Bright Advice #30: Boost your popularity with just two words.

Thank you Violet for this post: 

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Please, take two minutes and think of all the communities you’ve been a part to: school, work, friends, or whatever else. Do they have something in common? They all had their popular one (or few) figures, that guy or that girl everybody seemed to like and follow. How were they different? What makes some of us popular, while others are never noticed?

Until you figure this out, you should know that you can easily earn some “bonus points” with only two words. You can make people see that you care. You can make them understand that you appreciate and respect them. You can make someone’s day.

Try to picture this: since childhood, you had tasks to do, and doing them at your best was the “normal”. You knew that, and you know it today, so you don’t expect any praise or rewards for all normal things you do at school, at home or at work. But there are times when you feel better. If I asked you, you couldn’t tell what triggers these feelings.

May it be because the sun is shinier some days? Maybe.

Or may it be that you have just achieved something you are proud of, and that changed your mood? Possibly.

Or maybe did you hear the two magic words that made your day?

The words I’m talking about are: THANK YOU!

Many times, you can motivate people to keep on doing things, with a simple thank you (although you know, and they know it too, that it was their job to do that).

Let’s imagine some situations when you could experience the magic power of thank you:

• You are a team leader, and your colleagues have just accomplished a difficult task. Acknowledge this by a thank you, whether or not can it be accompanied by a more substantial reward
• You are the proud mom of a child who has just put his room in order. Don’t say something like “you should have start doing this a long time ago”. Just smile and say “thank you for being such a help to me”
• You run a blog project where people send you articles. Send them a thank you note immediately after you receive the material. There’s no big effort in this; you can use an auto responder. And it makes a great difference to your readers.

Such situations are endless. If you don’t believe it, try it for yourself for 10 days. Notice the changes in people around you. Notice the increase in their motivation. Notice how they smile back to you. Does it feel better already? Then why not making it permanent? We can definitely live in a better world, but nobody’s going to make it better for us. Leaders are very few. Most people are followers. Lead those around you to respect and love and you’ll be rewarded with harmony. Lead them to wars and you’ll have hatred and selfishness all around you. Don’t do anything and somebody else will lead you to his/her picture of reality, which you may not always like. It is true that we create our reality. If we don’t enjoy it, we can create a change.

One more thing: don’t start tomorrow (as tomorrow never comes). Start now!

P.S.: Thank you for reading my article. It means a lot to me.

Bright Advice #29: Just do you.

So I saw this video online and I thought it was pretty inspirational.

Keenan Cahill, 16, is not your average teen. He has a passion for singing and acting, and despite his differences it sure does not slow him down one bit. I saw this kid when he first started making his videos and you wouldn't believe how many people tried to degrade him. He continued doing what he loves and has become quite the YouTube star and has met celebrities like 50 cent and the SF Giants.

Do what you enjoy and don't give up, even when hardships do occur. When you do get to where you want to be, you can look back and realize not much can stop your driving will.

It's been a while..

It's been some time since I've updated this. However, during this time, not only did I try my best to remember my own advice, others too sought for more tips. It makes me more than happy to see that people find use in what I post.

People have asked me why do I even do this and why I've stopped . I started this because I wanted change.  I've grown up with great role models who have tried countless times to pummel in certain characteristics and reminders to help shape me to whom I am today. But just like everybody else, we have times where we forget and lose focus. There is so much to learn everyday and it can be hard to remember them all. The things I post are lessons I believe to be either influential and hopefully even inspirational.  This site originally was suppose to be shown to only a few, but I'm glad to see even the most random acquaintances showing appreciation.

I stopped because I was going through a rough time, had lots to study for and lots on my mind. At one point I even questioned why am I doing this. I "know" what I need to do but I didn't remember, and the only way to achieve something is to be consistent and persistent. What exactly am I trying to achieve? Just to show myself and others that each person has a great life and show appreciation to what you do have, rather than what you don't. You can have a bad day, but that doesn't mean good things still couldn't have happened.

I found this article from using Stumbleupon.com and I'm sure it will make you appreciate even the very littlest things in your life. Have a great day!

The head of a company survived 9/11 because

His son started kindergarten.

Another fellow was alive because it was

His turn to bring donuts.

One woman was late because her

Alarm clock didn’t go off in time.

One was late because of being stuck on the NJ Turnpike

Because of an auto accident.

