5 Tips for Staving Off Stress -- at Work and in Life

Do you find yourself thriving in stressful situations? Buzzing with energy and feeding off moments of high anxiety? 

Stress can be like a performance-enhancement drug. It heightens our senses to ensure we function at our best. The body’s stress response has evolved over thousands of years to react to dangers such as a wooly mammoth stampede or happening upon an angry bear. It's designed to, as described by Dr. Michael Roizen in his book, You Staying Young, “heighten all of our biological systems” to ensure we can do things like RUN!

Sounds like a great thing, right? Who wouldn't want to operate at optimum efficiency all the time? And because stress is a completely natural response, what’s the harm?

Unfortunately, your body isn't designed to experience stress 24/7. It’s akin to leaving the oven running -- eventually, it’s going to burn the house down.

Paul J. Rosch, M.D., president of the American Institute of Stress suggests that "stress increases productivity up to a point, after which things rapidly deteriorate.” People’s bodies can tolerate different levels of stress, just as some people can lift heavier weights at the gym while others cannot. However, stress is cumulative. Eventually, everyone reaches their limit.

Over the past 10 years as a speaker, coach and consultant, I've had the opportunity to see how stress effects thousands of business owners and their employees. When you experience too much anxiety over a long period of time, even a small occurrence can drastically increase the strain you feel.

Here are five strategies to reduce your own stress levels in the workplace:

1. Focus on the what and the why

Whether you’re feeling overwhelmed by all the tasks you have to complete or feeling stressed about a specific task, knowing what you’re trying to achieve and why it’s important to you will serve as a great stress reliever.

2. Plan the work, and work the plan

Strategize what you need to accomplish the night before, plan your day in such a way that allows extra time to accomplish each task, and stick to that plan as closely as possible.

Giving yourself extra time to complete tasks will ensure your entire day isn't thrown off course by unforeseen occurrences or “fires” that can crop up. Planning the night before will also ensure you don’t fall victim to forgetting an early meeting, allow you to feel 100 percent on top of things, and enable your brain to unconsciously begin working on tomorrow’s tasks and problem-solving.

While we still have a lot to learn about the unconscious mind, I find that when I schedule time to fix a problem in my daily plan, by the next day I seem to already have the answer. When I fail to do so, though, I could spend a day on a tough problem and get nowhere.

3. Take brief breaks

If you’re experiencing a great deal of pressure or starting to feel burned out, a brief break will give your mind and body a short period of rest so you can jump back to the task refreshed -- and without getting too off-track.

Taking a short break and getting some fresh air is sometimes all it takes for a total reset. Simply breathing deeply gives your brain the oxygen it needs to kick a mental roadblock out of the way and progress with work.

4. Flexibility

Always schedule one or two non-urgent tasks when planning your day. That way, if an unexpected occurrence transpires, you can feel comfortable concentrating on that and rescheduling these tasks to a later date.

Trying to pack all of your urgent work into a single day leaves you no room to shift anything and it greatly increases stress. Prevent yourself from becoming overwhelmed by planning smarter.

5. Share the load

Debriefing with your manager, team leader or fellow business owners can alleviate the stress you feel. Tell them what’s happening in your career or what's occurring throughout the day that makes you feel so overwhelmed. Chances are that getting it off your chest will lessen some of the anxiety you feel.

There have been times I've shared a few stories about customers that have driven me crazy and found that the simple act of telling someone turned the taxing situation into an entertaining story and allowed the stress to melt away.

In addition to these strategies, you can also give your body a head start. Some people can lift more weights at the gym because they've spent time preparing their body to do so. You can also prep your body to better tolerate stress.

Incorporate 30 minutes of exercise into your everyday routine, drink plenty of water, eat a healthy diet and get enough rest. These seemingly basic activities greatly improve productivity and critical thinking as well as the mitigation of stress.

Preparing my body for stress also allows me to get more achieved in less time, which in turn also reduces the likelihood of more stress. You’ll be a calmer and more productive presence at work -- and in your life. 

Two important questions in any job interview

As a job candidate in the hot seat, you can expect to be asked dozens — sometimes hundreds — of questions about your strengths, weaknesses, values, and goals.

But according to attorney and LinkedIn user Arkady Itkin, there are only two that "really matter and that you should be ready to answer to ace your interview," he writes in a recent LinkedIn post.

They are: "Why us?" and "Why you?"

