Saturday, June 21, 2008

successful सों, jokes

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successful son

Four men went to play golf one day. Three of them headed to the first tee and the fourth went into the clubhouse to take care of the bill. The three men started talking and bragging about their sons. The first man told the others "My son is a home builder, and he is so successful that he gave a friend a new home for free." The second man said, "My son is a car salesman, and now owns a multi-line dealership. He's so successful that he gave a friend a new Mercedes, fully loaded. The third man , not wanting to be outdone, bragged, "My son is a stockbroker, and he's doing so well that he gave his friend an entire portfolio." The fourth man joined them at the tee after a few minutes of taking care of business. The fist man mentioned, "We are just talking about our sons. How is yours doing?" The fourth man replied, "Well, my son is gay and a go-go dancer at a gay bar." The other three men grew silent as he continued, "I'm not totally thrilled about the dancing job, but he must be doing well. His last three boyfriends gave him a house, and brand new Mercedes, and a stock portfolio."

Why Bill Gates decides to Sell OFF Microsoft? joke

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Why Bill Gates decides to Sell OFF Microsoft?

Why Bill Gates decides to Sell OFF Microsoft? Letter from Banta Singh of Punjab to Mr. Bill Gates of Microsoft Subject: Problems with my new computer Dear Mr. Bill Gates, We have bought a computer for our home and we have found some problems, which I want to bring to your notice. 1. There is a button 'start' but there is no 'stop' button. We request you to check this. 2. One doubt is whether any 're-scooter' is available in system? I find only 're-cycle', but I own a scooter at my home. 3. There is 'Find' button but it is not working properly. My wife lost the door key and we tried a lot trace the key with this 'find' button, but was unable to trace. Please rectify this problem. 4. My child learnt 'Microsoft word' now he wants to learn 'Microsoft sentence', so when you will provide that? 5. I bought computer, CPU, mouse and keyboard, but there is only one icon which shows 'My Computer': when you will povide the remaining items? 6. It is surprising that windows says 'MY Pictures' but there is not even a single photo of mine. So when will you keep my photo in that. 7. There is 'MICROSOFT OFFICE' what about 'MICROSOFT HOME' since I use the PC at home only. 8. You provided 'My Recent Documents'. When you will provide 'My Past Documents'? 9. You provide 'My Network Places'. For God sake please do not provide 'My Secret Places'. I do not want to let my wife know where I go after my office hours. Last one to Mr Bill Gates : Sir, how is it that your name is Gates but you are selling WINDOWS?

Friday, June 20, 2008

India’s Retail Revolution

hi, if you find this massage is interesting, share with your फ्रिएंड्स India’s Retail Revolution: Question 2 Filed under: Business, Retail — Prashant @ 5:12 am How much lower are prices because of the new retailers? Are clothes and shoes at the malls and new retail stores in India much more expensive than in the United States? It seems that way, to me at least. For instance, during my last visit to Chennai, I bought a pair of Reebok sneakers having left my original pair back home in the US. This darn pair cost me Rs $125 (Rs 5,000) at the Reebok store in India, whereas the exact same pair cost me just $80 in the US. Around this time, a relative gifted me a shirt from ColorPlus. This shirt cost Rs $63 (Rs 2,500) versus $40 (if that) for an identical shirt in the US. I’ve experienced this “sticker shock” every time I’ve visited a store in India over the last two years. Questions1) What is your experience of prices in India vis-a-vis other countries, especially South East Asia and East Asia? 2) If prices are high in India, what’s the reason: a) Brand licensing fees: This might hold for Reebok or Levi’s but certainly not for ColorPlus or Indian brands. b) Real estate prices/ high rents: Perhaps. However, my guess is that while real estate prices in India have shot up recently, on average, retail space in the US is still more expensive than India. Besides, if rental costs were such a big component of costs, wouldn’t this create a huge opportunity for catalog/ online retailers? c) Import duties/ tariffs: Hmm? I thought these clothes & shoes were made in India. I’ve bought shirts, trousers and suits in the US that were made in India, which cost me 50% to 70% of what they’d cost me in India. d) Something else? Caveats:1) The only malls/ stores I’ve visited in India have been in Mumbai (Crossroads/ Vama/ some shops in Colaba & Fountain) and Chennai (City Centre/ Spencers/ Westside and a few others). In other words, my knowledge is limited and completely based on sporadic anecdotal evidence. 2) I don’t know much about prices for groceries - vegetables, fruits, grains — which is Reliance’s (initial) target, I think. Comments (42) December 25, 2007 India’s Retail Revolution: Question 1 Filed under: Basic Questions, Business, Labour market, Retail — Prashant @ 3:10 am How many jobs have the new retailers actually created? The Wall Street Journal, in an article last month, writes that jobs in India’s booming retail industry are a ticket out of the slums for many. The article, titled Humble Jobs at the Mall Are Lifting Legions of Indians Out of Poverty and told from the viewpoint of three employees of Pantaloon in Mumbai, goes on to say that Such basic sales jobs, unremarkable and often derided in the West, are providing careers, confidence, and a shot at entering the consumer class to millions (emphasis mine) of impoverished young men and women across India. As their ranks swell, these children of slum dwellers, servants, sweepers and others low on the socioeconomic totem pole are forming a new stratum of workers. They are likely to play an important role in determining the future of the world’s second-most-populous nation.….Firm data are hard to come by, but available statistics and anecdotal evidence suggest an explosion in service jobs. Over the next three years, says the Images Group, a research and consulting group in India, the retail sector will create more than 2.5 million new jobs in the country. India’s Reliance Industries Ltd. says it will hire close to 500,000 people to staff its new chain of supermarkets. Pantaloon Retail Ltd., India’s largest retailer with annual sales of around $1 billion, hires more than 500 people a month. [link - subscription required] The story seems very encouraging. However, I’m a tad puzzled at the evidence — it’s rather slender and the three data points don’t jell. Data point # 1: Pantaloon, India’s biggest retailer is adding 500 people a month (extrapolating, that makes it 18,000 over the next three years. An assumption, here) Data point # 2: Reliance will add 500,000 new employees. Data point #3: The Images Group forecasts 2.5 million new jobs in retail over the next three years. This might seem like a quibble, but are we to believe that a) Reliance will add 83 times more employees than Pantaloon — 500,000 vs 18,000 b) Pantaloon, India’s biggest retailer will add only 0.72% of the new hires — 18,000 out of a total of 2.5 million, or c) Reliance alone, with 500,000 new employees, will contribute 20% of the new jobs? Q) Any hard data available regarding employment growth in India’s retail sector? Update: Earlier posts on India’s retail industry– Protect The Chain But At What CostKirana Will Still RuleThe Better, Faster Road To DevelopmentThe Wrong BehindA Nation Of Self-EmployedMore Bang For the Government BuckFDI In Single Brand RetailRice, Roads And Regulations Comments (20)

The Smartest Unknown Indian Entrepreneur

hi, if you find this massage is interesting, share with your The Smartest Unknown Indian Entrepreneur Filed under: Business — Arjun Swarup @ 5:16 pm In an interesting article on Forbes titled ‘The Smartest Unknown Indian Entrepreneur’ , Sramana Mitra profiles Sridhar Vembu, the founder and CEO of an Indian firm called AdventNet. The firm today, is a ‘100%, bootstrapped, $40-millio-a-year revenue business that sends $ 1 million to the bank every month in profits’. The whole piece is worth a detailed read, but two points stand out. The first one is this: “We hire young professionals whom others disregard,” Vembu says. “We don’t look at colleges, degrees or grades. Not everyone in India comes from a socio-economic background to get the opportunity to go to a top-ranking engineering school, but many are really smart regardless. “We even go to poor high schools, and hire those kids who are bright but are not going to college due to pressure to start making money right away,” Vembu continues. “They need to support their families. We train them, and in nine months, they produce at the level of college grads. Their resumes are not as marketable, but I tell you, these kids can code just as well as the rest. Often, better.” (Emphasis mine). The second one is this: Vembu has a very exciting opportunity ahead of him. What the Chinese have done in manufacturing, he is showing that the Indians can do in software: undercut U.S. and European software makers dramatically. Not in information technology services. Not by body shopping. Vembu has done something few Indian entrepreneurs have been able to achieve–build a true “product” company out of India. This is not a head count-based business model (Emphasis mine). The first point is interesting, as it shows that the skilled manpower shortage, which is an issue many entrepreneurs (including IEB founder Prashant Kothari) have written about, could have some solutions, although a nine month investment from an employer is significant. The second one also shows that the general media meme of that all India is doing is capitalizing on low cost labour advantages to run body shops, and not building enough ‘brands’ or ‘product’ firms, might not be true(even if it were true to large extent till a few years back) .

