Saturday, October 31, 2015

APP / TRAVEL SPECIAL... Convenient apps for compulsive travellers


 Convenient apps for
compulsive travellers


Nine services to help you work, efficiently and without delay,
from anywhere in the world

Imagine this: you are travelling around the world, staying a month at a time
in new and exciting cities, all without watching your bank account dwindle
down to nothing. That dream might have seemed too good to be true a few
years ago, but with the growing popularity of worki ng remotely and
advances in budget travel options, it's never been easier.
With a certain set of apps and services, and a little imagination, more and
more people are finding ways to live out their travelling fantasies without
breaking the bank. These nine apps can help you work while on a beach
and connect you with locals who will show you around the city.

Remote jobs anywhere in the world
Remote OK is a daily aggregator of remote jobs that is useful for those in
the tech industry. You can find jobs in web development, design and
sometimes, a few nontech jobs. Remote OK can be a goldmine for a
techie looking to see the world while staying afloat financially.
Price: Free (web)

Affordable housing -even up in the trees
Airbnb has become an international phenomenon and is swiftly replacing
hotels for many travellers. The company has 6,00,000 listings in over
34,000 cities and is often more affordable than hotels of similar quality
-though without the room service.Depending on your luck, your host
might also be willing to share tips like the best places to get public WiFi.
And you can even stay in creative abodes like a treehouse.
Price: Free (iOS, Android, web)

Free public WiFi
When you are working in unfamiliar territory, it's always good to have a list
of available public WiFi spots. WiFi Finder is an app to do just that.
If you are curious about which cities around the world have the best
WiFi, New York, Tel Aviv and Taipei top the list.
Price Free (iOS, Android)

Changing your foreign currency
If you are earning a living while travelling, you are going to need a reliable
app for converting currency.Currency Converter not only shows the `buy'
and `sell' prices, but also factors in the typical ATM or credit card
premium you'll have to pay on conversion.
Price Free (iOS, Android)

The best tool for booking hostels
Hostelworld is the best app for booking hostels or lowcost hotels.
If you like the communal vibe of living with other travellers, this app
will help you find the best places. Hostel workers are also often
decided-to stay-travellers themselves, and can offer a wealth of
information about temporary jobs in the area.
Price Free (iOS, Android, web)

Deciphering a foreign language
Google's translation app is the best free option currently available for
figuring out what the heck someone is saying in a foreign country.
Now you can simply point your smartphone camera at things like signs,
 in foreign languages, and Google will morph the text into your own
language.
Price Free (iOS, Android)

Make new friends in a foreign city
`Party with a Local' connects travellers to locals and expats nearby who
want to, well, party. You can even check their profiles and reviews.
This app makes it easy to know which random strangers around you
are actually open to grabbing a drink and showing you around for the
evening.
Price Free (iOS, Android)

Explore which cities are the best for expats
Nomad List tells you where the cheapest places are to live and work as
a digital nomad. You can filter the options by factors like WiFi access,
safety and weather.And Nomad List easily tells you the cost of living
in each place. Expat havens in Thailand like Chiang Mai, Bangkok and
Phuket, rank high on the list.
Price Free (web)

Tracking down the best local cuisine
Foodspotting is essentially an Instagram service that lets users share
delectable restaurant dishes they've sampled along with details of
where you ate them.Naturally, the app is a good barometer of what is
the best food that is being served at any location.
Price Free (iOS, Android) .
businessinsider.in

