People who succeed in their jobs and in life are typically blessed with a special blend of four qualities: efficacy (self-confidence), resilience, hope and optimism. This mental confection, which scientists call psychological capital, reflects our capacity to overcome obstacles and push ourselves to pursue our ambitions. Not surprisingly, having lots of it is linked to both personal and professional fulfillment.

Although individuals vary in how much of this motivational firepower they possess, the amount is not fixed. You can boost your psychological capital and the key is changing your habits. Simply deciding to improve your outlook won t work. Instead, people need to cultivate a positive mindset through rituals and goals, say University of Nebraska management scholars Fred Luthans and Peter Harms. Here s how:

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Courtesy of redcargurl via Flickr.

1. Write a gratitude letter. Consider the people and things you are most grateful for and write them down. If you wish, you can write a letter to a person who means a lot to you. The recipient is likely to be touched. But if addressing an individual is uncomfortable or inappropriate, pen a note to yourself about all the things that are going well or that you feel fortunate to have. Set aside a time each day to do this. For instance, write one journal entry each night just before bed listing the good things that happened to you and what you are grateful for. Too much of the time, we focus on our fears and problems, because those relate to situations we need to avoid or solve to survive. But if you stop to count your blessings, you will realize how lucky you are.

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Courtesy of insouciance via Flickr.

2. Seek out the good things in life. Make an effort to find situations that make you feel happy and proud. Spend time with those who love and support you. If you know people who make you feel miserable, don t interact with them. Although criticism can be a good thing, Harms says, unrelenting criticism rarely is.

3. Don t forget to relax. Exercise or meditate on a daily basis, even if you only have a short time to do so. Fifteen minutes per day to clear your head and relax has been shown to be associated with both happiness and physical wellbeing. Getting enough sleep helps as well, Luthans says.

4. Put problems in perspective. Think about the true scope of your troubles. Not everything s the end of the world, Harms reminds me. In fact, he adds, most of us worry about relatively minor hassles and concerns on a daily basis. You worries will seem less significant if you compare them to those of people in the throes of divorce, who have lost their jobs or who have been diagnosed with a serious illness. Harms gets his perspective from soldiers he sees regularly for one of his projects. These are people who are putting their lives on hold to go to a place where people are trying to kill them, he reports.

5. Set achievable goals. Make sure your aims are meaningful to you so that you gain satisfaction from completing them. Make them challenging, but also realistic and specific enough that you can act on them. If you are too ambitious, you will set yourself up for failure. Then keep a record of your progress so that you can look back and see how far you have come. Seeing that improvement is possible will motivate you to keep moving forward.

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Rubber bands on your arm can remind you to be nice to others. Courtesy of fekaylius via Flickr.

6. Do nice things for others. One way to get in the habit of doing nice things for others, suggests Luthans, is to put three rubber bands around one of your wrists and transfer one band to the other wrist each time you do something kind for another person. The bands can serve as reminders to finish your three tasks before the day ends.

7. Spend money on experiences, not objects. Better yet, spend money on other people. Individuals who are given cash and told to spend it on others report higher levels of wellbeing than those who spend it on themselves, Luthans says.

Follow Scientific American on Twitter @SciAm and @SciamBlogs. Visit ScientificAmerican.com for the latest in science, health and technology news.
© 2012 ScientificAmerican.com. All rights reserved.

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13-02-2012 16:51 The absolute focus of Blackbelt in Excellence is on people excellence. We work with you and your people to create environments where people can shine and be the best they can be. This has a significant impact on your bottom line. Within this video Peter Thurin, the founder of Blackbelt in Excellence describes how he inspires excellence through business keynotes, motivational speaking and Master of Ceremonies. Produced by Taylor Made Videos

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Ashworth College offers online wedding planning destination with tips, techniques, and strategies for personal and career success...for those looking to make a career in the wedding industry, this leading online school is introducing an online resource for those interested in the field of bridal consulting and wedding planning.

Peachtree Corners, GA (PRWEB) February 14, 2012

Valentine’s Day is considered to be the most popular day for couples to get engaged. And the engagement is just the first of many steps towards walking down the aisle. For those looking to make a career in the wedding industry, Ashworth College (http://www.ashworthcollege.edu/), a leading online school, has introduced an online resource for those interested in the field of bridal consulting.

