Issue 1 Winter 2014

WWW.ALBUSINESSSOURCE.COM

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I would like to give a special thanks

to all of you that contributed to Ala-

bama Business Source Magazine and

making the very first issue a reality. I

would like to thank those that were in

support of the entire process and jour-

ney. I look forward to building T.A.B.S

in the future to be a continuing suc-

cess.

I look forward to meeting and working

with many small businesses and others

along the way. I aim to see that all

businesses and readers benefit from

this publication and allow me to con-

tinue something great. I look to make

2014 a great year and hope you all

do the same. I hope everyone had a

very Merry Christmas and you enjoy

this New Year.

P.S: In this 2014, refrain from making

those same ole’ New Year resolutions

and set goals to go after what you

want. Accomplish something you can

be proud of and make 2014 your

year.

Sincerely,

Chaymeriyia Moncrief

FOUNDER

Staff/Contributors

Editor

Journey Steven

Advertising

www.albusinesssource.com

334.440.2967

Contributing Writer

Jonas Givens

Venice Fallon

Tony Milton

T’sharin Moncrief

Aretha Bettis

SOCIAL

FACEBOOK: ALABAMA BUSINESS

SOURCE

TWITTER: TABS_MAGAZINE



7 STEPS TO GETTING NEW CLI-

ENTS AND BUSINESS STARTING

UP

By Jonas Givens

Scoring new clients and business when starting up

can be hard when you don’t have a plan or tac-

tics for capturing potential clients. Here are 7

steps that’s worked for me:

1. Don’t go for everything at one time. When scor-

ing new customers, settle for a phone call and

then find reasons to meet in person. Don’t au-

tomatically force them to meet. They’ll get re-

luctant.

2. Be prepared for long delays, punctuated by

sudden activity. In case you have noticed, the

slack of our economy has led to hesitate and

tentative business planning, no one is rushing to

judgment anymore. Companies and people

are putting off spending to the very last minute.

It all can be a constant hurry-up-and-wait cy-

cle, but sooner or later projects will happen

and spending will eventually occur.

3. Use social networking to find a friend– or friends

of a friend– who knows your prospects. Busi-

nesses are all different, with different operating

styles, planning horizons and cultures; the more

insight you have about your prospect, the more

likely it is you’ll be able to tailor your message

appropriately.

4.Make offers your prospects cant refuse. In order

to generate your prospects attention, you have

to offer them something of value, in a way that

he can’t turn it down without seeming...rude. It

could be the interesting results of a survey or

piece of research, or perhaps a competitive

overview.

5. Never call to confirm a meeting, once its been

set up. No matter how much planning you’ve

done, if you call to confirm in advance there's

a very good chance the client will cancel or

more likely put off the meeting. Better just get

there when and as you both agreed. What's

the worst that could happen if the prospect for-

get the meeting? It’ll be small debt to collect.

6. Always have a next step in mind that can be

agreed to instantly.

What is Health Care Reform?

Is it Mandatory?

Interview By: Chaymeriyia Moncrief

Many of us are already aware, insurance will be

very important to have this coming 2014. Will it be

mandatory? I sat down with Venice Fallon for a

quick insight on what exactly to expect from our

new Health Care policies.

Q: What is Health Care Reform, in your words?

A: It’s basically a rubric discussing health policy

changes and changes that affect health care de-

livery.

Q: What exactly will these new policies do?

A: Its generally suppose to improve the quality of

health care, give more health care to citizens and

importantly decrease the cost of health care.

Q: Why is health care important in 2014, or in gen-

eral?

A: I feel that its extremely important for many rea-

sons. To ensure your treated properly (Medical), a

healthy workplace, a healthy community and

possibly being fined for NOT insuring yourself.

Q: By fined, what do you mean?

A: As most of us already know , if we just opt out of

getting insured you’ll be penalized, ONLY unless

you qualify for exemption from mandate.

“So, I strongly encourage insuring yourself and in-

forming love ones and friends to do so also.”


If you want a face to face meeting with a poten-

tial client, try to figure out how to be in the right

geographic location for it, because a prospect

will often be reluctant to put a formal meeting

on the schedule, if you can be there in 10

minutes hey, they may just agree to a quick

meeting.

7. Once you win some business be sure to follow

up for more. One of the biggest mistakes almost

every company or start-up makes when bringing

in new clients, is not showing clients other divisions,

service and products in the company. You want

them to look for other, often unrelated opportuni-

ties and involving all other “silos”.

