Litte Fox - The secret garden - chapter 26

 Dickon worked not only in the secret garden but also in his family's garden. One day, after supper, while he was working on his family's garden, his mother sat on the stone fence beside him. He told her about the secret garden, about Colin, and how he got well.

His mother, Mrs. Sowerby, was happy about it and asked Dickon, "How do the servants think about Colin's health?"

Dickon said they didn't think anything. They didn't know what had happened with Colin.

However, there was a problem. Colin and Mary were growing, and after working in the garden, they were very hungry. But they didn't dare ask for more food, since they were afraid of revealing the secret that Colin was getting well.

Mrs. Sowerby gave Dickon an idea. She would bake bread in the morning, and then Dickon would bring it and a pail of milk to Colin and Mary.

Colin and Mary were very happy about it, but after a while, they realized Mrs. Sowerby had a large family to feed. So, they started paying for her food.

One day, Dickon found a hole in the wood nearby that they could use to make an oven to roast potatoes and eggs. They didn't feel hungry anymore.

They kept pretending that Colin was not well. They hardly touched their food when the servants brought it to them, and Colin continued to act unwell. His doctor asked him many questions, and Colin answered wearily.

Mary giggled, but she quickly turned it into a cough when she realized Colin's doctor was looking at her.

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A new strategy to make more money with less effort

 The Pareto principle show that one percent of popular make more than 90 percent of money. The classic way to earn more money in a field is you have to be very good at that field. For example, in football, if you are Cristiano Ronaldo or Leona Messi, you will be pay off at the top of the world. So much soccer in the world, but just 1 percent of them earn a lot of money. The best soccer in Vietnam earns about $5000 per month, but a mediocre soccer earns about $500 to $1000. Ronaldo or Messi can earn about two hundred of thousands dollar per weeks, they earn even more than 10 times compare with soccer who play for their national team. To be the best, you need extremely effort and a thousand of hours of practice and also talent. It's very difficult, right?

So, do we have another way to earn more money than try to be the best? The answer is Yes. In the flat world nowadays, we can earn more money even we are mediocre in a field. For example, if you are a normal soccer, but you have some other normal skills like photoshop, making videos, SEO, writing, ... You can have a YouTube channel teaching soccer for newbies. Your video content is understandable, attractive, and then it attracts many people to view your videos. And you can make money by adding advertises to your video or selling soccer products.

So the key here is to learn more skills that adding value for your current skill. You don't have to be expert in new skills, just need to be average or above average. A skill is normal when it is standalone, but when combining them together it will have significant effect.

In the financial field, there are many professional brokers. Their ability are equal or even the one who make more money has their knowledge less than the one who make less money. Why? Because of the difference of marketing skill. The one who know marketing skill attract more people follow him rather than the one who don't know marketing.

Same with online business. 2 people sell the same product. The one who has writing skill sell more products than the one who don't have or poor writing skill. Buyer attracts by the product story, the product description...and then buy the product.

In IT field, the developers who have English skill earn more than 2 times the one who don't have English skill. If they also have presentation, public speaking, problem-solving...skills, they even earn more money.

In a field, so many people have the same skill. So we have to make us difference by to be the best one in the field or to be the one who has more skills. 

For example, to be an expert in marketing, you can go to a collage and spend 4 years of effort to gain about 90 percent of marketing knowledge. But you also can spend few months learning a course online, be an apprentice at a company and gain about 70 percent of marketing knowledge.

This strategy is called "Talent Stacking". 

The benefit of Talent Stacking is:

• It's easier than try to be best at one skill
• It gives you more flexibility and adaptability in a changing world
• It allows you to explore different interests and passions

The challenge of Talent Stacking is:

• Think of new skills that you can learn and combine with your current skills
• Consume as much information about that skill as possible in a short of time (ex: a week)
• Think of potential ways those skills can work together
• Start today and try to be better than yesterday

Source: (19) How To Make More Money (With Less Effort) - YouTube

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How to actually get things done

Do you have a time when you have to complete a homework for tomorrow, but you feel completely hesitate to do it? You want to watch films rather than doing the things you should do? Do you have time when you talk to yourself you should go to gym after work, but then you feel tire, and then you choose to go home watching TV rather than go to the gym? Many people, buy gym ticket for a year, but we can count the time they go to the gym by our fingers. Many people have a strong motivation at the time they buy gym ticket, but after several days, their motivation goes lower and lower, and then they stop going to the gym.

