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5 Noteworthy Tech Conferences for Women

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5 Tech Conferences for Women

When working in technology, it’s incredibly important to stay up to date with the latest developments and build new social networks. There are plenty of online communities to connect with, but it doesn’t mean that you should be stuck at home browsing the internet for the latest news and developments. In fact, one of the best ways to nurture new relationships and stay in-tune with the tech industry is to attend meetings and conferences.


If you approach these conferences with the right mindset, you’ll find that it’s much easier to digest all of the latest releases and industry developments, and you’ll also be able to connect with the people you meet online with in-person meetups. Socializing with like-minded professionals is a fantastic way to grow your knowledge and confidence when working in the tech industry, so here are a couple of upcoming tech conferences for women.

 

Yellow Conference

Los Angeles, CA

August 23rd – 24th, 2018

The Yellow Conference is made to empower creative and entrepreneurial women to become agents of good. You’ll be joining hundreds of entrepreneurial-minded women to discuss technology and business, and you’ll also be given hundreds of opportunities to network and grow your social reach.

 

The Women in Tech Summit: West

Denver, CO

September 15th, 2018

The Women in Tech Summit is coming to Denver, CO. This conference inspires and educates women in the technology industry, but it’s also a fantastic place for women to connect with others who are also a part of technology. There’s a fantastic mix of hands-on tech workshops, discussions and speakers that will help you advance your career and bolster your passion for technology. You’ll find countless networking opportunities and learn new things to take home with you.

 

Women of Color STEM Conference

Detroit, MI

October 11th – 13th, 2018

The Women of Color STEM Conference is a premier event that recognizes outstanding women in STEM fields across the nation. It’s a brilliant opportunity for professional development and networking, but also a great chance to recruit or be recruited by renowned companies. There are activities to spark interest and plenty of talks to stimulate your development in the tech industry.

 

Tech Up for Women

New York, NY

November 15th, 2018

Tech Up for Women is a single-day event designed to help women advance through the world of technology. It’s done by educating women, giving them a chance to network and also giving them the resources they need to grow their professional career. The event focuses on the latest technological developments and is designed to take the fear out of technology and empower women to embrace it.

 

Women of the Channel Leadership Summit East

New York, NY

December 3rd – 4th,  2018

Women of the Channel is a conference that is perfect for building solid business connections, while also inspiring women to embrace new possibilities in the world of tech and business. There are famous speakers from all different industries that attend this conference and you’ll receive guidance on how to navigate the industry as an executive woman.

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5 Fitness Podcasts you Should Tune into this Summer

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5 Fitness Podcasts

Listening to other people talk about fitness is one of the best ways to motivate yourself to keep fit. As you listen to other people say interesting and inspiring things about getting and keeping fit, you feel enthusiastic about working on your own fitness. Fitness podcasts are excellent for this, often diving deep into various health and fitness topics. Some of the best podcasts don’t just talk about fitness in isolation but also discuss how it relates to other issues, such as body positivity, mental health, and happiness. Take a look at these top fitness podcasts if you’re looking for some motivation not just in fitness but for life.

Found My Fitness

Are you looking for a fitness podcast that will challenge you intellectually? If you want something that’s heavy on science, Found My Fitness with Dr Rhonda Patrick (who has a PhD in biomedical science) is a good choice. This podcast explores everything from the latest research on aging and brain health to how to improve your wellbeing. Whether you’re interested in the science or trying to improve yourself, there’s something for you.

Hurdle

Hurdle is a podcast about using wellness and fitness to get through tough times. Keeping fit is often excellent for your mental health, and Emily Abbate looks at the different ways people use wellness to cope. She interviews people to hear their stories and the lessons they have learned. The podcast is intended to be educational and motivational, helping to give listeners the push they need to live a healthier and happier life.

