Zen & The Art Of Doing Business

No matter where you are and what computer you’re using, you want your most current files available. FolderShare, a free application for both Windows and Mac computers, can easily help you accomplish this. You will be able to automatically sync files and folders between computers. Work files you’ve edited at home will miraculously appear on your office PC. Digital photos on your laptop can be synced to your family PC.

With FolderShare, you can sync files between any two Internet connected computers. Here’s how to get it set up:

1. On each computer, download the FolderShare software from https://foldershare.com/welcome.aspx and install. Set up an account using the installation wizard; a valid email address and password will be required. You will also assign your computer a name that FolderShare will use to identify it. Make it something descriptive, such as “My Office PC” or “Family Room Laptop.”

2. You may get a message asking whether your firewall should allow or block connections to and from FolderShare. You must allow FolderShare traffic through your firewall.

3. On your second computer, repeat the same process, but when it comes time to set up or enter an existing account, choose “I’ve Already Created an Account” and enter the email address and password you set up on your original computer.

After FolderShare is set up on two computers, you’re ready to start syncing folders. Click the FolderShare icon on your system tray and choose “FolderShare website” from the menu. The FolderShare web site will launch. Log in and click the “Create a personal library” link. The wizard will walk you through the setup of your first shared folders.

Once you click the “Finish” button, FolderShare will begin working in the background. Whenever you save to a shared folder on one computer, that same file will be automatically copied, or synced, to the mirror folder on the remote computer. Now all of your important files can be made accessible, no matter which computer you are using.

The Internet is an incredible resource for self education. Last time I shared with you the first two of five simple tips for making the most of your online research. Today I’ll share the remaining three.

3a) Start Your Research On Sites With Authority
Begin your research in a place that’s trustworthy and accessible to the general reader. Instead of doing random searches and wandering from one random site to the next, select two or three sites that you know that you can depend on. The benefit of restricting yourself in the beginning is that it allows you to build a foundation that’s consistent and reliable.
Seek out sites that are known authorities. If you are finding it difficult to locate the kind of site you need, head over to Wikipedia.com. Perform a search for your subject on Wikipedia, and then focus on the “external links” section at the end of each result page. It will be full websites for established authorities on your subject.

3b) Cautiously Extend Your Search For Knowledge
This is where it gets interesting. You know the general concepts and the wheels in your head are really starting to turn. Now you’re ready to unleash the search engines. When a question strikes you, do a search, but be discerning about the results you trust. If a site looks reputable, dig deeper. Browse the archives. Perform a site search. Be sure to follow links whenever a source is cited because it might lead to the deeper information you need. Be cautious about the information you encounter. Always refer back to your trusted sites when a newly discovered website or piece of information seems questionable.

4) Participate in an Online Community
Eventually you may reach a point where the questions you have are so complicated and specific that you can’t find any decent answers through Google. You need human help, and the best place to find it is an active online community. If you’re reading something on a blog that raises a question, try asking the writer via the comments. You may even get some good responses from other readers in the comments. You can also join an online forum for your subject. For many subjects there are dedicated forums with thousands of active users.

5) Apply Your Knowledge
The true test of education is the ability to apply what you’ve learned. Once you feel confident that you know enough to instruct others, test yourself with demonstrations. Try explaining the basics in a conversation. Use what you’ve learned to build something. See what happens and keep experimenting.

Happy Learning!

The Internet is an incredible resource for self education. The vast amount of information on the web is its greatest strength, but can also be a major hurdle, i.e. the amount of data on any subject can become simply overwhelming, putting an end to the quest before true understanding can be achieved. Therefore, to make the most of this resource, you must have a clear strategy; otherwise, you’ll find yourself frustrated at best or misinformed at worst.

Effective online research requires more than simply seeking answers; it requires the ability to process vast amounts of information from numerous information sources, evaluate them based on credibility and relevance, and piece together an accurate assessment of the truth. The good news is that you are already doing this to some degree, whether you realize it or not. In the next two columns, I’ll give you 5 simple tips to using the web even more effectively for self education.

1) Choose a Subject Wisely
So you’ve got a question for the Internet. Great! But before you head straight over to Google and start typing, take a few minutes to think about your main objectives: What do you really want to know? How deep of an understanding do you require? What is the ultimate application of this new information? By answering these questions, you’ll give yourself a much better grasp of your educational purpose. This is essential when evaluating the numerous sources you’ll be presented with and making the decision to move on or dig deeper.

2) Learn the Vocabulary
Every new subject brings with it a new vocabulary, or jargon. Without a basic knowledge of this new terminology, you may not understand what you’re reading, and it becomes a waste of time. Although you would probably pick it up along the way, save some time and optimize your studies by taking care of this before you dive in. Make learning new vocabulary a top priority in the beginning. You’ll soon be able to read through specialized articles without missing anything. This is helpful for developing a solid grasp of the basics.