There's a research, in which the researcher split participants into 3 groups. Group 1 is asked to track times they go to the gym over the next 2 weeks. Group 2 is also asked to track their exercise, but in addition they were given a motivation message along with pamphlets why exercise is beneficial. Group 3 is asked to write down when, where and how they exercise. And the result is group 1 38% of people continue to exercise, group 2 35%, and group 3 is 91%. The method that group 3 does is Implementation Intention. When we write down specific plan, we tend to go with that plan. 

Even better, with coping plans. Coping plans are specific ways to do your plans when you are facing obstacles. It follows the pattern: "If i face X obstacle, I will do Y". For example, if your plan is go to the gym at 5 PM, but at that day, your boss asks you to work overtime till 6 PM. You can make a coping plan, if I have to work overtime till 6 PM, I will go to the gym at 6 and haft PM and if I have to work till 7PM, I will go to the gym tomorrow.

When you specify actions, you more likely tend to stick with your plan. And people have coping plans have things done even more than people have only Implementation Intention.

And we also have a tip to do thing when we feel hesitation. For example, you have to read 20 pages of a document and summarize it for your tomorrow meeting, but after work, you feel exhausted. So your plan can be, if i exhaust, i will only read 1 page or even read a half of a page. And normally, when you read 1 page, you tend to continue read another page because at this time you are already on a track of working. You just feel hesitation at the first time, but when you actually do it, your hesitation is clear away, and you keep doing till the end.

Source: (33) How To Actually Get Things Done (implementation intentions) - YouTube

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How to build self-confidence

 Let get an example about a time when you play football. The ball is passed to you, if you are confidence, you can move around the ball freely, passing the ball or take it pass to other player. If you aren't confidence, you will feel fumble with the ball, your brain is nervous and don't know how to deal with the ball. Other team player scream: "Pass it to me, quick!". You feel more embarrassed, and then fail to handle the ball.

So how do we solve this situation? The key is Repetition, Repetition, Repetition. Find yourself practice with the ball, shoot it, pass it, play with it for many times, spend hours each day to play with it until you feel comfortable with the ball. When you feel comfortable, you will be confidence because you know you do it a thousand times before, so no reason that can make you fail with it this time.

 Similar with speak to a crowd. If it's a first time you speak to 100 people, how do you feel. Nervous, embarrassed, your voice is not normal...right? But imagine that speaking in front of many people is a normal task that you do it daily, how do you feel when speaking one more time? Nothing, right, since it is a normal task. So to build self-confidence at a thing, you should practice it many times till it become a normal thing for you.

Also, there are some other ways to build confidence instantly. Those ways are only used when you don't have time to practice, you have to do thing right the time.

1. Count down and do it: Start counting from 3, 2, 1 and start to do it right away. Try it and it will make you more confidence.

2. Give yourself 20 seconds of courage

3. Take a seat at the table

4. Before doing a task, remember when you succeed, when you are confidence doing a thing before, revise it exactly how you feel, how you thought at that moment. It will make you more confidence.

5. Celebrate constantly: celebrate what you have done even it's a small thing but make you feel good. Do it constantly then it will make you more confidence.

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How to stop procrastinating and build self-discipline

 Have you ever feel lazy, feel very uncomfortable when doing a thing? Something like writing an article, do a math? You sit down at the desk, stare at the laptop screen and do nothing?

It all because of your thought prevent you to do things. The key is "let try to do it in 5 minutes". When you procrastinate something, remember try to do it in 5 minutes. I guarantee that after 5 minutes you want to continue to do things. Because you just hesitate to do the first step, but when you actually roll up your sleeves and start to work, after 5 minutes you suddenly feel like you want to continue to do it. A Million miles start with a step.

