Editorial Links Bring a Big SEO Boost

Many people today recognize that search engine optimization (SEO) and public relations (PR) have

much to offer each other.

The latest Google changes have put a real emphasis on high quality, unique content that is linked to by quality sites. And this is where real public relations – as opposed to crappy news release distribution – can play such a crucial role.

There are real opportunities for great business. What follows are 10 reasons why SEOs should really get to grips with PR in based on my conversations with the people who are making the two work together.

1. The PR Industry is Definitely ‘Getting it’

Most of us who have been in link building for a while have in the past experienced a certain degree of frostiness from the PR industry. But that is clearly changing and people are breaking out of silos.

Mike Cherenson is a former Chair and CEO of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and is EVP ofSuccess Communications Group. He sees the importance of SEO and link building.

“Authentic and relevant link building, aimed at driving engagement, informing publics and building mutually beneficial relationships should be a part of every public relations and SEO effort," Cherenson said.

But not only should link building be a part of every public relations effort, public relations also has much to offer SEO.

“Public relations professionals are skilled storytellers and content generators and should be a part of every SEO effort," he said. "The future of SEO is not in the technology, it’s in the ability to tell stories that readers and Google will find interesting… and that’s public relations.”

And Cherenson understands the value of linking.

“Links need to provide value to the reader," he said. "Media will be more likely to link to content that is compelling and provides information that goes beyond the original reporting.”

Another PR professional is Ken Deutsch, EVP of JPA, a healthcare communications firm and a seasoned specialist in public affairs.

His company takes SEO and link building very seriously. But that’s still not the case throughout the industry.

“Many PR people stop at getting media coverage and think their job is done. They get a placement in the New York Times but they don’t follow up to make sure a link is put in. So they’re not taking advantage of the SEO side of the story.”

And while many media outlets provide links, there are some that don’t link out as a matter of policy.

That influences the targets he goes after, “because they don’t put links in, it’s not worth putting as much energy into getting placement there.”

2. There is a Tremendous Synergy Between SEO and PR

Putting it simply, SEO enhances a press release. Use popular keywords and the press release, never mind any stories it generates will continue to bring search engine traffic. And the editorial links the press release generates bring direct click-throughs and lead to higher rankings.

Public relations enhances SEO by focusing on what’s newsworthy, crafting a great story, finding editorial opportunities, getting coverage and building relationships with reporters and editors. And of course, they got the negotiation skills to ask for a link without really asking for a link.

“PR helps SEO directly by increasing branded traffic," said Lindsey Kirchoff, a Media and Speaker Relations specialist at HubSpot.com. "We always see a bump in branded traffic after a big campaign! Indirectly, PR helps SEO generate inbound links from quality sources that not only gets first-touch exposure to new audiences, but credibility in the eyes of search engines.

“SEO grounds PR with hard, measurable data. PR has always been notoriously difficult to pin down, but SEO adds hard numbers to the equation. I also think that SEO allows PR to be less isolated from the rest of the team – sometimes PR can feel like an island. SEO helps PR connect their work to the rest of the company's business goals.

“Finally, SEO establishes credibility for PR for keywords. You look much more credible to a news source if you come up high for the term they are reporting on!”

3. Editorial Links Bring a Big SEO Boost

Most PR links are extreme quality links, according to Jordan Brannon, the SEO guy at Coalition Technologies. Why? "Because getting them is not a free for all – you have to earn your media placements,” he said.

But the rewards are worth the effort.

“If you get 200 high quality editorial links, it’s worth more that 20,000 low quality links,” Brannon said.

However, most reporters work to a deadline and you have to be swift in your response to get in.

“Most editorial opportunities are time sensitive and you need to act quickly. That means you need to have the authority to reply on the client’s behalf," Brannon added. "And you have to have an email account on your client’s domain – it’s not good saying you’re a marketing agency.”

Will Marlow was formerly a Press Secretary for two congressmen before founding a company that specializes in search engine marketing. He knows that to get those all-important editorial links, sticking to deadlines is crucial.

“You need to understand that you’re dealing with someone who has a hard deadline. It’s like a train going by in the night and there’s one open boxcar that can take you wherever you want to go," Marlow said. "But jump too early and the reporter won’t write about you: jump too late and the reporter won’t write about you. You got to get it just right.”