Keeping these two questions in mind when preparing for a job interview in any field will "help you focus on what really matters to you and to that potential employer," he explains.

The "Why us?" question, he writes, "is about what makes the company so great and so desirable to you and not why you think they are good enough for you to work at."

Itkin says in order to answer this question you'll need to do your homework and figure out what makes this company different from others. "Do they have unique clients or work philosophy that's different from their competitors? What is it about the history of the company or their management that's appealing to you?"

If you're impressed with the top leaders' credentials and believe you could learn from how they work, "proudly say so," he suggests. If you love their product, tell them why you're so impressed with it.

When it comes to answering, "Why you?" you'll want to tell the prospective employer what makes you so great without actually saying it. (You never want to come off as entitled or arrogant.) 

"Talk about your prior work experience and your interest in that field of work," Itkin writes. "Talk about your ideas that you believe would be very useful to the team you want to work with. Share other objective facts and quantifiable accomplishments … about why you are good at what you do, and why you would be a good fit for the company without using generic, self-serving cliché adjectives that should only be used as bullet points in a résumé, if at all, and sound like bragging."

5 Truths About Abusive Relationships

COMMUNICATION RELATIONSHIPS BY DAWN HAFN

The first time it happened I don’t even think it settled in for a day or so. We were in a fight about something when suddenly his hands were wrapped tightly around my neck and I was pinned up against the wall. He didn’t hit me. There was never striking by hand. Most of the time I was shoved and pushed into walls or furniture, shoved up against a wall and pinned against it beyond my will. Thrown head first into a headboard, resulting in a bloody nose. One time in the middle of a fight the shotgun was suddenly taken down off the wall. There is nothing like seeing your partner grab a gun during a fight.

Those were the physical things. The verbal attacks were about as damaging.“You’ll never amount to anything.” Or “If it wasn’t for your long hair you wouldn’t even be remotely attractive. Don’t ever cut it, or you’ll be nothing.” Or“Gee, looks like you’ve lost some weight, I think your ass seems less wide than normal.”

Fear, control, manipulation and threats were a part of my daily life. Combine all that joy with late nights out drinking and you may wonder why I didn’t go running for the door – right? What’s wrong with women (or men) who stay in these relationships anyway? (Domestic abuse victims are approximately 85% women and 15% men.)

Nothing. Well, nothing at the start other than a good heart, a bent towards forgiveness and searching for love in the wrong place. At the end of enduring this type of relationship for any length of time a lot of damage has been done. Over 38 million women will find themselves the victim of abuse at the hands of their intimate partner at some time during their life. See this link for even more sobering facts.

Here are some insights about abusive relationships from someone that’s been there. Even if you don’t want to admit it, if you are in an abusive relationship then these are truths for you also, as painful as they may be to admit.

1. You are worth more

What starts off as well intentioned forgiveness turns into forfeiting your life for someone who is never going to be capable of being a truly healthy partner. Controlling, abusive partners need help. You are worth more in this life than waiting for their sickness to get better. You are worth a partner that respects you exactly as you are. You are worthy of a partner that does not control you or force you to hide parts of who you are.

What if you even had a partner that was there to be a catalyst – even to your own personal growth in a healthy way? Imagine how far you could go in your life by shedding what is dragging you down. The longer you stay, the more difficult you will find the truth something you believe. Experiencing abuse will eventually rob you of your self-worth.

2. It won’t get better

After every fight you hear promise after promise of how it will get better, and how sorry they are. It won’t get better. Your abusive partner has already shown a lack of respect for you, and that will not improve by putting up with being treated with abuse. Better exists, but not inside this relationship. It took years for them to learn to deal with people in this abusive, controlling, manipulative way. It will take a lifetime for them to unlearn it, and that is only if they want to do the difficult work required with help.

Back to point one: you are worth more than forfeiting your life. The next time you want to fill yourself with false hope that this could change, please read these facts about your future staying with your abuser.

3. This is not your problem to fix

Being the victim in these relationships can cause you to think, “If only I had dressed better, or cleaned the house better, or been more affectionate… then maybe the fight wouldn’t have started.”

You should never think this way. If you had done everything perfectly the fight still would have started. The abuse still would have happened. Your partner is fighting something in themselves not of you, but taken out upon you. Nothing you do or don’t do can fix them or prevent this from happening again. You are not in control of this situation no matter how wonderful you are to them.

