(Images) 15 Highly Inspirational Picture Quotes To Live By

By Joel on December 5, 2012

Here is an exclusive collection of inspirational picture quotes guaranteed to empower you with positivity and strength.
Please share these around and we hope you enjoy them.

Inspirational Picture Quotes To Live By

21 Things That Beat Your New Year's Resolution

These goals are probably easier to accomplish than that new diet--and they're likely more rewarding, too.

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The main problem with deciding on a New Year's resolution is the waiting part.
Why put off doing something you really want to do until a certain day? Anything worth doing is worth declaring and doing now.
Every statement listed below is based on an action--an action you're probably not taking. That's why knocking these off could pay greater dividends than almost anything currently on your to-do list.
And each is a lot easier to accomplish than some grand, sweeping, hopefully-life-changing-but-in-the-end-you-never-manage-to-accomplish New Year's resolution:
1. "That wasn't nearly as bad as I thought..."
The most paralyzing fear is fear of the unknown. (At least it is for me.)
Nothing ever turns out to be as hard or as scary as you think.
Plus it's incredibly exciting to overcome a fear. You'll get that "I can't believe I jumped out of an airplane!" rush, an amazing feeling you haven't experienced for too long.
2. "It's totally my fault."
People make mistakes. So we blame them for our problems.
But we are almost always to blame, too. Maybe we didn't provide enough training. Maybe we didn't foresee a potential problem. Maybe we asked too much, too soon. We did or did not do something we could have.
Take responsibility instead: Not in a masochistic, woe is me way, but in an empowering way. Take responsibility and then focus on being smarter or better or faster or more creative next time.
3. "I finally got started!"
You have plans. You have goals. You have ideas.
Who cares? You have nothing until you actually do something.
Every day, we let hesitation and uncertainty stop us from acting on our ideas. Fear of the unknown and fear of failure often stops me and may be what stops you, too.
Pick one plan, one goal, or one idea. And get started. Do something. Do anything. Just take one small step.
The first step is by far the hardest. Every successive step will be a lot easier.
4. "You're awesome."
No one receives enough praise. No one. Pick someone who did something well and tell them.
And feel free to go back in time. Saying, "I was just thinking about how you handled that project last year" can make just as positive an impact today as it would have then. Maybe a little more impact, because you still remember what happened a year later.
Surprise praise is a gift that costs the giver nothing but is priceless to the recipient.
5. "I'll show you, --hole."
I'm ashamed to admit it, but one of the best ways to motivate me is to insult me--or for me to manufacture a way to feel insulted, regardless of whether I'm justified in feeling that way or not.
See, whether I'm justified in feeling slighted or angry is not the point. I use rejection to fuel my motivation to do whatever it takes to prove that person wrong and, more importantly, achieve what I want to achieve.
Call it manufactured anger. Call it artificial competition. Call it, shoot, childish and immature. I don't care--it works for me.
And it can work for you.
So don't turn the other mental cheek. Get pissed off, even if your anger is unjustified and imaginary--in fact, especially if your anger is unjustified or angry--because that will help shake you out of your same thing, different day rut.
6. "Can you help me?"
Asking someone for help instantly recognizes their skills and values and conveys your respect and admiration.
That's reason enough to ask someone to help you. The fact you will get the help you need is icing on the achievement cake.
7. "Can I help you?"
Then flip it around. Many people see asking for help as a sign of weakness so they hesitate. Yet we can all use help.
But don't just say, "Is there anything I can help you with?" Most people will automatically say, "No, I'm all right."
Be specific. Say, "I've got a few minutes, can I help you finish that?" Offer in a way that feels collaborative, not patronizing or gratuitous.
And then actually help. You'll make a real difference in someone's life--and you'll take a solid step towards creating a connection with that person.
8. "I just did something no one else is willing to do."
Pick one thing other people aren't willing to do. Pick something simple. Pick something small. Whatever it is, do it.
Instantly you're a little different from the rest of the pack.
Then keep going. Every day do one thing no one else is willing to do. After a week you'll be uncommon. After a month, you'll be special.
After a year you'll be incredible, and you won't be like anyone else.
You'll be you.
9. "I don't care what other people think."
Most of the time you should worry about what other people think--but not if it stands in the way of living the life you really want to live.
If you really want to start a business but you're worried that people might think you're crazy, F 'em. If you really want to change careers but you're afraid of what people might think, F 'em. If you really want to start working out but you're afraid people at the gym will think you're fat or out of shape, F 'em.
