TheDragon Ball series is among the most important and influential anime of all time. The series has a presence like no other of its kind and is well recognized for its contributions to the genre on a global level as the father of shonen. But what about its contributions towards the real lives of its viewers?

RELATED:Dragon Ball: 5 Couples That Are Perfect Together (& 5 That Make No Sense)

Dragon Ball, like many other shonen, has tons of life lessons that are still applicable to this day hidden in plain sight placed throughout the series. These messages are usually placed inside the characters of the show's arcs and this list will be looking at ten of them.

Not many caught this lesson due toDragon Ballseemingly being a series simply about running up and taking on your opponent at the first chance that you get. However, during the Namek Saga through the Frieza Saga, it is evident that at times it's better to avoid conflict and play the smart game instead of going headfirst into a stronger enemy.

Vegeta, Gohan, and Krillin went about Namek hunting the Dragon Balls in the shadow until they were faced with enemies that gave them no other choice. They survived longer and got closer to their goal due to this smart tactic.

One of the biggest themes, that is constantly shown throughout literally every series ofDragon Ball,is the fact that an enemy can quickly become a friend. It's one of the reasons that characters are so loved throughout the show. They seem simple at first but as circumstances change so do they.

Examples of this lesson come from Vegeta, Piccolo, Tien, the Androids, Majin Buu, Nuova Shenron, Hit, and to a lesser extent Frieza. These characters were all given second chances and became friends to Goku, or at least a temporary friend in the case of Frieza.

Another huge theme forDragon Ballis, of course, to always set challenges for yourself. This is something that is constantly seen coming from Goku and Vegeta, the two fighters from Earth that are always at the top of the charts when it comes to power level.

RELATED:Dragon Ball: 5 Times Vegeta Was A Good Dad (& 5 Times He Wasn't)

This is because these two Saiyans never stop training and constantly have new goals set for themselves even after they've already reached the top. Whether it's to just keep getting stronger or to keep surpassing your best friend a self-made challenge is always healthy.

Even in the face of utter despair there is always hope if one is willing to go out and do something. This is one lesson that takes a big place in the sagas starring none other than Future Trunks. Future Trunks comes from a world that is ravaged and left a waste due to the evil Androids.

Despite this desolate future Future Trunks still seeks to find peace in his world. He does everything in his power to grow and bring his world back to what it once was and guess what! He succeeds!

Not every lesson has to be teachingone to do something. Some want to show things that shouldn't be done as well. Such a lesson taught throughDragon Balllore is to never be overconfident. This message is constantly shown through the mistakes of villains from almost each and every saga throughout the series.

Piccolo, Tao Pai Pai, Raditz, Nappa, Vegeta, Frieza, each of Frieza's henchmen, the Androids, Cell, Super Buu, Babidi, the Shadow Dragons, Jiren, need we continue? Don't get too confident and never underestimate an opponent.

That last lesson may have made it seem like pride is not a good thing to have but that's not true.Dragon Ballis a series that teaches the viewers to embrace their pride and always believe in themselves and their upbringing. However, this pride needs to be taken in strides instead of being the basis of every argument.

RELATED:Dragon Ball: 5 Couples That Would Make A Lot Of Sense (& 5 That Would Be Awful)

Pride is a double-edged sword as we learn from Vegeta. While it's been shown to lead to his downfall it has helped him and his friends achieve victory as well. Learn to use it the right way.

Another lesson that Vegeta can teach fans ofDragon Ballis that it is always possible to learn from others. No one inDragon Ballgoes through the series on their journey alone. In fact, each character looks to one another constantly for advice whether they say it outright or not.

In fact, even Frieza learns from others inDragon Ball Super once he actually starts training to fight Goku this time around. This leads to him unlocking a whole new transformation.

Dragon Balldoesn't just showcase its cast of characters going through a multitude of battles constantly losing. The series showcases characters losing on a regular basis until they grow and go back to the challenge they once lost against.

This is showing that to win you have to lose. Not only that but you have to learn to love to lose and then learn from that loss. Losses highlight mistakes that can be fixed and are a great part of the self-improvement process.

Dragon Ball is a series all about surpassing limits to unlock the full potential hidden within. In fact, this is exactly what the various Super Saiyan transformations and beyond are all about. While they are partly about the spectacle, the reasons these transformations are so great is because they're showing that someone just became even stronger.

RELATED:Dragon Ball: Every Shadow Dragon, Ranked According To Strength

They've surpassed their last vision of full power and moved on. What always comes after this? Trying to break the next limit and unlock the next transformation of course.

If there's one thing that the originalDragon Ballwill teach, it's that it's not always the destination you should be focused on, but the journey as well.

