When am I gonna stop talking about self'-confidence?. Never... the reason for this is as follows: I do believe that no matter how good you´re at what you do. If you don´t believe in yourself, you ain´t gonna succeed. Some have got down in the dumps after trying to overcome shyness and failing. I myself thought I was one of them. However, now I know it´s not the case. I may be making slow progress, but at least I´m trying. Anyhow, there is a lot of reasons not to get sullen for thinking there´s no way one can become a confident and successful person. It is a long process that doesn´t happen overnight. Apart from working hard, one has to be organized and persistent. The verb ¨to give up¨ cannot exist within the corpus of your knowledge of English. Nonetheless, to become social ain´t easy. There is a few steps one has to take. People may say for instance:- ¨I don´t know what to do¨. - ¨Every time I go up and talk to a new person in a party, my conversations tend to be vapid¨. Well, this can be solved by being more creative. Find out what the person you´re interested in likes. Try to ask questions about themselves and even spice the conversation up with a few slight jokes. Any social activity can help you deal with shyness. By joining any sports club or whatnot. Not only can you make new friends, but also you can learn a lot of new things. It´s important to be assertive as well. Next time your mom tries to ply you with sweets; tell her the following: ¨I´m sorry mom, but I´m on a diet starting today¨. To sum up, I´d say that you should disregard people who deride your work out of envy and ignorance. Focus your energy on achieving your goals.

The History Of Christmas - Part 1

Christmas is coming up. We all are immersed in our daily routines for now. However, we´re surely looking forward to it. What is the tenor of this celebration?. Well in fact, they all say it´s all about sharing and having a good time with your family. That may seem a cliché, though it is true. 

It is a time in which people usually make up and ponder over what they´ve done all year long. It does herald a stream of hope in families. It´d be also important to mention how many ads are made just for this holiday. I´m not an splenetic person. However, it does bother me when big franchises try to profit as much as they can in holidays like this. I don´t wanna fall into pleonasm, but in Christmas you should think with your head rather than with your heart.  

I mean this especially at the moment of picking gifts for our kin and friends. Decoration and Christmas carols are really taken into consideration during this holiday all over the world as well. Being the most representative symbols of Christmas the beautiful evergreens and carols like ¨Red Rudolf¨. It ain´t a cinch to go through all this preparation for the festivities. Nonetheless, it´s all worth it. There´s also a wide range of superstitious traditions that are said to bring good luck to the ones who perform them. Especially if done during New Year´s Eve.  

To sum up, I´d say that Christmas is not about having a fancy dinner or getting a bunch of expensive gifts doled out to you and your people. It´s about reflecting on what you´ve done well and what you haven´t so far. It´s also about thinking on improving in every single activity we do the following year and having a ball with your loved ones.

Family relationships, hard ones indeed. Especially between brothers. Personally, I do think it depends on the situation. For instance, in my case the difference of age between me and my older brother is large. Like for 10 years; therefore, it was hard for us to get along once I started growing up. I was never upstaged by my brother in any field.

 

However, he did boss me around many times cause I was kind of insecure. It´d also be important to mention the fact that our father didn´t actually support us completely and catered for our every need. Thus, José, that´s how my brother is called, felt obligated to help out as much as he could. He did a pretty good job at the beginning.

 

However, as time went by, he stopped listening, and started being remiss in his acquired duty. That´s why we started fighting and the relationship broke down. Luckily for us, we made up after two years of not talking to each other. He finally latched onto the the fact that I had a say. I myself leaned that giving him a shoddy treatment as retaliation was not the answer. Besides, I actually had to go into overdrive to catch up with my studies. Every single experience help us grow, though many of them is not pleasant.

 

One of the things I used to do in my free time while still not talking to my brother was to lock into my old garret to write stuff I could later use to create this blog. Anyhow, I keep going off on a tangent. One particular thing I´d like to mention though, is how we both are besotted by foreign languages. Never had I imagined I was gonna end up writing like he did.

