Our physical brains can only offer us a limited amount of memory storage and recall abilities.

YOUR whole life depends on you being able to retrieve things from your memory.

I’m sure you know what I mean… “Where are my keys?” “What major tasks do I need to complete today?” “What time is that meeting I need to attend?”

Questions such as these bombard our minds daily. If you’re able to recall the relevant information, you’ll keep your life on track. However, if you fail to recall the information – your life will start to move in a confused and unproductive direction.

We’d all love to boost our memories, but often we go about it in the wrong way. It’s not about how much information we can absorb into our minds, but how easily we can retrieve this information (which most people aren’t good at).

Information Overload = Memory Failure

We live in an information age, where our minds are besieged 24/7 by facts, figures, news, drama and trends.

It’s a never-ending whirlpool of information. And if you try to remember all of this information – you’re likely to find that your mind becomes so full that you begin to lose the ability to think clearly.

Information overload is a modern-day plague. And your memory is likely to be one of the plague’s victims.

For example, when you were younger, you may have loved to sing along with your favorite songs. Sadly, as you’ve grown older, you’ve started to forget the words to the songs. The more you try to recall the words – the further from your mind they seem to be. It’s frustrating, and has probably blighted a pastime that you used to love.

Could it be that over the years, you’ve tried to remember just too many songs? Perhaps.

As you’ll see below, continually overloading your memory, can lead to recall issues and embarrassing social interactions.

It’s on the Tip of My Tongue, But…

It can be distressing when the flow of our conversation is blocked by our inability to recall information. And this can be especially traumatic if it takes place during a formal work environment.

For instance, imagine that you’re doing a presentation at work to some potential clients. You’ve created PowerPoint slides to guide you through your presentation, but the bulk of the message you’re hoping to convey is held in the memory banks of your mind. You start your presentation positively, but after a few awkward questions from one of the clients, you notice your confidence slipping – and your recall ability falling too! Suddenly, facts and figures seem out of your grasp. You’re stuttering, and rapidly losing the attention of the audience. To put it another way: you’re presentation has gone down the pan!

How to Let a ‘Digital Brain’ Take the Strain

Our physical brains can only offer us a limited amount of memory storage and recall abilities. These limits used to be sufficient, but as mentioned earlier, we now live in an information age, where our ability to absorb and recall information has been stretched beyond our normal capabilities.

What’s the answer to this problem? Well, you could start by giving some of this storing and recalling work to a digital brain.

By this, I don’t mean you should turn yourself into a cyborg. In fact, the only thing you’ll be turning yourself into is a super-efficient and productive version of yourself!

I’ve called it a digital brain, but you’ll know it simply as digital or online storage. And you’re sure to recognize some of the tools:

• Airtable
• Dropbox
• Evernote
• Google Drive
• Pocket

The above software (and other similar ones) allows you to store, organize, and easily retrieve information. For example, Pocket lets you capture blogs, news and videos into a digital pocketbook. This is achieved through a one-click process. Once the content is within your pocketbook, you can retrieve and view it at any time. Clearly, this is far more efficient than trying to remember which stories you’ve seen earlier in the day – but hadn’t had chance to read/watch.

Instead of trying to remember everything with your physical brain, begin moving over some of the information to your digital brain. Whichever tool (or tools) you decide to use, you’ll immediately be able to take advantage of the following benefits:

• You can store as much information as you wish. (Free plans may offer only limited storage.)
• You can easily organize and prioritize the stored information.
• The stored information is available in an instant, 24/7, 365 days a year.

I personally use Google Drive for storing all my documents and images, and I use Todoist to help me manage my day-to-day tasks and workload. I’ve found using a digital brain to be liberating. Before, I used to stress over trying to remember everything – now my mind feels relaxed and free. I also have more mental energy for creative pursuits.

You may think that highly-productive people must be blessed with super-powered memories. For sure, some are, but most of these people are ordinary folks, with one difference… They have learned how to use a digital brain to help them store and retrieve information – and to organize their lives. – lifehack.org

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, politician, and philanthropist, who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999

HISTORY is filled with men and women who got significantly more done on a daily basis than seems strictly possible. The legendary production of people like Leonardo DaVinci and Benjamin Franklin is mind boggling, and more than a little humbling to those of us who struggle to get to the gym three times a week or pick up our dry cleaning on time.

How did they do it?

What superhuman traits did these super-productive few wield that we can learn from? For the most part, nothing that you and I can’t put to use on our own on a daily basis, though there are more than a few unexpected hacks that can supercharge your productivity in ways you might not expect.

Here are 8 such hacks and the famous men and women who used them to do all the amazing things they did.

Leonardo DaVinci

Leonardo DaVinci was a maestro of productivity. Just look at the man’s list of accomplishments and you realize he must never have slept.

While there are numerous unproven myths about how DaVinci got so much done in his lifetime — from sleeping for 20 minutes every three hours, to clever variants of outsourcing — we know one thing for certain: he was an active man.

There is no point in the recorded histories of DaVinci’s life that we see him inactive — not pursuing a new trade, completing one of his masterpieces, or developing a theorem. There is something to be said for downtime, but so, too, is there something to be said for finding the things you love in life and pursuing them daily.

Ben Franklin is one of America’s most prolific politicians, writers, and inventors, having been instrumental in the American Revolution, the building of American government and inventing numerous useful tools in his life.

His 13 virtues are legendary for laying out how to live one’s life to maintain temperance, order, frugality, sincerity, justice and more.

If you are looking for a key to understanding how he got so much done in his life, those 13 virtues are a perfect guide.

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela is not the only person on this list to get up early each day, but his early morning walks are somewhat legendary in their own right — a time for him to think about what the day might hold, to process the day before, and to appreciate the freedom to enjoy that time.

Whether you go to the gym, read the paper, or go for a long walk every morning, getting up early and triggering the physical and mental processes that will lead to greater productivity is a sure fire way to get more done.

Sylvia Plath

Sylvia Plath famously woke up early to write every morning, getting as much done as she could before her children woke up.

The same is true of many writers, thinkers, executives and statesmen and women. There’s something about those first two to three hours of every day when no one is awake and the world is yours.

If you frequently find yourself interrupted by distractions, phone calls, family members or something else that keeps you from getting work done, consider waking up earlier and getting the most important tasks on your to do list done before anyone else is even awake.

Thomas Edison was a famous napper. Every day he would settle down for an hour or two to nap, recharging his mind and body for greater productivity later in the day.

He isn’t the only one. Winston Churchill and John F. Kennedy both took naps as well — a must for anyone who essentially works from morning to night.

Winston Churchill

Speaking of Churchill, this was a man who took great care with his personal time. Despite running one of the most powerful countries in the world during its most trying times, Churchill would set aside hours every day to nap, take a bath, dress and eat his evening meals in peace.

He credited his routines for keeping him focused and sane through what would be the hardest period of leadership in Britain during the 20th century.

Henry Ford

Henry Ford revolutionized productivity on an industrial level, introducing the methods that ultimately enabled mass production of everything from his Model T automobile to jetliners.

One of his many sayings (and there were many) was that the “Greatest thing in life is experience. Even mistakes have value.” He believed that if you are going to fail, you should fail fast and learn from that failure.

In short, you should constantly be doing something — working toward something that will allow you to accomplish your goals, even if failure is a risk.

Albert Einstein

Einstein is one of the most important thinkers of the last two centuries, revolutionizing science, enabling the atomic age, and becoming synonymous with great intellect.

His belief was that to be truly productive, you should focus your energies on a small number of very big things rather than the human tendency to focus on a large number of very small things.

Finding inspiration in a way that suits you

Inspiration and productivity are closely related. It’s hard to be productive when you have no interest in what you’re doing. At the same time, without productivity, inspiration can wane.

Productive men and women like those listed above were able to get more done in their lives because they found something important to them and focused all of their energies on those pursuits.

And when they couldn’t find more time, they found ways to squeeze more energy and more inspiration out of their days. Find those same triggers and you’ll be astounded at how much you can get done. lifehack.org

Messi and Antonella Roccuzzo met at a young age

FOOTBALL superstar Lionel Messi has married his childhood sweetheart in a ceremony described as the “wedding of the century”.

The 30-year-old and longtime partner Antonella Roccuzzo returned to their hometown of Rosario, central Argentina, to marry at a luxury hotel.

Among the 260 guests who attended were Messi’s Barcelona teammates Neymar, Luis Suarez and Gerard Pique, who was joined by his pop star wife Shakira.

