"Give them the gift of words"

7 Skills Every Millennial Needs In 2016


December 24, 2015

Where do I start? A study by Change for Education recently revealed that 6 in 10 millennials lack basic tech skills. Mind-boggling, right?

It turns out that even though we spend about 35 hours per week on digital media, millennials tend to be unexpectedly illiterate when it comes to using technology to solve simple problems. The result, the nonprofit group says, is that about 13 million US millennials are oblivious to the impact their poor tech skills are having on their future success.

The research brought to light a paradox: that digital natives are not necessarily tech savvy.

The good news is that this is something we can, and should, fix.

I’ll only highlight one more thing from this particular research study, but it’s critically important.

You can boost your earnings by one-third with a small boost to your tech skills.

Yes, that’s all it takes to land a more profitable job – simply improve some easy tech skills.

So which skills are essential?

Vocabulary Improvement

Okay, okay, it’s not like your life always depends on the exact words you choose to use (although I could think of a couple of scenarios where specific words could put you in great danger). The thing is, words matter. Words create our reality and help us make sense of our experiences. But more importantly, words help us think better, think critically, and think more.

Improving your vocabulary means having more concepts to think about and speak with. A good vocabulary helps you make the best first impressions, whether that’s with a new acquaintance or a job interviewer.

Speed Reading

Going through your Facebook feed with lightning fast speed doesn’t qualify as speed reading. (What a pity, I know!)

Being a speed reader is fun. Scratch that. It is essential. Just consider the sheer amount of reading you need to go through every day right now. Now think about all of the text you could be absorbing if you could do that reading even faster. The knowledge you can potentially accumulate in just a few weeks is mind-blowing.

Touch Typing

Yes, we might be speaking in emojis these days rather than actual words, and retinal scanning may replace passwords for online banking at some point, but for now, written communication via conventional words is not going away.

So learn to touch type. And learn it the right way – not that awkward hunt and peck method that makes you look like you’re a Martian seeing a QWERTY keyboard for the first time.

Digital communication is here to stay. From catching up with your friends to taking online courses boosting your knowledge in multiple fields, you need touch typing efficiency more than ever.

Your soft skills and personality might impress a potential employer, but you also need hard skills like how to make a presentation and efficiently operate software. You need the ability to present data in a comprehensible visual way, using words as well as images, and your keyboarding speed has an impact on how well you do that.

IT Skills For Everyone

If you think that IT tech skills are only something designers, programmers, and other tech-related professionals need, think again.

Basic skills such as email etiquette, understanding and compiling spreadsheets, interpreting and reporting graphic and numeric illustrations, and of course doing sound online research are survival skills in the competitive marketplace – and if you don’t have those skills, you won’t be winning that competition.

To take your career into the next decade, even a millenial needs to focus on keeping up to speed on these essential tech tools.

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This Story of Princess Alexis Defeating Kemia the Dragon Will Touch Your Heart


December 17, 2015

3 Positive and Negative Impact of Home-Based Jobs Everyone Should Consider


December 13, 2015

Flexible schedule, no formal dressing required (read: work in your most comfortable, fluffiest pajamas). These are the perks of being a home-based professional. Sounds heavenly, right?

But then there’s a darker side to the work-from-home model: no boundaries between personal and work life, increased loneliness, and limited social interaction. Not to mention that staying productive can be a real challenge with so many distractions and the freedom of being your own boss.

So let’s look what the real picture behind home-based work is.

The good stuff

Be your own boss

People fed up with crazy, workaholic, perfectionist bosses find home-based work a heaven. As a work-from-home professional, you are in full control of your schedule, who you choose to work with, what time and when to work.

This increased flexibility and freedom is something cubicle-bound workers can only dream of. The freedom and control over your schedule, clients and work model means you have more peace of mind and are able to be more productive and creative. There’s no fretting over toxic colleagues or ungrateful bosses either!

No coffee line

Apart from the obvious perks of walking to your office (which could be a room away from your bedroom) there’s the extra benefit of not having to deal with commute time, people cutting you off in the coffee line, having to wear a suit and tie, and other typical stresses associated with what’s socially acceptable in a work environment.

