Migraine headache:Knowledge Youths can Utilize.

By Clive Siachiyako

What is a migraine headache?

A migraine headache is a form of vascular headache. Migraine headache is caused by vasodilatation (enlargement of blood vessels) that causes the release of chemicals from nerve fibers that coil around the large arteries of the brain. Enlargement of these blood vessels stretches the nerves that coil around them and causes the nerves to release chemicals. The chemicals cause inflammation, pain, and further enlargement of the artery. The increasing enlargement of the arteries magnifies the pain.
Migraine attacks commonly activate the sympathetic nervous system in the body. The sympathetic nervous system is often thought of as the part of the nervous system that controls primitive responses to stress and pain, the so-called "fight or flight" response, and this activation causes many of the symptoms associated with migraine attacks; for example, the increased sympathetic nervous activity in the intestine causes nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.
• Sympathetic activity also delays emptying of the stomach into the small intestine and thereby prevents oral medications from entering the intestine and being absorbed.
• The impaired absorption of oral medications is a common reason for the ineffectiveness of medications taken to treat migraine headaches.
• The increased sympathetic activity also decreases the circulation of blood, and this leads to pallor of the skin as well as cold hands and feet.
• The increased sympathetic activity also contributes to the sensitivity to light and sound sensitivity as well as blurred vision.
Migraine afflicts 28 million Americans, with females suffering more frequently (17%) than males (6%). Missed work and lost productivity from migraine create a significant public burden. Nevertheless, migraine still remains largely underdiagnosed and undertreated. Less than half of individuals with migraine are diagnosed by their doctors.
What are the symptoms of migraine headaches?
Migraine is a chronic condition with recurrent attacks. Most (but not all) migraine attacks are associated with headaches.
• Migraine headaches usually are described as an intense, throbbing or pounding pain that involves one temple. (Sometimes the pain is located in the forehead, around the eye, or at the back of the head).
• The pain usually is unilateral (on one side of the head), although about a third of the time the pain is bilateral (on both sides of the head).
• The unilateral headaches typically change sides from one attack to the next. (In fact, unilateral headaches that always occur on the same side should alert the doctor to consider a secondary headache, for example, one caused by a brain tumor).
• A migraine headache usually is aggravated by daily activities such as walking upstairs.
• Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, facial pallor, cold hands, cold feet, and sensitivity to light and sound commonly accompany migraine headaches. As a result of this sensitivity to light and sound, migraine sufferers usually prefer to lie in a quiet, dark room during an attack. A typical attack lasts between 4 and 72 hours.
An estimated 40%-60% of migraine attacks are preceded by premonitory (warning) symptoms lasting hours to days. The symptoms may include:
• sleepiness,
• irritability,
• fatigue,
• depression or euphoria,
• yawning, and
• cravings for sweet or salty foods.

Patients and their family members usually know that when they observe these warning symptoms that a migraine attack is beginning.

Migraine aura
An estimated 20% of migraine headaches are associated with an aura. Usually, the aura precedes the headache, although occasionally it may occur simultaneously with the headache. The most common auras are:
1. flashing, brightly colored lights in a zigzag pattern (referred to as fortification spectra), usually starting in the middle of the visual field and progressing outward; and
2. a hole (scotoma) in the visual field, also known as a blind spot.
Some elderly migraine sufferers may experience only the visual aura without the headache. A less common aura consists of pins-and-needles sensations in the hand and the arm on one side of the body or pins-and-needles sensations around the mouth and the nose on the same side. Other auras include auditory (hearing) hallucinations and abnormal tastes and smells.
For approximately 24 hours after a migraine attack, the migraine sufferer may feel drained of energy and may experience a low-grade headache along with sensitivity to light and sound. Unfortunately, some sufferers may have recurrences of the headache during this period.

What other medications are used for treating migraine headaches?
Narcotics and butalbital-containing medications sometimes are used to treat migraine headaches; however, these medications are potentially addicting and are not used as initial treatment. They are sometimes used for individuals whose headaches fail to respond to OTC medications but who are not candidates for triptans either due to pregnancy or the risk of heart attack and stroke.
In migraine sufferers with severe nausea, a combination of a triptan and an antinausea medication, for example, prochlorperazine (Compazine) or metoclopramide (Reglan) may be used. When nausea is severe enough that oral medications are impractical, intravenous medications such as DHE-45 (dihydroergotamine), prochlorperazine (Compazine), and valproate (Depacon) are useful.

How are migraine headaches prevented?
There are two ways to prevent migraine headaches: 1) by avoiding factors ("triggers") that cause the headaches, and 2) by preventing headaches with medications (prophylactic medications). Neither of these preventive strategies is 100% effective. The best one can hope for is to reduce the frequency of headaches.

What are migraine triggers?
A migraine trigger is any environmental or physiological factor that leads to a headache in individuals who are prone to develop headaches. Only a small proportion of migraine sufferers, however, clearly can identify triggers. Examples of triggers include:
• stress,
• sleep disturbances,
• fasting,
• hormones,
• bright or flickering lights,
• odors,
• cigarette smoke,
• alcohol,
• aged cheeses,
• chocolate,
• monosodium glutamate,
• nitrites,
• aspartame, and
• caffeine.

For some women, the decline in the blood level of estrogen during the onset of menstruation is a trigger for migraine headaches (sometimes referred to as menstrual migraines).

The interval between exposure to a trigger and the onset of headache varies from hours to two days. Exposure to a trigger does not always lead to a headache. Conversely, avoidance of triggers cannot completely prevent headaches. Different migraine sufferers respond to different triggers, and any one trigger will not induce a headache in every person who has migraine headaches.

Sleep and migraine
Disturbances such as sleep deprivation, too much sleep, poor quality of sleep, and frequent awakening at night are associated with both migraine and tension headaches, whereas improved sleep habits have been shown to reduce the frequency of migraine headaches. Sleep also has been reported to shorten the duration of migraine headaches.

Fasting and migraine
Fasting possibly may precipitate migraine headaches by causing the release of stress-related hormones and lowering blood sugar. Therefore, migraine sufferers should avoid prolonged fasting.
Bright lights and migraine
Bright lights and other high intensity visual stimuli can cause headaches in healthy subjects as well as patients with migraine headaches, but migraine people who suffer from migraines seem to have a lower than normal threshold for light-induced headache pain. Sunlight, television, and flashing lights all have been reported to precipitate migraine headaches.

Caffeine and migraine
Caffeine is contained in many food products (cola, tea, chocolates, coffee) and OTC analgesics. Caffeine in low doses can increase alertness and energy, but caffeine in high doses can cause insomnia, irritability, anxiety, and headaches. The over-use of caffeine-containing analgesics causes rebound headaches. Furthermore, individuals who consume high levels of caffeine regularly are more prone to develop withdrawal headaches when caffeine is stopped abruptly.

Chocolate, wine, tyramine, MSG, nitrites, aspartame and migraine
Chocolate has been reported to cause migraine headaches, but scientific studies have not consistently demonstrated an association between chocolate consumption and headaches. Red wine has been shown to cause migraine headaches in some migraine sufferers, but it is not clear whether white wine also will cause migraine headaches.

