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People are looking to earn extra income to sustain their lifestyle. Getting a good job has become extremely difficult. Finding a job that pays well and is of your choice has become impossible. Hectic lifestyle does not attract conventional 9-5 jobs anymore. Nobody wants to opt for a regular office routine. Instead, everyone wants to work according to their desired pace. In this situation, home based jobs have become the preferred alternative.

You can opt for home based jobs as well. This is perhaps the right way to earn extra income as the options are many. You will definitely find something that meets your expectations. This is all because the cyberspace offers huge opportunities to earn online. There are several offers for every kind of person – teenagers, adults and college students. In fact, the options are so many that you might get overwhelmed.

The 4 popular jobs that can fetch you plenty of money is enumerated below:

Online Data Entry Jobs

You may be surprised to learn one new tendency among companies. They look for motivated individuals who can do all data entry work for them. The work involved is easy and simple. You will be provided few empty forms and these have to be filled in. The pay you receive will depend on the quantity of forms you can complete on any given month, week or day. These jobs give you greater flexibility as well. For example, you can decide the number of forms you can handle.

Participating In Forum Discussion

This job is ideal for people who posses great communication skills. The nature of the job requires you to communicate effectively with the community members. Taking part in discussions on a specific topic is an integral part of the program. You too can take part in the discussions simply by getting a membership. There are several websites that offer this kind of membership. Once you have the membership, start posting your comments.

Freelance Writing Work

If you like playing with words, this is the perfect work for you. Websites are regularly required to put fresh content so that they can grab best ranking. They accomplish this objective by putting fresh content in the internet. The content is written mostly by content writers. There are several websites like E-Lance and Freelancers who post such freelancing jobs. Just go through the job details and enquire. Once you take one such job, sure you are able to keep your commitments. Not meeting the deadlines can land you in troubled waters!

Affiliate Marketing

This is selling like hot cakes these days. It is not surprising to see why it has become the most sought-after when it comes to a home based job. Here you can earn extra income easily as the process is very simple. You just have to sell products manufactured or owned by others. Thus, you are not required to invest as well. All that you need is great marketing and communication skills. There are several online companies that offer such programs. Just sign up with any of these and start earning loads of money!

Coming out with the right offer at the right time and in the right place–cleverly supported by an exciting gift or a coupon or a free service–is the Number 1 Rule in marketing now.
Today, your clients, by and large, are busy surfing: using the different social media platforms, keeping themselves updated on news sites & blogs, and surfing when they have a special need.
Thanks to Digital Marketing, you find yourself in those channels, so that your would-be customers may find you, find out more about you, and even throw questions to figure out not only more about you, but also about the products or services you could be offering.
No wonder, right from optimizing content to personalizing offers to administering contacts at different channels, firms of all kinds are harnessing the exclusive reach of Digital Marketing, to make the customer experience better, and multiply the sales.
You also must join the Digital Marketing bandwagon, if you haven’t already done so.
What’s Digital Marketing?
As you can figure out, it’s the creative and path-breaking marketing of products or services, harnessing digital technologies.
It employs different channels and technologies that enable a firm or company to examine campaigns, content and strategy, to decode what’s leading to results and what’s not.
Though Digital Marketing drives mostly hinge on the Internet, you can’t leave mobile phones, display advertising, and any other digital platform–via text messaging, podcasts, electronic billboards, digital television and radio channels, etc.
Online and offline are the 2 main kinds of Digital Marketing. While the latter involves stuffs–such as radio and television–the former has 6 major categories:
1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO): The search engine biggie, Google, is focusing on user experience. By figuring-out the way search engines rank websites, you may optimize a website, to exploit its chances of ranking decently for the related searches. In case you come out with a robust site architecture, and offer clear navigation, search engines will index your pages rapidly, and with ease. It will also proffer you with a good experience of using your website pages and inspire many visits. But since search engine algorithms are constantly changing, stay up-to-date with the best practices, to rank high for the appropriate keywords.
2. Search Engine Marketing (SEM) & Pay-per-click advertising (PPC): Characteristically, SEM and PPC advertising is done via search engines, which charge a prearranged money from you every time someone clicks your ad. While the search engines make good money through this model, you, as the site owner, too, gain as you get a chance to accurately target your would-be clients.
3. Content Marketing: It involves interacting with your clients minus any hard selling. Use Content Marketing strategies to educate your prospects while you share consistent, treasured details to win their loyalty.
4. Social Media Marketing (SMM): A SMM strategy guides your actions and informs you if you’re succeeding or not. Each and every post, reply, like, and comment should serve a special goal. Use exciting mode to realize your business aims, if we talk about building brand equity, making customer service better, netting new clients, and getting response from the existing ones. In case you generate social media content that gives value to others, you will connect with your clients in a better manner.
5. Affiliate Marketing: It’s the comparatively new procedure of pocketing a commission, via promoting other people’s (or firm’s) products. This is the procedure of spreading product creation and product marketing across different parties, where each party gets a share of the revenue on the basis of their contribution.
6. E-mail Marketing: Since too long it has helped businesses generate sales, via the internet. It provides direct contact with your clients and allows you to visit your website. It helps if your e-mails show your brand’s general character. Find the right balance of the types of e-mail marketing for your organization, for maximum traction.

