Keep the Drive Alive

In 2004 I designed an innovative kitchenware product.I'm not much of a chef, but I was hoping this idea I cooked up would appeal to the tastes of consumers looking for something fresh and hot to sink their teeth into. Working in the fashion industry for 20 years allowed me to source the materials and have my prototype made locally. After receiving feedback from various sources, I test marketed my sample on eBay, then made the decision to outsource the production overseas.Dealing with foreign suppliers was not an easy task. Finding the factories to source the same high quality materials and reproduce the exact sample as mine was a challenge and I wasn't prepared to compromise on the quality or integrity of my design. I eventually came to a dead end after encountering so many roadblocks that I made a detour and decided it wasn't worth the time for me to continue on this same path of futility.Eight years later, my family and I attended a Christmas musical at Broadway Church called the "Singing Christmas Tree". During intermissionthey played a short inspirational film that gave mea wake-up call to get back on track and continue to pursue my vision of starting my own business. The short clip encouraged us to not allow our busy lives prevent us from pursuing our goals and fulfilling our dreams. Later that day I went into my crawl space and took out the prototype I had made. I said to myself that I would give the idea one last chance. I then visited a major kitchenware retailer and talked to the manager forher unbiased opinion. Her feedback encouraged me to continue to pursue this endeavor. This wasthe signal I was looking for and it gave me the green light to have the drive to continue on the road to success.Being a stay-home parent didn't allow me the luxury to manage all the day-to-day family responsibilities let alone manage a business while taking care of the monkey business. But I was determined. So for a year I got up early in themorning and stayed up late every day to raise the capital on my own to finance the project and thenform my company. The following year I was able to source all the proper materials and trimmings and secure the best factory to manufacture my product exactly to specifications. Shortly afterwards I set up my own website and distribution through Amazon in Canada and the United States.I learned that the degree and designations I achieved from various business schools didn't teach me everything in life. The most valuable education subsequently came from being trained from the best school in the world - the School of Hard Knocks. Setting up your own business is no piece of cake. It was more like humble pie. The best lessons are learned from making mistakes. Along the way I discovered that you have to put inthe effort and you can't always rely on others to do it for you.The ground work is done, now the heavy load is coming. The journey now begins.Glen Kent is a former business executive and stay-at-home parent who designs, and creates innovative kitchenware accessories. Visit my website to read about my on-going journey of being a Mr. Mom to becoming a Pop-Preneur.http://www.cookartauthenticware.com/pixel-perfection-for-retina-displays/Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Glen_Kent/2315246

From Top Gun to Pop Gun

My family has been in the "rag trade" for 3 generations. My late grandfather, Charles Chan Kent was an uneducated but driven individual who didn't throw in the towel. He had to support 14 of his children and founded Aero Garment Ltd. which became the largest clothing manufacturer in Western Canada in the 1970's. I am one of his 60 grandchildren. You could say that fashion was in my "jeans".In elementary school I worked cutting the grass and trimming the edges around my grandfather's building for $1.00 an hour - slave labor. My younger brother only got paid $.50/hour for cutting the edges with a manual hedge cutter - child labor. They managed to trim his pay in half and get him cheap. It took 4 hours for us to do the yard work as we had to crouch and hunch over to trim the edges along the building as there were no electric or gas trimmers back then.In high school my brothers and I worked in the shipping department (aka - the concentration camp) every summer packing garments into boxes, counting inventory, and pulling orders under a strict slave driver who timed us for every task we did. I called him the taskmaster, as he camped out in his office ready to whip us into shape and punish us for making mistakes. There was no favoritism for the young offspring of the family. When I got older I was given a pardon and was transferred to the accounting department to do bookkeeping under my father who was the CFO of the company. In fact all the males in my family were accountants. My father and younger brother were CGAs, and my older brother was a CMA; but I was just an MIA - missing in action.In 1985 I worked part-time selling the fabrics that were left over after every season. My grandfather had 5 sons who ran the business. There was Sonny and a Bunny; but there was no funny, honey or money. I cut swatches, pasted them onto black cardboard backing, created my own booklet and set off to sell to whoever was interested. I worked off a straight 10% commission basis and was given no salary, car allowance, or gas money. It was a matter of survival; - sink or swim, or do or die; as our family didn't believe in giving any free handouts. The only thing they believed in was giving free advice.At first they threw me a bunch of swatches and prices and told me to run with it, so I was left coldcalling, developing my sales pitch and trying not to strike out. Yet I was fortunate to win a number of clients in the retail and wholesale industry, including local manufacturers and School Boards. In order to earn my commission for each sale, I was required to fulfill each order by measuring the fabric rolls, cutting to order, and packing the rolls separately in boxes. Back in the eighties acid wash jeans were the craze and the factory had two dedicated washing machines to create the wash effects. Fortunately I used some ingenuity to create more business by acid washing all our denim fabric ends and selling them in bulk by the pound to various fabric chains such as Fabricland, Fanny's Fabrics and the Angel Merchandising Group. In addition I purchased scraps from other denim manufacturers and processed them for sale as well. You could say that I sold a ton and took my clients to the cleaners.Since we had our own garment wash/dye facilities on site I was given the added challenge of generating extra revenue from other manufacturers. Eventually I received business from companies such as Please Mum stores, Levi jean sub-contractors, and other denim makers. I also learned how to drive a one ton truck and picked up jeans and garments from various garment manufacturers in town. Every day I would drive down narrow back alleys picking up jeans from various clients and trying to maneuver the beast without damaging it. One client of mine was Starboard Pant factory locatedin Vancouver Chinatown. I drove there so often that I nicknamed the vehicle - the "wonton" truck.A year later I was offered the additional responsibility of overseeing the embroidery department and solicit extra contract work. I flew down to New Jersey to learn how to digitize, repair and operate our two 20 head multi-color embroidery machines and traveled to California to co-design a custom magnetic frame attachment to increase the efficiency of embroidering designs on denim back pockets. Some of the clients I worked with were local manufacturers such as Westbeach, corporate apparel companies, and businesses who had licenses to produce goods for companies such as Disney. By this time I was really reaping what I was sewing.After graduating at Simon Fraser University in Finance in 1987 I worked full-time for the family business. In a year, I became part of the management team and took on the role of Purchasing Manager in charge of forecasting andMRP (material requirements planning). I sat in meetings with our designers as they reviewed thenew fabric lines that were presented. I then corresponded with the sales agents once the fabrics were selected for the season. Learning about fabric construction and composition was a bit hard to digest at first, but I dreaded more about having to think about avenues of discarding the leftovers after the season.Two years later once again I was moved to improve the efficiency of the Distribution department and help expedite orders in a timely fashion. I guess the family must have figured thatthe leadership style was outdated and needed to be re-designed to be more progressive. The company didn't believe in being fashionably late.After improving the efficiency of the Shipping andDistribution departments I was asked to oversee Operations from cutting, sewing, pressing, and trimming. The biggest challenge was to interact with all 300 workers who only spoke Chinese. So in order to communicate with them without looking foolish, I mastered the fine craft of nodding, and became very fluent in the art of Chinese sign language.Aero Garment Ltd. eventually hired a new President outside of the family who started a Corporate Apparel division and I assisted in the purchasing and inventory management. The company eventually set up a new Screen Print division and purchased some manual and automatic screen print machines. The Corporate Apparel division became quite successful and wehad contracts with Hooters restaurant chains worldwide, Alice Coopersville, Coast Mountain Bus Co., Westjet Airlines, Mr. Lube, and Speedy Glass. I helped negotiate and win contracts with the government and other large accounts, but didn't have the side benefit of socializing with clients such as Hooters.As time wore on, the onslaught of imports took its toll on local manufacturing and made it difficult for us to compete. In 2004, the 5 2nd generation family members decided to wind down the business, retire and to settle their estates, while the rest of us wound up having to settle on finding opportunities elsewhere.During this time my wife and I had a son. I never imagined becoming a Mr. Mom, but I took on the challenge from being a Top Gun to a Pop Gun andwas preparing for the big "change". Two years later we had a daughter and I had the opportunity to be blessed with being a stay-at-home parent and loving it. While looking after my children I spent one year studying to obtain my Supply Chain designation. I formed a study group, flew out to Toronto for a week of residency, and then passed the grueling 2 day exam to acquire my SCMP (Supply Chain Management Professional) designation.I have since established my own company and have focused on developing, designing and marketing innovative kitchenware products. I consider that it was time for another change in my life and begin the process of transforming from being a Mr. Mom to becoming a Pop-preneur. But change is good.Glen Kent is a former business executive and current stay-at-home parent who designs and creates innovative kitchenware accessories. Visitmy website to learn about my light-hearted journey from being a Mr. Mom to becoming a Pop-preneur.http://www.cookartauthenticware.com/keep-drive-alive/Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Glen_Kent/2315246

