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NICKERIE CAN GROW INTO A BLUE ZONE REGION IN SURINAME

I recently read that the police have indicated that the Nickerie district in Suriname (South America) has been the safest place to live and work in recent years. It is not unknown that this part of Suriname can also be considered as a direct gate to CARICOM potential. Nickerie is driven by agriculture. From my perspectives and also as a true Nickerian, I would also like to state that Nickerie has the power to transform into the first BLUE ZONE Region of Suriname through good policy. You don't have to agree with me. And of course pessimists will raise all kinds of talks and questions, but unfortunately that won't stop me from continuing with this blog.
A typical Surinamese is raised with negative thinking and to change that is a chore. I will not embroider on this, because I think differently from pessimists.

As an active blogger, I silently follow various trends in the world. This is how the BLUE ZONE caught my attention. After a lot of research and reading, I conclude that the safest district of Suriname has the ingredients to become a blue zone district of Suriname.

Blue Zones are areas in the world where relatively many people in good health live to be one hundred years and older. Sardinia is one of those places. Old age is respected: the elderly are considered full; their wisdom of life is appreciated and they are a full part of family life.

With the safety factor in the bosom, work can continue to ensure that life in Nickerie becomes more pleasant. Health and happiness almost go hand in hand. Growing old healthily has everything to do with daily habits: eating lots of vegetables, walking in nature, gardening, having a chat, taking a nap and drinking a glass of wine. I can already see that this food is for the pessimist, but I am continuing.

Naturally moving as one people

'Blue Zoners' do not go to the gym, but physical exercise is a natural and logical result of the way their life is organized. One hundred year olds in Okinawa sit not on a chair, but on the floor, and dozens of knees a day. The old Sardinians live in houses with stairs. Every visit to the shop, church or friends is the reason for a walk. Little or no use is made of modern conveniences and mechanical aids. When they bake a cake, they mix the batter by hand and not with a mixer. If they do exercise consciously, they do activities that they enjoy; there is much walking and gardening. Do you recognize some simple ingredients in this? I do not reject the use of technology.

The right perspective

The Japanese concept of 'ikigai' is becoming increasingly popular in various countries. Ikigai indicates that you have a purpose in your life, a reason to get out of bed every morning. Living according to the ikigai principle provides such a goal seven extra years of life. This sense of purpose is clearly present at the Blue Zoners.

On the other hand, they also know when to switch back. Their daily life provides moments of peace and relaxation, for example a siesta, a party or a moment to pray. See again some simple ingredients to build on. And even more they cost nothing. Healthy food What the elderly people in the Blue Zones have in common is that they eat mainly vegetable. Beans are regularly on the menu; meat only a few times a month.

In Okinawa, for example, the hara hachi bu rule is used: do not eat until you are saturated, but stop when you are eighty percent full. The Blue Zoners drink an average of one or two glasses of wine a day. For me, water is already a perfect product.

The social life in the Blue Zones is important. Family comes first. The elderly are part of the family and often live with their children at home or in the neighborhood. Residents of the Blue Zones have a strong social network. For example, the people of Okinawa unite in 'moais'. These are groups of five people who commit themselves to life and support each other or confront each other about unhealthy or undesirable behavior. Faith also plays a role in the Blue Zones. Blue Zones of happiness Following on from the Blue Zones with the longest life expectancy, it is important to delve into what I call the Blue Zones of happiness: where in the world are people happiest and why?

Research that has been done, for example, stopped at Singapore, Costa Rica and Denmark. Singapore, the happiest country in Asia, embodies the kind of happiness that comes from satisfaction and satisfaction. In general, people like a clear and easy way to success and don't mind working hard. They prefer security over freedom.

In Costa Rica, people give priority to social interaction; they will not work overtime quickly if they miss a party. They also give family priority - the whole family has lunch on Sunday afternoons. They are religious and research shows that religious or spiritual people are happier.

In Denmark people live with more purpose in their lives than anywhere else. Their health care, social security and education are covered. Almost all of their daily needs are met, allowing people to choose work they love. It is noted that where gender equality exists, both men and women are happier across the board.

Other lessons that we can further learn from the happiest cities and places in the world: residents of cities where you can walk and cycle, with parks and greenery are generally happier than residents of cities without those amenities.

The dietary pattern also plays a role: reducing the consumption of fast and junk foods and making fruit and vegetables cheaper and more available makes for happier and healthier residents.