And it’s not unusual to miss opportunities.

“If an SEO was learning from any PR guy, they would all have stories about how they missed opportunities because someone internally didn’t get back to them or didn’t give the reporter what they need," Marlow said. “If the reporter wants to talk to the CEO and the CEO is playing golf, then you’re not going to get the story. So you’ve got to collaborate with people within the company and make sure that the right people are available.”

4. There’s a Big Cascade Effect

Journalists will often quote, comment or enlarge upon other journalist’s work. Bloggers are also constantly citing other stories.

So if you get your story covered in one prominent media outlet, you’ll quickly see a cascade of similar stories and links spring up.

You’ll get links you never even asked for.

Miranda Miller wrote about How Google Rakes In Over $100 Million in Search Advertising Daily, based on research from Larry Kim of WordStream.

In writing that report, Kim was directly targeting the Wall Street Journal for a link – and succeeded. The story really benefited from the cascade effect and attracted coverage and links from literally hundreds of quality media outlets.

5. You Win Bragging Rights For Your Client

Clients just love to write “As featured in ..." on their website, whether its the Washington Post, Inc. Magazine, or whatever.

That builds consumer trust in their brand and makes it more likely they’ll buy.

And you also increase trust from other reporters. If you’ve already been quoted or covered by a respected publication, then other reporters will think you’re a safe bet to write about, too.

6. PR Skills Can be Learned – or at Least Understood – Easily

Kirchoff has this advice for SEOs who know little about PR:

“SEO experts should think of PR as a way to build strong referral links – something that should be on their radar already. If you have a PR expert in the office, start by taking them out to lunch and chatting. After all, PR is all about building relationships.”

But of course, learning about public relations will help you understand the process – but it might teach you that there’s a lot you don’t know. If that’s the case you might do better to partner with a PR resource.

7. It’s Easy to Partner With an Up and Coming PR Person

Mona Moore is an SEO who has teamed up with a small PR company, Hepner Communications, to pitch their services together.

“I think SEOs are always so focused on getting those links back to the client, we sometimes forget how important it is to nurture those long-term relationships necessary to continue working with specific media outlets,” Moore explained. “And PR reps are great at finding opportunities - but, they don't always take full advantage of those opportunities from an organic SEO standpoint. By working together, SEOs and PR people are able to maximize exposure to a higher level than either of those entities by itself.

Joel Gross, who works with Brannon at Coalition Technologies, describes himself as the SEO tech guy.

“I know how to build and code websites so that they are search engine friendly, and I understand that in order to achieve visibility and revenue for our clients we need to build high quality links and work in tandem with traditional and social media," Gross said. “I know what needs to be done, but Jordan is able to bring in the creative aspect and wow factor that is needed in order to gain the attention and keep it focused where it needs to be. He devises how we frame the content and package it for the consumer in the most digestible and memorable way.

“The best advice I’d give to an SEO would be to get to know your client’s people, their background and story, what’s unique about the company," Gross said. “And remember, this is news and human interest so your stories don’t always have to be selling product. You can have perfectly good story and link from a story on say, ‘work places that are pet friendly’!”

8. You’ll Build Media Contacts That You Can Use Time And Time Again

Contacts are essential both to PR people and to reporters.

“One mistake I made at the start was sending out too much poor stuff," Kim said. "Blasting out press releases is over-rated. What you need to do is get to know the reporters or bloggers you’re targeting.

“Read their articles every day, get a sense of what they’re interested in and only approach them with what you know they’ll be interested in,” Kim continued. “Start small and work your way up. Once you’ve built a relationship, they’ll start contacting you.”

He said he has found that PR is the fastest way to generate those backlinks on related industry websites, but you’ve got to go past distribution services and build your own contacts.

“We are diligent in keeping a database of related editors here," Kim said. "So we're sending press releases directly to the editors and not through a service. However, we also post the press releases to PRweb or PRnewswire to get the added Internet news site exposure (i.e., Yahoo News)."

Kim said those personal relationships increase the chances of coverage so much it’s "unreal."

"We now get lots of calls from editors who ask – is there an engineer over at such and such a company that we could talk to?" Kim said. “Now, when they see our press releases, they always read them. And they’re more likely to publish them because we’ve been helpful.

