Online Business Enthusiast
I just realized this is the first ever post on my site with a video of myself included. Exciting times. This post doesn’t hold much value except some entertainment.
I recently wrote on some reasons you should juggle and thought I would upload a quick video of 3-ball juggling.
Enjoy.
My 40 Seconds of Fame from Adam Bate on Vimeo.
Happy Friday.
I learned the basics of 3-ball juggling when I was about 13. I’m pretty sure my grandmother signed out an old VHS on learning how to juggle from the local library in hopes to keep my brothers and I occupied. Well it worked. I’m fairly certain any one of us could pick up and juggle 3-balls in a pinch.
I always had an interest in juggling growing up but never really had the time to spend on it with school sports, activities, and what not. I always made sure I didn’t lose the basics though. Since the end of summer however, I have spent a good amount of time mastering 3-ball juggling. Perfecting the basics, learning new tricks, and pleasantly enjoying it. The more I do it the more I realize what a great activity it really is.
So if you’re looking for a new skill to learn, I encourage you to consider juggling. In my opinion, here are the six big reasons why you should try it.
Anyone who argues with this statement has never really juggled. Juggling is an aerobic exercise. One that is not expensive to do, doesn’t require a lot of equipment, and is very portable.
Don’t have time to run to the gym on your lunch break? No problem, pack your bean bags in your backpack, purse, briefcase, or whatever and take 20-30 minutes at lunch in a corner somewhere. You don’t need a lot of room either.
Plus: the better you get at it, the more of an exercise it will become.
No joke. Juggling has been shown to increase the grey matter in the brain (See journal article here). So not only are you getting a great core exercise, you are also exercising your mind.
I feel smarter already.
It is extremely hard to think of anything else but juggling when you are juggling. It is an excellent way to clear your head of everything that is going on and get absorbed in the activity. It is an excellent positive outlet to expend negative energy and frustration.
You can’t help but smile when you are juggling.
You can’t just toss 3 balls in the air and hope for the best. It takes a lot of focus, concentration and problem solving. Recovering your rhythm after a mid-air collision or a dropped ball takes a lot of concentration. This focus you gain from juggling will be noticed in other areas of your life and work.
Coordination is very important for overall health. It helps avoid trips and falls, helps with core exercises and avoiding awkward situations. If you are a good athlete you will likely be able to pick up juggling quicker than non-athletes, and the main reason for this is coordination. However, even if you are the most awkward and uncoordinated person in the world, you will still be able to learn to juggle, and it will be an excellent way to improve your coordination.
When you begin to learn how to juggle, you will need to reach, crouch, bend and grab in ways you didn’t think were possible. Like any new activity, you will be sore at first since it is using body mechanics that you do not normally use. You will experience an increase in range of motion in your arms and shoulders.
Juggling can be used as a great replacement activity for breaking bad habits, overcoming cravings, and much more. Are you one of the many people who eats when they are bored? Try juggling instead. The same goes for overcoming cravings to smoke if you are trying to quit.
As a warning, unfortunately, juggling is also an excellent way to procrastinate from studying and working. Consider yourself warned.
Juggling is fun and entertaining.
It is an excellent ice breaker and conversation starter and lets face it we all love watching someone juggle.
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Have any experience with juggling? I would love to hear.
Good luck!
When I chat with people about personal branding tips a common theme surfaces in most young new graduates, students, and entrepreneurs – not enough experience. More importantly than not having enough experience is not having a way to stand out in the crowd – or the industry in which they are or wish to be working in.
So here is a 5-step process that will allow you to be deemed an expert in any field within 6 months.
Start a business.
Pick a name and register a business. A sole proprietorship will do the trick, you won’t need anything too expensive or over the top – for under $100 you can register your own business online. Register a domain name to go along with it and put up a static company website with contact information for the time being.
This gives you the professional aura that you’ll need and instantly gives you some credibility. You aren’t just another freelancer in the industry that’s there one day and gone the next. This will give your clients some peace of mind.
Lots of reading and blogging.
After you have your business registered and a website on the go get very familiar with the industry and start your own blog. Become comfortable critiquing current events and giving your opinions and recommendations on things. Keep your blog semi-professional and avoid any negative posts unless they are constructive – don’t complain for the sake of complaining unless you can suggest how to fix it. Some things to write about may include current events and trends in the industry, your take and perception on certain things, or some personal tips and tricks.
Remember not to over-do it, but don’t under-do it either. Don’t let your blog go stagnant, but a new blog post every day can be exhausting. Try for one every 5 days, or once a week.
This gives clients the perception that you are confident and you know what you are talking about – and hopefully by this time it’s the truth.
Freebee or discounted work.