This series is all about the journey and the trials, tribulations, and lessons that come from it. The Dragon Balls ended up not even being the end all be all. As corny as it sounds, the friends met on the journey to gather them was.

NEXT:Dragon Ball: 10 Super Saiyan Forms (That Only Exist In Fan Fiction)

Next 10 Of The Strongest Characters In The History Of Final Fantasy

Tags: dragon ball, anime

On CBR.com

View original post here:
Dragon Ball: 10 Lessons From The Show That Are Still Applicable Today - CBR - Comic Book Resources

You Make it Past These Critical Benchmarks

99.99% of people quit a new hobby, goals, side project, venture, etc before six months is up. Probably 90% of people quit before 90 days.

I see this in writing all the time.

Sometimes I go to check on the blogs of writers Ive met over the years most often the blogs lead to broken links. They vanish, burn out, give up.

If you can work at something for 90 days straight without quitting, youre in good shape.

If you can work at something for six months without quitting, youre in great shape.

Make it a year or two in,getting small successes along the way, and youd be dumb to quit.

Make it five years, and youll never quit.

People permanently quit their dreams because of all of thestarts and stops causeso much fatigue. Hesitation causes more fatigue than actually doing the thing and it causes anxiety. You beat yourself up each time you procrastinate or stop your routine.

You do this because youre worried about the effort it will take to succeed, but youre actually exerting more effort and making yourself more miserable by staying stagnant.

My YouTube channel is now starting to generate some views passively. Guess how long Ive had it? 6 months. I shot roughly 90 videos.

It seems like a lot, but it feels as if Ive been doing it forever. The first video seems like a distant memory, even though back then doing a bunch of videos seemed like a long road.

Six months is the magic number. Make it.

You dont want money. You want the freedom to do what you want when you want.

Sure, you want the status that comes with your creative passion, but ultimately, you want to create.

You understand that many of the worldly metrics we live by money, status, audience, physical attractiveness, are bi-products ofdoing the work.

If you took perfect care of your health, found a profitable skill you genuinely enjoyed doing, and shared your gifts with the world, it would be odd if youdidnt get rich and sexy in the process.

On the one hand, you dont want to live solely for your desires.

But on the other hand, you dont want toact like the scoreboard doesnt exist.

The people who often say things like I just want to be content, are some of the most unhappy people youll ever meet. A content person wouldnt say they just want to be content. Theyd justbecontent.

I can see through people, easily. They live in castles built by rationalizations. They tell themselves they dont want what they really want because they dont think they get it.

People like me and you, we understand that the entire game isnt the endpoint, its thetrying itself that matters.

The fun of accomplishing a dream isnt what you get, itsseeing if you can pull it off.

The process of trying to do what most people cant and trying to exert your will over reality is fulfilling.

You want to feel like you have some damn power over your own situation, thats all. You dont need mansions, but you want to build successful businesses. You dont need insane fame, but you want a tribe of people who love a message you work hard to craft. You dont need to be uber-successful, per se, but like the late great Kobe Bryant, you want to leave it all on the court.

Most importantly, you dont want regrets.

Id rather you overshoot on your goals only to realize your dreams werent all they were cracked up to be than the opposite fate of always having to wonder what if.

Am I guaranteeing youll be successful just because you have ambition? Hell no.

But then again, if youre really ambitious, you dont need guarantees because you haveyou.

And thats more than enough.

Ayodeji is the author of Real Help: An Honest Guide to Self-Improvement.

Go here to see the original:
5 signs you have what it takes to accomplish your dreams - Ladders

Rumours of Keith Earlss Test-playing demise may have to be revised. His provincial team-mate, Andrew Conway, may have overtaken him in the Ireland pecking order, and Garry Ringroses fractured thumb may have opened the door to a place on the bench, but Earlss performance against Wales was a reminder than an old dog doesnt forget his old midfield tricks. He still adds real value to this team.

The debate once raged as to his best position, even if the 32-year-old has long since become more of a specialist winger. Memories will never completely fade of his try-scoring debut for Ireland at fullback against Canada at Thomond Park in November 2008. This is even truer of his only other Test start at fullback, in the home win over England in 2011 when he looked like Irelands version of Christian Cullen, albeit such was Irelands dominance he didnt have to make a single tackle.

Ronan OGara, for one, always disputed the notion that Earls didnt have the passing skills for an outside centre, where he has started 14 times for Ireland. Whats more, his scoring ratio there (five tries) is only marginally less than on the wing 24 tries in 58 starts.