Tyramine (a chemical found in cheese, wine, beer, dry sausage, and sauerkraut) can precipitate migraine headaches, but there is no evidence that consuming a low-tyramine diet can reduce migraine frequency.

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) has been reported to cause headaches, facial flushing, sweating, and palpitations when consumed in high doses on an empty stomach. This phenomenon has been called Chinese restaurant syndrome.

Nitrates and nitrites (chemicals found in hot dogs, ham, frankfurters, bacon and sausages) have been reported to cause migraine headaches.

Aspartame, a sugar-substitute sweetener found in diet drinks and snacks, has been reported to trigger headaches when used in high doses for prolonged periods.

Female hormones and migraine
Some women who suffer from migraine headaches experience more headaches around the time of their menstrual periods. Other women experience migraine headaches only during the menstrual period. The term "menstrual migraine" is used mainly to describe migraines that occur in women who have almost all of their headaches from two days before to one day after their menstrual periods. Declining levels of estrogen at the onset of menses is likely to be the cause of menstrual migraines. Decreasing levels of estrogen also may be the cause of migraine headaches that develop among users of birth control pills during the week that estrogens are not taken.

What are some variants of migraine headaches?
Complicated migraines are migraines that are accompanied by neurological dysfunction. The part of the body that is affected by the dysfunction is determined by the part of the brain that is responsible for the headache.

Vertebrobasilar migraines are characterized by dysfunction of the brainstem (the lower part of the brain that is responsible for automatic activities like consciousness and balance).
The symptoms of vertebrobasilar migraines include:
• fainting as an aura,
• vertigo (dizziness in which the environment seems to be spinning), and
• double vision.
Hemiplegic migraines are characterized by:
• paralysis or weakness of one side of the body,
• mimicking a stroke.

The paralysis or weakness is usually temporary, but sometimes it can last for days.
Retinal, or ocular, migraines are rare attacks characterized by repeated instances of scotomata (blind spots) or blindness on one side, lasting less than an hour, that can be associated with headache. Irreversible vision loss can be a complication of this rare form of migraine.

How is a migraine headache diagnosed?
Migraine headaches are usually diagnosed when the symptoms described previously are present. Migraine generally begins in childhood to early adulthood. While migraines can first occur in an individual beyond the age of fifty, advancing age makes other types of headaches more likely. A family history usually is present, suggesting a genetic predisposition in migraine sufferers. The examination of individuals with migraine attacks usually is normal.

Patients with the first headache ever, worst headache ever, a significant change in the characteristics of headache or an association of the headache with nervous system symptoms, like visual or hearing or sensory loss, may require additional tests to exclude diseases other than migraine. The tests may include blood testing, brain scanning (either CT or MRI), and a spinal tap.

How are migraine headaches treated?
Treatment includes therapies that may or may not involve medications.
Non-medication therapies for migraine
Therapy that does not involve medications can provide symptomatic and preventative therapy.
• Using ice, biofeedback, and relaxation techniques may be helpful in stopping an attack once it has started.
• Sleep may be the best medicine if it is possible.
Preventing migraine takes motivation for the patient to make some life changes. Patients are educated as to triggering factors that can be avoided. These triggers include:
• smoking, and
• avoiding certain foods especially those high in tyramine such as sharp cheeses or those containing sulphites (wines) or nitrates (nuts, pressed meats).
Generally, leading a healthy life-style with good nutrition, an adequate intake of fluids, sufficient sleep and exercise may be useful. Acupuncture has been suggested to be a useful therapy.

Medication for migraine
Individuals with occasional mild migraine headaches that do not interfere with daily activities usually medicate themselves with over-the-counter (OTC or non-prescription) pain relievers (analgesics). Many OTC analgesics are available. OTC analgesics have been shown to be safe and effective for short-term relief of headache (as well as muscle aches, pains, menstrual cramps , and fever) when used according to the instructions on their labels.

There are two major classes of OTC analgesics:
• acetaminophen (Tylenol), and
• non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).
Acetaminophen
Acetaminophen reduces pain and fever by acting on pain centers in the brain. Acetaminophen is well tolerated and generally is considered easier on the stomach than NSAIDs. However, acetaminophen can cause severe liver damage in high (toxic) doses or if used on a regular basis over extended periods of time. In individuals who regularly consume moderate or large amounts of alcohol, acetaminophen can cause serious damage to the liver in lower doses that usually are not toxic. Acetaminophen also can damage the kidneys when taken in large doses. Therefore, acetaminophen should not be taken more frequently or in larger doses than recommended on the package label.

NSAIDS
The two types of NSAIDs are 1) aspirin and 2) non-aspirin.
Examples of non-aspirin NSAIDs are ibuprofen (Advil, Nuprin, Motrin IB, and Medipren) and naproxen (Aleve). Some NSAIDs are available by prescription only. Prescription NSAIDs are usually prescribed to treat arthritis and other inflammatory conditions such as bursitis, tendonitis, etc. The difference between OTC and prescription NSAIDs usually is the amount of the active ingredient contained in each pill. For example, OTC naproxen (Aleve) contains 220 mg of naproxen per pill, whereas prescription naproxen (Naprosyn) contains 375 or 500 mg of naproxen per pill.

NSAIDs relieve pain by reducing the inflammation that causes the pain (they are called nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs or NSAIDs because they are different from corticosteroids such as prednisone, prednisolone, and cortisone which also reduce inflammation). Corticosteroids, though valuable in reducing inflammation, have predictable and potentially serious side effects, especially when used long-term. Their full effects also require hours or days. NSAIDs do not have the same side effects that corticosteroids have and their onset of action is faster.

Aspirin, Aleve, Motrin, and Advil all are NSAIDs and are similarly effective in relieving pain and fever. The main difference between aspirin and non-aspirin NSAIDs is their effect on platelets, the small particles in blood that cause blood clots to form. Aspirin prevents the platelets from forming blood clots. Therefore, aspirin can increase bleeding by preventing blood from clotting though it also can be used therapeutically to prevent clots from causing heart attacks and strokes. The non-aspirin NSAIDs also have antiplatelet effects, but their antiplatelet action does not last as long as aspirin, i.e. hours rather than days.

Aspirin, acetaminophen, and caffeine also are available combined in OTC analgesics for the treatment of headaches including migraine. Examples of such combination analgesics are Pain-aid, Excedrin, Fioricet, and Fiorinal.

Finding an effective analgesic or analgesic combination often is a process of trial and error because individuals respond differently to different analgesics. In general, a person should use the analgesic that has worked in the past. This will increase the likelihood that an analgesic will be effective and decrease the risk of side effects.