Mention digital marketing and you are constantly reminded of the changes that happen every day in this industry. We have crossed six months into 2021, and in this Covid-19 crisis, digital marketers are on the constant lookout for new strategies, tactics to gain customers for their customer’s products and services. As per industry experts, 2021 is the year when the industry removes the dead dud marketing strategies and embraces new technologies to approach customers and boost sales. This article on “Future of Digital Marketing?” throws more light on the concepts.

Digital Marketing in the Future

A. Shoppable Posts

The Covid-19 pandemic has brought the never-before problems of social distancing and lockdowns in many parts of the globe. With customers on the lookout of easier ways to shop, digital marketers thought of the brilliant concept of Shoppable posts. So, when a customer browses a social media platform, he/she comes across a shoppable post (product/service) with the link given in the bio. The customer finds it easy to tap and buy the product or opt for the service. For example: the Clothing brand, Anthropologie uses the same technique to attract customers. Many brands are soon to follow the cue and shoppable posts will become the future of digital marketing strategies to boost marketing campaigns.

B. Programmatic Advertising

The marketing team finds it difficult to place advertisements on all channels that give valuable information regarding products/services frequented by the target audience. Programmatic advertising solves this challenge as it offers customers personalized advertisements on their favourite channels at specific places based on their interests/behaviour. Companies that make use of programmatic advertising are – Expedia (tourism), BuildDirect (Home Improvement) and AirAsia (airlines). Programmatic advertising can be called the future of Digital Marketing, as it focuses on the Share of Attention of customers and can make way for the best advertising campaign. Yes, did we forget to inform you that it gives the best ROI?

C. Interactive Content

Digital Marketing experts are always on their toes to retain the loyal customers of their company, by various methods. The idea is to make customers not only shop but also interact via polls, online quizzes, signing for gift vouchers, and more. Yes, digital marketers will face a hard time creating content not only in words but also in web design. The website as well the social media posts should not only interest the target audience but also outsmart the competition. They also have to take care that the content matches the brand and objective of their organization.

D. Voice Search

There was a time when customers who opted for purchases on E-Commerce websites were above 25 years of age. Cut to the present, even children and teenagers have become regular customers of online shopping offers. And, they purchase a product or opt for service via the Voice Search method. With IoT-enabled apartments becoming famous with households, content managers along with the digital marketing team have their hands full in making the website/product content optimized for voice-friendly requests by digital assistants for the future. They need to focus on long-tail keywords, and also need to have deep knowledge of the target audience.

E. Influencer Marketing

The concept of Influencer Marketing is not new, as movie stars endorsed products/services in radio and television since the 1940s. However, the name “influencer marketing” stands apart. An individual with a huge following in social media platforms (for example, Instagram) is approached by brands to market products. But there are challenges, as the general public has become aware of the multinational corporations signing these influencers for large pay checks. So, there is corporate distrust, and the target audience makes a decision based on the influencer’s credibility. This concept will stay grounded and will play a vital role in the digital marketing field.

Conclusion

True, there are other technologies that play a prominent role in digital marketing such as Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, Artificial Intelligence, Chatbots and more, but we have focused on only the other four in this article. Digital marketers in the years to come will have to successfully include the emerging technologies in their strategies. This is to not only reach the target audience with precision, but also outsmart the competitors.