All About Fitness

All About Fitness by Pete McCall covers the anatomy and physiology side of keeping fit. You can learn all about different exercise trends and the best ways to reach your goals. Like some other fitness podcasts, it takes a fairly scientific approach to fitness. If you’re someone who wants to work on evidence and not just follow fads and trends, then that’s the sort of content you need. The episodes can get pretty in-depth, but there are also some short Quick Fit Tip episodes, some of which are under ten minutes long.

Motivated

These podcast episodes are around 30 minutes each, which is ideal for anyone who prefers a shorter podcast that they can fit into their lunch break or commute. Motivated is hosted by ABC news correspondent Mara Schiavocampo, who interviews fitness experts and doctors. With her guests, she discusses health trends and interesting health and fitness topics.

Business Meets Fitness Podcast

Entrepreneurs will love the Business Meets Fitness Podcast. This podcast combines business and fitness to discuss topics relevant to both, such as getting into the right mindset and self-development. The podcast covers health, fitness, wellness, how to make money in the fitness industry and general advice for being a better business person. For example, a recent episode dealt with how to be more confident, which is useful for both fitness and business.

Listen to these podcasts while you’re working out or during your downtime if you need some motivation and inspiration.

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Best Online Resources for Aspiring Public Speakers

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Aspiring Public Speakers

Being a public speaker can be much more than just a hobby, a side hustle or something you do to further your business image. Many people make a career of it, speaking at various venues around the country and even around the world. While confidence in public speaking comes naturally to some, there’s still a lot of skill involved in giving public talks. If you want to improve your public speaking skills, there are some fantastic resources that you can learn from. Here are some of the best online resources you can enjoy if you want to become an incredible public speaker.


TED Talks

TED talks are not just interesting, they’re also great resources for learning about public speaking. Watching TED talks on any topic that interests you gives you a chance to watch how some of the best public speakers do it. There are also plenty of talks that focus on public speaking or related topics. Some of the highlights you might want to watch include ‘TED’s secret to great public speaking’, ‘How to speak so that people want to listen’ by Julian Treasure, Amy Cuddy’s ‘Your body language may shape who you are’, and ‘How I beat stage fright’ by Joe Kowan.


Toastmasters International

Toastmasters is a huge public speaking group, which has hundreds of thousands of members around the world. The Toastmasters International online resources are helpful for anyone looking for tips on public speaking. They have lots of articles you can read that cover plenty of topics with practical advice. Of course, you can also join a Toastmasters group if you have a local chapter. You can learn from other members and, of course, by getting up and giving some talks yourself. There are more than 15,000 clubs across 135 countries, so you can probably find one that works for you.


National Speakers Association

The National Speakers Association offers resources for professional speakers – and aspiring professional speakers too. Their website features some handy resources and a calendar of events. By joining the NSA, you get a host of benefits, such as virtual courses, community access, Speaker magazine, and plenty of tools and resources. You can also earn a Certified Speaking Professional designation if you want to prove that you’re an expert in public speaking.


Executive Speech Coach Blog By Patricia Fripp

There is a huge number of blogs covering the topic of public speaking. Patricia Fripp’s is one of the best resources available. Her blog covers a range of topics, many of which relate to doing better business. For example, a recent post covers how to sound intelligent in a speech or sales presentation. Many posts are accompanied by videos, which gives you a more visual way to learn more about doing well in speaking engagements. She also has a brother – Robert Fripp – who is not only a professional guitarist but also a public speaker.

Become an expert public speaker with these resources and start building your public profile. Of course, you also need to make sure that you have something to say.

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Here’s 3 Tips To Help You Create The Life You Want

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3 Tips To Help You Create The Life You Want

Are you feeling less than satisfied with your life at the moment? Would you like to learn about some excellent method for turning your situation around and building a future you will cherish? Then take a moment to consider the three tips published in this article. Each of these ideas will help you to identify and achieve your life goals, and they will also help you to remove any harmful elements that might have an adverse effect on your mood and existence. None of these ideas are complicated, and you can make use of them all without spending lots of money.