The State of Ontario's Education System

Education, something I´m never going  be tired of talking about. I myself got marvelled after studying in a Canadian high school for at least a year.  The province of Ontario for instance, home of Toronto which is the financial centre of Canada, does quite well in terms of education. So that, getting a toehold for an international student by studying there is kind of necessary these days. 

 

On the other hand, the educational system in third world countries can´t be beefed up overnight. Sometimes, the few good local schools even gild the lily by adding unnecessary courses in the curriculum. Most private schools here profit with higher education especially.

 

Thus, parents are usually pushed from pillar to post trying to get the best education possible for their children. Besides, I´d say the main problem in Peru for example, regarding regular education is the following: After finishing high school, children are not prepared whatsoever to pursue a college degree. As a consequence, informality allows private institutions to prepare students so they can get into college. In a period of six months, high school grads are expected to be ready to apply to university.

 

It seems ridiculous, though that´s the reality in my country. The lack of a grade twelve here is actually very noticeable. A lot of work has to be done to solve this problem. Local politicians tinker with educational laws regarding quality of education and infrastructure. The less their inhabitants know, the more they can profit.

The Indigo Evolution Full Length Documentary Indigo children

Have you ever thought about the people who tried to beat down your confidence just cause they fear you?. No matter who does that: It can be your brother, classmate, or even your professor. However, one thing is for sure, they´re not always right. You can make a quip and shut them up. I´m just saying. Besides, there´s a lot of things in life that try to discourage you from achieving your ultimate goal.  Disregard all that crap and keep your mood buoyant. Remember the saying ¨He who laughs last laughs longest¨. On the other hand, there´s something to take into account. In Peru for instance, the following happens: Education is prerogative of the rich and the smart who kill themselves trying to get a slot in one of the best public colleges.Nonetheless, the wealthy still have a huge advantage over the average person here. From the access to the best schools in which they can get a bilingual education to the fact that they can even afford to study abroad. So that they can pursue a better undergraduate program. In addition, we may also consider the ones who gird themselves up to pass their mid-term exams and not lose their jobs. Your hopes can never wither away. Even if you´re not able to afford everything you wish you could. Stop listening to people who berate you for no reason. Once again, they may be jealous you either are gonna surpass them or already have. Take Indigo children as an example. Ignorant people may misjudge them without having previously found out how exactly they behave among other things. However, this type of children have amazing abilities that far outclass any disability they may have.

[BBC] Why Reading Matters [Part 1 of 6]

Reading.... how fascinating is it? A lot indeed. Since the invention of the press 500 years ago, people haven´t stopped reading. The more you read the more able you are to understand others. Besides, who doesn´t wanna be lauded for their intellect?. However, to become an avid reader ain´t easy task. In fact, now more than ever, it has become very difficult to keep up with our studies. Tablets, Internet, and many other means of entertainment keep us busy most of time. Though, they also help us learn a lot. So that, it´d be necessary to keep a balance between the use of books and other sources of knowledge. For instance, I remember once for Christmas back when I was 10, I got a PlayStation and a bunch of English novels. Of course I picked the console instead of the books. Then again, nobody had encouraged me to read English books. I didn´t have a motivation to do it. Whereas in the case of video games, I did have a motive. I wanted to live out my fantasies by becoming one of my favorites movie characters for a few hours. Years later, I prayed for my English to still become quite good. I luckily got the results I wanted. If I had been primed not to play as much video games as I had, things would have been different by now. Nonetheless, nobody knows for sure how things would have panned out if they could alter the past. As a consequence, I decided one day to itemize a list of the books I wanted to read to catch up. Therefore, I got proficient at reading after a few years of practice. Conversely, recent studies have pinpointed how reading habits in teenagers have stagnated. I didn´t even have to scour the web for an article on this topic. Lastly, I´d say that nothing can be compared to what one experiences while and after reading a novel. Imagination is so powerful that it makes us fantasize so vividly at least in our dreams.

