The Adventure of Pinocchio

One day, Geppetto a carpenter began to carve a puppet out of a piece of wood. “I will call this puppet, Pinocchio,” he said, smiling. Geppetto first carved the eyes and nose of the puppet. As soon as he finished carving them, something strange happened. The eyes blinked and the nose twitched! Geppetto was astonished but continued to carve the puppet. To his utter shock, as soon as he finished the puppet, it ran out of the house and into the streets.

Geppetto ran after him, shouting, “Pinocchio! Stop!” However, all his cries went in vain. The little puppet had run off into the city and was busy creating trouble. In fact he had created so many disturbances in the city that Geppetto was jailed.

Later that night, Pinocchio quietly returned home. Just as he closed the door behind him, he saw a large Cricket on the wall. “Who are you and what do you want?” asked Pinocchio. “I’ve come to tell you that boys who disobey their parents are never happy. One day, you will become a donkey,” said the Cricket and went out of the window.

Next morning, Geppetto returned from jail. When Pinocchio saw him, he said, “Father, please forgive me. I will be an obedient boy from now on.” Geppetto forgave Pinocchio. He bought him new books and sent him to school. On the way to school, Pinocchio heard the sound of pipes and drums. After walking on for a few minutes, he saw that many people had gathered in front of the Great Marionette Theater!

At once, Pinocchio forgot all about school and his promise to Geppetto. He sold his school books and bought a ticket to the show. Once inside, Pinocchio saw many puppets like him on the stage. He joined them and entertained the people with his antics. When the show was over, Giovanni, the show’s manager called him. He said, “Pinocchio, give these five gold coins which you have earned to your father.” Pinocchio thanked him and put the coins in his mouth.

On his ways back home, Pinocchio met a wicked, lame Fox and a blind Cat. “Hello, Pinocchio,” said the Fox. “What were you doing at the theatre?” “I was earning money for my old father,” said Pinocchio, proudly. Hearing this, the Fox decided to steal the gold coins from Pinocchio. So he said, “Pinocchio, come with us to the field of wonders and your coins will be doubled!” “Is that so? Then I will go with you,” said a delighted Pinocchio.

So, the trio walked their way on a lonely road. Suddenly, the Cat and the Fox seized Pinocchio. “Give us your money or you are dead,” they threatened. They tried hard to snatch the gold coins and coin they couldn’t they hung him from a tall oak tree and went away. Pinocchio called out loudly for help. Fortunately, his cries were heard by the Blue Fairy who lived nearby. The Fairy rescued Pinocchio and took him to her castle. After a little rest, Pinocchio told her all that had happened.

“Where are the gold coins now?” the Fairy asked. “I lost them,” Pinocchio lied. Immediately, Pinocchio’s nose grew longer! “What is wrong with my nose?” Pinocchio said, panic-stricken. “Your nose has grown longer because you told a lie, Pinocchio,” said the Fairy with a smile. Pinocchio was ashamed. He apologized and begged the Fairy to restore his nose to its original size. The Fairy did so and warned him never to lie again.

Pinocchio thanked the Fairy and returned home. Soon, he joined school and made many friends. One of them was Lamp Wick.

One day, Lamp Wick told Pinocchio about a wonderful place called Toyland. “Toyland has no school and no studies,” he said. “I am going there tonight. Come with me and we will have fun.” Pinocchio was easily persuaded. “Meet me near the bridge at midnight,” Lamp Wick said before he left.

That night when the clock struck twelve, Pinocchio met Lamp Wick near the bridge. Soon a wagon drawn by twelve donkeys stood in front of them. They saw many children sitting inside the wagon. Happily, Lamp Wick and Pinocchio boarded the wagon and it began to move at once. They reached Toyland in the morning. Pinocchio was happy to have to have arrived at Toyland.

Five months passed by. Pinocchio was still in Toyland. One morning, he woke up and found that his ears had changed into a donkey’s ears. He was horrified. He ran to tell Lamp Wick. But Lamp Wick’s ears had changed too! Soon both of them turned into donkeys and started braying. Hearing their brays, the wagon driver came rushing. He took them to the market and sold them to a circus owner. Their new owner taught Pinocchio and Lamp Wick many tricks. One day while performing a trick, Pinocchio fell and became lame.