Yet his last start at centre for Ireland was in the World Cup quarter-final against Argentina in 2015. His last start at 13 for Munster was on New Years Day 2018 against Ulster. His last cap as a replacement was against England in the Aviva Stadium seven years ago.

All of which made his performance last week, after a three-week break, all the more impressive.

Earls replaced the hitherto excellent Robbie Henshaw in the 45th minute at outside centre. Inside a minute of his arrival, Earls received a pass from Conor Murray. Waless line speed meant an attempted pass would have been picked off by Nick Tompkins. Earls pulled the ball back in and, with Jordan Larmour checking and altering his angle in toward Earls, he hit the fullback with a delayed pass in the tackle.

Quickly settling into Irelands defensive rhythm, Earls then produced the pass of the match. After Murray had sniped off a maul, stepped and passed, Johnny Sexton quickly transferred the ball to Earls. About to be smashed by George North, Earls gathered and fired the ball right-handed from his right shoulder, like a dart, into the path of Larmour. The move eventually led to Irelands third try.

Near the end, Earls accelerated onto a blindside pass by John Cooney to release Conway with a rapid fire transfer. It looked like hed been playing at outside centre all his life.

After the World Cup disappointment, a less than distinguished campaign for Munster and bothersome back and knee issues, it was one of the better postmatch feelings hes had in a while.

Yea, with Munster, being out of Europe is tough, getting beat by Racing away and then I didnt play against Ospreys. So it was my first run out in a while and it was good to get one back over Wales and in the manner we did as well. We played some exciting rugby but whats brilliant is theres plenty more to come.

Along the way, Earls has often switched from the wing to fill in at centre, and has tried to do some reps there in training, so he wasnt playing there entirely from memory.

He particularly enjoyed the pass to Larmour.

Under Joe, he had us wingers trying to pass quite a bit. Stephen Larkham is huge on it as well about getting quick hands and passing under pressure, and Cattys massive on it as well so its something that weve been doing the last couple of years and months, but particularly the last few weeks under Stephen and Catty.

The arrival of Larkham and Mike Catt at Munster and Ireland has clearly enthused Earls in his constant seeking for self-improvement. Interestingly though, Earls disputes the theory that outside centre is still the hardest position to defend.

I think wing has got a lot harder these past couple of years. Both of them are extremely hard but I think the wing is probably the toughest, having played both. Massive decisions. One bad decision almost leads to a try out in those channels. Thats the reality of it. You need to be consistently switched on.

Earls is never less than an engaged and endearingly honest interviewee, and he is quick to hail Conways all-round excellence against Wales, describing it as the best game Ive ever seen him play.

All round, anything he touched, something was happening, which is great to see but Id like to see him looking over his back as well, as I was for the last couple of years, he says with a knowing laugh.

Looking very relaxed, Earls is also enjoying the more easy-going environment at both Munster and Ireland, whereas before, he admits: There were times when we were scared to laugh. If you were laughing you werent switched on or you werent concentrating or you werent being professional.

Last week after we did the Captains Run we didnt meet again until we were getting on the bus going to the game. Usually youd have a couple of meetings beforehand and you might have a meeting at 10 in the morning and the anxiety starts coming in from there whereas its completely chilled.

We are trying to enjoy ourselves but once you walk out in the four lines you have to be switched on. Its being able to switch on for the hour or so rather than wasting energy all morning or two days or a day out, wasting energy on thinking about plays or stuff like that. Yeah, its definitely a lot more relaxed in Munster and Ireland as well.

Were barely in the classroom as well, he added. We see our classroom as being on the field. Faz brings down a TV to the side of the field at the HPC [high performance centre] and well look at a play and then well go out and rep it. Its just coaches are different.

In other ways too, all has changed utterly since his early days in the squad, when so much of Irelands energy for games against England was emotionally charged.

Definitely there was a generational thing. I think thats why it took me so long to find myself as well because maybe I was trying to be like Paulie or Rog or some of them old fellas who try and play on emotion every week, which is impossible to do, he says with a smile.

Its a breath of fresh air coming in now. Like, completely chilled out and being able to enjoy a sport, thats so important. Its great.

Trying to keep a perspective is important for Earls, who used to be consumed by nerves and self-doubt. In the build-up to the World Cup quarter-final against the All Blacks, he said the worst thing that could happen was that Ireland would lose and hed get to go home and see his wife and kids.

Looking back, the constant gym work on his ailing knees had meant the World Cup campaign was just full-on, full-on rugby.

Then, unfortunately, we were knocked out and I got away and spent a bit of time with the kids in Center Parcs with Peter OMahony and his kids, and it was just a normal life getting away from rugby. But its amazing, a week later youre like: Jeeze, I just want to get back on the field now.