4. There is no prize for who survives the worst

Ask yourself, “Why am I hanging on to this?” What do you have to gain? There is no award at the end of years of long abusive relationships except a heart full of regret. Just because you love this person does not give you to right to forfeit the gift of your life.

You are worthy of wonderful, healthy, loving blessings. You are not serving your life’s purpose by putting yourself in this jail, wasting your gifts from being shared with the world, under this person’s control and abuse. Fast forward your life to age seventy. What will you regret most?

5. You can help others

Abuse of all sorts is still hidden in our society and not talked about openly. Victims shield their abusers from judgement by staying quiet and not reaching out to others. It is common to stay silent to even your closest family or friends about abuse because of point 2, above – you are still in denial that it will get better. As victims we dream of the day the pain will end and they will see our worth, so we decide not to tell our family and friends. We fear judgement of our partner, our choices and ourselves.

If you believe everything happens for a reason, then maybe the reason this has happened was for you to overcome this struggle and grow from it so you can help others. My situation was not something I often talked about unless I met someone I recognized as possibly in the same situation. In those cases I always shared my story in private and encouraged them to reach out. There are ways to overcome and transcend this part of life.

No, getting out of an abusive, controlling relationship isn’t easy. It’s scary, difficult and at times you will want to retreat. I personally remember about six months of being in fear for my safety in every way. But staying and giving your life up to this person who has zero value for you is not the answer. Reach out to someone you trust. For more resources about what steps to consider to actually get out this is a great link with a helpline link near the bottom of the article.

Even though my experience with this happened over twenty years ago, it’s still a part of who I am. The experience changed me in a way nothing else could. The most difficult part of the entire thing wasn’t actually the abuse. The most difficult part was letting myself down for not walking away sooner. The most difficult part was forgiving myself for putting up with far less than I deserved. Forgiving myself took far longer than forgiving him.

Remember that when you think about just treading water and just waiting a bit longer to see what happens. Give yourself a chance at life. You are worth so much more!

If you are in, or know someone who is in an abusive relationship, consider checking this link.

If you are in the United States then you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or TTY 1-800-787-3224 or  if you are in Nigeria  pls call :08180091072, 08052004698  (Project Alert}

9 Habits of High-Performing Business Leaders

JACQUELINE WHITMORE

CONTRIBUTOR

Author, Etiquette Expert and Founder of The Protocol School of Palm Beach

There’s more than one way to run a business and become a successful entrepreneur. Yet many of the most seasoned business leaders share similar habits in their approach to life and work.

Here are nine secrets these professionals use to master their craft, grow their businesses and achieve extraordinary success.

1. Plan for the long term.

In a competitive market, the temptation to prioritize short-term goals is difficult to ignore. Your clients and customers expect you to deliver great products and services in a timely manner. You also have a fiduciary responsibility to your company, partners and investors.

But if you focus only on the short term, your business may not reach its full potential. Instead, set aside time at least once or twice a year to plan for the future. Routinely monitor your progress on achieving long-term goals.

2. Communicate quickly and effectively.

Respond to emails, phone calls and other requests immediately. The amount of time you take to respond could make the difference between gaining or losing a sale. Furthermore, when you respond quickly to clients, customers and employees, you develop a reputation for reliability. In your workplace, timely and effective communication will create a culture of focused efficiency. 

3. Spend money wisely.

Entrepreneurs often face hard decisions about resource allocation. Pay close attention to your company's monthly expenses to avoid excessive or unneeded costs.

Always consider the return on an investment when you evaluate the best ways to spend company funds. Ask yourself, How long will it take me to recoup my investment?  Also consider, Will this investment help me achieve the goals of my business?” If you can’t answer these questions, don’t spend the money.

4. Set a daily routine.

Although every day will be slightly different, create a rundown of what your ideal daily schedule should include. Every morning, before you check email, determine the three most important tasks to complete for the day.

Prioritize crucial tasks over those that are less urgent. This approach will keep you focused throughout the day and help you avoid time-consuming distractions.

5. Meet challenges with enthusiasm.

I will always remember my mother saying, “Do your very best.” She must have known that if I perform my highest ability, everything else will fall into place. It’s important to meet every new challenge head-on.

Apply the same level of passion and zeal that you felt when you first started your business to every difficult situation. If you give each new challenge your best effort, you’ll experience positive outcomes more often than not. 

