After several delays, the proper mixtape debut of current Internet phenomenon ASAP Rocky is here. LiveLoveASAP could not come at a more opportune time for the Harlem rapper, whose buzz is off the goddamn charts. Hell, even Mos Def and Dave Chappelle are apparently fans of the Southern-referencing spitter.
What's especially intriguing about the mixtape -- aside from the hazy raps and top-notch production -- is where this will take Rocky's rapidly rising career. How long will we have to wait to hear his first full-length album, for example, and can he maintain his popularity at such a fickle time for music? Time will tell, of course, and this appears to only be the beginning of something huge.
Drake Take Care Tracklist
1. Over My Dead Body
2. Shot For Me
3. Headlines (Prod. Boi-1da & "40")
4. Crew Love ft. The Weeknd
5. Take Care ft. Rihanna
6. Marvins Room (Buried Alive Interlude) (Prod. Noah "40" Shebib)
7. Under Ground Kings
8. We’ll Be Fine
9. Make Me Proud ft. Nicki Minaj (Prod. T-Minus, Kromatik, & "40")
10. Lord Knows ft. Rick Ross (Prod. Just Blaze)
11. Cameras (Good Ones Go Interlude)
12. Doing It Wrong
13. The Real Her ft. Andre 3000 & Lil Wayne
14. Look What You’ve Done (Prod. Kanye West)
15. HYFR (Hell Ya fu*kin Right) ft. Lil Wayne
16. Practice
17. The Ride
BONUS
18. Hate Sleeping Alone
19. Untitled ft. Lil WayneSource: ATF
If you've pre-ordered your white iPhone 4S and are twiddling your thumbs in anticipation, here's a curated list of some of the coolest luxury apps on the market right now. From yacht brokerage to stalking Frida Giannini on her road trip, to designing your dream supercar and checking out the latest Hublot novelties, these on-the-go mobile applications make luxury a digital lifestyle accessory you can carry around. After all, what's the point of toting an iPhone if you don't load it up with apps that show off your personality and interests while acting as guides and resources to those same interests. Here then are our 10 of our own favorite apps, in no particular order.
Purchase Apps: Click Pictures Above
Writer: Eugene Quek
Take charge of technology with the OXO Good Grips Multicharger. The sleek white box charges up to three devices at once by resting each phone, mp3 player, or gaming device on the top stainless steel bed with soft, raised non-slip ribs that secure and protect each device. Charger cords run from the internal power strip up to three devices, staying securely in place inside cord grip slots. No more twisted, tangled wires. After a full charge, simply remove the devices and they’re ready to go. The cords stay in the cord grip slots ready for the next recharge. The ribbed stainless top surface swings up and back for easy access to the power strip inside so devices never have to be moved or unplugged to get another cord out for travel. Three cord pockets inside make interior cord management a cinch too. Internal power strip has three patent pending bi-directional outlets so three adapters of any orientation can be plugged in side-by-side. Lit exterior power switch controls master power to the Multicharger, to prevent phantom power drain when not in use, and a 4 foot power cord means it can provide multiple device charging convenience just about anywhere.
Price: $39.99 USD
Purchase: OXO
Described to be "sweet, mellow and elegant with various layers of fragrance", Wenjun bai jiu had its origins in the West Han dynastry, when Zhuo Wenjun, daughter of a wealthy official from Qionglai in Sichuan Province, found a way to make spirits with pure and fresh spring water from a well in the backyard of her spirit shop. Thanks to authentic distilling techniques and the favorable climate, spirits of premium quality continued to pour forth from Qionglai during the last 2000 years. The Wenjun distillery was officially established in 1951.
With master blender Madame Wu at the helm, the distillery is fast amassing a pool of followers, especially among newly-affluent Chinese.
Now Moet Hennessy - Louis Vuitton (otherwise known as the LVMH Group), who acquired Wenjun 'Bai Jiu' in 2007, is bringing the luxurious spirit to Hong Kong.