Mounting threats from climate change

The year 2014 was the hottest ever since humans started monitoring weather conditions in the year 1880, according tofour international agencies monitoring global temperature trends.These four agencies are: two US (NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), one Japanese (Japan Meteorological Agency) and Australian Bureau of Meteorology.The year has surpassed all previous scorchers — 1998, 2005, and 2010. More worryingly, except for 1998, as per NASA’s claim, all 10 hottest years recorded in human history came in the first 14 years of the current century.Fortunately, the major rise in temperature was occasional, and soil, by and large, escaped the impact. However, it was fourth hottest year for the land as well.For scientists, another concern was the absence of El Niño (which usually accelerates the already up-trend in global average temperature) in 2014.This year (2015), El Niño is part of meteorological forecast, which may improve the heat record further this year.The report has not come in a vacuum for Pakistan.Its own official agencies have also been studying the trend (variations in temperature and frequency and severity of weather-related events) and have drawn almost similar conclusion that organisations around the world are warning of.Join us on FacebookTwo years ago, the Federal Ministry for Environment, in its report — vulnerability to climate change threats — identified aseries of such pressures that farming in Pakistan would face due to changing weather patterns. It identified nine areas, where they would impact human life in the country.Out of the nine areas, where, according to report, threat perception was increasing, six were directly related to agriculture.They included considerable rise in frequency and intensity of extreme weather events (droughts, floods, un-timely and heavy rains);Recession of glaciers due to global warming and carbon sootdeposits from trans-boundary pollution;Increased silt in dams caused by frequent, flash and intense floods;Increased temperature resulting in enhanced heat- and water-stressed conditions, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions;Intrusion of saline water in the Indus delta, threatening coastal agriculture and mangroves and tension between upper and lower riparian in water stress periods.Join us on TwitterThese were on the top of carbonaceous filth that, it warned, has started mixing into Indus water, pouring in from glaciers, and would have hazardous consequences for life of every kind in the water ways.The activity was noted on all three mountain ranges — the Hindukush, the Karakoram and the Himalaya — that feed Pakistani rivers.According to researchers, these extreme weather events could cause a direct loss of two to 30pc in agricultural yields — depending on the severity of the event in a particular year — and it would be especially true for cereals (wheat,rice & maize).Given Pakistan’s increasing population at almost unknown rate, the country needs an annual increase of 5-10pc in those cereals for its own food security, leave alone exploring exports potential.This would be a herculean task, given Pakistan’s archaic technological and farming practices.In the last ten years, the frequency of flash floods, extreme rains, severe droughts, shifting of monsoon season, which gives Pakistan 80pc of its irrigation water and matures water-loving crops like rice, is increasing and threatening crops like never before.All the climatic changes documented by different federal, provincial and academic agencies need to form basis of planning for agriculture for the next few decades.The agriculture pattern and practices, as we know them for the last few millenniums, are bound to undergo changes because of weather factors.The world is trying to adjust to these new realities by measuring the rate of change, and then developing policy andtechnological responses to those changes. Pakistan cannot be an exception.The scientists insist that rice is already suffering in quality and quantity due to temperature variations, along with other factors.February, 2015Source:Dawn News