So that covers the first two tips, both involving planning and preparation for the real online research that is to come. Next time I’ll be giving you the remaining tips and we’ll be heading over to Google for an actual search.

What do deadlines and stop-watches both have to do with personal success? They create time pressure that motivates us to achieve.

When running a race, athletes compete against each other, but the best of the best race the clock as well. Shaving just a few second from their time is a major achievement. Time pressure = Success.

When you are late for an appointment with your doctor, how do you feel? With the knowledge that you’ll be charged for the missed appointment, time pressure becomes a great motivator. You will do what is necessary to be on time to your appointment. That is the power of a deadline.

Specific completion dates create time pressure for achievement of your personal dreams and goals as well. Always schedule a completion date for any project you begin or any goal you have set, even if a completion date doesn’t seem to be required or even important. A deadline can be the difference between success and apathy.

For example, imagine that two people both would like to learn a second language someday. One of these two individuals decides that she will learn to speak fluent Spanish by this same time two years from now; she writes it down, she calendars her deadline, she declares her intention to herself and the world, she is specific. I would wager that she will have had greater success in her linguistic endeavor than the person that did not set a deadline. That poor guy still wants to learn a second language. In two more years, he’ll probably still want to learn a second language. Someday.

That is the power of a deadline.

So be sure to write each deadline down somewhere; somewhere that you will be sure to see it on a regular basis, and record each deadline in your calendar as well. Setting a goal with an ink and paper deadline makes it more real. You naturally begin to think of how you are going to make it happen. And thought creates action.

“A goal is a dream with a deadline.” - Napoleon Hill (Think And Grow Rich)

Is your PC not running like it used to? Is it slow to load or slow to restart or just plain slow? It must be time for a tune up! Your computer works hard for you, and just like a car it needs periodic maintenance to continue behaving like it should. Last time I talked about essential tune-up tricks to speed up your PC. Let’s move on to part two:

1. I Spy Evil Software! Spyware Checker
Remember that free screensaver you just had to have, or that great “free” music sharing program you installed. Well guess what, there is a good chance that you have installed software that has some secret software in it called spyware! You may have noticed a bunch of new pop-ups, or your home page has suddenly changed, or maybe you have so many toolbars on your browser now that you barely have room to view web pages? Time to run Windows Defender, a free Spyware checker from Microsoft! That’s right Microsoft is giving away free software. Download and install Windows Defender from the Microsoft website, then let it update and run. This will make sure no spyware has wormed its way onto your computer.

2. Last but not least - the defrag
This is an important system tool that has been around for many versions of Windows. As files get copied and moved around your computer they sometimes get broken up into smaller pieces. This can make certain programs or files run extremely slow! Here’s what you should do.

First a little prep work:

1. Remove any old programs you don’t use anymore (especially old games which take up a lot of room).

2. Empty your recycle bin.

3. Delete any other old files to make as much free space as possible and so you don’t end up wasting time defragging some old dancing baby video you don’t even want.

Now I recommend you wait until you are done using your computer for the day because the defrag tool will use a lot of system resources. Defrag comes with Windows, so from your start menu, select All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Defragmenter. Select the drive you want to work on and click Analyze to see if the computer recommends defragging. If so, select continue and the defragmenting process will begin. It should be done in a few hours.

This should make a big difference if you are experiencing slow performance and general PC problems. If you like this article, please share it with a friend. If you require assistance with your PC tune up, please call us at Concentric Business Services.

Is your PC not running like it used to? Is it slow to load or slow to restart or just plain slow? It must be time for a tune up! Most IT professionals will tell you that you need to perform these maintenance steps on your computer at least once per year, if not more often. Here are some essential tune-up tricks to speed up your PC.

1. Slow Startups? - Clean that registry!
Your Windows PC loads a bunch of tiny programs every time you start up the machine. Some of these programs are actual applications and some are little programs used by the system. Every time you install a new program or update your OS you create a new Registry entry. If your PC is a year or older, chances are you have installed lots of software, sometimes without even realizing it!

Your computers Registry, a central component of the operating system, can get cluttered and filled with bogus, removed and out-of-date entries that the computer has to check every time it starts up. For each of these items, the system has to spend time “thinking” during start-up. A single item doesn’t take very long but they can add up quickly! Fortunately, there are many excellent Registry optimizers available on the internet. My favorite is Registry Cleaner. Important Note: Be sure to back up your Registry before you start any scans or make any changes to it.