We had time off at Christmas and it was probably my first time, in my career Id say, I found myself drinking and eating over Christmas. Its amazing, when youre playing youre like: Jeeze, I wish I could be out with the family or out with the lads having drinks. And I was doing that this year and I was like: I definitely prefer playing. I think the couple of days is great but then after a week you want to get back into it.

The fire in the belly, as he puts it, still burns.

View original post here:
Keith Earls far from ready to abandon centre stage - The Irish Times

Julie Kanner @jfkanner Friday Feb7,2020at1:08PM

Chief Retail Services Specialist Seth A. Lowry, from Jacksonville, was named as a 2019 Military Instructor of the Year finalist.

Chief Retail Services Specialist Seth A. Lowry, a native of Jacksonville and a 2002 graduate of First Coast Academy, was recently named as a 2019 Military Instructor of the Year finalist for the Naval Education and Training Command.

Lowry was recognized during a ceremony at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola on Jan. 23. The finalists were congratulated by Rear Adm. Kyle Cozad.

Lowry is a course supervisor at Naval Technical Training Center in Meridian, Miss., and is qualified as a master training specialist. He provides training to over 200 students. He was one of 10 sailors competing for the NETC Military Instructor of the Year title. They represent the top achievers out of over 8,000 military members in MyNavy HR Force Development.

Lowry was awarded a Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal for his achievements.

Related | Read more good news stories from the Jacksonville area

The Naval Education and Training Command Military Instructor of the Year program recognizes sailors who exhibit sustained superior performance, leadership, mentorship, knowledge and teaching of military history and heritage, self-improvement, command and community involvement, and exemplary military bearing.

Have good news? You can mail to The Florida Times-Union, P.O. Box 1949, Jacksonville, FL 32231 or email jkanner@jacksonville.com.

Excerpt from:
Good News: Sailor from Jacksonville named Military Instructor of the Year finalist - The Florida Times-Union

How I Lost 10 Pounds in a Month With Orangetheory Fitness

Ever since I graduated college six years ago, my weight has truly been all over the place. When I left school, I weighed in at about 120 pounds. And while I was certainly thin, I wasn't exactly taking the best care of myself. In the years since, thanks to working out inconsistently and having a desk job, I packed on 32 pounds. Because it was a gradual gain, I didn't notice it at first. But when I stepped on the scale in late December and realized I was 152 pounds, I knew something needed to change.

While I knew at 5'4" I wasn't disastrously overweight, the fact that I had been getting a little too much into the wine and cheese since my July wedding hit me like a burst of cold water. As a former college athlete, I knew I could do a lot more to improve my overall health, and I desperately wanted to carve out new healthy habits.

While my foray into Orangetheory Fitness started with the goal of simply shedding some pounds, it quickly became much, much more. I first learned about OTF when POPSUGAR's Senior Editor Kate Schweitzer made it a regular habit. After having two gorgeous daughters, she started hitting classes five times per week at her local studio. And while she's always been in good shape, it was hard to deny how toned her arms had gotten during our weekly meetings.

Fortunately, Kate wasn't the only person who was drinking the Orangetheory Kool-Aid; Sarah Wasilak, our fashion editor, also went to class a few times per week. And thankfully, she not only attended our local studio in Jersey City, but she also enthusiastically offered to take me to my first class. As a person who had generally loathed group exercise classes in the past, I was eager to try an OTF class but overwhelmed. Why did they need to track your heart rate the entire time? What in god's name are Splat points?

Nervous but cautiously optimistic, I headed to my first class with Sarah one day at 7 a.m. As soon as we arrived, we were greeted by studio employee Wesley Barranco, who had one simple question for me: "What's your goal?" After confessing my love of cheese I kept the wine out of the convo for obvious reasons and telling him about my weight-loss goals, he gave me a confident smile and the rundown. While his spiel was certainly informative, I didn't at any point feel intimidated, which is key for those trying to get back on the fitness horse.

Eventually, I was introduced to Herlentz Mesidor, the head coach of the studio and the person who'd no doubt be bossing me around for an hour. As the big kahuna, Herlentz is obviously a very fit man. It's also worth noting that he is one of the few people on god's green earth who can pull off wearing a sweatband on his head.

Herlentz spent 15 minutes teaching me how the class is formatted and had me jump on a rowing machine to evaluate my form. (Spoiler alert: I've been rowing incorrectly for my entire life!). After getting set up with an OTbeat wearable device, we got to it, and honestly, I was amazed.