Stop ignoring small-scale farmers

Although urbanisation is on the rise, around 75 per cent of the world’s poorest people still live in rural areas, and are involved in agricultural activities.Which comprise the major source of their livelihoods.The need to pay more attention to small-scale farmers is thusevident.However, in the era of globalisation, contending with problems facing small-scale farmers across the so-called developing world requires cognisance of production relationsat not only the national, but also at the international level.The reliance on larger farmers to help boost agricultural production in developing countries, combined with the emphasis on liberalisation of agricultural processes through powerful entities like.The WTO, the IMF and the World Bank have been undermining locally-based, agro-ecological approaches towards farming since decades.Consider, for instance, how the introduction of ‘Green Revolution’ technologies back in the 1960s tried addressing the problem of lacklustre agricultural growth by investing in high-yielding varieties of food grain and focusing on larger farmers, who had the money to buy the necessary agricultural inputs.Join us on FacebookSmaller landowners could not keep pace with the high-cost requirements of intensive farming, and many of them began to lease their land out to capitalist producers with the economic resources to do so.Due to mechanisation of agriculture, such as the increasing use of tractors, smaller farmers, especially sharecroppers, began to be evicted from the farming sector.The dynamics of agribusiness and corporate farming being emphasised across developing countries nowadays are no different, since they are exacerbating agricultural land scarcity for smaller farmers,And their capital-intensive approach to agricultural production provides meagre employment opportunities to the rural workforce, except for rural women who are compelled to work for meagre daily wages, as their menfolk migrate to cities in search for other work.Join us on TwitterShifting the predominant agricultural production model towards more ecological approaches would also imply abandoning conventional, monoculture-based and high-external-input-dependent industrial production.Such a shift would be challenged by powerful vested interests within both developing and developed countries.But the looming threat of climate change, including water scarcity and recurrent bouts of food insecurity, necessitate transformative changes in the global agricultural system.The Trade and Environment Review Report published over a year ago by the UN’s Commission on Trade and Development(UNCTAD), including contributions from more than 60 experts around the world, convincingly argued for such a shift.Some of the relevant practices identified by UNCTAD expertsto encourage more sustainable agricultural process included more emphasis on organic farming, better integration between crop and livestock production,And increased incorporation of agro-forestry and wild vegetation within agricultural policies and forest and grassland management.There is also need for optimisation of organic and inorganic fertiliser use, and a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions oflivestock production, in turn requiring changes in dietary patterns towards climate-friendly food consumption.Adoption of sustainable and regenerative agricultural production systems, suited to diverse rural settings, will also considerably help improve the existing productive capacity of small-scale farmers.Unfortunately, there is little evidence of such changes taking place.It is necessary for national policymakers, as well as the international trade and development agencies, to begin taking agro-ecological approaches towards farming more seriously.Sporadic NGO efforts to encourage more sustainable agricultural practices will not be able to achieve the scale needed to make any real difference.February, 2015Source:The Express Tribune

High flood likely in next 24 hour

The Federal Flood Commission (FFC) has said that a peak of high to very high flood level is expected in River Jhelum at Mangla (Inflow) and high flood in River Chenab at Marala, Khanki and Qadirabad during the next 24 hours.The River Chenab is in very high flood level at Marala and Khanki head-works in districts Sialkot and Gujranwala respectively with a flow ranging between 3,80,000 cusecs and 4,00,000 cusecs , Flood Warning Centre Lahore told Business Recorder here on Sunday .It said the River Chenab at Qadirabad is also likely to attain High to Very High Flood Level ranging between 380,000 to 410,000 cusecs during the period from 2359 PST of 07th August-2016 to 1400 PST of 08th August-2016..The Flash Flooding in river Chenab has cut of more than 150 villages from rest of the country and brought vast areas under water while administrations of districts Sialkot and Gujranwala declared emergency and put the rescue and reliefoperation in motion The FWC said that according to latest Hydrological situation, the River Indus at Tarbela Guddu and Sukkur is in Low Flood Level. Heavy rainfall may generate Flash Flooding in the Nullahs of Rivers Ravi & Chenab along with Hill Torrents of D.G.Khan and Kohat Divisions. Sharp peaks of High to Very High Flood Level are expected in River Jhelum at Mangla (Sharp peak at Upstream).It further warned that scattered thunderstorm/rain with isolated heavy falls and one or two very heavy falls is expected over the upper catchments of Rivers Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej. Scattered thunderstorm/rain is expected over the upper catchments of River Indus along with Sindh, Northeast Balochistan Punjab, Peshawar, Kohat & D.I. Khan Divisions.Weather forecast for Monday and Tuesday:Rain-thunderstorm (with isolated heavy falls) is expected at a number of places of Islamabad, upper Punjab (Rawalpindi Gujranwala, Lahore, Faisalabad, Sargodha divisions) and Kashmir; scattered places of KP (Malakand, Hazara, Peshawar, Mardan, Kohat, D.I Khan, Bannu divisions), FATA Lower Sindh and eastern Balochistan; while at isolated placesof upper Sindh, south Punjab and Gilgit-BaltistanHeavy falls may generate flash flooding and landslides in the vulnerable areas of Punjab, KP and Kashmir.Weather past twenty four hrs:Rain-thunderstorm occurred at scattered places of Sindh, upper Punjab while at isolated places of upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Quetta division, Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. Weather remained hot and humid elsewhere in the country.Heavy rainfall was recorded at Hyderabad.Rainfall recorded in MM:Hyderabad(City=112 and Airport=77), Kotli=58, Mirpur Khas=39, , Karachi(Masroor=38,North Karachi=22 ,Gulshan-e-Hadeed=10,Airport=08 and Landhi=01),Sialkot (Cantt=37 and Airport=01), Balakot=34, Palandri =29, Muzaffarabad=26,Risalpur and Garhidupatta=25(each), Noorpur Thal=23, Mangla=22, Murree=21, Lahore(Johar Town=18,Township=07, Airport=01 and City=Trace), ShaheedBenazirabad=18, Kasur=17, DG Khan( Zain Sanghar=15,Fort Minro=05 & Mari=01), Chakwal and Hattian Bala=15(each),Aik Nullah (Ura), Domel and Chhor=14(each), Chattar Kallas=13,Talhatta=11, Mandibahauddin and Thatta=08(each), Shinkiari=07, Sehrkakota & Dadu=06(each), Phulra=05,Marala and Oghi=04(each), Barkhan & Parachinar=03(each), Zafarwal, Kakul, Lasbela, Mithi and Faisalabad=02(each), Dratian, Jassar, Padidan, Moen-jo-Daro and Rawalakot=01(each), Gilgit, Islamabad(Zeropoint), Jhelum, Jaharabad, Larkana & Quetta(Samungli and Sheikh Manda)=Trace(each).News SourceNews Collated byPAKISSAN.comCourtesy www.brecorder.com

