Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Life Is Not Fair And That Is Great News

"Life is not fair!" This is a phrase commonly used by pessimists, the eternally negative, and the people who actually gain pleasure from thinking that the world is against them. And it's 100% true. Life really is not fair but guess what? That is great news!
Life Really Is Not Fair
If life was "fair" then everyone would have the exact same life. We would all work the same job, get paid the same amount, live in the same size house, drive the same car, and have the exact same chance at having fun. Zero.
Life is not designed to be fair for all and quite frankly it would suck if it was. If life was fair then what incentive would there be to try new things? Would you be motivated to start your own business and/or work 60 hours a week if you knew you were going to get the exact same reward as the guy who plays guitar and surfs all day? Hell no! (Not to mention the fact that if you were working 60 hours and some guy is not then that breaks the whole "fairness" rule anyway...)
In a world where everything was fair then education, skills, attitude, and experience would count for nothing because everyone would be rewarded the same. In fact society as we know it would cease to exist. No one would want to work in those high-stress jobs, no-one would be motivated to achieve more than the average, and science and technology advances would stop (or at least drop off significantly). Things are not meant to be fair and it is technically impossible anyway so its best if you start accepting that life is not fair. Besides that is actually a good thing.
When people cry about life not being fair they are doing so because on a deeper level they enjoy living with a "me vs the rest of the world" attitude. They like complaining about their situation and making it out like they have no control because it makes them feel like their life has been defined by some higher power. A higher power that they can blame, and people love being able to blame someone else.
But life is not like that. Life definitely is NOT fair but it is also not a zero-sum game. It is not a competition. When someone has some success in their life there is not an exact counter-balance of negativity for someone else. For you to make $1000 today, someone else does not have to first lose $1000. That is not how the world works. Your life, and its "fairness", is the sum of all YOUR actions and is not dependent on anyone else.
Find Success in Unfairness
Everyone can achieve success and happiness but only those that realise it is up them (and not pre-determined by god, fate, or any other belief system) will actually do it. These people are the ones that understand that, because life is not fair, they can stack the odds in their favour.
When you understand the positive implications of life being unfair you start to see the world in a new light. Instead of complaining about your situation, or comparing your lot in life to that of others, your mind begins to focus on creating scenarios that are in your favour. New opportunities are presented, ideas are developed, and the possibilities become almost endless.
So, next time you hear someone mutter those wonderful words - "life is not fair" - you should smile and remind yourself that it is completely and utterly true, but that it just means that you can rig life so that it is always working in your favour.
Life is not fair and that is great news!
Zac Sky is a 27 year old entrepreneur, consultant, writer, motivator, data geek, and sports-lover, with a mindset for being positive, loving life, and experimenting. He is the author of "ZacSky.com - Positive Happiness" a blog dedicated to personal development, productivity improvement, and lifestyle freedom.

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Recession Unemployment and LMS Education

It seemed that there was some good news for job seekers when the employment data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on April 1st reported that the private sector added 230,000 jobs in March, adding jobs for the 13th consecutive month. The unemployment rate fell in March to 8.8%.
However, also in March, government employment fell by 14,000, making it the fifth straight monthly decline. And local governments were especially affected, losing 416,000 jobs since the peak in September of 2008.
Although job gains are getting better, it is still exceptionally difficult for the unemployed to find work. There are almost five job seekers for every opening available.
Unemployment is highly stressful and emotionally exhausting, but it can also be an opportunity to reflect on your skills and long-term goals, and take action. If you are unemployed, you might take this time to build on your skills and expand your marketability.
Especially for women, further education helps while seeking employment to fight the gender disparity that remains an active element in the work force. For many women either working, raising children, or seeking employment, an LMS online program is not only the most attractive option, but the only one feasible one.
The increasingly financially crippling expenses of brick and mortar university education is enough to make anyone seek alternatives, but especially those with mouths to feed, bills to pay, etc.The low cost combined with the flexibility of online courses make it the fastest-growing learning method in the world.
Surprisingly, many women are finding post-recession time to be the most difficult financially. During the recession, men lost more jobs than women overall. However, now that the recession is over, and we are supposedly enjoying an economic recovery, women are losing more jobs. Why is this the case? Part of the reason is government funding-state money has been quickly running out. Government payrolls are shrinking, programs are being cut, and jobs are being eliminated left and right.
So how are women more affected by state budget cuts? Women make up some 57% of the government work force. And among the public jobs that were cut recently, two-thirds of them were held by women.
Another factor is nothing new. Despite affirmative action and other efforts to balance the inequality between men and women in the workplace, gender biases still have a place in society. Specifically, the "breadwinner bias" still holds sway. When given a choice between a man and a woman, historically a female's income has been considered supplementary, despite the case that more and more women are the full breadwinners of their homes.
LMS online training is helping to bridge the gender gap and equip job-seekers with the skills they need to find employment. However, without a concerted nation-wide effort in both the private and public sector to generate more work, education alone isn't enough to solve the unemployment problem.