While I normally get bored in classes that just focus on cardio, the three-pronged format OTF offers time spent running, rowing, and lifting weights really suited me. Additionally, Herlentz didn't scream into the microphone the entire time. On top of pumping us up, he also made his rounds to ensure we were lifting with the correct form and using the treadmills properly.

At the end of my first class, I'd burned 650 calories. I've never had a more efficient workout since I played lacrosse in college. On top of that, I truly felt great. Maybe it was the endorphins, but I immediately signed up for a package of classes and have been going two or three days per week ever since.

While my initial goal was to lose weight and hey, it still very much is! in just five weeks, my body has begun to transform. I have noticed more muscle tone in my legs, and I've lost considerable weight in my face. I feel more confident in a bathing suit, and when I sit on a hard chair, my tush feels . . . perkier? Although the sensation is hard to explain, it sure feels good!

More importantly, my fitness goals have been turned on their head. Thanks to the treadmill portion of Orangetheory, I've cut a full minute off my mile time. In fact, on a six-mile run earlier this week, my average pace clocked in at 8:26. That's pretty good for me! Feeling more confident than I have in years, I officially bit the bullet and signed up for a half-marathon. Although I've toyed with the idea in the past, injuries have always gotten in the way. Because of OTF, I'm very much looking forward to running my first race.

Thanks to the welcoming and nonintimidating community I've found at OTF, I've learned that there's something powerful about testing your physical limits. Sure, I've lost 10 pounds, but it's not just about getting in a good sweat. Rather, it's about self-improvement and conquering goals, whether you're trying to beat your personal 2,000-meter row record or simply get back into jogging again. Have I met my official weight-loss goal yet? No, but Orangetheory gives me the confidence to keep on trying.

Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography / Murphy Moroney

Continue reading here:
Sure, I Lost 10 Pounds Doing Orangetheory Fitness, but It's Not Always the Scale That Matters - POPSUGAR

Hoda Kotb fulfilled a lifelong dream on Friday: meeting Oprah Winfrey. The two shared the TV screen on NBC's Today Show this week in a moment that fans will not soon forget. Viewers shared in Kotb's excitement as Winfrey took the stage.

Winfrey is back in the press these days promoting her 2020 Visions Tour. Her visit to Today was perfectly timed, however, as Kotb and co-host Jenna Bush Hager are celebrating their first week on a new set, with a live studio audience.

That crowd cheered wildly as Winfrey walked out on the stage. She embraced Hager at the table, then paused for a meaningful smile at Kotb before they hugged as well. As she made her entrance she said: "It's happening! You manifested it!"

The three women took their seats, and Kotb was clearly fighting back tears of joy. She said she needed "a moment," adding: "do y'all feel like you need a moment?!" to the audience.

Winfrey and Hager then explained how Winfrey had come to be on the show. Hager had seen Winfrey at a previous stop on her Vision Tour last month and had asked her to be on the show. She admitted that one of the main reasons was to give her co-host a chance to meet a lifelong idol.

"Thank you. I can't tell you, Oprah, I feel like I've been in this business 100 years...you know when people say, like, 'You mean to much to me,' but they've never met you and I know maybe it does seems a little weird, but this is really one of those moments for me," Kotb said to Winfrey.

"I watched you over the years, I've watched you lift people up," Kotb continued. "There's only a couple people on the Earth who you want to emulate in our business. I watched you like, hold people's hearts in your hand, and I remember thinking, like, how does she do that? And you did it in such a way that was always so tender and real, and the fact that you're sitting here on this day is really kinda blowing my mind."

Winfrey's career and her larger-than-life screen presence has inspired many journalists and interviewers in recent years. She rose to national fame in the 1986 with her syndicated daytime talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show, which was on for 25 years before it ended in 2011.

Winfrey's show changed the face of daytime TV and had a profound effect on interviews and media criticism in general. It also highlighted self-improvement, self-help and empowerment methods that got a huge response from fans. It was all the more powerful because Winfrey is an African-American woman, bringing much-needed representation to the industry.

Many acclaimed stars have since cited that show as a profound influence in their early lives. That includes Kotb, who said that she felt a rush of childhood excitement when Oprah arrived on set.

"I mean, I'm 55 or 56, nobody knows," she joked. "Who cares. But it doesn't matter. It just shows you like, the kid in you in still in there when you walk in the door."

Here is the original post:
Watch 'Today' Co-Host Hoda Kotb Lose It After Meeting Hero Oprah Winfrey - PopCulture.com

UAE millionaires are the youngest among their global counterparts, shaping the way they view personal enrichment and how they invest their money, according to a new HSBC survey in seven countries.

