 Image credit: Pixabay Although most people think animation movies are meant for children, they are wrong as adults could join in too. What these people do not realise is that these movies always have a lesson to teach. They are put together so simply, but in the end, there is something both kids and adults could learn. So remember this the next time you brush them off as kids’ stuff.
With the right platform, making an animated video is quite an easy task. This article discusses some of the life-changing lessons you can learn by watching animation movies. It Is Okay to Have Negative Emotions Most people tend to pride themselves in their positive emotions while stashing the negative feelings away. They fail to realise that both of their emotions play an essential role in their lives. Therefore, it is wise to pay attention to both your positive and negative emotions as neglecting the latter won’t do you any good. The solution is working on the negative ones to make you a better person. Minds Mature It is not uncommon for animated movies to have both children and adults. One thing that is made evident is the differences in the thinking of these groups. While an adult’s emotions are organised, a teenager’s are chaotic. Adults can stay calm and embrace teamwork, but the same cannot be said for kids. Seeing this discrepancy will help parents understand children better and therefore be compassionate with them. It Is Okay to Be Different Just because the people before you did unspeakable things does not mean you have to follow suit. You can change the narrative. You might have watched animation movies where a character was rejected for choosing a different path, such as pursuing a career that the parents disapprove of. You must have seen the hurt they felt for not being understood and how firm they were with their decisions. Ultimately, they achieved whatever their hearts wanted. This teaches that no matter how misunderstood you can be, the key is following your instincts and doing what makes you happy. It is not always easy, but it is worth it. Just Keep Going This ought to be the theme of most animated movies. If you are a cartoon fanatic, you must be aware that most characters are faced with hard times, but most of the time, they never turn back. They keep swimming. The lesson here is to always look at the bigger picture despite the situations you are facing the moment because, trust me, it always gets better. Follow Your Dreams Another valuable lesson you can learn from watching animation movies is that there is no timeline to achieving your dreams. You must have encountered characters that were, for instance, too old to go to school, but because they hold on to a dream, they defy all odds and get into school. This is a lesson to always look for people that want better lives for themselves, and they dare to do so even if it means leaving everything they have behind. Such people instill confidence in you, and you, too, believe you can change your course. In the spirit of following your dreams, you too could learn to create animation videos. Yes, action movies are one thing, but animation movies are a whole different thing. There are a lot of lessons to be learned that could better your life.
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 Image credit: Andrew Neel from Unsplash It is no secret that blogging is fun and can be a great source of income. The question many people have is how to blog in order to make money. I have listed my tips to making money blogging below.
1) You should think about yourself and your family. You should make sure you understand the potential dangers of blogging. I have seen some blogs that are absolutely horrid and are not worth reading. I know a great blog was shutdown because of copyright infringements and other such things. It is your blog, so think about what is important to you. Is there something you wish to achieve? How about money? Perhaps you wish to make money blogging. The potential is there and you should weigh the pros and cons. 2) I am not a blogger that enjoys seeing blogs and pages in the search engines. I like sites that provide information on a particular topic. I think it is important for a person to be informed. You should not post anything just for the sake of making money. 3) You should consider adding a "donation box". If you have readers that are interested in buying products or services, why not provide a way for them to contribute. I am of the opinion that people are decent and they are good people. It is just that they are unaware of what you blog is about, or you might want to sell your products and services. By adding a donation box, you may make a great start to making money blogging. 4) You should think about your readers. You have a lot of people coming to your blog. How do you keep track of them all. Consider the question of how can you increase the blog readership? There are so many things to learn from bloggers. You can easily add a "tag" to your blog that will allow readers to a tag the content. You have a lot of options to add a "donation box" to your blog. 5) You should think about your niche. It is important for you to know your audience so you can easily cater to them. You should be able to cater to your readers needs and wants because that is what is best for them. 6) You should think about the search engines. You have to be indexed in the search engines because this is the key to succeeding in this business. 7) It is important for you to be consistent. There are many alternatives to making money blogging. Many alternative means to make money can be found on line. Some ways to generate an income are through pay per click ads, affiliate links, selling your own products and services etc.  Image credit: Ben Robbins from Unsplash Sometimes you get in a slump. You feel like the same ol' same ol' just isn't going to cut it. You start questioning yourself. What is going on? What am I doing? You try new things. You make changes. You try to motivate yourself. You ask for advice. But nothing seems to work. You are stuck in a rut. Can you get out of it?