Don’t forget to think smart and logically when fol-

lowing these steps when gaining new clients and

business. As a start up it is extremely important, you

push and give clients a reason hey should invest or

take into your product and service. Why? People

tend to be hesitant about buying into something

that’s new and have no niche of establishment.

BE SMART!!!


One of the most significant things you can

control is association— your choices of

what you permit into your world, who you

give time to or invest time with and who

you look to for ideas, information and edu-

cation. The people around you rarely have

a neutral effect. They either facilitate your accomplishments, they undermine it, or they sabotage it.

The first useful tactic is the elimination of toxic people and saboteurs. It’s not an easy thing to face facts

about a friend, family member or even a long-time employee, when they are in some way, interfering

with or disapproving of your accomplishments. Its important to face these facts and act on them be-

cause the more time you spend with these people who are unhelpful, unsupportive, disrespectful, envi-

ous, resentful or damaging you, the less value all your time has.

Few people can so perfectly compartmentalize that they can lock every thought, assertion and act of

a toxic person in a little box and without leakage into other mind boxes. There is a saying “if you lay

down with mongrel dogs, you’ll wake up with fleas”— and they ride with you everywhere you go. Ide-

as, beliefs, opinions and habits works just like that.

Even if your associating only occasionally or briefly with someone who is intellectually or emotionally

toxic or someone who is feckless and inept, it’s enough time for fleas to leap from them to you, burrow

in and be carried away by subtly affect in your performance and productivity. If your creative and

constructive thinking or work performance is thus diminished, so is the value of your time.

People who are determined for you to associate with them are not necessarily of evil intent. They may

all be “good people’, but that doesn't mean they’re good for you. Good chocolate cake is not good

for a diabetic. In fact, its poison. Associating with someone who is always pushing it to you, saying “Just

one little piece” is just as suicidal as baking the cake yourself.


The entrepreneur is particularly susceptible to gaining or losing power by association because he

has so many diverse responsibilities and is often operating under pressure, duress and urgency.

Playing this game in a compromised mental state , weakened or wounded by poor ideas and

attitudes seeded into the mind by association, is extremely difficult. Playing it strengthened and

empowered by rich ideas and attitudes seeded into the mind by association can make the diffi-

cult easy.

Simply put, you want to deliberately reduce

and restrict the amount of your time. left

vulnerable to ran- dom thought or associa-

tion , and deliberately , sharply reduce the

amount of time given to association with peo-

ple who won’t make any productive con-

tribution and may do harm. Does that mean

you can only spend time with people you are in

complete philosophical agreement? No. In fact, such isolation can be dangerous. But it doesn’t

mean you should avoid association with people who believe and promulgate beliefs diametri-

cally opposed to ‘success orientation”.

Lesson is, you want to deliberately increase the amount of your time directed at thinking and in-

put, and constructive, productive association. You want to associate yourself with strivers and

achievers, with winners and champions this is a uplifting force that translates into peak perfor-

mance, which makes all your time more worth while.


Women of Refined Gold is a non-profit organization

found by T’sharin Moncrief in June of 2013. She be-

gan the organization to help sexually and physically

abused women. Her goal is to open a transitional

home to provide shelter for these women and chil-

dren coming out of abusive and broken homes.

TABS: What encouraged you to start women of re-

fined Gold? And what is it’s purpose?

WORG: For 10 year I endured physical and verbal

abuse. After all those years I finally mustered up the

courage and left with my three children. It had been

a long journey afterwards, however I overcame. Dur-

ing those years of going through such abuse, I want-

ed to give back and reach out to women going

through the same experience, especially those with

children. I want to have workshops that will educate women on being empowered, building self-esteem and assisting

them in finding resources that are available for them and their families.

TABS: What are some goals of your organization that you seek to be productive in Alabama?

WORG: Our first goal is to seek men and women to help build our foundation, which are the board members, because

they are the foundation to a successful non-profit. Secondly, I look forward to building networks, having fundraisers to

reach out to communities on behalf of the organization and finally starting the transitional home for Women of Refined

Gold.

TABS: What is WORG’s mission?

WORG: Assisting women and children in their healing process by transforming and delivering them from a life that stag-

nates their growth’

TABS: What impact does WORG have on your life?

WORG: It allows me to impart into families what was imparted into mines during my healing process coming out of

abuse. It has also given me a even greater passion to help and see other families restore.

