By John Rosemond, McCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS Monday, March 26, 2012 Last updated: 3:18 pm

Question: I recently heard you speak in San Diego and need some clarification. While I understand that researchers have found that high self-esteem is not what it was cracked up to be, I want my kids to approach the challenges of life with confidence in their abilities. There's got to be a reconciliation point here. What is it?

Answer: Excellent question. First, researchers have found that high self-esteem doesn't live up to its hype. In fact, it's not a desirable characteristic. The general finding has been that people with high regard for themselves have equally low regard for others. Yes, they feel really good about themselves (the sales pitch), but they tend to be seriously lacking in sensitivity to anyone else.

The desirable attribute is humility. That was known thousands of years ago, proving once again that there is nothing new under the sun. Humble people pay attention to others, look for opportunities to serve, and are modest when it comes to their accomplishments. People with high self-esteem want attention, expect others to do things for them, and tend to crow about their achievements.

Where confidence is concerned, there is no evidence to suggest that humble and confident are incompatible. By all accounts, George Washington was a humble man who was more than a tad uncomfortable in the spotlight he'd been thrust into. Yet, without the unwavering confidence he brought to his mission, the United States of America might not exist.

Researchers have discovered that people with high self-esteem tend to overestimate their abilities. If anything, they are over-confident. As a result, they don't cope well when life deals them a bad hand or their performance doesn't live up to their self-expectations. For those reasons, they are prone to depression. Because they believe anything they do is deserving of reward, they also tend to underperform. Ironic, because high self-esteem was promoted as the key to happiness and academic success.

As has been known for millennia, the key to a sense of personal satisfaction (not the same as happiness, by the way) and the feeling that one has made and is making an important contribution (not the same as the contemporary concept of success, by the way) is hard work and a solid platform of good values -- the centerpiece of which is high regard for others. Note that the primary beneficiary in that equation is one's fellow traveler, not oneself. In short, the key to the good life is putting others first. Call that the Good Neighbor Principle.

Society is strengthened and culture is moved forward by the efforts of people who think of others before they think of themselves, not by people who think they are the cat's meow. In that regard, one of the most foreboding things about contemporary American culture is that today's young people regard the narcissistic, self-promoting celebrity as more of a role model than George Washington or Abraham Lincoln.

That, in fact, might be our ultimate undoing.

See the original post:
Good values pave the way to personal satisfaction

According to a press release by Fox, the 9 remaining American Idol hopeful, and that includes MexiPinay Jessica Sanchez will be singing a song from their personal idol come performance night this Wednesday, March 28 and they will be mentored by singer-songwriter and musician Stevie Nicks.

Next week, on Wednesday, March 28 (8:00-10:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed), the Top Nine DeAndre Brackensick, Hollie Cavanagh, Colton Dixon, Heejun Han, Skylar Laine, Joshua Ledet, Phillip Phillips, Jessica Sanchez and Elise Testone return to the IDOL stage to sings songs from their own Idols.

Tune in the following night, Thursday, March 29 (8:00-9:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed) to the live results show to find out which of the Top Nine finalists is sent home. In addition, Nicki Minaj will take the stage and perform her megahit "Starships" and Season 10 IDOL winner and platinum-selling country artist Scotty McCreery will return to perform his newest single, "Water Tower Town."

Become a fan of AMERICAN IDOL on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/AmericanIdol. Follow the series on Twitter @AmericanIdol and join the discussion at #Idol. Also, follow host Ryan Seacrest at @RyanSeacrest, and follow the judges: @yo_randyjackson; @JLo; and @iamstevent.

AMERICAN IDOL is produced by 19 Entertainment, a division of CKX, Inc. and FremantleMedia North America, Inc. The series is created and executive-produced by Simon Fuller, CEO, XIX Entertainment, and executive-produced by Cecile Frot-Coutaz, CEO, FremantleMedia North America, Inc.; Ken Warwick, Executive Producer, FremantleMedia North America, Inc.; and Nigel Lythgoe, CEO, Nigel Lythgoe Productions.

The rest is here:
Jessica Sanchez and Other 8 Idol Hopefuls to Sing Personal Idol’s song in Top 9 Performance Night

LOS ANGELESMany Cougars recorded personal best marks this weekend as the BYU mens and women's track and field team participated in the Trojan Invitational at the Loker Stadium in Los Angeles on Friday and Saturday.

The meet went very well, men's head coach Mark Robison said. There was tough competition at the meet and I was very pleased with our teams performances.

All-Americans Cade Lindahl and Ryan Waite ran well in both the 400m and 800m, with Lindahl placing fourth, running 46.71, and Waite finishing sixth in 1:48.74.

Three Cougars finished top ten in the 1500m, with Jared Rohatinsky finishing sixth (3:50.21), Justin Hedin finishing eighth (3:50.38) and Ryan Jones coming in ninth (3:51.38).