As far as reputation is concerned, not all digital marketing agencies are on the same level. As a matter of fact, if you don’t hire a reputable agency, you may not be able to achieve your desired results. Digital marketing is of paramount importance for your online presence. Therefore, we suggest that you look for a trustworthy agency to cover your needs. Read on to find out more.

1. Great People

Every reputable agency has a great team of professionals. They have experts in several fields, such as sales, analytics, social media, copywriting, pay-per-click, search Engine Optimization, programming, and web design, just to name a few.

2. Good Communication

Open communication is quite important for a healthy partnership. A good service provider always keeps in touch with their clients in order to discuss the details of work. Therefore, we suggest that you hire a provider that offers great communication.

3. Flexibility

The world of digital marketing has been changing with the passage of time. Therefore, we suggest that you partner with an agency that stays tuned to the latest trends. In other words, make sure that the service provider is familiar with the latest technology. This way the marketing agency will be able to protect and respond to the changes.

4. Creativity

Good digital marketing agencies always welcome fresh and original ideas. Therefore, you need to work with a partner that believes in setting trends, not just following the existing trends. In other words, the service provider must be innovative when it comes to social media campaigns, search Engine Optimisation, and web design.

5. Ability to Execute

Although it is the element of creativity that helps a service provider stand out, we cannot deny the importance of the ability of executing those ideas. Therefore, it is important that you ask the agency how much time they require to deliver on their promises.

6. Problem-Solving Skills

Without any doubt, problems may surface from time to time. But if the service provider is solution-oriented, handling these problems will be easier for them. In other words, they can quickly identify potential problems and find solutions.

7. Analytics Tools

A good digital marketing agency carries out competitive analysis and keyword research. Therefore, they know how to use Google Analytics data in order to identify areas that require improvement. Apart from this, they make sure that the client knows what these strategies will do to their business.

8. Measurable Results

Every digital marketing agency does everything to achieve the desired results. Before you partner with an agency, make sure you consider testimonials and case studies to find out how they help their clients achieve success.

9. Online Presence

Make sure that the website of the digital marketing agency is regularly updated. The company has to have a good ranking in search results. After all, you cannot hire an agency for managing your Facebook page if their Facebook page does not exist.

10 Effective List Structure Techniques

The lifeline of any online Internet marketer is their checklist. After that, if you appropriately utilize your checklist

If you have an opt-in e-mail listing after that, you are resting on heaps, and gaining capability is high of cash.
As many individuals ask, “How do I develop a listing?” the adhering to factors defines a few of the very best meanings of creating your e-mail listing.

1) Newsletter/ E-zine

We remain in the Information Age. For that reason, people are determined for details. Everybody is so busy with their lives they do not have time to discover the information on their own. Release an e-newsletter in your particular detailed niche with great deals of restorative material, and you will certainly obtain it.

People are collecting for you to sign up.

2) E-Courses.
Individuals are starving for details, so a free e-course will certainly motivate people to the component with their e-mail address. Create a minimum of a 7 component program offered every couple of days right into their inbox. Then, naturally, the e-course additionally inconspicuously supplies your item!

3) Articles.
Create short articles and also spread them to publish directory sites. Include your e-newsletter subscription in the source box. Also, if you have used fantastic high-quality material, you will undoubtedly obtain the site visitors who will sign up to learn more.

4) Free Books.
A free electronic book is a superb method to construct your checklist. However, it does not require an outstanding tome, simply crucial information for which people will undoubtedly trade their e-mail address. You can make up one on your own or obtain one composed for you. Make sure, though, that it is information that your site visitors will certainly intend to have, and also guarantee you have contained web links
to your items and websites in the guide. You can also consist of associate web links to much more.

5) Free Membership Site.
Establishing a cost-free registration site is a superb technique to obtain people’s e-mail addresses. Deal beneficial material at no cost, however, to sign up participants. In addition, you can upsell them various other items or various other degrees of subscription with even more products and even more sources conveniently offered to them.

6) Squeeze Page.
A capture web page is a pre-sales letter web page where you catch an individual’s e-mail address before they carry on to see your sales letter. It is supposedly actually practical as well as you can personalize the sales letter with their name or various other information from the capture web page.