There are several precautions that should be observed with OTC analgesics:
• Children and teenagers should not use aspirin for the treatment of headaches, other pain, or fever, because of the risk of developing Reye's Syndrome, a life-threatening neurological disease that can lead to coma and even death.
• People with balance disorders or hearing difficulties should avoid using aspirin because aspirin may aggravate these conditions.
• People taking blood thinners such as warfarin (Coumadin) should not take aspirin and non-aspirin NSAIDs without a doctor's supervision because they add further to the risk of bleeding that is caused by the blood thinner.
• People with active ulcers of the stomach and duodenum should not take aspirin and non-aspirin NSAIDs because they can increase the risk of bleeding from the ulcer and impair healing of the ulcer.
• People with advanced liver disease should not take aspirin and non-aspirin NSAIDs because they may impair kidney function. Deterioration of kidney function in these patients can lead to failure of the kidneys.
• OTC or prescription analgesics should not be overused. Overuse of analgesics can lead to the development of tolerance (increasing ineffectiveness of the analgesic) and rebound headaches (return of the headache as soon as the effect of the analgesic wears off, usually in the early morning hours). Thus, overuse of analgesics can lead to a vicious cycle of more and more analgesics for headaches that respond less and less to treatment.
What should migraine sufferers do?
Individuals with mild and infrequent migraine headaches that do not cause disability may require only OTC analgesics. Individuals who experience several moderate or severe migraine headaches per month or whose headaches do not respond readily to medications should avoid triggers and consider modifications of their lifestyle. Lifestyle modifications for migraine sufferers include:
• Go to sleep and wake up at the same time each day.
• Exercise regularly (daily if possible). Make a commitment to exercise even when traveling or during busy periods at work. Exercise can improve the quality of sleep and reduce the frequency and severity of migraine headaches. Build up your exercise level gradually. Over-exertion, especially for someone who is out of shape, can lead to migraine headaches.
• Do not skip meals, and avoid prolonged fasting.
• Limit stress through regular exercise and relaxation techniques.
• Limit caffeine consumption to less than two caffeine-containing beverages a day.
• Avoid bright or flashing lights and wear sunglasses if sunlight is a trigger.
• Identify and avoid foods that trigger headaches by keeping a headache and food diary. Review the diary with your doctor. It is impractical to adopt a diet that avoids all known migraine triggers; however, it is reasonable to avoid foods that consistently trigger migraine headaches.
What are prophylactic medications for migraine headaches?
Prophylactic medications are medications taken daily to reduce the frequency and duration of migraine headaches. They are not taken once a headache has begun. There are several classes of prophylactic medications:
• beta blockers,
• calcium-channel blockers,
• tricyclic antidepressants,
• antiserotonin agents, and
• anticonvulsants.

Medications with the longest history of use are propranolol (Inderal), a beta blocker, and amitriptyline (Elavil, Endep), an antidepressant. When choosing a prophylactic medication for a patient the doctor must take into account side effects of the drug, drug-drug interactions, and co-existing conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure.

Beta blockers
Beta-blockers are a class of drugs that block the effects of beta-adrenergic substances produced by the body, specifically the nerves and the adrenal gland, such as adrenaline (epinephrine). By blocking the effects of adrenaline, beta-blockers relieve stress on the heart by slowing the rate at which the heart beats. Beta-blockers have been used to treat high blood pressure, angina, certain types or tremors, stage fright, and abnormally fast heart beats (palpitations). They also have become important drugs for improving survival after heart attacks. Beta-blockers have been used for many years to prevent migraine headaches.

It is not known how beta-blockers prevent migraine headaches. It may be by decreasing prostaglandin production, though it also may be through their effect on serotonin or a direct effect on arteries. The beta-blockers used in preventing migraine headaches include propranolol (Inderal), atenolol (Tenormin), metoprolol (Lopressor, Lopressor LA, Toprol XL), nadolol (Corgard), and timolol (Blocadren).

Beta-blockers generally are well-tolerated. They can aggravate breathing difficulties in patients with asthma, chronic bronchitis, or emphysema. In patients who already have slow heart rates (bradycardias) and heart block (defects in electrical conduction within the heart), beta-blockers can cause dangerously slow heartbeats. Beta-blockers can aggravate symptoms of heart failure. Other side effects include drowsiness, diarrhea, constipation, fatigue, decrease in endurance, insomnia, nausea, depression, dreaming, memory loss, impotence.

Tricyclic antidepressants
Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) prevent migraine headaches by altering the neurotransmitters, norepinephrine and serotonin, that the nerves of the brain use to communicate with one another. The tricyclic antidepressants that have been used in preventing migraine headaches include amitriptyline (Elavil, Endep), nortriptyline (Pamelor, Aventyl), doxepin (Sinequan), imipramine (Tofranil), and protriptyline.

The most commonly encountered side effects associated with TCAs are fast heart rate, blurred vision, difficulty urinating, dry mouth, constipation, weight gain or loss, and low blood pressure when standing (orthostatic hypotension).

TCAs should not be used with drugs that inhibit monoamine oxidase such as isocarboxazid (Marplan), phenelzine (Nardil), tranylcypromine (Parnate), and procarbazine (Matulane), since high fever, convulsions and even death may occur. TCAs are used with caution in peole with seizures, since they can increase the risk of seizures. TCAs also are used with caution in men with enlargement of the prostate because they can make urination difficult. TCAs can cause elevated pressure in the eyes in some glaucoma sufferers. TCAs can cause excessive sedation when used with other medications that slow the brain's processes, such as alcohol, barbiturates, narcotics, and benzodiazepines, for example, lorazepam (Ativan), diazepam (Valium), temazepam (Restoril), oxazepam (Serax), clonazepam (Klonopin), and zolpidem (Ambien). Epinephrine should not be used with amitriptyline, since the combination can cause severe high blood pressure.

Antiserotonin medications
Methysergide (Sansert) prevents migraine headaches by constricting blood vessels and reducing inflammation of the blood vessels. Methylergonovine is related chemically to methysergide and has a similar mechanism of action. They are not widely used because of their side effects. The most serious side effect of methysergide is retroperitoneal fibrosis (scarring of tissue around the ureters that carry urine from the kidneys to the bladder). Retroperitoneal fibrosis, though rare, can block the ureters and cause backup of urine into the kidneys. Backup of urine into the kidneys can cause back and flank (the side of the body between the ribs and hips) pain and ultimately can lead to kidney failure. Methysergide also has been reported to cause scarring around the lungs that can lead to chest pain, shortness of breath, as well as scarring of the heart valves.

Calcium channel blockers
Calcium channel blockers (CCBs) are a class of drugs that block the entry of calcium into the muscle cells of the heart and the arteries. By blocking the entry of calcium, CCBs reduce contraction of the heart muscle, decrease heart rate, and lower blood pressure. CCBs are used for treating high blood pressure, angina, and abnormal heart rhythms (for example, atrial fibrillation). CCBs also appear to block the effects of a chemical within nerves, called serotonin, and have been used occasionally to prevent migraine headaches. The CCBs used in preventing migraine headaches are diltiazem (Cardizem, Dilacor, Tiazac), verapamil (Calan, Verelan, Isoptin), and nimodipine.

The most common side effects of CCBs are constipation, nausea, headache, rash, edema (swelling of the legs with fluid), low blood pressure, drowsiness, and dizziness. When diltiazem or verapamil are given to individuals with heart failure, symptoms of heart failure may worsen because these drugs reduce the ability of the heart to pump blood. Verapamil and diltiazem may reduce the elimination and increase the blood levels of carbamazepine (Tegretol), simvastatin (Zocor), atorvastatin (Lipitor), and lovastatin (Mevacor). This can lead to toxicity from these drugs.