Tip 1: Broaden your mind with travel

There is no getting away from the fact that travel is often the best way to expand your horizons, find new opportunities, and learn more about yourself as a person. If you can afford to take a break from work and visit a foreign country for only a few days; you will arrive home feeling revitalized and filled with new ideas. People who don’t travel often see life through horse blinkers, and they never witness the endless possibilities that rest just outside of their narrow view. You never want that to happen to you, and so you must travel as much as possible.


Tip 2: Take some “me” time

Do you make time for yourself to relax during your busy working week? Going to the gym or drinking in a local bar on Friday nights doesn’t count. “Me” time should involve doing something alone so you can gather your thoughts and come up with lots of new ideas and dreams. If you don’t do that at the moment, now is the best time to make space in your diary so you can walk around a local park, drive out to a spot with a fantastic view, or something like that. Your goal is to spend some peaceful and quiet time with yourself.


Tip 3: Read as much as possible

Most people think their education stops when they leave school or university. However, the truth is that’s when your real learning begins. Adults who read about world history, different cultures, and just about anything else that sparks their interests will always find it easier than most to create the life they want. As the old saying goes, knowledge is power, and you are never going to come up with the perfect solution to your issues if you don’t learn as much as possible.

Those three tips, while straightforward, could make a significant difference to your life during the next few years. So, if you’re out there trying to come up with a perfect new business idea or something similar, be sure to make use of the advice from this article because you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Even if you don’t have any particular ambitions right now, the tips listed on this page might assist you in forming some. If you never have a dream; you’ll never have a dream come true, right?

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4 Must-See Documentaries That Encourage Women Entrepreneurs

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4 Documentaries for Women Entrepreneurs

If you’re looking for some inspiration and motivation to help you become the next successful female entrepreneur, sometimes it’s sensible to check out some of the best books and films on the subject. Today, this post is going to focus on four top documentaries that all soon-to-be female entrepreneurs should watch this year. You can find these productions online by searching Google. Some are available on YouTube, and you’ll need to use streaming services like Netflix for others. If you manage to watch all these documentaries, there is a reasonable chance you will learn a lot about what it takes to become successful in the business world.

1 – TED Talks: Life Hacks

There are some fantastic and insightful TED Talks available on YouTube and Netflix right now, but none of them are more suitable for the budding female entrepreneur than Life Hacks. Presented by psychologist Amy Cuddy, the talk offers a research-backed approach to boosting productivity and achieving success. You’re sure to learn lots of tips and tricks that will assist you in making a killing in the business world.

2 – Joan Rivers – A Piece of Work

Most people know Joan Rivers because of her TV work. However, she was also one of the most astute females in the business world for many years. A Piece of Work is available to watch on the Netflix streaming service, and it reveals all the highs and lows of the superstar’s exciting career. What does it take to stay on top when you reach maximum success? Joan Rivers is the perfect person to investigate if you want to answer that question.

3 – Print the Legend

Print the Legend takes a look at the use of 3D printing and how it is making millionaires out of smart entrepreneurs who take a leap of faith and join the industry. The documentary offers an intriguing insight into the use of new technologies in the business world and how they make it from the drawing board to the final product. If you like the idea of making your living from the tech industry, this is a must-see documentary that you shouldn’t overlook.

4 – Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price

Everyone knows that Walmart is one of the most successful low-price stores in the US and around the world. The High Cost of Low Price takes a look at some of the harmful business practices used by firms to ensure they remain competitive and stay ahead of their competition. If you plan to become a successful female entrepreneur during the next few years, this documentary will show you how not to approach your business. It will also give you some excellent ideas. Sure, cutting corners will increase profits, but as you will learn, there are lots of adverse consequences to consider.

If you get some spare time during the next couple of weeks, find a quiet space, make some coffee, and relax for a few hours while you watch the documentaries recommended in this post. With a bit of luck, you will learn a lot of things that you can apply to your strategy when you finally get around to launching your next venture. Enjoy!

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3 Ways to Create your Own Mastermind Group

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Create your Own Mastermind Group

If you are looking for a mastermind group to push past a problem and start thinking creatively, you will need to think carefully about the kind of people you recruit. Problem solving is always about something in a new and creative way so it follows that your process will need to be new and creative too.