7 Reasons Why Now Is The Best Time To Start AnOnline Business

1. Technology has come to a point where anyone can doitTake building a website. Never before has it been cheaper and easier to build your own website. Where this was solely a job for expert programmers in the near past, WordPress and building software like Divi have made it possible for anyone with a bit of creativity and determination to build a professional website.The amount of tools, systems and training that is available (for free or low-cost) is truly staggering. You need something? Look for it online and it's most likely that someone made it for you to use in your business. Don't be set back by thinking that there's no use for you in this abundance of online presence. There's always room for one more.Can't find what you're looking for? Great! You've found a business opportunity.2. You can open shop 24/7 and 365 days per yearWhen setting up shop online, you do not have the typical offline hurdles of renting shop space, buying inventory, attracting staff and more of all that overhead. Even when you would open a physical shop in a prime location (with sky-high rent), you could probably not have it open 24/7 alldays of the year. Nor would you want to. Your online business, however, can simply be open all of the time. It doesn't cost extra to do so. Whenever we're sleeping on the Northern hemisphere, people in the Southern hemisphere are wide awake and are looking for your businessto help them get what they need.3. You've got over 7 billion potential customersYou'd have to translate your website for some people and quite a few others might not be of ageto have a credit card, but putting that aside, the potential reach of your business is incredible. You're not limited to people who happen to be physically nearby your shop. People who can be physically anywhere in the world are able to enter your shop through their mobile phone or laptop and can buy your products and services to improve their lives.4. Your marketing can be done with laser precisionAdvertising on television, radio or print is like a shot of hail, fired while you're drunk. You might hit something, but it's not very likely you'll hit yourtarget full-on. Maybe the bigger companies with huge target markets and even bigger marketing budgets still benefit from this type of advertising, but they are now also shooting with laser precision through for example YouTube advertising. For you as a (solo) entrepreneur, online marketing is simply the only way to go. With the added benefit of creating valuable free content which can be shared by people.Once you know how, you can measure exactly what you marketing efforts are doing, how peopleare behaving in your shop (your website) and where to make improvements. Compare that to feeling around in the dark with a physical business.5. You can leverage systems to work for youThere is a lot of power in creating systems that do work for you. Like creating advertisements that will bring traffic to your website while you sleep. And once people do visit your website, handing them a nice free bonus (at no additional cost to you!) in exchange for their contact info so you can follow-up with them, maybe even throughan automated email responder. You could have several emails set up, providing your (potential) customer with additional value. Once you've set itup, it's a matter of fine-tuning and keep adding value.6. Marginal costs are low and potential for passive income is highYou're making costs once, say for writing and developing an e-book, but after those costs, it willcost you nearly nothing for each additional sale. This is phenomenal! All of the income of additional sales, after costs have been paid, is pure profit. Whether you sell 10, 1000 or 100.000 copies. Same holds for the time you put in. Once you've created this item or service of value, you can repeat the process without you having to be actively be involved in it. The first time this idea entered my mind, I was stunned by it.7.There is still ample opportunity to connect with the real worldWe're still living in a physical world and I'm probably speaking for you when I say that I love to be in the physical world and I love to connect with other human beings. First of all that makes me realize that I always deal with a real person, just like me, when doing business online. It's not just an email address, there's a real person behind it! And also, I'm using the online world as a platform to grow my business into the offline world. From e-book and webinar to real-life coaching and events.Paying it forwardI feel very grateful to have been able to take the leap into online marketing and business.While these 7 reasons are very valid in my view, itcan be a quite daunting undertaking because of the sheer size and number of possibilities out there. We were lucky to find a system with mentors and a community that helped us to start marketing online and monetize products and services. And that's only the starting point for bringing our own unique gift to the world, throughour own brand.To your personal and business success,MickRawwwLiving inspires and enables you to Unleash Your Inner Beast: to live your potential and to give your gift to the world. We are focused on providing training, education and mentorship to people who want to learn a proven step-by-stepapproach to online marketing, personal development and brand building. Visit our website to receive a free video bootcamp:http://www.RawwwLiving.com.Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Mick_Janssen/2317010