Chelsea playmaker Cesc Fabregas and his wife Daniella Semaan were also at the ceremony.

Hundreds of police were deployed to patrol what Argentinian media called the “wedding of the century”, as locals, TV crews and reporters gathered outside to catch a glimpse of the guests.

Messi and Roccuzzo kissed as they posed for pictures outside the venue.

The bride wore a gown by Rosa Clara – a Spanish designer who has dressed actress Eva Longoria and Spain’s Queen Letizia.

Roccuzzo, 29, is the cousin of one of Messi’s childhood friends and the pair met at a young age.

They stayed in touch after Messi left Rosario to sign for Barcelona at the age of 13, later becoming a couple in 2009.

The pair live in Barcelona with their two sons, Thiago, 4, and one-year-old Mateo.

Instead of wedding presents, the couple asked their guests for donations to a children’s charity.

“They are the love of each other’s lives,” Messi’s childhood friend Diego Vallejos said.

Mr Vallejos, who was invited to the wedding, added that despite Messi’s stardom the 30-year-old “was always the same and never changed”.

He said: “Despite everything that he’s accomplished in life, he’s still the same simple kid, the skinny dude that I grew up with.

“It’s hard to explain the feeling. I’m both a friend and a fan.”

Five-time Ballon d’Or award winner Messi is the all-time top goalscorer for both his club and country.

Of his 507 goals for Barcelona, Messi has scored 349 times in La Liga – a competition record. – news.sky.com

The singer “wiped out” her £38m Spice Girls fortune and racked up tax debts while living an “affluent” lifestyle, a court hears

MEL B splurged her multi-million pound Spice Girls fortune after leading an “extravagant and affluent” lifestyle, a court has heard.

The 42-year-old, real name Melanie Brown, and her estranged husband Stephen Belafonte racked up tax debts in the US after making “improvident” financial decisions, Los Angeles Superior Court was told.

During a hearing in the couple’s divorce case, the pair were said to “never have money at the end of the year to pay their taxes”.

Grace Jamra, representing Belafonte, said that while the couple led an “extravagant and affluent” lifestyle, Brown “wiped out all her Spice Girls money – approximately $50m (£38.3m) if not more”.

Meanwhile, Jacalyn Davis, representing Brown, said the pair’s joint income “was being spent and then some”.

“In this marriage that would be Miss Brown’s income from the Spice Girls,” she said.

“Prickly things happen when the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) doesn’t get paid.”

Brown claims Belafonte subjected her to years of physical and mental abuse.

Belafonte has “vehemently” denied he had subjected her to abuse.

Brown previously won a temporary restraining order after alleging her husband was abusive and had links to the porn industry.

Her lawyers claimed he was a danger to their child as a “convicted domestic violence offender” with an “extensive criminal history”.

However, Ms Jamra argued the allegations were part of “an ongoing smear campaign”.

Judge Lawrence Riff ruled that Belafonte, 42, could only see their five-year-old daughter Madison twice a week at a supervised centre.

Brown, who is now a judge on America’s Got Talent, married the film producer in June 2007.

She filed for divorce on March 20, citing “irreconcilable differences”.

The case continues. –news.sky.com

The A-list couple file copyright applications identical to the one they sent after the birth of their first child, Blue Ivy.

BEYONCE and Jay-Z appear to have revealed the names of their newborn twins as Rumi and Sir.

The pop star and rapper, real name Shawn Carter, have filed to US authorities to copyright ‘Rumi Carter’ and ‘Sir Carter’ to ensure no one else can profit from the names.

The claims were submitted from an identical California address to an earlier application for the name of the couple’s five-year-old daughter, Blue Ivy Carter.

Jay-Z and Beyonce have not commented on the twins’ names or even confirmed their birth, but Beyonce’s father acknowledged the arrivals with a post on Twitter last month.

The name Rumi appears to allude to a 13th century Persian poet of the same name – a writer of the Sufi spiritual tradition with verses that celebrate love, joy and tolerance.

On Friday, Jay-Z released his new album 4:44, in which he refers to Persian poetry on the track Marcy Me.

He raps: “Sufi to the goofies/I could probably speak Farsi.”

Other lyrics on the album appear to confirm the rapper cheated on his wife – a rumour which has surrounded the couple for several years.

In one song Jay-Z makes an emotional apology, while in another he confesses to having “cut off my nose” to “spite my face”.

Meanwhile, in Kill Jay Z the rapper sings: “You almost went Eric Benet, let the baddest girl in the world get away.”

The lyric likely references the R&B singer who was famously unfaithful to actress Halle Berry. – news.sky.com

The rapper’s hit single One Dance has been the UK’s most streamed track since its release in 2016, but nothing lasts forever.

DRAKE has been overthrown as the UK’s king of streaming, with his 2016 hit One Dance being topped by none other than…

The singer’s latest single Shape Of You has overtaken his Canadian rival to become the charts’ most streamed track of all time.

This comes as The Official Charts Company publishes its biggest songs of 2017, with Sheeran again dominating the list in the two top spots.

Shape Of You sold 2.6 million since its release in January, with 72% of that figure being streaming equivalent sales – that means the track was streamed 184 million times.

:: Has Ed Sheeran killed the charts?

Last year, Drizzy Drake edged close to beating Bryan Adams’ Everything I Do, which was number one for 16 weeks in 1991.

One Dance sold a combined 1.9 million, including 142 million individual streams.

But that is old news, with Sheeran’s third album now the best selling record of the year, while his sophomore album X is still 2017’s third best-seller, three years after its release.

Summer smash Despacito by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee heads up the rest of the singles pack behind Ed, but is closely followed by his Galway Girl at number four.

Was Ed Sheeran worthy of The Pyramid Stage?

The 26-year-old troubadour has recently made headlines over his loop pedalling performance at Glastonbury, which left his fans wondering if he had backtracked his performance.

“Never thought I’d have to explain it, but everything I do in my live show is live, it’s a loop station, not a backing track. Please google,” he tweeted in response, later announcing he was retiring from the social platform.

“I’ve actually come off Twitter completely. I can’t read it,” he said.

“I go on it and there’s nothing but people saying mean things. Twitter’s a platform for that.” – news.sky.com

Zahara and her rumoured boyfriend. Picture: Instagram.

ZAHARA and her bae have apparently been dating for almost eight months.

 

It seems Bulelwa ‘Zahara’ Mkutukana’s wedding to Umhlobo Wenene DJ Amaza is off, as the Country Girl hit maker has reportedly confirmed her new relationship with Ian Sihle to Drum magazine.

“We make each other happy, and that’s all that matters right now,” she reportedly told the magazine.

The two have apparently been dating for almost eight months, and this whole time we have been led to believe Zahara was busy planning her big day.

Earlier this year, reports surfaced saying her wedding had been put on hold for “various reasons”. Zahara said her busy schedule forced her to slow down on her wedding preparations.

Though she did not want a big wedding, she said her family insisted on a big celebration, and Top Billing had asked to cover it. citizen.co.za

Celebrties are leaving Twitter.

CELEBRITIES  are rich, famous and often talented. They live in mansions in Los Angeles or really big flats in London. They have millions of followers on social media but, sometimes, they feel pain too. At least that’s what they say.

On Tuesday, Ed Sheeran decided to quit Twitter after being trolled for looking and playing like a “busker”, but he is not the first to fall victim to online bullies.

Here are some other big names who were bullied online – or decided to ditch social networks for other reasons.

Rihanna: After years of being in the tabloid spotlight for being a victim of domestic abuse, RiRi followed the footsteps of her abuser – rapper Chris Brown – and decided to call it quits.

But while Brown left Twitter, Rihanna left Instagram.

The reason? Her account was actually disabled after the star shared photos of herself in a topless shoot.

She returned just a few months later with a weird selfie turned upside down with the captions: “Hellurrrr #badgalback”.

Leslie Jones: Following the release of her poorly reviewed Ghostbusters reboot, the actress tweeted she was “leaving with tears and a very sad heart”.

She was trolled. Big time.

Negative comments ranged from constructive criticism to racism, misogynism and bigotry. Jones was compared to an “ape” and confessed she was “in personal hell”.

She returned two days later.

After, Twitter decided to kick off Breitbart blogger Milo Yiannopolous for inciting hate against her.

But then naked pictures of her were leaked online, and she quit again. And then she returned, again.

Stephen Fry: With nearly 13 million followers, Fry was dearly missed. He first left in 2009, and then again and again and again.

The reason? Well first and foremost, there was “too much aggression and unkindness around”.