2. Is your PC sick? - update your virus software!
Most people who buy a new PC get a trial version of virus software such as McAffe or Norton. These are great products but they do require a registration fee and subscription. So maybe you let it lapse and decided not to pay for it. No problem. But you do have a choice to make. You can go ahead and pay to register your existing virus software and then update your virus definitions, or you can choose a free virus program such as AVG Free. It updates almost everyday and keeps you up to date with the latest virus definitions, at no cost. Download AVG and run a scan, it will clean up any viruses that have penetrated your system.

Well that’s about it for today. This should make a big difference if you are experiencing slow load times and general PC problems. Watch next time for more tune up tips. If you like this article, please share it with a friend. If you require assistance with your PC tune up, please call us at Concentric Business Services.

The average household has to juggle two jobs, school events, soccer practice, and every other time commitment imaginable. I’m amazed at people who seem to effortlessly juggle all of their commitments with ease. If I didn’t have a trick up my sleeve, I’d probably forget my own appointments.

I’m going to show you how you can be master of your schedule and never again forget another important event. By the end of this article, you’ll be scheduling your events in Google’s online calendar, and to return the favor, Google Calendar will begin automatically sending you event reminders.

You will need a Google Calendar, so point your browser to http://calendar.google.com. Here you’ll have the opportunity to sign into your existing Google account. Below the log in, you can sign up for a new account if necessary. Once logged in, you’ll see an empty calendar.

The first thing you will need to do is to give your calendar the ability to send messages to you phone. Find the Settings link at the top right of your page and click it. Next, select the Mobile Setup tab. Here you will need to provide the required information about your phone, and then Google Calendar will send your phone a unique Verification code. Copy this code from your phone to the form on your screen. Finally, remember to click Save at the bottom of the form and you’ll find yourself back at your calendar.

You are ready to create your first appointment and an automatic reminder for it. Simply click on the time and day for your event and a balloon window will pop up. This is the simplified input form, but we need to go just a little further first. Within the balloon window, click the link for Event Details.

Complete the green portion of this new form, entering the name of your event, the time, place and any other important information. Next, look just below the green portion of the form, and you will see a gray area called Options that includes a section for reminders. Pick the methods that you would like to use for this particular reminder, either SMS (phone notification), email or pop-up, or any combination of these three if you like. Select Save at the bottom of the page, and you are all done with that appointment reminder. Now repeat the this process for as many events or appointments you would like.

You can be confident that you will be automatically reminded of any important events in your life. Just set up your schedules in Google Calendar, complete the appropriate reminder information, and then Google will tap you on the shoulder when the time is right.

Everybody has heard the term “Social Website” being used lately, especially in the news. But what are social websites, exactly? Basically, they’re online “locations” where people can hang out, share and communicate with their personal networks via the Internet. Many of us immediately think of MySpace (the “hip” social website) or Facebook (a hybrid business and social website) and for good reason. These two sites boast the largest memberships and they are mentioned most often in the news. They are great if you are looking for a web “home” that allows you to easily share and connect with friends and family.

Other social sites that I find to be particularly useful:

LinkedIn.com - LinkedIn is a social network for professionals. Upon joining, you create a profile that summarizes your professional accomplishments. Your profile helps you find and be found by former colleagues, clients, and partners.

Del.icio.us - Del.icio.us (typed just like that in your address bar) is a place to store your favorite web links, and access them from any computer on the web. You can also share these favorites with friends, family, coworkers, etc.

Digg.com - Digg is a collaborative News site that allows viewers to vote for - or “digg” - stories or articles that they feel should be front page material. When a story receives enough diggs, it makes it to the front page of this excellent site.

Socializr.com - Socializr.com is a web service for planning and sharing event and party information with your network. With Socializr, you’ll know for sure who’s bringing the chips this time.

TripHub.com - TripHub allows you to easily plan and organize your family or group vacations without endless chains of email. You can create a home page for your trip, send out invitations, and then collectively share ideas, discuss and plan.

Geni.com - Geni is a collaborative genealogy site. Create a family tree through a simple interface and expand your tree by adding relatives’ email addresses. They will be invited to join your tree and can add other relatives. Your tree will continue to grow as relatives invite other relatives.

ClassMates.com - Enable users to locate and interact with acquaintances from high school, college, work and the military.

Brides.com - Brides.com has made it very easy to create your very own social Wedding Web Site, a great way to keep family and friends informed. You can even share the story of your engagement, pictures and more.

Oh, and did I mention that these are all free services. How’s that for being sociable?

What makes people truly successful? Are they smarter or do they work harder? Do they take extraordinary risks or have powerful friends? Not too long ago, Investors Business Daily studied industry leaders, investors and entrepreneurs in an attempt to understand the traits they all had in common that contributed to their success. Here is their list of 10 Secrets to Success. Begin developing these traits in yourself, and you will be on your way to realizing your dreams – whatever they are.