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Power of compounding

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Power of compounding

Submitted by Stalin E on Mon, 16/06/2008 - 23:17.

power of compounding and starting investment early can be well expresed by the following story...

Jack and Jill were twins, and both got their first job at the age of 20. Both wished plenty from their life and started splurging on expensive luxuries. Jack deferred his decision for an investment account for the time being. Jill, however, acted on her father’s advice and started saving a token amount of Rs 1,000 per month (cumulative amount Rs 12,000 per year) in a diversified mutual fund. The next 10 years were fun for both, as they were living life to the fullest. Jack never started his investment account and Jill never cared to increase her investments from the meager Rs 12,000 per annum.

Accumulation phase

Ten years later, it was time to take stock. Jack, obviously, had nothing to show. Jill’s investment, on the other hand, had returned at the rate of 15% pa and her total investment of Rs 1,20,000 (Rs 12000 x 10 years) has grown to Rs 2,43,645.

Jill was not impressed with the amount at all. She decided to discontinue her investment plan. She, however, decided to leave her accumulated investment alone in the same fund.

Jack, on the other hand, decided it was time to start investing. He opened an account with the same diversified mutual fund Jill was investing in and started contributing Rs 12,000 pa.

After 30 years, it was time for both Jack and Jill to retire.

Jill had never touched her corpus, but she hadn’t bothered to put in fresh money either. This meant her invested corpus still stood at Rs 1,20,000. Jack, on his part, had invested Rs 3,60,000 (Rs 12,000 x 30) over three decades.

Both had got an annual return of 15% on their investments.

Interestingly, at the end of 30 years, Jack had accumulated Rs 52.16 lakh, while Jill, who had saved for only 10 years, had Rs 1.06 crore. Retirement phase

The accumulation phase was over now and both were in the retirement phase.

Both wished to play safe and shifted their corpuses to investment accounts that were less risky, but offered an assured return of 9% pa.

Both assumed they would live till 100. They would withdraw a level amount at the beginning of every year for the next 40 years to meet their expenses such that, assuming both survived till 100, nothing would be left for their successors.

Calculations threw up even more shocking figures. Though Jill started with 100% more retirement corpus compared with Jack, she could actually withdraw a sum of Rs 13.75 lakh pa, which was 300% more than what Jack could (Rs 4.44 lakh pa).

Summing up from the age of 60 till 100, Jill would have withdrawn Rs 5.50 crore (13.75 lakh x 40 years), while Jack would have taken only Rs 1.77 crore (4.44 lakh x 40 years).

Analysis:

Early investments pay you more.

Even it is a small amount start saving as earlier as possible.

Working to a financial plan early in life sure is a paying proposition. What say?

10 Tips for Better Health!!

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10 Tips for Better Health!!

1. "Eat it, it's good for you." - Listen to your mother and eat breakfast every morning. People who eat breakfast regularly are 5 times less likely to put on weight.
2. "How do you know you don't like it, if you haven't tasted it?" – Remember to add fish to your diet. The omega 3's found in cold water fish can cut your risk of heart disease and decrease symptoms of depression.
3. "I can't believe you can sleep in this filth!" - Get plenty of rest. People who sleep less than 7 hours a night on average are 2½ times more likely to die prematurely.
4. "You can say just about anything about anyone, as long as you "bless their heart" somewhere in the sentence." -Remembering those social skills come in handy when meeting new friends. Elderly people who are more involved in communal activities live longer and have less medical problems.
5. "If you're going kill each other, do it outside" - Get outdoors and experience nature. It raises brain serotonin (the feel-good hormone). It's easy, start with a daily walk.
6. "Don't put that in your mouth, you don't know where it's been." – Brush your teeth and floss already. Studies have shown that practicing good dental hygiene can add 6.4 years to your life.
7. "You WILL eat it, and you WILL like it!" - Eat your vegetables, your mother was right, again - bless her soul(or heart!). Fruits and vegetables are chock full of good things - fiber, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. Remember fiber keeps things moving.
8. "Why didn't you go before we left the house?"- Another of life's mysteries. Remember peeing is good, so drink lots of water. For every ounce of coffee or soda pop you consume, ½ ounce of water is siphoned from your tissues.
9. "Why? Because I said so, that's why!" - Need to think about the logic of that one? Maybe a little meditation is in order. Take time for quiet reflection and prayer-- it is shown to reduce stress and lower blood pressure.
10. "A little soap & water never killed anybody." - Wash your hands. Yup, we are channeling mom, again. By frequently washing your hands you wash away germs that you have picked up from other people, or from contaminated surfaces, or from animals and animal waste. One of the most common ways people catch colds is by rubbing their nose or their eyes after their hands have been contaminated with the cold virus.

Friday, April 4, 2008

Mobiles can be cancerous than smoking!!

A new study by an Indian-origin neurosurgeon has shown that cell phone use could kill more people than smoking, because of its possible association with brain cancer. Dr Vini Khurana, a staff specialist neurosurgeon at the Canberra Hospital and an associate professor of neurosurgery at the Australian National University, said heavy usage of mobile phones might turn out to be a greater threat to human health than smoking and even asbestos. To support his finding, Khurana conducted a 15-month 'critical review' of the link between mobile phones and malignant brain tumours, and said that using mobiles for more than 10 years could result in more than double the risk of brain cancer.
In order to curb this danger, he has urged for 'immediate and decisive steps' by industry and governments to reduce people's exposure to invisible electromagnetic radiation emitted by handsets. He has also asked to begin a 'solid scientific study' observing heavy mobile phone users for a period of at least 10-15 years. 'It is anticipated that this danger has far broader public health ramifications than asbestos and smoking, and directly concerns all of us, particularly the younger generation, including very young children,' the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Khurana, as saying.
However, he added that it is not that smoking was better for people than using mobile phones, but mobile-phone related health issues were a lot more dangerous and affected a far greater number of people.
He pointed out that currently there were 3 billion mobile phone users worldwide, and the number is growing with each passing day. In fact, people started using them as young as three. He underlined that mobile phone radiation could result in heating up the side of the head or potentially thermoelectrically interact with the brain, while Bluetooth devices and 'unshielded' headsets could 'convert the user's head into an effective, potentially self-harming antenna'. Khurana indicated that there had been increased reports of brain tumours linked with heavy and prolonged mobile phone use, particularly on the same side as the person's 'preferred ear' for making calls. However, Chris Althaus, chief executive of the industry body, the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association, rejected Khurana's conclusions, saying handsets were designed, built and tested to comply with strict science-based guidelines. He also pointed out to a 2000 World Health Organisation fact sheet, which said no recent reviews had concluded that exposure to the radiofrequency fields from mobile phones and their base stations caused any adverse health consequences. But this was denied by WHO, saying that there were 'gaps in knowledge' that required further research to better assess health risks, which would take several years to complete. Even Khurana said that the WHO fact sheet was irrelevant in this instance because 'most of the worrisome data has been surfacing in the last 12-24 months'.
Another fact sheet on the NSW Cancer Council's website said stressed for further research as not much was known on the long-term effects of electromagnetic field exposure. Khurana said there is a time-gap of 10-20 years between the starting of regular mobile phone usage to the diagnosis of a malignant solid brain tumour. And the link between mobile phones and brain tumours had not yet been 'definitively proven' because widespread mobile phone usage started in the mid-1980s and solid tumours might take several years to form. 'In the years 2008-2012, we will have reached the appropriate length of follow-up time to begin to definitively observe the impact of this global technology on brain tumour incidence rates,' said Khurana. However, he stressed that there was already enough evidence to warrant industry and governments taking immediate action to reduce mobile phone users' exposure to electromagnetic radiation and inform them of potential dangers. 'Worldwide availability and use of appropriately shielded cell phones and hands-free devices including headsets, increased use of landlines and pagers instead of current mobile and cell phones, and restricted use of cellular and cordless phones among children and adults alike are likely to limit the effects of this physically invisible danger,' said Khurana.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Reducing Weight Naturally