If you’re an SEO who new to PR, the best place to start is by reading the editorial guidelines of the publications you’re targeting, Kim advised. Then you know what they’re looking for and can pitch accordingly. Don’t pitch something they clearly don’t want.

And don’t forget editorial calendars – you can see months in advance what the publications are going to be covering.

9. It Strengthens and Extends Your Relationship With the Client

If you learn how to do proper public relations effectively or bring in a competent professional that you work well with, then you increase the respect your client has for your work. That can only strengthen your relationship and help ensure that they’ll stay with you.

10. It Opens up Additional Income Streams

It probably goes without saying that with the increasing interest in this area, it should offer some profitable and additional income streams to your agency.

There are tremendous publicity and quality links available through effective public relations. You’ll probably have failures to start with but if you keep at it, your skills will grow and you’ll get the benefits.

How do you cope with failures?

“I don’t believe in failures – it’s a matter of setting your expectations," Kim said. "You can’t start out and immediately get coverage on CNN. Far better to pick a local target and learn from it. Every time you do it, you have more experience. Say you approach 10 journalists and you get nothing but two reply and say I’m not interested because it’s not exactly what I do – you’ll get a better idea of what will work next time.”

With thanks to:

searchenginewatch.com

What is PR and why is it important?

• Public relations (PR) means getting your business known about by the public and/or the press in the way you want, by managing your business' image and the information you give out about it.
• It also includes reputation management - how to deal positively with a crisis and handle any negative PR or coverage.
• There are loads of different ways to do PR - see below for examples.
• PR differs from advertising because your audience usually receives the message you send out about your business through a third party - such as a magazine you've sent a press release writing an article hat includes a positive mention of your latest product.
• Because of this, you can often build more credibility for your brand through PR, as it's no so direct a sell for your business as advertising is.
• This is essential as customers are more likely to trust a third party than they are you when you try to promote yourself.
• PR is crucial for engaging, informing and building a relationship with target customers, and also with your staff, suppliers and other companies you do business with.
• It's very much tied in with your brand, as you want to be sending out positive messages that are in line with our brand at al times.
• As well as being aligned with your brand values, good PR tailors information given out about a business to perfectly appeal to that business' target customers. It uses the

Basics of Communication Skills

Show Appreciation
Prior to getting into the meat of your conversation, be sure to express your thanks for the other individual’s time. Time is an extremely precious resource, and it important to be respectful and considerate of that. Also, complement or recognize any positive contribution they are making. Appreciation and praise can go a long way towards building good rapport.

Connect

Connect on a personal level if possible. Look for places where interests overlap if any exist. Even in a professional situation, there may be some personal interests in common, hobbies, sports, children, etc. Take care to avoid such controversial topics as political leanings or religious beliefs. A real sense of connection makes a difference in the tone and outcome of the current conversation and most likely future communications as well.

Stay positive

Maintaining a positive attitude is crucial to

Humans Have More Than Two-Dozen Universal Emotions

Human beings have dozens of universal expressions for emotions, and they deploy those expressions in recognizable ways across several cultures, new research finds.

For decades, scientists have held that there are six basic human emotional expressions, all revealed in the face — happiness, sadness,disgust, fear, anger and surprise.  

But about five years ago, Daniel Cordaro, a psychologist at the University of California at Berkeley and Yale University, began wondering if there were more. He spent hours watching people in cafes or downloading YouTube videos of children across the world unwrapping birthday presents with big smiles on their faces. He noticed that despite cultural differences, many more-complicated expressions seemed similar across cultures.iness, sadness,disgust, fear, anger and surprise.  

To test the idea, Cordaro and his colleagues showed people from four continents a one-line description of a story (which the researchers translated into the various native languages), such as "Your friend just told you a very funny story, and you feel amused by it," or "Your friends caught you singing along loudly to your favorite song, and you feel embarrassed," then asked the participants to act out this emotional state using no words.

When the researchers shared those emotional reenactments with people from foreign cultures, the viewers could match 30 facial and vocal expressions to the associated stories with better accuracy than if they had simply guessed. (Interestingly, expressions of sympathy, desire and coyness didn't seem to translate across cultures.)