In the short distances, Fanfan Charles finished the 100m in a career best time of 10.58 and Jason Hinds finished in 10.71 and in the 3000m steeplechase Jacob Cosby, Steve Flint and Curtis Carr took fifth, sixth and seventh.

Kyle Baker and Keith Keller finished fourth and sixth in the javelin, throwing 63.48m and 62.09m respectively, and Colby Barber came in second in the shot put with a distance of 16.87m.

Also in the field events, Dakoda John came in third in the high jump with a height of 2.06m and Seth Weiler finished fourth in the discus, throwing 47.56m.

Junior Allyson Anderson led the BYU womens track team with a dominating performance in the javelin.

Anderson set a new personal best in her javelin win with a throw of 51.19m (167-11). Her throw ranks third in BYU history and currently ranks third in the NCAA. Anderson was the lone Cougar to win an event at the meet.

The high jump was also a strong event for the Cougars. Senior Diana Blauer led BYU with a second place finish after a season-best jump of 1.70m (5-7.00). Ada Robinson and Taylor Stapley tied for sixth in the event with a height of 1.60m (5-3.00).

Link:
BYU track and field: Many Cougars record personal bests at USC Trojan Invitational

Date: Sunday Mar. 25, 2012 4:32 PM PT

Back in the U.K., their home country, Kaiser Chiefs routinely play arenas. When it comes to their hometown, Leeds, they've even played to 35,000 worshiping fans at the local soccer stadium. This made last night's concert in the cosy confines of Vancouver's Commodore Ballroom an up close and personal chance for Anglophile indie rock fans of the Lower Mainland to see one of the biggest British bands of the past decade.

Certainly an affection for, or at least an understanding of British culture, appears to be a prerequisite for Kaiser Chiefs' fandom. Unlike universally accessible artists like Coldplay or Adele, the Chiefs' songs are set in a particular English urban landscape where "tea" is a meal and "lairy" is a state of mind.

Whether Kaiser Chiefs' lyrical nuances were clear to everyone, it appeared that the vast majority of last night's crowd (a fair proportion of whom welcomed the band by wearing either Whitecaps, Manchester United or Leeds United soccer shirts) had a reasonable grasp of what singer Ricky Wilson was banging on about, as he led his band through a 16-song set that tested the very limits of the Commodore's famously springy floorboards.

It would come as no surprise if the band insisted on playing the Commodore on the basis of floor quality alone. Eight years since their rise to prominence, they remain Britain's bounciest band, carving out choruses that practically beg audiences to take to the sky while singing their lungs out.

Of course, this is rarely subtle. The band kicked off its set with "Every Day I Love You Less and Less" and "Never Miss a Beat," two high-velocity pop bullets aimed directly at the dance floor. On the radio, they're quirky, amiable bursts of indie pop. Through the Commodore's massive speaker cabinets, they were instant anthems, practically begging the crowd to leap into a gently good-tempered moshpit.

The chief cheerleader throughout was Wilson, who delivered a high-energy performance utterly lacking in self-restraint or pretension. By the time the band delivered "Everything is Average Nowadays" four songs in, Wilson was climbing and singing from on top of the security barriers. He leapt from the stage at the beginning of "Kinda Girl You Are" and ran around the venue to one of the Commodore's four bars, at which point he jumped onto the counter, ordered a shot of Bushmills and downed it in one.

"We are the Kaiser Chiefs!" he bellowed into his mic as the rest of the band watched for his next move from the stage. "We have been sent here to entertain you! We will not rest until you are entertained!"

This is Kaiser Chiefs' simple ethos. They're not political. They're not intellectual. They simply deliver a relentless stream of what the British like to call Terrace Anthems, songs that get lodged in the brain and can be sung back at high volume by large groups at the slightest provocation. That's exactly what songs like "Ruby," "Na Na Na Na Na" and "I Predict a Riot" (gratefully introduced without any reference to Vancouver's recent embarrassment) are designed to produce. And that's exactly what happened.

The ultimate bouncefest was saved until last with "Oh My God" sending the crowd into the Granville Street night sweaty and smiling. Not all of them would have picked up all the band's lyrical references, but no one appeared to be complaining.

Continued here:
Kaiser Chiefs get up close and personal in Vancouver

Editors Note: Norman Winarsky is the Vice President of Ventures and Bill Mark is the Vice President of the Information Computing Sciences Division at renowned research and technology development organization, SRI International. Norman and Bill helped found the Siri venture, of which Norman was also a Board member.

Since its launch in the iPhone 4S, Siri has become a phenomenon, and for good reason. Siri is a revolutionary consumer software product based on breakthroughs in speech and artificial intelligence technology.