In ayurveda, Charak Samhita describes eight different types of bodies that are disease prone. Out of these, the obese body is described as the one afflicted with the most diseases and troubles. Obesity is the condition or physical state of the body when excessive deposition of fat takes place in the adipose tissue. Extra fat puts a strain on the heart, kidneys, liver and the joints such as the hips, knees and ankles and thus, overweight people are susceptible to several diseases like coronary thrombosis, high blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis, gout, liver and gall bladder disorders. Chief cause of obesity is overeating, irregular eating habits and not following the rules of eating or mixing non-compatible food items in one meal. To decrease weight and get rid of obesity three things must be kept in mind:
>>Controlling eating habits. >>Regular exercise. >>Avoiding the causes of weight gain. Diet recommended to lose weight >>Early morning Juice of half a lemon mixed in a glass of warm water and a teaspoon of honey. >>Breakfast Wheat or Mung bean sprouts and a cup of skimmed milk. >>Midmorning A glass of orange, pineapple or carrot juice. >>Lunch >Salad of raw vegetables such as carrot, beet, cucumber, cabbage, tomatoes. Steamed or boiled vegetables. >Whole grain bread or whole wheat chapatis (Indian bread) and a glass of buttermilk. >Roasted cumin seeds, green coriander leaves, a little salt and some grated ginger mixed in the buttermilk. >>Mid-afternoon Coconut water >Dry fruits >Lemon tea Fresh vegetable soup >>Dinner >Whole grain bread or chapatis >Steamed vegetables >Seasonal fruits except banana and apple. Home Remedies for Losing Weight .Increase the quantity of fruits and vegetables and low calorie foods. .Avoid intake of too much salt as it may be a factor for increasing body weight. .Milk products like cheese, butter etc. and non-vegetarian foods should be avoided as they are rich in fat. .Mint is very beneficial in losing weight. A chutney of green mint with some simple spices can be taken with meals. Mint tea also helps. .Spices like dry ginger, cinnamon, black pepper etc. are good for loosing weight and can be used in a number of ways. .Regular intake of carrot juice. .Avoid rice and potato, which contain a lot of carbohydrates. Among cereals wheat is good. .Vegetables like bitter gourd (Karela), and bitter variety of drumstick are useful in loosing weight. .Honey is an excellent home remedy for obesity. It mobilizes the extra deposited fat in the body allowing it to be utilized as energy for normal functions. Dosage: One should start with small quantity of about 10 grams or a tablespoon, taken with hot water early in the morning. A teaspoonful of fresh lemon juice may also be added. .Fasting on honey and lime- juice is highly beneficial in the treatment of obesity without the loss of energy and appetite. For this, mix one teaspoon of fresh honey with the juice of half a lime in a glass of lukewarm water. Dosage: Take several times a day at regular intervals. .Raw or cooked cabbage inhibits the conversion of sugar and other carbohydrates into fat. Hence, it is of great value in weight reduction. .Exercise is an important part of any weight reduction plan. It helps to use up calories stored in body as fat. .Walking is the best exercise to begin with and may be followed by running, swimming or rowing. .The gum of Commiphora Mukul called 'guggulu' is the drug of choice for the treatment of obesity. Preparation of Home Remedies According to ayurveda home remedies are prepared in the same way and with the same purpose as other ayurvedic medicines. The main aim is to obtain the maximum therapeutic benefit while making it palatable. Some common methods of preparing home remedies are: >Juice The juice may be taken from the fresh leaves, flowers or stems of the herb. The part of the herb used should be crushed or ground in a mortar and pestle, to make a paste. This paste should be put in a piece of cloth and squeezed to take out the juice. Dosage: One to two tablespoons twice a day. >Powder Dried herbs are used for powders. The herbs are usually dried in a cool, shady and well-ventilated place, although some herbs are dried in direct sunlight. The herbs are then ground into a fine powder and stored in a dry, airtight bottle. The powder may be taken with water, or if specified, with milk or honey. Dosage: Half to one teaspoon twice a day. >Decoction A decoction is prepared by boiling the herb in water (ratio: 1 part herb to 16 parts water). The herbs are broken into pieces and soaked in water overnight. This mixture is then boiled until it reduces to one quarter of the original volume. It is then filtered and stored in a glass bottle. Dosage: One to two tablespoons twice a day. >>Infusion Herbs are soaked in water to make an infusion (ratio: 1 part herb to 8 parts water). Hot infusions result from adding herbs to hot water, or gently heating but not boiling the mixture. This is strained and taken internally. Herbal teas are forms of hot infusions. Cold infusions are made from soaking the herb overnight. Honey can be added. Dosage: half to one cup once or twice day. >>Paste A paste can be made from either fresh or dried herbs. The flowers, roots, stems, leaves or bark are ground and mixed with water. Pastes are mainly used for external application, in cases of cuts, burns and swellings. The paste should be thick enough to be applied in a layer to the skin. >>Tablets The herbs should be first dried separately and then mixed together in a powder form, in fixed proportions. Water or herbal juice can be added to this powder to make a paste, from which tablets of a specific size or weight are made. Tablets remain potent longer than juices, powders, pastes or decoctions. Dosage: 1 or 2 tablets twice a day. >>Medicated ghee and oil Ghee is cooked with herbal juices, decoctions or pastes. The ghee should be heated with the herbal mixture at a moderate, controlled temperature. High temperatures can easily burn the ghee or oil, destroying its effectiveness. Medicated ghee and oils are either used internally or massaged externally. Dosage: Half to one tablespoon.

Improving your Spoken English!!

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Improving your Spoken English!!

If you have spoken English all your life,there is still the possibility that you may not be speaking with the right accent. That is because the mother tongue has a strong mastery over any learnt language. And trouble can arise understanding what you say - especially on the phone. Here are some things that could pep up your talk. 1. Speak slowly! This action alone will eliminate many miscommunications. 2. Watch out when you say words that begin with a 'w' or a sound the letter 'w' makes,such as, the word 'one'. If you pucker your lips like a fish, and your lips don't touch any of your teeth, the correct 'w' sound will come out. Practice the basic words you say on a continual basis - what, where, when, why, which, etc. 3. When you say words that being with 'v' make sure that you are making the right sound by putting your upper teeth on your lower lip and then saying the words -vintage, village, voice, VC, Silicon Valley, and so on. 4. Don't speak through your teeth -open your mouth so that sounds can come out clearly. 5. Put your tongue between your teeth when you say a word with a 'th' in it - the sound 'd' for 'th' doesn't sound educated. For example, say 'then' instead of 'den' or 'though' instead of 'dough'. 6.The long vowels in English take longer to say than the short ones -i.e., there is a distinct difference between 'bet' and 'beat'. Therefore, if you hold that word with the long vowel for just another moment when you say it, 'take' not 'tek' - people can figure out to which word you are referring. 7.Don't swallow words that don't carry the main meaning in a sentence. For example, all words should be enunciated clearly in "this is a great opportunity, " including the (main) word 'opportunity', which has five syllables. 8.Take care with the short 'o'sound, so it is a 'caller' not a 'colour'. 9.Learn which parts of a word take the stress and which ones don't -profile, percentage, permanent, additional, etc. Usually, if the word is a noun, the beginning letters will be stressed. If it is a verb, the stress is on the end syllable. Examples: the record - to record, the project - to project. 10. Avoid using the words 'basically' and 'so' all the time. These are nice fillers and give you time to think, but it's just as bad as if you were starting every sentence with 'eh' or 'um'.

Email Etiquette for official mails

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Email Etiquette for official mails