And also because of all the “sanctimonious”. “Let us grieve what Twitter has become,” he once said.

Fry took small breaks here and there, in 2009, 2010, 2014 and then again in 2015. Just enough to keep us on our toes.

Graham Norton: The BBC presenter bid farewell to Twitter in 2016, saying he had “fallen out of love” with it.

The reason? Being trolled by haters, apparently due to a column he wrote in the Daily Telegraph.

Also, he prefers Facebook “because I have real friends there who agree with me. But on Twitter, not so much”.

He has returned, but only to promote his books and merchandising. Smart move.

Adele: Known for giving up on shows and social media alike, the Hello singer waved goodbye to Twitter in 2012, after a less than prolific social existence.

The reason? Receiving death threats and being trolled after her first son was born.

She later confessed she had actually been banned for posting drunk messages of unknown content.

“I mean I’m not a drinker any more,” she said.

“But when Twitter first came out I was, like, drunk tweeting, and nearly put my foot in it quite a few times.”

Miley Cyrus

Lily Allen: The singer first left Twitter, MySpace and email in 2009, renouncing all things “technology”. That included her Blackberry.

The reason? At the time, Allen was already finding new ways to stay in the spotlight, branding herself a “neo-luddite” – meaning “anti-technology”.

Also, her boyfriend “got really angry” because she didn’t spend time with him.

She returned to all things “technology” however, and is now a prolific tweeter.

Alec Baldwin: The number one Trump impersonator made his first exit in December 2011.

The reason? He was kicked off a flight from LAX to JFK for, according to Baldwin’s tweet at the time, “playing word with friends while we sat at the gate” – whatever that means.

The conversation between Baldwin and American Airlines continued on Twitter and then he left.

He returned, obviously. And left again in 2013 after his wife was accused of tweeting during actor James Gandolfini’s funeral.

He returned once again and has now not one, but two accounts.

Kanye West: Famous for his tantrums, the rapper is no stranger to controversial social media moves.

In 2012 he deleted all his tweets, but was kind enough to leave a message saying “will be back soon”.

He returned and went on a rant about fashion and suit jackets during Paris Fashion Week.

Justin Bieber: When it comes to confronting fans about the way they treat you, no one rivals Bieber and his Beliebers.

Known for telling them off – on and off stage, he also issued a warning on social media back in 2016, before shutting down his Instagram account.

“I’m gonna make my Instagram private if you guys don’t stop the hate this is getting out of hand,” he warned his fans.

“If you guys are really fans you wouldn’t be so mean to people that I like.”

The reason? Some users made fun of his then girlfriend Sofia Richie, due to his relationship with Selena Gomez.

And then? This was actually the second time he quit social media. The first time he simply said: “My beloved beliebers I’m officially retiring”. He didn’t.

Miley Cyrus: In 2009, Cyrus left Twitter. The reason? Her boyfriend, Liam Hemsworth, told her to.

“FYI Liam doesn’t have a twitter and he wants ME to delete mine with good reason,” she tweeted.

She returned two years later. news.sky.com

Smart people do not hesitate to learn from their mistakes.

THE first question that merits an answer is what makes an individual smart. Is it the abundance of facts that one can memorize? Is it the above average, or exceptional, IQ?  Perhaps, it is the wisdom to make a sound decision at the crucial moment, or knowing how to make the best out of the bad situation.

Maybe it is the ability to take as many aspects as possible into consideration before deciding on the future course of action. It is probably a good combination of all the previously mentioned traits.

Of course, if someone is smart and successful, it is hard to pinpoint what exactly is responsible for that person’s success and wellbeing. Truth be told, it is far easier to notice what these smart people don’t do, and arrive to a conclusion as to what is to be avoided. As long as we circumvent these negative things, the rest will come naturally.

They don’t overlook the possibility to save money

Prudence is a virtue, not to be mistaken with greed or stinginess. Being able to handle your finances and save, by avoiding unnecessary expenses, is an admirable quality. In fact, it is surprising how many small details there are, warranting closer scrutiny.

These seemingly meaningless expenses can be easily avoided, and the amount of money you can save can amount to something rather significant.

For starters, buying a tap filter can reduce the money spent on bottled water. Opting to refill a printer cartridge, rather than buying a new one is another judicious investment. Replacing light bulbs inside your home with those that conserve energy, is yet another wise choice. Utilizing apps to reduce credit card processing fees, or choosing a big bank as your provider, instead of your local town bank, is also a good decision.

The internet has an unfathomable amount of quality content, both educational and entertaining. Paying for a cable or magazine subscription is undeniably meaningless. Almost anything you are after can be found online, at cheaper price, either as a streaming service, or as an online news article.

The point is, learn how to fully realize the things you are already paying for or have at your disposal – that’s what being smart is all about.

They don’t heavily rely on others

There is nothing wrong with having friends, family members or coworkers you can trust and rely on. Everyone should have someone they can count on when things go south. Heavily relying on someone, however, only portrays you as powerless. As a smart individual, you should never indulge such a commodity.

You can have a brilliant mind, outstanding intelligence, etc. but if you do not put those traits to good use, then you will only come off as incompetent. When you are in need of assistance, pay close attention, see if your problem was truly difficult. In a great number of cases, it is our fear and insecurity that prevent us from acting.

There is always a thought “What if I only make things worse?” The thought is perfectly justified. The unwillingness to overcome such a fear on the other hand, isn’t.

They don’t act irresponsibly

Do not mistake this statement as “Smart people don’t have fun” or “Smart people are boring.” You can have fun, you can have a drink, or have a good laugh. Irresponsibility does not equal uninteresting, it only means you like to have an organized lifestyle.

Superior organization leads to greater efficiency, whether you are a student, an employee, a business owner, an artist, or a celebrity.

We all have certain responsibilities, and they are not always imposed by someone else. Putting them off for no valid reason is simply packing to travel into a more stressful future. Almost everyone experiences how being irresponsible tends to backfire, but smart people simply practice what they learn from such inconveniences.

They don’t feel defeated just because they need to reevaluate their convictions

Our environment, our parents, our education and our past are all responsible for forging our convictions and our perception of the world. It leads to a creation of what is referred to as “umwelt” which roughly translates as “self-centered world”. Umwelt is more connected to how we create the image of the world surrounding us by using our sense, but it can be extended to our point of view on philosophical matters.

The convictions we acquire throughout life are not wrong per se, but are very likely to be proven incompatible when exposed to an entirely new experience or more difficult questions that need answering. Also, if you move out and change the environment you are likely to witness different patterns of behavior, simply because education, or lack of education in some areas, resulted in the blooming of other other human qualities.

Sooner or later, our convictions are challenged and sometimes they will triumph, sometimes they will be trumped. Smart people constantly challenge their convictions; they do not discard them. They reshape them, and they allow them to grow proportionally with their new experience. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to broaden your mind-set, you are not defeated if you gained something valuable.

They don’t dwell on their errors

To clarify, this refers to companies that manufactured a bad product, or movie directors who made bad movies, etc. It is not uncommon to come up with an idea for something that appears like a true masterwork for us, but once it’s realized, the general public may not be that impressed. It can feel humiliating and really unpleasant, however it happens, whether we like it or not.

When you are making something intended to be appealing to the masses, and in the end fail, start over again from scratch. If you want to impress, listen to your audience, don’t try to patch up the product, or make sequels, in an attempt to prove your vision was brilliant.

This kind of behavior will only cost you your credibility, and even when you manage to come up with something good, people might not even bother to give it a try. It won’t make you neither weak nor foolish, if you know when to give up. It will only give you more time to work on your comeback.

They don’t permit their past to hold them back

The past cannot be erased, and it does not come back to haunt us, it simply never leaves. We need to learn how to cope with it, and not allow it to interfere with our future achievements. If there is nothing useful to be recovered from the past experience, simply close those doors and let it go.

Past experiences shape who we are today, and our previous struggles can build a strong character, but people tend to use their past to justify their mistakes or behaviour. Perhaps we use these excuses to gain understanding from others, or to make it easier to forgive ourselves.

Still, if you acknowledge your flaws but refuse to do something about them just because you have an excuse, then you have chosen an easy way out, and that’s not what smart people do.

They don’t rely on good luck to solve their problems

“Hope for the best but be prepared for the worst.” A good quote to be guided by when you invest your time and efforts into something. Hope for the best possible scenario is what motivates us, whereas preparing for the worst prevents us from falling apart. On the other hand, simply hoping for the things to work themselves out is no different from being lazy.