1. Get Your Mind Right - Always be positive. Focus on Success, not Failure. Beware of negative influences. Belief that you can accomplish your goals is instrumental to success. As soon as you say “I can’t…”, then you won’t. Positive things happen to positive people.

2. Find Your Dreams and Essential Goals: Take the time to write down your specific goals and develop a plan to attain them. A dream becomes a goal when you add a deadline to it. Plan to attain your goal by implementing concrete, measurable checkpoints of achievement that track your progress towards your dreams.

3. Just Do It. Goals are nothing without taking action. It may be necessary to take small steps at first, but any movement towards your goal is still positive action.

4. Never Stop Learning: Become a life long learner. Take a class online or read books. Seek out training & acquire skills. Always be expanding your knowledge and skill set.

5. Work Hard & Persistence WILL Pay Off: Success is a marathon, not a sprint. Never give up or give in. Hard work is a requirement for success and there is no getting around it. Keep your eyes on the prize.

6. Learn to Analyze Details Quickly: Gather all the information, all of the required data for a given question or problem as quickly as possible and develop the ability to asses and decide the issue quickly. Spend necessary time gathering details, but don’t catch ‘analysis paralysis’.

7. Focus Your Time, Money And Effort: Distraction is a killer. Focus your time, money and effort on your goals and surround yourself with positive people that believe in your dreams. Ask yourself where every dollar is going, and how important that is to your goal, before you spend it.

8. Innovate When Necessary: Do what you do differently. Following the herd is the best way to remain average. When you have a “Eureka!” moment, be sure that you follow through on that idea. Ask yourself “What would I do if I wasn’t afraid of…?”

9. Develop Your Network And Your Networking Skills: We need each other to succeed. Learn how and when to rely on others, and how to find associates that you can trust. Learn to understand and motivate others. Be available to your contacts when they need your assistance.

10. Be Honest And Dependable: Take responsibility for yourself and your business. Aways be truthful, responsive and prompt. Trust is one of your greatest assets so don’t squander it. Otherwise numbers 1 – 9 won’t matter.

Tool of the Day:
Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking (Book)

“We can make better instant judgments by training our mind and senses to focus on the most relevant facts. Less input (as long as it’s the right input) is better than more.”

In this column, I talk a lot about ways to organize and work efficiently. The tips and tools I present are always useful in a business environment, and generally beneficial to daily life as well. Nevertheless, you may wonder what this all has to do with you. How can the techniques discussed here be of much use to the average person. It can be easy to get caught up in the details and miss the bigger picture. That’s why today, I’m pulling the camera back from the fine details of methods and systems, and instead giving you the birds eye view of why all this matters to you. The answer is Time.

Time is the single most valuable resource that we have. It is the great equalizer of man because time is universally distributed. We all get just 24 hours each day, no matter how much money, power or status we may have. Every task we complete or event we attend requires time. There’s no substitute for your time and it’s completely irreplaceable.

To get a sense of how valuable our time is, consider this. When we discuss time, we use monetary terms to do so. We save time. We invest time. It is the greatest gift we can give those we care about. We manage it, we keep it and we even waste it. Yet we consistently take this precious, irreplaceable commodity for granted. We literally “kill” our time.

But what about money, you ask. Lets face it, we never seem to feel that we have enough of that either. But although we may think we don’t have enough money (most people feel that way), money is actually quite plentiful compared to time. It’s always possible to make more money. But, no matter what we do, we can never make more time. No, we can’t even really “buy” time, even with all the money in the world. If you doubt this, ask the wealthiest person you know, when they near the end of their life, what they would rather have more of. Money or Time? I’d wager that it would be the latter.

Wealth can be defined as having enough money to enjoy our time, and enough time to enjoy our money. Understanding that our time is limited, this column is focused on helping everyone create true wealth for themselves through the use of productivity systems and techniques. It is about gaining control of our time.

Gaining control of your time is a three part process:

1. Knowing what you want to be, do and have. This involves writing down your goals and your “big picture” plan of actions, and by organizing them in priority order.
2. Being accutely aware of how you’re spending your time. This can be done by focused planning and then by following your plan with vision and discipline.
   
3. Managing your time effectively by scheduling regular periodic goal setting sessions and employing good time management and productivity techniques.
   

No matter what you’re out to accomplish in life, time is your major limiting factor. How you use your time in the present may be the most significant indication of how happy, successful and effective you will be in your future. If you want happiness, abundance and wealth, an important first step is to start with a healthy respect for your life’s allotment of time.