In the global study of 1,000 high-net-worth people with between $1 million (Dh3.65m) and $5m of investable assets, UAE respondents had an average age of 35. This is younger than mainland China at 37 and significantly younger than the UK at 51 and the US at 61. The other locations surveyed were Canada, France, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Three quarters of the 100 UAE millionaires surveyed said self-improvement is extremely important to living an enriched life, the highest globally. About half (52 per cent) chose new adventures with family also the most globally compared to 37 per cent in China and 35 per cent in France.

More and more of UAEs high-net-worth people are shifting towards a broader view of enrichment where self-improvement, new experiences and mental well-being rate just as high, or higher, than wealth accumulation, said Abdulfattah Sharaf, the group general manager and chief executive of HSBC in the UAE. These new perspectives are also changing the way the affluent manage their finances and invest.

There are approximately 88,700 people living in the UAE with individual assets of $1m or more, according to a 2019 report from New World Wealth based in Johannesburg. High-net-worth people hold about half of the $925bn in personal wealth in the Emirates, the report found.

HSBCs study found that of the UAE respondents who had average investible assets of $1.8m 40 per cent ran their own businesses, 30 per cent held senior executive positions and 20 per cent worked in professional services.

More than half (56 per cent) said establishing a legacy is an important source of enrichment. Eighty-one per cent said passing on values is the most important factor in their personal legacy, the second highest globally after France (86 per cent). Passing on assets was important for 56 per cent of UAE respondents and passing on skills for 54 per cent.

To capitalise on the studys findings on self-improvement and adventure, HSBC introduced Jade, a bank account that includes access to a range of bespoke luxury experiences, in addition to wealth management. Its Enrich List includes a voyage to Titanics wreck site off the coast of Canada, crying therapy in Japan and star gazing in Omans Wahiba Desert.

Updated: February 6, 2020 05:05 PM

Read the rest here:
UAE millionaires are the youngest in the world - The National

In 2015, California decluttering and anti-burnout coach Jessica Louie was a Marie Kondo super fan. The anti-clutter gurus KonMari method of serenity through tidying had changed her life. Kondos influence was so profound that Louie completed a KonMari consultant certification course to share Kondos wisdom with her fellow pharmacists and other people overwhelmed by the stresses of modern life.

But there was a problem. When Louie examined her finances through Kondos lens, her mountain of graduate school-incurred debt failed to spark joy. Inspired by the life-changing simplicity of the KonMari method, Louie wondered if Japanese culture might offer similar wisdom for saving money. Thats how she discovered the financial approach of Kakeibo. With it, the debt steadily eroded.

We paid off almost $300,000 of debt from our graduate programs, Louie says. After her personal success with Kakeibo, she incorporated it into her anti-burnout coaching practice. I went debt free on it and have used it ever since with my clients.

Like the KonMari method, the 116-year-old Japanese financial approach of Kakeibo connects common domestic tasks (tidying for KonMari; budgeting for Kakeibo) with profound changes to mood and emotion. Pronounced Kah-keh-boh and translated to household financial ledger, Kakeibo (sometimes written as Kakebo) is a simple approach to household finances that teaches people to be more intentional about their spending. It doesnt require an app or spreadsheet; in fact, it must be done by hand. Kakeibos creator, trailblazing Japanese female journalist Motoko Hani, believed people need financial stability to achieve happiness. So, she created a clever and incredibly simple mix of budgeting and journaling that fosters emotional awareness about money and instills the value of delayed gratification.

Has becoming a parent affected your friendships?

Thanks for the feedback!

Kakeibo is a ledger system designed to track spending and make users aware of how theyre using money. The Kakeibo financial approach asks four simple questions:

In his 2018 book Kakeibo: The Japanese Art of Saving Money, author Fumiko Chiba illustrates the four questions like parts of a propeller. In practice, each of the simple questions flows into each other. You have money coming in, a goal for how much youd like to save, and money going out. Once you improve whats going out, more money is available and you can save more. But since there will inevitably be setbacks or things you overlook in a cycle, you stay mindful of spending and continue to look for ways to improve.

Kakeibo is about mindfulness. It asks its users to be conscious of what theyre spending money on. At the start of each month, you write down fixed income and expenses (rent, food, and so forth). Weekly, you record purchases and divide them into four pillars, or categories: survival, culture, optional, and extra (or unexpected). Sorting purchases into pillars gives a clear understanding of where your money is going and whether your use of money is advancing your savings goal. And it sets the stage for the reflection of asking how you can improve your spending habits to service that goal better. With your purchases recorded and categorized, you can see that splurging on Seamless five times a week set you back and improve by cooking more meals at home.