The unique decanter design is inspired by an ancient Chinese stringed musical instrument, the Gu Qin
Tasting Notes:
Color: Bright, colorless and crystal clear
Nose: Delicate aroma of orchid and flower of chu-lan tree with subtle fruit flavour of cantaloup, followed with a balanced fresh mint palate
Taste: The first sip reveals watery sweetness of pear with sorghum's light fragrance, then the deep sweetness of osmanthus and glutinous rice, with an excellent acidity of apple expressed in an outstanding elegance and generosity
Finish: Clean and pure, with long and mangosteen sweet notes
Source: Wejun
The legacy of the famous Vacheron Constantin house can be traced back to the 1820’s, when one of the first pocket watches designed especially for women was available in Switzerland. This remarkable story of the baguette-shaped wrist watches can be seen in the Kalla Haute Couture à Pampilles watch set today. It is made up of approximately 28.70 carats of gems. The unique feature is its ‘secret’ and extraordinary way of viewing the face of the dial. It vividly reflects the 19th century tradition of discreetness and elegance. The precious stones conceal and cover the top in a fluid manner. When unfolded, they rhythmically reveal the white gold silhouette set with diamonds all along.
This hand-wound Calibre 1005 is an incredible timepiece so distinct, its dazzling flame and princess cuts is unmistakeable. The flame cuts shine with the radiance of 77 facets. This craftsmanship is highly practised and is a dedicated art that is followed by the highest quality gem setters. This of course has now become a signature design of the famous Vacheron Constantin creations.
Technical Data -Reference - 17626/S13G-9479 Kalla Haute Couture à pampilles
Movement - 1005
Energy - Mechanical, manual-winding
Movement thickness - 3.6 mm
Movement diameter - 6.2 x 17.9 mm (2’’’ ¾ x 7’’’ ¾)
Jewels - 17
Number of components - 89
Frequency - 2.75 Hz (19,800 vibrations/hour)
Indications - Hours and minutes
Power reserve - Approximately 35 hours
Case - 18K white gold
40 x 56 mm
Paved with 58 flame-cut diamonds, total weight of approx. 16.20 carats and 54 brilliant-cut diamonds, total weight of approx. 0.18 carat
Dial - 18K white gold set with 130 brilliant-cut diamonds, total weight of approx. 0.32 carat
Bracelet - 18K white gold set with 29 flame-cut diamonds, total weight of approx. 4.00 carats and 39 princess-cut diamonds, total weight of approx. 8.20 carats
Clasp - Jewellery clasp in 18K white gold
Colors can give a new lease of life to anything. Be it your sweet abode or your cellphone, everything around you can get a refreshed look with beautiful colors. Similarly, if you have a Sennheiser HD 800 headphone and you think it has become old and boring then a new look might just do wonders. ColorWare is a company that has done many successful paint jobs on various brands in the past. This time, it’s the turn of Sennheiser HD 800 headphones that has got a colorful makeover from the company.
Sennheiser HD 800 provides the top-notch engineering and superb sound quality. To enhance the look, ColorWare is offering various attractive and funky colors to be applied on the headphone with the utmost design clarity. The company also customizes the color theme and combination and paints the headphone according to the customers’ design needs. These headphones are colored in patterns and combination of different shades and can also be painted in motifs of your choice so that your earpiece never goes unnoticed.
If you have an old Sennheiser HD 800, you can get the paint job done by ColorWare in just $300, but there is an option of getting a brand new pair of headphones altogether. If you wish to splurge on new one, then it will cost you around $1800 with a brand new look. The market price of the headphone is $1400 without the paint job.Price: Brand new headphones with ColorWare($1,800 USD) or Get ColoWare to paint your old Sennheiser HD 800 Headphones for $300 USD extraPurchase: ColorWare & Sennheiser
“Regardless of age, regardless of position, regardless of the business we happen to be in, all of us need to understand the importance of branding. We are CEOs of our own companies: Me Inc. To be in business today, our most important job is to be head marketer for the brand called You.”
