The Colloid Base

It’s that IT factor! It’s that special something that really makes people shine. It’s a combination of confidence, energy and warmth, and an extra sparkle in the eye. It’s easy to spot, but not so easy to attain. The question is.. do you have it? And can you get it?

The answer is YES!

If you take one look at all of the American Idol contestants, there is one thing in common with the people who HAVE it. They don’t need to promote it. It shines within them and they get more respect from the judges even if they don’t have a great voice. The judges usually say, “it was nice to meet you and good luck” as opposed to “Get me OUTTA here”. Watching American Idol is a wonderful way to study the quality of “charisma” over, and over and over again.

Charismatic people come in all shapes and sizes. There are some absolutely beautiful people with no inner spark whatsoever. There are tons of incredibly overweight or not so attractive in the traditional sense, that have been gifted with tons of Charisma.

The secret? It takes WORK.. but we all have it. Here are some quick tips:

1. Know who you are. Then SHUT up and BE it. People who have to talk about it all the time are BORES. When you know who you are, you can focus on OTHERS and get to know them.

2. Be an expert at something. Be smart. Be beautiful. Be a pianist. Be a martial artist. Be a teacher. Be an expert on ants.. it really doesn’t matter… just work and work and work and WORK, until you are an EXPERT at something.

3. Don’t be your own judge. Compete against others. Be judged in your sport or compete somehow or get noticed by OTHERS so you KNOW that you’ve accomplished something and are an expert at it. This can take years…. so suck it up and work on your craft!

4. Teach others and share with others your passion. When you’ve had some successes and some failures, you’ll appreciate yourself a lot more for the work you’ve put in. Then you can tell others about it… or better yet.. just show them! And when they compliment you.. say “thank you.” Don’t gloat and don’t apologize. Just say “thank you.. and I enjoy what I do.”

5. Work on your personal presence. Look at people in the eyes when you talk… eyeball to eyeball. Watch yourself in the mirror to see if you can PRACTICE that “inner spark” if you don’t have it naturally. Here is a test: Say to yourself: “You just won 1 million dollars” Then look at yourself! Are you lit up like a Christmas tree? This will give you a sense of what you can be like at your best. It’s a bright eyed, sincere, and genuinely happy look. It’s NOT boring.. that’s for sure!

Certainly there are so many other things to work on like a firm handshake, small talk skills, how to get comfortable meeting new people and things like that. But when you have a starting point and realize WHO you want to be, then you will have a visual of WHAT you want to be.

I’ll leave you with an exercise: Close your eyes. Now see yourself where you want to be in 5 years. What are you wearing? What do you look like? How successful are you? What are you doing?

Carry this visual with you always. Return to it when you go to sleep at night. Wake up with it close to your heart. In time, you will become it.

Dreams take work. And you know the saying!

If it’s going to BE, it’s up to ME!

Mary Gardner, The Charisma Coach, has been teaching Charisma to celebrities, politicians, executives, sales pros and entrepeneurs for over 10 years. She holds workshops and seminars and does personal coaching. She has a 4 week intensive phone coaching program. For more information contact http://www.marygardner.com or mary@marygardner.com

Now that you are out on your own and have your own place of residence, there are still a few more things that you must do. One of these is finding good home owners insurance. Hopefully you know why it is required when owning/renting a home, so we wont go into that. There are a few tips that you can use in finding the best home owners insurance that is right for you.

Before you even set foot into an office to begin discussing home owners insurance, be sure to do some research to find the cheapest that is offered in your area. With a few phone calls to different locations, one can easily find a cheaper alternative. Sometimes companies will even compete for your business if they know that you are being offered a much better deal than what they are currently providing. It is to the best of your advantage to call around first before you begin handing out money.

The most important thing to remember is that the person that you are dealing with is a salesman and they aren’t always honest with you. To prevent a lot of headaches try to make sure that you are going to someone that knows what they are doing, or ask friends where they received their insurance from. When offered a policy, make sure that you know what it covers and what it does not. If you believe that they are trying to sell you something that you do not need, make sure to ask why this policy is better than that one. Always ask questions.

These are just a few tips that will help insure that you get the best rate for your home insurance policy. Just remember to check around before you settle for one company over the other. Most of the time there is a business that is out there waiting to compete to give you the lowest possible price just to gain your business.

View our Recommended Home Insurance Company, a simple site that has an easy to fill out application. It also has a lot of great info about Car Insurance Quotes and Affordable Health Insurance