There’s no question that charismatic people are some of the most successful individuals out there. Professor Wiseman at the University of Hertfordshire in the UK estimates charisma is 50% innate and 50% trained. They key ingredients of charisma are simple actions that, with practice, become a part of your personality and improve your interactions with everyone around you, increasing your overall satisfaction with life. Here are 7 qualities of charismatic people that you can incorporate into your life.

Via:  

Listen Actively

When you listen, give them your undivided attention and ask questions. Do NOT check your phone more than once in a conversation – better yet, don’t check it at all! A study by the University of Colorado found that active listening helps avoid misunderstandings and opens people up to get them to say more. Actively listening will improve communication with those around you, whether you’re working with them or living with them. People tend to remember good listeners as positive people.

Via:  

Speak Clearly

Take your time and think about each sentence. The more you speak with unnecessary filler, the less clear you are. Especially when speaking to more than one person at once, or to a new group of people, practice your approach beforehand. Am I saying everything I need to say? Is everything I’m saying necessary? Is there a clear objective and purpose to what I am saying?

Via:  

Smile from Within

A genuine smile from within shows on the outside: you smile with your eyes and mouth, and it’s called the Duchenne smile. Not to say you have to walk around with a grin all the time! But when you smile on the inside, people are more receptive when you approach them. Psychologists at the University of California at Berkley studied 141 high school senior-class photos from the 1960 yearbook of Mills College, and followed up with the same people at age 27, 43 and 52. The women with a Duchenne smile were more likely to be married and stay married than those who had a fake smile, and were more likely to experience greater sense of personal well-being. These results were found to be consistent in a 30-year follow up. Also, appearance had no correlation with life satisfaction; it all came from within. When you smile from the heart and follow up with a kind personality, you will get more and give more to the world than you ever thought possible.

Via:  

View Entire List ›

Ok, ok, hate is a very strong word, but my iPhone has lost emails, twisted my words around with Autocorrect and turns off halfway through the day. If my iPhone was an assistant, I’d fire him!

I jumped on the iPhone bandwagon a month ago today when I turned my old RIM Blackberry in. I bought into the upgrade hype of how Blackberry is a dinosaur, and I’m missing out on the best thing since sliced bread. I caved to peer pressure. I heard “Give it a few weeks and you’ll LOVE it!” from 10 different people. Then, slowly, I’d get the confessions: “I know it’s not that great but the camera is amazing” or “I can’t live without the apps!”

Then I got to thinking – is my business built on Instagram and Angry Birds?

I wrote a column a ways back on “8 Tips To Increase Your Productivity.” Well, the iPhone was the single best way to decrease my productivity. With all those appointment at the Genius Bar, all that money spent on accessories to make it work as well as my Blackberry, my iPhone hasn’t saved me any time! Here are some solutions I’ve found to help save some minutes for every other iEntrepreneur.

Via:  

Texts & Emails: Harder Than Ever

I now spend more time rewriting emails than writing them. I have to re-read the entire email to make sure Autocorrect didn’t pull a fast one on me – like when it turned “just one sec” into “give one sex.” This is one of the tamer Autocorrect moments. With the wrong client this would be quite embarrassing! Also, selecting a section of text feels like finger painting – give me back my roller ball!

Quick Fix: My amazing assistant found me an iPhone case with a slide-out keyboard that works via Bluetooth. Keyboards may not look as sleek as a touchscreen, but they’re a must for Blackberry converts!

Via:  

Games: 100% Time Waster

I get notifications every 5 minutes that it’s my turn to Draw Something. It’s my own fault for wanting to have a little more fun in my life, but with 3 minutes here and there, I estimated these games ate up THREE HOURS of my week!

Quick Fix: Turn off the push notifications for anything that isn’t business, and save the gaming for your commute home. Go into your settings and set notifications there.

Via:  

Outlets Are Now a Way of Life

I’m an addict, always looking for my next fix. At least 5 times a day, I just NEED an outlet! I get nervous every time I’m on a call. Will my phone die out on me just as I’m about to close a deal? Do I even pick up the phone when I need battery later? How do I hang up this call faster? Someone actually recommended being plugged in for long calls. Are you KIDDING me? What happened to wireless technology? I don’t need extra anxiety from my phone!

Quick Fix: I’d be a great spokesperson for Morphie Juice; I bought every accessory I could find and doubled my battery life . They get the job done, but I’m definitely not happy buying more accessories to make my iPhone work as well as my Blackberry

Via:  

View Entire List ›

Sleep

If you want to work late at night, think again. When your biorhythms are off, you end up eating more. When you’re tired you produce more ghrelin, which triggers cravings for sugar and other fat-building foods. Losing sleep can also alter your hormone production, affecting your cortisol levels that cause insulin sensitivity, prime reasons for belly fat! Getting about 7 hours of sleep a night is one of the best things you can do for your body shaping goals.

Via:  

Vitamin C

When you’re under extreme stress, you secret more cortisol hormone. Vitamin C helps balance the cortisol spikes that happen to you under this stress. Besides being a good way to counteract a cold, Vitamin C is also essential for making carnitine, a compound used by the body to turn fat into fuel, making this vitamin your fat burning friend.

If you’re going through an emotional crisis, stress from work, or a bad eating splurge, increase your vitamin C – it’ll help counteract the negative side effects. Try bell peppers, kale or kiwi fruits. These have even more Vitamin C than the famous Orange!

Via:  

Eat Fat

Yup, you heard me! It takes fat to burn fat. Like I said above, it’s sugar that gets you fat, not fat. Good fats include foods rich in Omega 3′s, like salmon, avocados & walnuts. These foods are full of nutrients that help keep you satiated throughout the day.

Via:  

Sugar is your Enemy

Fighting belly fat is 80% healthy diet. Reduce calories by filling yourself up with protein, vegetables, whole grains, and replacing bad habit snacks with good ones. For example, if you have a sugar craving, replace your calorie laden latte with a Muscle Milk lite, one of my favorites, because it has zero sugar and a ton of protein that will satiate while also torching my sugar craving! Another great trick is a sprinkle of cinnamon in your morning coffee or oatmeal- the spice has been shown to help stabilize blood sugar. It also slows the rate at which food exits the stomach, which helps you feel fuller longer.

Via:  

View Entire List ›

Wake Up at the Same Time Every Day

Sticking to a sleep schedule, even on your days off, creates structure that your body will thank you for. On highly productive days, waking up earlier keeps you on schedule and forces you to start your to-do list earlier. Tomorrow, wake up 45 minutes to an hour earlier than your normally wake up.

Via:  

Visualize Your Day

What do you want to happen today? What would put you in a good mood at the end of the day? Plan out your perfect day from morning, through lunch to the evening. You’ll be amazed how much more you fit in to your day when you decide what you want to fit in to your day.

Via:  

Write Things Down

When you make a to-do list, you make your ideas into something you can hold on to and work with. When your plan is on paper, you can focus fully on each task as you work on it. Schedule out everything you visualized and as you complete each task, cross it out – it’ll give you a sense of finality when you complete your task.

Via:  

Break Up Big Projects into Smaller Phases

Lao-tzu famously said “the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Think of your projects the same way and divide your journey into smaller goals, and celebrate when you reach them.

Via:  

View Entire List ›