Luck should only take credit for a fragment of your success, considering that relying on it too frequently will only suffocate your ambition.

Besides, smart people would never permit luck to take glory for all their hard work. When you pour your heart and soul into achieving your goal, it would be disappointing to give good fortune the title of “major contributor”.

They don’t neglect important aspects of their business

One of the key factors responsible for success is attention to details or just paying good attention in general. When one is trying to be a smart business owner, he or she is generally governed by the idea that with a quality product, success is guaranteed.

The logic is not entirely flawless, since even if you can offer a top quality product at a better price than your competition, you are still a far cry from a lucrative business.

The absolute necessity for a successful selling period is credibility, meaning you will need to have a good advertising tactic. This implies striving towards omnipresence and professional appearance, which brings us to the most efficient tool for spreading this kind of brand awareness, and that is your website.

The impact of the website should never be underestimated; people will judge you as a professional based on your website design, its responsiveness, authority and its content. There are numerous people who offer an amazing type of service or products, in person, but simply look like amateurs online.

Start off by finding a good web hosting service, to ensure your sites responsiveness, proceed with quality design, and finally, eloquently describe your product or service.

Clearly, this is a single example of an important aspect, there are others as well. like providing a good customer service and creating efficient incentive plans etc. But the point is never to push in one direction. Always work on numerous fronts.

They don’t hesitate to learn from their mistakes

Mistakes are inevitable. Sooner or later something goes wrong, and an unaccounted for variable emerges, and places a grave dent in our previously well-laid schemes. You can’t always have everything under your control, and we do not have the degree of awareness necessary to view every possible angle.

Mistakes are there to remind us of our flaws, and force us to mitigate the impact they have on our lives. Honestly, mistakes can teach us a lot about our lives, and ourselves, but only if we let them.

Learning from your mistakes means finding what is worth salvaging from your unfortunate experience, realizing what went wrong and finding a way to avert it in the future. Smart people use this input to work on themselves, and change the things they have the power to change.

Arrogant people look for excuses, and choose to blindly believe in their judgement without any retrospect. Not only does this kind of behaviour hinder your future success, it also drives people, and allies, away from you.

They don’t give up on their ideas just because other people don’t agree with them

I know that it was stated how knowing when to give up and start anew is a good thing, and how being too stubborn or pushy will ultimately yield bad results. Well, a wise person knows when he or she should push the envelope and stand firm when the situation takes a turn for the worst.

There is a difference between when someone gives your idea a chance and did not like it in the end and someone not giving your idea a chance at all. We are all entitled to constructive feedback on why our ideas or products are not satisfactory.

If someone wants to discard our efforts based on a hunch, do not let them. Fight for your chance to shine, or try finding someone else who will hear you out and appreciate your idea.

There is always a possibility that someone is intimidated by your expertise; thus that person wants to hinder your development. If you want to publish or launch something, look for more than one opinion. Even if the first one is flattering, look for more.

Constructive criticism can be used as a precious insight for the future.

They don’t make strong remarks that can make them look weak in the future

Actions speak louder than words. Don’t feel overconfident and use words of grandeur to describe your future actions. It only makes you look like an attention seeker, who will inevitably lose his or her credibility.

Credibility is of the utmost importance for one’s future and well being, and we all know how in “Boy who cried wolf” the loss of credibility had a strong impact on the outcome of the situation. If you want to be taken seriously and to be respected, don’t talk big without a means to back it up. Simply let your hard work tell your tale.

They don’t lose the opportunity to broaden their experience

This is closely connected to the previously mentioned convictions, like Friedrich Nietzsche said, “There are no eternal facts, as there are no absolute truths.” You can never become a complete being, and you should never set such goals for yourself. However, making ongoing endeavors towards progression in various areas is indeed what a smart person would do.

Science constantly expands our understanding of the world; it constantly tests theories and comes up with new ones. Even old or proven findings are never left alone, they are re-examined, redefined, and updated. They are constantly after progress, investigating what is most likely the truth, not what they want to believe the truth is.

It is a good way to expand your database. After all, scientist are usually those who have the qualities, or are perceived to have qualities, of smart people. The majority of smart celebrities were and are scientists.

They don’t know how to back off from a good cause

Much like with the good idea, wise people do not back off from a cause worth fighting for. Revolutions were led and achieved thanks to these individuals, and luckily, our society is still flawed and can provide us with many causes worth fighting for.

We are often criticized by our parents, superiors, or teachers about our tastes, our interests and our hobbies. Honestly, they can be right from time to time, but throughout the course history, a fix has emerged. Older generations tend to scold things they do not fully understand, and are too self-absorbed to even give them a chance.

Imagine just how many art forms, in terms of music, books, and film genres would not be here today if people didn’t regard them as good ideas. Today, video games are struggling with the same issue. They are held responsible for violent and troublesome behavior in youth, and people do not consider them a medium capable of delivering deeper moral values.

They don’t waste the potentials of their gadgets

Lacking knowledge related to a certain field, or lacking the necessary skill to accomplish a particular task, does not automatically make someone incompetent. Smart people have a good way of overcoming these obstacles; they can find solutions to compensate for their shortcomings.

Using your gadgets to their full extent can prove to be rather beneficial in a variety of scenarios.

Obviously, smartphones and tablets have internet connection and access to Google, thus all you need to do is know how to utilize these browsers efficiently. Almost anything you want to know has a recorded or a written tutorial online, meaning as long as you are connected to the World Wide Web, you will have the means to solve tricky problems.

App stores have an applications galore, and a great number of them are really remarkable. Sure, there are those which are utter nonsense, but every smartphone and tablet device should have a few useful apps installed. For example, you should have apps that help you with your data management, making your job significantly easier, in terms of organization.

Apps that can help you navigate when you are on unfamiliar terrain, thus boosting your level of security. Apps that can help you find good restaurants while in a foreign country, like Yelp. Additionally, language boundaries are significantly mitigated by use of translating apps, and even though they are not one hundred percent accurate, they can still aid you a great deal.

They don’t overestimate their abilities

Shelly’s Frankenstein and Goethe’s Faust tell a wonderful cautionary tale about how even the brightest among us can suffer a tragic downfall, simply because they overreached past their limitations. Ambition and hard work are healthy and nothing to be ashamed of, but without moderation, these qualities can be dangerous.

Primarily, you are likely to exhaust yourself continually, which can be indeed stressful and it can have a negative impact on your health. The insatiable desire for advancement in a particular field can cloud your perspective, and make you lose grip on other important aspects of life. Ultimately, we can end up being alienated from our peers, and it can be sad to have no one you can share your success with.

Secondly, our mind has its limits too, and very often actively thinking about the problem doesn’t get us anywhere. We need to know when we are stuck and to take a break. In other words, we need to allow our subconscious processes to grab the reins, and see what happens.

You’d be surprised just how frequently certain answers simply dawn on you. Moreover, even when the answers appear obvious, it is better to examine them again in the morning, perhaps they won’t seem as ideal as they did the day before.

They don’t make redundant enemies

Regardless of your status, whether you are a rising star entrepreneur, or an employee in a small firm, you are likely to encounter enemies, nemeses, competition, whatever you want to label particular individuals.

These people are not malefic in nature. Your convictions, ideologies or points of view are only incompatible. The problem is that you can never know what they may do if they feel provoked, and they are probably perceiving you in the same manner, which results in unnerving animosity.

It is important to define a difference between enemies created by circumstances, and enemies created by our actions. We have already established how our competition can induce minor paranoia, so it is better not to incite any redundant conflicts. When you socialize with stubborn and hot headed individuals, rest assured that you are not the only one who notices their traits.

Trying to prove a point and creating an argument with these people will get you nowhere. A smart thing to do is just nod, or say you do not agree, and end the discussion.

When entering partnerships, do a thorough check on your potential allies, see if they are not prone to deceive you, but also make sure you don’t accidentally do something that can be viewed as treacherous. Furthermore, if you are going through a divorce, see to it that you do not separate on completely bad terms, since creating a relationship based on acts of spite won’t do anyone any good

They don’t allow their pride to get in the way

Time to quote one of my favorite manga artists, Tite Kubo: “If it rusts, it can never be trusted. If its owner fails to control it, it will cut him. Yes, pride is like a blade.” Spiritual teachings usually label pride as a bad characteristic, but reality tends to tell a different story. Having pride is completely acceptable, but being consumed by it is quite inconvenient.