TABS: What has been the hardest part of building your non-profit?

WORG: The hardest part is finding people who share the same passion and commitment for helping families. It’s even

harder finding people who are willing to give to help support a worthy cause when you haven’t been established for

very long.

TABS: What events and fundraisers can Alabama look forward to from WORG this 2014?

WORG: I plan to have a Women empowerment Dinner that will honor women who have made an impact in their com-

munity and lives of other women. We also plan to have several empowerment workshops and various community fund-

raiser to help raise money for the organization.

Before ending interview I asked T’sharin to give some words of encouragement, she stated “It doesn't matter how hard

things may get in your life; with hard work, persistence, positive people and constant prayer, your latter will be greater”

Help support Women of Refined Gold by visiting their website at www.womenofrefinedgold.com and sending donations

and contributing to upcoming fundraisers and workshops.



Divas 4 Divas is a non-profit Community

Service Organization found in Atlanta, GA

in 1999 by Aretha Bettis. Divas 4 Divas con-

sist of women coming together volunteer-

ing, giving back & helping better the com-

munity. They raise awareness for Breast

Cancer, Lupus & also mentor young chil-

dren and elderly adults.

TABS: When did you start Divas 4 Divas?

D4D: Divas 4 Divas was founded in 1999 in

Atlanta, Ga.

TABS: What encouraged you to start your

organization?

D4D: I started Divas 4 Divas so that non-

collegiate women could have an organi-

zation they could be proud of. Collegiate

women could have a place they could

continue their service to the community. I

wanted an organization where women

could empower each other regardless of

their educational background.

TABS: What was your first step in making Di-

vas 4 Divas a Success?

D4D: The first step I took was to find women

like myself that wanted to give back to the

community.

TABS: What Steps are you taking to contin-

ue your success?

D4D: Some of the steps I am taking to en-

sure that Divas is successful, is to find wom-

en who enjoy given back to community

and doing background checks on every

member. I also make sure that no

member of Divas 4 Divas is paid for the

services we provide to the community,

it is all volunteer work so we may remain

a non-profit organization.

TABS: How has the Journey been since

establishing your non-profit organiza-

tion?

D4D: My journey in Divas 4 Divas has

been an rewarding one; because

knowing there are women out there

that believe in making our community

better through community service.

TABS: What impact has it been on your

life?

D4D: The biggest impact Divas has had

on life is seeing my dream become a

reality; all while surviving breast cancer,

lupus, diabetes, and asthma.

TABS: What was the hardest part of

building your organization?

D4D: The hardest part in building Divas is

finding members who are committed.

Also learning what it takes to run a non-

profit.


TABS: What are some Disadvantages and Advantages of Divas 4 Divas?

D4D: Some of the advantages of been a member of Divas 4 Divas is having a sense of

pride, honor, and self -worth in knowing you are helping others. Another advantage is hav-

ing members of this organization that accept you for you regardless of your educational

background. The only disadvantage is not always having enough members to cover all

the events we are ask to do.

TABS: What impact is your organization making on the community?

D4D: This organization is helping all women to come together to support and uplift their

communities. We do this through lupus awareness, breast cancer awareness, mentoring to

future leaders in our communities, helping young children and elderly people know that

it’s people in world that cares what happens to them, helping women of domestic vio-

lence, and fundraising for other non-profit.

TABS: Overall with all your experiences, what do you look forward to in the future of Divas 4

Divas?

D4D: The greatest goal I look forward to is seeing Divas 4 Divas in every state.

Divas 4 Divas is a non-profit community service organization who provide volunteer work

to the community, they volunteer for other non-profit organization for events and commu-

nity services. Divas 4 Divas can be reached at [email protected]


Nelson Mandela was born on July 18, 1918,

in Mveso, Transkei, South Africa. Becoming

actively involved in the anti-apartheid move-

ment in his 20s, Mandela joined the African

National Congress in 1942. For 20 years, he di-

rected a campaign of peaceful, nonviolent

defiance against the South African govern-

ment and its racist policies. Starting in 1961

Nelson Mandela was a wanted man for his

leadership role in African National Congress,

in which turned violate in there fight for

equality. Just one year later after being in-

creasingly on the run for 17 months, Mandela

was captured and imprisoned for 27 years on

Robben Island. After his release his journey

began. After 27 years of grueling labor be-

hind bars, he still had no plans of retirement or

discontinuing his fight for peace. In 1994

marks two historic first for South Africa. The

world watched as the country held an multi-

racial elections; within a month later South Af-

rica announced it’s first black president. With

only 4 years out of jail, Mandela praised the

progress his country was making upon his

election. He states “Out of the experience of

an extraordinary human disaster that lasted

too long, must be born a society of which all

humanity will be proud”. He goes on to say

“Our daily deeds as ordinary South Africans

must produce an actual South African reality

that will reinforce humanity's belief in justice.”