When you feel like you are in a rut you need to find out why. If you don't know why you will keep repeating the same ol' same ol' and that is not acceptable to you. Sometimes you might even start questioning your parents. Your parents are there to help you and guide you. If they are not helping you is it so wrong for them to be guiding you in different directions? Maybe your parents have different ideas on how to make things better. Do you want to follow their different ideas or do you want to go your own way. Maybe you want to try something new. Be prepared for the unexpected. I'm not sure how to get out of my slump. But here are a few pointers which might help you out. If you follow these pointers you will start to see a different light. And this light will lead you to get out of your rut. 1. Understand and accept that what you are doing (or not doing) is your business This is the first thing you need to do is to accept and understand that what you are doing is your business. It is not anybody else's business to tell you what to do. Everybody is entitled to their own business. You are entitled to yours. If somebody else is running your business they are just running it in order to make you feel guilty. If they don't make you feel guilty they make you feel like you are useless and unimportant. When you accept that what you are doing or not doing is your business it is a lot easier to stop noticing it and the more you notice it the easier it will be to change it. When you can accept that what you are doing is not anybody else's business to do then you are ready to accept the guidance and help from the people who really do know what they are doing. 2. Take responsibility for your own business It is your own business. Whether you are doing well or poorly your business is up to you. If you need some help you can seek it from your family, friends or work colleagues. But do not ask your boss or your boss's boss to take responsibility for your performance or losses. It would just make you feel guilty. It is great when people recognize that their business is their own responsibility. They will give you proper direction and help to improve you performance and results. It is a great feeling when people take responsibility for their own business. When you take responsibility for your own business you will feel accomplished. Not only that but it will lead you to feel fulfilled and at peace with yourself. Feeling fulfilled and peaceful will help you maintain a healthy amount of behaviours. This will surely help you to stop thinking negatively about yourself. This will surely help you to start seeing the sun again and not just the dashboard of your car which is a very unhealthy place to live in.  Image credit: Pixabay on Pexels Whether you’re publishing a blog as a commercial endeavour or as a hobby, you’ll want to do everything you can to optimise your content and increase your readership. However, it isn’t always easy to know what changes to make or how to implement them. To make things easier, take a look at these simple ways to better your blog in 2021: Increase Page Loading Speeds Before you begin thinking about content for your website, you’ll want to ensure your blog is operating optimally. Page loading speeds have a considerable impact on your search engine rankings, so it’s important to make sure you’re not losing readers because your blog loads too slowly. By optimising your site structure or switching to a different hosting provider, you can increase page loading speeds and potentially boost your rankings. Create a Content Calendar If you create content when you have a great idea for a post or you publish new content based on breaking news, you run the risk of issuing repetitive content or only posting sporadically. Publishing new posts regularly gives users a reason to return to your blog frequently, so having a reliable posting schedule is beneficial. However, regular posting should never compromise the quality of your content. By creating a content calendar, you can ensure that you cover a range of topics, rather than inadvertently posting similar content on a frequent basis. Similarly, you can brainstorm ideas for original content in advance and ensure you’ve always got something fresh and new to write about. Incorporate Social Media Social media is an excellent tool for bloggers, so be sure to make the most of it. When you share the link to your posts on social media, you can increase brand awareness, generate more website traffic and build your audience. Additionally, social media allows you to communicate with other users about topics that are relevant to the theme of your blog. Of course, you aren’t the only person who can share links to your posts via social media. Adding social media buttons to every post allows readers to share your content quickly and easily, which helps you to reach a wider audience. Develop an SEO strategy If you want to attract new readers, you need to have an effective SEO strategy in place. With effective search engine optimisation, you can ensure that your blog posts appear at the top of search engine ranking pages (SERPs) when users search for relevant keywords and terms. Search engine optimisation can be labour intensive, so don’t panic if you don’t have the time or resources to plan and execute a strategy yourself. Professional SEO services are an easy and cost-effective way to access the expertise you need. With assistance from experienced SEO experts, you can ensure your blog becomes a go-to resource for users within your target audience.  Image credit: Picography on Pexels Use Different Content Formats
