.

Stress Management

It's easy to forget the importance of everything we put into our bodies. While you can't always eat a completely balanced diet, you can reduce your stress levels simply by choosing stress-fighting foods.

Since everyone is different, some stress-relieving foods might work for you while others may not. Your best bet will be to try them all and then incorporate the ones that work for you into your regular diet.

Here are some foods that can help alleviate your stress:

1. Green Leafy Vegetables
Leafy greens contain a lot of magnesium. Magnesium is an important mineral that has the power to relax muscles.

2. Fish Oil
Fish oil contains essential fatty acids that help with serotonin uptake in the brain. Serotonin makes you feel good mentally and enables your brain to better cope with stress. You can get your fish oil from certain kinds of fish, such as salmon, or from supplements.

3. Milk
There is a reason that milk is sometimes referred to as a "wind down" food. The proteins in milk can help reduce anxiety while the calcium is another mineral that can help with muscle relaxation.

4. Chocolate
A small piece of dark chocolate each day can actually provide you with many health benefits. Chocolate has a stimulating effect. The caffeine also helps to increase serotonin. It's okay to indulge in chocolate in small amounts!

5. Red Wine
Many experts believe that a glass of red wine each day provides health benefits. The only drawback is that it's easy to overdo it when drinking alcoholic beverages. Wine is packed with beneficial antioxidants and can temporarily lower blood pressure and help you relax.

6. Oatmeal
Oatmeal and other carbohydrates also help increase serotonin levels in the brain. In fact, your brain needs carbohydrates in order to function normally. This is why it's essential to include good carbohydrates like oatmeal in your regular diet.

7. Lean Meats
Lean meats can help you combat stress by providing a good source of protein. Turkey, eggs, chicken, and fish are all good choices because they contain necessary amino acids for healthy brain function. Remember not to eat fatty meats because the fat can interfere with the proper digestion of the amino acids.

8. Coffee
Yes, caffeine is a stimulant and there is also a risk of developing an unhealthy habit. However, moderation is the key. Coffee can help stimulate the brain into working with more energy and efficiency, helping you feel more motivated and less stressed.

9. Nuts
Nuts help you maintain your proper blood sugar. They also contain plenty of the vitamin B complex, which combats fatigue.

10. Spinach
Spinach is one of the world's super foods. It contains many vitamins, antioxidants and omega 3's. This means it would be hard to eat spinach and not feel good!

Vitamins & Supplements

Of course, it's always best to get your nutrients from the natural source. If this isn't possible, or if you can't stomach a certain food, it's best to look for vitamin supplements, so you can still derive some benefits from it.

Vitamin supplements help your body get the nutrients it might be missing. Once you start consuming these necessary nutrients, you'll be on your way to feeling healthier and stress-free.

Family Life

Does this picture describe your happy home? The baby's crying while you hurriedly put the fast food on the table, the dog is throwing up on the floor, the hubby's got the TV on full-blast, and your teenager just angrily slammed the door on his way out.

Unfortunately, it's a typical scene for many of us. However, the good news is that it doesn't have to be this way. There are, in fact, things you can do to ease this stress and create a more harmonious environment so that you and your family can look forward to coming home!

Although some degree of stress is inherent as you deal with the varying phases of your family members, if you strive to uphold a core set of values and go with the flow, you can maintain a happy and healthy home.

Here are some specific ways you can reduce stress at home:

1. Get organized
Life can quickly become chaotic when you don't maintain an organization. An organized home runs smoothly, while an unorganized home leads to stress and lost time.

* A good tip is to start small with your organization efforts. Start with one room or even a portion of a room. The idea is to think of it as a series of small projects instead of one overwhelmingly huge one.

2. Communicate
Your family will certainly benefit from actively working on communication skills. When you fail to communicate effectively, you may not get what you want and can even cause upsetting misunderstandings. Working on communication will allow all family members to feel loved and appreciated and help the household run efficiently.

3. Eat dinner together
Everyone in your family likely has a busy life of their own. It's easy to suddenly realize that you have no idea what's going on with your spouse or child. When you make it a point to eat dinner together every night, you make time to connect with your family. You'll learn how to work as one even with busy lifestyles.

4. Have fun together
It's important to schedule time to have fun together as a family, even if these times can't be as often as you'd like. Schedule family nights in advance and allow each family member a chance to pick that evening's activity.

5. Show unconditional love
Be sure to practice the art of unconditional love with your family. This leads to secure attachments and will ultimately keep everyone in your family happy and stress-free.

* Children and parents alike need to know that, when they make mistakes, they have a loving family that will back them up and forgives them.

6. Give support
Go out of your way for your family members. It might not be an ideal Friday night to go to your daughter's art show, but just think of how they'll feel when they see that they have your love and support. Actively express your support by really being there for your family - no matter what. Just thinking about how much you love them is not enough!

7. Family rules
Having a set of family rules will help with organization and allow everyone to know what's expected of them.

* Schedule a family meeting to establish the house rules. Make sure everyone has a chance to participate and share his or her concerns. You'll likely find a compromise that allows everyone to be happy.

A happy and stress-free home is one built on love. Don't be too hard on yourself and others, and you'll have the basis for creating an excellent home life.