To make the summer of 2012 special, Armand de Brignac has released the 15l Nebuchadnezzar of Armand de Brignac Rosé, which happens to be the biggest in the world. The champagne housed in the brand’s signature metallic bottle and finished with a pewter ace of spades is equivalent to twenty regular 75cl bottles. Last year, the company had released the world’s largest Champagne bottle- the 30l Midas, a 45 kg bottle which was also celebrated by a trader in Liverpool early this year. The 15l Nebuchadnezzar of Armand de Brignac Rosé is all set to make its debut at private members club Nikki Beach in St Tropez on 1st June.
The company decided to pick Rosé for this year’s launch as the fresh and full-bodied Champagne with a rich bouquet of red fruits and aromas is the ideal bubbly to enjoy in the summertime. The pricing details aren’t out yet, but we’re waiting for the same and also to see who’s going to uncork that bottle first.
Do you worry that a lack of self-confidence is holding you back in life? Perhaps you run a small business and you know you could get new clients by going to networking events … but you feel too shy. Maybe you want to switch careers to something different … but you know that would mean taking on something really challenging, like speaking in front of big groups.
Some people are naturally self-confident, but most of us have at least some fears and doubts at times. (And a lot of people who come across as self-confident are quaking inside!) The good news is that your self-confidence level isn’t set in stone. You can deliberately become more confident and take on new adventures.
Here are four little steps to take. As you read them, decide on one or two that you could do this week.
Step #1: Consider Times When You ARE Confident
Most people lack self-confidence in some areas of their life (perhaps their career) but they’re confident in others. Think of something that you’re always confident about. You might have to spend a few minutes on this, because it may seem something that’s “no big deal” to you.
Here are a few examples:
- Cooking a nice meal for your family / friends
- Setting up a website
- Writing an essay or article
- Taking care of children
- Going to the gym and working out
All of these are things that some people find really easy and others are terrified of doing.
Write down a few things that you’re confident about (you can pick any that apply from the list above, or come up with your own). What do they have in common? There’s a good chance that you’ve been doing them for a while – perhaps you were scared of doing something wrong when you first had kids, for instance, but now parenting is second nature.
Step #2: Remember That the First Few Times are Just Practice
When you were a kid, did you ever play group games where the first round or two were “practice”? That gave you and the others a chance to get used to the rules and the way the game worked, without worrying about being “out”.
Life is just the same! It’s really very rare that you can screw something up so badly that you cause serious damage to your career or life prospects. So next time you have to do something scary, tell yourself it’s a practice round.
Let’s say you’ve started a new business and you want to get the word out in your local area. You decide to write a press release, and it’s the first time you’ve done that. You don’t have any media contacts. You may well not feel very confident at all … but if you tell yourself this is “just practice” for when you’ve got something even bigger to announce to the world, that helps take the pressure off.
Step #3: Build Up Your Successes
The best way to grow your self-confidence is with a string of victories. That means that it’s not a great idea to fling yourself headlong into the biggest challenge you can think of. Sure, it might go fantastically well … but even if it does, you might find the whole process horribly stressful. And if it goes badly, you may feel even less confident.
Public speaking always ranks highly in people’s fears, but it’s a great skill to have. If you want to get good at public speaking, you obviously don’t need to begin by aiming to present in front of an audience of hundreds (even if that’s your eventual goal).
Your first few steps could look like this:
- Attend a Toastmaster meeting and listen to some speeches (without participating)
- Take on a small speaking task at work (e.g. presenting to a small group of colleagues in a meeting)
- Speak in front of a larger group in a voluntary context (e.g. in a local community group)
…and so on.
Each step will feel a little scary… but each time you successfully take a new step, you’ll feel more confident. You’ll know that you can do it.
Step #4: Keep Track of What You Achieve
To keep your motivation up, and to continue to grow your confidence, keep track of your achievements. That might mean listing the different steps you took, and even recording how you felt (e.g. “really nervous beforehand but great once I’d done it”).
Over time, you can see your abilities growing and your comfort zone expanding. If you write down your achievements on a monthly basis, you might find that something which terrified you in January was OK by March and actually enjoyable by June.
When you see this pattern repeating in different areas of your life – little steps gradually leading you to greater self-confidence, and greater achievements – it helps you to face new situations. Over the years, I’ve learned that I always feel timid and anxious when faced with something new, but once I get going, it becomes much easier and I feel far more confident.
Writer: Ali Luke
The world’s been pining for gesture-controlled interfaces for a desktop ever since Minority Report brought it into public consciousness. In fairness to the gadget inventors of the world, we’ve received a variety of devices that allow for this type of control, most notably the Wii and Kinect, which kick-started a whole hacking scene and has seen the device used in everything from music videos to robotics. However, this is a big leap forward.