ETP21OCT15

GADGET GIZMO REVIEW Samsung Tab S2

GADGET GIZMO REVIEW
 Samsung Tab S2


Samsung revamped it's tablet range with the Tablet S last year and now
they have launched its successor -the Tab S2. The Tab S2 is the world's
slimmest tablet at an impressive 5.6mm uniform thickness.
Weighing just 392 grams, the Tab S2 is also one of the lightest Android
tablets with a 9.7-inch display. The weight has been kept down at the
cost of materials used.While the sides are metal, the overall body is
plastic. However, the matte finish and the champhered edges give it
a high-end premium feel.
Up front is the gorgeous 9.7inch super amoled display with a resolution
of 2560 x 1440 pixels. In our opinion this is the best display we have
seen on any tablet -viewing angles are great, colours really pop and the
brightness is excellent.Underneath the display is the home button that
incorporates a fingerprint sensor along with back and recent touch sensitive
buttons. The right side has a SIM slot, microSD slot, power button and
volume keys. On the bottom edge is the MHL port (you can connect to
a larger display like a TV or projector).Overall we feel the placement
of buttons is ergonomic and the slim and lightweight design makes it
great for travel.
Specifications include Samsung's own octa core Exynos processor with
3GB RAM and 32GB storage. Inspite of the slim design, Samsung has
managed to include a microSD slot for expansion which is impressive
-we wonder why couldn't they do the same for the S6, S6 Edge or
Note 5 too.Performance is superb as expected. Games such as
Real Racing 3, Need for Speed: No Limits as well as 4k videos ran
without any issues. What further impressed was the battery life -a
single charge lasted over 3 days with an hour of video watching
every day , half an hour of gaming, browsing, social media, two
email accounts and camera usage. In standby, the battery discharges
by 1012% a day -impressive.
As with most tablets, the camera is the weak point of the Tab S2 also.
The rear and front camera both suffer from visible noise. The image
quality is acceptable to share on social media though. Video recording
is done in 1440p resolution and is actually good enough to view on a
large screen TV . The speaker volume on the tablet is also average -volume
is good enough for personal listening only .
You get Android 5.0.2 on the tablet with Samsung's TouchWiz user
 interface. The TouchWiz is similar to one you find on the newer Galaxy
smartphones, i.e., there is less bloatware and it is fast and light.Samsung
did announce that the Tab S2 will receive the Android M update soon,
so you dont have to worry about being stuck on an older version of
Android.You also get 4G connectivity and voice calling support which
adds to the overall value of the Samsung Tab S2.
It's not often that a tablet impresses not just on its hardware but also
design, performa n c e a n d f e at u re s. T h e Samsung Tab S2 is
one such tablet. The only issue is that it is overpriced compared to
competition like the Lenovo Yoga tablets. Samsung needs to work
on their pricing to make the Tab S2 a success. If you are on the
lookout for a premium Android tablet and dont mind the price,
the Tab S2 is highly recommended.
karan bajaj
ET21OCT15 

PRODUCTIVITY SPECIAL ..................GET THINGS DONE


GET THINGS DONE


Handling multiple tasks a day, is not only daunting, but can also
affect your productivity and the way you manage your time.

THE 1-3-5 LIST
Entrepreneur Alexandra Cavoulacos --founder of the career guidance
site, Muse--believes that people have unrealistic expectations when
 it comes to what they can get done in a day . And, according to her,
 the secret to productivity is prioritizing tasks properly . Your daily
to-do list, she advises, should not exceed nine items. And these
nine items need to be divided: One big task, three medium tasks,
and five small tasks. The 1-3-5 List, if you will.
Fill this list every morning. If you are the type of worker whose daily
routine isn't set, then leave one medium task and two small tasks
empty ­ those will be filled in the course of the day .But otherwise,
at any given time, you will have a prioritized `to-do' list that tells you
what's important and what isn't, so you will be able to get things done.
Tools You Can Use...
 135 List for the Web: 135list.com Laterbox for the Web: laterbox.co

TIMEBOXING & POMODORO
Timeboxing is the idea of setting a specific amount of time for a task,
instead of continuing work till the job is complete. But, for that
specific time, you do nothing other than the intended task ­ no
answering calls, no checking e-mails, or anything else.
The most popular form of timeboxing is the Pomodoro Technique
invented in the 1990s by author and developer Francesco Cirillo,
and named after the tomato-shaped kitchen timer that he used
when he was a university student.
The idea is simple: Cirillo says that the human brain isn't primed
to concentrate for long periods. So he developed a system where
 you work with intense focus in short bursts.
Divide each half hour into 25 minutes of work followed by a
five-minute break. Those total 30 minutes are “one pomodoro“.
After every four pomodoros, take a long break of 15 to 30 minutes.
Then start pomodoros again.
The 25-5 isn't a rule set in stone. In a survey, timetracking app
DeskTime found that the most productive people worked in
spurts of 52 minutes followed by a 17-minute break (on average).
The basic idea is to work on a task for one focused burst and then
follow it up with a break where you do something that isn't work
at all.
Tools You Can Use... Tomighty for Windows and Mac OS X:
 http:www.tomighty.org