The below mentioned points have to be considered while putting official mails. Here are some points on Email Etiquettes that will definitely help. 1) The font of mail should be Verdana and font size should be 9.5 or 10. 2) The mail should have a Pyramid Structure i.e. it should contain: * Situation: What's the current situation is * Action items: What you expect from the reader of the mail to-do * Information: The information you want to give to the reader * Conclusion: Conclude with a Thank You. 3) For writing use only Black or Blue color. For highlighting purpose make the word bold. Avoid using Red color as Red signifies danger, so use it when urgent. 4) For greetings in mail: * For Americans: use Hi * For Europeans: use Hello * For Asians: use Dear To be more formal we could use Dear Mr. /Ms. followed by Last name or Full name. We should not use Dear Mr. /Ms. followed by First name alone. 5) We should not put '/' in greetings like Hi X/Y. Instead we should say Hi X and Y. 6) We should not use 'Thanks and Regards'. Instead we should say: Thank you Regards 7) For requesting something we should not use can, instead we should use could. 8) We should not write 'Please find the attached file' because the reader does not have to find or search for the file in the mail it's already there. So instead we should write 'The file has been attached for your reference'. 9) We should not use sentences like 'As per your mail' because 'per' is used only with units like per Kg etc. Instead we should write 'According to your mail'. 10) We should use parallel structure. Parallelism enables readers to read documents more efficiently. For e.g. The analysis will include planning, organizing, dividing and assessment (Instead assessment we should write Assessing) of turnaround functions. 11) In our mails we often write 'Please revert back'. Instead we should only write 'Please revert'. 12) For the Signature in mail, if we are sending to people in our company only then we should not write our company name in the signature because they already know that we are part of the same company but if we are sending mail to an external party like client etc then we should write our company name in the signature because there we have to brand our company name in front of others. Dealing with any clients in services is an art. In the case of IT, we primarily deal with American clients. It is useful to know how the English language works with them. Some of us mayhesitate to speak to the client.Beacuse we are not confident. When we practice the following tips, we can boost our confidence. Interactions with American clients - Useful tips 1. Do not write "the same" in an email - it makes little sense to them. Example - I will try to organize the project artifacts and inform you of the same when it is done This is somewhat an Indian construct. It is better written simply as: I will try to organize the project artifacts and inform you when that is done 2. Do not write or say, "I have some doubts on this issue" The term "Doubt" is used in the sense of doubting someone - we use this term because in Indian languages (such as Tamil), the word for a "doubt" and a "question" is the same. The correct usage (for clients) is: I have a few questions on this issue 3. The term "regard" is not used much in American English. They usually do not say "regarding this issue" or "with regard to this". Simply use, "about this issue". 4. Do not say "Pardon" when you want someone to repeat what they said. The word "Pardon" is unusual for them and is somewhat formal. 5. Americans do not understand most of the Indian accent immediately - They only understand 75% of what we speak and then interpret the rest. Therefore try not to use shortcut terms such as "Can't" or "Don't". Use the expanded "Cannot" or "Do not". 6. Do not use the term "screwed up" liberally. If a situation is not good, it is better to say, "The situation is messed up". Do not use words such as "shucks", or "pissed off". 7. As a general matter of form, Indians interrupt each other constantly in meetings - DO NOT interrupt a client when they are speaking. Over the phone, there could be delays - but wait for a short time before responding. 8. When explaining some complex issue, stop occasionally and ask "Does that make sense?". This is preferrable than "Do you understand me?" 9. In email communications, use proper punctuation. To explain something, without breaking your flow, use semicolons, hyphens or paranthesis. As an example: You have entered a new bug (the popup not showing up) in the defect tracking system; we could not reproduce it - although, a screenshot would help. Notice that a reference to the actual bug is added in paranthesis so that the sentence flow is not broken. Break a long sentence using such punctuation. 10. In American English, a mail is a posted letter. An email is electronic mail. When you say "I mailed the information to you" , it means you sent an actual letter or package through the postal system. The correct usage is: "I emailed the information to you" 11. To "prepone" an appointment is an Indian usage. There is no actual word called prepone. You can "advance" an appointment. 12. In the term "N-tier Architecture" or "3-tier Architecture" , the word "tier" is NOT pronounced as "Tire". I have seen many people pronounce it this way. The correct pronunciation is "tea-yar". The "ti" is pronounced as "tea". 13. The usages "September End", "Month End", "Day End" are not understood well by Americans. They use these as "End of September", "End of Month" or "End of Day". 14. Americans have weird conventions for time - when they say the time is "Quarter Of One", they mean the time is 1:15. Better to ask them the exact time. 15. Indians commonly use the terms "Today Evening", "Today Night". These are not correct; "Today" means "This Day" where the Day stands for Daytime. Therefore "Today Night" is confusing. The correct usages are: "This Evening", "Tonight". That applies for "Yesterday Night" and "Yesterday Evening". The correct usages are: "Last Night" and "Last Evening". 16. When Americans want to know the time, it is usual for them to say, "Do you have the time?". Which makes no sense to an indian. 17. There is no word called "Updation". You update somebody. You wait for updates to happen to the database. Avoid saying "Updation". 18. When you talk with someone for the first time, refer to them as they refer to you - in America, the first conversation usually starts by using the first name. Therefore you can use the first name of a client. Do not say "Sir". Do not call women "Madam". 19. It is usual convention in initial emails (particularly technical) to expand abbreviations, this way: We are planning to use the Java API For Registry (JAXR). After mentioning the expanded form once, subsequently you can use the abbreviation. 20. Make sure you always have a subject in your emails and that the subject is relevant. Do not use a subject line such as HI . 21.Avoid using "Back" instead of "Back" Use "ago".Back is the worst word for American.(for Days use "Ago",For hours use "before") 22.Avoid using "but" instead of "But" Use "However". 23. Avoid using "Yesterday" hereafter use "Last day". 24. Avoid using "Tomorrow" hereafter use "Next day".