Following on the heels of the Kinect is a new gesture-controlled system called Leap Motion, but instead of being used for virtually waving around a light saber, the Leap system will be used to control your computer.
The device is a sleek rectangular box which sits in front of your computer and plugs into a USB port. You load up their software, calibrate, and you’re all set to wave your arm in a variety of movements. Mimic writing with your hand, flick upwards to scroll through a web page, use a reverse-pinch movement to zoom in, or shoot virtual forms by making a gun shape with your hand. Yeah, that last one’s the best.
The San Francisco startup responsible for the device say it’s, “more accurate than a mouse, as reliable as a keyboard and more sensitive than a touchscreen,” and can “distinguish your individual fingers and track your movements down to a 1/100th of a millimeter.” Those specs sound insane, and it’s all yours for $70.00, so you don’t have to sell your Kinect to get one.
With nearly three million views since the video was uploaded on Monday, the device looks like it might be quite popular. And, as Bruce Sterling notes, it’ll be interesting to see the hacks that come from it once the coders and technologists get their hands on it.
Price: $70 USDPurchase: Leap Motion
The 55-inch OLED TV that LG had introduced at CES, has finally been taken wraps off at a Monaco event. The model named 55EM9600 has got a carbon fiber redesign, shrinking it down by 1mm to 4mm (0.16 inches). The model has all the AV connectors neatly stacked at the back, while three USB ports are aligned on one side for media sharing. LG uses 4 Color Pixel technology that relies on a white sub-pixel to perfect the color output, as well as a Color Refiner to enhance the image, resulting in pictures that are vibrant, natural and comfortable for the human eye. For those who are unaware of OLED’s, they basically generate their own light, eliminating the need for backlighting.
LG was reluctant to give out details about the 55-inch OLED TV set just yet, however the rumours doing the rounds suggest that it is likely to be released in July with a pricetag of about €8,000 (10,000 USD).Source: LG
Nas drops his much anticipated video to his song 'Daughters'.
I have great news! Today could be your lucky day. It’s not a matter of chance, it’s a matter of choice. Lucky people are ordinary people who make their own good luck by thinking and behaving in ways that create good fortune in their lives. Here’s what they do differently:
1.) Lucky people maintain a relaxed attitude that is open and aware.
A study by psychologist Dr. Richard Wiseman surveyed a bunch of people to find out who considered themselves lucky or unlucky. Wiseman gave both the ‘lucky’ and the ‘unlucky’ people a newspaper and asked them to look through it and tell him how many photographs were inside. That’s it. Luck wasn’t on their minds, just some silly task.
He found that on average the unlucky people took two minutes to count all the photographs, whereas the lucky ones determined the number in a few seconds. How could the lucky people do this? Because they noticed a message on thesecond page that read, “Stop counting. There are 43 photographs in this newspaper.” So why didn’t the unlucky people see it? Because they were so intent on counting all the photographs that they missed the message.
When people are focused on a single task, blocking out every other possibility, they miss chance opportunities that could be important. Lucky people are more relaxed and open, and therefore they see what is there rather than seeing only what they are looking for. Unlucky people do the opposite. They go to parties with the sole intent of finding their perfect partner, and so they miss opportunities to make good friends or meet people who might be able to help them in their careers. They look through the newspaper determined to find specific jobs, and overlook great openings.
The same principle applies when lucky people meet and chat with other people. They are relaxed and attuned to the opportunities around them. Lucky people see what is there, rather than trying to find exactly what they want to see.
In the real world, you’ve got opportunities all around you. If your mind is closed, you’re not going to spot them. Being relaxed and open allows you to see what’s really around and maximize the potential of what’s right under their nose.
2.) Lucky people use intuition and gut instincts to make successful decisions.
Lucky people simply know when a decision is right. They trust themselves to decide. And if they get it wrong, they take it as a lesson learned and then adjust their approach. In contrast, unlucky people view many of their poor decisions as yet more evidence of how they are always destined to fail.
In his book, The Luck Factor, Dr. Wiseman discusses another study he conducted in which more than a hundred lucky and unlucky people answered a short questionnaire concerning the role of intuition – the rather curious sensation that something we have just done, or are about to do, is very right or very wrong – in their lives. When it came to luck, intuition mattered. Lucky people’s gut feelings and hunches tended to pay off time and time again. In contrast, unlucky people often ignored their intuition and regretted their decisions.
3.) Lucky people notice little things and solve small problems.