The team also compared people in China, Japan, Korea, India and

Creator PR: A CREATIVE PR AGENCY

Sometimes we don’t want or need to tell the entire story to everybody. We may want to seed

it to the most significant people within a given target audience and let them spread the word for us.

Real-time communication is everywhere and our teams are experts at instant response, relationship-building - creating fast, authentic, engaging dialogue that is steeped in the real-time contextual opportunity, This is what we do at Creator PR.

From the intimate, to the mass, and everything in between - our teams have extensive experience of devising powerful brand moments through events that engage, inspire and influence. We pride ourselves on the ability to provide an outstanding quality of service which is also excellent value. 

We’re Creator Public Relations – a leading PR and brand communications agency who believe good business matters. We specialise in helping our clients thrive by building and maintaining trusted brands. We’re recognised for our ability to develop communications approaches that bring about positive change. We’re also very passionate about creative thinking; external trend-hunting, partner finding and we’re down-to-earth, honest and accountable in a way we think you’ll find refreshing. 

Eco friendly Diwali with Creator PR

As we all know that not only Delhi but whole India have started their preparations for Diwali, 

like Diyas' are for sale everywhere, the shops are full of shoppers buying jewellery, new clothes and sweets for family members and friends.

We too have ring the bell at Creator PR as we begun the preparations for Diwali. It is a festival of light, lighting itself indicates celebration. It’s not surprising that we spend a lot of time and money preparing for this once a year event. But now-a-days celebrating Diwali means bursting crackers.

Rahul Bajpai, Founder & MD, Creator PublicRelations Pvt. Ltd. said “this Diwali we at Creator PR are spreading the message of Eco friendly Diwali. From last many years we had stopped bursting crackers as it creates huge air and noise pollution. Not only this, it’s always the headlines of next day’s newspaper saying that how many people being hospitalized or even died due to environment pollution caused by firecrackers as it created the lot of problem for people suffering from asthma or other breathing disease and that’s the reason enough for us to stop bursting crackers.

So, this Diwali also I shall not burst crackers and CreatorPR would encourage you all to join us in celebrating Eco friendly Diwali this year and spread the message all around.”

DECODING LANGUAGES

Rahul Bajpai has tips for those who wish to become translators

Merely knowing two languages doesn’t mean one can translate. Translation is so much more and many people are often perplexed by this fact. But if you have the requisite skills, there is a lot in store for you in this profession.
Good translators specialise in only few different but related areas. Remaining up-to-date on changes in the industry and abreast of current trends is important.
Translating from one language to another — for instance from Spanish to English — is not same as translating in the reverse direction (from English to Spanish). Needless to say, you need vast knowledge of your commanding language.
In the present scenario, many big companies allow their translators to work from home with full salary. But that doesn’t mean professionals can take deadlines lightly. There is enough scope for those who want to translate to bring home the bacon. You need not be a member of any organisation and all you need is a penchant for your job.
Good and experienced translators usually charge a high fee, stick to their standard charges and don’t take up projects that remunerate poorly. On the other hand, inexperienced translators settle with any payment because they wish to gather experience.
In this field you must have a deep knowledge of various subjects, impressive writing skills, good command over the target language and strong vocabulary. You must be able to handle lengthy translations, think creatively, have an impressive concentration power and must know how to manage time.
Most translation degree programmes are offered at the master’s level. Some colleges and universities offer bachelor’s and doctoral translation degrees also. Usually, completing a college-level foreign language coursework is required for entry into a translation or bachelor’s degree programme. To become a translator, a candidate should be a post-graduate diploma holder.
Institutes offering degrees or diplomas in translation are:
Aligarh Muslim University, Uttar Pradesh, Ignou, New Delhi, Gujarat University, Gujrat, Government College for Girls and Chandigarh, among others. Remember, getting a job with perks is easy but you would have to put up with slow growth.

With Thanks To:

The Statesman

http://www.thestatesman.net/news/76790-decoding-languages.html

Press Kits Components (2) : Brochure & Product Sample

Brochure

Many PR pros use press kits to announce a new product and you can include your brochure also. Brochures

are especially helpful to explain your product/service outside of a simple press release. For a trade show press kit, you can include a number of brochures that give the editor/reporter a large amount of information about your product/service. This helps them determine if they even want to cover what you're offering up for free media exposure.