Always Recruit Diversely

Diversity is getting more and more attention but unfortunately, it is always more about being inclusive and looking good rather than creating the perfect team. The truth of the matter is that diversity comes in many forms and the more you can tick off the more likely your team will be able to solve any problem put in front of them.

So don’t just think about skin color, think about where people have been brought up and how, what their life experiences are, what their skills are, what their outlook is, how they communicate, what their specialisms are. Businesses are fast realizing that hiring the same people over and again isn’t working. Hire someone who doesn’t think like everyone else and with some encouragement, new ideas will blossom.

Search Near and Far

Technology has well and truly changed the way that we do business now and remote workers are now just as easy to access as those in your hometown. This means that you can broaden your search for the perfect team members and focus on what you are looking for not where you are looking for it.

Conference calling is a good way to host the meeting and you can use tools like Trello to monitor what everyone is doing, even if you are spread across the continents. However, there is something to be said for all sitting in a room together so you should think about whether you are really looking for someone who can come into the office.

Look for Potential and Determination

It is always tempting to hire for experience but this isn’t what a mastermind group is about. Instead, you should be looking for potential, someone who might not have the experience yet but certainly can bring new and fresh ideas to the table. Young people are often overlooked because they lack experience and yet they are often the ones with a new perspective you need.

The other characteristic that shouldn’t be overlooked is determination. Some people are determined to overcome the odds to succeed and they are definitely the type of people you need to inject some enthusiasm into your group. Rather than shrugging at a problem, determined people will approach it from every angle until the problem is cracked. And that is a mastermind approach if ever there was one.

When you create your own mastermind team, you need to look past what you have already tried and go for something new. Put people who wouldn’t usually sit together in the same room and let them figure out the best method for solving the problem. All you need to do is let the magic work.

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3 Great Ways To Encourage Youth Entrepreneurship

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Youth Entrepreneurship

Today’s youth represents tomorrow’s movers and shakers, so it’s hugely beneficial to encourage youth entrepreneurship. In a world where few people know exactly what they want to do when they leave high school, providing platforms for entrepreneurial flair to flourish is likely to have an incredibly positive impact on the world of business. 

To make things possible for the next generation, here are some of the best ways to promote youth entrepreneurship.

Encourage thinking, discussion and creativity.

Being a successful entrepreneur isn’t just about having ideas or being able to manage a team of people. To make it to the top, you have to have a diverse skill set and an innate desire to ask questions and find solutions. 

As adults, we should be encouraging children and teens to engage in open discussion, indulge their inquisitive nature, and carry out research. Every person is different, and divergent thinking is something to embrace, rather than discourage. It’s useful to debate, question other people’s opinions and ideas and learn to solve problems. 

Young people tend to be more confident about voicing their opinions when they feel safe, and this is why it’s important to provide safe platforms and environments in which to speak. School and college debating classes are an excellent example, and will undoubtedly prepare budding entrepreneurs for boardrooms and event spaces.

Real-life experiences.

You can learn a lot from textbooks and lectures, but real life often provides the most powerful and memorable lessons. If you’ve been contacted by a teenager who expresses an interest in what you do, or a local school or college wants to collaborate with you, consider opening up opportunities that enable young people to gain experience of the working day. Let them sit and watch, observe and digest what’s going on and encourage them to join in. 

We tend to have a vision of entrepreneurialism from TV programs and books, but the real world is often very different. Experiences can teach you more about what’s involved in business, but they can also ignite passions and foster ambition. 

If you’re a business owner eager to encourage new talent to thrive, you can provide access to real-life experiences by offering work placements, on-the-job training, apprenticeships, and internships.

Practical skills.

It’s not possible to learn everything you need to know about life in the big bad world after school or college in the classroom. A high school graduate may emerge with an excellent grasp on Pythagoras’ theorem, but could they manage accounts? 