Just a year before Mandela Election, he was

awarded a Nobel Peace prize “for his work

for the peaceful termination of the apartheid

regime, and for laying the foundations for a

new, democratic South Africa.

He was given name “moral authority’

from his lack of bitterness, even after

being imprisoned for decades.

“Today’s announcement that I have

been named to receive the most pres-

tigious award for peace was a deeply

humbling experience, "Mandela told

the press.

Leave it to Nelson Mandela to include

his former jail guard in the festivities cel-

ebrating his 20 years of freedom. On

February 10, 2010, the prisoner, whose

arduous path led to a presidency and

a Nobel Peace Prize, marked the 20th

anniversary of his release from jail. The

91-year-old was in jubilant spirits, toast-

ing the occasion with a cheering group

of friends, family, and admirers. “Whites

are fellow South Africans and we want

them to feel safe,” he said at a press

conference. As humble as ever, he

downplayed his sacrifices saying,

“Nobody who has some conscious po-

litically would avoid doing the same

things that I have.’


Quick Fact Timeline:

1944 - Joins the African National Congress and helps found the ANC Youth League

1951 - Becomes president of the ANC Youth League.

1952 - Opens the first black law partnership in South Africa with friend Oliver Tambo.

1952 - Leads the newly launched [ANC] Campaign for the Defiance of Unjust Laws, a

program of nonviolent mass resistance.

July 1952 - Mandela is charged with violating the Suppression of Communism Act.

December 5, 1956 - Mandela is among 156 resistance leaders arrested and charged

with high treason.

March 21, 1960 - In Sharpeville, police fire upon protestors challenging apartheid laws;

69 people are killed.

June 11, 2010 - Mandela makes his first World Cup appearance before kickoff of the

final match.

June 21, 2011 - Meets with U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama at his home in South Africa.

June 23, 2013 - Officials say Mandela's condition has worsened in the past 24 hours,

and he is now in critical condition.

December 5, 2013 - Nelson Mandela Dies at 95 years old.

Education is the most pow-

erful weapon you can use

to change the world.

-Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela Continued to lead his nation into peace and equality until his

death December 5th, 2013. He leaves behind a great legacy and a world of

achievements. Nelson Mandela lived to see the U.S elect our very first black

president, he had the chance to meet with First Lady Michelle Obama in his

very home in 2011 in South Africa.

Throughout his life of imprisonment, failures and even violence Mandela never

stop fighting for what he believe in “Peace and Equality”.


PIVOT?

It’s the most critical decision for an entre-

preneur knowing when to stay the course

vs. changing direction when a business

venture is failing. So in better saying, Turn-

ing one failed business venture into another success. Here are some businesses you

probably never knew once failed drastically and went… PIVOT.

Twitter

The most legendary pivot in social media history is the trans-

formation of Odeo into Twitter. Odeo began as a network

where people could find and subscribe to podcasts, but the

founders feared the company’s demise when iTunes began

taking over the podcast niche. After giving the employees

two weeks to come up with new ideas, the company decid-

ed to make a drastic change and run with the idea of a status-updating micro-

blogging platform conceived by Jack Dorsey and Biz Stone.

Starbuck

The coffee shop which now inhabits every street corner

(and sometimes two on each street corner) did not al-

ways sell fresh-brewed coffee to customers. They started

off in 1971 selling espresso makers and coffee beans,

which Howard Schultz (current chairman, president and

CEO) fell in love with on first taste. After his visit to Italy in

1983, Schultz was determined to actually brew and sell

Starbucks coffee in a European-style coffeehouse, and

transformed Starbucks into the nationwide java sensa-

tion it has become today.

Instagram

Instagram is the most widely used photo app for iPhone, but

many don’t know its origins. Instagram began as Burbn, a check-

in app that included gaming elements from Mafia Wars, and a

photo element as well. The creators worried Burbn had too much

clutter and potential actions, and would never gain traction. So

they took a risk and stripped all the features but one: photos.

