Life-long Learning is NOW

Hi Friends

Each day for 7 days I are looking at a new habit and would encourage you to follow each for a next month so that they become regular habits from then onwards. In 7 weeks we will have 7 new daily habits that may completely change our lives in a positive way, making us better at work, socially and at home. Each habit is simple and within the limits of everybody.

Today’s habit is learn something new every day. It might be something small or a new course that will be life changing. It’s up to you.

Life is a learning experience. We used to talk about a job for life but that is changed and re-training is a theme today. Many people are changing their job every few years because they are on short term contracts, short term projects, they are made redundant or are looking for promotion. And for these people it’s usually essential to be on a learning roller-coaster. But that roller-coaster isn’t a steady ride and that’s what I want to tell you about here. Another group of people need to undertake annual training to keep their professional status.

And that’s what you should be doing to keep your place in life.

In fact we talk about learning for life. Do you feel you know everything you need to know? Everything to get along? That you don’t need to bother with any more learning?

Maybe there’s a physical skill you want to learn like photography or painting, gardening or driving. Perhaps you feel inadequate in a life skill like being able to talk in public, feel confident, be able to manage others, or be a better team member.

So why not sit down and list out 5 things you’d like to learn about and why. Now put them into an order and think about the subject at the top of the list. Now what can you do to learn about this?

Maybe you should get a book from the library or buy a book. They say that only 2 books in every 100 that is bought are actually read. Some of the rest are started but some aren’t even opened. That is very sad. They also say that if you spend just one hour a day reading about anything, then you will become an expert in 12 weeks. By expert we mean that you know much more than the average person. 

You might learn by looking up the information on the internet and either finding articles or videos. This is a common way to learn and there are free and paid curses that will help too. A course is so much better than random videos or articles because they are structures and complete.

You might join a local night school or day classes. If you are particularly enthusiastic you might even sign up on an Open University home study degree course. Wouldn’t it be exciting to tell your family and friends that you’ve just been awarded a degree.

Learning something new will keep your mind active, make you a more interesting person for others, and widen your knowledge. It might give you skills that will have other advantages. If you learn skills like decorating, car mechanics, gardening or plumbing then you could save yourself money at home, or even turn it into a send income or teach others. Just remember we can all learn, all the time and we will benefit. If you learn one small thing every day you can only benefit.

Remember if you are unwilling to learn, no one can help you, but if you are determined to learn, no one can stop you. Make today the first day of a new learning plan.

And make this your new habit that you will use every day from now.

Good luck with your new habit. Please try and learn something every day.

Watch your Manners. Learn with us - here

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

Hi Guys

My new course "Manners maketh Man & Woman" is now completed and available. As a special introduction to this and my other courses I am offering it free for 2 days only. This offer will finish on Thursday 4th February at midnight GMT.
 

To get immediate free enrollment copy and paste this link http://tinyurl.com/zzweqzn   Please share this link whilst it lasts.

All my courses include lifelong access so that you get all future updates and additional content. All these courses are being continually updated: for example I have just added 5 new videos to "The Complete Guide for Overseas Students in the UK" covering how to get a part-time job during studying and full-time job when graduated, plus new videos on English manners. 

There is a huge market for online courses and I am very pleased to hear from you if you would like to create a course to go on my site. I can give you all the help you need to produce this and you'll not necessarily have to appear

yourself. There are alternatives such as Powerpoint presentations, animation, using an actor (through a low cost agency) and more. I can show you how to set up a home studio in a small space such as a bedroom or living room, enhance the audio, edit video and much more. Interested? Leave a comment or e-mail me personally at ask@mikeleahy.comask@mikeleahy.com

Not only will you be sharing information and helping others but you'll make some spare cash too. This is a great opportunity. You probably have a skill or knowledge that you haven't thought about. Maybe you are a keen gardener, cook, keep fish, have a second language, have coding knowledge, photographer, are a good dresser or can do brilliant make-up. Maybe you want to create a religious course, meditation, losing weight or keeping fit. One course I saw was a man training in his living room. He started making video when he started his workouts. It was remarkable how he did turn from a weak frame to muscular and because the course followed his progress it was seen as genuine and sold well.

And you don't have to be a genius. So long as you know more than the average person about your subject then you can create a course. I'm happy to work on joint ventures too, so if you have the knowledge we can work together if you wish.

Many people say that they can find everything fee online, and yes you can. But courses are better because everything is together and there is a 30 day full money back guarantee on all courses on my site so you can depend on the tutor as being reliable and good. Courses are usually inclusive, by which I mean that you have everything in one place. 