Anticonvulsants
Anticonvulsants (antiseizure medications) also have been used to prevent migraine headaches. Examples of anticonvulsants that have been used are valproic acid, phenobarbital, gabapentin, and topiramate. It is not known how anticonvulsants work to prevent migraine headaches.
Who should consider prophylactic medications to prevent migraine headaches?
Not all migraine sufferers need prophylactic medications; individuals with mild or infrequent headaches that respond readily to abortive medications do not need prophylactic medications. Individuals who should consider prophylactic medications are those who:
1. Require abortive medications for migraine headaches more frequently than twice weekly.
2. Have two or more migraine headaches a month that do not respond readily to abortive medications.
3. Have migraine headaches that are interfering substantially with their quality of life and work.
4. Cannot take abortive medications because of heart disease, stroke, or pregnancy, or cannot tolerate abortive medications because of side effects.

How effective are prophylactic medications?
Prophylactic medications can reduce the frequency and duration of migraine headaches but cannot be expected to eliminate migraine headaches completely. The success rate of most prophylactic medications is approximately 50%. Success in preventing migraine headaches is defined as more than a 50% reduction in the frequency of headaches. Prophylactic medications usually are begun at a low dose that is increased slowly in order to minimize side effects. Individuals may not notice a reduction in the frequency, severity, or duration of their headaches for 2 to 3 months after starting treatment. http://www.medicinenet.com/migraine_headache/article.htm

MATURE TALK: 10 Surprising Health Benefits of Sex. What Youths can Learn?

By Clive M. Siachiyako
The health benefits of sex extend well beyond the bedroom. Turns out sex is good for you in ways you may never have imagined.
1. Sex Relieves Stress
A big health benefit of sex is lower blood pressure and overall stress reduction, according to researchers from Scotland who reported their findings in the journal Biological Psychology. They studied 24 women and 22 men who kept records of their sexual activity. Then the researchers subjected them to stressful situations -- such as speaking in public and doing verbal arithmetic -- and noted their blood pressure response to stress.
Those who had intercourse had better responses to stress than those who engaged in other sexual behaviors or abstained.
Another study published in the same journal found that frequent intercourse was associated with lower diastolic blood pressure in cohabiting participants. Yet other research found a link between partner hugs and lower blood pressure in women.
2. Sex Boosts Immunity
Good sexual health may mean better physical health. Having sex once or twice a week has been linked with higher levels of an antibody called immunoglobulin A or IgA, which can protect you from getting colds and other infections. Scientists at Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., took samples of saliva, which contain IgA, from 112 college students who reported the frequency of sex they had.
Those in the "frequent" group -- once or twice a week -- had higher levels of IgA than those in the other three groups -- who reported being abstinent, having sex less than once a week, or having it very often, three or more times weekly.
3. Sex Burns Calories
Thirty minutes of sex burns 85 calories or more. It may not sound like much, but it adds up: 42 half-hour sessions will burn 3,570 calories, more than enough to lose a pound. Doubling up, you could drop that pound in 21 hour-long sessions.
"Sex is a great mode of exercise," says Patti Britton, PhD, a Los Angeles sexologist and president of the American Association of Sexuality Educators and Therapists. It takes work, from both a physical and psychological perspective, to do it well, she says.
4. Sex Improves Cardiovascular Health
While some older folks may worry that the efforts expended during sex could cause a stroke, that's not so, according to researchers from England. In a study published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, scientists found frequency of sex was not associated with stroke in the 914 men they followed for 20 years.
And the heart health benefits of sex don't end there. The researchers also found that having sex twice or more a week reduced the risk of fatal heart attack by half for the men, compared with those who had sex less than once a month.
5. Sex Boosts Self-Esteem
Boosting self-esteem was one of 237 reasons people have sex, collected by University of Texas researchers and published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior.
That finding makes sense to Gina Ogden, PhD, a sex therapist and marriage and family therapist in Cambridge, Mass., although she finds that those who already have self-esteem say they sometimes have sex to feel even better. "One of the reasons people say they have sex is to feel good about themselves," she tells WebMD. "Great sex begins with self-esteem, and it raises it. If the sex is loving, connected, and what you want, it raises it."
6. Sex Improves Intimacy
Having sex and orgasms increases levels of the hormone oxytocin, the so-called love hormone, which helps us bond and build trust. Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and the University of North Carolina evaluated 59 premenopausal women before and after warm contact with their husbands and partners ending with hugs. They found that the more contact, the higher the oxytocin levels.
"Oxytocin allows us to feel the urge to nurture and to bond," Britton says.
Higher oxytocin has also been linked with a feeling of generosity. So if you're feeling suddenly more generous toward your partner than usual, credit the love hormone.
7. Sex Reduces Pain
As the hormone oxytocin surges, endorphins increase, and pain declines. So if your headache, arthritis pain, or PMS symptoms seem to improve after sex, you can thank those higher oxytocin levels.
In a study published in the Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine, 48 volunteers who inhaled oxytocin vapor and then had their fingers pricked lowered their pain threshold by more than half.
8. Sex Reduces Prostate Cancer Risk
Frequent ejaculations, especially in 20-something men, may reduce the risk of prostate cancer later in life, Australian researchers reported in the British Journal of Urology International. When they followed men diagnosed with prostate cancer and those without, they found no association of prostate cancer with the number of sexual partners as the men reached their 30s, 40s, and 50s.
But they found men who had five or more ejaculations weekly while in their 20s reduced their risk of getting prostate cancer later by a third. Another study, reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that frequent ejaculations, 21 or more a month, were linked to lower prostate cancer risk in older men, as well, compared with less frequent ejaculations of four to seven monthly.
9. Sex Strengthens Pelvic Floor Muscles:
For women, doing a few pelvic floor muscle exercises known as Kegels during sex offers a couple of benefits. You will enjoy more pleasure, and you'll also strengthen the area and help to minimize the risk of incontinence later in life. To do a basic Kegel exercise, tighten the muscles of your pelvic floor, as if you're trying to stop the flow of urine. Count to three, then release.
10. Sex Helps You Sleep Better:
The oxytocin released during orgasm also promotes sleep, according to research.
And getting enough sleep has been linked with a host of other good things, such as maintaining a healthy weight and blood pressure. Something to think about, especially if you've been wondering why your guy can be active one minute and snoring the next.
http://www.webmd.com/sex-relationships/features/10-surprising-health-benefits-of-sex?

How Companies Use Facebook To Hire And Fire Employees

In an increasingly digitized world, roughly 45 percent of employers now reportedly use social media sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter to screen potential employees, according to Mindflash.com.

Not all Facebook-related employment decisions are necessarily negative, as Mindflash.com depicts in the below infographic. Indeed, 18 percent of employers have found information that has actually facilitated their decision to hire a job applicant.

Still, finding something unsettling is more common, as more employers used what they found on social networking sites to bar applicants from employment. Of those surveyed, 35 percent of employers were reported to have found content that cause them not to hire a candidate for an open position.