Product Sample

If your product is small enough, a product sample is a great addition to your press kit. This gives editors and reporters the chance to test the product out on their own.

If your product is too big and you'll be holding a demonstration at your facility, include that information so the editor/reporter can come to your location and get their hands on your products. Or if your trade show booth is having a demo, that's another great way to give a mass amount of editors and reporters from around the country a way to see your product in action.

Creator Public Relations 

Press Kits Components: Press Release

Your press kit's press release details why you've a press kit in the first place. If you've got a new product,

the press kit helps introduce it. If your company is merging with another, the press kit announces it.

You can include multiple press releases in your press kit. For example, a trade show press kit might contain a company merger press release, three new product press releases and a press release announcing a new CEO.

Don't pack your press kit with more than one press release just because you can. If you're sending a press kit to an editor, you'll probably only need one press release. If you're handing out your press kit at a trade show, multiple press releases inside aren't uncommon.

Creator Public Relations

Mobile phones are a window to the germs that live in your body

Your mobile device can tell more about your health than just how many steps you take each day. Researchers at the University of Oregon in the US have found that mobile phones’ touchscreens have the same microorganisms that live in our body, providing a glimpse of our personal microbiome—the ‘good’ bacteria, viruses and fungi we carry around in our body from the day we are born.

The researchers collected samples from the thumbs, index fingers and mobile phone screens of 17 volunteers, and found that 82 percent of all microbe types on the participants’ fingers were also found on their phones. The three common microbes in all samples was streptococcus, a bacteria that’s found in the mouth, and the inoffensive skin residents staphylococcus and corynebacterium.

Because our mobile phones carry the same germs we do, they could be used as a non-invasive diagnostic tool that can tell doctors if a patient has been exposed to a potentially dangerous microorganism.

“Taking samples from actual people requires consent, and some people may find it uncomfortable, but swabbing mobile phones could be a less-invasive way to get samples,” said ecology and environmental scientist James F. Meadow, lead author of the study, over at LiveScience. "This may be a way to make research into the microbiome easier in the future.”

Although the sample was small, these results are consistent with other studies that have reported that the same bacteria present on mobile phones are found on the hands and other body parts of their users.

“Our human microbiome travels with us everywhere we go. We constantly transfer microbes to and from the surfaces around us, and that includes our possessions,” wrote the researchers in the paper published in the journal PeerJ. “We also increasingly carry our phones with us everywhere we go, and this study confirms that we share more than an emotional connection with our phones — they carry our personal microbiome”.

With thanks to:

Feature Scoop Online 

http://www.featurescoop.in/entries/health/mobile-phones-are-a-window-to-the-germs-that-live-in-your-body

Creator Public Relations Pvt. Ltd.

Top 10 Office Party Don'ts

Attending an office party? Don't check your professional reputation along with your coat. An office party gives you the opportunity to celebrate the holidays or other occasion with your co-workers. You should have fun, but be careful about having too good a time. Follow these tips and you'll be able to return to the office with your head held high.

1. Don't Drink Too Much

Alcohol lowers your inhibitions and alters your judgement. It can make you do things you may regret. Even if you think you can handle your alcohol quite well, one mixed drink or a glass of wine at the office party should be your limit. Remember, perception is everything. You don't want to look like you're drinking too much, even if alcohol has little effect on you.

2. Don't Treat the Office Party like a Singles Bar

An office party gives you a chance to see another side of your co-workers. However, you shouldn't try to get to know any of them too well. Jim (or Jane) from accounting may suddenly look a lot more appealing under bar lights than cubicle lights. Ignore your animal instincts. Workplace romances — or worse, one night stands — can be disastrous.

3. Don't Flirt or Act in a Sexually Provactive Manner

Your flirting may be entirely innocent (if it's not please see #2), but the message it sends to your colleagues isn't innocent. If you want to be respected on a professional level, save this side of yourself for parties with friends.

4. Don't Wear Suggestive Clothing

If you wouldn't wear it to the office, you shouldn't wear it to the office party. Of course, your clothes can be more festive than those you wear to work (think sequins, color, and sparkles), but they shouldn't be revealing.

5. Don't Let Your Guard Down

People tend to relax at office parties. When relaxed, we let our guards down and reveal things about ourselves we don't want our co-workers to know. Alcohol may contribute to this too, so be sure to pay careful attention to item #1.