As a business owner looking for the next leading lights, it pays to encourage the development of practical skills that will equip individuals for an entrepreneurial journey. This can be done through skills workshops, training programs, and even courses that are open to students and those looking to pursue a career in business.

As adults, we have to encourage the next generation to fulfill its potential. Whether you’re a business leader, a freelancer, a creative thinker, or a company executive, you can play your part in encouraging youth entrepreneurship and nurturing the stars of tomorrow.

Keetria is an entrepreneur, wellness advocate, and brand strategy coach for creatives & entrepreneurs with 16 years of public relations expertise working with some of the world’s leading brands, startups, media personalities, and entertainers. If you would like to work together, don’t hesitate to reach out!

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5 Ways to Stay in Shape while Traveling

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Stay in Shape while Traveling

Traveling can be fun, but it can also be a nuisance for anyone that’s trying to stay in good shape. You’re constantly moving from place to place, and it feels like you’re a million miles away from your local gym. It’s easy to use traveling as an excuse to not exercise, but you don’t have to do that when you can workout on the go.

Below, you’ll find some easy and practical ways you can stay in great shape while traveling:


Use The Hotel Gym
If you’re traveling on behalf of your company, then have a look to see if the hotel you’re booked into has a gym. If it does, then you’ve got no excuse to not workout. Use the hotel gym in the morning before you go out, or in the evening when you come back. All it takes is 30 minutes, and you’ll stay in shape.


Work Out In Your Hotel Room
Alternatively, if there’s no gym in your hotel, then don’t worry. Instead, you can use your hotel room to work out in. All you need is enough space to lie down in, and you can do various short ab circuits or HIIT workouts to keep in good nick.


Go For Runs
This is one of my favorite ways of staying in shape while traveling as it gives you an excuse to go out and about. Running is such a good thing to do if you’re looking to improve your fitness and lose some weight. Not only that, but you can really explore a new location by going for some long runs. Plot a route around some of the must-see locations in the place you’ve traveled to, and you can get fit while being a tourist at the same time!
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Bring Resistance Bands In Your Suitcase
When packing for your travels, make sure you include a few resistance bands in your luggage. These bands are amazing if you want to do some strength training workouts while you’re away. You can use them anywhere; a hotel room, a park, even out on the beach! They offer a really intense workout, with no other equipment needed. Definitely something to consider if you’re keen to tone up or ensure you don’t lose any of your muscle gains.


Try And Avoid Public Transport
The worst thing about traveling is that you spend a lot of time on public transport. You catch taxis everywhere, you use the local bus/train network, and it just generally means you sit around for long periods, doing nothing. If you want to stay in shape, then try and avoid public transports as much as possible. Walk wherever you need to go – or hire a bike! These days, lots of big cities have systems where you can hire a public bike to get around the city. Doing this will help you stay active and burn lots of additional calories.

There you have it; five practical ways you can stay in shape while traveling. All of these ideas are very easy to implement in your travel schedule. Whether you’re away for a weekend or a week, there’s no excuse for being lazy!

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How To Know If your Business Idea is Worth Pursuing?

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Idea is Worth Pursuing?

You have that near-mythical flash of brilliance at 3:00am on a Thursday morning. You jot it down and roll over to finish sleeping. In the morning’s light, it still looks like a pretty good idea, whether it’s for a new business, a new hobby, a book to write, or a blog post. Here’s four quick ways to help figure out if it’s worth following up on.

Research

Each type of idea requires its own type of research. No need to spend hours at the library for a quick blog post. A google search with an eye towards others who have written on the same topic would make sense. For a new business, it may be time to do some deep digging into the market, competitors, current offerings, technical requirements and limitations and the legal structure surrounding the business. While the specific method for the research will depend greatly on the type of idea, the research should be focused around two major areas: potential and risks and costs.