Flexible Focus Helps You Find Time When You Need It Most

Finding time to develop flexible focus increases youragility and responsiveness because it helps you select the right tools for each situation you face.If you've wondered exactly where flexible focus can help you, here are some classic scenarios where this skill set can give you a timely boost:*.Training new employees.*.Starting a new job.*.Collaborating closely with a colleague who has a different work style.*.Introducing/Integrating new people or projects into busy schedules.*.Balancing work and home demands.Do you face any of these challenges now? Or, do any of the situations on this list bring to mind other times when you have been stretched too thin and felt like you were spinning your wheels inmud? The more your stress balloons, the more your wheels spin. It's a terrible feeling!As you reflect on your own experience, take special note of the situations that stand out for you. Write them down. This is an important first step, because challenges become much more manageable when you move them out of your head and onto a page. You begin to see their true size and shape, and they lose some of their power.Next, take these two key and timely steps:*.Internalize the power:Take time to travel within and create a heart-based approach to the personal challenge that you are facing; and*.Externalize the tasks:Do some brainstorming about what systems you can develop to keep things running smoothly.You start to benefit as soon as you realize that certain situations call for Flexible Focus. And the more you practice using this timely skill, the moreyou'll experience its power and practicality.Mindfulness during these times will also broadenyour perspective. The more you're able to focus on the present moment and what it holds, the easier you'll find it to let go of urgency and bring patience and compassion to yourself and to others, as well. From that warm and solid base, you are freed up to brainstorm creative solutions and responses to whatever challenges you face.Finally, at the end of the day, give yourself a few moments to reflect. Envision how using flexible focus has sent ripples of fresh energy to you throughout your day, and take a deep, relaxing breath of gratitude!Are you feeling ready to start using flexible focus to find time when you need it most?What does that process look like for you? Picture it, make it real, and drop me a line - I'd love to hear how it goes!Let's explore time together...And to move toward your Heart-Based Time Success, sign up for our free gift, The Finding Time Success Kit, which includes "The New Finding Time Boundary Template: 9 Simple, Sequential Steps to Find More Time and Recharge Your Energy!" Using a workbook format this powerful and practical time template helps you progress beyond disappointment and frustration. Discover that 24 hours really are enough!Just click this link to get started:http://thetimeschool.com/SuccessArticle Source:http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Paula_Eder/40911

What Can Happen When Someone Is No Longer Willing To Put Up With Other People's Projections?

Although some people have the tendency to take responsibility for what takes place within them, there are others who don't.Due to this, it can be normal for someone to believe that what is takingplace externally has nothing to do with what is going on internally.It is then not going to be challenge for them to see when something 'out there' is not the problem. Even so, it doesn't mean that they will find it hard to attract people into their life.The VictimsWhen it comes to the people who are in their life, they could simply take on what one is not willing to own. This can then mean that they will believe that it belongs to them, and there will then be no reason for them to do anything about what is taking place.Through being around people who are like this, there is going to be no reason for one to change. Their environment will give them the support that they need to carry on doing the same thing.ResistanceBut if the people around them are not willing to go along with what one sees in them, it doesn't mean that they will get very far. This is because one could dismiss or ignore what they come out with.During the moments when they speak up about what is taking place, one could say that they are getting defensive and that this proves they are in the wrong. What this will then show is that it doesn't matter what they say, as their interactionsare unlikely to change.Keeping the PeaceSo based on what takes place when they speak up, they may prefer to go along with how things are. And while this will cause them to deny their own truth, it will stop them from having to experience unnecessary 'drama'.It could then be said that this will allow one to avoid pain in the shot-term, but it will set them up to suffer in the long-term. As not only will they deny their own truth, they can also end up feeling completely worthless.How Does This Look?When one is in a position where they are unable to own what is taking place within them, they will be convinced that what they see in others has nothing do to with them. The parts of themselves that they have disowned will then end up being projected onto others.For example, one could feel as though they are incapable, but instead of being able to face how they feel they could end up perceiving other people in this way. Or one could say that that other people only think about themselves, when this could be how they are.A ReflectionWhen this takes place, it is not going to be possible for them to know what someone else is like; the only thing they will see is their own reflection. Therefore, although one can believe that they know someone; this is going to be nothing more than an illusion.What they will primarily know about another is what they have disconnected from within themselves. However, as it is too painful for themto connect to themselves, they are unlikely to realise what is taking place.ValidationYet if one is surrounded by people who put up with what they are not willing to take responsibility for, then there is going to be no reason for them to change. One can then continue to live on the surface of themselves, andthey can believe that they are simply observing reality.As a result of this, there is unlikely to be a lot of growth involved in their relationships, and this is because they need the people around them to carry what they are unwilling to take responsibility for. Therefore, the only way they can stop themselves from facing how they feel is to make sure the people around them play a certain role.StuckThe people in their life can then feel trapped in their presence, but this will be what allows one to feel a sense of control. Without controlling what is taking place around then, they may have to face how they feel.If someone who spends time with them was to get to the point where they are no longer willing to take on what doesn't belong to them, they may be able to walk away. There is also the chance that they may need to build themselves up first.The Time Has ComeThis could then be a time where they will start to develop a sense of themselves, and this will allow them to create boundaries. Through doing this, they will be able to see where they begin andend and where other people begin and end.This will then make it a lot easier for them to know when someone is projecting their issues onto them, and they will feel safe enough to standtheir ground. And if someone tries to undermine them, they will also be able to walk away without feeling as though a though their life is under threat.Drawing the LineAs they begin to change, it is going to mean that it will be harder for other people to project their issues onto them. There is then the chance that someone in their life will come on even stronger, and this will show that it will be in their best interest to cut their ties with them.The reason they could come on stronger is that when one is no longer willing to carry their issues, it can be a lot harder for them to avoid themselves. It can then be vital for them to do everything they can to force one back into the role they used to play, as this will them to keep their feelings at bay.AwarenessUltimately, it will be clear that the other person can't (or won't) take responsibility for how they feel and one will have no choice but to move on. By doing this, they will soon start to feel better about themselves.If one has people in their life who behave in this way and they want to move on, they may need to work with a therapist. This will allow them to develop the strength that they need in order let goof people who have no place in their life.Prolific writer, author, and coach, Oliver JR Cooper, hails from England. His insightful commentary and analysis covers all aspects of human transformation, including love, partnership, self-love, and inner awareness. With over one thousand in-depth articles highlighting human psychology and behaviour, Oliver offers hope along with his sound advice. His current projects include 'A Dialogue With The Heart' and 'Communication Made Easy'.To find out more go to -http://www.oliverjrcooper.co.uk/Feel free to join the Facebook Group -https://www.facebook.com/OliverJRCooperArticle Source:http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Oliver_JR_Cooper/818466