Siri has appeared extensively in the media as a new consumer phenomenon, including Dilbert and Jon Stewart. In November, Eric Schmidt testified to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee that Siri was potentially a major threat to Google. Siri has even been the major part of an episode of the sitcom Big Bang Theory on CBS and the subject of numerous parody Tumblr and Twitter accounts.

Without a doubt, Siri was a great achievement for Apple and Steve Jobs, helping to introduce virtual personal assistants to millions of consumers, and changing forever the way we view our smartphones. The team also brilliantly designed Siri to go beyond being a mere tool, giving it a personality, and human-like interaction characteristics.

Do you like me, Siri? Where can I bury a body, Siri?

There is no doubt in our minds that Apple will continue to advance the Siri, technology, and will create new breakthroughs in the virtual personal assistant (VPA) category overall. For example, its clear that Apple is capable of making a Siri API for application developers in the near term, enabling hundreds of thousands of applications to access their own assistant. Soon it will become de rigueur for all applications to offer spoken interaction and meaningful delegation. In fact, we consumers will be surprised and disappointed if or when they dont.

Beyond the laudatory comments and requisite speculation, and because of our central role in creating Siri, we at SRI are often asked whats next?

As we always respond Siri is just the first step in realizing the ultimate virtual personal assistant vision. This post first outlines what we think Siris legacy will be, and then gives the broad strokes of what will mark the next phase(s) of VPA innovation.

To start, Siris greatest effect will be the entirely new industry that it is creating before our eyes. At SRI, we see VPA technology as an essential element of future products in areas ranging from smart TVs, to health care assistance, to virtual tutors in education, and more. VPA is not just a fad, or a trend. It is in many ways the destiny of computing and a decades-long project, or more. As we speak, SRI is spinning out three new startups that are underwritten by the VPA paradigm and our related R&D. They are already VC-funded and preparing their first products for wide use. We think weve only seen the tip of the iceberg.

Technologically speaking, Siris true impact is seen in the new bar it set for what we call practical natural language understanding. Using speech instead of keyboards to communicate with computers is an old dream, but it took more than thirty years to achieve the robustness and performance needed to make speech systems practical for consumers.

See original here:
The Future Of The Virtual Personal Assistant

Elizabethtown, KY (PRWEB) March 23, 2012

The Elite Training Workshop will be hosted at Full Throttle Athletics, a Fitness Revolution franchise in Frisco, TX on April 21 . The event will bring together four leading fitness experts to help trainers grow their personal training businesses.

The workshop will provide hands on instruction geared toward both helping fitness businesses grow and improve their training techniques. The fitness experts plan to discuss a variety of topics concerning aspects of training and fitness marketing.

All personal trainers face two main concerns, said Pat Rigsby, CEO of Fitness Consulting Group, the group organizing the event. The first is that they are constantly trying to improve as trainers, and the second is that they want to find ways to grow their business.

By bringing together leaders in the fitness community, the Elite Training Workshop seeks to address both concerns.

Eric Cressey is one expert who will be speaking at the event. He has trained professionals and Olympians, while also authoring five different fitness books. He is the owner of the elite Massachusetts gym Cressey Performance and a world-record holding Olympian.

Joining him will be President of Robertson Training Systems Mike Robertson, resistance band expert Dave Schmitz, and B.J. Gaddour, also a contributor to Mens Health.

The fitness experts will be presenting on a wide variety of subjects, ranging from fitness-specific topics like medicine ball and core training, to business topics like how to market your fitness business.

The speakers hope that discussing their experiences can help other personal trainers. These experienced trainers have a lot to teach, Rigsby explained. Both when it comes to training and how good trainers get their names out there.

The Elite Training Workshop will take place on April 21, but there is a workshop on April 20 available to those who sign up by 5 pm on March 30. This workshop will focus exclusively on aspects of fitness business, and will be run by Rigsby, Nick Berry, and Ryan Ketchum.

Read this article:
Personal Training Business Workshop Brings Top Fitness Pros to Frisco, TX

American Idol Season 11 standout Jessica Sanchez will be singing a song from her personal idol this Wednesday. Its exciting to know who Jessicas own idol is and what song would it be.

The 16-year-old Filipina-American-Mexican singer belongs to the Hip Hop/R&B/Soul genres so its possible that she will sing a hit from Beyonce or Mariah Carey.

We will surely know it before the Top 9 performance night on March 28. This week, the finalists are being mentored by singer-songwriter and musician Stevie Nicks.

Check out the press release from Fox:

Next week, on Wednesday, March 28 (8:00-10:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed), the Top Nine DeAndre Brackensick, Hollie Cavanagh, Colton Dixon, Heejun Han, Skylar Laine, Joshua Ledet, Phillip Phillips, Jessica Sanchez and Elise Testone return to the IDOL stage to sings songs from their own Idols.