I chatted with an aspiring web application developer recently who was complaining that all the big ideas were being worked on already and that there was nothing groundbreaking left to do. As he talked, I realized he was referencing massive projects that others were working on that seemed mostly out of reach. And as I thought about all these ‘grand ideas’ I realized that in most cases they probably didn’t start with a massive plan or project, but rather started by trying to solve a simple problem. The biggest accomplishments often originate from humble roots, yet not many people realize this.
This is the impression I get when I read about the early stages of companies like Google. I’m pretty sure Google’s founders didn’t have the goal of organizing the all of the world’s information as their primary focus when they first started – instead they started with a series of smaller problems (problems are potential opportunities) and slowly expanded their end goal from there.
4.) Lucky people treat their failures as an opportunity to learn and grow.
Everything in life is a lesson. Everyone you meet, everything you encounter, etc. They’re all part of the learning experience we call ‘life.’
Never forget to acknowledge the lesson. If you don’t get a job you wanted or a relationship doesn’t work, it only means something better is out there waiting. And the lesson you just learned is the first step towards it. Lucky people learn from their mistakes. When ill fortune blocks the path to their goals, they explore other ways of solving the problem and squeeze some benefit from their misfortune.
Unlucky people often dwell on mistakes from the past, obsessing about the bad luck that put them in their present unlucky situation. But remember, good luck has a lot to do with choice. Use all of the lessons you have learned to make educated decisions and create good luck for yourself in the future.
5.) Lucky people appreciate what they have right now.
When you appreciate what you have, what you have appreciates in value. If you are in the constant habit of feeling and giving gratitude, the world wants to give you more and more. Pay close attention to the present, many people aren’t so lucky.
You already have some amazing things in your life, whether you realize it or not. Most of us have incredible family members, friends, other loved ones who love us back. Learn to appreciate what a miracle that is. Most of us have good health, which is another miracle. Most of us have eyes, with which to enjoy the amazing miracles of sunsets and nature and beauty all around us. Most of us have ears, with which to enjoy music, one of the greatest miracles ever. Be grateful for each of these things, and more!
Take time every day, throughout the day, to thank life for all that it has given you, to thank others for what they give you, to simply be grateful.
6.) Lucky people work toward their goals every day without fail.
The harder you work, the luckier you will become. Stop waiting around for things to work out on their own. They won’t. If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting.
While many of us decide at some point during the course of our lives that we want to answer our calling, only an astute few of us actually work on it. By ‘working on it,’ I mean truly devoting oneself to the end result. The rest of us never act on our decision. Or, at best, we pretend to act on it by putting forth an uninspired, half-assed effort.
If you want good luck in your life, you’ve got to be willing to give it 100% every day. No slacking off! Take some advice from one of America’s most influential founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin: “Diligence is the mother of good luck”. Achieving your goals and dreams can be a lot of work. Be ready for it.
7.) Lucky people help when they’re able.
It’s impossible to help someone else and not get a little help for yourself in the process.
The old saying “what goes around comes around” is definitely true in all walks of life, and it comes around when you least expect it. In life, you get what you put in. Remember, luck often comes in the form of help when you need it most, and the best way to ‘grease the rails’ for help when you’ll eventually need it is by helping others right now.
When you help others, don’t expect something in return. Just enjoy the experience of helping that person and building a stronger personal relationship. That stronger relationship will likely be there for you in your moments of darkness.
8.) Lucky people tend to see the positive side of their ill fortune.
They imagine how things could have been so much worse. For example, research shows that Olympic athletes who win bronze medals are typically happier than their silver medalist counterparts. This is because silver medalists think that if they had performed slightly better they might have won a gold medal. In contrast, bronze medalists focus on how if they’d performed slightly worse, they wouldn’t have won anything at all.
Having a positive outlook on life is a must if you are to become a luckier person. If your outlook on life is doom and gloom, then that’s all you’ll experience. Fortunately, the opposite is also true. When you dwell on the negative events in your life, you will experience only the negative. But when you concentrate on positive events, you will begin to feel much happier and luckier.
You control your luck and your life by controlling your thoughts. Keep a luck diary. At the end of each day, spend a couple of moments writing down the positive and lucky things that happened. Once you get in the habit of seeing the bright side, it will be difficult to see it any other way.
9.) Lucky people enjoy new experiences and take calculated risks.
If you want more luck, mix it up. Unlucky people tend to be creatures of habit. They take the same route to and from work every single day, talk to the same types of people at social functions, and live out the same routine day in and day out. In contrast, lucky people try to introduce variety into their lives. They are adventurous. They take calculated risks. They are consistently taking action in the face of uncertainty.