Now he was of no use to the circus owner. So he sold Pinocchio to a drummer who wanted a donkey’s skin to make a drum. The drummer took Pinocchio to a high cliff. Then, he tied a stone around Pinocchio’s neck, tied his legs and threw him into the sea so that he would die. But when the drummer pulled out the rope, he was shocked. Instead of a dead donkey, a puppet was tied to the rope! “How is it possible?” he said. “It is possible because the fish ate my donkey skin,” replied Pinocchio.

Quickly, Pinocchio untied his legs, waved goodbye to the drummer and jumped into the sea. He was very happy to be himself once again. However Pinocchio’s joy was short lived. Soon he found himself inside the stomach of a huge Shark. “Help! Help!” he cried. “Oh, poor me! Won’t someone come to save me?” But no one answered.

Pinocchio walked further inside the Shark’s stomach. At a distance he saw a ray of light. He walked towards it, and saw Geppetto standing with a flickering candle in his hand. He ran towards Geppetto saying, “Father! I shall never leave you again!”

Geppetto told Pinocchio how the shark had swallowed him while he was sailing in a boat searching for Pinocchio. “Father, I know how to escape out of the Shark’s stomach,” said Pinocchio and led Geppetto to the Shark’s mouth. Now, the Shark suffered from asthma, so it kept its mouth open even when it slept. Once Pinocchio and Geppetto reached the edge of the Shark’s mouth, they dived into the sea. Then, they swam with all their might towards the shore. Soon, they reached the shore and walked towards home.

Five month passed after their great scape from the Shark’s stomach. Pinocchio had changed for the better. He woke baskets of reeds for a living and studied hard in school.

One morning, when Pinocchio woke up, he saw that he had turned into a REAL BOY! He was filled with amazement. At once he ran to Geppetto. “Father, look, I am no longer a puppet! My wish has come true,” said Pinocchio, delighted.

***

Around the Corner You Can’t See Around

Ladies’ Lunch over and talk for the moment exhausted, we continued to sit around the table by the window that overlooked the Hudson River, to sip our wine, pour ourselves another glass. It was here that Bridget asked what everybody thought about this idea of “finding oneself.” “Is there a character in Homer, in Shakespeare, in the Bible who thinks to ask, ‘Who am I?’ ” And the conversation was off again.

“Besides Lear,” Farah said, “who asks ‘Who is it that can tell me who I am?’ And don’t you love the question ‘Who does he think he is’ or ‘Who do you think you are’ followed by a rhetorical exclamation point?”

Lucinella’s chair faced east. She had been watching people on the neighboring rooftop, and she said, “They’re having a party, and they didn’t invite me!”

“Do you know those people?” Ruth asked her.

“No,” Lucinella said.

Ilka said that her search began with her grandmother Ilonka, the one she was named for. “She died before I was born, but I’ve seen an old sepia photograph—two photographs, actually, taken by someone standing outside the open door to her bedroom. Great Aunt Mali used to let me play with—what did they call it?—the stereopticon, on Sunday afternoons when my mother’s cousins used to get together in Mali’s apartment just outside Vienna. I don’t think I remember my father being there. Tante Mali was immensely fat and old, with a sweet, lovely face. She and little Onkel Maxl ended up in Mauthausen. The magic of the stereopticon made the flower in a water glass on the bedside table, made the glass, three-dimensional and more real than the sepia grandmother sitting up in her crocheted bed jacket.”

Lotte frowned irritably when she said, “I will never understand why something made to look three-dimensional or virtual excites us more than the real thing in front of our noses. . . .”

“Mimesis,” Farah said. “Is it Aristotle or is it me who said that we like a likeness, in which, I guess, we search for ourselves?”

Ilka was following her own thought: “The room is lit from the left, so there must be a window in the corner that one can’t see around. Secrets of the sepia bedroom: someone picked that flower and put water into the water glass; someone had set the glass on the bedside table. . . .”

“That’s what I mean!” Lotte said. “What does it tell us about who we are that we are tenderly intrigued by an imaginary person walking through an old photograph but couldn’t care less about our neighbor passing our window at this very moment?”