6. Read.

Every morning, consume the daily news from newspapers, industry blogs or magazines. Not only will this help you stay informed, it will give you plenty of material for casual conversation with colleagues and small talk before meetings. In the evening, unwind and relax with a good book.

Readers are leaders. You might learn something that will provide you proven tools and strategies to apply in your own business.  

7. Never stop networking.

The right connections can bring your business new opportunities. Most professionals prefer to do business with entrepreneurs they know, like and trust.

Make it a priority to grow your network and build long-lasting professional relationships. Don’t limit yourself to just attending networking events. Join professional organizations and associations or volunteer to serve on the board of a local charity.

8. Think creatively.

Make innovation the center of your business. Encourage team members and colleagues to experiment with new ideas and fresh approaches to business. Entrepreneurs who take risks often accomplish extraordinary things because their methods are creative and unexpected. Push outside your comfort zone and approach the risk of failure with a positive attitude. 

9. Nurture yourself.

If you want to be productive, start by taking care of yourself. Receive at least seven hours of sleep to ensure that you'll wake up refreshed and ready for the day ahead. Don’t forget to make exercise part of your weekly routine. You’ll feel more energetic, focused and be better equipped to manage stress.

Make time to play and have fun. Striking a balance between work and life isn’t as hard as you might think. You just need to identify and integrate into your weekly mix a few activities that really matter to you. Play brings satisfaction and joy to the heart. And when you feel more satisfied and happy, you're kinder to yourself and to others at work.

Multitasking Can Damage Your Brain and Career, Studies Say- Is this true?

You’ve likely heard that multitasking is problematic, but new studies show that it kills your performance and may even damage your brain. Research conducted at Stanford University found that multitasking is less productive than doing a single thing at a time. The researchers found that people who are regularly bombarded with several streams of electronic information cannot pay attention, recall information, or switch from one job to another as well as those who complete one task at a time.

A Special Skill?

But what if some people have a special gift for multitasking? The Stanford researchers compared groups of people based on their tendency to multitask and their belief that it helps their performance. They found that heavy multitaskers—those who multitask a lot and feel that it boosts their performance—were actually worse at multitasking than those who like to do a single thing at a time. The frequent multitaskers performed worse because they had more trouble organizing their thoughts and filtering out irrelevant information, and they were slower at switching from one task to another. Ouch. Multitasking reduces your efficiency and performance because your brain can only focus on one thing at a time. When you try to do two things at once, your brain lacks the capacity to perform both tasks successfully.

Multitasking Lowers IQ

Research also shows that, in addition to slowing you down, multitasking lowers your IQ. A study at the University of London found that participants who multitasked during cognitive tasks experienced IQ score declines that were similar to what they’d expect if they had smoked marijuana or stayed up all night. IQ drops of 15 points for multitasking men lowered their scores to the average range of an 8-year-old child. So the next time you’re writing your boss an email during a meeting, remember that your cognitive capacity is being diminished to the point that you might as well let an 8-year-old write it for you.

Brain Damage From Multitasking

It was long believed that cognitive impairment from multitasking was temporary, but new research suggests otherwise. Researchers at the University of Sussex in the UK compared the amount of time people spend on multiple devices (such as texting while watching TV) to MRI scans of their brains. They found that high multitaskers had less brain density in the anterior cingulate cortex, a region responsible for empathy as well as cognitive and emotional control.

While more research is needed to determine if multitasking is physically damaging the brain (versus existing brain damage that predisposes people to multitask), it’s clear that multitasking has negative effects. Neuroscientist Kep Kee Loh, the study’s lead author, explained the implications: “I feel that it is important to create an awareness that the way we are interacting with the devices might be changing the way we think and these changes might be occurring at the level of brain structure.”

Learning From Multitasking

If you’re prone to multitasking, this is not a habit you’ll want to indulge—it clearly slows you down and decreases the quality of your work. Even if it doesn’t cause brain damage, allowing yourself to multitask will fuel any existing difficulties you have with concentration, organization, and attention to detail. Multitasking in meetings and other social settings indicates low Self- and Social Awareness, two emotional intelligence (EQ) skills that are critical to success at work. TalentSmart has tested more than a million people and found that 90% of top performers have high EQs. If multitasking does indeed damage the anterior cingulate cortex (a key brain region for EQ) as current research suggests, it will lower your EQ in the process.