E-mail Etiquette

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E-mail Etiquette-II

There are four ways, and only four ways, in which we have contact with the world. We are evaluated and classified by these four contacts:what we do, how we look, what we say, and how we say it." - Dale Carnegie (1888-1955) American Educator Below are the online basics you need to minimally become familiar with in order to be taken seriously in your online communications. 1.Do not type in all caps. Typing in all caps is considered yelling or screaming online. Those who type in all caps are perceived as lazy and not being considerate of those who will have to read their email. Various studies on the topic reflect that it is more difficult and takes longer to read text that is typed in all caps. And for those who question "What studies?" here is one example for your reading pleasure:
http://www.psych.utoronto.ca/~muter/pmuter1.htm
Searching for words is faster with uppercase characters, but reading of continuous text is slower (Vartabedian, 1971), perhaps because interline masking is greater with uppercase (Nes, 1986). In addition, lowercase enhances reading efficiency because word shape is helpful in word recognition (Rudnicky & Kolers, 1984). One is free, at their convenience, to review the entire document above which goes into detail about how eyes react to what they have to read based on how the content is presented.
Stating certain professions are required to type in all caps (that's the first time I've heard that one) does not jive either. Would you send any off-line communications in all caps - the answer is probably no. NOTE: It should go without saying, however, since I was chastised for not saying so, this rule certainly doesn't apply to the vision impaired or to those who are disabled or handicapped and cannot use the shift key. However, since typing in all caps is considered yelling online, it would behoove those who do so because of these reasons to take the time to include a brief note why they are typing in caps so that their emails and intent are not misinterpreted. 2. Do not leave the Subject: field blank. Always fill in the Subject: field with a brief and concise description of the content of your email. This is very important in helping those you communicate with organize and manage their email. Important: avoid using all caps or all small case, terms such as Hi, Help or Please Respond, or the recipient's name in the Subject: field as you may be misidentified as a spammer and your email deleted. 3.Refrain from formatting your email with colored text and background colors or images in your day to day communications. If I had $1.00 for every Netizen who emailed me complaining about how they cannot read emails that are formatted (different color text, bolding entire emails, using giganto background images or script fonts), apparently by those who have no color sense or command of HTML, I could retire. Your color and formatting choices can make your emails impossible to read. In addition, formatting could make your emails difficult to reply to without having to go through a procedure to convert your email to plain text first. Many times when folks hit Reply they have to deal with your formatting carrying over to their reply - which makes communicating with you unnecessarily difficult. Why would you expect folks to have to go through having to convert your email just to read and respond to you? The answer: They probably will not! Using large background graphics that take forever to download, especially if you have a phone connection (which is more common than most think once you get outside of metro areas) is plain old naive. If you do feel the uncontrollable need to use any type of formatting in your daily communications, do so sparingly. Please, on behalf of all those who email me, just send your email in plain text! 4.On those rare occasions where it is necessary to send a group of people the very same email, as a courtesy to those you are sending to, please list all of the recipients email addresses in the BCC field. (B lind Carbon Copy - from the old days when typewriters used carbon paper to create identical copies of a document when it was being typed.) When an email address is designated in the Blind Carbon Copy field, the recipient will get a copy of the email while their email address remains invisible and protected from the view of the other recipients of the email - some of whom they may or may not know. Never expose your contact's addresses to strangers! If you are not sure how to BCC in your email program, here are site resources that may help you learn the features of your software programs: Long lists of email addresses at the beginning of any email is an immediate sign that the sender is either a novice/Newbie - or doesn't care to respect other's privacy. None of which, as I am sure you'll agree, are complimentary perceptions! Email addresses are like phone numbers. Only the owner of the email address or phone number is the one to authorize who they want to have it and make it public to. Many folks prefer to decide for themselves who has their email address. By sending mass mails to a list of folks, you have made that decision for them - and that is a breach of assumed privacy when communicating with you. Let those you correspond with determine for themselves who they will make their email address known to - do not make that decision for them! By listing handfuls of email addresses in the email headers for all to see is inconsiderate of each recipient's right to privacy. 5.If you are new online, raise your right hand and repeat after me: "I will not forward any dumb joke, "chain letter" or unimportant emails to my friends without their permission." "I will not forward any dumb joke, "chain letter" or unimportant emails to my friends without their permission." "I understand that by doing so I may fill up their in box, use other's resources unnecessarily and may cause other important email to bounce." "I understand that by doing so I may fill up their in box, use other's resources unnecessarily and may cause other important email to bounce." "I understand that most folks have seen these emails a million times and find them annoying." "I understand that most folks have seen these emails a million times and find them annoying." "I know that by forwarding these so-called humorous emails I may offend or tick off people who do not share my sense of humor or who are sick of having stupid emails forwarded to them each time a Newbie hops online." "I know that by forwarding these so-called humorous emails I may offend or tick off people who do not share my sense of humor or who are sick of having stupid emails forwarded to them each time a Newbie hops online." There! Now, that wasn't too bad was it? ;-) You will no longer be tempted to forward those jokes, untruthful or frivolous email that instruct you to forward to your friends! And, you will avoid looking silly and uninformed in the process. Read them if you must then hit delete. You really don't believe email that state certain things will happen simply by you forwarding the email to 10 friends do you? Talk about a waste of resources!! In addition, many of these emails are actually hoaxes or downright bogus. Before you forward an email that appears good intentioned with an incredible story that instructs you to "read and share" with everyone you know, first check Snopes.com to see if the story is even legit in the first place and not a hoax. Not doing so can have you eating crow when everyone you email is informed you just forwarded a hoax and didn't know any better. And, don't get mad at someone if they point out to you that you were uninformed by perpetuating a hoax! If you don't know for a fact that the email you are forwarding is accurate and specifically apropos to the person you are forwarding to and you know they will want to receive it - all you have to do is ask first. One of the common requests I receive through this site is from folks wanting to know a "nice way" of telling someone they care about to stop sending joke, hoax and chain emails without hurting their feelings. Speaking for those who know you, we have seen those emails before, many times - cut us a break - verify them before you send them to us or just hit delete! 6.Never give out phone numbers or personal information without confirming you are communicating with a reputable party. Never give out personal contact information of others without their specific permission to do so. 7.Make a reasonable effort to search a Web site for the information you are looking for - "Frequently Asked Questions" or "About Us" sections may give you the answers you seek before you waste the site owner's time by emailing for information that is readily available on their site. I get emailed daily for answers that are easily found in my 10 Courtesies or in the Internet 101 section if someone were to make minimal effort. These onliners simply didn't want to take the time to read them so they expected me to take the time to repeat what is on my site. Talk about giving the perception of lazy and not respecting other's time! If a Web site owner takes the time to provide information, read it. No one person's time is more important and common courtesy includes respecting this fact. If you do not find what you are looking for, search for the appropriate contact area for your question. Do not just click on the first email link you come across and blurt out your question(s). If you do, don't be surprised if your email goes unanswered when the information is easily found on the site. It is important to understand the focus of each Web site as well. Each site cannot be everything to everyone or be what you perceive it should be. Be sure to review the information provided to double check that what you seek would even be covered by the site you are visiting. 8.Do not use Return Receipt Request (RR) for each and every email you send because you like "knowing" when someone opens your email. Not only is this annoying to the recipient, this feature is intrusive! How would you like it if every time you heard a voice mail, answering machine message, opened a postal letter from a friend it was immediately reported back to them that you had heard/opened their communications? The recipient should have the privacy to determine when/if they want to open, read and reply - period. RRs should be reserved for those instances where it is critical to each side knowing the email was opened. Such instances would include legal and important business issues. Keep in mind opened doesn't mean read and that the recipient can decline an RR request so you will not be notified of their actions. 9.Understand that you will be on a continual learning curve. All of us are. This gig is changing constantly. The only consistency is change! If you do not have the desire to learn and do not make the effort to understand the "culture" of the technology in which you are participating, you will not be taken seriously by your fellow Netizens. You also may get some terse emails from other onliners pointing such issues out to you - some may not be as nice as others. When this happens, do not fire back at them! Use situations like this as an opportunity to learn what you are doing wrong so you do not anger others and can have a more enjoyable time. 10.If you receive a nasty email - do not respond immediately - if at all. People are very bold and overly critical on the other side of this screen. In my experience they tend to not hesitate to point out the things they think you need improvement on while not even noticing the good or positive points on the very same issue. Many times these folks are simply trying to get a rise out of you (this is called trolling) or are trying to make themselves feel self-important. Sometimes they are just plain jerks. If you do not have something nice or constructive to say, or at the very least sternly professional - just hit delete. 11.Keep in mind that all private email is considered to be copyrighted by the original author. If you post private email to a public list or board, or forward it to an outside party in whole or in part, you must include the author's permission to post the material publicly. Not doing so can get you into some deep doo-doo legally or with your friends and associates. Think of it this way... how would you feel if a personal private email that you had written for a specific purpose/person is then plastered across the Internet or forwarded to folks you do not know? Always ask for permission before forwarding or posting any private emails! 12.Always minimize, compress or "zip" large files before sending. Many folks new to the online world do not realize how large documents, graphics or photo files are. Guess what? They are large enough to fill someone's email box and cause their other mail to bounce! Get in the habit of compressing anything over 200,000 bytes (200K). (You can view file sizes in Windows Explorer. Simply right click on the file name and choose properties.) There are several types of file compression software available for these purposes. Do not send unannounced large attachments to others because you think that photo or file is cute or cool or neat. Always ask first! More importantly when sending business files, do so only during business hours, always compress and send at a prearranged time! Many onliners still have to wait up to 30 minutes or more to open overly large files due to their connection speed. Those online not too far outside of metropolitan areas do not have cable or DSL connections, they are on dial-ups - many only @ 28.8K! If you do not know how to compress files, then you need to learn how to make them physically smaller with graphic software. Those are your two choices; compressing or minimizing. You really need to be aware of and practice one or the other. Minimizing a photo or graphic's physical size to no larger than 600 pixels in width will make them emailable. Most photos right off your camera are 1,000 pixels plus in width which makes for a very, very large file size. Nothing need be larger than 600 pixels to view anyway. Or you could be really courteous and learn how to use the free Web space offered by your ISP to upload photos and simply send the link to friends and family to view. If you do not know how to do any of these things all you have to do is learn! [Great Resource: HTML Programming Cheat Sheets] To send large files that take a long time to download that may not respect the other person's time, reflect their sense of humor or point of view and may even max out their email box is pretty inconsiderate and downright lazy. 13.Do not forward virus warnings! Virus warnings received from others are generally always hoaxes. [Great Resource: Symantec's Virus Hoax Page ] Especially if an email tells you to forward to everyone you know--don't!! Delete those emails and do not forward them! Definitely ignore those forwarded emails instructing you to delete files on your computer - they could be critical files that your computer needs to operate. Only warn friends if you know that your computer has a virus that you inadvertently may have passed on to them. Rely only on your virus software and your software provider's Web site for the real scoop. If you get one of these wacky emails from a friend or associate, go to your virus software provider's site and search for the virus name in question to confirm if it is accurate information or if it is a hoax. When you find it to be a hoax, let the person who forwarded it to you know that they are perpetrating misinformation and unintentionally alarming others. Read what your Virus Software provider has to say before you unnecessarily alarm folks and in the process end up looking rather silly to say the least. There are many urban legends purely in existence to watch all the Newbies screw up their computer's configuration files or forward the fake email to "everyone they know" while looking rather foolish in the process. You know what they say... There's a Newbie born every minute! ;-) With the advancement of technology, it is possible to get a virus without even opening an email. That ended with W32.Nimda.A@mm in September/2001 that merely required you click on the subject of the email in your email program or for those that use Outlook Express have your program set to preview. HINT: Turn Previewing Off! Nimda also propagated itself by taking advantage of bugs in Microsoft servers to plant itself on the server and then transfer itself to those who visited the Web sites on that server using Internet Explorer (yes, IE is buggy too) as their browser. (That's why I use Eudora for email and FireFox as my browser!) Several of the latest viruses actually use email addressed farmed out of your address book or inbox to send the virus and propagate itself to all those listed with your name in the From: field. The latest viruses can send out the virus with your friend's names in the From: field or any combination of email addresses found on your system! Yikes! It is clear... The need for a 24/7 real-time virus protection software is no longer a choice - it is your responsibility to remain virus free. You will also need to update your virus files regularly. Check for updates every time you log on so that your computer is protected from the latest releases or use the automatic update feature of your virus software. Basics for virus protection:
  • Get an active program that is always "ON". This will catch any viruses as they are being downloaded so they can immediately be quarantined and cannot infect your system.
  • Update your virus patterns daily or every time you log on. These updates can be downloaded from the Web site of your virus software manufacturer. Most software has a scheduler to tell your computer to do this automatically - how convenient! You need to ensure your system is protected from the latest viruses which may have just been discovered since last you were online. New viruses are identified daily!
  • Never click on any attachment or an .exe (example: Happy99.exe, free stuff, click here or ILOVEYOU) file attached within an email without making sure the attachment has been checked for viruses. Even if the email appears to come from someone you know very well! The attachment may be virus generated and plucked your friend's email address off another infected computer belonging to someone they communicated with. Or your friend may unknowingly be infected and not aware of the virus on their system which has just spawned an email that has their name on it and is addressed to you. The email may look like it is from your friend just to get you to open it when in fact it is an email generated by a virus.