Humans Are Naturally Selfish, Study Finds

It's an undeniable fact that all humans have a selfish side whether they accept it or not.Psychological data obtained from previous researchers suggested that humans tend to be selfish because they like the attention.Altering the Prisoner's Dilemma which is a classic matchup theory, selfish strategy, somehow, proved to be more productive.In this game, both participants get equally rewarded if they co-operate.However, if one cooperates but the other refuses to do so, then the participant who cooperated gets the smallest profit and the player who refused to cooperate gets the largest profit. In a scenario, where they both cooperated, both get anequal share of the profit but still less than what they could have gained if they both would have cooperated. So the whole concept behind the game is that the selfish participant gets the largest profit, so this game promotes the quality of selfishness in the subjects.Last Year University of Pennsylvania researchers Alexander Stewart and Prof Joshua Plotkin published a mathematical explanation for why cooperation and generosity have evolved in nature.Recent researches have shown that providing more freedom in such games can further aid in making selfish strategies more productive. This whole project depicts how selfishness and cooperation balance each other out in nature.Prof Plotkin said: "It's a somewhat depressing evolutionary outcome, but it makes intuitive sense."We had a nice picture of how evolution can promote cooperation even amongst self-interested agents and indeed it sometimes can, but, when we allow mutations that change the nature of the game, there is a runaway evolutionary process, and suddenly defection becomes the more robust outcome." In the previous trials, the same participants were permitted to compete against each other and the victorious players passed on their successful strategies to the next generation. As cheaters couldn't triumph against each other, forgiving andcooperative strategies succeeded as well.In the new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the participants not only had the freedom to alter their strategies but they could also vary the playoffs they would get for cooperating or not cooperating.This gives a more realistic notion of how reward and risk are interlinked in nature, where organisms have the freedom to cooperate and control the extent of how much they want to cooperate.Initially, these studies gave a lot of success but Mr. Stewart added "when cooperative strategies predominate, payoffs will rise as well."With higher and higher payoffs at stake, the temptation to defect also rises." In a sense, the cooperators are paving the way for their own demise."After this study, we end up with a less sunny view of the evolution of cooperation. But it rings true that it's not the case that evolution always tends towards happily ever after."Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Maryam_Nasrullah/2270838

Investment Ideas For College Students

You have heard it from Mom and Dad all ofyour life right? Go to high school, get good grades so you can get into a stellar college. Mom and Dad are not that far off base. They both know the value of a college degree. With a college education and degree, your chances of getting a higher paying job are increased and you can earn around $17,500 or more per year that your peers who only have a high school diploma. Now, that might not soundlike a lot of money but, that is the average, in many cases it is higher. Time and time again, if you talk to a person who has takenthe time to earn their degree, they will tell you without a doubt that they do not regret getting the college education. Most peopleagree that it is worth the effort to get the college education. What everyone forgets to tell you is how much that college education is going to cost per year. Many people already know that the cost of an education is costly, but, still many people do not understand the figures involved in getting a degree. The average cost to go toa private university is around $48,000. However, upon further research we soon see that $48,000 is a low number. This figure is for a university that might be located a hop, skip and a jump away from the high school that you graduated from.If you want to go to a top college, with a little more opportunity for advancement, that will cost way over the $60,000 a year mark. That figure of sixty thousand dollars per year does not include other things that are needed for college life. Things like living off campus, some learning materials,food, personal and transportation expenses, entertainment and more are not included in that cost. Now, before you give up on a college education because of the sticker shock price, please remember that there are a number of ways to pay for all these college related expenses. One nice thing about going to college is that most ofthe students qualify for student loans. Yes,there are places that will loan the student money to help with their education. The down side to this is, regardless of how much the student is able to borrow, it will not be enough to cover everything and they will still be paying off the loan long after they have graduated. Can you imagine paying off a loan years after you have graduated? The fact is, many university students suffer to pay the bills long into their working years.The cost of living in a university town is another thing to give some thought to. Let's say you or someone you know, wanted to go to the University of California,the cost of living there could be higher or lower than another university, like, the University of Michigan. So, the big question is: How do people get and pay fora college education and manage stress at the same time? It is a fact that many college students struggle to make ends meet. The average college student attendsclasses, stays up all night doing their school work and cramming for that examination that they hope they will pass. If that stress was not enough for them, they also worry over the mounting cost of education. As a result of financial issues, they often look to a well off or at least better than they are, father figure to help them with their tuition money and even repaying their loans.Most people agree it feels great to be able to give back to these college students and take away some of their financial pain. Guardians and mentors can be very helpful. These university students often make arrangements to provide their guardian/mentor with an in-site into their personal life.There are so many things that a college student go without simply because they cannot find the money to purchase them. Often the issues these college students are dealing with are more than money too, some of them have daddy issues and needthe comfort of an older man to talk to and get advice from. Therapy can come in many forms and often starts with open conversations. Getting these college aged students to open up is easy once you show them that someone like you cares about their needs.These university students are trying their best to get good grades and get the skills they need to enrich the society in which weall live, work and play. With this enormous amount of pressure and stress comes the need to leave off a little steam and have some fun.Often these students are stuck at their dorm or living area for days on end. There is no telling how helping to touch their lives through some financial support and these life changing therapy sessions.There are many university aged students who are seeking arrangements that are rewarding and beneficial for both parties. An upfront and honest arrangement is something that can be hard to find in today's world, however it is easy to find an arrangement when you redefine the expectations. Let's face it, everyone has hardships and they often put an university student in a rough spot because they don'talways have someone they can talk to.According to several scientific studies over the years, self esteem has a lot to do with how the brain works and how students learn. As we look at the many teaching methods, it is easy to see that praise is often giving freely to university students because it builds up their confidence. We can all agree that building a university student's confidence is important in today's fast paced world.Can you picture the struggles and other personal issues? Put yourself in the shoes of a university student who is struggling toget by, burdened with all of these pressing issues. Who would you turn to? You would most likely do what every university student does, turn to a father figure who has the ability to help you out. It is a great privilege to be able to help another person.It makes the person who is helping feel empowered just as much as it helps to build the self esteem and reduce stress onthe college student.Think of it this way, every single person has a duty to help another human being. Helping one or more college students secure their education and pay off their student loans, as well as buying the things they need in life is a great responsibility and privilege.Adopt a Brat. Foster a Brat. Look in to the lives of the most interesting and sexy sugar babies in the world. Visit:https://www.adoptabrat.comArticle Source:http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Larry_Sasa/2313506