It is not rare that once you become so brilliant, you tend to automatically castigate the opinion of everyone around you. Not only that, but you may often find yourself rejecting a good proposal or initiative simply because you are not the one who thought of it. Smart people rely on their reasoning and if too much pride interferes with it, then it is a feature not worth nurturing.

They don’t put all the eggs in one basket

This one is a no brainer. Never fully invest yourself for the sake of realizing a single idea. Always have backup plans, alternatives, contingencies etc. It was already established that people may not be impressed with your design, or that something can go wrong if we don’t account for all the variables.

This doesn’t imply that you should be discouraged and back off when things don’t go as planned, but this matter will be addressed later on.

They don’t lie to themselves that everything will be easy

Finally, don’t live in the illusion that life will be easy. Your efforts may be thwarted on more than one occasion. Bright and intelligent people know how to pick themselves up and make a comeback. They work on their confidence, and don’t expect things to get easier. Even when things appear to be easy, don’t drop your guard – it’s always quiet before the storm.

Smart people love challenges and the thrill that comes from overcoming an obstacle. Having some downtime is refreshing, but confronting and tackling new problems is what they live for.

They don’t take unnecessary risks

We all found ourselves, at some point in life, when we could have taken a risk in exchange for a greater gain. In the event you are an adrenalin junkie, a motto like “high risk, high reward” is not a bad thing to live by.

Being smart and calculated very often contradicts with this approach, since it is not implied that you won’t face risks, but it limits you to only those that are necessary.

Even small risks with significant gain, like lottery, are a poor choice; if you have some extra cash, save it and wait for it to accumulate. Do not depend on people who are more or less strangers, or wildcards, and stay away from the fluctuating stock markets. Work hard to achieve success – don’t be tantalized by the possibility to change your life overnight. – lifehack.org

Regular physical activity at least 30 minutes most days of the week can lower your blood pressure

IF you have been diagnosed with high blood pressure, you might be worried about taking medication to bring your numbers down. Lifestyle plays an important role in treating your high blood pressure. If you successfully control your blood pressure with a healthy lifestyle, you might avoid, delay or reduce the need for medication.

Lose extra pounds and watch your waistline

Blood pressure often increases as weight increases. Being overweight also can cause disrupted breathing while you sleep, which further raises your blood pressure.

Exercise regularly

Regular physical activity — at least 30 minutes most days of the week can lower your blood pressure by 4 to 9 millimeters of mercury. It is important to be consistent because if you stop exercising, your blood pressure can rise again.

Eat a healthy diet

Eating a diet that is rich in whole grains, fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products and skimps on saturated fat and cholesterol can lower your blood pressure by up to 14 mm Hg.

Reduce sodium in your diet

Even a small reduction in the sodium in your diet can reduce blood pressure by 2 to 8 mm Hg.

Limit the amount of alcohol you drink

Alcohol can be both good and bad for your health. In small amounts, it can potentially lower your blood pressure by 2 to 4 mm Hg.

Quit smoking

Each cigarette you smoke increases your blood pressure for many minutes after you finish. Quitting smoking helps your blood pressure return to normal.

Cut back on caffeine

The role caffeine plays in blood pressure is still debated. Caffeine can raise blood pressure by as much as 10 mm Hg in people who rarely consume it, but there is little to no strong effect on blood pressure in habitual coffee drinkers.

Reduce your stress

Chronic stress is an important contributor to high blood pressure. Occasional stress also can contribute to high blood pressure if you react to stress by eating unhealthy food, drinking alcohol or smoking.

Monitor your blood pressure at home and see your doctor regularly

Home monitoring can help you keep tabs on your blood pressure, make certain your lifestyle changes are working, and alert you and your doctor to potential health complications.

Get support

Supportive family and friends can help improve your health. They may encourage you to take care of yourself, drive you to the doctor’s office or embark on an exercise program with you to keep your blood pressure low. – mayoclinic.org

Featuring interviews with leaders in the global health community including a rare documentary one-on-one with Bill Gates. Narrated by Oscar® nominated Jeremy Renner.

AS many in the world prepare for the warm summer months, Discovery will use its global reach to focus the world’s attention on the single greatest agent of death in modern human history: the mosquito. The global crisis is highlighted in the worldwide premiere of the upcoming Discovery Impact film MOSQUITO, Thursday, July 6^th at 9pm, on Discovery Channel and Discovery networks around the world. 

Recent news coverage around the globe has highlighted individual outbreaks of diseases such as Zika, malaria, West Nile virus, yellow fever, chikungunya, and dengue. But there is a bigger story to be told; one that connects the dots between these diseases and reveals how a single force is driving them all: the unceasing, accelerating expansion of the mosquito around the globe, driven by factors such as increasing global travel and trade, and a warmer world that is more hospitable to mosquitos.

MOSQUITO is a timely in-depth look at this very tiny, very dangerous creature, and how it is changing in unpredictable and unprecedented ways.  Narrated by Academy Award® nominated actor Jeremy Renner (“The Town,” “The Hurt Locker,”) the film chronicles the increasing global threat this tiny animal poses and the potential lethal ramifications without a worldwide coordinated effort.  The film features interviews with leading experts including former CDC director Dr. Thomas Frieden and Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation who points out that the resources required to fight an outbreak relative to the level of death that could result from a fatal pandemic makes this a clear global health priority.

“For more than 30 years, Discovery’s mission has been to ignite viewers’ curiosity, spark dialogue and encourage action on critical topics through our world-class storytelling and brands across 220 countries and territories,” says David Zaslav, President and CEO of Discovery Communications. 

“MOSQUITO sounds a worldwide alarm about the need for bold steps to address this increasingly urgent threat. As a purpose-driven company, we are proud to leverage the strength of our unmatched television and digital services in all corners of the globe to call on citizens and worldwide leaders alike to act.” 

“Discovery is at its best taking a global problem and showcasing its effects on individuals and their local communities,” says Rich Ross, Group President, Discovery, Animal Planet, Science Channel, and Velocity.  “The spread of mosquito-borne illnesses in places they have never been has the potential to change the world as we know it. MOSQUITO shines a spotlight on this rapidly moving issue, giving audiences the tools to understand and prepare for a new world.”

Mosquitos kill more than 750,000 people a year, many of whom are children.  Today, rapid environmental shifts like climate change and the ease of international travel for both humans and goods have only increased the threat mosquitos pose, hastening their spread around the globe.  As deadly mosquitos are now reaching and surviving in places they have never –  including Florida and Texas, and as far north as Washington D.C. and New York, they are bringing diseases like Zika, dengue, and yellow fever to uncharted and unprepared parts of the world.  Shot on four continents, MOSQUITO weaves together expert interviews with the intimate stories of the men, women, and children who are living in fear that the next bite could be a deadly one.

The first human cases of Zika migrated out of Africa and into Malaysia in 1967. Forty years later, Zika had its first outbreak in Micronesia, causing the disease’s spread through the Pacific Islands to Brazil in 2014. The first reported case of Zika in Puerto Rico was in December 2015.  A year later more than 34,000 people carried the disease.  Now over 2.5 billion people are at risk for a potential outbreak of that illness alone, which could cost the world over 500 billion dollars. These alarming numbers are a predictor of what could happen if worldwide health leaders today do not convene and act. And while some progress has been made against mosquito-borne illness, half of the world’s population remains at risk for malaria and other deadly diseases.  MOSQUITO profiles a father and son from a remote village in Kenya. The father, wondering why even with their malaria nets they both have contracted the disease, carries his son on his back for to a hospital while neglecting his own care.  In addition, the film highlights, Leslie Meiners, a mother from Queens, NY who contracted West Nile virus in her own neighborhood. “I never thought it would happen to me. West Nile virus, in this modern-day society,” states Meiners in the film.   “It is like playing Russian Roulette. I lost at that game.” 

Most devastating is the story of a young mother from Brazil, Ane Júliana Araújo, who is caring for a baby born with Zika while fearing the disease may affect her unborn child.   Former CDC director Frieden says in the film that, “There are so many diseases that can be spread by mosquitos.  We are going to have to come up with new, better combined ways to stopping the mosquito to protect ourselves not just from Zika… but also whatever else might come next.”

In conjunction with the worldwide TV broadcast, Discovery and CARE2 are collaborating on a petition calling citizens worldwide to drive leaders to act before it is too late. In addition to airing in over 220 countries and territories around the globe, MOSQUITO will also air in Spanish on Discovery’s Spanish-language channel, Discovery en Español. 