6. Don't Tell Dirty or Off-Color Jokes

This rule holds true in or out of the office. Dirty or off-color jokes may be offensive to others so avoid telling them.

7. Don't Use Foul Language

You may feel so comfortable at the office party that you forget you're really at work. Keep bad language in check as it could make you look unprofessional.

8. Don't Talk About People Behind Their Backs

Just because someone is absent from the office party it doesn't give you reason to talk about him behind his back. In addition to the fact that it's just not nice, this person's friends may be present and word could get back to him.

9. Don't Bring Uninvited Guests

Often office parties are for employees only. Don't assume it's okay to bring your significant other or someone else without asking first.

10. Don't Underestimate the Importance of Your Guest's Behavior

If it's okay to bring a guest, choose wisely. Invite someone who will behave appropriately. That means he or she will have to follow the same rules you are expected to follow.

With Thanks to:

Dawn Rosenberg McKay

http://careerplanning.about.com/od/workplacesurvival/tp/party_donts.htm

Creator Public Relations Pvt. Ltd.

Steps to a Happy Life with Positive Attitude

Step 1: Believe Happiness is a Choice

For me, this was a hard one at first. I thought that people were either unhappy or happy (and I was one of the unhappy ones). I used to blame this on all kinds of outside forces –- fate, experiences, parents, relationships –- but never really stopped to think that I could choose to be happy.

Sure, this isn’t always easy, but it is always, always an option. Teaching myself to see that happiness is a choice has been one of the greatest things I’ve ever done for myself.

Now when I find myself in a bad situation, I know

that it’s up to me to find the good, to be happy regardless of what’s happening around me. I am no longer pointing fingers, placing blame. I realize that everything happens how it happens and it’s up to me to choose how I want to feel about it. I am in control of my happiness level and no one can take that away from me.

Step 2: Rid Your Life of Negativity

If you want to live a positive, joyful and happy life, you cannot –- absolutely CANNOT -– be surrounded by negative people who are not encouraging your happiness. When I was a pretty negative person, I tended to attract other negative people.

When I decided to make the change to live a more positive life, I had to rid my life of all of the negative people in it. This, as you can imagine, wasn’t easy. Getting rid of people hurts -– even when you know they aren’t good for you or your current lifestyle.

Not only did I have to get rid of the negative people, but I also had to get rid of the negative things too. I had to stop doing certain things that were causing negativity in my life. I had to take a step back and examine which behaviors were good for me and which were not.

I learned to focus on the positive things I was doing and let go of the negative ones. This process was not easy and to be honest, is still ongoing, but I know this: having negativity in your life prevents you from living a truly positive existence.

Step 3: Look For the Positive in Life

There is the positive aspect in everything. In every person, in every situation, there is something good. Most of the time it’s not all that obvious. We have to look. And sometimes we have to look hard.

The old me just sat back and allowed things to happen by default. If I saw negative, I went with that feeling. I didn’t want to look harder or think too much about the good. I found it much, much easier to sit back and just accept what I saw (which was usually the bad).

Now, when I’m faced with a difficult or challenging situation, I think to myself, “What is good about this?” No matter how terrible the situation might seem, I always can find something good if I take the time to think about it.

Everything –- good and bad -– is a learning experience. So, at the very least, you can learn from bad experiences. However, there’s usually even more to it than that. If you really take the time to look, you will usually find something good, something really positive, about every person or situation.

Step 4: Reinforce Positivity in Yourself

Once I started thinking more positively and adapted to a more positive attitude, I realized I had to reinforce these thoughts and behaviors in myself so they would stick. As with any sort of training, practice makes perfect, and, yes, you can practice being positive.

The best and easiest way to do this is to be positive when it comes to who you are. Tell yourself you’re awesome. Tell yourself you look good. Tell yourself that you love and accept yourself completely. Tell yourself you did an awesome job at work or raising your kids or whatever it is you do.

Be honest with yourself, but do your best to look for the good. And, whatever you do, don’t focus on the negative. Nothing good can come of telling yourself that your butt’s too big or your latest career goal wasn’t met.