I hope that with this approach I have given policymakers and in particular the people of Nickerie an eye-opener to become healthier and more prosperous and that this may even spread to the rest of the Caribbean.

We focus an estimated 30 times a day on the negative. Yet it pays to work consciously on a positive attitude to life. This not only ensures a happier feeling, it also contributes to a good brain function.

As a life traveler you must always be optimistic.
Off to the blue zone ...

THE CARIBBEAN BLOG AUTHORITY

This is how you deal with situations in which you seem to have no influence

Colleagues who are always late, decisions taken from above: we all have to deal with circumstances at work that we seem to have no influence on. Please as a blogger allow me to explain how to handle this properly. You can do it your way as well.

There is a saying: Change what you cannot accept and accept what you cannot change . That all sounds great, but how do you do that now, accept something that you cannot change? If we could do this easily, we would have done it for a long time.

Management assistants in particular often feel very involved in their work. As a result, they have difficulty accepting circumstances beyond their control. Involvement is a personal value, but it can also be a core value, and therefore comes from within.

We also have a heart for the business. If, for example, we see that certain things are happening that are detrimental to the clients or the quality of our work and we have no influence on this, then it is difficult to accept this.

Involvement is therefore a beautiful characteristic, but it is precisely because of this characteristic that we have extra difficulty dealing with circumstances at work that we have no influence on.

Yet there is a way in which we can deal with such circumstances at work.

Focus on what is possible

Take a look at what is possible and therefore on which part of the circumstance we do have influence. On which part or parts of the problem, the situation or the circumstance do we have any influence? Whatever the circumstances are, there is almost always something that we do have influence on.

Let me give an example. Suppose there is a threat of dismissal for you. Whether or not we ultimately get fired, we have no influence on that. But what we do influence is the execution of our work. If we do that well, the chance is always slightly greater that we can stay than if we throw the cap at it. But also by requesting a meeting with our supervisor and indicating that we are prepared to follow courses or training, or that we are open to any other position. At the same time, we can look around for another job in the meantime.

By focusing on what we do influence, we opt for proactive action instead of reactive action. As a result, we no longer feel like a victim, because we take control and responsibility for what we do have influence on.

Start the conversation

But what about the behavior of, for example, a colleague? Suppose a colleague arrives late for work every morning. Whether this colleague arrives at work on time or not, we have no influence on that. However, what we can do is start a conversation about this. Then we can first state what the facts are, namely that we have noticed that he / she regularly comes late in the morning. We can then indicate that we are affected by this and ask how we can deal with this in the future.

By starting a conversation, we regain control and act proactively. If we really listen to this colleague, it may just be that we are told what the reason is for being late. Then we can talk about possible solutions, such as other working hours. If we then work this out together, this can be presented to our supervisor. By speaking out and entering into a conversation, we do have an influence on the behavior of others.

Decisions from above

But what if it concerns something definitive, such as a decision that has already been taken by higher authorities? Even then we can always enter into a conversation with the relevant people. In this case, therefore, with the management or the board. Then we can indicate that we think it is a shame that these decisions were taken from above, without being involved in this. That we also have ideas about this and that we think it is a shame that this has not been requested, and that these ideas could therefore not be included in the decision-making process.

That does not mean that something will actually be done with it, but we have at least given our opinion on this. We always have an influence on what we say and against whom. So also in this case we take control and act proactively by speaking.

Just think of the consequences if we don’t do this. Suppose we act and think reactively: the decision has already been made. What if we do not speak out against the right people? There is a good chance that we will then express our dissatisfaction with the wrong people. Because if we have something high, we still want to get rid of it. Then we can speak better to the right people, even though this is the top of the organization, for example.

Let go in mini steps

If we have done everything about the things that we can influence, how do we let go of the things that we really have no influence on?

By constantly looking at how we can let go of something 1 percent. By looking at what we need to be able to let go of this a little bit. A mini step. What we focus our attention on is growing. If we focus on how we can let go of something a little, it will become easier and easier for us.

Finally the following. It is not what we want to hear, but often we can learn from circumstances that are not going well. Just think of previous experiences in your life that you have not experienced as pleasant. You have probably learned a lot from this. As a result, we often know what we no longer want.

If every day or moment you are able to reflect in your very own surroundings you can learn a lot more.Not difficult right.

5 proven reasons why investing in external presentation pays off

Image result for style dressing for men and women

Common sense dictates it already, but research also shows: being well dressed influences your professional success in all sorts of ways. Let me please give examples .