Just prior to its Discovery global broadcast premiere, MOSQUITO will have a World Premiere Spotlight Screening at the prestigious AFI Docs Film Festival on June 15. The film premieres under the Discovery Impact banner, a series of trailblazing documentaries focusing on humankind’s impact on the environment, and what individuals and communities can do to solve global problems. 

MOSQUITO is a Yap Films Production produced for Discovery Channel; directed by Su Rynard; executive producers, Elliott Halpern and Elizabeth Trojian; editors, Michele Francis and Steve Weslak; cinematography by, Mark Elam; writer, Mark Monroe; original music by, Tom Third; Associate Producer, Alex Rankin.  For Discovery:  supervising producer, Jon Bardin; executive producer, John Hoffman.

Viewers can look out for the global premiere of  MOSQUITO that will simulcast across Africa on Discovery Channel and Discovery Family on Thursday,  6^th July at 21:00 CAT and repeats on Animal Planet Friday, 7^th July at 21:00 CAT as well as Discovery Science on Saturday, 8^th July at 21:00 CAT.

For Madonna, being “with a black man wouldn’t jeopardise” her career, the letter says, but things were different for the rapper.

A newly surfaced letter reportedly written by rapper Tupac Shakur to Madonna says he split up with her because of race issues.

The letter, dated 15 January 1995, would have been written from a New York prison where he was serving a four-and-a-half year sentence for sexual assault.

It says: “For you to be seen with a black man wouldn’t in any way jeopardise your career, if anything it would make you seem that much more open and exciting.

“But for me at least in my previous perception I felt due to my ‘image’ I would be letting down half of the people who made me what I thought I was.

“I never meant to hurt you.”

In the letter, which will be auctioned on the Gotta Have Rock And Roll website later this month, Shakur added he had grown “spiritually and mentally”.

He wrote: “Please understand my previous position as that of a young man with limited experience with an extremely famous sex symbol.”

He then suggested meeting to discuss friendship, according to the letter, which was sent before he was bailed in October 1995.

In September the following year Shakur, also known as 2Pac, was seriously injured in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas.

He died six days later at the age of 25.

Madonna confirmed two years ago that they dated in early 1994, but did not say for how long.

The singer caused controversy for repeatedly swearing on the Late Show with David Letterman in March 1994 and later gave their relationship as an explanation.

“I was dating Tupac Shakur at the time and the thing is he like got me all riled up about life in general so when I went on the show I was feeling very gangster,” she told a radio show.

Representatives for Shakur and Madonna, 58, are yet to comment on the letter, which was first published by celebrity news website TMZ.

However, Rolling Stone claims to have authenticated it.

A spokeswoman for Gotta Have Rock And Roll, which will auction the letter between 19-28 July, said: “It’s from a close contact of Madonna’s who worked with her for over 20 years.” – news.sky.com

Part of the delegates at the screening of Despicable Me 3

MULTICHOICE Zimbabwe hosts several customer events each year, aimed at keeping in close contact with DStv viewers and giving them value-added experiences from their relationship with them. The screening of Despicable Me 3  was one such event, and is a family-themed movie of the kind that is at the heart of many of our exciting channels across our range of bouquets.

Eminem and Dr Dre have worked together throughout the rapper’s career

EMINEM is reportedly returning from his career hiatus to record a ninth studio album with his old producer Dr Dre

In an interview the director of a new Dr Dre documentary let slip that the producer is currently working on a track for Slim Shady’s new album.

“Dre still records. People don’t know this,” director Allen Hughes told Uproxx.

“Dre records every day. Literally, he’s in there recording songs every day. He’s like Picasso that way.

“He’s always painting. Right now he’s producing, in the 11th hour, a track for Eminem’s latest album. So Dre’s still real active in music, you know? It’s the truth.”

The music mogul has been relatively idle since his $3bn Beats By Dre deal, which saw him selling his headphone business to Apple.

As for Eminem, the Detroit rapper hasn’t booked a studio since his 2013 sequel to The Marshall Mathers LP, only recording short collaborations here and there with the likes of Big Sean.

He also released a single titled Campaign Speech, on the same day as the then presidential candidate Donald Trump was getting ready for his third big debate.

“Don’t worry I’m working on an album! Here’s something meanwhile,” he wrote at the time.

On social media, news that the real Slim Shady might be staging a comeback was well received by fans.

“I just saw that Dre is working with Eminem on his new album. I almost hyperventilate. I had to write a quick eulogy for whoever he buries,” one user wrote.

“Eminem & Dr.Dre workin on s new album? Best news I’ve heard in a while,” wrote another.

For now, no one from either side of the production has confirmed the reports.

Dr Dre documentary The Defiant Ones premiered on HBO in the US on Sunday. –news.sky.com

Unconditional love is simply defined by experts as affection without conditions or limitations (eternal love).

YES Unconditional love really exists and it’s not just a myth. But, it’s only understood when we first make attempt to understand what conditional love is.

Today, everyone speaks of love like it is a dice. Hardly do we make attempt to know the content of the word “LOVE” beyond just the written 4 LETTERS. A few of us who claim to know the meaning of this word only speak of its emotional connection with our being and or its chemical drive when we’re with the opposite sex.

Don’t get it confused… there’s “Conditional and Unconditional Love” and below we’ll examine the differences and help us identify unconditional love.

Conditional Love: You Expect a Recompense for Every Action in Proportion to Your Emotional or Material Input

Have you been in a relationship where you expect a recompense for every action in proportion to your emotional or material input?

This means there’s an opposite emotion for this love, which is ‘Hatred’. Once one of the lovers’ defaults in giving or taking according to their proportion, the love may die or even turn to hatred. Here, you know your limit, what you stand to give and take and at what proportion.Each individual feels like a superman and controls the other when it’s their turn to either give or take, and there’s nothing more than mutual satisfaction. You aren’t looking for someone with whom to share your whole-self with but just someone to complete you. This is a conditional love.

I discover my dad shows me more love and affection anytime I do exactly as he bids me even when they are against my own will and happiness. This simply means there’s a withdrawal of affection whenever he follows his own will or just considers his happiness and the force behind his action. Of course, this is a conditional love.

On the contrary,

Unconditional Love: You Accept the Whole Person

Unconditional love is often misinterpreted by many people. They simply use this as a wrong reason to continue in an unfavorable relationship or simply persuade someone into managing them. Even when they aren’t sure what it is, they misuse it for some ideal they seek after like you hear they say; “I believe in loving people before they can come to love themselves”. Some even go as far to say “they’ll love unconditionally because they have a special belief”. This is a total mistake.

Unconditional love is simply defined by experts as affection without conditions or limitations (eternal love). In other terms, it is called complete love. But, people commonly refer to this love as ‘deep love’ or the affection you feel for someone that you can go any length to make them happy.

Generally, all lovers refer to this love but what they actually have is conditional love. A clear understanding of unconditional love will reveal you the ultimate power of self-acceptance because this is its foundation for a healthy and long-term relationship success. Its source is the spirit and it springs out from everyone without expecting anything in return to qualify for it.

You don’t have to do anything to please anyone to accept you or show you affection nor do you expect anything from anyone. But, does this mean we simply accept and agree with everyone on everything even when it offends us? No. It means we respect, show kindness, cooperation and display affection to everyone and everything around us including our pets. This love is part of us and it’s us.

Real love is about self-acceptance

Unconditional love is spiritual, self-acceptance , self-forgiving, mental wellness, harmony and beauty and emotional balance. If you lack any of these, you may battle with conditional love for the rest of your life.

When you know the real meaning of love, a lot of relationship problems wouldn’t appear in the first place

It’s very important that you understand what unconditional love is and this will help you to overcoming many relationship challenges. When you fail to understand the concept of this love, you’ll often feel betrayed out of your expectations. Also, people who mistake this love for the opposite “conditional love” often seem to appear as perfectionists and find it very difficult to accept everybody they come in contact with except for selected the few with whom they expect mutual satisfaction. Because they are rewarded for doing things right by whom it was demanded, they grow up with the mindset that everyone must be like them, or they are inferior or fake and end up being treated as they treat others. This brings hatred and unnatural affection.

Truly, understanding this concept brings healing, divine beauty, harmony and pure kindness to everything we come in contact with.  By Micheal Lily

www.lifehack.org

The Beckhams, pictured at Wimbledon, both posted pictures online of Harper at the palace

THERE has been a backlash over a birthday party held for the Beckhams’ daughter at Buckingham Palace.

The tea party was hosted by Prince Andrew and the York family last week ahead of Harper’s sixth birthday on Monday.