No distractions

From social banter to after-work get-togethers for beers and dinner, office workers deal with a range of distractions. While uninspiring gray cubicles might be the bosses’ answer to distractions, they can drain the last drop of happiness out of the people who have to work in them.

Working from home is dramatically different. You get to create your ideal office space that overflows with inspiration for a full-speed-ahead, productive, and creative work day. No bubbly colleagues you cannot say no to, no intra-office emails making the rounds and pressing you to answer instantly. Home-based work is focused work!

The bad stuff

Social skill deterioration

People who work from home often complain of loneliness. Too much isolation can have a negative impact on both your health and your productivity. Social banter might not be so bad after all; it has the potential to remove stress, and takes your mind off boring, repetitive tasks, even if only for a while.

Working from home also may mean you keep doing the same things over and over again and have nothing new or exciting to share with your friends, because during work time, not much really happens. It’s just you. And maybe your cat(s).

No boundaries

 It’s easy to cross the line between work and personal life when you work at home. Being in charge of your regimen means you can work after 8pm or as early as 5am. But this can lead to a vicious circle of pulling all-nighters which can have its toll on your well-being. This relatively unlimited freedom means you can abuse it in ways that harm yourself and your career.

Also, people tend to consider home jobs as inferior to an office-bound one. What’s more, if you’re at home all of the time, you may get stuck with the home-based chores as well. “You’re home anyway, honey, why don’t you get our week’s shopping done?”

Relationship damage

Working from home might negatively impact your relationship. The lack of social interaction may affect your relationship with your significant other, and making your home your entire world can make a relationship stagnate. The good news is that you can offset this by taking on more hobbies and activities outside the house.

If you consider changing your work model, either going with the home-based model or jumping onto the office bandwagon, we’ve given you some parameters you’d better consider before making your decision. And remember that no matter what work model you choose, certain skills like touch typing and time management are essential. Good luck!

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Making the Impossible Possible: Boost Your Confidence In Just 4 Minutes


December 10, 2015

Get your confidence boosted by improving your vocabulary as well!

What The First Ever Text From 23 Years Ago Said


December 3, 2015

Happy Birthday, Texting! Though it’s most often associated with teenagers these days, texting itself can now be considered an adult. It has been 23 years since that very first text message went from one device to another, making the first ever sender and recipient world-famous for being the first people to engage in what eventually ended up being a daily and almost obsessive activity for millions of people.

Neil Papworth was the first person to use the short message service (SMS) function to send a text message. On December 3, 1992, Neil sent his colleague, Richard Jarvis, a holiday greeting. “Merry Christmas,” was the text that Jarvis received on his Orbitel 901.

The story goes that Neil Papworth never got a reply, or at least not immediately. Unlike today’s access-anywhere mobile phones, devices other than computers didn’t support texting at the time.

Who would’ve thought that two decades later, texting would be the most popular, affordable and fast non-verbal way to communicate? With yearly SMS traffic being projected to exceed the 9  trillion by next year, it’s evident that the SMS is the king of electronic, non-verbal communication in the 21st century.

Today millions of people enjoy this swift, discreet and efficient way to communicate locally and internationally. Although instant messaging and social media apps that provide alternate ways of sending messages are becoming increasingly popular, texting still holds tight to its position as the leader in electronic communications.

Texting has matured on another level as well. Today, this method of communication has many uses outside the personal realm. Brands are using texting to send offers, promotional coupons, and recommendations to their subscribers and loyal customers. The 160-character service seems more than enough for marketing and commercial purposes, especially when backed by the power of an international corporation.

Being available across platforms makes texting a prevalent mode of communication despite the new and attractively different apps that everyone seems to be using. Though each new app gets its followers, they find it hard to completely overshadow texting. It’s a mature, robust communication tool that shaped entire generations and has become part and parcel of cultures that traverses age, race, culture, and socioeconomic status.