Interactions with American Clients!!-Useful Tips

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Interactions with American Clients!!-Useful Tips

1. Do not write "the same" in an email - it makes little sense to them. Example - I will try to organize the project artifacts and inform you of the same when it is done This is somewhat an Indian construct. It is better written simply as: I will try to organize the project artifacts and inform you when that is done 2. Do not write or say, "I have some doubts on this issue" The term "Doubt" is used in the sense of doubting someone - we use this term because in Indian languages , the word for a "doubt" and a "question" is the same. The correct usage (for clients) is: I have a few questions on this issue 3. The term "regard" is not used much in American English. They usually do not say "regarding this issue" or "with regard to this". Simply use, "about this issue". 4. Do not say "Pardon" when you want someone to repeat what they said. The word "Pardon" is unusual for them and is somewhat formal. 5. Americans do not understand most of the Indian accent immediately -They only understand 75% of what we speak and then interpret the rest. Therefore try not to use shortcut terms such as "Can't" or "Don't". Use the expanded "Cannot" or "Do not". 6. Do not use the term "screwed up" liberally. If a situation is not good, it is better to say, "The situation is messed up". Do not use words such as "shucks", or "pissed off". 7. As a general matter of form, Indians interrupt each other constantly in meetings - DO NOT interrupt a client when they are speaking. Over the phone, there could be delays - but wait for a short time before responding. 8. When explaining some complex issue, stop occasionally and ask "Does that make sense?". This is preferrable than "Do you understand me?" 9. In email communications, use proper punctuation. To explain something, without breaking your flow, use semicolons, hyphens or paranthesis. As an example: You have entered a new bug (the popup not showing up) in the defect tracking system; we could not reproduce it - although, a screenshot would help. Notice that a reference to the actual bug is added in paranthesis so that the sentence flow is not broken. Break a long sentence using such punctuation. 10. In American English, a mail is a posted letter. An email is electronic mail. When you say "I mailed the information to you",it means you sent an actual letter or package through the postal system. The correct usage is: "I emailed the information to you" 11. To "prepone" an appointment is an Indian usage. There is no actual word called prepone. You can "advance" an appointment. 12. In the term "N-tier Architecture" or "3-tier Architecture" , the word "tier" is NOT pronounced as "Tire". I have seen many people pronounce it this way. The correct pronunciation is "tea-yar". The "ti"is pronounced as "tea". 13. The usages "September End", "Month End", "Day End" are not understood well by Americans. They use these as "End of September", "End of Month" or "End of Day". 14. Americans have weird conventions for time - when they say the time is "Quarter Of One", they mean the time is 1:15. Better to ask them the exact time. 15. Indians commonly use the terms "Today Evening", "Today Night". These are not correct; "Today" means "This Day" where the Day stands for Daytime. Therefore "Today Night" is confusing. The correct usages are: "This Evening", "Tonight". That applies for "Yesterday Night" and "Yesterday Evening". The correct usages are: "Last Night" and "Last Evening". 16. When Americans want to know the time, it is usual for them to say, "Do you have the time?". Which makes no sense to an indian. 17. There is no word called "Updation". You update somebody. You wait for updates to happen to the database. Avoid saying "Updation". 18. When you talk with someone for the first time, refer to them as they refer to you - in America , the first conversation usually starts by using the first name. Therefore you can use the first name of a client. Do not say "Sir". Do not call women "Madam". 19. It is usual convention in initial emails (particularly technical) to expand abbreviations, this way: We are planning to use the Java API For Registry (JAXR). After mentioning the expanded form once, subsequently you can use the abbreviation. 20. Make sure you always have a subject in your emails and that the subject is relevant. Do not use a subject line such as HI . 21.Avoid using "Back" instead of "Back" Use "ago".Back is the worst word for American.(for Days use "Ago",For hours use "before") 22.Avoid using "but" instead of "But" Use "However". 23.Avoid using "Yesterday" hereafter use "Last day". 24.Avoid using "Tomorrow" hereafter use "Next day".

5 proven ways to close a deal in English!!

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5 proven ways to close a deal in English!!

Let's face it. Negotiation and sales is tough work, and even tougher when it's not done in your native language. Often, when English is not spoken correctly, it can come across as too pushy or even too rude – which ruins all chances for the perspective deal. Don't let English be the downfall. Improve your selling skills with our handy guide – and get the deal of a lifetime! Use "you" When speaking with a client, try to begin your sentences with the words you or your. You'll find this grabs their attention more quickly than beginning with phrases like "I think…" or "Let me tell you about…" because it focuses the attention on them, not on you. Add something extra Everyone likes to feel like they are getting something for free! If it's possible, try to add a little something extra to the deal to make the customer or client feel special. Use phrases like, "If you buy now, I can…" and "If we sign the deal soon, I can…" to put a little additional pressure on the customer to commit quickly. Offer proof Sometimes customers just don't believe salespeople are telling the truth, and there can often be mistrust between two companies negotiating a deal. It's important that your clients grow to trust you, so find something you can show them that will prove the quality of what you're offering. Begin with the phrase, "Don't just take my word for it." Then, follow up with a way to offer them proof, like "Look at what these other people have to say." or "Look at the rate of success. The numbers speak for themselves." Ask questions When your clients begin to hesitate, don't back down, but don't be too pushy, either. Instead you need to listen. Ask them questions that will help them be honest with you such as, "What concerns do you have?", "What's holding you back?" Be willing to negotiate Finally, after your customers have shared their concerns, you have to be willing to compromise a bit to give them what they want. Use expressions in formats such as, "We'll lower the price, if you agree to pay cash." and "We're prepared to make this deal exclusive, providing you sign a 10-year contract with us."

10 Keys to Financial Success!!

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10 Keys to Financial Success!!

Regardless of when we begin our financial planning, the basics of it remain the same. Here are my top ten keys to getting ahead financially. 1. Get Paid What You're Worth and Spend Less Than You Earn It sounds simplistic, but many people struggle with this first basic rule. Make sure you know what your job is worth in the marketplace, by conducting an evaluation of your skills, productivity, job tasks, contribution to the company, and the going rate, both inside and outside the company, for what you do. Being underpaid even a 1000 or 2000 ruppees a month can have a significant cumulative effect over the course of your working life. No matter how much or how little you're paid, you'll never get ahead if you spend more than you earn. Often it's easier to spend less than it is to earn more, and a little cost-cutting effort in a number of areas can result in big savings. It doesn't always have to involve making big sacrifices. 2. Stick to a Budget One of my favorite subjects: budgeting. It's not a four-letter word. How can you know where your money is going if you don't budget? How can you set spending and saving goals if you don't know where your money is going? You need a budget whether you make thousands or hundreds of thousands of ruppees a year. 3. Pay Off Credit Card Debt Credit card debt is the number one obstacle to getting ahead financially. Those little pieces of plastic are so easy to use, and it's so easy to forget that it's real money we're dealing with when we whip them out to pay for a purchase, large or small. Despite our good resolves to pay the balance off quickly, the reality is that we often don't, and end up paying far more for things than we would have paid if we had used cash. 4. Contribute to a Retirement Plan With opening up of doors for the private insurance players in the Indian market, today we have a wider choice of options in retirement planning. Every life insurance player has got pension plans.Pick up one which suits your requirements.If you are already contributing, try to increase your contribution. 5. Have a Savings Plan You've heard it before: Pay yourself first! If you wait until you've met all your other financial obligations before seeing what's left over for saving, chances are you'll never have a healthy savings account or investments. Resolve to set aside a minimum of 5% to 10% of your salary for savings BEFORE you start paying your bills. Better yet, have money automatically deducted from your paycheck and deposited into a separate account. 6. Invest! If you're contributing to a retirement plan and a savings account and you can still manage to put some money into other investments, all the better. 7.Maximize the benefits of investment through proper planning. Yes, it is not only investing which matters but how do you do it matters a lot. The returns would vary if the investment is made systematically taking advantage of ups and downs in the market rather than investing in lumpsum. 8. Review Your Insurance Coverages Too many people are talked into paying too much for life and disability insurance, whether it's by adding these coverages to car loans, buying whole-life insurance policies when term-life makes more sense, or buying life insurance when you have no dependents. On the other hand, it's important that you have enough insurance to protect your dependents and your income in the case of death or disability. 9.Contribute regularly to PPF Going by the old adage "Don't put all the eggs in one basket" it is necessary to contribute some savings to PPF. This would surely minimize the risk. 10. Keep Good Records If you don't keep good records, you're probably not claiming all your allowable income tax deductions and credits. Set up a system now and use it all year. It's much easier than scrambling to find everything at tax time, only to miss items that might have saved you money.

Warren Buffet's Secrets of Sucess

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Warren Buffet's Secrets of Sucess

'Look at market fluctuations as your friend rather than your enemy; profit from folly rather than participate in it.'

• 'The investor of today does not profit from yesterday's growth.'

• 'Of the billionaires I have known, money just brings out the basic traits in them. If they were jerks before they had money, they are simply jerks with a billion dollars.'

• 'I never attempt to make money on the stock market. I buy on the assumption that they could close the market the next day and not reopen it for five years.'