When you take small risks, either you succeed or you learn something. Win-Win. Take the leap even when you can’t see every last detail coming over the horizon. Remember, if you never act, you will never know for sure, and you will be left standing in the same unlucky spot forever.
If you need a little push, try playing the dice game. Make a list of six new experiences – things that you have never done before but wouldn’t mind trying. Some of the experiences might be fairly simple and others might be more adventurous. Write down a list of the experiences and number them 1 to 6. Then, roll a die and carry out whichever experience is selected. What a fun way to bring new experiences, risk and possibly luck into your life.
10.) Lucky people believe they CAN.
In all walks of life, positive beliefs have the power to become self-fulfilling prophecies.
Lucky people believe they CAN be successful. Studies have shown that a managers’ positive beliefs and expectations in their staff have a profound effect on the productivity and success rate of their staff. Likewise, managers who believe in themselves motivate the people around them to perform well and believe in themselves as well, while those with poor expectations cause those around them to become despondent and unproductive.
Positive beliefs and high expectations also motivate lucky people to persist even in the face of considerable adversity; which means they eventually reach the finish line as the other contenders walk back to the starting line.
Conclusion
Those who take responsibility for their own lives and actions know that luck can be created. Live each day believing in yourself and your ability to be lucky, and over time you will be. I challenge you to review each bullet point again and think of your own personal luck in recent times. Think about how lucky you are right now.
Self-doubt is a natural part of human experience. Everyone has moments in which they are not sure of themselves, and for some these moments permeate into their psyche until it becomes a lifestyle. Although it is detrimental to live with complete certitude in what you do, it is equally negative to lose all confidence in your capabilities.
The question is, how do you overcome the doubt and insecurity you have? Or at the very least, what can you do to develop your self-confidence?
The fact is, self-confidence is a state of mind that requires some dedication and practice to establish. Becoming a confident person is not an instant change but rather a gradual process, just like learning to write or play tennis. With practice and dedication, you will undoubtedly notice positive results.
Here are 8 helpful tips for getting rid of your skepticism
1: Pinpoint your insecurities, and try to notice the ones that are strongest
Before you are able to overcome your doubts, you need to know what they are! Furthermore, knowing your particular weaknesses will help you designate what you should be spending more of your mental energy conquering.
2: Find a hobby or a lot more time for a hobby you already have in place
Take a class or join a club. If you are doing something you love, your life is endowed with purpose and meaning, which inevitably leads to a love of oneself. Moreover, by exhibiting your talents in a public place with likeminded people you overcome your shyness and find individuals who could potentially become lifelong friends!
3: Identify your accomplishments
Now, you don’t have to have a Nobel Prize and an Oscar to consider yourself successful. Try to find the hidden, small successes in life. For example, if you read a thick book or cleaned the house instead of watching television, you can say that you are trying to improve yourself and your environment. Not to mention it illustrates that you have great discipline. Ultimately, confidence is all about your outlook on life!
4: Help other people
Being altruistic has been shown to be a cure for self-doubt by many scientific studies. Whether you are helping a friend move or donating some money to a homeless person you come across, you are making a difference in someone’s life. Thus, your action has made you matter to the other person, a feeling which brings with it a certain level of fulfillment.
5: Face your fears
Try doing what you are most afraid of. You’ll find out it wasn’t as bad as you thought. By doing something you never thought you would, you will make all of your other insecurities seem relatively insignificant.
6: Take a different view on failure
Don’t treat mistakes as a reflection of your incompetence, but as an opportunity to improve yourself. If you find this difficult use the internet as a source of inspiration- you can always Google a story about a college dropout becoming a billionaire. Clearly there are some ways to bounce back from failure.
7: Talk to someone
Unload your fears and insecurities and get an objective opinion. When you built something up in your head, you often perceive a scenario to be worse than it is.
8: Be thankful for what you have!
You are an accomplished person in one way or another and there are plenty of positive qualities in you. What’s more, by reading about ways to gain self-confidence you are a proactive person who is taking active steps to improve yourself!
Writer: Joel
While everyone can make a clutch that’s made out of python, no one makes them as desirable or as covetable as the guys from Proenza Schouler. This is one amazing clutch!Price: $2,250 USDPurchase: Proenza Schouler
From the Maison Martin Margiela Autumn/Winter 2012 Pre-Collection we present the latest versions of the brand’s military low top sneaker. As usual they have interesting new material ideas and present the sneaker in an ‘enamel effect’ option in two colors and in two complete gum versions, featuring gum all over the upper, which obviously results in an interesting look.Price: $458 USDPurchase: Oki-Ni
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