Ashworth created its Bridal Consulting specialty group within its online Community to provide future bridal consultants, wedding planners and anyone else interested in all things bridal the latest industry best practices, career insights, and invaluable information for furthering their professional skills.

Ashworth offers a nationally accredited online Bridal Consulting Diploma program along with related programs such as Gourmet Cooking and Catering and Floral Arranging. Its Bridal Consulting Group currently has over 800 members (as of February 2012) which is part of the larger 100,000 plus online Ashworth Community.

“Because bridal consulting is such a popular program for Ashworth, it’s our goal is to be a trusted resource to those interested in topics relating to such a highly creative and diverse industry,” said Amy Bernard, Director of Interactive Marketing for Ashworth College.

She went on to add “For our students, we wanted to create a comprehensive online learning environment where they can interact with others who have similar interests and goals, faculty, and working professionals in the wedding industry. For prospective students, it also provides a forum to gather information and to ask questions that will benefit their personal well being or to help make informed decisions about their educational needs.”

Ashworth has been educating working adults for the past 25 years. With the launch of the Bridal Consulting Group, Ashworth now provides a state-of-the-art online resource that shares professional content with non-students, as well as social networking opportunities for existing students. Group members and visitors will find:

Job growth through 2018 will result from more and more couples – and their parents – being too busy to plan the wedding they want. They will hire professionals to handle every detail – from the engagement party to the honeymoon getaway. The U.S. Department of Labor projects opportunities for those working in wedding planning and related fields to grow up to 16%.

“I have always wanted to go into business for myself and believe that this is perfect timing for me. I basically planned my own wedding two years ago by myself. With my brother getting married in April and my sister in July of next year, I already have my first two clients lined up. I want to have all the programs completed by then and kick myself into overdrive to get my business going. It's a lot of work but I'm excited and ready to go!” posted Nicole from Dothan, AL.

About Ashworth College

Ashworth College, a leading online school, has built a tradition of excellence spanning 25 years, offering students worldwide more than 115 online college degree programs, online certificates, career training and online high school diploma options that are affordable and fit the busy schedules of working adults. Ashworth also offers military education online as well as specialized programs for corporate partners and homeschoolers.

Headquartered in Norcross, GA, Ashworth is accredited by the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC). The Accrediting Commission of the DETC is listed by the U.S. Department of Education as a nationally recognized accrediting agency. James Madison High School is further accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI). For more information, visit http://www.ashworthcollege.edu/.

###

Richard Orr
Ashworth College
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Email Information

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13-02-2012 16:14 waytowealthpro.com - Personal success may have 101 different meanings, but the reasons behind success remain the same. There are three essential components required to achieve your purpose. Are you using them? Read the full blog post at: waytowealthpro.com

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Personal success comes with a FEA: Have you paid? - Video

PHOENIX, Feb. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Sweaty palms, memory lapses, indigestion, crying, headaches, and fainting. While they aren't symptoms of a mysterious tropical disease, they are experienced by countless school children in the classroom - all in the name of education. The cause? Let's call it Spelling Bee-itis.

Spelling Bees are a long-standing and important tradition in our educational system. Each year, thousands of elementary and middle school children study wood roots, definitions, spelling and etymologies countless hours; all for the honor of being crowned their school's spelling champ.  M&I, a part of BMO Financial Group, announces that it has continued its multi-year support of the Yavapai County Spelling Bee with sponsorship of this week's county event held in Prescott. The winner of the state spelling bee will travel to Washington D.C. later this year to participate in the 85th Annual Scripps National Spelling Bee, where last year's winner took home more than $40,000 in cash and prizes.

"Providing our young people a quality education is a critical component to their success as an adult," said Steve Johnson, Arizona Regional President, M&I, a part of BMO Financial Group. "Programs such as the Yavapai County Spelling Bee help enforce a number of life skills in addition to improving the child's spelling skills. BMO Harris is pleased to continue our financial funding of this event and the part it plays in support of our educational system."    

About BMO Harris Bank N.A.
Based in Chicago, BMO Harris Bank N.A. provides a broad range of personal banking products and solutions through approximately 700 branches and approximately 1,350 ATMs in Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, Nevada, Arizona and Florida.  BMO Harris Bank's commercial banking team provides a combination of sector expertise, local knowledge and mid-market focus throughout the U.S.  Deposit and loan products and services provided by BMO Harris Bank N.A. Member FDIC.  BMO Harris Bank(SM) and M&I® and Harris® are trade names used by BMO Harris Bank N.A. BMO Harris Bank is part of BMO Financial Group, a North American financial organization with 1,600 branches, and a retail deposit base of approximately $180 billion.

