Jewelry Diamonds

Facebook is in no doubt the largest social networking site. This is because of it’s over a billion registered users with millions of users across the globe accessing the site on a daily basis. The fact that Facebook makes available various business promotion tools makes it one of the most important social media sites you need to have a presence on. Regardless of whether you wish to advertise you website or business, you have the option of making use of the site’s free promotional campaigns or paid advertising.

Facebook Account

You need to create an account in order to advertise on Facebook. Creating an account not only makes it possible for Facebook to identify you but also gives you the opportunity to have a page, which you need to customize, share with your fans and attract others to your traditional website. It is also from your Facebook page that you can promote your website or business. You need to customize your page with relevant information about your business or website. Images are vital on Facebook and you need to make effective use of your website or business photos and logo, which you need to set as your page’s avatar.

Advertising

Advertising on Facebook is easy and straight forward. You have access to Facebook advertising packages that allow you to effectively promote your website or business. You have the option of settling for a set fee advertisement in which case your ad is displayed for a determined number of times or settle for click-per-view fee. Whichever the case, you can set a maximum budget that you can comfortably manage. This allows you to restrict your advertising budget to a level you can manage. Facebook also give you the opportunity to target your advertising campaign, which you do by choosing a specific demographic; age, gender, interest and location among other demographics.

Networking

Advertising on Facebook is all about establishing a network. Establishing a network is a free and effective way to advertise your website or business on the site. In addition to connecting with as many Facebook users as possible, you need to engage with them by sharing, liking and commenting on their posts. This is the only way through which you can entice them to visit your website or “Like” your Facebook page.

Promotions

Running a promotion on Facebook is a sure way of advertising your website or business on Facebook. Running a promotion encourages your Facebook fans to visit your website. Your promotion can be in form of discount, special offer or deal. Running a promotion can indeed be very fruitful considering the fact that your fans will most likely share the same with their friends and followers, which has the positive effect of exposing your website or business to many other people.

Creating a Facebook account and setting up a page is free of any cost. The secret to successful advertising on the platform lies in attracting a significant number of Facebook users to your Facebook page, users who happen to be your potential customers.

This article is for website and blog owners who are looking for hints and tips on how to help promote their website and get it noticed. This article does not cover every aspect of how to promote your website, however it does give you some good starting points on which to build your online presence. Follow these easy and simple tips:

Content.

Not just content, but high quality content is now what is needed to help improve your search engine optimization (SEO). Without good content your website could go unseen. High quality unique content tops the list of the most effective ways to improve your online presence from; lead generation, increased traffic and search engine rankings. It is also one of the hardest aspects to get right!

Connections.

Submitting your website to other high ranking sites and blogs will help you gain back links to your website. Google and other search engines measure and rank your website by the importance and quality of other websites linking to you. Care needs to be taken where these links are placed and you need to be sure you are not associated with spammy directories or link farms, these types of sites can have a detrimental effect on your rankings.

Social Media.

Social has become more and more important and is a great way of promoting your company. Choose the platforms that work best for you. You don’t need to be using all the social media tools, however to protect your brand it is advisable to secure your domain name across as many as you can.

Join Google +.

Google+ could be classed in the same section as social media but as it is a Google tool I feel it needs to have a section of its own. Many business have been slow on the up take of joining Google+, but these business are missing a trick, don’t miss out. If Google is here to stay then so is Google+! By using Google+ and adding authorship to your site your image and Google+ details will appear in the search results making your listing stand out from your competitors.

Images and Videos.

The use of images is a powerful tool and should not be over looked. Make sure all the images you upload to your website and blog are a good size and high quality. Powerful visuals are essential to grab the reader’s attention. Informative videos are also an available tool and can generate traffic to your website, more and more videos are showing in the organic listings for keyword searches. You can also link your Google+ account to your YouTube channel.

I do not know how to.

Actually, I do not need to know how to. My personal blog is simply a blog about my observations and experiences of traveling. Of course, I would like other people to read, benefit from and leave comments on the blog. I love the interaction and knowing where my readers are located.

The overwhelming majority of my readers are from primarily English-speaking countries (or countries where English is heavily taught) such as the United States, India, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Philippines and Singapore (as much of my travels have taken place in those last two countries), but also Germany, Russia and China.

I also know that I have readers in almost each and every country except for, somewhat mysteriously, large parts of central Africa and central Asia.