They rebuilt a version of the app that focused solely on photog-

raphy—it was clean and simple, and clearly it paid off.


Fab.com

Fab, a modern fashion site that pulls hundreds of

millions of dollars in revenue annually, actually be-

gan as Fabulis, as a social network targeted to-

wards gay men. Although their social site tanked,

in their side jobs the co-founders had a knack for

selecting products that customers liked, so they

decided to take a totally new direction with Fab

selling hand-picked home goods, clothing and

accessories. Their sense of taste paid off, as Fab

now has over 10 million loyal users and is on an up-

ward trajectory.

Nintendo

We all know Nintendo for innovating and inspiring

an era of mass-produced video games, such as

Super Mario and Donkey Kong. However, the

company existed several centuries before that,

and dabbled in producing everything from play-

ing cards to vacuum cleaners, instant rice, a taxi

company and even a short-stay hotel chain (also

called a “love hotel,” I’ll leave it up to you to fig-

ure out what that is). It was in 1966 that Nintendo started producing electronic

games and consoles, which gained wide popularity over the following 30 years.


Automotive

Econo Lube N’ Tune -Meineke-

Locations Units: 1000+

Liquid Capital: $10,000

Investment Range: $10,000-$25,000

Paint Bull

Locations Units: 900

Liquid Capital: $1000

Investment Ranges: $5000

Barbers

Sport Clip Haircuts



Investment Range: $10,000

Super Cuts

Location Units: 2301

Liquid Capitol: $50,000

Investment Ranges: $78,000

Cleaning

Service Master Clean



Investment Range: $8380-$62,536

360 Clean

Location Units: 57

Liquid Capital $5,000

Investment Range: $17,000

Jani-King

Location Units:10,991+

Liquid Capitol: $995

Investment Range: $995- $18,000

Computers

Cartridge World

Locations Units:1448



CPS Gaming

Locations Units: 60

Liquid Capital: $899

Investment Ranges: $899

Signs Now



Investment Ranges: $50k-$85K

Retail/Clothing

$10 Clothing Store



Investment Ranges: $50.9K-$80K

Restaurants

Dunkin’ Donuts

Location Units: 3,262

Liquid Capital $125,000

Investment Range: $294,000-1.5M

Hungry Howie’s Pizza Sub

Location Units:544


Investment Range: $220,000-382,500

Subway

Location Units: 26,240

Liquid Capitol: $30,000-$90,000




It's easy to think of happiness as a result, but happiness is also a

driver. One example: While I'm definitely into finding ways to im-

prove personal productivity (whether a one-day burst, or a life-

time, or things you should not do every day), probably the best

way to be more productive is to just be happier. Happy people

accomplish more.

Easier said than done though, right?

Actually, many changes are easy. Here are 8 science-based

ways to be happier from Belle Beth Cooper, Content Crafter at

Buffer, the social media management tool that lets you schedule,

automate, and analyze social media updates.

Here's Beth:

1. Exercise: 7 Minutes Could Be Enough

Think exercise is something you don't have time for? Think again.

Check out the 7 minute workout mentioned in The New York

Times. That's a workout any of us can fit into our schedules.

Exercise has such a profound effect on our happiness and well-

being that it is an effective strategy for overcoming depression. In

a study cited in Shawn Achor's book The Happiness Advantage,

three groups of patients treated their depression with medication,

exercise, or a combination of the two. The results of this study are

surprising: Although all three groups experienced similar improve-

ments in their happiness levels early on, the follow-up assessments

proved to be radically different:

The groups were then tested six months later to assess their re-

lapse rate. Of those who had taken the medication alone, 38

percent had slipped back into depression. Those in the combina-

tion group were doing only slightly better, with a 31 percent re-

lapse rate. The biggest shock, though, came from the exercise

group: Their relapse rate was only 9 percent.

You don't have to be depressed to benefit from exercise, though.

Exercise can help you relax, increase your brain power, and even

improve your body image, even if you don't lose any weight.

We've explored exercise in depth before, and looked at what it

does to our brains, such as releasing proteins and endorphins that

make us feel happier.

A study in the Journal of Health Psychology found that people

who exercised felt better about their bodies even when they saw

no physical changes: Body weight, shape and body image were

assessed in 16 males and 18 females before and after both 6 × 40

minutes exercising and 6 × 40 minutes reading. Over both condi-

tions, body weight and shape did not change. Various aspects of

body image, however, improved after exercise compared to be-

fore.