So every time you multitask you aren’t just harming your performance in the moment; you may very well be damaging an area of your brain that’s critical to your future success at work.

A version of this article originally appeared at TalentSmart.com.

Jane Benyl: 5 Healthy Choices You Should Make in Your 20s

 By Janyl Benyl 

Twenty something year old has a lot of time to make some critical decisions before he/she hits the thirties. When you are in your early twenties, you realize that you have less to worry about, which presents a lot of time that can be used to harness some strengths that will be beneficial in the future. Experts will tell you it is the period when you can adopt some habits and stick to them. It is actually important to use this formative period to build life long habits that you may not be able to force down later. You know what they say? Practice makes perfect. Now is the better time to practice.

Take Care of Your Skin
This is the best time to find products that works for your skin and body. Experiment if you need to, you are more likely to be able to get away with it now than later. Avoid excessive pulling on your skin and try to stay off products that clog your pores and weigh your skin down as much as you can.

Exercise
Building endurance and strength only comes by practicing. You will benefit a lot in future by attaining a high level of cardio-fitness and muscular strength. With this, you can continue to keep up a lifestyle of exercising when people of your age are usually discouraged by excess fatigue that comes with aging and going through life’s demands.

Adopt a Healthy Sleep Cycle
Finding those things that help you sleep better will be quite beneficial throughout your life. A lot of people have to deal with sleeping disorders these days. Chances are that if you succeed in building a good circadian rhythm now, your body will adapt to it and this will help you fall asleep faster when you get to those periods where you have a lot of worries that tend to induce insomnia.

Manage Weight Disorders
If you allow yourself to grow fat now, you are definitely going to keep adding weight as you grow. Try to keep the little amounts in check so it doesn’t get out of hand. People tend to add weight as they grow older. Don’t allow it to become overwhelming when you are least prepared to combat it.

Find a Recreational Activity
Find something you love and try to make it a part of you. It’s always good to know exactly how to relax to ease the excessive tension when the need arises. Find people that share similar interests as you and have them in your circles. It is easier to motivate yourself through others for the days you are not in the mood. And we all know it is not as easy to build new friendships when everyone has several things that take up their time.

Whatever you do, remember you are trying to build habits that will last for a lifetime.

Photo Credit: Dreamstime | Michael Zhang

UNBELIEVABLE!!! Russian Man Builds House With 12,000 Bottles Of Champagne [Photo]

Posted by: Olumide 

A man in Russia’s Chelyabinsk region recently made the news recently, after it was reported that he built the walls of his house by using 12,000 champagne bottles. OddityCentral has more:

52-year-old Hamidullah Ilchibaev has always been interested in constructing things out of beer and vodka bottles, but it wasn’t until he lost his 18-year-old son that he began working on his greatest project – a glass bottle house. His son had always admired his work and pushed him to build a house someday, so he decided to go ahead with the idea, in his memory. Over the course of three years, he managed to collect 12,000 champagne bottle of various shapes and sizes.Some he purchased at a ruble apiece, and others were donated by nearby restaurants.

“When I started to build, I hadn’t even imagined that there are so many different kinds of bottles of champagne,” he said. He discovered that the bottles not only varied in color, but also quality. The bottles he finally collected were of different shapes and sizes, so he used a special glass cutter to cut the tops off to the same size.

He made use of these bottles as one would bricks, stacking them up around a solid foundation. Between the insulation and the neck of the bottle, he left a gap of the thickness of a finger, into which he poured a solution that when solidified firmly holds the bottles in place, and keeps the house warm as well.

Benefits of apple juice

 : AGENCY REPORT 

 

We’ve all heard the old adage, “an apple a day keeps the doctor away,” but does apple juice hold the same miraculous benefits? We decided to put it to the test and viola, listed below are the top 10 health benefits offered by apple juice. Read on…

Reduces heart risk: Drinking a glass of apple juice helps prevent cholesterol formation in your blood vessels and arteries. This further helps in reducing the risk of developing two major causes of heart diseases – high cholesterol and plaques in the arteries.

Improves digestion: A glass of raw apple juice helps to clean the liver and kidneys by removing harmful toxins. Due to its cleansing properties, it helps you achieve a cleaner digestive system and you are better protected against liver and kidney diseases.

Helps in weight loss: If you are trying to shed some weight, then add apple juice to your diet. Apple juice is completely free of calories and fat and can lower cholesterol.