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Recent Competition In The Education

The Education Industry in Australia is one of those quiet earners. Year on year we have seen improvements, but after incidents of last year, we have seen that our market can easily go away. Whether to learn English or more advanced studies, students have many other choices than Australia. With a low US dollar, countries like Canada and the USA are much more competitive on the international market and the next few years will see a heating up as countries like China do their best to keep students in their own country. What is Australia doing about it?
  • Visa process. The process of getting a student visa is still slow and a little complicated compared to some other countries, and a shake up is required. Although requirements for some countries such as India and China have been lowered, it is important that we see improvements in the actual process. The industry is currently waiting on government reports and recommendations on this issue that should be released in the middle of this year. Other countries such as the UK and New Zealand have much lower visa fees and also do not require students to have money in the bank for the whole course - requiring only to show they can support themselves for a year. This is a more realistic option.
  • Study type. Countries like Canada are targeting India with a broader and easily accessible trade and community courses. Australia has seen a decline in these types of students as a result. Australia saw a recent fall of around 10% in these types of English and trade studies. These can often be bigger money earners than marketing courses and other higher-end studies.
  • Bad press and losing India. The bad press in 2010 problems of Indian students being the target of racial hate and attacks has meant a real disaster for Australia. Applications have seriously plummeted. What is Australia going to do about this to make it more appealing again? The USA and Canada have capitalised on this right when their dollars are cheaper. Indian student numbers will be less than 50% of what they were.
  • Loss of fees and schools closing. Did you know that over 15 private colleges closed in 2010 and over 3000 students were affected - many of them losing their fees. In an industry where people are choosing a country, there is an obligation that must be met by the country to guarantee the welfare of the students. We are selling our country and not just its education.
  • Immediate effect. It must be understood that the drop in students coming to Australia has an immediate effect on many jobs and many lives in Australia. It is not just the economy that suffers. People who have invested their lives in the industry are having their lives shattered.
  • Pathway to permanent residency. There is always the issue that many students use it as a pathway to a residency visa. Is this not fair in itself? If people are investing many years of their life with substantial financial investment, and they have good qualifications, then why should they not be allowed to stay? We are living in an international world and the more diversified Australia becomes, the better off it will be. Australia needs to grow up and take a more international approach to the students and their future, just like Canada, the USA and Britain do.
If Australia does not make serious changes to its attitude we will continue to see other countries take advantage of the current situation further. We are at a crucial turning point. If it was another industry such as mining, it would be all over the news.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Political Correctness in Education Has Gone Too Far