7) Pop Up.
Show up home windows, various and incredibly unique home windows, can be very reliable in motivating individuals to sign up for your e-newsletter. These can either turn up as the site visitor enters your site or when they leave, advising them to enroll in even more info.

Viral Marketing.
Viral Advertising and marketing are where you distribute something of value that people want to pass to all their pals. It could be a video clip, a publication, a video game, or anything equivalent. Whatever it is, it has your internet address in it so individuals can come and authorize as much as your e-newsletter and obtain extra details.

9) Free Giveaways.
A favored brand-new approach of the listing structure is the considerable Internet gifts where great deals of people send out products that are readily available for free for an e-newsletter register.
These are superb means to create your listing, but understand that gift rapidly prospects might not create one of the most receptive checklists.

10) Sign up incentives.
Deal your site visitors a bonus offer if they sign up for your e-newsletter, e.g., “20% off XYZ for visitors” or a variety of electronic books or records that will certainly be of rate of interest to them.

Using these ten standard methods, you can create your checklist and capitalize on their gaining power afterward.

Release an e-newsletter in your specific niche that is a total of substantial material, and also you will certainly obtain people collecting to you to register.

Individuals are starving for information, so an entirely cost-free e-course will undoubtedly convince individuals to get rid of their e-mail addresses. In addition, a free-of-charge electronic book is a phenomenal technique to construct your checklist.

Creating a free registration internet site is an excellent method to obtain individuals’ e-mail addresses. Whatever it is, it has your internet address in it to authorize and come up to your e-newsletter and get even more information.

Our businesses also differ in terms of interface with clients. If you do “business to business” transactions, the number of people you interact with on a daily basis may differ from someone whose business relies on interacting with consumers. Appointments may be more practical in some instances than others. You have to tailor-make how you manage access to your particular situation if you are to eliminate distractions. Having said that it is important to note that some people do not mind spending the whole day at the office entertaining friends, visitors, and casual acquaintances dropping into the office whenever they feel like it. Do not be that kind of person. It sets the wrong kind of example to junior staff and can harm one’s productivity because these people take up time that you do not have and besides you want to cultivate a professional environment.

The demands of the day are enough to fill the eight working hours available unless if you tend to stay back and play catch up. How do you stay competitive in the market if there is no separation between work and play? Anybody serious about success and achieving effective results will put boundaries that are clear so that there is no confusion. Entrepreneurs are more susceptible to this especially when the workplace is easily accessible. The fact that you are your own boss even puts more responsibility on you to maintain self-discipline and self – management. I have written a whole book called, “Achieve More through Self – Leadership. In it I walk you through the practicalities of how you can get better results through managing self.

Appointments are an important way of not only managing time but managing life. They help you become more structured and productive. Some people seem not to be able to honour their appointments. I once attended a job interview that was supposed to start at 10:30am. By 11:30am there had been no communication about what was happening or when the supposed job interview was going to take place. I decided at the point that this company was probably not good enough for me to join because if you don’t respect people’s time you probably do not respect them.

You may be saying appointments are just not for me yet you never rock up at the doctor, dentist, lawyer or hairstylist without an appointment. Why is that the case? Because you simply won’t see the dentist without an appointment. They have given you conditions acceptable to them. We tell the world around us how to treat us by what we allow.

Some people are always available when you want to see them. If you are always free to see people at short notice, you are probably not that organized. The one who owns a diary will manage the one who doesn’t own one. Why? Because the one without the diary is always available, even though he is very likely to forget important meetings, dates and engagements because of a lack of organization. I used to have a boss who kept a diary and whatever you promised to do in the line of work, he would write down, including the day and time you said he would have it by. You would of-course forget because you didn’t record it like he did and when the time to deliver comes, guess who would be found wanting. It was then that I decided that I do not commit to an action that I am not willing to write down because, what’s written gets done!