Youre definitely going to have some missteps, Louie says. Everyone has that. I had that as well. And then we write it down. You just reflect on it and ask, why did I do that? What was the feeling I had at that time?

No one attains perfect financial discipline overnight. Louie says Kakeibos call for regular reflection and self-improvement facilitates the learning process.

Sometimes my clients have to buy something in order to learn why they have that habit in their life, she says. Are they using it to cope or just have that burst of dopamine when they purchased it? Sometimes, when they get the item, they never even open the box.

The physical act of writing on paper is key to Kakeibo. This makes sense: studies have shown that writing leads to deeper understanding of information because it forces us to slow down and process what were learning instead of recording it without thought. Without this intentionality, the Kakeibo doesnt work.

Kakeibos a simple system. But its simplicity can lead to profound changes in spending habits. Tracking spending with the Kakeibo template makes you accountable for everything you purchase. Considering whether something is optional or needed for survival can be a persuasive reason for sticking to a shopping list instead of, say, hopping on Amazon to buy a few essentials and ending up with $200 worth of items in your cart. The resulting purchases often sport a Marie Kondo-friendly inclination towards quality over quantity.

The more money you save with Kakeibo, the higher quality of item you will invest in, Louie says. So its quality over quantity, which is very similar to Marie Kondo. If you are looking at what sparks joy in your life, youre investing in quality items that will last for years to come.

Of course, the Kakeibo method takes time to set. When I work with a lot of my clients, the first few weeks we work together, usually their Kakeibo tracking sheet is full and theres probably about 20, 25 lines, Louie says. As we continue working together, it gets down to maybe three or four lines.

With its spending categories and weekly calls for self-assessment, Kakeibo encourages people to be mindful of how theyre using money. Financial therapist and Financial Wellness Advocate for Prudential Amanda Clayman says that regular reflection on money could be a valuable change for many Americans.

We have a bias toward busy-ness in American culture where we are affirmed and praised for like the busier and crazier we are, she says. And because of that, activities of reflection do not feel productive.

Many spend casually and without consideration out of convenience. Knowing weve frittered away on food weve forgotten weve eaten alone can often be enough to change lazy habits.

A lot of people have a practice of tracking their spending, Clayman says. And while thats really lovely for bringing more consciousness to the moment, unless they also have a complementary practice of reviewing and then thinking about how they want to use that information moving forward, then theyre really only sort of doing half of the exercise.

Reflecting on spending shows how quickly the joys of mindless consumption disappear and leave us short on cash and surrounded by clutter.

A lot of times, in the moment we just want momentary gratification around a purchase but we dont actually want to have the thing that were buying, Clayman says.

Clayman noted that Kakeibo is rooted in culture. The Japanese rely on cash far more than Americans and the methods spending plans are geared far more towards the simple subtraction and addition involved with the exchange of physical rather than the complex variables of credit cards and banking fees.

Having a clear and intentional understanding of financial goals can grant those goals more perceived value, which strengthens commitment to delayed gratification. Americans generally prefer their gratification to be instant, which leads to out-of-control spending, regret and, in nearly all cases, fails to spark joy.

Thank you for subscribing

Give us a little more information and we'll give you a lot more relevant content

Your child's birthday or due date

Add A Child

Remove A Child

I don't have kids

Thanks For Subscribing!

The rest is here:
Kakeibo Is the Japanese Money-Saving Method All Couples Should Try - Fatherly

Having access to performance data can help employees gain deeper understanding of their strengths and areas to work on something especially important for development teams, who are under increasing pressure to innovate faster, create services to keep up with customer demands and fight off their business competitors. Awareness of output is crucial to increasing the speed of innovation; having concrete data allows teams to gain this understanding of their work, steps they can take to self-improve and, ultimately, accelerate the innovation process. So why arent more companies empowering their IT teams with this kind of data?

Advances in modern technology have enabled us to become masters at measuring our behaviour. We are obsessed with self-analytics, from smartwatches that record how many steps weve taken in a day, to our phones monitoring how long weve spent on certain apps, we now have constant access to data we can use to improve who we are and the way we live our lives. In fact, we now produce a mind-boggling 2.5 quintillion bytes of data every day. Why is it then that that were not able to gain the same level of understanding of our performance in the workplace?

For large enterprises, where the mainframe is the backbone, an intuitive interface is critical. Newer developers may have never seen a green-screen environment before. They will have different expectations, as will more experienced developers, since theyve all been exposed to modern, user-friendly operating systems. As such, a modern IDE and analysis tools, can help developers of all backgrounds and experience levels work confidently and speedily on the mainframe. Sometimes it is easier to continue to work with the familiar, with muscle memory likely leading developers to work on autopilot. However, with access to performance data, correlated with developer behaviour, teams will be able make evidence-based decisions that improve the speed and quality of their output. As they become more aware of how the ways they work make a difference, so they are enabled to change and measure the impact of that change just like when they use a Fitbit to improve physical and mental health.