Are you aware of clothing? Or do you put on an outfit for work that is especially practical and comfortable? Because yes, I hear you say: “Isn’t it about my qualities and what I can do? Isn’t success in clothing? Isn’t clothing a matter of taste? “

Your qualities are of course important. Being good in your profession is a precondition for being successful. And of course taste and personal preferences play a role in your clothing choice. But also know that with clothing and color you express how you want to look and what you want to radiate.

Clothing tells a story and is therefore an important and powerful means of communication in the business context. In this article I will discuss five reasons why it is important to pay attention to your appearance.

1. The visual image helps to make a good first impression

In many situations, but certainly in the business working environment, making a good first impression is important. Much has been written about the first impression and how it comes about. An often cited study is that of the American scientist Albert Mehrabian. According to the professor of psychology, communication takes place for the most part through body language (visual, 55 percent) and voice (vocal, 38 percent), and only 7 percent through what someone says (verbally).

In other words: the visual image and the tone of your voice have more impact on how you are perceived than what you say. Your external presentation, your packaging, is therefore an important part for the first impression. Make use of this, because clothing and accessories are things that you can influence yourself.

The first impression is also very important for the impressions that follow. If the first impression is positive, other positive traits are automatically attributed to a person. For that reason it is important to reflect on how you come across to others and how to deal with this consciously. Clothing is one of the tools that you can use for this.

2. Well dressed enhances your credibility

You may have already experienced that you are approached differently if you are dressed in a nice business dress than if you are wearing jeans with worn-out sneakers. There is connection , various research results on this connection between well-dressed and being taken seriously are included. For example, it has become apparent that managers are more likely to take advice from consultants who are dressed in expensive suits. An expensive suit is a symbol of higher social status and seniority.

Of course, this does not mean that you will only be seen or heard in luxury, exclusive clothing, but that it is important to dress well and representative (for your position). Paying attention to your outward presentation is always appreciated. If you want to convince someone or believe in you, it helps if you dress appropriately and appropriately. A stylish package sells your content.

3. Well dressed increases your expert status

With clothing you provide information about your status. People perceive you based on what they see, hear and experience. Who are you, what do you want to radiate and what do you show this in your outer presentation? Are you the expert in your field? Are you the management assistant for whom quality and accuracy are of paramount importance? Show this in your appearance and choose clothing that matches this image and your ambition.

4. Attractiveness influences the amount of your salary

That there is a connection between the level of salary and attractiveness, is known to many people. ‘Attractive’ people have higher salaries than ‘less attractive’ people who do the same work (source: Roos Vonk, De first impression ). What is found ‘attractive’ is related to the external characteristics of a person, such as facial characteristics, height, weight and shape of the posture. You have little or no influence on this.

On clothing and external care, however. That this may be relevant, according to an American study conducted by sociologists Jaclyn Wong and Andrew Penner. These researchers emphasize the importance of good external presentation and care, especially for women. Their research showed that it is especially worthwhile for women to invest in appearance. For example, women who pay more attention to their external presentation earn more money, regardless of how attractive they are. This is called the ‘attractiveness bonus’. So take advantage of this. Clothes make the woman, but also her salary.

5. Well dressed increases your confidence

The importance of clothing is of course not only in how you are perceived and how you can influence others with this. Clothing also has an effect on how you feel. Think, for example, of your wedding day when you were dressed in that beautiful dress or the moments when you dress specifically for an important conversation or presentation at work.

When you know that you are well dressed, you feel more confident. This influences your behavior, your performance and thus your (business) success. For example, research has shown that people work more carefully and with more attention when wearing a doctor’s coat. How you look at clothing, the associations you have with it, influence your behavior.

For the new year I want to inspire you to work on your outer presentation. Dressing yourself stylishly and appropriately helps you in your career and in your chances of success. So show your expert status in your professional appearance. This way you get a better view and you are optimally visible.

The Caribbean Blog Authority is wishing you a bling bling 2020.

As We Left 2020

CONTINUE LEARNING EVERYDAY

Hi there,

As you get older, do you find it harder to learn new things?

And sometimes, do you just give up altogether?
If you do, don’t worry, do some research and find out that what will
reignite your love for learning.
Before you do so, however, let’s look at some common reasons why
people
run into learning difficulties as they get older.
First up, is the somewhat universal theme of… “I’ve passed a certain age
and it’s not worth me learning anything new.”

If you want to enjoy a happy and successful life right through to your
golden years, then you MUST break free from this trap.

Learning is for everyone, no matter what their age.