Pick one thing you haven't tried simply because you're worried about what other people think--and just go do it.
It's your life. Live it. F 'em.
10. "They're no different than me."
Incredibly successful people don't necessarily succeed because they're smarter or more talented or somehow genetically gifted.
The only thing that makes them different from you is the fact they have done what you haven't done... yet.
You can be them. You can be better than them.
11. "I'm really sorry."
We've all screwed up. We all have things we need to apologize for: Words. Actions. Omissions. Failing to step up, step in, or be supportive.
Pick someone you need to apologize to--the more time that's passed between the day it happened and today, the better.
But don't follow up your apology with a disclaimer like, "But I was really upset..." or, "I thought you were..." or any statement that in any way places even the tiniest amount of blame back on the other person.
Say you're sorry, say why you're sorry, and take all the blame. Then you'll both be in a better place.
12. "I'm the king of the world!"
Maybe Leo was on to something. According to Harvard professor Amy Cuddy, two minutes of power posing--standing tall, holding your arms out or towards the sky, or standing like Superman with your hands on hips--will dramatically increase your confidence.
Try it before you step into a situation where you know you'll feel nervous, insecure, or intimidated. (Just make sure no one is watching.)
It may sound freaky but it works.
13. "Yes."
You're busy. Your plate is full. There are plenty of reasons to sit tight, stay safe, keep things as they are. But that also means tomorrow will be just like today.
Say yes to something different. Say yes to something scary. Say yes to the opportunity you're most afraid of.
When you say yes, you're really saying, "I trust myself."
Trust yourself.
14. "No."
Still, you can't do everything. You can't help everyone. You may want to but you can't.
Sometimes you just need to say no: to a favor, to a request, to a family member. Sometimes you really need to be able to focus on what is important to you.
Say no at least once before the end of the month--the harder to say, the better.
And don't worry if you feel selfish: When your heart is in the right place, what you accomplish by spending more time on your goals will eventually benefit other people too.
15. "You're fired."
Maybe there's an employee you really need to let go but haven't. Or maybe there's a customer, or a vendor, or even just a friend.
Sometimes the best addition starts with subtraction. Pick someone who is dragging you down or holding you back, and let them go.
16. "It's not perfect--and that's okay."
Yeah, you only get one chance to make a first impression. Yeah, perfection is the only acceptable outcome.
Unfortunately, no product or service is ever perfect, and no project or initiative is perfectly planned.
Work hard, do great work, and let it fly. Your customers will tell you what needs to be improved--which means you'll get to make improvements that actually matter.
You can't find out until you let go.
You can't really do anything until you let go.
17. "That's not my job--but who cares?"
Job descriptions are fine until they get in the way of getting things done.
No matter what your role or what you've accomplished, you're never too good to roll up your sleeves, get dirty, and do a little grunt work. No job is ever too menial, no task too unskilled or boring.
The next time you see something that needs to be done, do it.
18. "Maybe I should do it that way."
Sure, we're all individuals. (Okay, I'm not.) We should always set our own courses and follow our own paths--most of the time.
Sometimes, the best thing to do is copy what made someone else successful. Pick someone who has accomplished what you would like to accomplish, and follow that path.
One time, don't try to reinvent a perfectly good wheel.
19. "Jeez, that was stupid. We should do it again!"
Sometimes the dumbest things result in our fondest memories: The time you and two employees stayed up all night loading trucks and listening to every Zeppelin album in order; the time you and another employee drove all night so you could arrive at the customer's warehouse first thing the next morning to sort defective product; the time you and a crew stayed in the plant all weekend during a snowstorm, sleeping on cots and eating vending machine food and cranking out orders...
Each happened over 20 years ago, but my memories are vivid.
Do something seemingly stupid or outrageous or crazy--the harder, the better. You probably won't love it while it's happening, but the result will be doing something cool and creating a memory that will always make you smile.
20. "Hi, Mom!"
Your parents love you. They want the best for you. They will always be there for you.
They won't be around forever. Call them.
21. Nothing.
Self talk is awesome, but sometimes, at the end of a day when you've worked incredibly hard and kicked serious ass and still made time for friends and family and done everything possible to make sure all the important pieces of your world are in place and taken care of...
...Look in the mirror, smile, and just nod at the person looking back.
Sometimes the best way to end a great day is with a silent acknowledgement of achievement and, more importantly, fulfillment.