Now that you seem to have the aura and the knowledge to tackle some work go out and find some. You may initially need to offer your services for free or at a discounted rate until you’ve proven yourself.
Let me reiterate that – until you’ve proven yourself. I’m not recommending you undercut the industry and charge prices that you can barely live off of. I mean for the first one or two projects you do offer a highly discounted rate or work for free but explain that this isn’t your typical rate. Your objective after all is to be able to charge a premium as being an industry expert.
This gives you a bit of experience and a portfolio to show off to future clients and on your website.
Present to whoever will listen
Where and how you present will depend on what you’re doing, but now that you have written some short articles, and done some work in the industry, contact some local colleges, universities, high schools, industry groups, media, etc. and offer to present [insert your topic on your industry here]. Create a 15-20 minutes presentation on something you feel is important to learn or know in your industry and ask to present it to students, the media, etc.
This will add to your experiences and credibility in the eyes of both future clients as well as others in the industry. By this time you are beginning to look like an industry expert.
Volunteer and Mentor
Now that you have that expert aura, people will likely start contacting you for advice and help. Take on a couple volunteer roles in your industry – help out with others starting their own business or partner with complimentary services. Mentor students in training in the same industry.
These students won’t forget the help you’ve given them. Your reputation in the industry will reflect the fact that you’ve helped out.
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You are now branded as an expert. This process can typically be done in 6 months if given proper attention. If you are a student, you can start the process while still in school in order to hit the ground running after graduation. Note I haven’t mentioned anything about formal education in this process. Of course a formal university or college education helps but if you can prove yourself in the industry without it, your reputation and experiences will ultimately be worth the most.
As always, I encourage any thoughts or feedback you may have.
When was the last time you spent even $100 and didn’t feel any guilt?
If you know me, you know I have a “spending” personality. I enjoy spending and typically have lived such a way. Unfortunately, being a student for most of my life, every purchase was full of guilt. Do I really need this? Should this money be better allocated somewhere else? Many people go through their entire lives living like this, even with comfortable salaries. After finishing school, I swore I wouldn’t be one of them.
But it’s one thing to say it, and another to implement a plan – so that got me digging around for the best ways to independently manage finances. I thought I’d share some things with others in a similar situation as me. I’ve come up with a few things that can be used to better manage your financial situation: Automation, Barriers, Goals, and Knowledge.
Knowledge is needed so you aren’t ignorant of the fact that YES YOU DO HAVE TO SAVE MONEY.
Do you plan to have kids? Did you know that it costs between $20,000 and $30,000 per year (Not including University) to raise a child?
Do you plan on getting married? Did you know that the average wedding cost in the US is around $20,000? And that typically the budgets for those weddings are 50% of that.
This knowledge and understanding isn’t meant to scare you, but to make sure you aren’t being ignorant of the fact that you do need to save some money.
Lets face it, it’s tough to save money without a reason for saving. It’s important to have both short term and long term savings goals. I’ve realized that a goal should not be a dollar amount, but instead an object or an event. Don’t set the goal to save $10,000 this year, because money is only a means to an end, and without knowing what that $10,000 will be spent on there is no motivation for you to save it.
Instead, set some real goals: A down payment on a house. A wedding. A yearly vacation. Things that you can feel good about working towards. This will get you some motivation to take the most important step: to implement a financial plan.
What do I mean by a barrier? Active and Passive barriers hinder people from saving money just as they make everything more difficult, including eating healthy and being more productive. An active barrier is a physical obstacle that’s prohibiting something, where a passive barrier is the lack of something that in turn makes things more difficult.
It is important to try to increase barriers that stop you from unconsciously spending money and to destroy the barriers that prohibit you from saving money. I’ve recently started getting my pay cheques deposited into my savings account instead of my checking accounts, the reason for this is because I don’t have access to the funds in my savings account with my debit card, and so if I want to make a purchase I need to log in to my online banking and transfer money into my checking account – which will ultimately deter me from making petty purchases with my debit card that I don’t need. Also, I’ve set up some automatic deposits from my checking account into another savings account – one that I don’t have access to funds immediately. This is by no means a full plan, but it has been helping me tackle some of the barriers while I set everything up.
The first step here is to identify the barriers that need removing or implementing. To get a better understanding on why or why you don’t do some things – try using the 5 Whys method.
Why aren’t you currently saving money? – I don’t have a savings account…
Why? – I don’t have a need for one…
Why? – I have nothing to save for…
Why? – I haven’t thought about the things I’ll need money for in the future.
Why? – I’m scared to think about those things because they stress me out.
And you’ve identified the reason you don’t save money – because thinking about finances and planning for your future scares you. Now you can work at fixing the root problem and start saving some money.