DON'T BREAK THE CHAIN
Comedian Jerry Seinfeld was recently crowned the richest entertainer
 in the world. So, if a productivity method works for him, you should
pay attention. Years ago, when asked how to get better at anything
you do, he had a simple answer. Seinfeld's advice was to get a large
wall calendar and do one definitive thing every day .
In his case, it was writing a joke; for you, it could be learning a new
language or talking to one new client. But every day, do that one
thing, and then mark off that day in the calendar.
Soon, you will find yourself working with momentum and the visual
accomplishment of your marked days starts serving as a motivator.
Your “job“ stops being writing a new joke or talking to a new client,
and it turns into “don't break the chain“. Your hard work is right
there for you to see, and you wouldn't want to waste that momentum.
Starting with one task is ideal, but you could expand that to two or
more. But never overload your daily to-do list. The idea is to make
your task simple and realistic to complete.
Tools You Can Use... Don't Break The Chain for the Web:
dontbreakthechain.com Streaks Daily Habit Tracker for
Android: http:www.pilanites.comstreaks Habit Streaks
for iOS: habitstreaks.com

THE KANBAN METHOD
This is the productivity method that drove Toyota to its engineering
success. “Kanban“ ­ developed by Taiichi Ohno, a Japanese industrial
engineer who is considered to be the father of the Toyota Production
System ­ literally means signboard in Japanese, and the technique is all
about a visual representation of your tasks and their progress.
The Kanban system uses multiple columns, where each column
represents a crucial process in a task.
For example, the columns could be, “Waiting“, “In progress“, and
“Completed“. Each task is written on a single Kanban card.
The card is then put in the appropriate column, depending
on its current status.
Electronic Kanban systems make it much easier to use the process
for individuals as well as teams. The digital board of all tasks serves
as a great overview of productivity, and makes it easier to choose
which task to do at any point, and even take a task back one step
if needed.
Tools You Can Use... Trello for the Web,
Android and iOS: trello.com
 KanbanFlow for the Web: kanbanflow.com

DAVID ALLEN'S GTD
Productivity guru David Allen wrote the book Getting Things Done
in which he describes a productivity technique by the same name.
The GTD phi losophy, at its core, believes in a rigid set of guidelines.
Allen breaks down the process into five steps...
 1 Capture  (Write down any task that comes up)
2 Clarify (Write every single action needed for that task to be finished)
3 Organize (Write a due date and prioritize the task by its importance)
4 Reflect (Figure out your time availability and your current energy level)
5 Engage (Based on your to-do list and current status, pick a task and
 start doing it) It sounds simplistic, but in action, the GTD system is
much more complex to execute than the other systems.The clarification
 and reflection, especially, are difficult when you start off, but you'll get
 better at them over time.
Given GTD's requirement of having to capture tasks anywhere, expand
on them, and set deadlines and priorities, you will need to use apps
that are cross-platform, which allow for easy text writing and editing,
and which feature colour-coding for importance.
Tools You Can Use... Todoist for the Web, Android, iOS, Win,
 and Mac OS X: todoist.com Evernote for the Web,
 Android, iOS, Win, and Mac OS X: evernote.com


Mihir Patkar TOI17oct15

PERSONAL/CRITICISMSPECIAL... Criticism Is the Price of Success

Criticism Is the Price of Success

One of the most surprising and disappointing things about reaching an
important goal is that many people won't share your happiness when
they hear about it. Some will even criticize your achievement.

This has happened to me a lot in my success-driven life. The criticism
always hurts - but it hurts less now than it did when I was younger.
 Moreover, I've learned to profit from it. You can too.

What's important, I've found, is not the criticism itself but how I react
 to it. Praise motivates me to do more of what I'm doing. Criticism –
which used to make me want to quit - spurs me to examine what
I'm doing and see if I can do it better.