More than ever, already-hired employees are paying careful attention to what is on their Facebook. That would seem appropriate, seeing as the National Labor Relations Board recently decided to give employers a free hand in firing employees for inappropriate material found on social networks, as reported by the The Huffington Post this week.

Beyond the more obvious red flags of inappropriate photographs and comments, Mindflash also says a prime reason for potential employees being denied a job is their digitally badmouthing of ex-employers and patrons. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/04/new-infographic-shows-how-companies-target-unemployed

Nine WaysTo Make Money By Designing & Selling Merchandise Online, Free! Can the Youths Utilise the Opportunities??

Thanks to the internet, Selling goods online has been one of the fastest growing businesses in recent years and its not showing any signs of slowing down. having the ability to buy what you need from simple grocery to real state, without having to leave the comfort of your living room has made online shopping a popular habit of modern day life, amongst many people. of course it has created a golden opportunity for many to start making money online. while there are numerous ways of selling goods online, like auction style selling, virtual shopping malls and etc, there is one simple but not widely known method that stands up when it comes down to selling online without using your own money and merchandise. its called drop shipping/affiliate marketing (with a little twist) and i am sure you have heard of it many times. but have you ever considered taking advantage of this opportunity? yes there are many obstacle in the way and there are many different ways of doing it and you just don’t know where to go, what to sell or how to get started… . luckily there is a simple way that will enable you to easily start your drop shipping business.

This method will enable you set up your own storefront quickly with no hassle and no money required on your part. the only investment required on your part is a little time and dedication. there are many companies/websites that will let you sell their good for a commission. its a chance for them to reach more potential buyers and an opportunity for you as well to make money. you will get a free storefront, you’ll have full stock of your chosen merchandise, you don’t have to worry about accepting payment, shipping and returns. as a matter of fact you wont even have to see or handle the merchandise your selling. plus many of these businesses specially the ones listed below, will let you use your imagination and creativity to add your personal touch, to customize the merchandise in hops of attracting wide verity of costumers which of course leads to more sale and profit for both you and the company your selling for. with most of these companies, you can set up your storefront in a in matter of minutes, so the only thing you really have to focus on is attracting buyers, which by looking at merchandise choices that you have below(T- shirts, hats and other customizable items are amongst the best and fastest selling merchandise online) it will not be a difficult task at all. use all of your options, if you have a blog/website, put a link to it or dedicate a section of your site to your store (you can have information about your store or special promotions and coupon codes for your readers). use your face book or my space or whatever social networking site you use. tell your friends and family. make business cards and hand out to people, put ads on free classified ads websites like craigslist or backpage. if you participate in chat rooms or forums, put your store name in your signature link. there are many ways you can attract buyers. be creative and don’t be shy to advertise your business whenever opportunity shows up (please don’t spam people). be up to date! what i mean by that is use the important daily issues that gets people talking, to design or customize your product.(remember how many obama t-shirt and other obama stuff sold around 2008 presidential election!?).

One thing to keep in mind is that a lot of times these companies will give you the option of upgrading, which for a monthly fee, you can have more control over your store and how it functions. an example would be the opportunity to have your store on a unique domain that they give you for free, instead of using one of their sub domains. but it is not necessary to upgrade, if you put your heart into it and do what you can to attract buyers. yes having a unique store name is good but after all the quality and uniqueness of your designs and customizations is what the potential buyers are looking for, not the store name. don’t forget that “hard work and honestly always pay off”.

With that said, here are 9 Website To Make Money With By Designing & Selling Merchandise Online, Free! please feel free to ask any question or voice any opinion you might have, regarding this subject. i wish you all the best of luck.

1. cafepress Cafepress gives you a FREE online shop to promote your products(a sub domain of cafepress) which you can choose what products you want to sell there(if you prefer you can signup for their Premium Shop for $5 a month which gives you more option and control ). basically you design t-shirts, posters, mugs, bumper stickers and etc and put them up for sale. each item you sell has a base price. You simply markup the base price by the amount you wish to earn for each product you sell. just to give you an example lets assume that an item is priced $4, you can list that on your shop for $10 and each time it sells they take the amount of the base price which in this case is $4 and you keep the rest which would be $6. items includes t-shirts, posters, mugs, bumper sticker, Books printed on-demand Audio and Data CDs. they handle all of the payment transaction, shipping and returns/exchanges. your checks are sent out monthly.



2. spreadshirt With Spreadshirt you can open a free Spreadshirt shop and fill it with your own designs or with other sellers available designs. you can advertise your products anywhere from websites to communities to My Space Profiles or blogs. they take care of processing, payment and shipping. products includes shirts, hoodies, jackets, caps, bags, coffee mugs and doggie shirts.just like cafepress You can choose to become a Premium member for $10.00 per month which gives you a lot of options like offering up to 3 Designer shops where your customers create products on their own with your designs, You will receive a 20% commission with every sale. also you can earn by adding your designs to the Marketplace for others to use, which every time an item gets sold with that design, you get a commission .

3. printfection Offers your own FREE online store show casing all your designs. they handle all the dirty work. a great plus is that they provides a 100% satisfaction guarantee on every product, so you don’t have to worry about unhappy customers. each product has its base price which you can add your own price on top of that (that would be your commission) for selling on your online store. checks are sent by the 15th of each month (if you have at least $25 in your account). you can have as many stores as you want. international sellers can become store owner as well.

4. e-shirt You get a free online store. E-Shirt.com provides a wholesale price (which i have to say its a bit cheaper than cafepress) and you mark them up for a profit. products includes T-Shirt, Tank Top, Sweatshirt, Thong Panties, Ceramic Mug, Mouse Pad and Tee. paid once a month by check when the $35 minimum is reached.

5. pikistore This one is very unique because it lets you create your own real independent site for free and gives you much more control over the look of your store(site) .you will be selling your own designed t shirts.

6. zazzle You can create a free personalized online store on Zazzle with their-easy-to-use shopping cart, if you wish, you can sell the products on your own website using tools Zazzle offers, including RSS feeds. the cool thing is that they have a couple of different ways that you can qualify to receive what is called the “Associates’ Volume Bonus” which means you make more money. you can design and sell anything you can make ( more than 400 different products) from T-shirts to Skateboards, Bumper Stickers, Key chains, Photo Sculptures, to Shoes, Business Cards, Ties, Bags, Hats, Photo Prints and so on.



7. shirtcity Gives you the opportunity to create your own products and collections and sell them online for free. for each product you design, you will determine an individual commission. you can design sell T-Shirts, Women`s Apparel, Jackets / Long sleeves, Underwear / Presents and some Accessories like Hats and Bags. you will get a check at the end of each quarter for all commissions earned if the amount exceeds $20.00.

8. wordans Earn 2$ per design sold, up to 15$ per product, and 10% of sales from your online shop. your shop or “Wordans Designer page” is fully customizable. you have the option of submitting Unlimited products and design. you can have your logo placed on billing statements and shipping information as well as Sending newsletters with new design and products to your customers. everything from the online shop to the processing payment, shipping and customer care is handled by them.