What is customer service ? The 7 Essentials To Excellent Customer Service

Customer service, something that seems to have been forgotten these days. I can subsume all my opinions into one word: ¨Disrespect¨. One can complain as many times as they want due to this kind of behavior in pretty much any establishment. It´s our right to do so. No matter how sorry the manager of a fast food restaurant is for their employees´ attitude. The customer is always right, and has to be compensated if the case may be. Humongous franchises hire anybody so they can profit more. However, it doesn´t mean their staff are gonna trample over people. They think that just cuase their establishments are  crawling with customers all the time they are invincible. That ain´t the case whatsoever. Therefore, one has to remain strong and put them in their place. I don´t wanna name names, but I´ve had pretty bad experiences in almost every single fast food establishment there is. They think that it´s OK to walk over customers with the excuse of a more juvenile service. That´s BS. Mostly, I´ve seen this in fast food franchises; though it happens in other kinds of businesses as well.  Anyhow, to sum up, I´ll say anytime you run into this situations in which you get brushed off or whatnot from one of these bad employees. Do not get jittery, just calm down and ask to talk to the manager. Sometimes it is necessary to see the flip side of a situation so that you can tackle your problem.

The Best College Majors

How important is it for you to know what you wanna do with your live before you finish high school? Very... Unfortunately it just isn´t the case in every single situation. One has to experiment a little in order to discover what they are good at. So many crappy private schools are there right now. Especially where I come from, that mislead students so badly. High-schoolers are driven into making the wrong decisions cause they´re bombarded with ads from the aforesaid schools. I for instance, was literally forced by my folks to study something I didn´t wanna pursue. As a consequence, I got really frustrated. Nonetheless, I found my way soon enough. What I mean is that I actually ended up drifting into what I liked. Most people find themselves in the same situation I was. In fact, previous experience also does help. Though, it´s much better not doing something that is gonna make you waste time and money. Sadly, local governments perpetuate injustice by allowing private colleges to keep profiting with people´s ignorance. They allow this to happen cause they also get their fair share. My opinions are slanted in favour of reason according to what I know. So, if you don´t wanna wind up living a monotonous way of life, find out what you are good at. Bad situations can be averted if you know how to. Lastly, I´d say that even though cushy jobs are no more, you still can get a pretty good one. A job that  is gonna help you grow into person you want to become.

We all get edgy about what might happen in the future once in while. Who doesn´t wanna have a perfect life without anything bad exacerbating their plans to succeed?. Well, it ain´t that easy. The quicksilver path to realization is full of setbacks that are gonna make us wanna quit. Life can flog you more times that one can actually count. Though, one thing is for sure. All those gazillions of mistakes we make are gonna take us somewhere. You don´t have to be engrossed on your job to the detriment of your health to actually become somebody. What is crucial in this journey to ultimate glory is to have set a goal and make sure how to achieve it. Organization is one important thing, to revel in your job is even more important. Besides, how you convey your ideas and beliefs can make a difference. The way people look at you depends on how you behave and communicate with them. Do not be like I´ve been for so long. A diffident guy who missed out on so many chances in life due to this manner. However, I also recognize I´m pretty good at complaining. Not everything has been bad for me. I´ve also got quite a shot to make something out of myself at this program I´m taking. Anyhow, to sum up I´ll say that what I´ve been talking about is not only true in a manner of speaking. In every single situation one has to go through a bumpy ride to get what they want.

Once again I think about the ¨what ifs?¨... Something I do very often. Today however, I was pondering over my past more than ever. What´s the crux of the matter? (meaning reason for my worry). I don´t know for sure. Tapering off bad thoughts from my mind is what I´ve been trying to do to solve this.

On top of everything else, I´m getting rid of an annoying cold which turned into a flu. Anyhow, let´s talk about the cold for now. We all live in an environment in which we are surrounded by people of all sorts. Whether we´re at work or school, we are always exposed to germs. So that you have to be careful whenever you see anybody sneezing. Have I been looking for ways to cure it. In fact, I´ve heard of a plant called Echinacea, capable of healing the body after infection. I definitely want to try it. It is also recommended to drink plenty of liquid and rest. Apart from that, I´d recommend not to ingest citrus during this period of illness. To sum up, I´ll say that there is a myriad of methods to treat the common cold; nevertheless the time it takes you to rid of it is almost the same in every situation. The better nourished you are, the less risk you have of getting a cold. Therefore, I suggest you take care of yourself as much as you can. So that you´ll be able to frolic around and prance like a clown with joy more often.