David and Victoria Beckham posted pictures of the event on social media – including one of Harper and her friends meeting Princess Eugenie.

“Just to be clear this wasn’t the palace opening the gates for Harper’s birthday party,” the former footballer said on Instagram.

“This was a tea party where us and other guests were invited so it was a beautiful thing to do with my mum, Harper plus a few school friends.”

But there has been heavy criticism of the Beckhams being allowed to “get special treatment”.

Dickie Arbiter, a former Buckingham Palace press secretary, said: “None of them has got a right to be there.

“Is it being opened up as a theme park? It devalues what the place is all about. Why do the Beckhams get special treatment?”

One Twitter user wrote: “Harper Beckham at Buckingham Palace? Pass the sick bag. What about Grenfell victims who have nothing?”

Another said: “Party at Bucks Palace? Don’t think they’d let me do that.”

Royal sources have told Sky News that Prince Andrew would have met the group – and that he would have met any “costs” of the party.

The sources said the Yorks are friendly with the Beckhams.

A spokesman for Sarah, Duchess of York, claimed it was not her event – but was a “private family event” which was a “small family tea”.

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: “From time to time, members of the Royal Family who reside at royal residences invite guests to visit them privately.”

Ray Phiri died in a Mpumalanga hospital on Wednesday.

SOUTH African music legend and former Stimela frontman Ray Phiri died in a Mpumalanga hospital on Wednesday morning after a battle with lung cancer.

He was 70.

In an interview with The Sowetan earlier this month Phiri asked for space and privacy during his sick-bed. He told the newspaper: “Let me suffer (in peace with my) pain, on my own with my dignity.”

Phiri – a jazz, fusion and mbaqanga musician – was born on March 23 1947 near Nelspruit , Mpumalanga. He was a founding member of the Cannibals in the 1970s. Later, the Cannibals would grow in size and rename themselves, becoming the hugely influential Afro-fusion band Stimela.

Phiri was scheduled to perform at Rocking the Daisies music festival later this year.

“Music is spiritual. It provides healing and reflection, and it should add value. Emotion should shine through, and a healthy respect for the audience is required,” Phiri told City Press in a recent interview.

When Cannibals disbanded he founded Stimela, with whom he conceived gold and platinum-selling albums like Fire, Passion and Ecstasy, Look, Listen and Decide, Whispers In The Deep and more.

His music contributed to the fight against apartheid and songs such as Singajindi Majita, Whispers In The Deep and Phinda Mzala were banned by the government of the day.

On Singajindi Majita, he urged people to never give up, a message that nestled comfortably with the political conditions of the time.

The impact was more mobilisation of a people hungry for freedom, with songs such as these providing courage and hope for the future. It was the silent voices of the oppressed that Phiri expressed in his contribution to the attainment of a democratic South Africa.

Phiri’s wife Daphney died in a car accident on an isolated Mpumalanga road in 2003 when the couple’s car overturned. Phiri suffered serious neck injuries in the crash.

The accident was not the couple’s first. Daphney was hospitalised in 2002 when the family’s Volvo collided with another car in Nelspruit. Phiri was also badly injured in 1987 in a crash that claimed the lives of his band manager and six others. The accident so traumatised Phiri that he only re-emerged from musical “exile” 11 years later, City Press reported

Here we flashback to a 2015 interview in which Phiri tells Sunday Time’s Johnny Masilela about his early days in Johannesburg and the formation of his first band, the Cannibals:

Phiri could easily ramble on about how he performed at the most prestigious concerts around the world.

The left-handed Phiri, who strummed the guitar alongside internationally acclaimed Paul Simon during the Graceland Tour, could settle for one of the best restaurants in the leafy northern suburbs of Johannesburg and treat himself to the best cuisine.

But during a recent interview with him, he did the opposite, choosing the modest but fine Niki’s Jazz Restaurant in the culture-rich Market Theatre Precinct in Newtown, downtown Johannesburg.

The interview was delayed by three hours because Phiri got tangled up with personal commitments on the way from his hometown of Mbombela in Mpumalanga.

For the “inconvenience” caused to yours truly and retired teacher Jappie “Mojapane” Sejeng, Phiri declared us his lunchtime guests and paid for the African cuisine out of his own pocket. Bon appetite.

Indeed, during the interview, Bra Ray did not reminisce about “been to” New York, Paris or London, but traced the humble journey he travelled from a family compound in the timber farmlands of the former Nelspruit, now Mbombela.

“My father played the guitar, with a male and female puppet attached to the instrument dancing along,” he said.

“For the fun of it, I mimicked the puppets and joined in the dancing.”

The signature puppet dance has become a popular part of his band Stimela’s repertoire, drawing shrieks and whistles from audiences such as those at the recent Joy of Jazz Festival in Johannesburg.

Phiri’s Malawi-born father, a man named Justnow, refused to allow his son to play the guitar on the pretext that, as a kid, he would break the strings.

How ironic then that the interview took place hardly a week after the Joy of Jazz Festival, where he had the audience eating out of the palm of his hand as he played the night away.

“One day, while my father was away, I stole his guitar and fiddled with it. In the process I broke one of the strings. This got Justnow hot under the collar, wanting to know what the heck I was doing with his guitar. I survived a spanking by lying that I was cleaning the instrument,” Phiri explained.

Justnow, his dancing son and the puppets became popular at weddings and other compound community festivities.

The first time Phiri got full access to his father’s treasured guitar was after Justnow lost three fingers in a freak accident at work.

Phiri – who earned pocket money as an after-school gardener, walking 5km into Mbombela – spent a few shillings on a “picture chord book” to help him understand the workings of the guitar.

He also made a little money dancing for a local band where his elder sisters, Maria and Girlie, were the songstresses.

“I did not want other band members to know I was privately learning how to play the guitar. It was a confidence thing, and also that I improvised on country and western ballads when locals were into the mbaqanga dialect,” he said.

The passion for country music, Phiri explained, was inspired by the one-time great LM Radio, which featured yesteryear artists such as Jim Reeves and Elvis Presley.

In 1967, the then very popular Johannesburg-based Dark City Sisters and the back-up Five Boys Band were invited to perform at an agricultural show in Mbombela.

“I broke away from the cheering crowd and went on stage to dance, drawing deafening applause from those in attendance. The popular ensemble from Johannesburg paid me R35 and recruited me to travel with them back to the City of Gold.”

There and then Phiri left with the Dark City Sisters and the Five Boys – ending up stranded in downtown Joburg and spending three nights sleeping on the pavements.

Luckily he was able to make contact with Modderbee Prison warder and homeboy Lukas Ndlovu, who welcomed him into his room in Daveyton on the East Rand, on the understanding Phiri did chores like cooking and cleaning.

In Niki’s Jazz Restaurant in the Market Theatre precinct, Phiri stabbed his knife into his plate of pap and boiled offal and declared: “By the way, I am a good cook.”

Ndlovu arranged for a job interview for Phiri at Modderbee Prison.

“An Afrikaner officer pulled out a measuring tape and ordered me to stretch my rather small arms and legs. He winked at me and said I’d got the job, but could only start after 10 years! I think he was right because the prisoners would have poked fun at one so small, dressed in a warder’s uniform,” Phiri said with a bellyful of laughter.

He got a job on a construction site in Sandton, where he pushed around mortar in a wheelbarrow.

In later years, the construction site gave birth to the popular Stimela track, Si shovi ’ngolovana (We are pushing the wheelbarrow), although Phiri added that the song was also used as a rallying call to push back “the frontiers of apartheid”.

“I was happy there because I got my own room, if you can call a toolshed packed with bags of cement and shovels a home!” he said.

Three years after leaving home, he had saved enough money to buy a steam-train ticket to Mbombela for the Easter weekend.

He arrived at the Johannesburg station just as the train was slowly chugging away. Phiri, now a streetwise Joburger, ran alongside and leapt onto a carriage – but also into the arms of a railway policeman, who handcuffed him and got him locked up at a police station at the next train station.

After four days he was hauled before a magistrate, who paged through his dompas, which Phiri said revealed his Mbombela origins.

The magistrate found him guilty of being an illegal visitor to Joburg and sentenced him to be escorted by a policeman back to Mbombela, in terms of the “orderly movement” of non-white persons.

Phiri was scheduled to perform at Rocking the Daisies music festival later this year.

In Mbombela, Phiri teamed up with an all-instrument band called Amazim-zim, which legendary producer West Nkosi invited to a recording session in Joburg.

Phiri said Nkosi required the band to change its name because mbaqanga king Simon “Mahlathini” Nkabinde was releasing a record by the same name.