9. comboutique Comboutique which is a british owned and operated online store, allows you to create your own online shops for free. you can design and sell t-shirt, bag, cap and more. similar to what the other sites policy is, you pay for a base price for each item and list it on your online shop for whatever amount you want to sell, the difference between the base price and the final sale price would be your commission. they handle everything for you, from payment processing & shipping to customer support, returns and exchange.

SOURCE: http://www.blogstash.com/9-websites-to-make-money-with-by-designing-and-customizing-others-merchandise-to-sale-online-for-free/

Making money with facebook! New Business Challenges for Youths with Low Access to the Internet

If you are a facebook user or have been around social networking sites for a while, you’v probably heard that! But, is it really possible to make money with facebook? How would you go about making money on facebook?

Well, thanks to some very useful and user friendly applications, today almost anyone who has a facebook page, can make money in verity of ways. With one simple installation, you can be on your way to make money on facebook. Of course like any other methods of making money, specifically making money online, it takes hard work and persistence to be able to make a decent amount of money on facebook. Although these applications make it very easy to get on the path of making money with face book, its the strategy and a well thought out plan, combined with persistence and hard work, that ultimately factors in your success or failure in making money with facebook. Here are some applications you can use to make money on facebook:

1. Radical Buy This is almost like a facebook made ebay. You can sell anything on your facebook page using this unique app. List an item and have it visible to all facebook users instantly. Now, the cool think is that you can offer commission to others who will sell your items on their facebook page, allowing you to reach more potential buyers. Of course that means, even if you don’t have any item for sale, you can show other peoples item on your facebook page and make money with the commission you get for selling there stuff.
Update:
Sadly RadicalBuy has discontinued its widgets and apps and doesn’t work any more. I will try to find another good app that can be help you make money with your Facebook account, as soon as I can.

2. My Merch Store If you have red my 9 Website To Make Money With By Designing & Selling … article, then you know about zazzle. Well, now zazzel allows you to create and design any product on their site(which is free) and sell them on your face book. Think about the potential buyer base for customized t-shirts and hats and etc, specially if you have a lot of facebook friends. You can also sell product created by other artists and earn a commission on those. So, even if you don’t want to deal with designing, you have a way to make money on face book using zazzle.

3. Cafe Press It’s the same idea as zazzle, but with a much bigger and well known online store. Cafepress lets you easily sell any product from anti Obama Shirts to pro Obama Shirts, on your facebook and make money, whether it was created by you or someone else.

4. Ether Ether is a website that you can make money on by giving advice to people over the phone or by chatting. But now, you can use their new application on facebook to make money while giving advice to people over the phone. If you’re good at giving advice, this may be the way for you to make some extra money on facebook. Also if you know a second language, this app makes it easy to teach others and make money. You set the rates and Ether provides a number that individuals can call. The call will then be forwarded to your personal telephone number.

5. Music Blaster With MusicBlaster you can put a simple little music store on your facebook, and sell music from BlastMyMusic.com. You earn 5% for each song sold. The cool think about this app is the fact that you can help your favorite band or singer to sell their music while you make money, as well as helping them to gain more exposure.

6. Garage Sale The name says it all, its the good old Garage Sale, but a “facebooky” Garage Sale. Simply add Garage Sale to your profile page and list every thing you want to sell. When someone buys something, Garage Sale automatically bills the buyer’s credit card and lets you when to ship the item. Your money is deposited directly into your Pay Pal account, or you can request payment by check. However they charge a 5% commission on the total sales price, but that’s all. No other fee for setup or anything like that.

7. Shopit Shopit is a free Social Commerce Network that gives users the ability to buy, sell or trade any product or service. Simply add a free store to your facebook and sell anything you like. Another easy way to make money on facebook.

8. FlameTunes FT was founded in 2007 by an Iranian-American named Nima Khakpour. This app is more for the artists to sell their music. So, if you are an artist, FlameTunes enables you to sell your music on your facebook. You can also use it to sell music on myspace.

9. Lemonade Remember when you setup your first lemonade stand in your community? Well, this app allows you to use the same concept, combining commerce and community, and have a lemonade stand in a digital (facebook) neighborhood. Basically you add what you want to sell to a lemonade stand, and put it on your Facebook. It’s free and easy.

10. Ebay Who knew that was coming? Yep, you guessed it. Now you can have your ebay on facebook. This application allows you to add eBay auction listings to your Profile. Sell things to your facebook friends from crafts, jewelry to diary pages, undies and dinner dates or just whatever you’re selling on eBay! You also have the option to add a charity auction that you support, on your facebook profile. I think it’s a very smart way to combine eBay and facebook, and you don’t even need an eBay Account!

11. Lending Club It’s almost like prosper, where you land money to others and make money with the interest you make from the loan. Not to worry though, lending club has all the detail covered. So, it’s completely safe, and the whole legal and trust issues are taking cared by lending club. If you can use it safley, it can be a good way to make money with your facebook.

12. e3buy Auction Buy, sell or trade anything. Auction your used or new stuff. With e3buy you can open a customizes store, upload your logo and start selling things. unlike ebay, there is no commission or fee to be paid. it’s completely free to use. It is also fully integrated with paypal, so you can get paid fast.

If you know of any app that makes it possible for one to make money using facebook, let me know and I will add it to this list. There you have it, 12 Free applications that you can take advantage of to make money on facebook.http://www.blogstash.com/12-ways-to-make-money-on-facebook/

Social Desert: Entrepreneurial Platform Youths can Grasp

Why did Facebook build its first wholly owned server-operations facility in what may quite reasonably be called the middle of nowhere? In the first of a series of posts from the social network's desert redoubt, Babbage will try to find an answer.

The centre opened in April 2011, and is the model for one being built in North Carolina and scheduled to open in 2012. The Prineville operation is nearing completion of a second phase, doubling its server capacity by filling the second half of its first building. During Babbage's visit, the company told the city it would shortly begin work on a second building.

Facebook did not pick the spot for the view, though the landscape doubtless holds a desolate allure. Nor was the choice about inexpensive power. As the crow flies, Prineville, Oregon, is a full 150km (93 miles) south of the Columbia River, where Google opened a data centre a few years ago. Google was an early settler along the Columbia, drawn in part by cheap (and appealingly green) hydroelectric power, though availability of tax incentives, land and labour also played a part. Other companies, including Dell, Intuit, Microsoft and Yahoo!, set up shop in Quincy, upriver in Washington state, for similar reasons.

Meanwhile, Prineville's electrical utility, Pacific Power, derives most of its electricity from coal—a whopping 63% across its multi-state system (although it plans to halve that in the next decade, and has invested heavily in wind power). The coal component is not unusual. America as a whole generated 45% of its power from coal in 2009 according to the US Energy Information Administration. Firms like Google may trumpet centres placed along a scenic river—the information superwaterway—but most server farms burn a good amount of coal in their power mix. Facebook could have jumped on the hydro bandwagon, paid less for power, and burnished its green credentials to boot. Why didn't it?