– Tom Peters in Fast Company
You’ve probably heard of the term “personal branding.”
It’s a trendy phrase popular with personal development types that means “how you present yourself to the world.”
The main idea is that whether you like it or not, the world is going to have an opinion about you. Most people don’t think too much about how they’re seen. They just live and let the world think of them however they’d like.
“Personal branding” is about intentionally influencing how the world sees you. It’s about purposefully packaging that “brand called You.”
The benefit is obvious.
The better prepared you are to show the world who you are, the more likely the world will see you the way you want.
• That means your coworkers
• That means job interviewers
• That means people searching for you online
• And that means your social circles
When you have a solid personal brand, you’ll be more memorable, you’ll be more impressive, and people will wind up having a more favorable opinion about you – that’s the same thing that good branding does for a productt.
How to Actually Do It
Like most things in the world of “personal development,” “personal branding” is a pretty vague concept.
It’s one of those things that sounds nice, but discussions about it tend to be impractical or not actionable enough to be useful.
If an idea isn’t practical is it worth much?
So let’s be practical. Follow these 6 easy steps and you’ll have worked out a personal brand you can start using today:
Step 1: Choose the pillars for your personal brand
Every brand is based on a few good qualities. It makes it easier to connect and remember the product it’s attached to.
A good example of branding is Apple. Apple sells computers, phones, and software. You could say a lot about them, but their brand is focused. Apple’s brand is fun, slick, stylish, cutting-edge, reliable, and virus-free. Their brand is focused and it’spositive.
You need to do the same. Choose a handful of qualities about yourself that you want to be known for.
Maybe you’re witty, a movie buff, a great organizer, and a green energy expert.
Or maybe you’re a confident, detail oriented, serious, leader who’s a crazy Chicago Bears fan.
What collection of attributes do you want to be known for by the world? Make sure you don’t try to focus on too many things – it’ll be harder for someone to remember any of it.
Oh, and make sure you’re honest with yourself – pretending to be something you’re not never works well.
Do this: Write down the 4 or 5 things you want the world to know about you.
Step 2: Prioritize your brand elements
It’s easier for people remember one thing than several things. It’s easier for people to focus on doing one thing than doing a lot of things.
For example, most websites want their visitors to do a variety of things – get on an email list, bookmark the site, click on an ad, buy a product, comment, share on social media, etc. The more of those things a website focuses on, the less likely visitors are to do anything but go to a different website.
Too many options leads to inaction.
The same concept is true for your personal branding. The more you throw at someone, the less likely they are to remember any of it.
So what you have to do is look at your list of 4 or 5 qualities about yourself and decide which of them is the most important. If someone could define you by one qualtity, which would it be?
The other things, though important, can be secondary elements in your personal brand.
Do this: Rank your 4 or 5 elements by importance to you.
Step 3: Make your elements into a sort of “elevator statement”As a general rule, I think folks talk up the importance of things like personal elevator statements and personal mission statements too much.
Even so, the process of developing one helps take something general (like a list of 5 qualities about you) and makes it easier to talk about convincingly. That’s important, because it can be damn hard to talk about something you haven’t already thought through.
Have you ever talked about something in public without first having time to think about what you had to say? For example, has someone ever asked you to tell a story about something funny that happened to you? You remembered exactly what happened, but just never thought through how to tell it. So you try to tell your story, but your audience’s eyes glaze over because you’re not telling it well, and you eventually end awkwardly with, “uh, well, I guess you had to have been there.”
It’s a similar situation with your personal brand. You need to think through how to communicate it or it won’t be useful.
Here’s the best way to work through that quickly:
1) Pull up something that can record audio on your computer or phone.
2) Literally record yourself talking about each of your 4 to 5 qualities, why they are important, why other people should think they’re important, and examples that would show the world you have them.
3) Ramble on and on until your ideas start solidifying. Talk until it starts feeling more comfortable and natural to talk about them.