Crashed Pak helicopter transported to Kabul

ISLAMABAD: Afghan authorities transported the chopper, which had crashlanded in Logar, toKabul on Friday as efforts for the recovery of the crew continued. Sources said that the chopper was expected to be handed over to Pakistan through the Torkham border crossing sometime today (Sunday), reported Geo News.The Punjab government’s helicopter, en route to Russia for a routine overhaul, crash-landed in the restive Logar province in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday.“Formal and informal channels are being used to ensure safe recovery of the entire crew,” Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said in a statement from his office.Meanwhile, the Afghan defence ministry said it had launched a probe into the incident. “We have launched an investigation into the incident and the government has instructed security forces to spare no efforts to secure the release of crew members,” the Afghan defence ministry said ina statement.The fate of the passengers on board the aircraft was still unclear, but a Taliban commander claimed the seven were “in safe hands” with the militants.A senior Afghan Talibancommander, talking on condition of anonymity, told a news agency thatthe passengers — six Pakistanis and a Russian technician — were in their custody and that negotiations for their release were ongoing. “They are being looked after, being provided tea, food, everything,” he said. “We are in touch with the Pakistani officials. We conveyed to them that they are in safe hands.”He added that it was of no use to seek help from the Afghan government or the US military because the Taliban were in full control of the district.

‘Blacklisted’ US citizen arrested in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: An Ameri­can citizen, blacklisted and deported from the country in 2011 on charges of espionage, was arrested hours after his arrival at Benazir Bhutto International Airport on Saturday morning, the interior ministry said.Interior Minister Chaud­hry Nisar Ali Khan has ordered an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the grant of a Pakistani visa to Matthew Craig Barrett, the US citizen who was expelled from the country after he was allegedly caught spying on sensitive installations.Barrett was picked up by FIA and police officials in a joint raid on a guest house in the capital. A case has been registered against two FIA immigration officials, Sub-Inspector Raja Asif and his son Ehteshamul Haq. Ehte­sham has been arrested, while raids were being conducted toarrest his father, police sources said.The minister has already suspendedan assistant director of the Federal Investiga­tion Agency (FIA), as well as immigration staff that were on duty when Barrett was cleared by authorities at the airport. An interior ministry statement said that action would also be initiated against officials at the Pakis­tani consulate in Houston, who were responsible for issuing him a visa.Matthew Barrett was deported from Pakistan in 2011 on charges of espionageThe minister issued directions for the formation of a joint investigationteam for a thorough probe into the matter. The team, which will be headed by Superintendent of Police (Investigation) retired Captain Mohammad Ilyas, will consist of officers from the Inter-Services Intellige­nce, Intelligence Bureau and FIA.According to documents seen by Dawn, Barrett was issued a multiple-entry visa, stamped by Sajida Altaf Qazi, vice consul at the visa section in Pakistan’s mission in Houston. The visa was issued on June 22 and is good up to June 30, 2020, allowing Barrett to stay in the country for up to one year at a time. Barrett’s passport, which is valid for 10 years, would have expired on June 30, 2020, a week after his visa ran out.Strike twoThe last time Barrett came to Pakistan, things did not go well for him. On June 10, 2011, he was arrested at a residence in Islamabad’s Sector E-11 for overstaying his visa.Police from the Fateh Jhang area charged him under Section 123 of the Pakistan Penal Code — which deals with ‘Concealing with intent to facilitate design to wage war’ — claiming that he had been spotted ina high-security zone where civilians were not allowed. They claimed thatphotographs and maps were recovered from his possession.He was subsequently deported and barred from entering Pakistan again.At the time, Barrett had claimed he had a Pakistani wife and two children, and had been living with her family in Islamabad for at least three years. Advocate Abdul Rehman, the man who clai­med to beBarrett’s father-in-law and represented him in court at the time,could not be reached for comment.When asked to comment on the matter, a spokesperson for the US embassy in Islamabad said the Privacy Act prohibited him from releasing any information about an American citizen without his consent.Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2016