Most bloggers rely on the written word to share information, put forth their opinions and engage with readers. However, this shouldn’t prevent you from using other forms of media on your blog. After all, a wall of text isn’t very enticing for users. By using images or infographics to break up your text and add visual content, you can make each post more appealing. Similarly, incorporating video content into your blog could be an effective way of appealing to a different demographic. How To, Step-by-Step and Q&A posts work well in video format and could give you an edge over other bloggers. Secure Backlinks Backlinks are a form of off-site SEO, so check that they’re included if you plan to outsource your search engine optimisation to a third-party specialist. Securing backlinks from websites with high domain authorities can increase your own rankings and lead to a subsequent increase in traffic. Additionally, backlinks help to direct readers straight to your blog, as well as increasing the authority and trustworthiness of your content. When your links are featured on reputable and popular sites, for example, your brand is elevated in the minds of both search engines and users. Take Your Blog to the Next Level When you’re creating, managing or maintaining a blog, it’s useful to have an overall strategy in mind. Whether you’re planning to monetise your posts, creating content for a company website or see blogging is a fun hobby, setting yourself a goal will help you to stay motivated. With the right planning and preparation, you can hone your content, increase your core readership and take your blog to the next level.  Image credit: Burst on Pexels Your blog is a place where people come to read interesting content and regardless of genre, a lot of blog sites can end up turning into full-time businesses. It’s important to think about the ways that you can improve your blogging, whether you’re still in the early days of your blog or if you’ve managed to finally go full-time with your blog. Here are four ways to improve your blogging business.
Define Your Audience When you’re blogging as a hobby, paying attention to your audience’s demographic might not necessarily be on your radar. Perhaps you’ve been writing for a while and write for the enjoyment of the topics you cover. It might be that you write for a specific industry, and you know somewhat about what your audience likes and doesn’t like. When you’re blogging professionally, it’s important to define your audience because the more content you create that your audience likes, the more views it’s going to get. When you look at your analytics, it’s worth implementing Google Analytics if you haven’t already implemented it on your site. Whatever host platform you use, it’s likely to give you at least some degree of knowledge on who your audience is and what they like and don’t like. Look specifically at things like bounce rates, which tell you how long they stay engaged on your website and specific pages. Get Promoting Every Aspect Of Your Business When you’re a business, you need to be promoting yourself from every angle. Whether it’s promoting the content via your personal social media pages or through paid advertisements on other high-ranking websites. Try to promote in every way you can, even during those occasions where you might be invited to conferences or events. These custom printed banners can be a great way to showcase your work and who you are as a business and individual. Never be ashamed or afraid of promoting yourself! Network With Other Bloggers Networking with other bloggers is important because there’s a lot that you can learn from other people within the industry. For example, if you’re just starting off in the industry, then you may find that networking with bloggers who have been established for a while, have plenty of advice to give you. You also never know who might be able to help you on your way up the career ladder of blogging. Always be grateful and appreciative of others you meet and collaborate with. You don’t know someone until you meet them properly. Focus On Quality Not Quantity Quality is a lot more important than quantity when it comes to blogging. Your audience wants to read high-quality content and not something that’s been thrown together without much thought. If you do that, then you’re likely to lose your following and your loyal followers are the ones that are the most important. Improving your blogging business is important and so it’s good to use these tips to help get the most out of it where it’s possible.  Image credit: Gundula Vogel on Pixabay We all have to live in this world that runs on money and, for as long as that is true, that means that we do need to take our money management seriously. However, there are a lot of people to whom any potential financial issues, even small ones, can become a heavy weight that can drag them down, paralyse them, and prevent them from chasing what they want, whether it’s to invest in a business, buy assets, or otherwise. If your financial anxiety is dragging you down, it’s time to think about why that is and see what you can do to let that weight go. Get to know where you’re really at If you feel like you’re constantly on the back foot when it comes to your finances, it can help to gain a little perspective. Indeed, you might be right that, for instance, you owe more than you own. But you won’t know and thus you won’t be able to accurately implement any solutions until you get an actual idea of the situation. Put a list of all of your assets together, all accounts owed to you, and any debt you owe. Subtract the debt from the assets and money owed to you in order to get your net worth at the current time. Make some plans for the future Anxiety is mostly a sense of fearing the worst possible outcome when it comes to the future. These outcomes in your head are rarely based on real logic but more a kind of fear. However, that doesn’t mean that common sense solutions can’t help you dispel them. If you’re worried about being destitute in the far future, then make it a priority to put together some retirement savings as soon as you can. Put together annual savings goals after figuring out how much you need to put aside each year for a healthy retirement, and stick to those financial goals as well as you can. Don’t forget to budget By far one of the most useful pieces of financial advice that anyone can ever offer you, and one that can transform how you look at your money situation, is to put together a budget. A budget effectively looks at how much money you have to spend in any given period of time and helps you find out where you should be spending it. For instance, the 50/30/20 budget involves putting aside 50% of your money ahead of time to pay for the essentials, such as your home, groceries, bills, and so on. 30% of that is for discretionary purchases, such as new clothes, nights out, entertainment and so on, and 20% is for financial planning, such as saving towards emergency funds or investing. You don’t have to follow that specific example, but having a set plan for where your money is going and then ensuring your money does just that can offer a sense of security. Searching for those discounts and savings is a great way many people can help their budget spending. Couponing websites can help customers find coupons for retailers such as Kohls and many others. Websites that offer home improvement coupons (see this website as one example) help you to make big savings on your next purchase!  