8 Well Known Entrepreneurs Who Made A Quick Million Dollars

By Joel on December 4, 2012

People often say that being an entrepreneur and starting a home business is difficult. That it often takes incredibly hard work, a little start-up capital, long hours, and heroic levels of courage and self-reliance.
That may be true for 99% of entrepreneurs, but every once in a while someone completely bucks the trend and achieves success overnight seemingly effortlessly. One thing they do have however, is a very good idea, filling a gap in the market that their customers were crying out for.
These people achieved success lightning quick, making a fortune in their first month of trading. Many with a home business, without much start-up capital, or support. Some of them took longer than a month to set-up their business, but from the moment they started trading, or attempted to monetize their business, they made over a million dollars in their first month.

8 well-known entrepreneurs who made a million dollars in their first month of business

David Karp

Heard of Tumblr? There can’t be many people left on the planet who hasn’t. David started Tumblr with his own hard earned savings, without any investment in 2007.
It has been a long road to get to this point, but up until now Tumblr has still not been monetized. However, there are a number of well-known brands such as MTV set to sign up for Tumblr advertisements. In real terms though, David Karp made millions instantly, as his net worth was in the millions as soon as Tumblr took off. Not bad for a 26 year old who started a home business from his own means.

Ben Lerer

While many of the tech entrepreneurs around are theoretical millionaires who have so far just had funding rather than actual revenue, this guy really is the real deal. Ben Lerer founded Thrillist, an amazingly simple concept that sounds like someone really should have thought of it earlier, but the very best ideas often do share this trait. It’s simply an online newsletter that allows advertisers to connect to people in a specific city. It has millions of subscribers, and plenty of companies willing to pay to reach them.
It initially earned $50k per annum, and took off almost instantly, netting Ben his first million within a month of trading.

Mark Zuckerberg

Okay, I know, his story has been done to death. There’s even a Hollywood movie about it. But you cannot make a list about people earning a million fast and not include Mark Zuckerberg. Especially since he’s now worth tens of billions of dollars, even after the disastrous Facebook IPO. As soon as Facebook started monetizing, mark made a million instantly.
As with many tech starts ups of this kind, Mark Zuckerberg was a millionaire the very moment he had a great idea and put it on the web.

Victor Kislyi

Although Victor’s company had been around for awhile before it developed it’s first commercial game, as soon as the game launched he became a millionaire. The game in question was Massive Assault for the PC.
In 2010 Victor Kislyi launched World of Tanks, which has gone on to be a huge success, making him a multi millionaire. He was so flush with cash, that he decided to fund a dig to excavate British RAF Spitfires that were buried during WW2.

Matthew Corrin

Matthew Corrin’s story is quite extraordinary, in that the hype he managed to create around his fresh produce was almost too much. When Matthew opened Freshii, a company that sells fresh, healthy fast food, he had queues around the block, and sold out of produce before lunch.
Within his first month of opening he was one healthy millionaire.

Ben Kaufman

Ben Kaufman launched Quirky when he was barely in his twenties, he couldn’t have imagined it would take off so quickly. His idea to get readers to vote on whether or not an upcoming product was a good idea was revolutionary. As with most millionaires of this type, as soon as his website went live he was instantly worth millions.

Markus Persson

The second games developer on our list, ‘Markus Persson‘ made the amazingly simple, but fiendishly addictive game Minecraft. Minecraft had a passionate following even before it’s official launch due to a very popular tech demo. As soon as it did, Marcus became an instant millionaire. He’s currently estimated to be worth around $15 million dollars.
Not bad for a home business run by one man until very recently.

Junaid Shams & Ahmed Khattak

These two are listed together because they shared the same brilliant idea. GSM Nation. With around $150,000 dollars of start-up capital, and some investment from Yale Entrepreneurial Institute, they came up with a way to offer their customers phones without getting locked down into a contract.
It made Junaid & Ahmed millions in revenue almost instantly

5 Reasons Leadership Falls Flat

Although these errors are surprisingly common, they're easily overcome. Here's how.

