5 Tips for Actually Making Money this Upcoming Tax Season

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Daily Quote: Christmas is Not a Time Nor a Season

Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas. by Calvin Coolidge

Brian Lee is the manager of Lifehack.org who covers all sorts of tips for life. Brian has lived and studied in USA, Canada, China and Hong Kong and holds his BA in Global Business.

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Football Season Is Approaching Fast. Use These Tips To Throw A Great Football Party.

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Have A Safe Holiday Season by Avoiding These 3 Dumb Things

Safety first!

Watching the news about a recent horrific automobile accident inspired me to write this article.

The holiday season is upon us and we all want to have a joyful time as well as remain safe. So here are three dumb things that I’m sure you have seen people do over past holiday seasons and it’s still worth reminding everyone to avoid them.

This (of course) should be general knowledge by now, but it’s still shocking how so many people from all adult ages still drink and drive! The incident I saw on TV involved a young driver who slammed into another vehicle on a city street, not a highway. Yet this guy must have been going really fast — his car ended up completely upside down.

It’s a miracle that this driver and his passengers got only very minor injuries but unfortunately those in the vehicle that was hit were not so lucky. A woman in that car had minor scratches but her baby was in critical condition. Even worse is that her husband did not make it.

So a young wife lost her husband and a baby will never get to know her father because some drunk driver was stupid enough to get behind the wheel after a night of heavy drinking. His friends were also irresponsible for allowing this guy to drive in the first place.

This is no way to celebrate the holidays for all parties involved. While it’s perfectly okay to have a good time, have the common sense to know when not to drive. Don’t destroy somebody else’s life (or lives) as well as your own because of this major act of irresponsibility.

I know that it might seem wonderful to see the faces of absolute joy on kids or a significant other when they hold that cute little puppy or kitten they just got as a holiday gift. But let’s face it folks: live animals, no matter how cute, are not stuffed toys.

Animals, particularly young ones, need a lot of training since they will chew up everything in sight and use the entire house as a toilet. It’s a real tragedy how many cases there are involving unwanted dogs and cats abandoned at animal shelters because humans did not foresee just how much effort it takes to care for a pet.

As a dedicated dog owner since 1979, I along with many other pet owners will claim without hesitation that pets contribute immensely to happiness. However, the reality of pet ownership also involves getting educated enough to be a responsible owner willing to put in the time required for training.

If you are not sure whether a prospective recipient can be a responsible pet owner or not, please don’t give a live pet as a gift. If you are planning to give into your kids’ wishes for a dog or cat, get ready to take on the bulk of the actual pet care responsibilities yourself. Young children will not be in a position to properly care for a pet no matter what they say. Teens, on the other hand, may be able to prove themselves since pets can teach responsibility to them — but use your discretion.

The holiday season is a time when many folks in winter regions try out snow sports like skiing and snowboarding for the first time. In the warmer regions, people might try out their new surfboards or another piece of sporting equipment they got for Christmas.

A dumb thing that many people will do is try out some new sport without taking a lesson from a qualified instructor. Instead, they try to copy what their friends are doing but the attempts are unsuccessful.

Although many look hilarious as clumsy beginners, some unfortunately end up with injuries. One thing to understand is that just because a friend happens to be good at a certain sport, it does not mean that he or she is qualified to teach you safely. Qualified instructors, on the other hand, can teach you without skipping any important steps to keep you safe while learning new skills.

Waiting in the emergency department and going home in a cast is no way to spend your holidays. You need to take extra care — especially if you happen to be a late bloomer in any sport. So if you are going to take up a new sport this holiday season, do the right thing and take a beginner lesson from a qualified instructor.

I’m sure that there are other dumb things that people do out there during the holiday season. The whole point is to enjoy the holiday season with your friends and loved ones without putting a danger to another life, whether human or animal — or to yourself. I realize that much of this is common sense, but it’s still mind-boggling on how many incidents of dumb acts still occur. That’s why it is still worthwhile to remind us all that such acts are totally preventable.

If you know of any other dumb things that people should avoid this holiday season, please share them below to remind us. Have a wonderful and safe holiday season!

(Photo credit: Retro Silver Metal Trunk via Shutterstock)

Clint Cora is a motivational speaker, author & Karate World Champion based near Toronto, Canada. Get his FREE 3-part Personal Development Video Series on how to expand your comfort zone and finally conquer even your most daunting goals in life.

