Life Skills and Success Resources List

All of this information basically amounts to a book, possibly several books. Like my Writing Resources post, I'll be referring my newer articles back to this. It saves time from linking a batch of articles each time.

More than that however, I've always wanted to package something like this in such a way that it could be shared and given away for free. Review it for yourself first. If you know anyone that could use this, I've already done the hard work--all you have to do is give them this article's address. I want to make a difference with my life and what I've learned, and this is the closest thing I have short of sitting and talking with people individually.

Some of this stuff may be a little over the heads of younger kids and teenagers, but I really wish I'd had access to information like this before I entered college. Most of this is good life skills foundation material--things that I never really got in school but fortunately still had taught to me by some really good people.

I sincerely hope that this information helps you and your families. I know right now is a hard point in life for a lot of people, and I know what that's like. While I know I don't have all the answers, hopefully this will spark some ideas for you and get you around ideas that may have never been taught to you. I know a turning point of me personally was realizing that things don't have to stay the same--that there are ways of getting out of circumstances even when you feel trapped.

Here are the links:

Articles List:

1. Tips for Starting a Small Business
2. How to Get Out of Poverty
   
3. How to Diversify Your Career
4. How to Wisely Grow a Home-Based Business
5. How to Escape the Rat Race
6. Life Lessons From Being an Entrepreneur
7. How to Not Let Negative Influences Harm Your Life
8. Questions to Ask Yourself Before Starting a Business
9. How to Set Goals on Your Career Path
10. Exploring Career Choices
11. Looking at Self-Employment vs. Traditional Employment
12. How to Start a Web-Based Freelance Writing Business
13. How to Save Money on Groceries
14. How to Compare Product Prices at the Grocery Store
    
15. How to Start Networking for Business
16. How to Learn About Money in Your Teens
17. How to Have More Time to Enjoy Life
18. How to Start a Business With No Prior Experience
19. How to Know When to Close a Home-Based Business
20. How to Succeed in Self-Employment
21. How to Create Income Using the Internet
22. How to Start a Business in Your Teens
23. How to Raise Up the Image of Your Small Business
24. How to Create a Small Business Advertising Campaign
25. How to Work a Job Plus Develop Your Own Business
26. How to Begin Managing Money for Your Home-Based Business
27. How to Teach Kids About Investing and Business
28. How to Have a Balanced Life While Working at Home
29. How to Recognize a Fake Work-at-Home Job
30. How to Learn More About Media Careers
31. How to Learn More About Administrative Careers
32. How to Learn More About Accounting Careers
33. How to Learn More About Business Careers
    
34. How to Create a Resume that Stands Out
35. How to Make a Phone Call if You're Nervous
36. How to Sound Professional Over the Phone
37. How to Change Careers Smoothly
38. How to Find a Career that Makes You Happy
39. How to Deal With Negative People
40. How to Prepare for an Impending Layoff
41. How to Get Out of Debt
42. How to Understand the Breakdown of a Credit or FICO Score
43. How to Find Ways to Pay for College
44. How to Learn How Money Really Works
45. How to Understand Overdraft Protection
46. How to Combine Bank Accounts After Marriage
47. How to Make Extra Income
48. How to Make More Money
    
49. How to Build a Part-Time Used Book Business Using Amazon.com
50. How to Have a Debt-Free Wedding
51. How to Prepare for Investing as a Family
52. How to Protect Your Business from Identity Theft
53. How to Negotiate With a Car Salesman
54. How to Explore Passive Income Ideas
55. How to Get Good Deals on Furniture
56. How to Set Priorities in Your Life and Hold to Them
57. How to Get the Best Deal on Used College Textbooks
58. How to Become Financially Stable in Your 20s
59. How to Design a Home Office for Creativity
60. How to Choose a Home-Based Business
61. How to Develop a Wealth Mentality
62. How to Find Mentors in Life
63. How to Deal With Negative Co-Workers
64. How to Make Money With Your Digital Photos
65. How to Gain More Customers in a Small Business
66. How to Find Your Niche in Business
67. How to Prepare for a Job Interview
68. How to Retire Young
69. How to Make Money Blogging
70. How to Educate Yourself on Being an Entrepreneur
71. How to Follow Through on Your Goals
72. How to Work Productively at Home
73. How to Help Someone Learn About Money
74. How to Make Progress in Life
75. How to Succeed Financially in a Down Economy
76. How to Use Google Adsense Effectively
77. How to Create a Slogan For Your Business
78. How to Find Free Coupons Online
79. How to Establish a Habit of Saving Money
80. How to Find Hourly Writing Jobs Online
81. How to Find Ways of Making Money Outside of a Traditional Job
82. How to Get the Most Out of Financial Peace University
83. How to Choose Your Bank or Credit Union
84. How to Find Free Stuff on the Internet
85. How to Get Rewarded to Search the Internet
86. How to Declutter and Make Some Extra Cash
87. How to Buy Life Insurance
88. How to Get Out of Your Own Way and Find Success
89. How to Success as an Entrepreneur
90. How to Turn a Hobby Into a Career
91. How to Find Your True Passion in Life
92. How to Pay Off a Home Mortgage Early
93. How to Get Out of a Paycheck to Paycheck Cycle
94. Starting a Business: Risk vs. Gain
95. Benefits and Risks in Operating an Online Business
96. The Law of Giving and Receiving in Business
97. Attitude and Leadership Skills
98. Success Habits for Recent College Grads
99. Is Success Determined by Luck or Attitude?
100. 5 Keys to Home-Based Business Success
101. How to Design a Brochure for a Home-Based Business
102. Defining Financial Freedom
103. Reflections of a Free Lunch Kid
104. A High Sense of Self Esteem is Behind Every Successful Entrepreneur
105. What Makes a Millionaire Stand Out?
106. Academic Qualifications for Business Success
107. Starting a Business: Setting Expectations
108. A Guide to Passive Income