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You can read a dozen books on leadership and attend just as many leadership seminars, but your employees won't follow your lead if you make any of these five common errors:

1. Trying to lead before establishing credibility.

People will only follow you if they believe that you know what you're doing. Credibility doesn't come from a job title or your position on the latest organization chart. Neither can it be "willed" into existence simply because you wish it were there.
Fix: Credibility, like trust, can only be earned over time. If you've got a track record of success, you'll need to communicate clearly why that success is still relevant. If you're new to the job, you'll have to grow that credibility from scratch. Good luck!

2. Trying to lead before there's a relationship.

Even if you've got a truckload of credibility, people won't follow your lead if they don't feel a personal connection. If you're the manager, they may obey direct orders so as to keep their jobs, but they won't go the proverbial "extra mile" that true leadership inspires.
Fix: The only way to build relationships is to truly care about them as individuals and frequently showing honest curiosity about them, their ideas and the work that they're doing. This takes time, effort, and one-on-one attention.

3. Having a wildly different belief system.

Conflicting beliefs create conflicting behaviors. It's almost impossible to lead people who hold beliefs that are wildly different from yours. For instance, if employees feel they're "working for the weekend," your leadership won't inspire them to work longer hours.
Fix: Unfortunately, it's impossible to change other people's beliefs. You have two choices: 1) replace your employees with people who share your beliefs, or 2) change your beliefs to match those your employees. (E.g. "Let's get this done and party Friday night!")

4. Having goals that are incompatible.

Leadership is impossible when employees know that a would-be leader will be rewarded even if the employees get the shaft. This is why leadership (other than the obligatory lip-service) is almost non-existent inside large publicly-held corporations.
Fix: If you want to be a real leader, you and your employees must have compatible (although not necessarily identical) compensation plans, career development opportunities, and risk/reward trade-offs.

5. Communicating YOUR way not THEIR way.

If you communicate using words that your employees don't understand or hold in contempt, they cannot and will not follow you. Engineers, for instance, chuckle when managers talk in biz-blab. Similarly, technical jargon alienates business majors.
Fix: Use the vocabulary and style of communication that's most common among your employees, regardless of your natural way of thinking and writing. Think of it like learning the local language when you move to a foreign country.

The Top 10 Famous Multi Million Dollar Bloggers

By Joel on December 12, 2012

There are a number of reasons why people may consider starting a blog. To express their thoughts and opinions, to promote or market a product, to help others, or to help yourself. These are some of the more popular reasons why people from all over the world are starting their very own blogs, every single day.
What you may not have known, is that by starting a blog, you could also have the potential to make millions upon millions of dollars. So without any further ado, here are 10 of the most popular, and successful blogs with their net worth in the millions.

10 Successful Multi Million Dollar Blogs

The Huffington Post

The Huffington post is a blog and website based in America, founded by Kenneth Lerer, Andrewe Breitbart, Jonah Peretti, and, Arianna Huffington. The blog offers news, and original content, that covers a vast array of topics. The topics on offer, range from, Politics, Business, Environment, Entertainment, Technology, and much, much more.
The blog was founded back in May 2005, and launched just a few days later. A year later in 2006, a bank invested $5 million into the site. a few years later, thanks to fundraising and various investments, the blog had raised over $15 million. In 2011, AOL acquired the site for $315 million US dollars.




The net worth of Arianna Huffington and her blog as of 2012 is $35 million USD.

TechCrunch

TechCrunch is a blog which offers news, and information on all things that are technology related. TechCrunch was founded and created by Michael Arrington in 2005, and is now affiliated with a number of other websites. This has proved to be an extremely smart financial move on their part. The websites and blogs in question are known as “The TechCrunch network”.
In 2010 Michael arrington sold Tech Crunch to AOL for a whopping $25 million. He recently started a brand new blog called UnCrunched.com




Michael Arringtons net worth is currently around $15 million USD.

Gawker

Gawker is a New York City based blog founded by Nick Denton, that offers news and gossip on “all things Manhattan”. It focuses on the media, and celebrity industry. The blog was founded back in 2003.
Over the years, Gawker has acquired a number of high profile investors, as well as loyal customers, so it should come as no surprise to learn, that it is one of the most financially successful blogs in the entire world.