Potential role of agriculture and agro-industry

There is so much talk of possible large-scale Chinese investment being planned to support developing national economic corridor that would open door of economic fortunes for the country.Yes it might be an economic game changer if we position ourselves with appropriate investment decisions to make most out of these opportunities if and when they come.In the past our record has been so poor to miss these opportunities by promoting either self-interest or regional political economy than that of what is good for the national.Of many examples, two are highlighted.Firstly, we missed the opportunities to produce cheap and environmentally friendly energy by not investing in medium tolarge size dams and store extra water during peak flows. India increased its total dam capacity from 166 in 1990 to 224 Km^3 in 2005 and during the same period Pakistan capacity remained at 27 Km^3.Secondly during post-WTO quota abolition regime for cotton exports, we did not bring the needed reforms to prepare the sector for new competitive regime with the result we failed not only to produce sizable raw cotton, but also to add value in comparison to Bangladesh and India.The available data indicates that in year 1990 India and Pakistan were producing almost equal amount of seed cotton around 33 million tons, in the year 2013 Pakistan is producing around 40 million ton and India production has increased to 122 million tons, three times more than us.Further, we produce this cotton using valuable irrigation water where in India most of it is produced under rained conditions. Again we missed the opportunity of providing the right policy environments for strategic commodity like cotton.The new economic opportunity or so-called new growth trigger is being discussed without profound research or factsas to which sectors or sub-sectors provide better returns on investments and to address the problems of poverty alleviation and improved livelihood for large section of population living in the rural areas and in the past neglected provinces.A case is being made in this brief note that developing agriculture and ago-based industry through identification of potential areas and adopting a cluster approach in the proposed corridors provides a prudent investment options and opportunities.The prospects for continued growth in demand for value-added food and agricultural products provides an incentive for increased focus on agro-industries development within the context of economic growth, food security and poverty-fighting strategies.The corridor development should not be looked as a passageprovided to those economies that are well developed and arequite competitive to trade and take larger share of the expected benefits.Rather it also is looked as an opportunity to provide backbone and supporting infrastructure to Pakistan's agriculture and agro-processing industry, which has the potential to grow.Promoting rural economy in high potential areas would result in fast track rural economic growth as it carries forward and backward linkages, have high multiplier effects in terms of job creation and value addition.Because of the generally perishable and bulky characteristicsof agricultural products, many agro-industrial plants and smaller-scale agro-processing enterprises tend to be located close to their major sources of raw materials.Consequently, their immediate socioeconomic impacts tend to be exerted in rural areas (FAO). Further it is suggested to equally direct these efforts to rural economies especially in Balochistan and KPK for a shared prosperity.If we look at successful agriculture and rural development growth models - four common features are present.Firstly, the countries/regions have to carry natural comparative advantage with suitable land and soils, appropriate climatic conditions and a reliable supply of water.All four provinces provide natural resource base to support a very diversified production base with seasonal window of opportunity.Secondly, agriculture and rural development needs an adequate access to agriculture-supporting infrastructure, among others, two are important, linking farm and non-farmer sector to markets through agriculture or feeder roads and, in drier climates like Pakistan, irrigation powered by reliable energy sources (grid electricity) at competitive prices.The case is made that sizable investment have been made on mega projects for developing backbone infrastructure butinvestment on last mile infrastructure (feeder roads, irrigation management) has to be given equal priority.Thirdly, in order to translate above comparative to competitive advantage, there is need to develop clusters of commercially viable farming, processing and service firms located in specific geographical areas.By achieving economies of scale the clusters can help to drive down production and marketing costs for all actors in the value chain.As mentioned above the rural economies carry huge comparative advantage in producing high value commoditiesbut this comparative advantage has not fully being translatedinto competitive advantage due to lack of good farming and marketing practices meeting international standards.To address the issue an innovative approach is needed in developing appropriate infrastructure and its financing to spur the rural growth.Finally, there is a clear and specific government policy dedicated to actively supporting sustainable agriculture and recognizing the important role the private sector has to play to implement such a policy.The agriculture and rural growth centers and corridor model is a way of addressing and channeling large volumes of private investment and enabling high potential agricultural regions to become internationally competitive. The most common way to achieve this is through:-- Identification of areas with high agricultural potential and reasonable access to existing backbone infrastructure such as ports, roads, railways and inland waterways.-- Analysis of the constraints on commercial agriculture and how these can be ad dressed. A value chain approach is often proposed to look at the constraints all along the value chain.-- Making small farmers and enterprises inclusive, provision of support to the commercial agriculture sector through new types of financing mechanism, on the condition that smallholder and emergent farmers/entrepreneur are included and benefits from potential increase in income and livelihood.-- Designing an appropriate business model to develop reforms in our outdated markets. Global experience indicatesthat nucleus plus out grower model ensures better incentive to small farmers than our traditional model which revolves around middle man (arhti) and processors who dominate financing the small farmers at very high cost, and this model does carry any demonstration effects.-- Realizing that role of public sector is important, recognition of the important roles of different public- and private sector players in successful implementation of the Agricultural Growth Centers and Corridor development.The proposed corridor development -- elements of possible actions needed as we move along-- Logistic of supply chain: that plans, implements and controls efficient and effective flow and storage of goods, services and related information from the point-of-origin to the point-of-consumption in order to meet customer requirements.-- Cool Chain System including pack houses, cold storage andrefers: especially to market and transport perishable goods like horticulture, dairy, fishery and pharmaceutical products.-- Feeder roads and markets: in the past larger emphasis placed on building costly motorways and ring roads, whereasthe rural feeder road network away from the main road are often in a very poor shape and a major constraint in providingmarket access to small farmers and rural enterprises.-- Energy and Water availability: Reliable water and energy supply is critical for agriculture and rural development to run irrigation systems, processing facilities, cold storage units and so on. A conducive water and energy and investment policy need to put in place to provide sustainable supply at least-cost.-- Policy Environments: The goal of a rural and agriculture growth strategy/policy may not necessarily to maximize the growth of production in any particular sub-sector/commoditybut to create the necessary, and sufficient conditions for the rural economy to adjust to a more competitive environment.Rural development and agriculture corridor - a broader frameworkIn Pakistan, the idea of developing economic corridor is at the conceptual levels. A strategy needs to be put in place to develop an indicative program of development to sequencing and coordination. At this stage the need is to:1. Developing a consensus on alternative routes being planned, with clear and transparent priorities and time lines. At this stage little details are available on the mix of intended investment plan. Make sure the proposal is inclusive of areas deprived of past investment opportunities to uplift social andeconomic development.2. Picking first the "low-hanging fruit" in order to achieve quick paybacks by improving local rural economies in these potential economic corridors (see figure below). Pakistan being agriculture-based economy is well placed to position itself to improve the competitive of the sector in developing a modern and commercial agriculture. Picture based on rural growth model highlighting the needed building blocks in developing at selected points agriculture and rural growth centers/ corridor in Pakistan.3. Once backbone and supportive infrastructure being developed, stage is set to establish special economic zones investment from private sector from local and Chinese firms can develop a competitive industry.Such a strategy would not only support developing a competitive and sustainable commercial agriculture but also create a sound industrial base operating under low labor costs, a factor to be instrumental in bringing FDI from manufacturers looking for a low-cost locations to build products for exports to emerging markets in the region and beyond.4. Propose to organize a series of workshops at national and provincial levels to educate the decision makers and society at large and to bringing awareness about the benefits of agriculture and rural growth corridor within the umbrella of national corridor.February 2015Source:Business Recorder