It’s okay to not like everything about yourself (yet), but don’t spend energy dwelling on the negative. Remind yourself of the good in you. We all have positive attributes and it’s up to you to remind yourself of them every day.

Step 5: Share Happiness with Others

Not only do you need to be positive with yourself for this new positive attitude to really take effect, you also need to be positive with others. You have to share your wealth of positivity with the world.

The best way I’ve found to do this is quite simple and basic: be nice. Be nice to other people, no matter what. Tell someone he or she looks nice today. Tell someone they did a great job on that presentation. Tell your parents or children (or both!) how much you love them and how great they are.

When someone is feeling down, do what you can to cheer him or her up. Send flowers. Write notes. Don’t gossip. Be kind to all living things. All of these things sound basic enough, but, for someone like me, they didn’t used to come easily.

In the past, I didn’t wanted to see the good in myself and, therefore, didn’t want to see it in others either. I used to be critical and condescending. Now I strive to be encouraging and supportive. I try not only to treat others, as I would like to be treated, but also to consider how they would like to be treated.

People appreciate positivity and the more you are sharing it with others, the more you are practicing it and reinforcing it in your own life.

With Thanks To

http://thinksimplenow.com/happiness/positive-attitude-happy-life/

By DaniPublished in happiness

Creator Public Relations Pvt. Ltd.

How to Beat the Monday Morning Blues

After a nice, long, relaxing weekend, away from the hectic nature of work, school and life, waking up on Monday morning can be extremely difficult. In a rush to be on time, you're tripping out of bed to make coffee, realizing that there is a parent-teacher conference in ten minutes, stumbling into work clothes, skimming throunow, while all that's really hit you is that the weekend is over and you are back to the overwhelmingness of Mondays. Didn't you just go through this a week ago?

gh emails on your iPhone from your boss demanding that file

Not to worry - to make your Mondays easier here's one approach to getting you back into the swing of routines using a smoother transition.

Plan to have at least some fun over the weekend amid the chores. Then check off your plan to make sure you've fulfilled it. Visit a museum, have a party with your family, or go on a trip to a place you haven't visited for a while. Having a relaxing, do-nothing-but-lounge-around weekend (watching TV, sleeping, playing that addicting video game, etc.) can be fun, but make sure you accomplish some things you wanted to do, so that on Monday, you aren't wondering where all that time went and why you didn't really enjoy the weekend while it was in your grasp.

• As important as it is to have a great weekend, make sure you get all those errands done that you need, so that on Monday, you aren't panicking that you have no food in your fridge or something like that. Then again, you might decide to do stocking up on food and errand running during the week (lunchtimes and evenings), to free up more of your weekend time.
• During the weekend, aim to avoid losing track of time frequently, otherwise on Monday, you'll be sobbing on the inside, wondering where those precious two days went. 

Keep yourself organized. Keep the personal items that you'll need during the week by your side so you do not lose them. This way, on Monday morning, you're not searching frantically for your lost phone, wallet, or school/work ID. Keep your backpack for school or purse/computer bag for work ready, keeping all necessary items in it except for those things you'll need over the weekend.

• Get clothes and items ready the night before. Yes, it might make you feel a twitch of melancholy to prepare for Monday on Sunday night, but in the morning, you'll feel better to be nice and prepared and fresh for the day, now that you are practically set to leave for work or school.

Spread out any work, school or college chores throughout the weekend. Of course, try not to spend your entire, beloved weekend getting one homework assignment or work crisis dealt with! Rather, do a little bit each day and spend enough time on it to have made a good dent in it, so that on Monday, you're not feeling overwhelmed by it. Gradual steps taken to complete such things also helps you to do a good job because you'll get some perspective by Monday, thanks to your subconscious having had some relaxing time over the weekend to digest the information more clearly.

• Remind yourself over the weekend that you're doing some work now, so you don't have to worry about it too much on Monday.

Avoid sleeping in or staying up too late during the weekend. There is nothing you may love more on the weekends than sleeping late, but it is important for your healthy sleep routine that you sleep as much as your body needs and keep any additional sleep to a reasonable amount. Do not sleep more than two hours past your average wake up time, so that you're not a zombie on Monday; too much extra sleep on Sunday morning might keep you awake longer Sunday night, leaving you unrefreshed Monday morning.