“My mother found Ilonka’s old ice skates,” continued Ilka. “The grandmother in the bed jacket ice-skating blew my mind. I mean, when were skates even invented?”

***

10 Famous Failures to Success Stories That Will Inspire You to Carry On

Failure occurs everyday, in school, jobs, housework, and within families. It is unavoidable, irritating and causes pessimism.

While the thought of flinging your hands in the air and walking away is all too appealing, take a second to connect with the people who have been there and survived.

Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently. — Henry Ford

Here are 10 famous failures to success stories around the world that will inspire you to keep going and achieve greatness:

1. J.K. Rowling

During a Harvard commencement speech, Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling outlined the importance and value of failure.

Why? Simply because she was once a failure too.

A few short years after her graduation from college, her worst nightmares were realized. In her words,

“I had failed on an epic scale. An exceptionally short-lived marriage had imploded, and I was jobless, a lone parent, and as poor as it is possible to be in modern Britain, without being homeless. The fears that my parents had had for me, and that I had had for myself, had both come to pass, and by every usual standard, I was the biggest failure I knew.”

Coming out of this failure stronger and more determined was the key to her success.

2. Steve Jobs

The now revolutionary Apple started off with two men in a garage. Years later we all know it as a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees.

Yet, almost unbelievably, Steve Jobs was fired from the very company he began.

The dismissal made him realize that his passion for his work exceeded the disappointment of failure. Further ventures such as NeXT and Pixar eventually led Jobs back to the CEO position at Apple. Jobs said in 2005:

“I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me.”

Lost your job today? Keep kicking and you could be just like this guy!

3. Bill Gates

Bill Gates was a Harvard dropout. He co-owned a business called Traf-O-Data, which was a true failure.

However, skill and a passion for computer programming turned this failure into the pioneer of famous software company Microsoft, and the then 31-year-old into the world’s youngest self-made billionaire.

In his own words:

“It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.”

This isn’t to say that dropping out of Harvard will make you into a billionaire, but maybe that shiny degree isn’t worth as much as the drive and passion to succeed.

4. Albert Einstein

The word ‘Einstein’ is associated with intelligence and synonymous with genius. Yet it is a famous fact that the pioneer of the theory of general relativity, Albert Einstein himself, could not speak fluently until the age of nine. His rebellious nature led to expulsion from school, and he was refused admittance to the Zurich Polytechnic School.

His earlier setbacks did not stop him from winning the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921. After all, he believed that:

“Success is failure in progress.”

To this day, his research has influenced various aspects of life including culture, religion, art, and even late night TV.

Just because you haven’t achieved anything great yet, doesn’t mean you can’t be an Einstein yourself.

5. Abraham Lincoln

Failing in business in 1831, suffering a nervous breakdown in 1836, defeated in his run for president in 1856, Abraham Lincoln was no stranger to rejection and failure. Rather than taking these signs as a motivation for surrender, he refused to stop trying his best.

In this great man’s words:

“My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure.”

Lincoln was elected in 1861 as the 16th President of the United States of America.

The amount of rejection you receive is not a defining factor. Success is still within your reach.

6. Michael Jordan

“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

This quote by retired basketball legend Michael Jordan in a Nike advertisement speaks for itself.

It would be an easy misconception that Jordan’s basketball skills revolve around natural talent. In fact, in his earlier years,  basketball coaches had trouble looking past the fact that Jordan didn’t reach the minimum height. It was years of effort, practice, and failure that made the star we know today.

7. Steven Spielberg

Regarded as one of the most influential filmmakers of all time, Steven Spielberg is a familiar household name. It is surprising to realize therefore that the genius behind Jaws and E.T. had poor grades in high school, getting him rejected from the University of Southern California three times.

While he was in college, he caught the eye of executives at Universal, who signed him as a television director in 1969. This meant that he would not finish his college degree for another 33 years.

Perseverance and acceptance of failure is the key to success, after all.

“Even though I get older, what I do never gets old, and that’s what I think keeps me hungry.”

Bad grades in high school aside, there is no questioning the genius involved.

To date, Spielberg has directed 51 films and has been awarded three Oscars.