One of them

Missed his bus.

One spilled food on her clothes and had to take

Time to change.

One’s

Car wouldn’t start.

One couldn’t

Get a taxi.

The one that struck me was the man

Who put on a new pair of shoes that morning,

Took the various means to get to work but before.

He got there, he developed a blister on his foot.

He stopped at a drugstore to buy a Band-Aid.

That is why he is alive today..

Now when I am

Stuck in traffic,

Miss an elevator,

Turn back to answer a ringing telephone…

All the little things that annoy me,

I think to myself,

This is exactly where

I’m meant to be

At this very moment

Bright Advice #27: Stay on track.

This past week has been rather eventful celebrating a birthday catered by delectable Filipino food and also moments where it was filled with just unnecessary nuisance. Despite all that goes on, I must continue and focus on what I got to do, right? Easier said than done especially when life has so many distractions. Everyone has their own schedule and situations to deal with, but it's how you deal with it that matters.

Don't get me wrong, I too get sidetracked with scrambling thoughts, but honestly, I always have time to ponder. What needs to be done is my priority and I should not let events cloud my thoughts. On top of that, doing other objectives keeps my mind out of the dumps if I do feel a little down. Learn to take care of yourself before you try to attack on other obstacles that come and go in your daily life.

Thank you.

Just hit 5000 views in less than two months :] Thank you to those who visit daily and those who have supported this site! Please continue to come back and please do subscribe!

Mr. Brightside

P.S. Would love to hear more feedback and stories from you!

We got it better than most.

We often do and use a lot of the same things everyday, but never take time to appreciate it. John Bang, a student of UPENN, currently is in Korea and wishes to share with us on how we shouldn't take regular commodities for granted. 


Thank you John for your post.
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After spending more than a week abroad (if you really wanna know where, read on), I've come to a few conclusions as to what I've taken for granted in the good ol' U.S. of A.

One of the things I've taken for granted is my Audi A4. Auto commercials have always seem to equate cars with independence and freedom. Imagine having to drive without more than a foot's distance between your car and the others surrounding you on all four sides. You now have a picture of what it's like to drive in South Korea. If you're a claustrophobic, don't consider driving here.

Having experienced the mental strenuousness (albeit not firsthand) of driving in Korea, I'd say one of the things I'm looking forward to most is cruising along at 70 mph, if not faster, on California's freeways again.

Air pollution. You hear that word repeated again and again by environmental advocates these days. I want to tell people, relax! Live a little. Of course we shouldn't be dumping nuclear waste into the oceans or emitting gases that cause acid rain from our factories, but it's plain and simple: technology will be the answer to our problems. It always has been.

If you're still fixated on air pollution, go abroad to a developing country who doesn't have standards or laws regarding the burning of trash, such as Ghana. Go to China, where air pollution's unavoidable in cities
like Beijing and GuangZhou. These countries' industries need regulation, but also better technology, which is what the U.S. has always invested in.

It's not so bad in the States. Stop complaining. Now go out there and start finding solutions to these issues like global warming! Become a scientist or something. My advice to environmentalists? Instead of telling other people what to do, start with yourself.

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Bright Advice #25: See the good in others.

Everyone you meet has a good side, whether or not it is evident on the first encounter. There will be times when you meet someone and already you get a negative vibe. You might feel that it is hard to start up conversations or things might become frustrating.  Learn to see the good in people, even if you may not want to.

If you surround yourself with negative people, the only thing they will do is put you in a negative mood. Try to see the good in people - everyone has a good side. When you learn to see the good in others, it will be less stressful when talking to them or being around them. Now, if you are somewhere where you have no choice but to be around negative people, learning to see the good in them will make things a little more tolerable for you.

Be positive with the people around you, and also with life in general. When you see the positive aspects of negative people, apply the same thinking process with life. The more positive you are, the more motivated and awake you will be.

Upon learning how to see the good in others, be sure to be able to differentiate between that and sucking up. Just because you might not be around people you like doesn't mean you have to be down and negative. Develop the skill to see life in a positive perspective. Pretend you're stuck in traffic for the next hour, but it's okay. You just downloaded some new music to jam to on the way home. There are always brighter alternatives, just learn to notice them.

It is about focusing on the little things and finding the positive in them. The more positive you find in people and the things around you the happier you will be. You will also be more motivated to make it through everyday and reach your goals.

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