You may be saying, “what if my business feeds off the “walk-ins? The fact that your business relies on walk – in customers should not be an excuse for disorder. Sometimes those who drop in unannounced may indeed be potential customers, suppliers, cold-calling salespeople, and even worthwhile business contacts. There is nothing wrong if the call is beneficial to you and your business but I believe there must be a structure and way of doing things that follows certain pre-set principles. I remember seeing a poster in an office that said “if you don’t have anything to do please don’t do it here”. It’s humorous yes, but true. Appointments help to structure your day and helps you allocate time to what’s important. This means you can focus on your most important asset: the paying customer. There is nothing as bad as walking into a place wanting to do business and staff are inattentive because there is just a demand on their time. I am more understanding if the personnel are not busy entertaining social visits at work.

In conclusion, you know your business situation better than any of us. All we can do is make recommendations that will enable efficiency that leads to growth. Some of you may actually need a personal assistant who will put order in your office and focus on the things you are not willing to do that will enable to focus on the highly value things you ought to do such as running a business.

Do you think successful people are just plain lucky?

Successful people did not become successful because they were lucky.

They did not achieve success by accident. Being at the right place at the right time, meeting relevant people, reading the appropriate book, did not come about accidentally or by luck.

Luck is brought about by Labour Under Correct Knowledge.

Successful people prepared themselves. Instead of giving up on anything they started and wanted to achieve they got stronger by learning more.

Success is a methodical, orderly and deliberate process of deciding what you want to do with your life, what are the steps that you need to undertake to get you there, and lastly what you will do once you get there.

One of the most important aspects, if not the most important aspect to success, is the ability to visualise your successful outcome and stay focused on it until you achieve it.

“Imagination is more important than knowledge, knowledge is limited.” – Albert Einstein

Successful people understood the potential power behind knowledge, yet they also understood that, for them to close the gap between where they are and where they wanted to be, they would have to piece together the enigma that is most often referred to as “life”.

They had to build a picture, a vision, of success in their mind, and then go about taking action on creating that envisioned life.

In much the same way, you have to be serious about your present and future, you need to have the knowledge that is required so you, too, may close the gap: you need to be and remain determined to devote yourself to taking massive action to build your business of succeeding in life.

You, too, will need to see the end, your dream and destiny that you desire in your mind’s eye. It is up to you to take the necessary and relevant action to make it all happen. It’s just like going to the doctor with a particular health problem.

The doctor may prescribe a medication for you to take four times a day, yet he cannot be there with you to ensure that you are taking the medication.

It comes back to deciding to be responsible for your life.

Have you noticed how it all stems from that one attitude? Being responsible for your own life.

Your success, your being responsible 100% for you to live your dream life starts here.

When you accept 100% responsibility for yourself and your current life situation, you will have the power to move towards those things you truly desire in life: which is success in all areas of your life.

This life-changing article is about possibilities and opportunities, knowledge and tools. It will help expose your unique course in life.

It will inspire, support and motivate you to excel, to do what successful people do, to have all that successful people have, and to become a shining example of a successful person.

Here, you’re not being told what you couldn’t do, instead you are being told to shoot for the stars. And above all, you are being shown how to shoot for those stars.

“A person is what he thinks about all day long.” – Emerson

Interesting thought, wouldn’t you think? So much so, it’s worth repeating: “A person is what he thinks about all day long.”

Success and happiness cannot happen if you possess the same old thoughts and beliefs.

If you do not change your mind, if you do not get rid of the unsupportive thoughts and beliefs, you will inevitably remain stuck in your old ways. Not much, if anything, will change.

Let’s give you a quick overview on how change comes about:

Your BEHAVIOUR, how you act (or perhaps do not act), controls your success or failure. Your ability to attain high levels of success is dependent upon your actions and behaviours. Your results are the outcome of your behaviour. Now let’s consider where your behaviours come from and what controls them?

Your FEELINGS command your behaviour. Every action that you take is first filtered through your feelings that reside in your subconscious mind. How you feel about something determines what you do and how well you do it. So where do your feelings come from?

Your ATTITUDES create and influence your feelings. Your attitude is your perspective from which you view life. Whatever attitude you have about anything will affect how you feel, which, in turn, affects how you act. Where do your attitudes come from?

Your BELIEFS create, control and influence your attitudes. What you believe about anything will determine your attitude about it, which will create your feelings, and then which will direct your behaviour and action. Belief patterns are so powerful that two people who are in the same situation could perceive things completely differently. It only requires us to believe what we see and how we see it. We all have thousands of beliefs – big and small. And where do your beliefs come from?