This happened just recently after I published an article in my newsletter
 about the economy. Two of my most esteemed colleagues read it,
didn't like it, and chastised me for bad writing. That set me aback.
 I consider myself to be a pretty good writer, but they made me
wonder if I was really just a shallow-minded pundit of mediocrity.

After doubting myself for a few days, I set to the task of 
profiting from their comments. I reread what they said and made notes on those points I
thought were valid. I circulated my notes to Jason, Suzanne, and Judith,
 my editors. That began an ongoing discussion about how we could
improve our newsletter. And we came up with a few good ideas.

I then wrote to my two friends who were nice enough to honestly critique
 my article. I thanked them for helping me make the newsletter better.
 And I meant it.

Like or dislike - it still works!

In 
What Got You Here Won't Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful, Marshall Goldsmith talks about how important feedback
is to success: 
Feedback is very useful for telling us "where we are." Without feedback... we couldn't have results. We couldn't keep score. We wouldn't know if we were getting better or worse. Just as salespeople need feedback on what's selling and leaders need feedback on how they are perceived by their subordinates, we all need feedback to see where we are, where we need to go, and to measure our progress.

Goldsmith acknowledges that negative feedback "can be employed by others
 to reinforce our feelings of failure, or at least remind us of them - and our
reaction is rarely positive." Worst of all, negative feedback can sometimes
shut us down - "we close ranks, turn into our shell, and shut the world out."

When Goldsmith was a child, his mother told him he had no mechanical skills.
 He went through high school believing that, and, when he was 18, scored
at the bottom of the entire nation in a test given by the U.S. Army.

A few years later, a professor persuaded him to take another look at his
mechanical abilities. That's when he realized his mother was wrong,
and he was "just living out the expectations [he] had chosen to believe."

So that might be the first thing to say about 
profiting from criticism.
Recognize that a negative comment about you or your abilities cannot
damage you unless you let it.

Goldsmith says that he wasted years, convinced that he was mechanically
inept. But he didn't blame his mother. He blamed himself. "I was the
one who kept telling myself, 'You can't do this!' I realized that as long as
 I kept saying that, it was going to be true."

Here are some useful techniques for profiting from criticism.


Remember that criticism is the price of success.

As writer Elbert Hubbard said, "Criticism is something we can avoid easily
 by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing." So if you do
something, you're going to be subject to criticism. President Obama
gets criticized. Clint Eastwood gets criticized. Even Mother Theresa
was criticized. The more success you have, the more criticism you will
engender. Some of it will be helpful. Most of it will be useless.
But don't be afraid of it. It won't kill you. It will only make you stronger.

Dump your failure-support group.

This group includes 
jealous friends, professional enemies, and habitual
 critics. These people get their kicks from kicking you when you are up.
They want you to be down where they are. Don't go there.
Just ignore them.
If you can't ignore your critics, frame your responses strategically.

Sometimes, you won't be able to ignore your critics - if, for example the
criticism is coming from your boss or your family. That's when you need
to stay calm and respond strategically.

In Self-Esteem, Matthew McKay and Patrick Fanning recommend a 
 technique they call "clouding." "Clouding involves a token agreement 
with a critic. It is used when criticism is neither constructive nor accurate. 
When you use clouding to deal with criticism, you are saying to the critic, 
'Yes, some of what is on your screen is on my screen.' But to yourself you
 add, 'And some isn't.' You 'cloud' by agreeing in part, probability,
 or principle."

Agreeing in part - finding one part of your critic's comments to agree with 
or acknowledge.

The Criticism: 
You're not reliable. You forget to pick up the kids, you let the bills pile up
 until we could lose the roof over our heads, and I can't ever count on you
 to be there when I need you.

Your Response: You're certainly right that I did forget to pick up the kids
last week after their swimming lesson.

Agreeing in probability - acknowledging that there's a possibility your 
critic could be right. The chances may be a million to one against it, 
but you can truthfully say, "It's possible you're right."

The Criticism: 
Starting a business now is a terrible idea. The economy is in the crapper, 
and you're just wasting time and money.