Many people rushed to claim that texting was dead, after seeing the rapid growth of apps like WhatsApp. But the truth is that (for the time being at least) texting is a more accessible and global method. Anyone can receive a text message from you, but not everyone has a smartphone, let alone the specific app you are using. There are signs that mobile applications will possibly replace texting in the following years, but for now the simple SMS is here to stay.

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Don’t Miss The Confession Of Professional Blogger Miranda Marquit In This Exclusive Interview


November 27, 2015

Miranda Marquit

INTRODUCTION:

If you think that money doesn’t grow on trees, think again! Or at least think about trees – and money – in a way that helps you gain control of your personal finances. That’s what financial blogger Miranda Marquit has been doing, and explaining to readers, since she first started publishing money-management articles on her website, PlantingMoneySeeds.com. Read this interview to get some quick tips on finances, and then head to Miranda’s website for answers to your financial and investment questions.

UV: When you first started your home-based financial advice business, what were two things you had the most trouble getting used to?

I’m actually a freelance financial journalist. I started as an online writer 10 years ago, and sort of fell into writing about money for clients. Due to this reality, it was troubling to get used to the idea that people would look to me for information about money, since that’s not my original background. The other thing that has been difficult to get used to is thinking of myself as a business owner. I operate as an LLC, and I even have a couple of employees. It’s weird to think of myself as a business owner.

UV: You’ve written an e-book titled “How To Set Your Financial Priorities,” which people can receive for free when they sign up for your newsletter. In this book you talk about the connection between personal values and personal finances. Can you give our readers a brief overview of what you mean by that connection?

One of the problems many people have is that they disconnect their spending decisions from their personal values. What ends happening is that you spend money on things you don’t care about, and you aren’t using your money to help you reach your most important goals. Once you figure out what really matters to you, and you understand your goals, you can change the way you use your money. You can use your money to reach your goals and improve your life. When you make the connection between your personal values and your finances, you view your money as a resource to better manage your life.

UV: One of the reasons many people get confused when it comes to finances and investing is that a lot of the big-bank companies use words like “debenture” that aren’t in everyone’s vocabulary, or arcane acronyms like ROI and P/E. Should people learn essential vocabulary related to business and investment before they start working on their own financial plans?

It’s always a good idea to understand. But you don’t need to know about ROI and P/E to start making decisions based on your personal values. You can even start investing without having a lot of jargon-related knowledge. Learn about investing in index funds and index ETFs to start. You can base your long-term investing and saving on these moves, and then be able to move forward. You don’t want to get caught up in knowing all the definitions because you can easily be overwhelmed with all the information.

UV: Here at eReflect, we believe that investing in self-education provides a huge return, both personally and professionally. What are your thoughts on spending money for things like classes, training, and software, versus putting that money in a high-interest bank account?

Investing in your best asset – you – is always a good idea. However, you shouldn’t do it without a purpose. Know why you’re taking the class, getting the training, or buying the software. Know the end game and why it matters, and how it will help you in the future. If you can use it to boost your earning power through running a business, getting a promotion or raise, or in some other way, it’s more valuable that having the money sit in a bank account that doesn’t earn much interest.

UV: As we move into 2016, do you have plans for expanding your website and what you offer to people?

I’m in a strange place right now. I’m just getting my feet under me after a divorce and a cross-country move. Right now, I’m more interested in rebuilding my life. I can hold down the fort for now, re-evaluate my own values and priorities, and then decide what’s next.

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Vocab1 Is Proud To Have An Exclusive Interview With Christina Brown


November 20, 2015

Christina Brown

INTRODUCTION:

For mother and blogger Christina Brown, the ABCs of finance translate to EFG: efficiency, frugality, and generosity. In other words, make the most of what you have, live a debt-free life, and share what you can with others. You can find more useful vocabulary words and common-sense family finance tips on her website, NorthernCheapskate.com. We asked Christina to share some of her advice with our readers.

UV: Many of us are so used to our everyday routines that we don’t take the time to stop and think about them. What’s the best way to start when you’re looking for ways to be more efficient in daily life?