• Also, try to keep to your usual bedtime each weekend night. Excusing yourself to stay up all night watching a thrilling movie or playing Temple Run on your iPod because it's a weekend night will have bad repercussions for Monday. Too late to bed and you will not sleep well that night, and the sleep deprivation created by one later-than-usual night over the weekend can affect your energy levels on Monday. Keep your sleep bank in good balance––not too much and not too little!

Eat nutritiously throughout the weekend. Try to limit junk food snacks and visits to fast-food joints. To stay healthy, eat as many fruits and vegetables as possible, like always, with perhaps an occasional extra treat because it's the weekend. On Monday, you'll be back to eating dinner with enough vitamins and green stuff, but it might disappoint you to have to turn away from those Doritos for the third time, now that your weekend nibbling has awoken an increased desire for them.

• If your family is in the habit of eating out or eating randomly all weekend, try to keep to having at least one home-cooked meal per weekend! Ask your family for one meal a day at the table together, no matter what else is happening all weekend.

Do something special or enjoyable to draw your weekend to a close. When you're in bed Sunday night, thinking how this weekend wasn't even worth anything, and you hardly did anything fun or useful, you're going to feel blue to go back to your routine after feeling that the last two days off were pointless. Allow yourself the chance to take back a sense of a lost weekend and re-energize yourself with something that makes you feel good at the last minute. This will allow you to redeem a seemingly lost weekend and you'll be happy to recall the night before on Monday. For example:

• Make a special meal for your family or household or go out to dinner together.
• Go and see a movie.
• Take a walk in the park and throw Frisbee with the dog or just admire nature.
• Have a drink in your local bar or pub; or have an ice cream or piece of cake at a favorite cafe.
• Call up a friend or family member you haven't spoke to for a while and catch up on news.
• Do something that feels out of sync; if you'd normally watch a TV show and shuffle off to bed feeling fed up, ditch the TV watching and go out and watch a live game or just watch people practicing sports; visit the beach or wander down a crowded Chinatown street; drive over to your parents' house and offer to cook them dinner. Allow yourself to do something really different from your usual Sunday night routine!

Start your Monday right. Waking up cranky or tired on a day of going back to routines is not going to help you escape the Monday morning blues. However, even if you do, you can put on an "I'm ready for this week" attitude with some neat tricks:

• Wake up a few minutes earlier than you normally would. Waking up earlier buys you extra time to get ready at a non-rushed pace. It can also allow you to greet the sun as it rises and to see the early morning activity happening around you. If you like to write, exercise or meditate, this is a great time of day to do any of these activities.
  
  
• Take an aromatherapy shower. Your ordinary shower might not cut it in terms of excitement. However, adding some scent can cheer you up immensely and can turn a banal routine hygiene activity into a sweet-smelling and mind-clearing refresher. Some find a splash or burst of cold water at the shower's end helps to wake them up too.
  
  
• If the sun is out, pop outside and take a quick walk to appreciate your local neighborhood's ambiance early in the morning. The morning light will remind you of the morning, which can help you to feel a lot more enthused about the coming day.
• Have your usual favorite beverage. Coffee, tea, lemon in water, whatever it is, there is great comfort in taking time to enjoy your favorite beverage before leaving the house. Grabbing a drink on the run will leave you feeling rushed and ungrounded, so make time to enjoy your first beverage of the day in the comfort of your home.

Adjust to Monday's pace at your own pace. When you're adjusting to routine again on Monday, pace yourself, so that your first day back isn't as stressful. By being organized already, there is less to run around "finding". By allowing yourself to get up in time to eat leisurely, you won't feel like you're bolting out the day. And working in a little break between leaving the house and getting on with Monday's expectations, you can ease yourself slowly back into the routine. For example, instead of getting off at your usual bus stop, get off at a park near work or college and walk the rest of the way through the park, taking time to notice the birds in the trees, the other people around you and the smells from breakfasts being made everywhere. A mindful walk can do wonders for helping you transition from the weekend to the work or study week.

Look forward to the next weekend. By now, start to plan your next weekend to have a blast with friends, or cancel any events so you can take the day off to yourself. This way, on Monday (and all week) you have something to look forward to.

Thanks to:

wikihow.com

Edited by Molly, Claire, 80_Calo, Flickety and 20 others