Labour was certainly not the deciding factor. Prineville, a town of 10,000 or so, has an unemployment rate of 16%, well above the national average of around 9%. But Facebook had to bring in its own specialists, and only needed to hire around 45 local workers, only some of whom required extensive training. The firm could have done this anywhere. The same is true of the daily average of 250 construction workers (or 1,400 in total so far) the firm has employed during construction phases; idle builders are not exactly in short supply in America at the moment. Tax incentives certainly played a part—the state will forgo $2m a year in taxes for 15 years to lure the firm—but similar perks are on offer elsewhere, and Facebook will still get a hefty local tax bill.

The reason, the centre's boss Ken Patchett explains, is the weather. At first blush, this seems odd. Temperatures in Prineville routinely drop to -5°C (22°F) in the winter and climb to 32°C (90°F) in the summer. And the desert clime means that drops of 28°C (50°F) between day and night are not unheard of around this time of year. That ought to make keeping the servers at a steady 20–25°C (68–77°F) and 40–55% relative humidity an arduous task.

In fact, the Prineville plant is a leading exponent of a new style of data-centre management. It does away with expensive air-conditioning "chillers". Instead, air is brought in from outside. For this approach to work, however, the desert is key. For much of the year outside air is actually cool enough to keep the servers from overheating. At the lowest temperatures, just the gentlest of breezes needs to be brought inside at all. And, this being the desert, nights are chilly irrespective of the season, so even in the summer additional cooling is only needed during the hottest times of day.

This is provided through a "swamp cooler". A fine mist of water, much like artificial fog, is sprayed in the direction of the air flow. Heat is leached from the air by the water as it evaporates, and the cooled air passes through the servers. Precipitating water vapour is captured and reused. Babbage admired the ventilation system—reminiscent in scale and appearance to one Mr Wonka's fizzy-lifting drink chambers—on a day in which outside temperatures hovered around 26°C. Only two of the seven misting systems were fired up, yet the inside of the ventilation area and ground floor data centre were both quite comfortable.

The servers themselves are unusual, too, and require less coddling. They are designed and tested to work in a greater ambient temperature and humidity range than their forebears: -5°C to 45°C (23°F to 113°F) and anywhere between 10% and 90% relative humidity. Unlike most mass-produced rack-mounted computers meant for corporate server rooms and larger data centres, Facebook's kit is naked at the front and top, and designed with bigger fans and a smarter motherboard layout than most. All connections, including power, are in the front, to devote the entire rear to outflow. Everything is done to ensure the best airflow across circuits, drives and power supplies. To reduce the amount of power lost as heat, servers are run at a higher voltage than is typical (277 volts instead of 110 or 220), requiring less power-conversion gear. Elements of these designs are becoming commonplace in large-scale server facilities, but Facebook appears to be using all of them at once—and crowing about it.

As in all modern data centres, racks of gear are organised into cold and hot rows, in which the fronts of servers face each other across aisles through which technicians stroll. Their nether regions vent air across narrower back-to-back gaps. Open ceilings rise above the hot rows and into the ventilation system, allowing for some passive convection. The server racks are nearly silent, and their internal fans whirr almost imperceptibly. The only exceptions are network switches which, Facebook staff notes, are perversely designed by even the biggest firms to vent air out of their sides. As a result, they run loud and hot—and are openly sworn at.

This approach leads to dramatically more efficient use of the power that enters the facility. Mr Patchett says—and industry sources agree—that many data centres have a relatively high ratio of Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE), a score that divides all the power brought into a building by the amount required by the servers and related equipment themselves. Typical ratios may be as high as two, meaning that for every watt used to run the servers an extra watt is employed to maintain the right running conditions. Internet firms have been pushing that number down through better hardware and building design, but most have seen only small gains.

Mr Patchett, who is passionate about airflow, boasts that his centre operates at a PUE of about 1.07, although Facebook has come up with the figure itself—and flaunts it in the lobby as part of a constantly updated set of charts and graphs rotating through a large high-definition display. Google says its dozens of data centres achieved a weighted average PUE of 1.16 over the 12 months ending in March, which means that some of its centres are substantially more efficient than others. Cutting the ratio by .01 might mean savings of hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual costs. As a consequence, Facebook reckons that finding the ideal climate will, in the long run, prove more economical than locating close to cheap power.

There are risks to locating in ultima thule. Facebook even documented some of them in a frank discussion of its mechanical systems as part of the Open Compute project it announced at the centre's formal opening. Dust storms, grass fires or a volcanic eruption might, for instance, require shuttering the air intakes to protect the servers. With no cooling or airflow, the centre would be forced to go offline until the threat passed. So, just in case, data are redundantly stored across leased centres for now, and across leased and wholly owned facilities in the future.http://www.economist.com/blogs/babbage/2011/08/data-centres?fsrc=scn/fb/wl/bl/socialdesert

Goal Setting: An Essential Factor in Entrepreneurship

Many people feel like wanderers in the world. They work hard, but they do not seem to get anywhere meaningful.

A key reason for this feeling is that they haven't spent enough time thinking about what they want from life, and haven't set themselves proper goals. After all, would you set out on a major journey with no real idea of your destination? Probably not!

What is Goal Setting?
Goal setting is a powerful process for thinking about your ideal future, and for motivating yourself to turn your vision into reality.

The process of setting goals helps you choose where you want to go in life. By knowing exactly what you want to achieve, you know where you have to concentrate your efforts on. You'll also quickly spot the distractions that can so easily lead you astray.

Why Set Goals?
Goal setting is used by top-level athletes, successful business-people and achievers in all fields. Setting goals gives you long-term vision and short-term motivation/inspiration. It focuses your acquisition of knowledge, and helps you to organise your time and your resources so that you can make the very most of your life.

By setting sharp and clearly defined goals, you can measure and take pride in the achievement of those goals. You will see progress in what might previously seem a long futile labour. You will also raise your self-confidence as you recognise your own ability and competence in achieving the goals that you have set.

The time to set goals is now!

Starting to Set Personal Goals

You set your goals on a number of levels:
• First you create your "big picture" of what you want to do with your life (or over a specific time frame, say, the next 10 years), and identify the large-scale goals that you want to achieve.
• Then, you break those goals down into smaller and smaller targets that you must hit to reach your lifetime goals.

Finally, once you have your plan, you start working on it to achieve these goals.

This is why we start the process of goal setting by looking at your lifetime goals. Then, we work down to the things that you can do in a period of time, say, the next five years, then next year, next month, next week, and today, to start moving towards them.

Step 1: Setting Lifetime Goals
The first step in setting personal goals is to consider what you want to achieve in your lifetime (or at least, by a significant and distant age in the future). Setting lifetime goals gives you the overall perspective that shapes all other aspects of your decision making.
To give a broad, balanced coverage of all important areas in your life, try to set goals in some of the following categories (or in other categories of your own, where these are important to you):
• Career – Do you want to be an employee or you want to start your own business and employ other people? What level do you want to reach in your career, or what do you want to achieve?
• Financial - How much do you want to earn, by what stage? How is this related to your career goals?
• Education - Is there any knowledge you want to acquire in particular? What information and skills will you need to have in order to achieve other goals?
• Family - Do you want to be a parent? If so, how are you going to be a good parent? How do you want to be seen by a partner or by members of your extended family?
• Attitude - Is any part of your mindset holding you back? Is there any part of the way that you behave that upsets you? (If so, set a goal to improve your behavior or find a solution to the problem.)
• Physical - Are there any athletic goals that you want to achieve, or do you want good health deep into old age? What steps are you going to take to achieve this?
• Pleasure - How do you want to enjoy yourself? (You should ensure that some of your life is for you!)
• Public Service - Do you want to make the world a better place? If so, how?