I’ve often said that the little things you do add up to big things, and that applies to both your everyday routines and your money. Start by taking a close look at all the things you do each day. What is it about your morning routine that could be better? What about your work day? What about your evenings? What things are you doing that could be done more efficiently? What could be done for less money? When you start thinking about all those things and writing down what you can do, you start to see that those small things do make for some lasting change.

UV:  On your website, the theme of “planning” comes up often, whether that’s planning for a shopping trip with a list, or working on a five-year budget to prepare for a child going to college. Most teenagers don’t think too much about the future, especially when it concerns money, but should they be starting to plan their financial life as well? What about younger children? How early is too early when it comes to money management?

There are always opportunities to be teaching kids about good money management. It could be explaining to your 5-year-old the difference between wants and needs. It could be showing your teenagers how to open and manage a checking account with the money from their first jobs.

Kids of all ages learn a lot about money from watching those around them. My kids know that coupons help you save money. They know how to find bargains at thrift stores and make do with what they have. They know that it costs less and is healthier to eat dinner at home. They know that they have to work for things they want. Those are all lessons taught by example.

If you spend beyond your means and live paycheck to paycheck, they’re likely to do the same. If they see you making good financial decisions and planning ahead for the future, they will see the benefits of that.

UV: One of your website categories is “seasonal savings.” We know people who stock up on wrapping paper and greeting cards in January, and others who buy bags of unsold Halloween candy to set aside in a pantry for the following year. What other things come into this category?

You can save quite a bit of money with a little bit of planning and by shopping the end-of-season clearance sales. For example, at the end of January, I spend some time going through our winter clothing and figuring out what we’ll need for the following winter. Then I can hit the winter clearance sales and save 50 to 70 percent on sweaters, winter jackets, snow pants, hats and gloves. I do the same planning and shopping at the summer clearance sales and stock up on shorts, t-shirts, and swimsuits.

You can make clearance sales work for you all year with a little bit of planning. For example, the red candies and decor from Christmas sales could be used for Valentine’s Day. It’s really all about knowing what you need and planning ahead for the next year.

UV: The verb “couponing” might not be an official entry in the Oxford English Dictionary (yet) but it’s definitely part of the vocabulary when it comes to tips on how to save money. Do you recommend that people use the coupons found in newspapers, magazines, or on line – and if so, when is it NOT a good idea to use them?

Coupons are a fantastic way to save money on the things you use. The key is to learn to use them correctly. That means learning how to pair manufacturer coupons with store coupons and deals to get what you need.

Make sure to only use coupons from reputable sources (such as newspaper coupon inserts, websites like coupons.com or smartsource.com or directly from manufacturers. And be sure to only use coupons on the things you need. If you don’t ever buy Tasty Sugar Bombs cereal, for example, then don’t buy it just because you have a really great coupon. Save your money instead.

UV: As we’re speaking, the holidays are approaching, and parents everywhere will be tempted to spend extra money on this year’s must-have gifts for kids. What’s your opinion on buying gifts, during the holidays or any other time of year, when it comes to frugal living?

This time of year is a real struggle for many of us because we want to spoil the important people in our lives. We spend a lot of money on things because we feel like it’s expected.  We don’t want to look like we’re being “cheap” so we buy expensive showy gifts that we can’t really afford.  We put things on plastic because we’re rushed and don’t take the time to shop for gifts.

If that describes your approach to the holidays (or any other gift-giving situation), then it’s time to stop and make a plan.  Set a budget for gift giving that you can afford to pay for in cash.  Make a well-thought-out shopping list.  Search for the best deals.  

And remember that gifts don’t equal love.  They’re just gifts.  Stop showing love with gifts and money and show your love by giving your time to someone.  Share experiences instead of things and you will have a more memorable holiday season.

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Listen, Learn and Be Nice: Good Advice From Young and Old


November 16, 2015

When Does a Word Get Real-Word Status?


November 11, 2015

Do you ever wonder what makes a word … word-y? What are the criteria for a word to become an officially recognized part of a language?

There are many people who argue about where that tipping point is. Whether words like “slacktivism,” “bae,” and “feels” are proper words or not is still under debate. So to jump into the conversation, let’s look into how a word becomes a word.