Image credit: Chris Pastrick on Pixabay Start building from scratch again You might be feeling a little low because a recent cost, such as a car repair, home repair, or major bill has knocked your finances for six. Your savings might have had to have been recently emptied, setting you back more than a few steps in your future plans. However, that doesn’t mean that it’s all pointless. There’s a good chance your situation would have been worse had you not had those savings to rely on. It’s time to pick yourself back up again after life knocks you down and get started with your savings once more. So long as you are a step in the right direction next week compared to where you are now, you are doing your financial health a world of good. Don’t get paralysed by debt A lot of us owe some sort of debt or have done in the past. When your debt is at its highest point, then it can feel almost pointless to think about what life would be like without it. However, the only bad decision to make when facing more debt than you can currently pay is to ignore it. You could get in touch with your creditors to talk about repayment plans and let them know about your situation. You can also look to other solutions, like debt consolidation that can make it easier to pay off the sum of what you know. However, the longer you wait, the more your debt will build. Take the time to research your options, but don’t put off the situation. Put some protections in place In future, you want to prevent yourself for having to raid your savings or to fall in debt. There’s no way to prepare for absolutely everything the future might through your way, but investing in a few protections can do you a world of good. Informally, having an emergency savings fund could help, but in a more formal sense, you should take a look at what kind of insurance you might need to protect your current lifestyle and assets.  Image credit: Jan VaĊĦek on Pixabay Address your habits
Do you have some bad financial habits that either fuel or are caused by your financial anxiety? If so, they can keep you from building the financial protections that can serve as a long-term cure. There are a host of habits that can be destructive to your sense of money security. Overspending is an obvious one, but cost-tracking apps can help you identify cases of overspending so that you’re less likely to do it again. Excessive frugality and hoarding can be just as financially unhealthy since they often involve sitting on money that could do more good if you’re saving it for a specific goal or using it to pay for some manner of security. Take a close look at your financial habits are and learn which ones you should curb. Being conscious of your finances is all well and good, but if it’s getting to the point that it’s stopping you from taking action, it’s time to rethink your money situation. Hopefully, the tips above help with that.  Image credit: Jonathan Petersson on Pexels Life will always find a way to knock you down at various times, but it’s how you respond to these things that matter the most. You need to always be willing to get back up again, no matter how many times you get knocked down or what life throws your way. We’re not saying that it’s going to be easy, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. In this article, we’re going to be taking a look at some of the things that you may need to do when life has knocked you down, so keep reading if you want to find out more. Sort Out Insurance The first thing that we’re going to look at is getting insurance. Now, you may need home insurance, car insurance, contents insurance and a number of other policies. The best thing that you can do is look around online until you find a company who can offer you the insurance cover you need at a price you can afford. Now, keep in mind that if you are a higher risk, the premium is going to cost you a lot more than it normally would, and you need to be prepared for this. It’s for this reason that you might need to think about only getting the insurance that you 100% need right now. For example, if you need car insurance but you are struggling to get cover, you might want to consider one sure insurance or another company like this. Health insurance right now has probably never been more in demand. In America for example, Medicare is a federal insurance program designed to help people over 65, younger people with disabilities, and even those living with some life-changing conditions. You can learn more about medicare assistance provisions and policies by reaching out to an insurance expert in your local area. Enrolling for health insurance of any kind can be an overwhelming process, but an insurance expert can talk you through the entire process in detail.  Image credit: Pixabay on Pexels Another thing that you may need to do is save some money. It’s often the case that life comes along when you least expect it and then takes everything that you’ve got. All your savings have to go on something, and you’re back to square one. It’s super disheartening when this happens, we know, but we’ve all been there, and if you haven’t, you probably will get there at some point. The only thing that you can do is pick yourself back up and start building up your savings once again. Make sure that you’re employing all of those money-saving tips and tricks you’ve got, and live within your means rather than wracking up a debt.