It doesn't have to be a paid course. Some people like to just share their interest and run free courses. That's fine with me. The Learning Centre is a general resource that is growing.  

So to recap
Enrol in my manners course for free CLICK HERE 
If you want to create your own course contact me.



Have a great life. Watch this space. Please follow me.

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Life Skills that enhance Life

Hi Everyone

Seems to me there are two types of life skills and both are valuable in our future success.

The first set of life skills are defined by Ellen Galinsky, based on the ideas of the French psychologist Jean Piaget, who is generally recognized as the father of developmental psychology charting how children grow mentally from babies through being toddlers to school.

These skills are Focus and Self-Control, Perspective Taking, Communicating,Making Connections, Critical Thinking,Taking on Challenges and finally Self-Directed, Engaged Learning.

These are all skills that we should learn as children to help us succeed in life. So, for example we should learn focus and self-control so that we can concentrate on what we are doing and not be distracted.

Unfortunately we are now in an age where this self control and focus is diminishing in many cases and you can see this with that device we all carry now - the mobile phone. Have you noticed how so many people are distracted by their phones during conversation and at meal-time for example. And this now covers all ages and intelligence levels. Go to a restaurant and watch the diners. Usually conversation has died and it's not unusual for everyone at a table to be texting, reading messages or talking on their phones. And this of course not only demonstrates the lack of focus and self control but shows a lack of common good manners to the others they are dining with.

Likewise YouTube clam that most people will switch from any video they are watching after about a minute, and anything longer than 3 minutes had better be absolutely riveting to retain any interest. 

So by learning how to focus and how to have self-control, and then being able to put this into practice can put you head and shoulders above the rest. But this not only works for whatever we are doing at the moment but also achieving what we want in the future. For how can you succeed if you have a goal but can't focus long enough to take the steps necessary to achieve it?

The last skill in this list is self-directed self-learning skills that will enable us to undertake work, to carry out practical jobs in our social environment and to be increase our interlect through creative skills, all of which we can learn. And in general get a direction to our future.

So it is recognised that we live in an ever changing world where there is no job for life, where our social lives are continually evolving. And this has changed dramatically just in the last 30 years or so. When I left school everyone said get a job in a bank, as a teacher, in local government and you've got a job for life with a good pension. And many of my peers did just that. And now they've retired with their pension and, in many cases their lives continue to be a regular routine that hasn't changed through the years. I read that over 85% of the population are unhappy at work so for many its been a lifetime of over 80,000 hours of unhappiness or at the very least boredom and unfulfillment. Many have taken up hobbies that have become absorbing and filled the void from being unhappy at work but not all.

Now we live in a different world. A world with more opportunities, A world where you can achieve anything that is physically possible. I'm not saying that you can do anything. It's highly unlikely you'll become a premier league footballer if you have a physical disability that prevents this: its unlikely you'll be able to fly without wings. But there is nothing to stop you becoming a millionaire, a university professor, a top artist or writer. You just need the life skills to achieve this. focus and self control to start with and the knowledge to carry out your ambition. If you want to be an artist then you need to learn to draw and paint. Looking back at the greats is inspirational. We look at all the artists of old and most had an apprenticeship where they nay have worked with a master artist for years learning how to paint hands or eyes, clouds or water. And only when they mastered these skills did they move on to create works themselves. 

Now this is becoming simple. We don't need vast shelves of  encyclodepeas because its all on the internet. You can find anything online. I believe that books are invaluable and I've quite a library including how-to books and classics; and I read frequently but this is just one resource. I still like the feel of books and settling down to read is relaxing and can help me switch off from general life for a while. But there are so many more resources online for an immediate answer.

So you can learn anything for free. But to learn about a specific subject such as photography or gardening, cake-making or a new language then I highly recommend

enrolling in a paid course. There are courses on every subject under the sun and the benefits are that you will be taught by a professional in a planned learning schedule. All the information will be together so you wont waste time on searching it out, and the information should be accurate so you won't have to decide what is correct or otherwise. And finally you'll be able to ask questions and set up a dialogue should you wish. 

Learn a new skill today. Find a course that covers something you want to learn or do and feel the satisfaction when you finish.

Here are my courses. Click on the image to go to the website

 

Tips to influence people

Hi Folk

I've often heard people say "They are a born salesman. They could sell ice to an Eskimo" Usually implying that sales skills are mainly the ability to talk. Nothing could be father from the truth. . Yes there are some attributes that will help a sales-person succeed but I firmly believe that sales-people are made.