Most importantly, I do know how to promote my blog. Even though I do not use all of the following techniques (because my blog is primarily a labor of love), I do use many, and I do know that these will work if you want to promote your blog.

1. Use Twitter

As a blogger, I have an antipathy toward Twitter. However, I do understand the concept and realize that it can be advantageous. After writing the blog post, tweet your post with an attention-grabbing headline. I recently sent a message of “scrambled eggs on a stale, musty, salty beach” even though the post was about an air freshener (written as part of a blogging contest, which leads me to offer yet another tip of promoting your blog: enter blogging contests). Most importantly, do what you want others to do. If you want other people on Twitter to read your blog posts, then read the posts of others and leave tweets or comments at the blog.

2. Other social media

I have a love affair with Google. It all started with Orkut (perhaps defunct by the time you read this), which led me to Blogger, Gmail, Google+ and Google Calendar. In fact, I am typing this on Google Docs (apparently called Google Drive, now). Regardless, you can promote your blog via LinkedIn, Facebook, Pinterest, and RSS feeds. There are also communities of bloggers, both at Google+ and online. I belong to Expat-Blog.com and to Glipho.com.

3. Do what you want others to do

If you want others to read your posts and to leave comments on them then you should read others’ blogs and to leave favorable comments on them. You can do this via the above-mentioned communities or by searching for blogs similar to yours via a Google search.

4. Using SEO

I confess that I am somewhat of an infant regarding SEO or search engine optimization, and do not fully comprehend it. In essence, though, it is about writing about something without writing about it; it is about using keywords. In this article, it is to promote your blog. However, use it naturally and do not inundate the readers with it; otherwise, they will never return to your blog again. Most of all, I–and Google–believe that content is king. Write good quality articles with an intriguing title and everything else will be easier.

If you want to choose a lucrative career path, you may have considered taking a digital marketing course. Today, almost everyone prefers digital communication. This includes companies, organizations, and all other types of businesses. As a matter of fact, today’s professionals are required to meet the needs of different types of digital processing. Therefore, if you are looking for the best digital marketing course, we suggest that you follow the tips given below.

1. Understand your Preferences and Requirements

Do you have what it takes to learn digital marketing? To answer this question, you need to find out why you want to take this course. Basically, people take these courses in order to improve their skills. In most cases, they want to join a company or start their own business.

Also, you need to consider your learning options, types of resources you can invest to learn and your preferred areas. In other words, you need to consider your preferred options and requirements.

2. Read the Fine Prints

Based on your requirements and preferences, you may want to get a deeper insight into the course you want to choose. You need to consider the pedagogy of the course, types of assignments, approach methods, and practical assignments.

According to experts, you may want to choose a course that you have an interest in. Basically, digital marketing involves practical learning. Unlike other courses, you will learn a lot of practical skills. You won’t just read books and memorize theories. Therefore, the training sessions have a lot of importance.

3. Do a thorough Background Research

You can find a lot of Institutes that offer digital marketing courses. If you want to choose the best institute, you need to consider a few parameters. Some of these parameters include reputation of the institute and the achievements it has made.

If you want to choose the best career path, it is important that you make the best choice. So, you may want to do some background research before making the ultimate decision. You may want to compare courses offered by different institutes to find out the best one.

4. Know the Quality of the Faculty

Make sure that the institute has the best faculty. You may want to check the experience, credentials, teaching methods, and engagement level of the trainers. Make sure you don’t ignore this factor as it will have a great impact on the quality of training. After all, you want to get the best outcomes from your digital marketing course. Therefore, you may want to invest some time and find out as much as you can about the faculty.