And the more you learn, the more you’ll increase your skills and knowledge — and the more you’ll keep your mind sharp and fresh.
The other common excuse I hear from people for giving up on learning
is… “The latest stuff, like gadgets and apps, are strictly for young
people.”
If you think like this, then you’ll be holding back some
great opportunities that the latest tech can offer, such as:
Digital assistants that can help plan and organize your day
Voice-powered speakers that can read you the news and play you
your favorite songs Smartwatches that can track your heart rate and the amount of steps you take in a day
The bottom line is this: If you’ve given up on learning; you’ve given up on life.
So whatever your age, I’d urge you to join the many lifelong learners —
people who are continually growing and progressing in their lives.
Just think, there are probably countless skills and knowledge that you can use to further your goals, whatever phase of life you’re currently in.
Ready to learn more about learning?

Don’t procrastinate, but shoot yourself out of the box. There is to much to learn. Everyday I am learning something new.
Yes you can do this too.
Keep learning !!

In blocks we will trust, technology we will serve, peer to peer we will trade.

LEARN..EXCEL..SUCCEED

Does/will artificial intelligence displace human contact?

The way in which we have human contact with each other is changing. The qualitative growth spurt of artificially intelligent systems has an impact on multiple domains, including the way in which we will communicate in the future. This communication is not only from person to person, but also from person to machine and vice versa. I see 5 important trends in this landscape. I have listed them for you in this article.

1. More digitization

The first trend is that we will increasingly digitize contact. You already saw that with the rise of social media and smartphones. That line continues. Communicating quickly and asynchronously is convenient, easy and delivers enormous efficiency . We will communicate even more via digital channels.

In addition, we will also outsource tasks to artificially intelligent software systems. These are, for example, e-mail systems that respond to standard e-mail messages on your behalf. And for example Google Duplex-like systems , which can call you on a restaurant to make a reservation.

2. Man-Machine communication

This is how you optimally use social media monitoring [training]

Learn in this training how to get action-oriented insights and gauge the impact of campaigns.We as people are also going to communicate more with artificially intelligent software around us. In many different ways. For example, more and more of the predictable part of our human interaction is being taken over by artificially intelligent systems.

In short: where conversations are still taking place via a decision tree (a standard structure), artificially intelligent assistants can increasingly take over. Think of an intake interview that almost always follows the same pattern or a standardized registration for an event. Conversation is increasingly becoming the domain of artificially intelligent software.

Not unimportant: human voices are also easier to imitate (see the video below). In the future, artificial voices can no longer be distinguished from real ones. Then an AI system takes over part of a conversation. You already notice that when you call a call center. The first three questions generally reach you via a computer voice. This will be expanded more and more in the future.

And I also say nothing new when I claim that in the future we will increasingly communicate with digital assistants such as Alexa, Siri and Google Home. These systems become smarter and can evoke empathy and interest better in their responses. Some people will experience feelings of friendship with their digital assistant in the future, because they are always interested, always available and never seek conflict or give nasty feedback. For some people this contact will be sufficient because they sometimes find human contact unpleasant. Many experience stress and are easily hurt or worry about it for a long time afterwards. An AI system can be more pleasant for them.

3. Human contact as a luxury product

Because we are increasingly digitizing interaction and communication, human contact is becoming scarce. That will be a luxury product, certainly in contact with companies. After all, what you can digitize becomes cheaper. And everything that cannot be digitized therefore has value. Human contact, intimacy, attention, concentration, face-to-face conversations. Again: everything that cannot be digitized and scaled has value. And because it will be a luxury product, it will no longer be available to everyone.

I do sometimes wonder: if human contact is increasingly being digitized and in many cases is being cut away, do we not deprive ourselves and the younger generation in particular of the training material for developing and maintaining social skills? On the contrary, do we learn to expand and value our social skills in the physical world, in the conversation at the checkout, in the store and at the station?

4. Insights with voice analytics

If we look at human contact and communication through the lens of artificial intelligence, we see under the radar that companies (through our ancient drive to communicate continuously) can collect huge amounts of data about our human needs and behavior. As a result, they understand better who we are, what we do, why we do it, what we find important and how we feel.

Certainly if you consider that we are giving more and more voice commands to the devices around us, that our voice is being recorded at call centers to train machines and that companies are using our recorded voice to unleash artificially intelligent analyzes. Then a new dimension is added to what companies know about us: speech analysis.

They record our voice and analyze the speed of speech, volume, pauses, stress, possibly dialect and vocabulary. Then they know how to distil hidden information about our behavior, identity, emotions, appearance and in the future our mental health.