Would you go for treatment by a born doctor, particularly if they were untrained and wielding a scalpel. Would you take your car to a born mechanic who hadn't been through an apprenticeship to become capable. No you wouldn't. And sales-people are the same. They need good training in all aspects of the job. Selling is about bringing produces or services together with someone who wants, needs or desires that product and can afford it. People are reticent about making decisions and so the sales-person job is to help them come to that decision.

This course is created to go through the closing aspect of selling. The part where you do need to nudge the buyer. A bit like a sheepdog driving his flock into a pen, maybe across rough terrain and open country.
The art of closing is a great skill in life too. It will help you influence people to your way of thinking at home, with friends, in the community and at work. Closing is an art that is associated with selling but in fact one that we can use successfully every day.

This course covers many different ways to influence others, some you will know and others may be new. You may want to try some and see how successful you are. Remember, closing is an art, And any art needs practice, whether painting, writing or even talking..Conversation is a real art and by dropping some closing techniques in, they will become natural and part of talking. 

My favourite social or family close is the alternative. It's described in the course as a selling tool. Let me tell you how to use it at home. 

Lets say you want to go to see a movie. Most people would say "Lets go out tonight. Do you want to see  (name of movie)? and often the reply is "I've had a bad day today. Lets stay in" or "I don't want to see that film. Lets go for a meal or get a takeaway"

And you are shot in the foot - figuratively of course. You didn't figure that out did you.

If you had firstly talked about the film in broad terms and used expressions like "So and so is in it. I know you like him" "We haven't been to see a movie for ages" and so on.

Then say "Honey how about going out tonight. That movie we talked about looks really good. Shall we go at 7 or would the later show be better?" Suddenly the emphasis is on which performance, not whether to go or not. And that's an easier choice to make. This is so simple but it works well. Not every time but most times. Why don't you try this next time you want to go out. Remember it doesn't have to be the movies, might be a meal or other entertainment. There are about 20 different ways to close in this course so you have plenty of choice. You just need to transform them from a business situation to a home or social occasion.

Kids are easier to persuade with this type of psychology too.

SPECIAL OFFER

 

As a special I'm offering a special discount on this course of 75% dropping from £24 right down to £6 for my regular Blog readers. Click on this link http://tinyurl.com/nq9zgo5 now and start learning these skills today.

If you feel that you have a course in your head and want any help in writing and producing it do leave a comment. I'd love to see you succeed. Whether about a hobby or interest, a skill such as make-up, cooking or motor mechanics this is your opportunity.

regards

The Human Chain Reaction

Hi Folks

Have you ever given way to a car when you are crawling along on rush hour and see what can happen? The driver gives a wave and you all crawl along again. You see a car waiting to pull out ahead and think “I’ve done my share this morning” and think you’ll drive past. Next thing is that the car you helped does the same.

And there is often a chain reaction. I’ve seen it with people being polite and holding doors open, giving way and many other small things. And they almost always result in his chain reaction.

But the opposite isn’t the same. If you have a bad day and snap at a shop assistant or shout at a motorist, you don’t see the same happening. You don’t see that same motorist snarling at someone else, or the next person in the queue be aggressive to the assistant.

After researching this over recent months I’ve come to the conclusion that we all know what we should do, that there is an accepted code of conduct. People ignore that code very often but when someone acts with thoughtfulness then it does snowball, And I'll tell you what. Everybody feels good.

 When we have a kindness then it sort of reminds us start being gallant. Unfortunately I also discovered that this good feeling doesn’t last and needs constant reminding. Maybe it’s because we are all too busy. Maybe we are becoming more self-centred; selfish and introvert. Unfortunately I think it’s a mix of the two.

We do lead busy lives but in many cases that’s our own fault. We don’t have to do everything. We can slow down. Do you look at your emails of Facebook throughout the day? Do you sit around thinking about what you could be doing, but not doing anything about it.

So maybe you should think about slowing down, getting focused and putting people at the top of your list. Try a little experiment. Start really appreciating someone. Might be someone you work with, a friend or even someone in your family. Don't go over the top or you;ll give the wrong signals. Just thank and praise them when they do something. Make them a coffee if you don't usually. Tell them to sit down for 5 minutes. Tell them you like their hair or clothes if they look good. But be sincere, don't flatter and say something that's not true.

You will be amazed at what happens. In the majority of cases that person will start doing better at their job or whatever the relationship is with you. If you go through life acting like this towards everyone you'll certainly gain more friends and influence people.

Finally, thinking or planning to have a stand at an exhibition? I'll be running an online course shortly. If you have a query about exhibitions leave a comment. Meanwhile here is a photo of me with my son the rabbit. This was my Radio Pager Company in the days before mobile phones. "But that's forever ago" I hear you say. No! I think about 20 years. So much has happened.
 