Yep: Even if your actual appearance doesn't change, how you

feel about your body does change.

2. Sleep More: You'll Be Less Sensitive to Negative Emotions

We know that sleep helps our body recover from the day and re-

pair itself and that it helps us focus and be more productive. It

turns out sleep is also important for happiness. In Nuture Shock, Po

Bronson and Ashley Merryman explain how sleep affects positivi-

ty:

Negative stimuli get processed by the amygdale; positive or neu-

tral memories gets processed by the hippocampus. Sleep depri-

vation hits the hippocampus harder than the amygdala. The re-

sult is that sleep-deprived people fail to recall pleasant memories

yet recall gloomy memories just fine.

In one experiment by Walker, sleep-deprived college students

tried to memorize a list of words. They could remember 81% of

the words with a negative connotation, like "cancer." But they

could remember only 31% of the words with a positive or neutral

connotation, like "sunshine" or "basket."

The BPS Research Digest explores another study that proves

sleep affects our sensitivity to negative emotions. Using a facial

recognition task throughout the course of a day, researchers

studied how sensitive participants were to positive and negative

emotions. Those who worked through the afternoon without tak-

ing a nap became more sensitive to negative emotions like fear

and anger.

Using a face recognition task, here we demonstrate an ampli-

fied reactivity to anger and fear emotions across the day, with-

out sleep. However, an intervening nap blocked and even re-

versed this negative emotional reactivity to anger and fear

while conversely enhancing ratings of positive (happy) expres-

sions.

Of course, how well (and how long) you sleep will probably af-

fect how you feel when you wake up, which can make a differ-

ence to your whole day.

Another study tested how employees' moods when they started

work in the morning affected their entire work day.

Researchers found that employees' moods when they clocked

in tended to affect how they felt the rest of the day. Early mood

was linked to their perceptions of customers and to how they

reacted to customers' moods.

And most importantly to managers, employee mood had a

clear impact on performance, including both how much work

employees did and how well they did it.


3. Spend More Time With Friends/Family: Money Can't Buy You Happiness

Staying in touch with friends and family is one of the top five regrets of the dying.

If you want more evidence that time with friends is beneficial for you, research proves it can make you happier right now, too.

Social time is highly valuable when it comes to improving our happiness, even for introverts. Several studies have found that time

spent with friends and family makes a big difference to how happy we feel.

I love the way Harvard happiness expert Daniel Gilbert explains it:

We are happy when we have family, we are happy when we have friends and almost all the other things we think make us hap-

py are actually just ways of getting more family and friends.

George Vaillant is the director of a 72-year study of the lives of 268 men.

In an interview in the March 2008 newsletter to the Grant Study subjects, Vaillant was asked, "What have you learned from the

Grant Study men?" Vaillant's response: "That the only thing that really matters in life are your relationships to other people."

He shared insights of the study with Joshua Wolf Shenk at The Atlantic on how men's social connections made a difference to

their overall happiness:

Men's relationships at age 47, he found, predicted late-life adjustment better than any other variable. Good sibling relationships

seem especially powerful: 93 percent of the men who were thriving at age 65 had been close to a brother or sister when young-

er.

In fact, a study published in the Journal of Socio-Economics states that your relationships are worth more than $100,000:

Using the British Household Panel Survey, I find that an increase in the level of social involvements is worth up to an extra £85,000 a

year in terms of life satisfaction. Actual changes in income, on the other hand, buy very little happiness.

I think that last line is especially fascinating: Actual changes in income, on the other hand, buy very little happiness. So we could

increase our annual income by hundreds of thousands of dollars and still not be as happy as we would if we increased the

strength of our social relationships.

The Terman study, covered in The Longevity Project, found that relationships and how we help others were important factors in

living long, happy lives:

We figured that if a Terman participant sincerely felt that he or she had friends and relatives to count on when having a hard

time then that person would be healthier. Those who felt very loved and cared for, we predicted, would live the longest.


Surprise: our prediction was wrong... Beyond social network

size, the clearest benefit of social relationships came from

helping others. Those who helped their friends and neighbors,

advising and caring for others, tended to live to old age.