Provides energy: A glass of apple juice is packed with various essential nutrients such as vitamins A, C, E, K and folate. Due to their richness in all these nutrients, it helps to pack your body with lots of energy.

Lowers the risk of dementia: Various studies have showed that drinking apple juice regularly helps lower the risk of dementia in older people. Apple juice also slows down brain ageing and helps keep it sharp for a longer time.

Improves vision: Apple juice is rich in vitamin A, which helps in improving eye health. Vitamin A helps protect your eyes from eye diseases and keeps your vision sharp.

Source: healthmeup.com

MAY THE MOST CREDIBLE CANDIDATE WIN!!!!

If You Dont Know These 7 Important Things About Money and Finance NOW, You’ll Regret It in 10 Years MONEY BY EVA FORDE

It goes without saying that your 20s come with lots of new things: new friends, new experiences, new perspectives, and new legal allowances.

As it turns out, they’re also packed with defining moments that will shape the rest of your life. And while it’s usually very difficult for young people to think about things like planning for retirement and investing in life insurance, the truth is that those AARP discounts are closer than you might think. So if you can learn these important things about money and finance now, in the future you’ll be happy that you did, and probably a lot richer too.

1. Pay Yourself First

“Don’t save what is left after spending; spend what is left after saving.” – Warren Buffett

While the concept of saving may be a familiar one, paying yourself first is often misunderstood. I didn’t understand the idea until I was well beyond my 20s, but I wish I had understood it sooner.

Paying yourself first means taking a portion of your earnings and putting it into a savings account or investment that can then work to earn you more money, all while you sleep.

The reason why this is so important is because when you’re saving money it grows in relation to the interest it accrues, so the more money you have to save and the longer you’re saving, the more you can take advantage of this extra “free” money.

Alternatively, by not saving you’re also losing the money that could be gained in interest. That’s why it pays to learn how to pay yourself first.

2. Learn how to Leverage the Power of Compound Interest

“Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it … he who doesn’t … pays it.” – Albert Einstein

In his book The Slight Edge, Jeff Olson explains the power of compounding with a penny. A penny doubled each day for thirty-one days is greater than one million dollars today, he explains, and actually adds up to $10,737,418.24!Photo credit Cviko Vidakovic

Twenty-somethings have the best opportunity to take advantage of compounding because of the magic of time and the power that compounding gains as it grows. Unfortunately, many 20-somethings ignore this wealth-making practice and lose valuable opportunity in the process.

3. Grow Your Financial Education

Becoming financially literate is not rocket science, though it can seem like it — especially when the majority of us are not taught financial literacy in school. But just like a higher academic education helps you advance in your career, higher financial education helps you advance in life and in what you can do. Thankfully, there’s no better time than your 20s to start the learning curve with any number of great resources.

4. Know Your Credit Score and Keep it Up

In the September 2014 issue of Success Magazine, Suze Orman, the money guru herself, says that understanding your credit is key to financial health. “A FICO score will determine if a landlord will rent to you. It may determine if an employer will hire you. It determines if a telephone company will give you a phone, and it even determines what your car insurance premium happens to be.”

As credit scores go, anything below 500 is a red flag and, just like your grades in school, it’s a lot easier to slide down than it is to bring back up, so pay attention. For additional queries and your free credit score, useCreditKarma, Credit.com, or Bankrate.

5. Live Within Your Means

“Do today what others won’t, so tomorrow you can do what others can’t.” – Dave Ramsey

In theory, if you have an income that can pay for your basic needs, you can eventually amass at least a small fortune by paying yourself first, using the power of compounding, making smart investments, and living within your means. However, most 20 somethings are still honing these practices. Not surprisingly, this is also the time when many people begin using credit cards to pay for things not necessarily within their budgets.

Living within your means may look like skipping the movies on the weekends, trading your daily Starbucks for a homemade cup of coffee, or forfeiting that shopping spree in favor of recycling your wardrobe for a few seasons. However, when you practice this without reliance on debt, you give yourself a better chance to build a strong financial base. You might not think so now, but if you don’t put down that iced latte, you may be kicking yourself in the future.

6. Learn to Use Discipline to Manage Income and Expenses

“We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons.” – Jim Rohn

There’s a great book that every 20 something should read called The Richest Man in Babylon. Trust me, if I had read this book in my 20s, I’m sure I’d be a millionaire by now!