• 'I don't look to jump over 7-foot bars: I look around for 1-foot bars that I can step over.'

• 'I always knew I was going to be rich. I don't think I ever doubted it for a minute.'

• 'We enjoy the process far more than the proceeds.'

• 'You do things when the opportunities come along. I've had periods in my life when I've had a bundle of ideas come along, and I've had long dry spells. If I get an idea next week, I'll do something. If not, I won't do a damn thing.'

• 'I buy expensive suits. They just look cheap on me.'

• 'Let blockheads read what blockheads wrote.'

• 'I do not like debt and do not like to invest in companies that have too much debt, particularly long-term debt. With long-term debt, increases in interest rates can drastically affect company profits and make future cash flows less predictable.'

• 'My grandfather would sell me Wrigley's chewing gum and I would go door to door around my neighbourhood selling it. He also sold me a Coca-Cola for a quarter and I would sell it for a nickel each in the neighbourhood, so I made a small profit. I was always trying to do something like this.'

• 'A public-opinion poll is no substitute for thought.'

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Beginner’s Guide to Running

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Beginner’s Guide to Running

Every Friday is Health Tip Day at Zen Habits.

Are you just starting out as a runner, or is it something you’d like to do? From experience, I know that a beginner runner has a million questions and never enough answers. I won’t be able to answer every question here, but this should be a good starting point for anyone who wants to hit the roads.

Disclaimer: I am not a certified trainer, coach or running expert. I consider myself an intermediate runner (on the lower levels of intermediate), having spent all last year running, doing a marathon, some half marathons, 20Ks, 10Ks and 5Ks. But what I have to share is what I’ve learned along the way. Also, see a doctor before starting a new running program — I don’t want to be responsible for any heart attacks!

Most Important Advice Many people, when the begin running, shoot for the stars. I was one of those. Let me tell you right now: hold yourself back, and start out slowly. Progress gradually. It takes some patience, but this is the best advice I can give you, and I know that it’s important because of experience.

It’s best to start out very easy, at a slow jog, and focus not on intensity but on how long you’re on the road. Start out with a small amount of time — 10 minutes or 20 minutes, depending on where you are — and run or walk/run comfortably the entire time. Do this for the entire first week, and even two weeks if you can stand it. Gradually increase your time until you can run 30 minutes.

From there, you can stay at 30 minutes or increase the amount of time you run gradually, every two weeks. But do not overdo it in the beginning!

Walk and Run Plan If you are a true beginner, and cannot run for 10 minutes, you should start out with a walk/run plan. Here’s a good one to start with (do each one three times a week):

  1. Week 1: Walk for 10 minutes. Jog slowly for 1 minute, and then walk for 1 minute. Repeat these 1/1 intervals for 10 minutes, or until you become uncomfortable. Walk for 5 minutes to cool down.
  2. Week 2: Walk for 10 minutes. Jog slowly for 2 minutes, and then walk for 2 minutes. Repeat these 2/2 intervals for 10 minutes, or until you become uncomfortable. Walk for 5 minutes to cool down.
  3. Week 3: Walk for 10 minutes. Jog slowly for 3 minutes, and then walk for 2 minutes. Repeat these 3/2 intervals for 15 minutes, or until you become uncomfortable. Walk for 5 minutes to cool down.
  4. Week 4: Walk for 10 minutes. Jog slowly for 5 minutes, and then walk for 2 minutes. Repeat these 5/2 intervals for 20 minutes, or until you become uncomfortable. Walk for 5 minutes to cool down.

You get the picture. The idea is to gradually increase your running time until you can do 10 minutes straight. Then increase the 10 minutes to 12, and so on, each week, until you can eventually run for 30 minutes. Now you’re a runner! Online forums In the beginning, you’ll have a lot of questions and want to share your progress with others. An online forum is perfect for that. Join a forum or two, read as much as you can, introduce yourself, post your questions, post your weekly progress, and gain from the experience of others.

A few good forums to start with:

Make it a habit If you struggle with making running a regular habit, try doing it every single day at the same time. Habits are easiest to form if you do them consistently. This may sound contradictory to some of the advice above about starting slowly, but the key is to go very easy in the beginning — nothing that will stress your body out or make you sore the next day. Also, instead of running every day, you could swim or bike or do strength training, so that your running muscles are given a rest while you continue to form your exercise habit. See How to Make Exercise a Daily Habit for more.

Most important advice: just lace up your shoes, and get out the door. After that, it’s cake.

The importance of rest Some runners try to go hard every single day. They are ignoring the truth about muscles — your muscles grow by giving them stress, and allowing them to rest after the stress so that they can grow. If you run hard every day, you will just continually break your muscles down, and improvement will be slow and difficult — and it could lead to burnout or injury.

It’s best to rest the day after a tough run, to allow your body to recover. Does this mean you should rest completely, with no running or exercise at all? Not necessarily. The important thing is that you don’t run hard two days in a row. But you can do a very easy, short run (or other type of easy exercise) in between harder runs and still allow your muscles to recover.

First 5K One of the most motivating things in running is an upcoming race. I suggest you sign up for a 5K after a month or two of running, even if you don’t think you’re ready. Why? It will motivate you to keep running, so that you’re prepared to do the 5K.

Now, some people have a nervousness about signing up for a running race, because the other runners are so much better than them. Relax. There are plenty of very good runners in every race, but there are also many beginners. Don’t worry about the other runners. There’s usually so many people at a 5K that you won’t be noticed. And don’t be afraid to walk or run/walk. Many, many other people do. Just run your own race, and most importantly, have fun! It’s a blast.

On manners: do not start out a race in the front, unless you think you can win it. Slower runners should start in the back, or they get in everyone’s way. Also, stay to the right, so people can pass you. Try to be courteous, and not push or cut someone off. Watch out when you spit — you might hit someone behind you. Same thing with snotrockets. And when you beat that little 11-year-old girl at the finish line, it’s best not to point at her and yell “Loser!” repeatedly. Trust me. I speak from experience.

Once you do your first 5K, you’ll be hooked. That’s a warning.

Equipment So what do you need to run? Well, running shorts, shirt and shoes, basically. Women will need a sports bra (get a good one, trust me). Should you go out and buy the best running clothes and shoes possible, even before your first run? No, it’s not really necessary. You can get started running with any pair of comfortable sneakers and any shorts and T-shirt.

But once you really get into it, you’ll want to buy some real running clothes — breathable fibers, with some comfortable underwear built in (not cotton!) so you don’t chafe. A running shirt is also good. If you live in cold weather, you’ll need some breathable clothes to put over your shorts and shirt. I live in the tropics, so I can’t advise you here.

Most important: good running shoes. This is the most important running equipment, because it can not only make running more comfortable, but also prevent injury. My advice is to go to an actual running store, where there will be knowledgeable people who can watch you run and tell you what kind of shoe you need (overpronator, supinator, neutral, etc.). If they don’t watch you run, they don’t know what they’re doing. Get out and find a better store. Or do your own research online and learn all about it.

Other things that you might consider, but that aren’t completely necessary:

  • Reflectors and flashing lights if you run when it’s still dark.
  • Body glide, or Vaseline, applied in the crotch, underarms, and anywhere you might chafe — really only important for longer runs.
  • Heart Rate Monitor: Best ones are by Polar. You can get fancy ones, with GPS built in, or just a simple one that tells you your heart rate. This is useful if you do HR training, which is a way of optimizing your training. Probably not necessary for beginners.
  • Mp3 player: Also not necessary, but pretty cool and can add some inspiration to your running. However, if you run on the road, headphones can be dangerous, as you might not hear traffic coming your way.
  • Fuel belt or Camelback: A way to keep yourself hydrated while you run. Not necessary for short runs. Also, for longer runs (60 mins or more), I just place water bottles along my route.

Mechanics I can’t advise you here, as I’m not a trainer. But most of the time, you don’t have to worry about this. Just try not to fall down. One thing to watch out for is how tense your upper body is — try to relax your shoulders, relax your hands, relax everything but the muscles needed to propel your body forward. The reason is that you may be using extra energy (and tire yourself out faster) if you’re running with your fists clenched, for example.

Later, after you get past the beginning stage, you can worry about stride length or turnover rate. But for now, just worry about getting out there.

Pain I also can’t advise you on injuries. Unless you have sharp pains, or pain in the joints, you should be able to run through minor aches. But if you have anything sharp, or your joints feel injured, stop running. You could make it worse.

The runner’s best friend is ice, and rest. In fact, it’s good to ice your muscles and joints down after every run, if you can. It helps with the healing process. Aspirin or Ibuprofen are also good tools, also to help stop inflammation.

Going beyond beginner Once you’ve gotten a few 5Ks under your belt, and have been running for a few months, you’ll want to start a real training plan and progress to the next level. Training plans are available online for free (see some of the sites below). I’ll try to do a guide for intermediate runners next.