Nikola Tesla The Master of Electricity

http://www.youtube.com/v/-z16nAuGz88?autohide=1&version=3&showinfo=1&attribution_tag=qxDZlKUsmFX9BTnvBPEV0A&autohide=1&feature=share&autoplay=1

Nikola Tesla was without a doubt one of the smartest persons to have ever existed. The reason why I wanted to talk about him this time was cause of my fascination with physics. Even though I know so little about this science, I hope some day to become a physicist.

Back to Tesla´s biography: This Croatian electrical engineer naturalized American at 21, blazed a trail in the branch of alternative current. Tesla was an eccentric man with cross-current beliefs; possessor of a nimble mind capable to learn up to five languages at an early age.

He also worked with Thomas Edison for some time, but collided with him in certain matters. He didn't want to entrench his ideas in society. His sole purpose was to build tools that would be useful for his community and that would also change its inhabitants lives. Most of his inventions helped create powerful and successful industries that remain that way until this day. Other scientists looked at him with animosity, he carried on regardless. One of his greatest inventions was the AC generator, capable of providing energy throughout large areas.

 To sum up, I´d say that I relate to him somehow. You see, he was said to lack social skills. I kind of do too. Anyhow, hope to someday become as motivated in my work as he was in his. Of course one thing I don´t wan to have in common with him is that: I do not want to end up living on stipend like he did.

Hacking Language Learning: Benny Lewis at TEDxWarsaw

http://www.youtube.com/v/0x2_kWRB8-A?autohide=1&version=3&showinfo=1&autohide=1&autoplay=1&attribution_tag=27WoHN5Dz3dLDN1oyEmgJg&feature=share

Language learning... something I´m passionate about. Though, something I´ve struggled with as well. I´m a Spanish speaker who learned English as a second language. My experience in learning English started at 16. Even though I ran into some setbacks, I could indeed get fluent at it. Nevertheless, I still think I is not good enough.

Despite the fact that even now I´m taking an English teaching program. I can assure you however, I indeed am quite good. Just take some time to read my posts. It´s just that I sometimes feel that I could have learnt a lot more if I hadn´t come across lots of logjam. Then again, I still hear the advice that people tell me. ¨It´s never too late to learn anything new¨.

So, I guess I shouldn´t dredge up bad memories from my mind. Back to the main topic, I´d say that you´d be impressed to know that learning a second language is not as hard as you thought it was. This time, I saw Benni Lewis´ speech about languages. Have I heard before that motivation is key to learn anything new.

However, I hadn´t got the gist of the aforesaid phrase. Happiness must tinge your actions while you´re trying something new. Never be afraid of making mistakes while learning. Besides, everyone runs into trouble at beginners level when studying a language. To sum up, I´ll say that Benni has motivated me to improve my English even more; and perhaps in the future, learn a different language.

Karen Thompson Walker: What fear can teach us

http://www.youtube.com/v/OwgWkUIm9Gc?version=3&autohide=1&autoplay=1&showinfo=1&attribution_tag=0RlsWhe58N-0_n7FKBTqgQ&feature=share&autohide=1

Fear... This time I heard what Karen Thompson had to say about fear. In fact fear is a hardwired response to our everyday experiences. So that, the more we run into quagmires, the more scared we are going to be. However, fear is something we can control. Besides, it actually bogs down our progress in life.

 

Therefore, instead of letting fear batter us, it´s to be the other way around. Karen relates fear to human imagination as well. Sometimes, we make a big deal out of it. Though, we can´t go soft-shoeing through our lives either.

 

We have make a difference. Even if we go through thick and thin in the pursue of our goals, we have set aside our fears to conquer them. Being tough minded ain´t easy; we have to make an effort to be like that though. People smell out fear.

 

If we let them know we are scared, then we are screwed. To sum up, I´ll say that no matter how tough life gets. Keep this advice in mind: Positivism is crucial to have a healthy life. So that trying to be full of beans as much as you can is the best you can do. Disregard morass in life...