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How to Deal With Loneliness During Holiday Season

You CAN avoid a Blue Christmas.

We’re well into the Christmas holiday season once again.

This is a time of the year when most people are busy rushing to the malls buying gifts, attending parties, gathering with friends and family, and being merry. Indeed for many, this season is the most wonderful and happiest time of the year.

However, not everyone will be celebrating this holiday season merrily.

There are some who feel lonely and unhappy during this time of the year. Their loneliness may come from loss of loved ones through death, separation by physical distance, or through breakups. Other reasons may be that person is anti-social or too busy to participate in this festive season.

If you feel lonely and unhappy during the holiday season, here are some tips on how to deal with loneliness — and how to make your Christmas holiday merrier.

If you are feeling lonely and down this Christmas holiday, instead of clinging to self-pity and seclusion (which will only worsen your loneliness), push yourself to go out and attend holiday parties and gatherings. I’m sure there are lots you can choose from, such as those held by your close friends and family, the community you live in, in school, or at work.

Attending Christmas holiday parties is a chance for you to meet different kinds of people. By being surrounded with lots of people — especially happy and positive people — you won’t feel as lonely as you do now.

You are given 365 days in a year, and you spend much of it minding your own life. As a result, you are so busy working that you neglect to find time to connect with family or friends. Now is the time to reach out to old friends or family you’ve neglected to give time and priority this year. Don’t be afraid to initiate.

As they say: if you want something, you just have to ask.

During Christmas, there are many charitable events and causes formed by different organizations that serve to help and make this season merrier to less fortunate people such as the poor and sick. You can find one organization around you and take the initiative to join the cause.

The benefit of joining these kinds of events will give you a different sense of happiness when you are able to help and make someone else happy. Also, it’s an opportunity for you to realize that your situation isn’t as bad as you think it is. There are more people who are less fortunate and lonelier than you are. Get inspiration and strength from them.

Gift-giving is one of the famous activities during Christmas holiday season. The act of giving is a symbol of remembering the people in your lives, as well as a way to share one’s blessings.

There’s a saying that goes:

“A sure way to be happy is to make someone else’s happy.”

Cure your loneliness by making another person happy. One way to do that is by giving gifts to those other than your friends and family.  Give gifts to people like your office maintenance personnel, guards, co-workers, bus or taxi drivers — all the people that may not affect your life significantly and yet somehow they all are part of your life.

You don’t need to give an expensive gift, something even as simple as a Christmas greeting card will be fine. I’m sure you will feel happy once you see the surprised (and happy) expression on their faces once you hand them their gifts.

Often the reason for our loneliness and unhappiness roots from our thoughts or mindset. We focus our thoughts on what we don’t have instead of what we have  – that’s why we always feel incomplete and unfulfilled.

During this joyous season, cure your loneliness by doing the opposite. Focus your thoughts on what you have instead of what you don’t have.  Be grateful for all the blessings and opportunities you’ve had this year. Once you start pinpointing the things you were grateful for and blessed with this year, I’m sure you will realize that your life isn’t as bad as you think it is.

I hope you were able to pick up valuable tools on how to deal with loneliness during holiday season. Use these to make this time of the year a merry and joyous event. If you have any others to add, please do so in the comments.

(Photo credit: Lonely Santa Girl with Presents via Shutterstock)

Lou Macabasco - Yanuaria is a CPA, Investor, Businesswoman and Coach. She's passionate writing and coaching about personal development, personal finance and accounting. You will receive a book entitled "Change Your Life, Change Your Attitude" at her website Live Life to Fullest.

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Cold Season Immunity Booster: Elderberry

Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries.
– French Solider, Monty Python and The Holy Grail (1974)

The first time I ever heard of elderberries was from watching TV. While Monty Python’s quote is easy to remember, I also remember the pioneer shows where “good, old fashioned” remedies included elderberry wine, syrup and tincture. I just assumed it was the alcoholic properties of the wine that did the “job” in reducing cold symptoms, but a year ago my wife joined the elderberry team. She made us some tincture, and insisted I have some every time I started the cold season sniffle. At first, I thought she was just being silly, but when I made it through the cold season without getting sick, I thought maybe there was something to my mad-scientist, real food ninja wife’s elderberry magic.
Simply put, if you want to fight a cold this season, look no further than the old fashioned remedy of elderberries.