Your Response: Yes, it's possible that my business won't work out.

Agreeing in principle - acknowledging the logic of your critic's argument,
but not necessarily agreeing with his assumptions. This clouding technique 
uses the conditional "if/then" format.

The Criticism: 
You're really taking a chance by claiming all these deductions you
don't have receipts for. The Income Tax department is cracking down.
You're just asking for an audit. It's stupid to try to save a few bucks and
bring them down on you like a pack of bloodhounds.

Your Response: You're right. If I take the deductions, I'll be attracting
more attention to myself. And if I get audited, it will be a real hassle.’

Take helpful criticism seriously.

Helpful criticism is sometimes harsh but it's always well intended. It's not
hard to identify it. The hard thing is to accept that it is helpful and use it to
improve yourself.

Thank your critics.

I make it a habit to send a personal "thank you" to anyone whose
criticism has helped me do better work.
Solicit criticism - from people you respect - while there is plenty of
time to make changes.

One of the most successful publishers I know does this regularly.
When considering the launch of a new product, he sends a memo
to a small group of more experienced publishers explaining his concept
and asking them to poke holes in it.

By getting their criticism early, he doesn't feel its sting. After all, it's not
 his baby that is being criticized. It's just an idea. And ideas, as we all
know, are not worth anything until they are put into action.

Another benefit - and this is a big one - is that it saves him time and
frustration. By getting input on an idea before he's done a lot of work
on it, it is much easier for him to make changes.

COMMONSENSE LIVING BY MARK FORD

FOOD/TEA SPECIAL...MOVE OVER DIP TEA AND KULHAD CHAI, EXOTIC VARIANTS ARE HERE

 MOVE OVER DIP TEA AND
KULHAD CHAI, EXOTIC
VARIANTS ARE HERE

As the morning air turns nippy , and the thirst for a steaming cuppa 
over a lively adda grows on you, give your good ol' milk tea a rethink.
Yes, the Darjeeling, Assam and Nilgiri varieties will always be around,
but when did you last sip international teas like Silver Needle, Smoky
Chinese Lapsang, Mate and the likes? Now you'll say these are not
available in Kolkata stores. True, but they can be easily bought online.
 So, here's a look at the options you have...

BUBBLE
This Taiwanese drink contains a tea base, mixed with froth or milk and
chewy tapioca ballspearls or even fruit jellies. Usually served cold, this
tea has a slushy consistency and is blended using ice. It is available in
fruity or milk tea varieties. In India, however, this tea is popularly sold
in flavours such as green apple, mango and tapioca.
PRICE: `150 to `200 for one sachet of a flavour plus tapioca pearls

SILVER NEEDLE
This Chinese variant of white tea is also one of the most expensive
varieties. Lightly oxidised and best brewed in mild boiling water, it has
a sweet, vegetal and delicate taste and is mostly opted by those who
are not too fond of drinking strong teas. Silver Needle should not be
brewed for more than five minutes and should be left in the water for
about three minutes before poured into a cup.
PRICE: `500 to `900 for 10 tea bags

GENMAICHA
That’s the Japanese name for green tea, though this variant comes
with roasted brown rice as an ingredient. Often referred to as
 ‘popcorn tea’, this variant is brewed in way slightly different from
the usual green tea. It has to be boiled and not dipped, with the
brewing time not exceeding 30 seconds.
The tea has a mild yellow hue and has several health benefits like
improving skin texture and cardiovascular health.
PRICE: `300 to `500 (for 16 tea bags)

SOUTH AFRICAN RED
Also known as Rooibos, this herbal or bush tea is typically consumed
in South Africa. The leaves are oxidised and thus get a reddish-brown colour.
Though it’s a variant of the popular green tea, it has a malty and slightly
grassy flavour and is typically consumed without milk. Apart from tea,
the South African Red also has its variety of coffees, which are served
as red lattes or cappucinos.
PRICE: `450 to `550 for 250 gm