4. Get Outside More: Happiness is Maximized at 57°

In The Happiness Advantage, Shawn Achor recommends

spending time in the fresh air to improve your happiness:

Making time to go outside on a nice day also delivers a huge

advantage; one study found that spending 20 minutes outside

in good weather not only boosted positive mood, but broad-

ened thinking and improved working memory...

This is pretty good news for those of us who are worried about

fitting new habits into our already-busy schedules. Twenty

minutes is a short enough time to spend outside that you could

fit it into your commute or even your lunch break.

A UK study from the University of Sussex also found that being

outdoors made people happier:

Being outdoors, near the sea, on a warm, sunny weekend af-

ternoon is the perfect spot for most. In fact, participants were

found to be substantially happier outdoors in all natural envi-

ronments than they were in urban environments.

The American Meteorological Society published research in

2011 that found current temperature has a bigger effect on

our happiness than variables like wind speed and humidity, or

even the average temperature over the course of a day. It al-

so found that happiness is maximized at 57 degrees (13.9°C),

so keep an eye on the weather forecast before heading out-

side for your 20 minutes of fresh air.

The connection between productivity and temperature is an-

other topic we've talked about more here. It's fascinating what

a small change in temperature can do.

5. Help Others: 100 Hours a Year is the Magic Number

One of the most counterintuitive pieces of advice I found is

that to make yourself feel happier, you should help others. In

fact, 100 hours per year (or two hours per week) is the optimal

time we should dedicate to helping others in order to enrich

our lives.

If we go back to Shawn Achor's book again, he says this about

helping others:

...when researchers interviewed more than 150 people about

their recent purchases, they found that money spent on activi-

ties--such as concerts and group dinners out--brought far more

pleasure than material purchases like shoes, televisions, or ex-

pensive watches. Spending money on other people, called

"prosocial spending," also boosts happiness.

The Journal of Happiness Studies published a study that ex-

plored this very topic:

Participants recalled a previous purchase made for either

themselves or someone else and then reported their happi-

ness. Afterward, participants chose whether to spend a mone-

tary windfall on themselves or someone else.

Participants assigned to recall a purchase made for someone

else reported feeling significantly happier immediately after

this recollection; most importantly, the happier participants felt,

the more likely they were to choose to spend a windfall on

someone else in the near future.

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(5 Entrepreneurs and business owners will be

chosen to be featured in April's publication &

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WHAT DO YOU DO NOW?

If this is for you, than don't hesitate to send in

your story for a chance to be featured in

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So spending money on other people makes us happier than

buying stuff for ourselves. But what about spending our time

on other people?

A study of volunteering in Germany explored how volunteers

were affected when their opportunities to help others were

taken away:

Shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall but before the German

reunion, the first wave of data of the GSOEP was collected in

East Germany. Volunteering was still widespread. Due to the

shock of the reunion, a large portion of the infrastructure of

volunteering (e.g. sports clubs associated with firms) col-

lapsed and people randomly lost their opportunities for volun-

teering. Based on a comparison of the change in subjective

well-being of these people and of people from the control

group who had no change in their volunteer status, the hy-

pothesis is supported that volunteering is rewarding in terms of

higher life satisfaction.

In his book Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happi-

ness and Well-being, University of Pennsylvania professor Mar-

tin Seligman explains that helping others can improve our

own lives:

...we scientists have found that doing a kindness produces the

single most reliable momentary increase in well-being of any

exercise we have tested.

6. Practice Smiling: Reduce Pain, Improve Mood, Think Better

Smiling can make us feel better, but it's more effective when

we back it up with positive thoughts, according to this study:

A new study led by a Michigan State University business schol-

ar suggests customer-service workers who fake smile through-

out the day worsen their mood and withdraw from work, af-

fecting productivity. But workers who smile as a result of culti-

vating positive thoughts--such as a tropical vacation or a

child's recital--improve their mood and withdraw less.

Of course it's important to practice "real smiles" where you use

your eye sockets. (You've seen fake smiles that don't reach

the person's eyes. Try it. Smile with just your mouth. Then smile

naturally; your eyes narrow. There's a huge difference in a

fake smile and a genuine smile.)

According to PsyBlog, smiling can improve our attention and

help us perform better on cognitive tasks:

Smiling makes us feel good which also increases our atten-

tional flexibility and our ability to think holistically. When this

idea was tested by Johnson et al. (2010), the results showed

that participants who smiled performed better on attentional

tasks which required seeing the whole forest rather than just

the trees.