 

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Among the fascinating outgrowths of the Facebook phenomenon are the psychological studies on what Facebook tells us about human behavior. One new study, published in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, suggests that people experience an uptick in mood when they are on social networking sites.

In the study, researchers exposed 30 healthy people to a slide show, the person's own Facebook account or a mathematical test. During each three-minute exposure, the participants underwent tests to measure several physiological processes, such as brain-wave activity, blood flow, pulse, respiration and pupil dilation, and other tests that indicated changes in mood and stress.

Not surprisingly, the three minutes spent on Facebook was more rewarding than the relaxing slide show or the stressful math test. However, being on Facebook also triggered a response that indicated a positive mood shift.

The effect of Facebook points to what the authors refer to as the "broaden and build" theory of positive emotions. This theory suggests that positive emotions lead to creativity and social bonds that in turn build personal resources. These resources can be drawn on later for coping and survival.

Facebook's "activities lead to a positive emotional experience that people appreciate and seek again," the authors said.

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Still a Wagga boy at heart … Rebels powerhouse Nic Henderson said he had to contend with a void in his life following the tragic death of five childhood mates in an accident at a train crossing in 2001. Photo: Craig Abraham

Coming to terms with personal loss has made the Rebel a winner on the field, writes Stathi Paxinos.

There is a point on the Olympic Highway near Gerogery in southern NSW that Nic Henderson avoided for a decade. If the Melbourne Rebels front rower was heading that way, he would take an alternative route.

It was there that five teenagers from Wagga Wagga died when their car drove into the path of a train.

On January 27, 2001, Kyle Wooden, Cameron Tucker, Luke Milne, Graham Kelly and Ben Wilkins had been on their way to Albury to watch Henderson play a trial game for Melbourne Storm.

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They never made it - a coronial inquest suggesting a lack of safety warnings, such as boom gates, contributed to the accident.

Near the point where the train line crossed the road - flashing lights and bells the only warning of trains approaching at 160 kilometres an hour - there is now an overpass named Five Mates Crossing.

''I've only ever driven it once since the accident, which seems funny, but I superstitiously would always go the back way,'' he says. ''It's a nice way to remember them even though they're never really forgotten.''

Henderson had grown up with the five teenagers, going to the same high school - and primary school with two - and like many youngsters in country areas, forging a bond through sport, in their case basketball and rugby league.

When they were killed, Henderson was living away from home in Brisbane, playing for the Storm's then feeder club Brisbane Norths. But with the support of family in Wagga and that of his girlfriend and now wife Jodie and her family in Brisbane, he worked his way through the loss, initially spending a few moments before every game remembering his friends.

''I used to say a few things before a game, but superstitiously I haven't done that in I don't know how long,'' he says. ''The biggest thing … was there's a huge void in your life. All of a sudden where five of your best mates are no longer there to laugh with or call or talk to, it's not how do you fill it but where do you go from there."

The 30-year-old, who switched to rugby union after two years in the Storm reserves, says there is no shying away from the tragedy when he returns to Wagga.

''There's a whole bunch of us left behind to remember them … the first thing we do is remember them and talk about them and laugh about them,'' Henderson says. ''I know a lot of us are still close to the parents of the guys who passed away. I'm lucky to call a few of them very close, almost second mothers and second fathers, which is great …''

Despite spending his early life on a sheep-grazing farm run by his father, Henderson said farming life had never been for him.

"Mum and dad split when I was eight or 10 years old so half my [childhood] was spent on the farm and the other half was living in Wagga, so I never really planted firm enough roots in the country to follow in my old man's footsteps," Henderson says.

That fell to his elder sister, Katie, who is "now a fully fledged farming girl" and has taken control of the operation of a property just outside Wagga after her partner was killed last year in a farming accident.

Henderson, who was recruited from the Western Force, is off contract with the Rebels this season and says he would like to continue his career in Melbourne for a few more years yet. As for life after rugby, that is still something he is working on. ''It's something that I've never really had a clear direction in life - what I'm going to do once football finishes," Henderson says.