That may seem like the future, but it certainly isn’t. Basic emotions such as joy, anger, sadness or fear can easily be detected by the larger software vendors in this area. That which human ears cannot hear is audible for artificially intelligent software. And these systems can carry out the analyzes with great precision.

Risks

One of the risks is that this type of voice analysis software is used for telephone applications, and that it can then find out whether you are overweight or depressed, for example. Or imagine that you call the roadside assistance when your car breaks down and that the software then registers that you have drunk alcohol. Do we get a box on the table during a job interview, police interview or performance interview that measures our emotions and nervousness?

That is not my only concern. Sometimes I also worry that we will replace really important human contact with interaction with artificially intelligent software. In this context, by the way, this is the last, fifth development that I want to emphasize.

5. Artificial contact

For example, if Alexa gets more and more opportunities and responds more and more extensively and sometimes with more empathy, how is that going to affect our human interaction? Are we going to give the lonely seniors a digital emergency phone that fulfills their need for contact? Not unthinkable, by the way: Alexa can already read the news, tell sports results, come up with riddles, puzzle together, tell a story and make jokes. Are we, just as we sometimes give children a smartphone or iPad to have our hands free, do the same with the senior citizen part of our society? Such an experiment is already underway in South Korea .

And what about the friendship apps, in which artificially intelligent software is built in at the back? Chat apps such as Replika with which you can talk and promise your digital friendship. 24 hours a day, never rejecting, always listening. No matter how often you want to talk about your broken relationship, deceased partner or dismissal, you never get the feeling that you are a nag …Again, for part of our society, artificial intelligence might be a good solution to all the stress and discomfort that occurs during the uncomfortable process of human contact. Or should people not be given the opportunity to isolate themselves in a surrogate form of communication? Is it precisely in the inconvenience the opportunity to learn and thus discover the real key of happiness? (In my opinion: being able to embrace discomfort as an essential part of our human life.)

Consequences for love

Another thing: the Tinder algorithms look for the most suitable partner for us. We only have to open our phone and a new friend is in principle available. Does that lead to us accepting less discomfort in a relationship because a new friend is literally within reach? That Tinder offers an escape route when things are not going well in a relationship? Do dating apps give us so much choice that we automatically set the bar unreal for a partner and therefore almost always remain unhappy ? We continue to doubt our current relationships for longer, because there is always a chance that a nicer partner with a swipecan be found and accessed via an artificially intelligent dating app? Is the accessible availability of hundreds of potential new partners a blessing or a curse?

The real future of human contact

-It remains an interesting domain: the future of human contact and communication viewed through the lens of artificial intelligence. What I think we should not forget in this discussion is how unique we are as humans. We can make real contact with each other because we have a soul, a form of consciousness. Machines do not have that and I think they will never get it. We connect with our humanity, our consciousness, our heart and our soul. And as far as I am concerned, there lies the real future of human contact, in the midst of a world that is increasingly dominated by artificially intelligent systems.

Marketing is like popcorn

Whether you do online or offline marketing, marketing is marketing. That is for online marketers who think online everything is important to know. Digital marketing is important but it remains marketing in essence. This morning I was thinking how I could easily explain the different stages that a customer went through from unknown to customer. And I came to the conclusion that marketing is like popcorn! Please read why this is a good comparison.

In marketing you can speak roughly about 3 different groups.

People who have never heard of your product or service
People who have already heard of you but are not yet a customer
Customers

You can divide those groups into a cold, warm and hot audience.

Cold – People who have never heard of your product or service
Warm – People who have already heard of you but are not yet a customer
Hot – Customers

And that is perfect to see when making Popcorn 🙂

Cold – The corn that is not yet in the pan – People who have never heard of your product or service
Warm – Corn in the pan – People who have already heard of you but are not yet a customer
Hot – The Popcorn! – Customers

Occasionally you have to do campaigns that reach people who have never heard of you, add new corn.

You can warm up the corn by keeping people regularly informed, remarketing campaigns and e-mail marketing can be used here if necessary. Corn is not immediately ready to “pop” and you do not know exactly when the corn will pop and that is no different for potential customers. Patience and keep warming up is the message there!

The more corn you can put in your pan, the more customers can “pop up” as long as they are properly heated, cold corn will rarely pop.

So remember: Marketing is like popcorn! 🙂

Let 2020 be your best Marketing Year.

HAPPY NEW YEAR