Friday, August 8, 2008

What Is Most Important To Making Your Life The Best?





I want to challenge myself and hopefully you.

I get so caught up trying to do things: busy raising kids, caring for a household, crossing out things on my to-do lists, and I haven't slowed down in a while to ask myself some important questions to make sure I am on track, have you?

What do you think is the most important factor to create your ideal life? Is it your education? Is it the tools and skills you acquire? Is it the way you were brought up? Is it the way you perceive and look at life?

What are your expectations for yourself? What have you been putting off? Have you ever wondered what would happen if you made decisions about your life without fear?

These are really important questions? Would you agree?

*Thanks http://bia2.com/ramona/ for the photo!


I spent too much of life in limbo, waiting for the right things to happen to in order for me to then do the things I want to do. I realize that this has been my excuse, my reason for not "going for it". I don't mean to jump into something spontaneously with clear thinking and thoroughness but have you put off what makes you happy or something that fills an empty spot in your being?

I have...who will join me in taking a challenge to change?

Can you write down 3 goals and share them with me?

My top four are (they aren't super crazy, nor exciting except to me:
1) Pay off my house and other business debt;
2) Send my kids to the school I want to send them to; and
3) Learn Chinese;
4) Continue to invest in my well being and prosperity.

It is a good place to start, isn't it? Tell me where you are so I can learn from you too!

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Ways to Learn the Chinese Language Makes Your Business The Best

So, now you know that Chinese IS the language you want to learn to become more business savy. Now you need to know which learning method works best for you to learn the Chinese language.

First, look at the best way you learn any subject. Does learning come easier to you when you rewrite phrases that they have heard? Or do you finds it easier to learn a language by rereading things over and over again?

You may find it much easier to learn the language if you say it out loud yourself, or hear someone else saying it out loud. If you don't know, try practicing each technique mentioned above, and see which method helps you learn more effectively.

Sometimes using a couple methods at the same time works the best. Such as rewriting a phrase or word after you haer it said, and then saying it yourself. Writing it down can also help becasue you can refer back to it.

To properly learn Chinese you must learn the 4 different tones. Each tone is drawn over the spoken word to give it a different pronunciation.

1. The first tone that the Chinese people use is high but flat. This means that the voice stays flat and should not either rise or dip in any way.

2. The second tone that the Chinese use is a rising tone, and the person’s voice should raise as they speak.

3. The third tone is known as the dipping tone, and when a word is spoken it will go up and then rise.

4. The fourth tone is the lowering tone. When used, this makes the word being spoken sound masculine.

The best way of learning how the tones sound is through listening to a native speaker. To learn this from reading is nearly impossible.
Here are some ways you can learn to speak Chinese:
1. To learn common phrases, buy a "How To" Learn Mandarin book. This you can easily do either through your local bookstore, or online through such sites as Amazon.

2. Purchase some audio cd's or mp3's to play while driving your car, or relaxing at home.

3. The best way is to take an introductory course to learn Chinese at you local college or adult education class. It will help you to gain confidence in speaking the language and ensure you are pronouncing the words and tones correctly. By taking a class, a person has a foundation to learn the language on their own.

4. Flash cards can also be very useful. Remember to then use each word in a sentence to practice it correctly.

To really learn any language, or for anything really, is to practice consistently. Persistence is the key. When we discontinue to practice we forget.

Make sure to pace yourself. Trying to learn to much to fast will cause you to forget what you have already learned; it overloads our brain, causing some of what was learned to be dumped to make space for the new information (this relates to short term and long term memory).