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After years of study, one of the region’s toxic hot spots just got a major make over. It didn’t come cheap. The total cost was a cool $8 million. But the clean up demonstrated that an urban waterway can be home to both industry and nature.

Click on the audio player above or here to listen.

The barge, DB Anchorage, navigates a bend in the river. A 75 ton crane it carries has dredged three and half acres of contaminated mud from Slip 4, a pier on the Lower Duwamish River. The toxic hot spot which for more than a century was a berthing area for Boeing and other companies, is now a lot closer to being a river that nurtures salmon and bull trout. It’s taken a long time.

“But we couldn’t really start clean up until the ongoing sources of pollution, especially PCB into this area, were controlled.” BJ Cummings with the Duwamish River Clean Up Coalition. PCBs or polychlorinated biphenyls, found in coolants, lubricants, and plasticizers, were banned in the U.S. in 1979 but are extraordinarily persistent. “It turned out there was PCB in the caulking at Boeing Field that was then seeping into the soil and getting into the storm water pipes and then flowing out right here into Slip 4.”   

The river was designated a Superfund site in 2001. The EPA worked with Boeing, the city, county, and port for years on a clean up plan. Finally in 2007 a plan to clean up this particular bend in the river was in place. But the project was delayed. The Department of Ecology determined storm water discharges from North Boeing Field would likely re-contaminate the river unless they were controlled. The Environmental Protection Agency waited for Boeing to take action. “After about five years I was tired of waiting,” Karen Keeley is Superfund Project Manager for EPA Region 10.

She and the Department of Ecology worked with Boeing to install a state-of-the-art storm water treatment system. “It wasn’t the process of how to do the clean up; it really was just ensuring that we had controlled sources of contamination in the slip enough that we could move forward and not have re-contamination down the road.”

The heavy lifting began last fall. Seattle Public Utilities and local contractor, General Construction Company, had a short window — October through February when salmon don’t migrate. By all accounts the Slip 4 clean up has been a success — on time, on budget, with a local company and local employees.

In addition to dredging the river’s contaminated muddy bottom, shoreline has been restored. Jennie Goldberg with Seattle Public Utilities: “We cut back the banks to create a more natural flow so that we could create another acre of inter-tidal riparian habitat for the Chinook salmon and the bull trout that are the protected species that cruise through here in the waterway.” An otter has even been sighted. Those who know the river well say otters were already in residence, but at least the work didn’t scare them away.  

So is that the end of the story for this toxic hot spot on the Duwamish waterway? With an $8 million tab, 67 percent paid by Boeing and 33 percent by the City of Seattle, one might think so. But urban storm drains don’t just carry legacy contaminants like PCBs. They also carry a toxic stew of petroleum and copper from vehicles, phthalates, pet waste, and flame retardants.

There are thousands of storm drains and outfalls in King County alone, many which empty into the Duwamish. Storm water permits determine how cities and industries will curb this pollution and are issued by the Department of Ecology every five years. New permits are expected this summer. But the current draft, says Heather Trim with People for Puget Sound, is full of loopholes. “We don’t want to spend all this money to do the clean-up and then turn around and have contamination continuing to come in and re-contaminate the whole river."

The draft permit fails to recognize the power of low-impact development and green infrastructure to curb pollution spread by storm water, says Trim. “The term feasibility was used way too much in the whole permit.”

Cities and urban enclaves including Seattle, Bremerton, and the Port of Tacoma, have been proactive with green infrastructure such as porous pavement to absorb pollution. Storm water permits throughout the state need to be held to the same bar, says Trim. Legislation has been proposed to delay implementation on new runoff controls. “And we argue that it’s way more cost effective to do those techniques and it’s important to clean up the Sound. We can’t delay this.”

The EPA’s proposal for cleaning up the rest of the Duwamish waterway Superfund site is scheduled for public review in August.

Green Acre Radio is supported by the Human Links Foundation. Engineering by CJ Lazenby. Produced through the Jack Straw Foundation and KBCS.

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It took a neighbor to get Patti Radcliff into the gym, but it took a personal trainer to get her into her ideal dress size.

Photo by Lesley Young

Kettle bells have been a key part of Patti Radcliff's regimen with personal trainer Tommy Gerber. She has lost 70 pounds and dropped five dress sizes.

"My neighbor approached me to start walking," said Radcliff, 40, who works for International Paper. "The two of us had decided our weight was out of control."