As of 2012, the net worth of Nick Denton is a little over $100 million USD.

Lifehacker

Lifehacker is a blog about so called “life hacks” which are basically hints and tips to make your day to day life, that little bit easier. It is actually owned by Gawker media and was launched back in 2005.
They are so financially successful thanks to advertising, including landing a lucrative advertising sponsorship with Sony.





LifeHacker was created by Gina Marie Trapani with an estimated net worth over $109 Million USD.

Mashable

Mashable is a news website and blog founded by then teenager Pete Cashmore in 2005. Mashable is considered one of the best websites and blogs for social media, and is one of the largest websites in the whole world. Mashable was rumoured to have been sold to CNN news for around $200 million earlier in 2012.




Pete Cashmore’s net worth is currently at $95 million. Not bad for a teenager, who was working from his home in scotland back in 2005.

Fail Blog

Fail Blog is a comedy based web blog that was created in 2008 by Ben Huh. It features various comedy mishaps, and acts of stupidity in both photo, and video form. Within 5 months of being launched, fail blog was sold to the popular “Cheezburger inc” company. Their main income comes from advertising, investments, and the more than 1 million visitors every single month, they also launched their very own successful book in 2009, which is still selling extremely well.





The exact net worth of Ben Huh is currently unknown, but it is thought to be well into the millions.

Smashing Magazine

This website and blog offers advice, and resources to web designers and developers. It was founded back in 2006 by Sven Lennartz, and Vitaly Friedman. They evaluate software, and other web based software and tools, targeted at people in the computer industry.
They generate their huge amounts of money thanks to various product advertsing deals, as well as investors and loyal visitors.





The net worth of these two is again, not common public knowledge, although we do know that it is over $5 million.

Business Insider

Business Insider is a business and entertainment based blog launched in 2009. It was founded by Kevin, P Ryan, and is considered one of the most trusted sources of business information. They have a number of various investors, as well as advertising sources, all keen to advertise their various products on the blog.
They receive more than 5 million visitors to their blog on average, so that should tell you just how popular they really are.






The estimated net worth of Kevin P Ryan, is thought to be close to $3 million.

Engadget

Engadget is a technology blog network founded by Peter Rojas that covers consumer electronics and technological gadgets. It was noted in “TIME” as being one of the best blogs in all of 2010. They have their own app available to download for a small fee, as well as their very own show. These, as well as lucrative advertising deals, means that Engadget is one of the most financially successful blogs on the planet.





The net worth of Pete Rojas is just under $3.2 million.

The Daily Beast

The daily beast is a news and opinion based blog that was founded by Tina Brown in 2008. In 2010 they merged with Newsweek and created the “Newsweek daily beast company”. This proved to be a great financial move by both companies. They also generate large amounts of cash by publishing books known as Beast books, written by various writers at the daily beast company. They average around 3 million visitors each month.





It appears to be quite difficult to track down Tina Brown’s total net worth, however, she is number 77 on the Forbes list of power women, and her net worth is almost certain to be over $100 million.

So there you have it. 10 of the most successful blogs in the entire world. Whether you are looking at helping others by sharing your knowledge, sharing your opinions and thoughts, or making one of the most successful blogs in the entire world, anything is possible if you put your mind to it. The blogs listed above, all started out with nothing, and are now worth millions upon millions. So if they can do it, why can’t you? Until next time.
Thanks for reading.

5 Trends to Ignore in 2013

Amid all the forecasts for what next year will bring, here are five business trends you'd be wise to pass up.

 

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This article is part of Inc.'s special report on How (and Where) to Make Money in 2013 (and Beyond). Follow the links at the end of the story for more game-changing trends, bold predictions, and hot markets to watch next year.
'Tis the season for forecasting, prediction-making, and soothsaying. It's fun. It gives pundits, vendors, and journalists something to talk about. And it can be smart to try to keep your eye on legitimate trends that may affect your business.
Then again, sometimes a trend is nothing more than a lot of lemmings plunging over the edge of a cliff. Or it's something that makes sense for only a few select businesses. As you sift through the forecasts for what 2013 will bring, here are a few things that should make you raise a skeptical eyebrow.