A smile is also a good way to reduce some of the pain we

feel in troubling circumstances:

Smiling is one way to reduce the distress caused by an upset-

ting situation. Psychologists call this the facial feedback hy-

pothesis. Even forcing a smile when we don't feel like it is

enough to lift our mood slightly (this is one example of em-

bodied cognition).

7. Practice Gratitude: Increase Happiness and Satisfaction

This is a seemingly simple strategy but I've personally found it

to make a huge difference to my outlook. There are lots of

ways to practice gratitude, from keeping a journal of things

you're grateful for, sharing three good things that happen

each day with a friend or your partner, and going out of your

way to show gratitude when others help you.

In an experiment where participants took note of things they

were grateful for each day, their moods were improved just

from this simple practice:

The gratitude-outlook groups exhibited heightened well-being

across several, though not all, of the outcome measures across

the three studies, relative to the comparison groups. The effect

on positive affect appeared to be the most robust finding. Re-

sults suggest that a conscious focus on blessings may have

emotional and interpersonal benefits.

The Journal of Happiness studies published a study that used

letters of gratitude to test how being grateful can affect our

levels of happiness:

Participants included 219 men and women who wrote three

letters of gratitude over a 3 week period. Results indicated that

writing letters of gratitude increased participants' happiness

and life satisfaction while decreasing depressive symptoms.

8. Meditate: Rewire Your Brain for Happiness

Meditation is often touted as an important habit for improving

focus, clarity, and attention span, as well as helping to keep

you calm. It turns out it's also useful for improving your happi-

ness:

In one study, a research team from Massachusetts General

Hospital looked at the brain scans of 16 people before and af-

ter they participated in an eight-week course in mindfulness

meditation. The study, published in the January issue of Psychi-

atry Research: Neuroimaging, concluded that after complet-

ing the course, parts of the participants' brains associated with

compassion and self-awareness grew, and parts associated

with stress shrank.

Meditation literally clears your mind and calms you down, it's

been often proven to be the single most effective way to live a

happier life. According to Achor, meditation can actually

make you happier long-term:

Studies show that in the minutes right after meditating, we ex-

perience feelings of calm and contentment, as well as height-

ened awareness and empathy. And, research even shows that

regular meditation can permanently rewire the brain to raise

levels of happiness.

The fact that we can actually alter our brain structure through

mediation is most surprising to me and somewhat reassuring

that however we feel and think today isn't permanent.

Quick Final Fact: Getting Older Will Actually Make You Happier

As we get older, particularly past middle age, we tend to natu-

rally grow happier. There's still some debate over why this hap-

pens, but scientists have a few ideas:

Researchers, including the authors, have found that older peo-

ple shown pictures of faces or situations tend to focus on and

remember the happier ones more and the negative ones less.

Other studies have discovered that as people age, they seek

out situations that will lift their moods--for instance, pruning so-

cial circles of friends or acquaintances who might bring them

down. Still other work finds that older adults learn to let go of

loss and disappointment over unachieved goals, and focus

their goals on greater well being.



There has been a lot of Tragic events happening here in Montgomery, AL among our youth and it has brought a lot of sadness in our community.

Stopping Violence among the younger generation is extremely important and that's

what has inspired this scholarship.

This Scholarship will be given by The Alabama Business Source Magazine .It is current-ly in Phrase 1, which is the Raise Phrase. This is where we raise $1000, why $1000? We

would like to give 2 $500 Scholarships to High Schools students in their 12th grade year.

We will require all contestants to write an essay on how Teen Violence has a impact on their lives and what would they do to prevent violence from happening, they al-

so must tell why they should win the Scholarship and how it'll make a difference.

Contestants may also add a video along with their essay which is only required to be 1-2 minutes long, if their entire submission is a video it must be at lease 5-6

minutes long covering all guidelines.

The 2nd Phrase (Submission Phrase) of this Scholarship will not Start until our goal is completely reached, if we exceed our goal the remainder of the money will go to a

3rd runner-up of the contest.

Once Phrase 2 is over, Phrase 3 (Rewarding Phrase) will began.

Starting this scholarship is extremely important, it gives our youth a chance to really think on how violence is impacting their community and themselves. It gives them

time to think on how change can start with them and making things turn for the bet-ter.

We would like to see this scholarship reach other youth outside Montgomery, and

become something big. Lets Restore our Youth in our Community.

Visit http://www.gofundme.com/6crt8o


Documents

Issue 1 Winter 2014