My Life Development (Success Resources Blog):

1. Chris Gardner's Page
2. Dan Miller's Page
3. Dave Ramsey's Page
4. Joyce Meyer's Page
5. Napoleon Hill's Page
6. Nick Vujicic's Page

Tools and Resources:

1. Every Legitimate Paid and Reward Website I Know
2. Dave Ramsey's Quickie Budget
3. Dave Ramsey's Form For Irregular Income Planning

• You can find my most recent articles by visiting my author's blog at http://happycougar.wordpress.com.

Every Legitimate Paid and Reward Website I Know

I've been wanting to do a post like this for awhile and have honestly just procrastinated on doing it. This is mainly for people I know so I can give them one link instead of listing a bunch each time, but if you just happened upon this you're welcome to the information as well.

My qualifications for a legitimate site is 1) It's not a scam and 2) The reward or payment is worth the effort involved--some things are legal but a waste of your time when you could be doing something else.

Here is my list so far--if you have any questions about any of them, leave a comment and I'll try to answer it if I can.

First, the sites that will pay you through PayPal and/or Direct Deposit:

1. eHow.com--If you enjoy creating how-to articles, this site pays really well and has a very user-friendly format.
2. Helium.com--This is a paying website for articles of all types. Focus on contests and the marketplace sections first, since those tend to pay the most.
   
3. Hubpages.com--Create your own webpages and then sign up as an affiliate with Google Adsense, Amazon, and eBay. Input your affiliate IDs, and Hubpages displays ads with your information 50% of the time. It's a way of staring off with webpage design and earning through affiliates without paying anything out of pocket.
   
4. Blogger.com--You can use the same affiliate accounts you created for Hubpages for your blog, keeping 100% of the profits. Google Adsense has it's own selection box, and use the "Third-Party" box for Amazon and eBay.
5. Associated Content.com--I personally stick to non-exclusive rights (pays less, but you can make more money having an article on more than one website rather than only being able to have it on one), but they're overall a good site.
6. Gather.com--You can earn either gift cards or cash through PayPal through a points system. You get points for posting photos, articles, and possibly by giving comments and creating groups. (They don't share the exact formula--just that being active on the site will get you points.)
7. Lulu.com--This is a self-publishing website where you can create books, ebooks, and a lot of other items. You can cash you through PayPal with only $5 in sales.
8. Cafepress.com--With the right idea, you can make an income from this site with no out of pocket expense, using the free store option. If you have a blog, consider creating a store related to what you blog about.
   
9. Bukisa--This is a newer website, also for How-to articles. You can cash out through PayPal at $50. It's a great option if you have a lot of articles already written or plan to write a lot. There is also going to be a photo option, which as of the time of this article is not up yet.
10. PineCone Research--This is a great survey company to work with, but you have to do a search to find a link to get access to their application. I've worked with them for over 2 years now--I can't go into what we review, but if you come across them it's worth signing up.
    

Reward-Only Websites:

1. Writing.com--This website will mainly be of interest to writers. The site has a system called GPs (stands for gift points) that you can earn through reviewing people and winning writing contests and spend for reviews for yourself, buy raffle tickets for prizes, and use for merchandise in the site's store. It's a really fun website and has a great community--I've been with them for 2 years. You can see an example of my portfolio by clicking here.
   
2. Swagbucks.com--This website has evolved dramatically (for the better) since I first joined it. It's a reward-based search engine that gives you their version of currency (called Swagbucks) for searching with them. You can redeem swagbucks for everything from mp3 downloads to gift cards to video games. I personally focus on the $5 Amazon.com electronic gift cards for 45 Swagbucks each.
   
3. MyPoints.com--Just sticking to the surveys, opening e-mails (you have to click on a "Get Points" button within the e-mail), coupons for stuff you're going to buy anyway, and other things that don't cost you anything out of pocket, you can earn enough points for a $10 gift card every once in awhile. This one is kind of borderline on the "worthwhile" scale, but I can see someone doing well with it if they're more organized with coupons than me.

This is all I can think of at the moment--there are a few others that are potentially good, but I want to test them out prior to recommending them to other people. As with anything that seems good, be sure to check them out with the Better Business Bureau (http://www.bbb.org). I also have an article on eHow on avoiding work-at-home job scams by clicking here.

I hope all of the sites are able to help you. Best wishes to you!

Tricia