A Few Highlights to Honing Golf Skills Faster and More Efficiently

There are a number of ways a golfer can improve their swing, drive and score. Meeting with an instructor, watching golf instructions videos and clips, covering various aspects of golf, can help new players and seasoned players alike. Improving your game starts by identifying areas that need improvement. What part of your game needs help? Here is a list of golf tips categorized in six parts:

Golf Basics – These tips on golf basics are great not only for beginners, but for golfers of all skill levels who need a refresher on the fundamentals such as the grip and the set-up position. So many other problems with a golfer’s swing can be helped simply by improving his or her grip. A good swing starts with knowing the proper way to place your hands on the handle of the golf club.

Driver & Iron Play (full swing) – Drivers and irons are used for what’s called the “long game,” which consists of hitting the ball as far as the golfer can to drive it closer to the hole. This skill, also known as full swing, is essential to completing regulation holes under par, but oftentimes beginners struggle to perfect their long game. Fortunately, there are a number of resources out there for self-starting beginners who want to work on hitting those long, straight, consistent drives down the fairway toward the hole.

Wedge Play (Chipping, Pitching, Sand Shots) – If you’re unsure of your chipping or pitching, or you struggle on bunker … Continue Reading ...

Top Ten Ways to Beat Stress at Work

Monday morning is almost everyone’s least favorite part of the week, but this is particularly true if work stress is a problem. Stress increases anxiety and lowers creativity – two factors known to negatively impact enjoyment and productivity in the workplace. Enter your workday with these top ten ways to beat work stress and greatly increase your career satisfaction.

1. Stop shooting for perfection. Perfection can be a standard to shoot for, but becomes unhealthy when it is the only standard accepted. Some people take the goal of perfection too far…and there is a price to pay. True perfectionists are never satisfied. Chronic or daily attempts to achieve perfection are driven by feelings of inferiority and low self-esteem. This not only impacts the person and their health, it seriously damages the morale of their co-workers. Remember: perfection is not possible for humans.

2. Take your lunch break. Many employees pride themselves on skipping lunch and see it as a sign of their commitment to being productive. The reality is that lunchtime is when people are most likely to become anxious, irritated, or send out snappish e-mails. Once they eat, they almost seem to say, “What was that all about?” We usually don’t see the connection between low blood sugar (caused by hunger) and our stress levels.

3. Stop gossiping. Ouch! This one is going to hurt a little, but the pay-off is big. When you gossip, you are telling the person you are gossiping to that you will do the … Continue Reading ...

Top 10 Physical Traits of Championship Wrestlers

Here are the top 10 traits nearly every championship wrestler has. If you are lacking in one of these areas you either need to focus on improving or realize your success will be limited.

1. Stamina: If you aren’t able to wrestle in the first period like you can in the last you will never be a great champion. Champions do everything in their power to have “gas” throughout the match.

2. Max Strength: Champion wrestlers maximize their strength inside their weight class. If you aren’t getting stronger someone will out muscle you somewhere on the mat and championships will be won or lost.

3. Speed: Championship wrestlers move faster on the mat than everyone else. If you aren’t fast to position, take downs, escapes, reversals aren’t possible. Speed kills in all sports.

4. Power: Power = Mass X Acceleration. With wrestlers being of equal weight, it is the athlete who can explode into another that will powerfully perform on the mat.

5. Core Strength: The ability to manipulate another human being is dependent upon the strength of the core. If your core muscles aren’t at their best, the ability to perform throws, bridges, and pinning combinations is greatly diminished.

6. Grip Strength: Championship wrestlers grab their opponents and it feels like a vice is clamped down on them. Focusing on creating a grip that is inescapable will provide you the ability to dominate your opponent.

7. Proprioception: The ability for your body to understand where it is in … Continue Reading ...

Short Story Writing – Ten Beginnings to Avoid

In the same way that editors don’t want to see an ending they’ve seen before, equally, there are some story beginnings that have been done to death. Here are ten you shouldn’t use.

“It was a dark and stormy night.”

The “weather report” gambit. Not only is it a lazy way to start a story, but this one was voted “Worst story opening of all time.”

“I hadn’t seen her in the bar before. She was pale, but interesting.”

The “Vampire pick-up gambit” Or maybe they’re a werewolf, or alien, or serial killer. Or maybe the narrator isn’t what he or she seems. Either way, the story turns out the same, and the editor will have given up long before he got to the end.

“The man with the piercing eyes and pointed beard asked ‘What you would give to have your heart’s desire?”

The old “Pact with the Devil” gambit. Only try this if you really have sold your soul for fame and fortune – all other permutations have been played out years ago.

“I thought he was supposed to be in Vegas, so I was surprised to see ………”

Almost as old as pact with the Devil stories is the “I talked to a ghost” gambit. Cavemen probably told this story to each other around their campfires. And you think an editor hasn’t heard it?

“I woke up in the dark, and all I could feel above me was velvet, and beneath that, wood.”

The “buried alive” gambit. … Continue Reading ...

Wall Street Just Doesn’t Understand Innovation

Over the last 30 years, the companies that have been able to innovate effectively and make good use of their research and development (R&D) budgets have become coveted companies, but the market doesn’t value them accordingly. While the market can be quick to jump on the latest craze and push certain hyped stocks to new heights, the companies that innovate effectively aren’t always given their due until after the fact. Most of the time Wall Street, tends not to properly value the companies on innovation because of its relative difficulty to quantify. With innovation not being something that is universally measurable in the same way that profits, revenue, and cash flow can be, most investors tend to shy away from the analysis of innovation.

Innovation is often the most valuable asset that a company has when it pays off, think Apple over the past 15 years, but without proper quantification this value is rarely taken into account. Investors are uneasy by the possibility that R&D is uncertain, but analysts have found that using the track record over the previous five years as a relative guide, can predict the value. Within the companies that have a large R&D spend, that are generally considered to be more innovative, the past tends to be a very good predictor of their future success. Often these companies that have a proven record of innovation success over the previous few years will outperform their competitors by over 7 percent a quarter. This translates into big profits … Continue Reading ...

Top Five Questions Asked by Those Arrested for First Time DUI

1. Will I go to jail? A first time DUI carries a maximum sentence of up to 6 months of jail, however this is seldom if ever imposed. Typically on a first time DUI, as long as there are no aggravating factors, you will not serve any additional jail time to what you have already served. Aggravating factors can be having children under 14 in the car during the offense, excessive speed enhancement, refusing chemical tests, injuring someone in an accident, etc. If your case is a typical, standard first time DUI, then you can probably expect no additional jail time with exceptions.

2. Will I lose my license? A first time DUI does carry a mandatory license suspension. There are two possible ways to this process. Your license can be suspended either after a DMV Hearing loss or a conviction of a DUI in court. This can range from a 30-day suspension, followed by a 5 months restricted license following a DMV Hearing loss to a 6 months restricted driver license following a DUI court conviction. The restricted license is only to, from and during the scope of your employment and to and from your mandatory alcohol classes.

3. How much are the fines? Typically, the total fines and fees that a person will pay on a first time DUI is $2,064.00. These fines may be paid in full, or paid off through a payment plan at the court collections office.

4. Will I have to Continue Reading ...