Find A New Job Or, it might be the case that you have recently lost your job. This is never a pleasant experience for anyone, but there’s nothing that you can do about it now. The only thing that’s left is to move on and find something else. It’s not always easy, and it might be the case that you have to take something temporary while you look for something permanent, but you’ve got to be willing to do this. Employers are more likely to hire you if they see that you are hard-working, and if you’re working a job you don’t particularly like to ensure that you’ve got a means of income, this is going to speak volumes to your potential employer.  Image credit: S O C I A L. C U T on Unsplash Social Media Marketing can be a real headache for plenty of people just starting out and while one guide you read will tell to do something one way, you can guarantee another guide will tell you the complete opposite! But the good people over at The Guerrilla Agency have 'the' guide for you!
 Image credit: Brooke Cagle on Unsplash The advantages of starting a freelance enterprise are appealing - you can set your own hours, find your own clients, work as much or a little as you like, well, sometimes! But with 54 million Americans now self-employed in the freelance industry, it’s safe to say there’s never been a better time to get involved. Indeed there is an abundance of opportunity out there today: something for everyone. If you're a photographer you could get into content photography - selling you photos to stock photo websites. Writers have the obvious route into blogging and content creation but loads of other opportunities also exist. And if you’re handy with digital tools like the Adobe suite then you’ll be just right for a brand looking to update its logo or website. Read on to find out how to launch your freelance enterprise.
Define Your Goal Every successful entrepreneur will agree that one of the best routes to success is to define your goal. You need to know what you are doing and why you are doing it. This will not only give you clarity of purpose it will also be your measure of success. Be honest with yourself in this respect, do you want to freelance to earn some extra money on the side? To give up your day job and work entirely for yourself? Or do you have bigger ambitions: such as earning a million dollars? These big picture goals will be your guild through the lifetime of your enterprise. That is unless you fully achieve your big idea and then need to redefine your goals. After you have your big idea you can start thinking about the smaller first steps required to getting there. Find A Profitable Niche The digital world today offers a vast array of possibilities when it comes to finding a profitable niche. Even if your market is saturated such as writing, photography, or graphic design, there are still ways to market yourself in innovative ways to stand out and compete on more than just price. The low and no alcohol industry has done just that taking a huge slice of the market in the top countries for Beer Consumption. But the reality is there will always be someone in your industry with lower overheads than you who is able to be more competitive. Actually, consumers today look more at what a freelancer can offer than how much they’re going to cost. The best advice is to analyse what specifically you can offer - are you content writer for digital trends, an environmental photographer, or an indie graphic designer. Identify the qualities that make you stand out in your field and concentrate on both developing those and marketing yourself in the narrowest possible way. Pitch Yourself Finally pitching yourself is all important! Whether it is to a client or an agency, you need to sell your skills as something a client needs to solve a pressing issue in their industry. By the time you reach this stage of your project you should have skills you can offer and a portfolio to direct clients to. Make a strong pitch through email on the website of your target client. Sell your strengths and anticipate any answers that might come up. Use a visually appealing layout for your pitch, be engaging, and don’t give up.  Image credit: Carl Heyerdahl on Unsplash Lockdown has affected many businesses, completely changing forward work programmes and many of the things you had planned over the coming months. Businesses have had to adapt, with many now operating remotely to survive during this tough time.