MATE
Mate or Yerba Mate, as it’s popularly known, this South American
caffeine-rich drink that’s consumed especially in Argentina, is
traditionally prepared by brewing dried leaves of yerba mate in
hot water and is served with a silver straw. However, one can
also prepare it by boiling it in water for about 20 seconds.
The health benefits of this hot beverage are many
— it increases blood circulation and prevents gum and tooth decay.
PRICE: `450 to `800 for 250 gm
Meghna Mukherjee

TNN 21OCT15

PERSONAL/PERSISTENCE SPECIAL ...................6 Powerful Ways to Become More Persistent (And Never Quit Again)

6 Powerful Ways to Become More Persistent (And Never Quit Again)

Most of us are great at setting goals, but not at achieving them.
Whether it’s starting a new business, learning a new language, or mastering an instrument  —  we love to start things without finishing. One of the biggest reasons why we never achieve our goals is due to a lack of motivation and persistence.
We start out with an abundance of optimism about the journey, without being fully prepared mentally  for the inevitable obstacles ahead. As Tony Robbins says, “Success in anything is 80% psychology, and 20% mechanics.”
Let’s uncover the six powerful ways to become more persistent, so you’ll never quit again.

1. Have a vision outside of yourself
It all starts with this first step.
Without a bigger vision and purpose that is greater than yourself, you’ll quit at the initial stages of difficulty, as you will inevitably be knocked down. In contrast, when you’re achieving something for a purpose outside of yourself, the pressure of accountability alone will push you further than a purpose that is self-centered.
For example, if you’re learning a language in order to have a deeper connection with your life partner, you’re much more likely to persist because your relationship is on the line.
Or, if you’re trying to lose weight, think about how confident, joyful, and happy you will feel. But more importantly, think about how that will affect the loved ones around you.
Shifting from a self-centered goal to a bigger purpose that affects those you love helps you focus on what you will get out of it, instead of how hard it is.

2. Build a support team
As the popular saying goes, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
The top performers in the world all have a support team to keep them motivated and persistent, from personal coaches, employees, assistants, mentors, accountability partners — the list goes on.
More importantly, you should surround yourself with individuals who have already achieved what you want to achieve. Not only will this affect your speed of learning, but science has shown that it will impact your persistency and resiliency when things get difficult. When you have a clearly-defined purpose, with a state of certainty that you can achieve it, you influence a system in our body called the reticular activating system (RAS), that helps our brains decide what information to focus on and what to delete.
In summary, your mind starts to focus your energy on achieving the goal at hand, instead of unhelpful distractions like doubts and fears.

3. Have a growth mindset
In order to achieve our goals, we often have to get out of our own way.
The author of Mindset, Carol Dweck, spent twenty years researching how our mindset affects success. The research claims that individuals have on of two mindsets. Perhaps you possess the growth mindset, where you thrive on challenges to achieve success. Otherwise, you own a fixed mindset, where you think you were born with whatever talents you have, and there’s not much you can do to change them.
In other words, we should focus on celebrating small wins and progress, knowing that we are continuing to improve, rather than having lofty expectations.

4. Schedule it
The most successful people in the world, including billionaire entrepreneurs, Olympic athletes, and world-class learners, all use schedules to prioritize their day.
Why a schedule as opposed to a simple to-do list?
According to a researcher Kevin Kruse, there are a few key weaknesses of a to-do list:
A to-do list doesn’t account for time. When we have a long list of tasks, we tend to tackle those that can be completed quickly in a few minutes, leaving the longer items left undone. Research from the company iDoneThis indicates that 41% of all to-do list items are never completed!
It doesn’t distinguish between urgent and important. Once again, our impulse is to fight the urgent and ignore the important. (Are you overdue for your next colonoscopy or mammogram?)
To-do lists contribute to stress. In what’s known in psychology as the Zeigarnik effect, unfinished tasks contribute to intrusive, uncontrolled thoughts. It’s no wonder we feel so overwhelmed in the day, but fight insomnia at night.
Instead, we should focus on scheduling our priorities, such as reviewing your Spanish common words, practicing the drums, or writing 500 words for your upcoming book.
What doesn’t get scheduled, doesn’t get done.