If anything has changed a lot over the years, the most notable would be how we think as consumers. There have been tons of books written on consumer psychology and it’s certain that there would not be anything in the world that is going to stop new books on the topic from popping up. This is because buying patterns change all the time. There is no secret golden key to solve all your branding problems. The only way is through constant vigilance and keeping an eye out for all the minor trends the customers are buying into.
The boom in the mobile phone market has made a significant shift in how things are bought online. We usually turn to our 5.5-inch screen when we need to order food. The same can be said about almost anything. This is a double-edged sword, as your competition is also just a click away from yours. It’s a one-shot kill if your website is not mobile optimized and you’re going to lose your customer to another website that is slicker.
The golden rule for boosting your branding game is to make your audience think of you. Use creative tools to establish your brand a synonym to the product your selling. When I think of burgers, I think Burger King. The same can be said for anything. Find your niche and exploit it.
Get that Social Media head start
There are so many social media platforms that are waiting to be explored. Facebook and Instagram and reigning over the interlinked empire right now. But it would be silly to ignore all the other ones like Twitter, Snapchat, and LinkedIn. Explore all the options available and find out which platform most suits your need and go for that one. Here are a few tips to take off the social game:
Be consistent – Hustle Every day:
Usually, brands think that their page is doing well by seeing the number of likes or followers. Of course, these numbers are not a small feat but the shoot-t0-kill aim should be directed towards shares and engagements. These are harder goals to score but just think of the untapped potential that this can lead to it. Create content that your followers are willing to share with their friends. Using this properly means that your followers are indirectly promoting your product and isn’t that a blessing! Social Media doesn’t sleep and your content shouldn’t too. Keep up with your audience with engaging contests and Instagram influencer blogs that bring new things to their feed every day.
Analyse:
Dig deep and find out what works and what doesn’t. Usually, all the business profiles for the social media pages come along with insight features that will help you find out the performance of your posts. Through this, you will be able to find out exactly the kind of content your followers enjoy and use this to your benefit. Make more content targeted to their needs.
Not every review is going to be sunshine and daisies:
There are going to be negative reviews, don’t forget this. A satisfied customer is a silent customer, but an unsatisfied one – can be even the end of you. This is an unspoken truth in the digital marketing game. Gruntled consumers usually take to writing bad reviews on Google as a form of venting. And of course, they can have justifiable concerns that need addressing. In any case, you should always engage with them and let them know that you are working to fix the problem and genuinely try to fix it for them. These ethics and sense of professionalism is going to be appreciated by the people in the long run.
Hit that SEO Target
Search Engine Optimization is the name of the game and the keywords are going to be your playing field. Have an SEO expert who analyses all the keywords that need to be hit. Using this as a skeleton to be built on, engaging content can be written. Whenever Google crawls your website, it takes a note of all the keywords and this is going to be your bread and butter. Usage of the right keywords is a preferred frequency is going to catapult your article and webpage to the forefront of the Search Engine Results Page.
Use websites with good authority to your advantage.
Backlinks, backlinks everyone wants backlinks. This is where a good content writer shines. Writing content that actually educates and helps out the people are always in dire need. Creating such content and posting them on well-established websites can be really helpful. The key to this is making sure that your website and brand is mentioned within it and that this can lead to redirects to your page. Regular users of the above-said page will use that backlink to get to your website and you can get a generous amount of traffic with this method. Another tip is to sign-up on Quora and using that a method to brand your agency. People are always searching for answers and good ones are always appreciated.
Keep your eyes peeled
Monitor every footstep of your brand’s online presence. Keep track of the mentions and reviews that you get. Wouldn’t it be great if your website or article is being talked about on online forums or on other websites? This is in consensus with spreading the world through word of mouth but even better because the users have direct access to your website by means of a link of and fancy button. The audience pool is a large one, make a noticeable splash and the customers will notice. Some might even write you amazing reviews, and how can that be a bad thing!
There aren’t any enemies, just competitors
This is something to be taken at heart in the marketing game. Realise that there is a lesson learned from every brand, every strategy, and every new tactic that they pull up with. Sign up for your competitor’s newsletter and keep note of all the different methods they are using to promote their product. Then cross check that with the performance metrics of each of the methods. You can come to a tangible conclusion of all the good method and adopt them as well. For the best results always take inspiration from them and don’t copy them as is. Use the idea and build something unique out of it. People always appreciate creativity.
The branding game is a confusing one and a trustworthy agency who values your vision and works hard to find the right spot is hard to find. A good one to go with would be Adhuntt Media, as they provide a free consulting solution that helps you identify where you are lacking. If you’re satisfied, you can go along with any of the multiple packages they offer and find out the right one to suit all your needs.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Do you think successful people are just plain lucky?

Successful people did not become successful because they were lucky.

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

Luck is brought about by Labour Under Correct Knowledge.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The big secret to success:

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

Success is predictable and is not achieved by accident.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Becoming successful is not impossible.

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

Design your future now.

Prepare to receive what you desire.

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

In fact, personal growth is no longer a mystery.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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