Write a great course

 Getting a course written and up on your sales site is difficult enough. But then there is the marketing without which there are no sales.So there are two stages, firstly creating the course and making it public; and secondly marketing it to make those sales.

Here are some hints that I've found useful already. Firstly, creating and selling online courses is not a hobby, it is really hard work. Nothing comes easy in this world, if it did there would be a lot more successful people around. And it takes time. You hear about overnight success stories but I bet you that if you look up the information about that person you'd find the "Overnight Success" came after years of trying. Edison took 10,000 shots at making a light bulb. No. He realised that each mistake was taking him nearer and was a learning experience. Look at successful people in showbiz. Simon Cowell spent years hawing around music labels and being thrown out of every producer's office before becoming successful. And that goes for the finalists in the X Factor too. It's unusual for someone to suddenly find fame without any experience or pain.

Some platforms such as Udemy will promote you as one of their 30,000 courses but you are just a number and won't get any dramatic marketing that will sell your £200 course. The marketing they do id across the board and they dramatically offer all courses for peanuts. I understand that the average sale price on their courses is around £8. So many course are discounted by over 90%. And that's OK provided you sell enough. You'll also see that many courses have hundreds if not thousands of students but many of these have enrolled free. Free is OK provided it encourages others to sign up, or is it? Now the sad thing here is that most people who have signed up for free don't actually complete on video lecture on the entire course. Many seen to be bounty hunters, seeing how many courses they can get for free, instead of enrolling in courses that matter to them, and then studying. There are some really great courses on Udemy. And you are encouraged to to do your own marketing to bring in your own sales in addition.

Most other platforms expect you to do all your own marketing. They provide the platform, encourage and assist you in creating courses, building your free website/landing page and advising you on way to create sales. They charge a much lower fee on your sales.

Either route is hard work. With Udemy they work to strict criteria and restrict any outward links to yours or other sites. This means that you are in general in a prison of your own making. Nevertheless it is a good route for many people and you can get a good return on your efforts. I think the secret is to write as many good courses as possible and cross-sell where you can. With many courses you only need a couple of sales per course per week and it mutiplies through the range.

I think that many have gone down the other route, particularly when they have a business site and have built up social media. And when they feel they are a in a niche and a leader.

I have courses on both Udemy and other platforms, as do many others.

There is a formula for success from the moment you think about starting. And this post isn't about that formula, its about broad concept.

First you need to look inwards and determine if thee is enough knowledge there to create a course. If not it doesn't matter because you can read up on a subject. They you need to look at gthe market a determined if there is a market for the course you have in your mind. Check it out on search engines and keyword searches.

Next you must actually create your course and starting is the most difficult decision to make. Will it be be good enough, can I do it? These and many other questions pop into our heads and of course procrastination creeps in, the TV show looks good, should take the dog out, what about that loose carpet that needs fixing. You have to be really focused and take postive enthusiastic action.

You have to write promotional material for the site, prepare a promotional video and much more, It takes time. Then, with Udemy, you need approval so there is both a wait and anxiety. Will it be rejected? If it is don't worry just make the changes and submit again. With other platforms you don't need approval so there could be a drop in standards, but in my experience I haven't seen that. In fact I think that many started on Udemy and either changed or added another platform.

I believe it is essential to maintain the highest standards for course content and promotional material, the promo video and the image that you use to front up your course. I personally looked at dozens of other courses and made notes so that i could make informed decisions. You have to do this for yourself, despite the information available on the platforms.

Salesan elude ou for no reason that you can find. You may have atop idea, create a
brilliant course, promote through every possible avenue and nothing, it happens. Try to never get depressed about it. Keep going, it takes effort. You will be rewarded. And there is nothing more satisfying than getting your first sales.

But that is just the beginning. You have to keep on the ball. And if you are lucky and work hard you may get a few thousand in each month. Wouldn't that be nice. Keep that dream in your mind.

Some points will surprise you. Having good English isn't always necessary if your course is in demand. But for most of you a good grasp of the English language and a good understandable voice is important.

The most successful courses are to do with web coding and making money. I do wonder if some authors rely on the financial needs of others, big their courses up, build up huge followings and possibly exaggerate the outcomes. This is just a personal thought. 

.I've said before that I'm happy to reply or talk to anyone who is at any stage of creativity. I don't know everything but I am going through a very steep learning process and know the pain and some answers.  Hopefully in a few short months i will be too busy to spend much time helping so utilise my time now.

Visit my courses here