4) Once you start feeling comfortable with what you’re saying, stop recording, and listen to it.
5) Write down the most compelling things you said – the things you think are the smartest, most eloquent things you said about yourself.
6) Condense the best stuff into three sentences that emphasize your primary quality while including the others. (This is your “elevator statement” for the purpose of this exercise).
Do this: Actually work through this stuff by recording yourself, taking notes, and distilling it into an elevator statement of sorts. (Don’t stress about getting this perfect, I’m not going to ask you to put this in public anywhere).
Step 4: Align your online identity with your new elevator statement
Like it or not, what is online about you influences how others perceive you. If you want your personal brand to be effective, your online accounts at Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and your other online profiles need to reflect the ideas in your elevator statement from Step 3.
If you were a stranger looking at your online accounts, would your main takeaway reflect your personal brand?
If not, you need to start adjusting things. Don’t copy and paste your new elevator statement to your Facebook profile, that would look kinda weird. Instead, emphasize the things that make your personal brand stronger online and de-emphasize the things that conflict with it. (For example, if you said you’re nice, delete that quote about hating something).
Do this: Take a quick audit of your online profiles and start adjusting things so they reflect the elements of your personal brand.
Step 5: Take more control of your online identity
Most companies have a presence on social media nowadays that reflect their brand. But their online “home base” is a website they own.
The reason’s simple. You can manage your online profiles, but you have complete control over a website you own.
The same is true for you. You can clean up your Facebook account all you want, but if you really want to solidify your brand online, creating a personal website is the best way to make that happen.
This step might take you off-guard. Many folks think creating their own website is super hard, or they need to learn programming, or they’d need to pay thousands of dollars to get someone else to design a website for them.
The truth is that it’s never been easier or cheaper to create your own website (if you’re smart enough to get to this website you’re probably smart enough to create your own).
I recommend you build your website on a domain based on your name for the biggest personal branding for the buck. If your name was John Donald, buy www.johndonald.com, .net, or .org.
Then make sure your site is simple and clearly highlights your personal brand. It should clearly show your strengths. It should communicate, “this is who I am, this is what I can do, and this is why you should believe it.”
Be creative. It’s your online real estate.
Do this: Create your own personal website to establish your personal branding.
Step 6: Live your personal brandThe last and most important step is to live your personal brand.
A personal brand should be more than how you present yourself to the world. It should also be a real life description of why you’re awesome. So that’s what you should be.
Spend your time emphasizing the elements of your personal brand in your life. Sometimes we don’t act like the person we want the world to see.
We think we’re motivated, but we spend a ton of time watching television and surfing the internet.
We think we’re nice, but we gossip about others.
A well thought out personal brand will help you present yourself to the world. It can also be a clear cut description for who you should aspire to be in your day-to-day life.
So here’s my recommendation. No matter who you are or what your goals are, go through these steps and develop your personal brand. Decide how it’s going to be a part of your life. How are you going to use it to your advantage?
Tom Peters is right in the quote at the beginning of this article. You are the CEO of You Inc. whether you recognize it or not.
Writer: Joey Weber
Mention meditation and many people would associate it with monks chanting in temples or ascetics who have given up all luxuries for a lifetime of deep contemplation in the mountains.
That may be true in the past, but today, meditation is practiced by people from all walks of life. Men and women, spiritual or otherwise, are learning meditation to improve their responses to life’s challenges. And believe it or not, meditation can even help you to improve your business!
Meditation as a business tool? Let me explain.
The ever changing landscape of business often leaves many of us shocked, confused or disillusioned. Responding out of these non-productive states of mind usually result in mindless reactions that not only fail to meet long-term business goals, but may even jeopardize the life span of a company.
Meditation – by helping you to stay more focus and present — can help you to see through the clutters in the market and enable you to make better business decisions. Working by improving your inner landscape, meditation helps you to respond to external events with more awareness and clarity, and hence, change the business results that you deliver over time. As Albert Einstein had once said:
“You cannot solve a problem with the same mind that created it.”