Below are a few of the many benefits that elderberries can give you through this cold season:

High in antioxidantsTreatment for flu, cold or sinus infection due to anti-inflammatory and anti-viral qualities.May have potential anti-cancer propertiesDiuretic, laxative and emeticSpeeds up recovery times

(source: University of Maryland Medical Center)

Those are some serious benefits and thus the age old remedy actually makes sense.

What are some ways to take elderberries?

Pies, tarts and other treats
A great way to enjoy elderberries, but one has to balance out the bitter berries with large amounts of sugar.Wine
Probably one of the better known solutions and the wine can be made from either the flowers (the white wine) or the berries (the red wine). Both provide great results. Often, people used it as an aperitif.Tincture
This is a great way to get a solid dose of the elderberry benefits. However, it is also extremely bitter. It feels like it works because no self-respecting cold would go near something that tastes that bad. With that said, it is very common and a great way to boost that immune system. This is alcohol based, typically made with a proof of 80 to 100, often vodka.Syrup
This is my favorite way out of the solutions. It has a long shelf life. It is sweet, and it doesn’t have any alcohol. Drinking the syrup is similar to drinking Nyquil. It is thick as it coats your throat, and you are getting the great health benefits and boosts. You also get great benefits from the honey and spices used to sweeten the syrup.Tea
I have not tried the tea, but it is a very common solution mentioned. While there are a lot of options, one of the simpler tea options is to mix the tincture in with tea in the morning. However, it is also possible to brew the flower petals or berry into your tea solution.Real Food and Health Digital Magazine (kindle or pdf)
The November issue contains a recipe for elderberry syrup along with additional information
(Disclosure: my wife is the editor for the magazine and wrote the article on elderberry syrup)LiveStrong.com – Elderberry Section
A great selection of articles on elderberries.Mountain Rose Herbs
A place to order elderberries in bulk if you do not have a local health food store that carries them.Deep Roots At Home Elderberry Tincture
A good tincture recipe is hard to come by, but Jacqueline’s recipe is pretty good. It made my wife’s seal of approval.

Albert Lionelle is a renaissance man. He is involved in the school board, writes, acts, directs, programs, teaches, has a Master degree in computer science, and is currently working on his Master of Divinity at Regent University. For work, he speaks for sustainable agriculture groups believing sustainability, stewardship and real food should be common sense. As such, he has recently cofounded with his wife Real Food and Health digital magazine. Available at their website or on Amazon.com for the kindle.

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Celebrate the Season with Stepcase Lifehack’s 12 Days of Giveaways Promotion

'Tis the season for giving...

It’s the time of year where gifts are given and received, and the Stepcase Lifehack team wants to be one of those doing the giving.

Well, starting on Thursday December 8th at 1 pm Eastern Time, we’ll be offering the first giveaway in our holiday promotion, Stepcase Lifehack’s 12 Days of Giveaways! This is our way of thanking our readers for spending part of your day with us throughout the year. We hope we’ve helped you achieve improved productivity by visiting Lifehack.org, and this promotion is offering more in the way of resources that will help you level up your life even more.

So how does the 12 Days of Giveaways promotion work?

We’ve partnered up with some great software developers, merchants and authors to bring you holiday gifts for you that you can either start using right away or set aside for next year when you start to really rev up your personal productivity.

Some of the folks that we’ve partnered up for Stepcase Lifehack’s 12 Days of Giveaways promotion include:

…and that’s just the tip of the iceberg!

There will be multiple chances to win a prize on those days, so be sure to check out what you need to do enter on each day.

Each of the giveaways has a theme to it, and all of them serve to help you “hack life” not only faster going forward – but better as well. Speed just isn’t enough; thoughtfulness and mindfulness are huge factors in making a real lifehack in today’s world.

‘Tis the season for giving, so be sure to come back for the next twelve weekdays to enter Stepcase Lifehack’s 12 Days of Giveaways promotion. It’s our way of making your holidays that much happier – and hopefully much more productive.

(Photo credit: Christmas Decoration by Shutterstock)

Mike Vardy is a writer, speaker, and "productivityist". You can follow him on Twitter, listen to him regularly on his podcast, ProductiVardy, and read more from him at MikeVardy.com and at Vardy.me.