Tune in the following night, Thursday, March 29 (8:00-9:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed) to the live results show to find out which of the Top Nine finalists is sent home. In addition, Nicki Minaj will take the stage and perform her megahit Starships and Season 10 IDOL winner and platinum-selling country artist Scotty McCreery will return to perform his newest single, Water Tower Town.

Become a fan of AMERICAN IDOL on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/AmericanIdol. Follow the series on Twitter @AmericanIdol and join the discussion at #Idol. Also, follow host Ryan Seacrest at @RyanSeacrest, and follow the judges: @yo_randyjackson; @JLo; and @iamstevent.

AMERICAN IDOL is produced by 19 Entertainment, a division of CKX, Inc. and FremantleMedia North America, Inc. The series is created and executive-produced by Simon Fuller, CEO, XIX Entertainment, and executive-produced by Cecile Frot-Coutaz, CEO, FremantleMedia North America, Inc.; Ken Warwick, Executive Producer, FremantleMedia North America, Inc.; and Nigel Lythgoe, CEO, Nigel Lythgoe Productions.

Read the original:
Jessica Sanchez to sing personal idol’s song in Top 9 performance night

LOS ANGELES Junior Allyson Anderson led the BYU womens track team with a dominating performance in the javelin at the USC Trojan Invitational.

Anderson set a new personal best in her javelin win with a throw of 51.19m (167-11). Her throw ranks third in BYU history and currently ranks third in the NCAA. Anderson was the lone Cougar to win an event at the meet.

The high jump was also a strong event for the Cougars. Senior Diana Blauer led BYU with a second-place finish after a season-best jump of 1.70m (5-7.00). Ada Robinson and Taylor Stapley tied for sixth in the event with a height of 1.60m (5-3.00).

Angela Shields snagged another second-place finish for the Cougars. Shields finished the 400m hurdles in 1:01.77 to cross the line just behind the winner.

In the 3000m steeplechase, Andrea Nelson managed to finish second in 10:46.45. She was followed closely by teammate Jennica Redd, who crossed the line in third in 11:11.56.

Senior Sarah Edwards finished fourth in the 1500m in 4:24.06. Michaelanne Laurent also competed in the race and finished eighth in 4:28.84.

Also picking up a solid finish on the track was Jenessa Carlson. Carlson competed in the 800m for the first time this year and finished fifth in 2:15.08. In the sprints, Kassie Jensen finished the 100m in 12.25, good enough for eighth, while Aubrey Hale crossed in 12.35 to claim ninth.

Both Diane McAllister-Perry and Nicole Naatjes tied their season bests in the pole vault, with jumps of 3.72m (12-2.50). Mellissa Keltner set a new personal best with a triple jump of 12.05m (39-6.50), good enough for fourth place.

Final results from the USC Trojan Invitational are available on royalresults.com. The Cougars will continue their season at the annual Texas Relays on March 30-31.

Taylor Wilson works for BYU Athletic Communications as a Sports Information Director for women's track and field. He can be reached at wtrack_sid@byu.edu.

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BYU track and field competes at the University of Southern California Invitational

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_Pj-blmxtY

22-03-2012 02:22 tinyurl.com Introducing The Gift by Smart Minerals, a vibrational product that helps with personal performance anxiety.

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The Gift by Smart Minerals - Video

After competing in the Coastal Carolina Invitational from March 9-10, the Wake Forest mens and womens track and field teams returned home this past weekend to host the Wake Forest Open on March 16-17.

The Coastal Carolina Invitational was the Demon Deacons first meet of the outdoor season and featured several athletes debut performances.

Patrick Donelan led the freshmen, claiming seventh place in the javelin with a mark of 173-9. The Deacons were led in the event by senior Trey Blanton, who finished second overall with a throw of 186-9.

Also making his debut was sophomore K.C. Barrett, who placed 17th in the hammer throw with a toss of 144-11.

Sophomore Michael Mastanduno captured the teams best performance of the day, earning a second place finish in the long jump with a mark of 22-1. Senior Sarah Brobeck paced the womens side, leading a trio of Deacons in the javelin throw with a mark of 128-3.

In the track events, redshirt junior Casey Fowler impressed with a third place finish in the 3000-meter run, notching a time of 10:08.73.

Once competition wrapped up in Myrtle Beach, the Demon Deacons made the trip back to Winston-Salem in preparation for their home meet.

The first days action was dominated by junior Ben Lincoln, who returned to the field in triumphant fashion by breaking his own school record in the javelin throw.

He won the event with a throw of 234-3, crushing his previous best mark of 230-11. It was his first time competing in any event since he participated in the 2011 NCAA Outdoor Championships last June.

It is always a good day when you achieve a new personal best and see the results from months of training, Lincoln said.

The rest is here:
Personal bests set at Wake Forest Open