"I joined the gym and started taking classes and working out, but I wasn't seeing results."

Following several friends' recommendations, Radcliff contacted personal trainer Tommy Gerber and began meeting with him three days a week.

"Several different people told me about him independently of each other, plus a friend of mine had made a phenomenal change. You could hardly recognize her," Radcliff said.

Since last February, Radcliff has lost 70 pounds and dropped five dress sizes.

"I'm addicted now," she said.

Gerber first helped Radcliff with her diet, giving her guidelines to follow that offered versatility for any situation.

"It made sense and was easy to do, and it was easy to eat out and do," she said.

She met with Gerber at Forever Fitness in the Clark Tower three days a week for weight training that included weight machines, free weights and kettlebells -- lots of kettlebells.

"He incorporated them into every workout," she said. "In addition to the muscles you're supposed to be working out, like the shoulders or back or arms, you're incorporating balance and core strengthening."

In the year she has been working with Gerber, Radcliff has experienced many different types of workouts.

"Just when it seems to plateau, he changes the routine," she said. "Just when I get to the point where it wasn't hard anymore, that's when he changes it."

Radcliff also worked out her cardiovascular system three or four days a week, putting in 10 minutes on the treadmill, 10 on the Stairmaster, 10 on the Elliptical and 10 on the stationary bike, for a total of 40 minutes.

Although she has met her goal -- and then some -- Radcliff completed her first half-marathon in October and is training for another one in March. She continues to meet with Gerber, now twice a week, and get in her 40-minute cardio sessions three or four days a week.

"I just want to keep working out," she said.

More important than her weight, Radcliff has seen changes in the numbers for something else.

"I'm no longer on cholesterol medication," she said.

Have you lost weight and kept it off, adopted better eating habits, started exercising or had success living a more healthful lifestyle? E-mail your story to sunyata00@gmail.com.

Patti Radcliff

Age: 40.

Hometown: Bartlett.

What she did: Radcliff began meeting with personal trainer Tommy Gerber three days a week for weight training and working out her cardiovascular system for 40 minutes three or four days a week. She lost 70 pounds and dropped five dress sizes.

Personal trainer: Tommy Gerber, tgfitness.net, (901) 438-6115.

Gym info: Forever Fit Health Club in the Clark Tower, 5100 Poplar, 7th floor, (901) 763-1140.

Advice: "It's really hard to do it by yourself. Either have a buddy to work out with you, or find a trainer, and find a trainer who works for you."

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NEW YORK, Feb. 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Reportlinker.com announces that a new market research report is available in its catalogue:

Dosing and Dispensing Drives Home and Personal Care Closures

http://www.reportlinker.com/p0769982/Dosing-and-Dispensing-Drives-Home-and-Personal-Care-Closures.html#utm_source=prnewswire&utm_medium=pr&utm_campaign=Personal_Care

Plastic screw and dispensing closures dominate home and personal care closures, but pumps and triggers are the most dynamic formats. With consumers influenced by product delivery and performance, closures are increasingly a point of difference. Adding such value is especially important in mature developed economies, where growth is increasingly hard to come by. Nevertheless, plastic dispensing closures will still account for most growth, with emerging regions and BRIC countries to lead the way.

Euromonitor International's Dosing and Dispensing Drives Home and Personal Care Closures global briefing offers an insight into to the size and shape of the packaging market, highlights the effect of emerging geographies, categories and consumer trends on the packaging landscape. It identifies the leading pack types, offers strategic analysis of key factors influencing the packaging market - be they packaging innovations, consumption growth, category switching, economic/lifestyle influences, legislation or environmental issues. Forecasts illustrate how the market is set to change and criteria for success.

Data coverage: market sizes (historic and forecasts), company shares, brand shares and distribution data.

Why buy this report?

* Get a detailed picture of the Packaging market;

* Pinpoint growth sectors and identify factors driving change;

* Understand the competitive environment, the market's major players and leading brands;

* Use five-year forecasts to assess how the market is predicted to develop.

Dosing and Dispensing Drives Home and Personal Care Closures

Euromonitor International

January 2012

Introduction

Global Closures Overview

Beauty and Personal Care Closures

Home Care Closures

Prospects

Report Definitions

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Personal Care Industry: Dosing and Dispensing Drives Home and Personal Care Closures

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