There are lots of reasons why parents home school their kids. Some feel the schools aren't safe, and it's true some are not. Some parents worry about drugs, some worry about bullying. Yes, indeed, those can be factors. But the main reason home schooling exists is because many parents do not trust the public schools anymore. They don't trust the schools to teach their kids correctly, the right information, or do it in the way they would with integrity, decency, and honesty.
Political correctness in our schools is also a reason I hear when I interview home schooling parents, and interestingly enough, over the years I've talked to 100s all over America. But how bad is the PC world of education these days? Well, some parents get irate when explaining some of the stories and experiences they've encountered. And in listening to their critique, well, I cannot say I much blame them.
In fact, in a story I almost cannot believe which was printed in an E-School News article Titled; "White-washing of Literary Classics Paints Controversy" in the February 2011 edition there was an article where "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" was actually modified as to not offend black students. Yep, they modified Mark Twain's work. Can you imagine modifying a literary classic like that, and then having the kids read it without telling them it has been modified? Talk about lack of integrity! I am appalled.
But it brings me to another point, you ought to have your home-schooled children also read; "Lies My Teacher Told Me" as part of their at home curriculum as well. It just blows me away that we can have adults in our educational system pull something so childish. And if it really is "that bad" having a book with a black-slave in it, then just don't have them read it at all, but modifying it, changing anything is absolutely unethical in every way - but it's even worse, because the educational system which demands ethical students is doing it.
What does this teach our children I ask? Scary stuff indeed, but luckily the story was picked up by CNNs Anderson Cooper and played on TV to get the word out. Could it get any worse you wonder? Sure it could, especially when everyone plays along and no one stands up and says; "Hey, wait just one minute here!"
Well, I hope you've enjoyed today's topic, and I hope you will please consider all this and think on it.

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Forex Trading Education

A prospective forex trader would be well advised to spend a little time researching a respectable currency trading course. Of course he or she will want to start making money as soon as possible, but forex trading is risky, and if they do not get a good foundation they could easily be losing pots of cash instead. Currency price movements are not easy to predict, and a trader needs to take many factors into consideration. In addition, it is imperative to open and close trades at the right moment to get maximum profit from any price variation. If a trader tries to work all of this out for themselves it will take a lot of time.
It would be ideal if the forex trading course covered all the necessary principles of foreign exchange trading, and beneath you will discover my recommended list of what I would expect to find in a quality course.
1. Principles of currency trading
Any high-quality currency trading course will make clear the fundamental principles of the forex market including leverage and margins, pips, spread and other costs, and what to look for in a broker.
2. Technical analysis
The understanding of charts and other indicators is known as technical analysis. The trader uses these to spot signals to buy or sell, such as trends or swings. Different systems rely on different indicators. Consequently, an investor would not require to learn all indicators, but just those which were significant to his or her system. At a later date, a trader's system may change, so it would be convenient if the currency trading course could be looked at yet again later on. This would permit an investor to alter his or her system relatively effortlessly.
3. Fundamental analysis
Fundamental analysis relates to the financial news, announcements and other events which affect foreign currency prices. In the end, it is each country's economic performance which causes the value of its currency to change. One does not need to be able to foresee all these events. It is quite normal for traders to avoid the market at these times. But it is vital to understand how the process works and keep an eye on the alerts for anything that might influence trading.
4. Risk management
Risk management concentrates on minimizing losses through the use of stops, and protecting income by limiting the position size. In general risk on any one trade should never be more than 5% and many traders work on 2%, 1% or even less. Fund size has a great effect on risk, and one should reduce it as funds increase. Anything over 5% is pretty much guaranteed to wipe out funds. A trader may feel like taking a chance for quicker growth on a small fund but wiping out their funds is not a good way to go!
5. Mindset
Forex trading education is worth little if it does not cover the most essential aspect of all which is mindset. Ultimately, if a trader does not take the time to comprehend the mindset of a successful trader, they will not be in a position to profit from the market.
Self-discipline is the key. Without this, emotions such as fear, greed or excitement will take over and money will be lost. A trader must also be able to handle losses, and not allow them to get the better of them. Of course risk management will always help, however patterns of behaviour can be established if emotions are permitted to take over, and this will lead to losses. A good forex trading course will include teaching and exercises to help a new trader master the art of self-discipline and keep their emotions off the trading floor.