14 Stress-Free Ways to Kick Weight Loss in the Butt

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Habit is habit and not to be flung out of the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs a step at a time. - Mark Twain

Let’s be honest: Losing weight isn’t the easiest thing in the world. All our best intentions end up doing nothing.

And I’ve tried just about every diet plan out there, from the various low-carb diets to Weight Watchers (which isn’t bad, actually) to the Abs Diet to Slim Fast to low-calorie to low-fat and more. I’ve tried a bunch of exercise programs too, believe me.

My weight-loss efforts these last couple of years have been hit-and-miss, as I’ve struggled to find something that works for me. Recently, I think I’ve been hitting upon some pretty simple concepts that really work, for me at least.

You might have read the Zen Habits Meal Plan, which is actually a pretty good plan. But let me take some of those concepts and simplify them a little more, for some (almost) easy ways to beat your weight-loss struggles. These are mostly the same concepts, but I’m reporting what has been working for me as I experiment with the meal plan.

Let me be honest again: even with the concepts below, weight loss isn’t going to be easy. But at least these tools will make it a little easier, a little simpler, and they really do work.

I’ve lost 15 pounds in the last few months, which isn’t rapid weight loss but is actually a very healthy rate of loss. I recommend gradual weight loss for everyone. At the rate I’m going, you can lose 50 pounds a year. I don’t need to lose 50 pounds anymore (I did at one time, but only have about 20 pounds to go), but after I lose the rest of the unwanted bodyfat, I’m going to focus more on building a little muscle (something I’m actually doing now but it’s not my main focus).

Never eat more than you can lift. - Miss Piggy

1. Focus on gradual loss. I mentioned this above, but it’s important. Too many people focus on trying to lose weight fast — 10 pounds in 4 weeks, 20 pounds in 2 months, etc. It’s not healthy, and it doesn’t work, because even if you are able to lose that much weight that fast, you haven’t learned sustainable eating habits that will last you a lifetime. The key is to figure out an eating pattern than will work for you for the rest of your life. Again, if you focus on losing 1-2 pounds per week, you will lose between 50-100 pounds per year. You just have to be willing to wait a year, but trust me, a year goes by pretty fast these days (I think it’s inflation or something).

2. Focus on nutrition. Exercise is important. You have to do it. It has wonderful benefits. But if your focus is on weight loss, the most important factor is what you eat. Don’t ignore exercise, by any means, but if you focus on exercise and think you can eat whatever you want, you’re wrong. You have to focus on nutrition (what you eat) and use exercise as a way to supplement the calorie burn and to get your body looking how you want it to look (not to mention as a key way to get healthy and feel great).

The reason: you can change how many calories you take in to a much greater degree than you can change how many calories you burn. Thirty minutes of exercise, for example, can burn less than a medium McDonald’s fries. Lose the fries, and you’ve done in a few seconds what would take 30 minutes of exercise to accomplish.

3. Become aware of your hunger. This is one of the key things I’ve been learning. Many times we are not conscious of how hungry we are. We ignore our bodies because we’re too busy thinking about other things. As a result, we only eat when we’re famished, and that’s not a good time to eat, because you don’t make healthy eating decisions when you’re super hungry. Your blood-sugar level is too low, and your body just wants a quick sugar fix — a donut or some cookies or white bread or a Coke will be much more appealing than a salad or healthy sandwich on whole grain bread.

Learn to listen to your body, and be aware of your hunger when it’s in its early stages. This is a key skill to weight loss, something the other plans don’t tell you about. They tell you what to eat and when, but don’t teach you how to use your body’s signals to learn to eat healthier.

4. Eat when you’re hungry, not famished. When you first feel the hunger, that’s when to eat. Don’t put it off until the hunger builds into an insatiable monster. When you start to get a little hungry, eat a snack. You don’t need to eat a full-on meal … just some fruit, some crackers, maybe some low-fat dairy (cheese or yogurt or cottage cheese — although I prefer soy yogurt), oatmeal, some nuts, dried fruit, etc. Just something to tide you over until you feel hungry again, or until you can eat a bigger meal. Keep healthy snacks at your desk or in your car or wherever you go. I like to pack some in the morning.

The corollary to this is to also allow yourself to eat what you crave. I know this is contrary to most advice, but I’ve found that it’s important to listen to your body … not only when your body is hungry, but when your body is craving a specific food. I’ve also found that often your body just wants a taste of that food (see No. 13 below) and if you give your body what it wants, and really pay attention to the taste and texture of the food and how you feel after you eat it, you will probably crave that food less and less. 5. Learn to eat until satiated. Again, pay attention to your body as you eat. If you eat mindlessly, you will most likely overeat. You’ll just keep cramming food into yourself until you’ve eaten too much. We’ve all felt the pain of being overstuffed. Don’t allow that to happen — be mindful of your eating, and of your hunger.

A good habit to build is to eat slowly … and take pauses, so you can think about whether you’re really still hungry … and drink lots of water during those pauses. This style of eating will allow you to stop eating when you’re satiated (when your hunger is satisfied, not when you’re stuffed) and allow you to be satiated by eating less. It’s not easy at first, but once you’ve practiced it for a week or two, it will make a huge difference in the amount you eat.

Another thing: before you go back for seconds, stop and take a break for a few minutes. Drink some water, talk to somebody, read, go do something, clean the kitchen a little. Whatever it takes. Often you’ll find that you really didn’t need the seconds. And then you’ve saved yourself a few hundred calories.

6. Drink lots of water. I mentioned this above, but drinking water throughout the day helps you to eat less. Water takes the place of food in your stomach. You’ll still need to eat, but if you stay hydrated you’ll get hungry less. Keep a bottle of water with you at all times.

7. Keep healthy options available. A good trick is to clear your fridge and cabinets of all unhealthy snacks and foods. Just dump them. Then plan some healthy breakfasts, lunches, dinners, snacks, and go shopping. Bring healthy foods to work and wherever you go. Always have some fruits and nuts and other healthy options by your side. If you do this, and eat when you’re hungry, you’ll eat the unhealthy stuff much, much less.

8. You gotta log. This may sound difficult to those of you who hate to log stuff or who only do it for a couple days and then stop … but it’s really not that hard once you get used to it. And if you use a very easy log (and one that’s accountable — see next item), it’s even easier. The reason you need to log is because most people underestimate the amount of calories they’re taking in. They don’t think the sweet drinks or the little snacks make any difference, but they really add up. Log everything that goes into your mouth, and you’ll really see how much you’re taking in. The act of logging makes you more aware, and that awareness, that mindfulness, is what allows you to eat less and be healthier.

9. Be accountable. Perhaps the greatest motivator of all is allowing others to see your log. That’s why I like using PeerTrainer, although other good logs (such as Fit Day, Spark People, Calorie Count, etc.) can also be used this way. PeerTrainer allows a small group of people to log easily and take a look at the other logs in the group. Whatever tool you use, get a partner or a small group that monitors each other’s logs, and you’ll be very motivated to eat well and exercise.

10. Find a workout partner. This is accountability done right. A good workout partner is someone who wants to workout at the same time as you and do a similar workout, and someone whose company you enjoy. Why it works: if you set an appointment with a workout partner, you won’t want to miss it. You’ll make sure you’re there, unlike when you work out by yourself — many people are very tempted just to cancel their workouts if they’re a little tired or busy. Also, a workout partner makes the workout a little more fun, and that’s always a good thing. If you get a workout partner, you will have a stress-free exercise plan that will compliment your healthy eating perfectly. Try for 3-5 workouts per week, giving yourself plenty of rest time after hard workouts.

11. Allow yourself to cheat. A strict diet plan is a bad one. If you are severely restricting yourself, and you feel deprived of good foods, you won’t last long. Trust me, I’ve tried it many times. Instead, relax a little bit, giving yourself a cheat meal or two each week, and allowing yourself to cheat a little on special occasions. It’s still best if you can go for the healthier foods on special occasions, but don’t be too strict.

12. Three-bite rule. A great way to allow for cheats is the Three-bite rule … basically, if you want a sweet or some other sinful food, don’t deny yourself … allow yourself a little indulgence, but just three bites. Allow yourself to enjoy the taste, eat slowly, then move on to healthier foods.

13. Forgive, and move on. If you make a mistake, or cheat more than you should, don’t just give up or beat yourself up. This kind of negative thinking is why people don’t stay on diets for long. They binge and then go back to their unhealthy habits. Instead, just forgive yourself for any indulgences, and get back on your healthy eating plan. Look forward, not backward.

14. Get inspired. Motivation is important … maybe the most important thing. Accountability (mentioned above) is the best motivator … but I’d put inspiration at a close second. Find others who are doing what you want to do, read success stories, read magazines and blogs and books, put up a motivational poster … whatever it takes to get inspired.