Through a series of parables the author, George Clason, relates the common experiences of poor money managers and outlines disciplines that lead to lifelong riches and wealth.

So imperative to financial health are the disciplines of managing income and expenses that these lessons serve as the foundation of the entire book. Unsurprisingly, failure to have a financial plan with these in mind is the number one regret of people when they reach retirement. Luckily for you if you’re in your 20s, it doesn’t have to be yours.

7. Learn to Manage Your Emotions Around Money

“In the world of money and investing, you must learn to control your emotions. High emotions equal low intelligence.” – Robert Kiyosaki

There’s no denying that having money (or not having it) comes with a lot of emotion. When we have it we’re happy (and often irrational), and when we don’t we’re sad. With each emotion come behaviors that can make or break our financial stability for the future. Many a divorce, bankruptcy, and heart attack have been attributed to the stress that people feel around money that could have easily been avoided.

Learning to manage your emotions with money is not only a good idea, it’s the thing that will help you to successfully navigate your way through the thousands of financial decisions you’ll need to make throughout your life, so it stands to reason that the better you can do this, the more money you’ll keep.

While it may be easier said than done, there are always resources that can help you identify your level of emotional intelligence around money and work to improve it at the same time.

Your twenties are a mixed bag full of fun experiences and new opportunities for growth. But if you can find a way to incorporate the seven practices above, you’ll not only thank yourself later, but even be able to afford to buy yourself an expensive treat!

Success vs. Happiness: Don't Be Fooled Into Thinking They're the Same

Take a minute to think about how "successful" you are.

Now think about what criteria you used to evaluate yourself. Some people might look to their bank account. Others to various degrees they've collected. Many would look to their relationships with a spouse, their children, their friends. Some might even open their closet and look to their collection of designer shoes, bags and watches.

Do I consider myself "successful?" I do. I've created a pretty awesome business; I’m well respected in my field; and I have multiple degrees. I love my home, and my relationships are strong.

But on the other hand, I don’t own my home. I sold my condo when I divorced. I’m also overweight, which doesn’t exactly paint a picture of success -- especially for a woman. Oh, and I quit my PhD 93 pages into my dissertation.

To some people, I might not look like a smashing success.

Related: 7 Essential Habits of Happier People

What do we mean by "success," anyway?

My friend and colleague Ryan Coelho says the word “success” is like the word "God." If you ask 100 people what it means, every one of them will have a different answer. He’s right.

On one level, we understand that real success is about happiness. We know this. We’re not shallow and superficial. And yet…

And yet most of us (ahem, even those of us who help people get happy for a living) easily confuse success for happiness -- at least until we wise up.

Look up the word “success” and you’ll find a definition like, “the attainment of wealth, position, honors or the like,” and synonyms like “accomplishment," “prosperity” and “fame." I have nothing against the word success or even it’s traditional definition. It’s just a word, after all. But let’s call it what it is. It’s a benchmark for performance and attainment -- a measuring stick.

Tangible metrics are important and have their place, particularly in the business world. But if you’re looking for personal fulfillment, it’s not likely that traditional measures of success are going to get you there.

As a society, we've come to believe that success -- stuff and status -- is the Yellow Brick Road. Follow it, and we'll most certainly arrive at the Emerald City. While there's nothing inherently wrong with wanting stuff, status, wealth or acclaim, it’s a mistake to assume that they pave the way to happiness and fulfillment.

"Success" is thrown around so frequently and in such varied contexts that we've forgotten what it really means. It's vague, all encompassing, a catch-all. Success dangles in front of our eyes the things we think will make us happy -- status and stuff.

But we don’t actually want all that. What we want is the way we think the stuff and status is going to make us feel. Big difference. Success, when you boil it down, seems to be about what we think will make us happy. It’s a lure, shiny and seductive -- but there’s a hook: You can do everything right in the pursuit of attaining traditional success, but happiness and personal fulfillment are not guaranteed.

Personally, at the height of my “success,” I was pretty miserable. I’m not saying there’s an inverse relationship between success and happiness, just that there’s not necessarily a positive one. They're two different things.

A popular formula for success and happiness that's guaranteed to fail is the following: When I have (insert measure of success here) I'll be happy. It will fail because one doesn’t necessarily lead to the other.

How you personally define success and how you personally define happiness is entirely up to you. But recognize the difference.

Wishing you happiness -- and success.