1. QR Codes
You've seen those two-dimension bar codes on advertisements, product packaging, and even signs in stores. The idea is for a consumer to take a picture with a smartphone, use an app that can decipher the squiggles, and then land on a marketing website or perhaps download some enticing content.
QR may stand for quick response, but it might instead be an abbreviation of quixotic response. Back in June 2011, comScore estimated that 14 million Americans scanned QR codes with their mobile phones. It sounds like a big number--but it was only 6.2% of the total mobile audience. So, using them as a strategic marketing tool will likely mean you're reaching a tiny portion of your potential customer universe.
Plus, many consumers don't know how to use them and multiple types of 2D barcodes exist, just to make the world more complicated. So don't. Spend your time on communication forms that all your customers will readily understand.

2. Big Data
Everyone needs big data, if you read the business and technology magazines. But the term has become an amorphous catch phrase that covers everything. Real big data involves millions or even billions of data points. We're talking complicated tasks like predicting the weather, or Google looking for trends among all the search queries it sees day in, day out.
That level of data analysis is probably nowhere near what you need for your business. Most decisions are built on small data: dozens or hundreds or maybe thousands of data points. If you don't have systems in place that let you regularly and predictably make effective use of the data you already have, then looking at big data is like saying you want to jump into the ocean to avoid getting damp from a summer shower.
Also, making sense of lots of data is far harder than people think. There are few Nate Silvers out there, but you probably can't afford to hire them. Instead of trying to sift through massive amounts of data, spend more time in 2013 fine-tuning your products or personally connecting with your customers.

3. BYOD
Tech industry watchers have lots of opinions about BYOD--that's short for bring your own device. The idea is that by letting employees use their own computers, smartphones, or tablets they'll be more productive. The other bonus, according to fans, is that it allows businesses to get out of the hardware provision business.
Time for a reality check. Sure, let workers bring mobile devices in, where it makes sense. But don't assume that just because they use their favorite iDevice employees will suddenly hit untamed levels of productivity. And don't assume that passing off the hardware mantle to your employees is sensible. What happens if they don't get an adequate degree of support? Are you ready for them to be out of commission while they wait for some unmotivated third party to repair their machines in a few weeks?
Figure out what employees need to do, what resources that requires, and when they need to do it. And if letting people use their own devices makes sense, do it bit at a time. Don't move everyone over wholesale.

4. Gamification
Games are engaging. Games are fun. Games are interactive. It's no wonder businesses have jumped on the band wagon to bring game mechanics to things like in-house applications and consumer-facing mobile apps, not to mention other company initiatives. Why shouldn't a customer get an achievement badge for staying in a hotel or frequently "checking in" to a restaurant?
It might help some companies, but this has all the smell of a silver-bullet solution. If you don't have practices, insights, offerings, and ways of doing business that can bring customers closer to begin with, using games won't help.
Gimmicks can work to improve sales, employee productivity, or virtually anything else for a while. In organizational psychology, it's called the Hawthorne Effect. People start working harder because management is paying attention. But eventually things slow to back to normal levels, because people get used to the new status quo. When all is said and done, games rely on consumer whimsy and can be ephemeral in nature, which probably isn't what you had in mind for business improvements.

5. Consumer Internet Companies
Last year was strong for consumer Internet companies. VCs poured money into the sector--first- or seed-round deals accounted for 57% percent of deal flow in the third quarter. Notable start-ups like Cheezburger Inc. and Glam Media closed significant rounds. And just look at the money you can make through an acquisition: Even after the value of Facebook's stock crashed, Instagram still sold for $741 million this year.
Not so fast. Consider the hundreds of consumer Internet start-ups born in 2012 through accelerators, incubators, and start-up contests. Then consider how many of them fell right into oblivion. Despite the continued interest in this sector, there are already signs that at least some VCs are starting to put more of their money into less faddish concepts. This year, the B2B sector offered a few bright spots, especially in financial services and IT, in an otherwise down VC market.

Instead of turning every idea into another consumer website or application, consider what you can do that might have lasting value for some group of people. You might not get invited to all the cool Silicon Valley parties, at least not in the beginning, but you'll have some revenue to show for your efforts.