Another thing cause procrastination is distraction. Have you ever in a situation when you sit on your desk, open your laptop and ready writing your report but then your phone suddenly has a notification, you grab the phone and check that notification. A friend of you post a picture showing that he is on a beautiful beach drinking coconut fruit, "oh, I don't have a vacation long time ago, I wish I can go to that beach". And then you start searching for fly ticket, hotel and plan for your vacation... And you completely forget your report. After one or several hours, you're back to your report. At this time, it's late, and also you are nearly run out of energy, you feel tired, and you feel that you cannot continue working. And you turn off your laptop and go to sleep. Is this case familiar with you? So to handle this situation, we should remove all the distraction things out of our hand when we start doing something. Set mobile to flight mode and keep it out of our hand. Unplug your TV, lock your door.

The third, make a to-do list for a day, so that you can focus on things that matter for that day. When you have a to-do list, you will be able to focus on that list, instead of wandering around without knowing to do anything.

Try to exercise every day. When we exercise, our body release positive hormone, that make us feel positive and energy. When we feel more energy, more positive, we tend to do thing faster and more willing.

And finally, remember to reinforce your internal. "Everything outside is already existed inside".

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Why Finland and Danmark is happier than the US

 Finland and Denmark is recognized as happiness country in the world for many years continuously. The income for each people in Finland and Denmark is approximate 25k $. It's equal to one half of the US (about 45k $). It clearly shows that US people are richer than Finland and Denmark people, so why those country are happier than US?

The key here is work-life balance and social condition. 

In those countries, people are free for education, healthcare and if you don't have a job, each month you will receive about 2k $ from government. It's enough for your daily need. So people are more free to choose what they want to do. If they do a job, and they realize that they don't want that job, they can easily quit the job and find the new one without worrying about money since the government is already there to give them money.

At Finland, the fee for hospital when delivering a child is so cheap, a family room within few days cost about 300$. In additional, when a child pops out, they received a box in which include all the things that the child need for the first 3 months. And a woman will be off 9 months and her husband have 3 weeks leave to take care of their new child.

In Finland, people don't talk about one's income since for them, it's not polite, it's brag.

In Finland, people should pay for tax more than the US, but they're willing to do it because they know their tax is served for social security. They trust their government.

In those countries, people feel safe. They can let the baby parked in a stroller outside a coffee shop while they run errands.

So I can make a brief on why Finland and Denmark is happier than the US:

- They feel safe in their society

- Their daily basic is guaranteed

- Their child education is guaranteed

- Their health is guaranteed

- They can do whatever they want, if they don't like their current job, they can quit the job without worrying about money.

What do you think? Do you like to live in Finland or Denmark? Are you happy at your country? Please give your comment on the post and we can discuss about it.

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How to use the law of attraction

 The Law of Attraction is simple, "you attract what you really want."

If you really want a new car, you'll have it. If you really want a new house, you'll get it...

Maybe you don't notice, but look around you, look around your best friend, they have something like you, right? Their income, their like, their character...

How to use The Law of Attraction? It's simple by 3 steps:

1. Ask

2. Believe

3. Receive

The first step, Ask:

If you go to a restaurant, you have to order something, so that the restaurant can serve you. If you don't order, how do the restaurant know what you want to have.

Similar to that, if you want something, you have to order with the universe what you want, so the universe can make it for you. But the vital point here is you have to clear what you want. If you want a pizza with beef topping, you have to describe with servers, otherwise they may bring you a pizza with egg topping.

So if you want a new car, you have to clear in your mind about that car, what is its brand? What is its color? How many seats does it have? You can visualize when you hold its steer, push its gas pedal, feel the feeling when you drive it, even you can go to an auto showroom and drive it.

The second step, Beleive:

After clear what you really want, you have to believe that you will have it. When you believe it, you send a signal to the universe, that signal like an order to the universe and the universe will respond it. 

You have to believe it intensity. Your belief is unwavering.

The third step, Receive:

At this step, you have to feel good. Imagine when you have a new car, how do you feel? Happy? If you don't feel good, you send a signal to the universe that you don't want that new car, unconsciously.

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