Financial automation will solve many headaches and stresses when it comes to paying bills, saving money, and all around managing your finances. Remember how stressful paying your rent was until you set up a direct deposit? Or how many times you incurred some interest charges on your credit card because you had to physically deposit the money into the bank machine? This can all be avoided with a little financial automation.
So how do I start, what’s the plan?
Determine what’s most important for you right now in terms of saving. A new house, wedding, vehicle, furniture, etc. Rank them in order of importance. This will get some motivation for you.
Visit your bank to learn about RRSP options or talk to your employer if they have some sort of savings program as well. Get an RRSP going as soon as possible.
Open a convenient savings account – I recommend ING Direct because they allow for “virtual” or bucket savings accounts within your savings account. You can do this online or over the phone.
Contact your employer and set it up so that a % of your pay cheque goes right into your RRSP. This will take ALL the hassle out of funding your RRSP, and will insure that even if you don’t cap your limit, you will get at least some of the tax benefits. I would recommend by starting at 10% of your after tax income. So a 90/10 split between your checking account and RRSP account – your employer should have no problems doing this for you.
Note: If you’re a new grad entering the work force, I recommend building up an emergency fund before funding your RRSP. Determine how much it would cost you to survive if you happened to lose your job. IE. Rent, power, and food. (You can suspend your internet, cable, data-phone plan, etc while you find a new job.) And build up a 3-6 month safety net in an account as quickly as possible. Lets be honest, your RRSP isn’t going to help if you get laid off from your first job a few years after graduation, make sure you can survive first.
I recommend another 10% within the first day or two after your cheque is deposited to be automatically moved into your ING savings account, and it can be allocated between your long- and short-term saving buckets. IE. 5% to down payment on a house, 2% into the wedding fund, 2% into the furniture fund, and 1% into the trip to Europe fund, as an example.
Set it up that after another day or two, all your fixed costs are automatically paid for. Your utilities, rent, internet, phone, etc. (you might need to have this split over two withdraws if your employer doesn’t pay you once a month) You’ll need to budget money for food and miscellaneous things, which over time you’ll get good at keeping these consistent and knowing typically how much they’ll be. In the beginning you might want to set aside cash into another account to make sure you can cover them until you get into the routine.
Now: You’ve automatically saved money in your RRSP and long and short term savings, you have your bills paid for the month and money for food. You’ll be surprised now how much money is still in your checking account. This is your guilt-free money. Go shopping for a new pair of shoes, go out with the guys for a drink, buy that new ipod, whatever you do with it enjoy the fact that you can do it guilt-free.
A few things to note: If you have a convenience/credit card that gets you points or cash back, etc. You should use this for your purchases such as your fixed bills, food, and guilt-free purchases. If you don’t have the discipline to stop here, perhaps you either shouldn’t be using it or lower your limit. Also, try your best to cap your RRSP contributions each year for maximum benefit. Lastly, there are huge benefits to investing beyond your guaranteed personal savings accounts and RRSP. If you’re looking to diversify your investments, be sure to do some research and understand investing before jumping in. Also, be sure to invest with money that’s okay to lose.
Well it was a long battle – 6 years to be exact – but I have just finished writing the last exam of my undergrad. I couldn’t have asked for a better exam to end it with – or a better day for that matter considering it was warmer today than it has been all Spring. I will be graduating on May 26 with my BComm with majors in Marketing Management and Marketing Logistics.
So what’s next you ask?
I am spending the summer in Halifax before moving to London, Ontario and working with [insert any company name that wants to hire me in London (email me if you're reading this, potential employer)]. Now that I am entering the “real world” I will also be developing some ideas that have been in the works for far too long. Exciting times are definitely ahead.
Naturally, I’ll be roaming the world of the internet more now that I’m not stuck studying, so expect some more blogging, a new design, and much more interesting content.
On Friday, it finally happened. I was directly affected by the loosening economy. It skewed my well crafted vision for next year and I’m pretty sure a few more grey hairs popped out. I was stressed. For a day.
I’m young and finishing University. I don’t have a debt (other than that life-long, trip-a-year debt to my parents to pay them back). My money (what money?) isn’t tied up in the volatile market. I don’t have dependents that are tying me to a certain location or time.
Essentially the only influences on me are the positive ones I love and choose to be there.
So with resume in hand and opportunity in mind I wrap up my final term at Dal and get ready for next year. To all other students out there in the same situation: Don’t listen to the media. Don’t sweat the economy, it’s an opportunity for you.
Starbucks addict. Business owner. Marathon Trainee. Challenging the status quo while helping others live the best life possible. Read more.
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