Your THOUGHTS create, control and influence your beliefs. Your thoughts are real and are immensely powerful. Everything you accept from the outside world and everything you feed yourself from within is a product of your thoughts. Everything starts as a thought.

So, it goes without saying you need to learn to control your thoughts. And when you do, you will automatically control your beliefs, your attitudes, your feelings and, consequently, your behaviour and actions.

The big secret to success:

Learn to control your thoughts and you will influence your behaviours and actions. It’s all a mind-set. That’s what we’ve been saying all along.

Success is predictable and is not achieved by accident.

Have the mind-set of the successful people and you will achieve success. Believe and it is yours!

“There is a great future in front of you, you can leave your past behind.” – Joel Osteen

Science of success experts have concluded that the brain is a goal-setting organism.

That is fantastic news for us: for whatever goal we give to our subconscious mind, it will work for us day and night, 24/7, to achieve it for us; to make it a reality.

The principal breakthrough that scientists made was that we do not need to waste our precious time and effort trying to change old thoughts and behaviours: we just simply create new ones.

And the other discovery they made was that we can continue to create new thoughts, new memories, new behaviours, new skills, and learn new things for as long as we are alive on this earth.

Now, with the new discoveries in recent years, it has been scientifically proven that our capacity to achieve and succeed literally has no limits.

Our brain has the capacity to continually learn during our entire lifetime.

Our brain can form new thoughts, can have new memories, and can learn new things by the millions, no matter what your age is. By the millions.

That’s how many new things we can learn, that’s how many new skills we can learn, that’s how many new thoughts we can have, that’s how many new behaviours we can adopt.

This is encouraging because there is no limit on your capacity to achieve new things.

No limits whatsoever for the human brain to learn, memorise, develop, achieve and perform at higher levels than ever imagined. It makes no difference what your age is: you are capable of learning anything new that you want to learn.

That adds to what we spoke of earlier: no more excuses.

“The future belongs to those who prepare for it today.” – Malcolm X

Your brain has the capacity to achieve way beyond what was ever thought possible. So now is the time to break out of your limited thinking and start dreaming big and imagining unlimited possibilities.

Becoming successful is not impossible.

It is a choice you make through a decision. Every day, step-by-step, you may climb the mountain of success if you’ve decided to do so, if you’re committed to accomplish what the others think impossible.

Design your future now.

Prepare to receive what you desire.

Thanks to the phenomenal advances made in cognitive science and the development of NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming), personal change, personal transformation, has come a very long way.

In fact, personal growth is no longer a mystery.

NLP has brought to light that change, transformation and growth can be fast, reliable, and even fun. It has shown us that we do not need to spend thousands of hours slaving away to increase our creative-thinking abilities.

By practicing a few simple exercises and applications, you can start your creative juices flowing, and you may even amaze yourself at the quality and quantity of good ideas that you can come up with to expedite your success.

It can allow you to achieve something you seek within days and months as opposed to years and decades. That’s the power of the progress science has made on how the brain works, and also how you can have your mind to be your best ally in achieving anything you want.

Learn to live as you like by no longer living as you dislike.

Are you ready to get on the road to success and fulfilment?

Bear in mind, much like everything else in life, success requires practice and massive, consistent action.

“Success doesn’t mean the absence of failures; it means the attainment of ultimate objectives. It means winning the war, not every battle.” – Edwin C Bliss

Do you feel as if you’ve outgrown your circle of friends? Perhaps you do not feel safe or understood any longer. There may be fewer and fewer things you can share with people in your habitual circle, and it leaves you feeling lonely or isolated. If so, you are not alone. Welcome to one of the core dynamics of continuous growth!

As we continue to evolve, many of us struggle with a sense of not quite fitting in with our traditional community or tribe: we may have expanded or changed beyond the borders of tribal norms, and no longer find the same sense of belonging there. Other members may have tightened the tribal rules to foster a sense of security. As a result, we may feel a sense of disconnection or alienation.