While face to face engagement and sales might be off the cards for now, there is a lot you can do to promote your business online and generate some interest now and in the future. Don’t sit there idle waiting for something to happen, work on building better content to connect with more people. Here are four ways to improve your digital content in lockdown: 1. Finally start planning ahead There are always good intentions when it comes to social media scheduling. But for small businesses especially, it can be difficult to keep up. With lockdown restricting some business activities, however, you’ve got the perfect opportunity to create a social media schedule and get ahead with your content. From evergreen content that can take you to the end of the year to planning a variety of campaigns, use the time to get your social media schedule in order. 2. Use animated videos if you can’t film Filming videos is difficult right now, especially if your content typically features other people, locations, etc. While you can film pieces to camera at home, it’s worth experimenting with other types of video content to help you engage with your followers. There are animated explainer video production companies that can help you create some amazing content that can boost your brand and generate interest in your business. Animated explainers are a good investment as they have longevity, making some excellent cornerstone content for your business. 3. Host virtual events Events are great for connecting with clients and customers. When you’re launching a new product or service, or you want to thank them, an event can be an effective way of boosting your engagement. But just because you can’t host a physical event right now, doesn’t mean you can’t host a virtual one. From panel talks to demonstrations and performances, you’ve got a great opportunity to do something interesting online. Virtual events need a lot of promotion, but it’ll be worth it to help you get the most from this new way of connecting. 4. Promote uplifting content It’s a difficult time right now, with people everywhere struggling to adjust to this way of living, and feeling uncertain about the future too. While businesses are trying new ways of reaching out, you could also use your platforms to do some good too. From raising money to sharing content designed to inspire, motivate and entertain, there’s a lot you could be doing to help improve the mood of the nation. Consider using your social media in a positive way now, using your position to help others. While the coronavirus pandemic has proved problematic for many elements of businesses, there are opportunities for growth and change too. They say innovation is the seed of success, and this is something that can be true for your business. Begin with your digital content to help boost your business during this difficult time.  Image credit: Bich Tran on Pexels If you’re feeling overwhelmed by Covid-19 you’re certainly not alone. Most people are feeling a little anxious, and concerned over what it may bring. Restrictions have been put into place right across the globe and many people face a period of isolation at some point. This comes with a lot of concerns including lack of essentials, no access to medication, the feeling a=of being trapped, and getting bored. Many people are talking out about their concerns, but not many are thinking of ways they can fill their time with useful and productive tasks. Once you’ve completed any working from requirements, you are likely to have a little more free time than usual, but what can you do with it?
Some of the thing you could do include: Updating Your Resume This is a task that often gets left behind until you are searching for a new job. It’s understandable though, as most will not think they need to update until such as time. However, updating your resume as you learn a new skill is a great practice to be in. Whether you suddenly lose your job from something like Covid-19 or see an opportunity that’s too good to miss, you’re going to want your resume to be as up to date as possible so you can act fast. Learn A New Skill If you ave found that you now have more time on your hands, learning a new skill is a great reason to use some of it. Whether you fancy learning a new hobby like sewing, painting, or baking or you want to learn a professional qualification, this could be a great time to start. It will not only improve your skill set but it will also help you keep focused and motivated. Long-Term Projects There is usually at least one long-term project that you haven’t got around to. Maybe you’ve been thinking of starting a blog, decorating the bedroom or landscaping the garden. If you find yourself with some free time during a lockdown (where you are still able to leave the house for limited reasons) then it could give you the opportunity to be productive and get one of these ticked off. For example, if you’ve been meaning to move some stuff from your home or garden think about using Sydney Ute Van Hire to finally get it taken to the dump yard, charity shop or recycling centre. Reassess Or Create A Budget Most people will live the wing it mode when it comes to money. However, if Covid-19 has taught us anything, it’s that a budget can help us through a tough time. You may be more concerned about money now more than ever, meaning a budget could really help to minimise this stress. If you know exactly where you stand you will be able to start planning for the future and make it through Covid-19 in a possibly better financial situation. Staying at home for long periods of time can be challenging. Remember to wipe everything down regularly, wash your hands, and try to use the time to complete something productive. |
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Author, Editor, Creator of Learn Develop Live Archives
July 2023
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