“I suggested we translate our name into English and we became the Cannibals,” Phiri said.

The change of name nudged Nkosi to bring in a popular vocalist known as “Mpharanyana” – hence to many old-school township music lovers, there would be fond memories of Mpharanyana and the Cannibals.

The more successful present-day Stimela emerged from a merger between the Cannibals and what Phiri described as the “new generation” of the Movers.

In recent years he has taken a nostalgic journey back to the timber plantations of Mpumalanga. There he rents a house from the Solomons family, who have given him permission to reinvent his alma mater, building it into the Ray Phiri Arts Institute.

No less than Paul Simon paid a courtesy visit in 2012, as part of the making of a documentary commemorating 25 years of what has become the all-time classic, Graceland. –Channel24.co.za/The Sunday Independent

The singer holds the two babies in the Instagram picture

BEYONCE has posted an elaborate photograph on social media to introduce her and husband Jay Z’s newborn twins to the world.

The singer also confirmed the names of the boy and girl in the Instagram post – her first public acknowledgement of their birth.

“Sir Carter and Rumi 1 month today,” she wrote alongside the picture.

In the photo Beyonce, 35, poses outdoors in a colourful gown and long veil as she cradles both babies while standing beneath a floral arch with the ocean behind her.

The post received just under two million likes within the first hour.

Sir Carter and Rumi are younger siblings to Blue Ivy Carter, 5, who was born in January 2012 and also introduced to the world in images posted online.

Beyonce and Jay Z announced she was pregnant with the twins in February in a similarly extravagant picture in which she posed in lingerie and wearing a veil while showing her bare baby bump.

“We would like to share our love and happiness,” they wrote alongside the picture.

“We have been blessed two times over. We are incredibly grateful that our family will be growing by two, and we thank you for your well wishes. – The Carters” – news.sky.com

With soulmates, there is such depth to your relationship that you can feel and hear what your partner is thinking, even if it is not verbally expressed.

SPIRITUALLY speaking, it is said that even before you were born, the name of your spiritual half has been determined. Each soul has a perfect match… your soulmate.

Although most people think of a soulmate as a perfect harmonious union of bliss, your true spiritual soulmate is the person who is intended to help you “complete yourself.”

Jerry McGuirewas right – soul mates complete each other. A person is unable to complete his mission in life alone. Everyone needs someone to help them become a better person. This is not always a blissful experience.

Being in an honest, sincere, and committed soulmate relationship helps you to become a better version of yourself. You have to push yourself beyond your comfort zone, beyond your limits to find your better self.

Even though we tend to think of soul mates as a symbiotic union; soulmate relationships can be rough at the beginning. They can be like two jagged edged puzzle pieces trying to click into place. Sometimes it looks like you do not fit together at all, but soon after a little bit of twisting, turning, and flipping the pieces around, you feel the moment of the perfect click. It’s a feeling deep in your soul, that says, this is the right one.

Often soulmates appear in disguise. You might not be physically attracted to each other when you first meet, but there is a mysterious force pushing you forward that tells you this is “the right one” for you.

You have a personal checklist of everything you want in a partner. Tall- check. Dark hair (no curls please)-check. Blondes only-check. 6 pack abs- check. Or you can be like Jerry Seinfeld who knows his date is not “the one” becauseshe eats her peas one at a time.

You know you’ve found your soulmate when:

1. You just know it.

Something deep inside tells you this is the perfect one for you. It’s as if there is a spiritual force pushing you to let go of everything you previously expected and to give of yourself completely.

2. You have crossed paths before.

Soulmates have met each other and a previous time. You may not have connected, but you were in the same place, at the same time. Before my husband and I met, we lived across the street from each other and worked across the street from each other. Yet we never met until the time was right.

Each person has to be ready to receive the soul connection. Even though my husband and I were in close proximity of each other for many years, we did not meet until the time was right for both of us. You have to be prepared to meet your soulmate. It could be that you have to go through a relationship that doesn’t work out, or that you’re not ready to ditch your “perfect person checklist,” but when it comes to soulmates- timing is everything.

Being quiet together is comforting like a fluffy down blanket on a cold winter night. Whether you are reading in the same room, or driving in the car, there’s a quiet peace between you.

5. You can hear the other person’s silent thoughts.

With soulmates, there is such depth to your relationship that you can feel and hear what your partner is thinking, even if it is not verbally expressed.

6. You feel each other’s pain.

You stand in each other’s shoes. You know each other so well, that the second he walks in the door, you can tell how his day was. You feel each other’s feelings: sadness, worry, and stress. And you share each other’s happiness and joy.

7. You know each other’s flaws and the benefits in them.

Yes, it’s true. Our flaws have benefits. Every trait has a positive as well as a negative side. It’s the task of each person to always look for the good, even when things don’t look so good. There is usually a benefit to each flaw. Stubborn people are good decision makers. Overly organized people are great at paying bills on time.

8. You share the same life goals.

You’re both on the same page with values, ethics, and goals. You may have a different way of reaching those goals, but you both want the same end result.

9. You’re not afraid of having a conversation.

Conversations can be challenging. Expressing concerns or attempting to make decisions is uncomfortable. Soulmates know that if they join together, they will be able to work it out.

Whether it’s tennis three times a week or girls’ night out, you respect each other’s need for independence, knowing that when you get together, your time alone is special.

11. You don’t experience jealousy.

Pretty girls at the office or handsome personal trainers aren’t a threat to your relationship.You are secure knowing that you are the only one.

12. You respect each other’s differences and opinions.

You know you have different opinions. Often soulmates are polar opposite. At times this is challenging. These are the times when you are being forced to let the other person complete you. You still have your own opinion, but instead of agreeing to disagree, there is a deep level of respect for each other. You listen and honor the differences.

13. You don’t scream, curse, or threaten each other with divorce.

Of course you feel the anger. People unintentionally hurt each other. But soulmates aren’t nasty, hurtful, or punitive.

14. You give in because you want to make your partner happy.

Giving can often occur in unhealthy, co-dependent, or abusive relationships. But soulmates give to each other for the sole purpose of making each other happy.

15. You know how to apologize.

It’s not easy to say “I’m sorry” or admit that you did something that hurt the person you love. Soulmates realize that their actions or words cause harm. Even if they feel justified in their point of view, if their partner was hurt by it, they can easily apologize for the harm they have caused.

You know this is the one and only one for you. Even through the tough times, you would choose your partner again. You feel a sense of pride in your partner.

17. You complete each other.

Yes, I’m sorry to say it but, your partner fills in your blanks. No person is perfect. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. Soulmates complete each other. It’s the yin and yang of perfect harmony. One person may be the extrovert, while one is the introvert. One may be social, while the other a homebody. Soulmates are often opposite that are attracted to a person who has their missing pieces.

18.Being in each other’s arms washes away all your stress, worries, and anxiety.

There is no place you’d rather be at the end of the day but in each other’s arms. If you had a rough day filled with disagreements, a fight with your boss or if you missed the train, whatever happened is gone the second you cuddle up together. There is a warmth in your heart, an inner peace you can feel. No words need to be spoken. All that exists is the silent, blissful union of two souls together. Two souls that were meant to be together eternally. – By June Silny

www.lifehack.org

The Hollywood star will take over the role made famous by Robin Williams in the original 1992 animated film.

DISNEY has announced that Will Smith will play the Genie in their upcoming live-action Aladdin remake, directed by Guy Ritchie.

He will take over the role of the Genie from the late Robin Williams, who memorably played the part in the original animated film.

Canadian actor Mena Massoud, a relative newcomer, will join Smith in the film as the titular street urchin.

British actress and Power Rangers star Naomi Scott was also announced as Princess Jasmine.

The original 1992 production was the highest grossing film of the year and won two Academy Awards – best score and best song for A Whole New World.

The script for the film has been written by John August, who wrote Big Fish, and will be produced by Sherlock Holmes producer Dan Lin.

It is due to start filming in London this August but does not yet have a release date.

Among the roles yet to be announced are the villainous Jafar, his sidekick Iago and Princess Jasmine’s father, the Sultan.

The Aladdin cast was among the announcements made at Disney’s fan exo D23, which is taking place in California.

It is one of several live-action remakes currently planned by Disney, who are also working on new versions of Mulan, Dumbo and The Lion King.

The House of Mouse also released a behind-the-scenes look at the latest Star Wars film and the first trailer for Ava DuVernay’s A Wrinkle In Time at the expo. news.sky.com