In truth, each one of us belongs to many tribes simultaneously: there is your original tribe – the family you were born into – and then there are all the communities of choice you have joined: your work tribe, your social circles, your faith-based community, your neighborhood, and more. These communities are not static; they are in continuous flux because they consist of individuals who are in continuous states of change. When there is a lot of change happening in either the individual or the community, a sense of dissonance results.

How are we to deal with this? First, it is important to recognize that tribal allegiances were historically forged for survival. They were adapted over the course of centuries to ensure the safety and survival of the group. Survival required that individuation be sacrificed for the trade-off of security.

In modern society, the tables are flipped. Whether we enjoy it or not, change is essential for survival at every level of being. The pace of change is driven by technological advances and happens with increasing rapidity: sociologists estimate that more change has taken place in society over the course of the past 100 years, than in the totality of the previous 6,000 years. Individual adaptation now is a requirement for survival, and the pace of individual change does not always match the pace at which our various tribal communities evolve. The resulting dissonance can cause intense friction and pain.

Dissonance also results from confusion between the concepts of ‘connection’ and ‘community.’ We tend to equate one with the other, when they really relate to different qualities. Connection relates to connectivity: the objective physical technology or media that enables us to build community, but which does not represent the quality of that community. Connectivity simply offers the opportunity to connect with others through internet, texting, phone calls, or any other social networking options.

Community is the result of building relationship through meaningful interaction over time. There is no shortcut; it is a process that develops when bonds of trust and intimacy are nurtured and honored.

And here lies a caveat: When we confuse connectivity with community, we depersonalize the sacred nature of true community and start relating to people as objects. Instead of developing intimacy over time, we collect friends on social network sites or try to buy people’s allegiance. Yet friending is simply an act of connecting; it does not create intimacy.

In fact, social experiments indicate that technologically dominated connectivity results in alienation and social collapse over time. In a groundbreaking social experiment conducted by Josh Harris, one of the founders of social networking on the internet, he found that the more people’s private lives were exposed by 24/7 technology, the more their sense of intimacy and relationship deteriorated until the community collapsed in violence and self-destructive behavior.

It is time to revisit our concepts of community so we can create tribes that offer a true sense of intimacy and belonging.

In his 1987 book, The Different Drum: Community Making and Peace, psychologist M. Scott Peck described several core characteristics of true community. Beyond the obvious components of inclusivity, commitment and participatory consensus, Peck pointed out the quality of embracing diversity through realism. When each member contributes their unique viewpoint from a place of humility and goodwill, the community benefits from a broader perspective in which to better grasp the full context of a situation. In other words, mutual tolerance helps members to embrace one another’s different viewpoints as an integral part of the whole, instead of imposing a forced compliance to groupthink or cohesion.

In an environment like this, members experience and express compassion and respect for one another. They allow others to share their vulnerability, to learn and grow, and to express who they truly are. When conflict arises, they learn to resolve it with wisdom and grace. Members listen to and respect each others’ gifts, accept each others’ limitations, celebrate their differences, and commit to find solutions together rather than to fight against each other. Indeed, the true spirit of community is the spirit of peace, love, wisdom and power. The source of this spirit may be seen as an outgrowth of the collective self or as the manifestation of a Higher Will.

Does this description of community sound spiritual to you? It is indeed, because Spirit is the common denominator among all of us, regardless of how separate we feel from others.

As human beings, we often experience a socio-economic sense of separation from others because of different opinions, beliefs, expectations, language, culture, or interests, since each one of us expresses these in a way uniquely different from anyone else. And still, we continue to differentiate! In this ongoing process, we continue to evolve or devolve in response to life. A community that felt like a good fit last year may no longer work today; the places where we felt embraced, now may suffocate us. Over the course of a lifetime, we can expect to outgrow and change allegiances to many of the tribal communities we once belonged to.

And yet, when we transcend the layers of physical appearance, mental beliefs and socio-economic conditioning, we find in the presence of Spirit a common denominator in everyone around us. Perhaps it is time to expand our tribal definitions to embrace a spiritual community that includes all of mankind as children of God.

Mother Teresa admonished her nuns to see Jesus in every leper they encountered, to find His presence as they looked into the eyes of the homeless. When we can look past the issues that divide us to find omnipresent Divinity in each other, we will uncover the foundations of true community.