Spend some time brainstorming on these things, and then select one or more goals in each category that best reflects what you want to do. Then consider trimming again so that you have a small number of really significant goals that you can focus on.
As you do this, make sure that the goals that you have set are ones that you genuinely want to achieve, not ones that your parents, family, or employers might want. (If you have a partner, you probably want to consider what he or she wants - however, make sure that you also remain true to yourself!)

Tip:
Crafting a personal mission statement can help bring your most important goals into sharp focus.

Step 2: Setting Smaller Goals
Once you have set your lifetime goals, set a five-year plan of smaller goals that you need to complete if you are to reach your lifetime plan.

Then create a one-year plan, six-month plan, and a one-month plan of progressively smaller goals that you should reach to achieve your lifetime goals. Each of these should be based on the previous plan.
Then create a daily TO-DO-List of things that you should do today to work towards your lifetime goals.

At an early stage, your smaller goals might be to read books and gather information on the achievement of your higher level goals. This will help you to improve the quality and practicality of your goal setting.

Finally review your plans, and make sure that they fit the way in which you want to live your life.

Staying on Course
Once you have decided on your first set of goals, keep the process, going by reviewing and updating your To-Do List on a daily basis.

Periodically review the longer term plans, and modify them to reflect your changing priorities and experience.

SMART Goals
A useful way of making goals more powerful is to use SMART. SMART stands for:
• S - Specific (or Significant).
• M - Measurable (or Meaningful).
• A - Attainable (or Action-Oriented).
• R - Relevant (or Rewarding).
• T - Time-bound (or Trackable)

Specific, achievable and realistic-- Make sure your goals are concrete, concise and attainable. Instead of, "I want to make a lot more money this year," specify "I want to increase my revenues by X percent (a realistic amount) by the end of the year."

Measurable-- Frame your goals in such a way that you can measure your progress. For example, plan on measuring monthly or quarterly revenues against last year's figures--something you should be doing anyway.

Timely-- Give yourself a reasonable time frame for achieving your goal. Then break it down into smaller, short-term increments. Realistically, you may not achieve that X percent increase early in the year, but you can work toward it. Divide your goal percent increase into monthly or quarterly increments that allow you to build on your momentum. This produces measurable, attainable and short-term goals to pursue.

Further Goal Setting Tips
The following broad guidelines will help you to set effective, achievable goals:
• State each goal as a positive statement - Express your goals positively – "carry out this assignment well" is a much better goal than "Don't mess up the assignment."
• Be precise: Set precise goals, putting in dates, times and amounts so that you can measure achievement. If you do this, you'll know exactly when you have achieved the goal, and can take complete satisfaction from having achieved it.
• Set priorities - When you have several goals, give each a priority. This helps you to avoid feeling overwhelmed by having too many goals, and helps to direct your attention to the most important ones.
• Write goals down - This crystallises them and gives them more force. (Somebody said if you don’t write down your goals and just leave them in your head, when you get drunk and stagger, they also do the same!)
• Keep operational goals small - Keep the low-level goals that you're working towards small and achievable. If a goal is too large, then it can seem that you are not making progress towards it. Keeping goals small and incremental gives more opportunities for reward.
• Set performance goals, not outcome goals - You should take care to set goals over which you have as much control as possible. It can be quite disappointing to fail to achieve a personal goal for reasons beyond your control! In business, these reasons could be bad business environments or unexpected effects of government policy. In sport, they could include poor judging, bad weather, injury, or just plain bad luck.
• If you base your goals on personal performance, then you can keep control over the achievement of your goals, and draw satisfaction from them.
• Set realistic goals - It's important to set goals that you can achieve. All sorts of people (for example, employers, parents, media, or society) can set unrealistic goals for you. They will often do this in ignorance of your own desires and ambitions.
• It's also possible to set goals that are too difficult because you might not appreciate either the obstacles in the way, or understand quite how much skill you need to develop to achieve a particular level of performance.

When you have achieved a goal, take the time to enjoy the satisfaction of having done so. Absorb the implications of the goal achievement, and observe the progress that you have made towards other goals.

If the goal was a significant one, reward yourself appropriately. All of this helps you build the self-confidence you deserve.

With the experience of having achieved this goal, review the rest of your goal plans:
• If you achieved the goal too easily, make your next goal harder.
• If the goal took a disappointing length of time to achieve, make the next goal a little easier.
• If you learned something that would lead you to change other goals, do so.
• If you noticed a deficit in your skills despite achieving the goal, decide whether to set goals to fix this.

Feed lessons learned back into your goal setting. Remember too that your goals will change as time goes on (the goals are therefore not cast in stone). Adjust them regularly to reflect growth in your knowledge and experience, and if goals do not hold any attraction any longer, consider letting them go.

Goal Setting Example
For her New Year's Resolution, Taonga has decided to think about what she really wants to do with her life.

Her lifetime goals are as follows:
• Career - To be Managing Director of Sambazya Enterprises where she is employed
• Creative - To keep working her designing skills. Ultimately she wants to have her own interior designing company
• Physical - "To run a marathon."

Now that Taonga has listed her lifetime goals, she then breaks down each one into smaller, more manageable goals.

Let's take a closer look at how she might break down her lifetime career goal - becoming managing director:
• Five-year goal: "Become deputy director."
• One-year goal: "Volunteer for projects that the current Managing Director is heading up."
• Six-month goal: "Go back to school and study interior designing "
• One-month goal: "Talk to the current Managing Director to determine what skills are needed to do the job."
• One-week goal: "Book the meeting with the Managing Director."

As you can see from this example, breaking big goals down into smaller, more manageable goals makes it far easier to see how the goal will get accomplished.

Key Points
Goal setting is an important method of:
• Deciding what you want to achieve in your life.
• Separating what's important from what's irrelevant, or a distraction.
• Motivating yourself.
• Building your self-confidence, based on successful achievement of goals.

Set your lifetime goals first. Then, set a five-year plan of smaller goals that you need to complete if you are to reach your lifetime plan. Keep the process going by regularly reviewing and updating your goals. And remember to take time to enjoy the satisfaction of achieving your goals when you do so.

It is hard to succeed as an Entrepreneur if you do not set goals for your business because you do not know where you are going. Remember to set goals for all areas of your life because disorganisation in one area of your life could subsequently affect the running of your business. Do not neglect any area of your life.

If you have not already set goals, do so, starting now. As you make this technique part of your life, you'll find your career accelerating, and you'll wonder how you did without it!

If you can, watch a movie entitled “Alice in Wonderland,” to show you how things could turn out if you do not plan and set goals for your life. If you do not know where you are going, any road will lead you there!