When we slide into panic mode trying to stop falling sales or to regain market share, what we can only see is the problems that we’re confronting, and not the potentials that have been lying outside the boundaries of our mind all along. It’s no wonder then that the results that we produced out of such self-limiting states are uncreative, mediocre and unsatisfactory. And the saddest part is, many people are not aware of their limiting mental states and go on to reproduce the same mediocre results again and again. Needless to say, a lot of unnecessary frustrations and unhappiness are generated.
But, you do not have to stay in a closed and victimized state. Here is one meditation technique you can practice to shift yourself to a more open and empowering state. This meditation will take about twenty minutes.
1. Choose a quiet place. Settle down comfortably in a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed for the duration of this meditation. You may choose to sit down on a chair or lie down on a flat surface.
2. Breathe naturally. Close your eyes and breathe naturally and slowly. Inhale with your nose and breathe out through your mouth. Don’t worry if the initial couple of breaths are short and quick. Your breaths will naturally deepen and slow down as you become more relaxed.
3. Relax completely with self-talk. As you breathe in, say silently to yourself “I am…”, and as you breathe out, followed by “relaxed”. Draw out the word “relaxed” during your entire exhaled breath so that it becomes “relaxxxxxxxxed”. Repeat the phrase “I am… relaxed” for every breathe that you take in and expel.
4. Managing distraction. You’ll inevitably find your mind drifting to other thoughts as you meditate, instead of focusing on your breathing and repeating the given phrase. Don’t worry, it’s common, especially for those who are new to meditation. Just bring your attention back to where it should be every time you catch yourself losing focus.
5. Practice for ten minutes. Continue focusing on your breathing and silently repeating the phrase for the next ten minutes. A timer with a non-jarring alarm can be used to help you keep track of time.
6. Now bring a business issue to mind. At the end of ten minutes, bring your attention to one business issue you’re trying to gain deeper insights on. Formulate it as a question, for instance, “How can I improve the sales of XYZ product?” Gentle rest your attention on the selected question. Don’t grasp it too tightly in your mind. You know you are trying too hard when your muscles tense up and your breathing quickens.
7. Explore deeply and clearly. Examine the question from a beginner’s mind, as if this is the first time someone has asked you about it. How do you feel? How would you react? How would your responses change if you’re seeing the problem not as who you are, but from the perspectives of your stakeholders? Think clearly and deeply for another ten minutes, or more if you want.
8. Ending the session. Slowly open your eyes and rest in the present state for a minute of two before getting up. Write down any insights and thoughts you may have on a notebook.
I hope you find this meditation useful in helping you to tackle your business challenges with a clearer and sharper mind. Give it a try and let me know your experience in the comments. I’ll be glad to answer any questions you may have. Thanks!
Writer: Wee Peng Ho
Construction has begun on the Yongsan Landmark Tower in Yongshan, South Korea, which when completed is expected to be the most expensive building in the world, standing 100 stories tall and rising half a kilometer into the sky.
Located in the CBD of Yongsan, the commercial tower will not quite measure up to the Burj Khalifa in Dubai (162 stories, 828 m) or the Lotte Super Tower being built in Jamsil (123 stories, 555 m), but it will be the most expensive building per square unit.
At present, each 3.3 sq.m costs around W12.1 million. The total construction cost is W1.4 trillion and the entire price tag for the building, including the land it occupies, stands at more than W4 trillion. Future design alterations could bump the price tag up further.
Designed by star architect Renzo Piano, who created the Pompidou Center in Paris and London Bridge Tower, the Yongshan Landmark Tower has been contracted to Samsung Corporation, who also served as the main contractor on the Burj Khalifa and Taipei 101.
The futuristic monolith will boast cutting-edge tech and materials, such as the fastest elevators in the world that will zip up and down at 800 meters per second. In order to withstand the weight of the tower's 100 stories, ultra-high intensity concrete will be used to build the skyscraper.
The tower is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2016.
|
RSS Feed