Spiritual community transcends all socio-economic borders, beliefs and backgrounds. It is inclusive because it operates on voluntary self-responsibility and mutual compassion, and its doors are open to everyone.

Building this type of community takes time: time to listen, to hear, to respond and to participate. Take a few moments to read the description of spiritual community again. Then, make time in your life to foster that type of connection with people who matter to you. You are one of the architects of community in your life, and you can participate in building a tribe where you belong.

What would happen to you if your home life was more organized than it is right now? Can work-life balance be achieved? What are the tools at our disposal? Could scheduling appointments and keeping them at home help us save time and prioritize?

What is the challenge we face? I sometimes find that time spent at home can be the busiest time, especially in the times we live in. Imagine someone working from home, home-schooling children, and sometimes even doing a side hustle. Imagine also the full-time home-based entrepreneur. How do they manage to do all they need to do in a day?. We are living in a time when many entrepreneurs and even company employees have adopted work- at – home culture. This comes with its challenges as the lines become blurred between home and work. These blurred lines and constraints on the limited resource called time result in over-worked, under-rested, burnt-out individuals. Whilst good time management has been encouraged and indeed, embraced in the workplace, I believe more needs to be done in changing the mindset for the elusive work-life balance to be achieved.

What are the tools at our disposal? To manage time effectively at home, there are many interventions one can employ including setting goals for the day, prioritizing wisely, setting a time limit for every task, organizing oneself, and instituting the discipline of appointments. Yes, an appointment at home! We can spend time pontificating on the pros and cons of each intervention, however, I believe we need to focus on appointments and see how this can powerfully change the course of one’s day regardless of whether it’s a workday or weekend. Life is busy as it is without any intrusions. The question is how do you handle the one who announces that they are at the gate. These can be friends, neighbors, a salesman of some product you do not even need. I am not promoting regimentation here but rather a culture of filling your day with what’s important. Everything that we succeed at is because we carefully plan and execute it. I am a firm believer that you cannot manage time if you do not manage yourself thus I implore you to incorporate planning and appointments into your repertoire. I am not talking about something I do not do. I have to achieve many things in a day therefore I set appointments with my work, others, and myself.

Could scheduling appointments and keeping them on the home front help us save time and prioritize? Whereas we have established that it is a normal business practice to set appointments and keep them, we need to abandon the liberal open-door policy of allowing all and sundry to have access to us as and when they please on the home front. Please understand where I am coming from. We each have greatness within us but for us to achieve it we need to culture great habits. Employing the use of appointments at home and seeing only those people you had agreed to see removes non-essential encounters especially during the most productive hours. I know this will vary with culture, geographical region, or even level of affluence, whether you live in a low density or high-density residential area, but doesn’t negate the need to be organized and effective. Controlling access determines how organized you are and how well you will work and rest when the time for scheduled rest comes.

What do we need to do differently? We need to be disciplined and diligent, learn to say no, now is not a good time, let’s make an appointment for next week. What are the benefits of this approach? You are not always fire-fighting to meet deadlines, You are not always tired because you have not taken time out to rest. You have set aside enough time to spend with your loved ones or a loved one. If you are a busy person, I am sure you appreciate what I am saying. Whether it’s time to work uninterrupted, family time, or “me-time”, it takes some kind of order to enjoy it.

I am not saying that those that come unannounced are bad people. No, not at all, they probably are people you enjoy spending time with. Nevertheless, there must be prior communication so that you can attend to your visitor(s) when it is convenient for both you and them. It can be quite disrupting and a whole day can just pass by without achieving anything that you had planned to do.

As we grow older we begin to appreciate that rest and recovery need to be scheduled. The fact that I am relaxing doesn’t mean that I don’t have anything to do. One therefore cannot assume that just because you are at home you are available. Maybe you have scheduled that time to rest. That is important. You need to make an appointment with yourself, spouses need to also set aside time for each other. Parents need to schedule a time to spend with their children. When you have some sort of order in your life you determine who sees you and who you see. It also means that your relationships will be healthy and that makes you a happier person.

In conclusion, I believe that the work-life balance can be achieved. There are many tools at our disposal just like it is in the workplace.I believe we could do more and be happier if we are disciplined enough to make only the commitments we can keep.I am certain that setting appointments and keeping them at home help us save time and prioritize.