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How to Maintain Your Productivity Throughout the Holiday Season

Photo credit: cliff1066™ (CC BY 2.0)

The holiday season is perhaps the most difficult time of year to stay focused and get anything done. While summer can be challenging due to vacations and the demands of children off from school, the holiday season can be a killer because of the extra load of activities, tasks and calendar overload.

But you don’t have to throw up your hands in defeat.

There are some very simple steps you can take to keep moving forward while in the midst of holiday chaos.

Accept that your time may be more limited due to holiday obligations or time off. Don’t schedule more than you can reasonably fit into your calendar. And don’t take on anything new unless you’re trying drive yourself into an overwhelmed, overstretched, stressed out state or have been secretly dying to experience burnout.

Believe it or not, being in a festive mood not only leads to a more fun atmosphere, it also can reduce stress and allow you to get more done. And actually have a good time while doing it! Don’t fight it. Put on those holiday tunes, use your Santa pen, if you have one, and let the holiday cheer flow. (Note: That does not mean that you can drink eggnog all day.)

Since you’re more likely to be more social this time of year anyway, why not take advantage of that? Plan a shopping, baking, decorating party with friends. Schedule a social lunch with team members. Bring some cookies into the boardroom and work on plans for next year. People tend to be in better spirits and get along better now than at any other time of the year. Capitalize on that positive mood.

What might work the other 11 months of the year might not work for you now. Be flexible, be creative and be willing to try something new. If you’re lucky enough to have the ability to shift your schedule and/or tasks that’s one place to start. The other is with your focus. You might find that you are more or less creative now or more or less able to tackle detail oriented tasks. Perhaps you normally prefer to work alone, but now want to immerse yourself in the throng. Or conversely, you can’t concentrate in the office chaos and want to try working from home a couple days per week.

Two strategies that might work for me…

At home: My weekends during the holiday season tend to be so busy that I have found that it works better to set aside 15-30 minutes before or after work each day to clean my house rather than trying to squeeze in the marathon Saturday cleaning session. I’ve also asked for more help; hubby can vacuum and youngest son loves to do windows.

At work: I hate exercising when it’s dark out in the morning, so I’m now trying to start work at earlier (7:30) and taking a time to exercise on my lunch hour. We’ll see how it goes… Also, since I can start working earlier, I have more uninterrupted time in the AM before calls and meetings. I’m shifting my social media time to later in the day and spending my first couple of hours on writing and project work.

It’s all a work in progress. The important thing is to learn to go with the flow instead of paddling against it.

Have you found any strategies for getting things done during the busy holiday time? What do you do that might help others? Please share them in the comments.

Royale Scuderi is a writer, life and business coach who empowers individuals and businesses to achieve higher productivity, growth, business success and work - life balance. She offers wisdom, insight and ideas to help you get the most out of your life at Productive Life Concepts.

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Radio 4′s brilliant brain season now being scattered

BBC Radio 4's Brain Season is in full swing, which, in typical BBC fashion, is both brilliantly conceived and chaotically scattered over their webpages like a drunken farmer chasing birds off his field with a seed planter.

A good place to start is the brain season blog post which lists all the programmes in the season and links to their programme page and separate podcast page (if one exists). It may or may not be being updated as new material comes online.

Probably the best of the season is the History of the Brain series of which five of the ten programmes have been broadcast at the time of writing and which are all available on a single permanent podcast page.

You could go to the separate and unlinked programme information page that has a few more details and the streamed audio but I’d advise against it as it’ll only encourage them.

The one-off Mind Myths and Life Scientific programmes, the latter featuring neuroscientist Colin Blakemore, have to be downloaded from their respective podcast pages (here and here) but if you read try the page months after the broadcast date you’ll have to click ‘Show all episodes’ and scroll down to find the episode from the entire list.

The awesome looking programme The Lobotomists apparently won’t be released as a podcast at all, so unless you live in the UK and can catch it on the streaming service within the next two weeks, you’ll have to stick up your arse.

We have no idea where the similarly awesome looking series Brain Culture: Neuroscience and Society will turn up after its first broadcast on November 15th. Probably the B-side of a rare 1973 James Brown recording that has only recently become available after copies were found in the basement of the original recording studio.

Radio 4 also has a page with interviews and profiles of some of the scientists featured in the series but you can’t find out which are specifically linked to the brain season so you’ll have to…

Hang on a minute. GET ORFF MOY LAAAND YOU BLEEDIN’ BURDS!

Link to brain season blog post page.

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