Armed with this Fitbit for developers, teams will have a clear idea of how theyre doing at work, the areas they perform well in, what could be improved and how changes in behaviour impact output. The measurements also provide evidence that they are getting better, giving a sense of individual achievement that translates to the successes of the team, inspiring a more creative landscape to drive innovation forward.

The way todays digital-savvy developers prefer to be taught about new methods and concepts has changed and moved on from the old, read the manual approach. Developers are now accustomed to hopping onto YouTube for video tutorials in their personal lives, for everything from cooking to DIY, they no longer want desk-based, textbook learning opportunities. As mainframe-reliant companies drive forward millennial recruitment plans, they need to provide this modern, Google/YouTube model for training too.

Online training curriculums can offer tailored, role-based modules for developers, while simultaneously providing data on individual tools usage. Having transparency of data allows teams to understand how changes to behaviour or tooling can benefit their performance and inspire them to adapt to be more effective individually and organisationally.

The data gleaned from new, online curriculums doesnt just benefit development teams. When understanding tool usage, theres also the added bonus for businesses that they will have access to metrics showing how effective the training has been and if investments in new tooling are paying off. This is hugely beneficial to the wider educational programme, as it enables an organisation to use data to constantly re-assess their teaching methods and measure adoption and usage of new tools that have been implemented.

After developers complete training, IT leaders can consult the data theyve produced to gain an understanding of the areas developers are thriving in, where they may need extra help, what new products theyve started using and what the business impact is. These metrics provide IT teams with knowledge on how effective a tool or a training course is, so they can then report back to the wider business to guide future decision-making.

Then, as is the standard expectation when data is collected, businesses are able to carry out further analytics to assess the impact on industry-standard measures such as quality, velocity and efficiency. This can be done both at a team and organisational level to show how the mainframe community is doing as a whole.

Across all industries, its no longer a case of big beats small; now fast beats slow. Businesses need to innovate faster while also improving quality and efficiency to keep up, and empowering development teams to embrace new ways of working and measure the positive impact it has on their output is crucial. Organisations should be considering how data and machine learning can help mainframe software development and delivery teams with this, enabling them to better understand their current performance levels, where this can be enhanced with new tooling or processes and the learning programmes on offer to help them on the road to self-improvement.

Dr Elizabeth Maxwell, EMEA Mainframe Technical Director, Compuware

Read the original post:
Supercharging mainframe innovation by measuring developer performance data - ITProPortal

EA has announced its plans to develop a new Sims sequel, and the obsolete MMO The Sims Onlinewill have a big impact on it. Considering the complex history of The Sims 4 is is never obvious what EA plans to do with the franchise in the future.

Seven years have passed since the last sequel was released, and while there have been clues in EA job listings about a new extension, nothing was definite until now. In an investors meeting last week, the companys executive Andrew Wilson was asked whether developer Maxis intends to relaunch an online sequel of The Sims remanding MMO The Sims Online, which was discontinued after it named it EA-Land back in 2008.

As per the transcript from fansite Sims Community, Wilson described that The Sims as a new generation, and suggested that a new game would merge features of The Sims Onlines social behaviors with the more classical virtual dollhouse elements.

What he said, in fact, was an almost unintelligible flow of marketing demagogy, but it is obvious that he was talking about a new product that would either be The Sims Online 2 or, most probably, The Sims 5.

As Maxis continues to think about The Sims for a new generation cross-platforms and a cloud of a neighborhood world, you should imagine while we will always stay true to our inspiration, escape, creation, self-improvement, motivations that this notion of social interactions and competition like the kind of things that were actually present in The Sims Online many, many years ago that they will start to become a part of The Sims experience in the years to come, Wilson said.

We are very excited. This is a game that really doesnt have any competition in its category for delivering and fulfilling these motivations for players, and we think of the tremendous growth opportunities for us for many, many years to come.

We should mention the fact that the use of new generation doesnt have anything to do with the next-generation consoles, but it is an allusion to The Sims series and new players.

Paula is an outstanding reporter for Henri Le Chat Noir, always finding new and interesting topics to bring to the portal. She mostly crafts Science and Technology news articles, covering everything one needs to know about those niches. Paula studied at Concordia University.

See the original post:
The Sims 5 is Probably Being Developed - Henri Le Chat Noir