Potential

How well can the idea do? A blog post about knitting dog sweaters on a blog about food tourism probably has a limited audience. It probably also doesn’t have a huge amount of return, in that even a wildly successful dog sweater knitting post probably won’t bring in a huge amount of traffic or revenue. While that alone isn’t enough to discourage following the idea, it needs to be noted and understood. For a business or product idea, market needs to be understood. How many people could you sell to? How often? For about how much? The exact price point doesn’t need to be determined, but the difference between tens of dollars and tens of thousands of dollars should be clear. Once you’ve determined the upsides, it’s time to consider the opposite.

Risks and Costs

Using the blog example, a short, easy post on dog sweaters probably doesn’t cost a lot of effort, even if the return is low. Other risks need to be considered, too, like losing audience, market confusion, mudding your brand. A business idea has risks too, like financial cost, time spent away from family, legal ramifications, or damage to your reputation. Risks aren’t necessarily guaranteed to occur, but the likely ones need to be fully grasped.

Calculate

Now it’s time to put the research together. Figure out the risk versus the rewards. A long article with a high research time cost that might annoy some of your audience and has little likelyhood of growing your audience or revenue probably won’t make sense. A quick article that keeps people engaged may make sense, even with little direct return. A business idea that will be unlikely to ever break even with a large time commitment that will ruin your reputation if it fails is probably not a great idea to pursue.

Feedback

Once your idea has passed this stage it’s time to share it. Get feedback from people you know, find out what they think. Particularly pay attention to the people who don’t like it. Feedback from a negative perspective can be invaluable in helping you see risks or costs that you’ve missed. Also, don’t be afraid of having your idea stolen. Implementation is almost always more important than the idea itself.

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The Importance of Thinking Big and Believing in Yourself

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Believing in Yourself

When it comes to overcoming fear or discouragement there are two popular phrases that most of us have likely heard time and again. “Think Big” and “Believe in Yourself.” And while they’re great suggestions, there are two questions that many of us have thought about when hearing these encouraging words. “What does that mean?” And ‘Why does that matter?”

What Does Thinking Big and Believing in Yourself Mean?

Thinking big sounds easy, but it may not come easily. It means to consider your perspective and expand it. For example, if you’re hand-making a thing and selling it online, that’s great! But could you hire people to make 10 times as many things? Could you sell the training on how to make the thing? Could you create an entire community around the thing? Looking beyond the now, the day-to-day, and seeing what an idea, a business, a hobby, or skill could become, could lead to thinking big.

Believing in yourself is critical to success. It’s not having an unrealistic belief in your abilities or chance or ignoring the risks to success. It’s understanding who you are, how you work, and what you’re capable of. But it’s understanding that accurately and truly, from your own understanding and knowledge of yourself and ignoring limitations and restrictions put on you by society, your upbringing, or just plain doubt.

Why Does Thinking Big and Believing in Yourself Matter?

Thinking big is critical to rising above day-to-day existence. Whether it’s moving from a hobby to a business or just finding a new job, if you can’t focus on the bigger picture, on what’s possible, how can you possibly move from where you are? And it’s not required that you take that step, if your hobby is your hobby and you don’t want to leverage that into a multi-million dollar-a-year job, that’s ok.

But knowing and understanding the possibilities lets you make that decision with all the necessary information. And if you are looking to make a change or adjust your life, it’s critical to make the best choice for you. Thinking small, thinking ‘inside the box’ won’t give you the opportunity to really change much. It will keep you where you are, doing what you’re doing. Thinking big is the key to success and positive change.

Believing in yourself is the key to success and positive change. Thinking big allows you to lay out the goal. Believing in yourself is how you make the plan toward your goals. If you understand how you work, what you value, and what you can accomplish, you can use that to make a plan, a series of achievable steps, to get to the goal. If you allow others or your own self-doubt to convince you that you can’t accomplish these things is the surest way to fail to accomplish them.

Believing in your capabilities, your ideas, and your drive is critical to overcoming all the challenges that face anyone trying to make a change in their life. From going back to school to starting a business to learning to play the guitar, change is hard. Without a strong conviction in your own yourself, it may well be too difficult.

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