Protecting Your Computer Files...Before A Crash

If you're like most people, you probably have years' worth of office work, research, addresses and phone numbers, school work, and thousands of irreplaceable family photos on your computer. Not to mention important financial information and the expensive software that runs the entire system!

But what happens when your computer stops working? Do you have a plan to recover the data you need to run your life? Better yet, do you have an up-to-date backup waiting in the wings for just such an emergency? Here are some steps that can help you quickly and conveniently protect your information before it's too late.

Cure These Four Unhealthy Office Habits

Forty hours on your feet or at a desk can take a toll on your body. Extra calories, dehydration, eyestrain and bacteria can attack both your health and your productivity.

Fight back with these four tips to stay healthy at work:

Sneaky Snacking. Candy and leftover holiday goodies will add extra fat and processed sugars to your diet and waistline. Partner up with another health conscious colleague and bring your own healthy snacks, to make sure you're eating healthier calories so you don't feel hungry between meals.

Annual Percentage Rate: What is the Real Cost of Financing?

Annual Percentage Rate (APR) is a tool that consumers can use as a starting point to compare loan programs. However, it's important to keep in mind that APR is not a perfect system, and not all lenders calculate APR in the same way. While the Federal Truth-in-Lending Act does require any mortgage broker or lender to disclose APR to the consumer, there is no rule written in stone for calculating this number that each and every lender agrees upon.

Finding Your Niche: What it Takes to Get Ahead of the Competition

Very few individuals have the luxury of being the only professional in their marketplace offering their particular service. Competition is constantly at our heels, hoping to catapult one step ahead of us. For this reason, we must continually strive to differentiate ourselves from any competition we may have.

Dan Sullivan, President of The Strategic Coach Inc. and co-author of The Great Crossover, provides a solution. According to Sullivan, if you wish to remain in the upper echelon of your profession you must "...disregard your own commodity and focus on deepening the power and possibility of all your relationships."*

Dealing With Change

Change isn't always an easy thing to deal with. But as Spencer Johnson reminds us in his bestselling book, Who Moved My Cheese?:

If you do not change, you can become extinct.
What would you do if you weren't afraid?
Movement in a new direction helps you find new "cheese" (i.e. new opportunities)
When you move beyond your fear, you feel free.
Old beliefs do not lead to anything new.

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