What’s In A Word

For words to gain real-word status, a lot of people have to use them. If “selfie” and “vape” weren’t being used by a growing number of people then they would never acquire proper word status. In fact, “vape” was so extensively used that Oxford Dictionary named it the Word of the Year for 2014.

The Oxford Dictionary explains why “vape” was chosen:

“ You are thirty times more likely to come across the word vape than you were two years ago, and usage has more than doubled in the past year.”

Technology Leads the Way

So usage and popularity are two main factors that affect a word’s word status eligibility. Culture is the third.

Large scale events, new technologies, and advancements in science and other industries also give way to the creation and adoption of new words.

If researchers discover a new gene, a new correlation between atoms, or a new planetary system, words need to be created or borrowed from other languages to describe that concept.

Looking at word list from past years, it instantly becomes obvious how prevalent technology-related words are. And because technology lends itself to fast – almost viral – adoption, it should come as no surprise that in 2014 the Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate® Dictionary list was dominated by techie words:

– Big Data

– Social Networking

– Tweep

– Hashtag

– Gamification

Nothing’s Permanent, Not Even Word Status

Rebekah Otto, Director of Content at Dictionary.com, says in an interview with Mental Floss that there’s a very thin line between slang and informal language. She poses this question to readers:

“What’s the line that delineates a phrase like “brogrammer” between being slang and an official word?”

Words are living organisms that are influenced by our culture and defined by human behavior, global trends, and technological innovation.

This can be easily observed by how fast a word with merely slang status – that is, a very informal word, used by a minority and not used in written language – gets informal word status or even proper word status.

For a word to enter the English dictionary, many happenstances have to collide. Cultural acceptance and adoption, usage, and online and offline media propagation need to be in place for a word to enter global consciousness and discourse.

But even if a word never gains Oxford Dictionary word status, it is still a proper word, in the minds and conversations of people that use it.  

Doctors use words that laypeople will probably never have to speak in their lives. Teens have their own slang words to communicate and affiliate with certain groups and identities. Professions of all kinds have their own obscure (to the uninitiated) words.

It could be said that a word becomes a word when it is spoken or used enough for it to make sense as a concept reference. Whether it is an officially accepted word or not, the status of a word should only worry you in circumstances when you need to use that word in formal writing or other contexts that require a certain level of formality.

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Vocab1 In An Exclusive Interview With Life Coach and Writer Sylviane Nuccio


November 7, 2015

Sylviane Nuccio

INTRODUCTION:

Do you know the old song that actress and singer Doris Day made popular in the 1950s titled “Que Sera, Sera” (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)? The song is sung by a child who asks her mother about the future; she wants to know what she’ll be when she grows up. The mother’s answer is that no one knows, and whatever will be, will be – in other words, the child should just wait and see what happens. However, as life coach Sylviane Nuccio knows well, that’s not the way to get the future of your dreams. You need skills, you need a plan, and sometimes you need someone to give you a fresh perspective on everything. If that sounds like you, then keep reading for some information about achieving success and happiness in our recent interview with Sylviane Nuccio.

UV: Let’s start by getting a little bit of information about you. You’ve recently moved back to France, where you grew up, and in a recent blog post you talk about how strange it is to hear people speaking French all around you. Is there new French vocabulary that you’re having to learn that wasn’t in current use 15 years ago?

No, not at all. I think that if languages do change over time, it does take more than 15 to 20 years to really feel it. We can easily watch movies that are 70-80 years old and still understand every single word, don’t we?

What felt strange is to walk around in a place where the official used language is French as opposed to English. At times I still want to ask my way in English, for example, and I have to remind myself, OK, don’t forget to speak French here. It makes it even worse when I’m speaking with someone in the US on Skype and then I need to speak to someone in French right after. At times I’m speaking in English to them, and when I notice that they look at me funny, that’s when realize my mistake. This has happened to me three times already.

I also want to specify that I’m in France temporarily as well. I intend to go back to the US around June 2016. My goal is to spend 6 months there and 6 months here.