5. Teach Others
Have you ever taught something you learned to someone, and found it easier to remember in the future?
This is because when we teach something to someone, our brain is able to register the information more effectively than simply reading about it.
As research shows, it turns out that people retain:
5% of what they learn when they’ve learned from a lecture.
10% of what they learn when they’ve learned from reading.
20% of what they learn from audio-visual.
30% of what they learn when they see a demonstration.
50% of what they learn when engaged in a group discussion.
75% of what they learn when they practice what they learned.
90% of what they learn when they teach someone else to use the information immediately.
This research finding is especially relevant for those wanting to master a new skill.
If you want to learn how to become a better speaker, don’t just watch others do it. You need to immediately use what you’ve learned; then try to ‘teach’ someone else what you’ve just done.
If you’re learning a new language, instead of using one-sided interactions like audio tapes or mobile apps, work with a language teacher or conversation exchange partner to practice what you’re learning.
The key to learning with persistence is to use it (or lose it).

6. Have stakes
Why are we less likely to be late to a business meeting than a meeting with our friends? Because the former could get us fired. As humans, we’re naturally more motivated to commit when there is a consequence or a stake, even if it’s a friendly one.
Research shows that we are three times more influenced by negative consequences than positive consequences, so stakes such as losing money are powerful incentives to use against yourself.
You can make a friendly bet with a friend to keep you honest. Or, try using a program like StickK, where you can set a specific goal with a referee to monitor you, and donate money to a charity as a consequence for not succeeding.
The key is to get someone involved from your support team, and share your goals publicly. The social pressure of affecting your reputation alone will push you further than you can imagine.

BY SEAN KIM
http://www.lifehack.org/321649/6-powerful-ways-become-more-persistent-and-never-quit-again?mid=20151015&ref=mail&uid=687414&feq=daily

ET AWARD STARTUP SPECIAL.....and the award goes to ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR

 `Mega Plans'
to Disrupt Indian Ecommerce


...and the award goes to ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR
KUNAL BAHL Cofounder, Snapdeal

The Entrepreneur of the Year award went to Kunal Bahl,
the co-founder and CEO of online marketplace Snapdeal.
Bahl, along with another contender for the award, Bhavish
Aggarwal, the cofounder of Ola, were part of the jury,
but went out of the room when the rest of the jury
deliberated the category.
One juror said Bahl had demonstrated remarkable maturity ,
got top talent for the company and recently raised money
at a valuation of $5.5 billion (about `35,000 crore) from
top global investors. One jury member quoted a senior
bureaucrat as saying “Kunal is the next Sunil Mittal.“
Bahl, a Wharton graduate -who alongside childhood friend,
schoolmate and IIT Delhi alumnus Rohit Bansal, founded
Snapdeal in 2010 -has over the last two years, increasingly
shifted the online marketplace from being just another
ecommerce company to building a complete ecosystem
of goods and services.
“It is a phenomenal feeling that validates the many years
our team has invested in building a platform that changes
lives of millions of small businesses in India. This is surely
the highlight of our entrepreneurial journey , one that
encourages us to only aim higher and create significant
impact for our country ,“ said the 31-year-old in response
to being chosen as The Economic Times Entrepreneur of
the Year 2015.
From snapping up mobile recharge platform Freecharge
for about $400 million in March to getting about 2,50,000
sellers to transact on the Snapdeal platform and then
providing them with access to cheap capital, Bahl has been
a man on a mission.
When he decided in 2011 to change Snapdeal's business
model from a group buying site to an online market place,
he had to face numer ous naysayers. However, his decision
proved prescient, with Snapdeal comfortably topping its
target to sell fashion products worth $2 billion this fiscal.
The challenge is even big ger now, as the company embarks
on creating an cosystem that will not only ecommerce
ecosystem that will not only provide products ranging
from electronics to yachts and apartments, but also services,
including utility bill payments and mobile recharges.
 “I always knew he had fire in the belly,“ said Vinod Dham,
 father of the Pentium chip, whose venture capital fund
was an early investor in Snapdeal.
The Snapdeal co-founder said the company achieved
$4 billion (about `26,000 crore) n total value of goods
sold (gross merchandise value or GMV) in August.
Given the current landscape, the CEO probably puts it
best when he says,
 “The plans are mega!“
ET19OCT15