UV: You speak English and Spanish as well as French. How did you learn your second and third languages?

I studied English starting in my studio in Paris for a good couple of years before moving to New York, so I had some good basis by the time I moved. Then living in the US and my strong will to become totally fluent did the rest. There is no age to become totally fluent in a language. I spoke only French for the first 25 years of my life, yet I learned my two foreign languages as an adult.

I learned Spanish in the mid 1990’s doing some voluntary work with Hispanic people for 5 years in New York as well. Since most of them didn’t speak a word of English, either you’d quit or you’d learn the language they spoke, which I did. I have to say that I can learn languages rather easily, because I love languages.

A language is much more than just words and sentences. A language is a culture, a personality, a specific type of humor, and a way of life. A language is the personality of the people who speak it, and you can only get to know such people fully when you speak their language.

UV: Do you think that knowing more than one language is something that helps people achieve success, especially in today’s global marketplace?

Well, since you ask, I can tell you that being bi-lingual or multi-lingual is greatly underestimated in the US. Bilingual people are for the most part underpaid for their skills. So to answer your question, yes, I’m sure it can help you get a job because you are bilingual, like I did in the past, but at the same time you may be underpaid for it.

Being multi-lingual is not as valued as having a degree in this country, yet I think it should, because it takes work and skills to be able to speak fluently more than one language. And I like to emphasis on the word “fluent” because not being fluent is, indeed, not very valuable when it comes to languages.

UV: Please tell our readers about the role of overcoming subconscious beliefs when they are obstacles to success and happiness. How do you help people get over these mental blocks?

The subconscious mind is the engine that runs everything. Unfortunately, most people walking on the planet are totally unware of their subconscious mind, and most of all of their subconscious programming, so they are left wondering most of the time.

Every time something either pleasing or unpleasing happens to them they’re saying why me? Or why not me? This is because that’s the first question we ask ourselves when we don’t understand that what happens to us is largely depending on our subconscious programming and what we attract based on such programming.

However, we can’t feel guilty for what we didn’t know or what we still don’t know about, which is running the show, so we shouldn’t be blaming ourselves for the negative stuff that happens to us. But I try to help my clients understand that they are “responsible” for it at a subconscious level. It’s not that they are punished or unlucky, it’s that most of what they’ve been calling “circumstances,” “fate” or “luck” was created by their very subconscious beliefs.

When they get that, a huge step forward has been accomplished.

A very common example easy to understand is a woman that keeps attracting Mr. Wrong. No woman consciously wants to attract a bad man who disrespects, or abuses her, but a woman who does attract such man is usually someone who has been mistreated as a child or seen her mother been abused in some way. So the way her subconscious is programmed is that being mistreated by a man is “normal” and that’s what she’s going to keep getting (attracting according her subconscious programming) until she’s able to reprogram her subconscious mind. But until she does, she will most likely attract the same type of men in her life.

This is just one example, but it works the same for everything in life; job, money, relationships, friendships and so on.

So my main focus is to teach people how they can consciously reprogram their subconscious mind.

UV: When you’re not helping people reach their goals, you’re achieving your own goals as a writer and blogger. But what do you do when you’ve got a mental block that’s preventing you from finding the right vocabulary words to say what you want your readers to hear?

Well, because I’m applying my own medicine, meaning I’ve coached and keep on coaching myself in my own life, I know how to release resistance, and resistance to anything is probably the strongest thing that can block you.

Thus, I rarely if ever look for words when I write, because for one thing I know ahead of time that everything will be fine and flow just right, and it usually does. Actually, I write what we call “subconsciously” meaning that the words flow easily as long as I have an idea about what I want to write. A general idea is usually enough for me.

I do not ever write if I feel like I have a writer’s block. Instead I go for a walk, because walking is an excellent way to relieve any type of resistance. As I walk, writing ideas usually start coming.  

I never take it for granted, but I often have great compliments about my writing, being inspiring, timely, needed, clear, easy to understand, and so on. That’s when I know that I’ve done it right.

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