8. Walt Disney

Mickey Mouse creator Walt Disney dropped out of school at a young age in a failed attempt at joining the army. One of his earlier ventures, Laugh-o-Gram Studios, went bankrupt due to his lack of ability to run a successful business. He was once fired from a Missouri newspaper for “not being creative enough.”

Yet today, The genius behind Disney studios is responsible for generations of childhood memories and dreams. From Snow White to Frozen, Disney will continue to entertain the world for generations to come.

The logic behind this is simple:

“We don’t look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious… and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”

9. Vincent Van Gogh

During his lifetime, Vincent Van Gogh suffered mental illness, failed relationships, and committed suicide at the age of 37.

He only ever sold one painting in his life, pinning him a failure as an artist. However that did not put a damper on his enthusiasm and passion for art.

He would never know that years and years after his death he would become known as a key figure in the world of post-impressionism, and ultimately, one of the greatest artist that ever lived.

He would never know that he became a hot topic in art classes and his image was going to be used in TV, books and other forms of popular culture.

In the words of this great, but tragic man:

“If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.”

10. Stephen King

As a paranoid, troubled child, tormented by nightmares and raised in poverty, it is no surprise that Stephen King grew up to the title: “Master of Horror”.

An addiction to drugs and alcohol were his mechanisms to cope with the unhappiness he felt with his life. The frustration he felt towards multiple rejections by publishers in combination with illicit substances caused him to mentally contemplate violence towards his own children.

These intense emotions were those that he focused onto his writing. And that’s why he said:

“We make up horros to help us cope with the real ones.”

Writing became his new coping mechanism, and this is how the master author we know today grew to success.

Inspirational Success Story

Everyone likes fame, money, attention, popularity and love of all. It’s the end that everyone sees and desires to achieve. However, it is important to understand that the road to success is difficult. One has to go through a lot of suffering and hard work to achieve the best from their lives. One has to fail to become successful and it is through patience and continual trial that one is able to achieve what he/she yearns to. When one looks deep into the life story of the famous personality only then one is able to understand the amount and the strength of efforts that one needs to put in for getting the best. Thinking of being successful is easy, but actually being successful in the field of work that one desires is a task which needs to be completed.Life moves on. Life has ups and downs in it. The ship never sails smoothly. Storms are going to come and go in the course of life. The one who is able to live and pass through these storms and strengthen itself from it will be the one getting one step closer to success. The truth is bitter. It is hard to accept the reality, but the one who is able to accept the reality and live according to it and the one who does not feel threatened by the reality will be the one getting another step closer to success.One defines success for itself. Every step that one takes marks his/her success. Be wise and then decide. Success will soon be at your doorstep.

Understanding Content Marketing

What is Content Marketing?

Content Marketing: You have probably heard the term used multiple times in marketing circles but have yet to figure out what this is. Simply put, content marketing is advertising through conversation. It is the creation of original content designed to create an engaging, long-lasting relationship with your customers rather than a one-time ad selling experience through which the customer does not feel engaged. Content marketing answers the question of “what value can my brand create for my customers outside of what I sell?”, and answering that question by producing content to meet that need.

Though we have been met with the age of digital marketing, marketers have still found ways to use traditional tools such as public relations and advertising to reach their target audience. However, it is easy for large segments of a target audience to miss an ad or to choose to ignore a press release, and as such marketers need to find new ways of reaching them. One such way, is through content- compelling, informative, and engaging content, that is meaningful to the audience while still achieving the company’s marketing objective. The aim behind content marketing is to build a rapport with the audience by fulfilling a need for them, and through building the rapport, customers will be more likely to buy into what the brand is selling. It is simply meeting the customer where he/she is and taking them to another level.

How Content Marketing is done

To be able to effectively use content marketing, the first step is to understand your brand and what you stand for. Other than selling your product/ service, what is the overarching aim of your company, what is something the brand truly believes in? Secondly, get to know the audience, what are their interests, their needs, how can your brand meet those needs through content, and get their attention.

After figuring that out, the next step, and arguably one of the most important, is to create great content! The basis of content marketing is the content, the tool through which you will be reaching out to the audience. As a result, emphasis needs to be placed on making the content original, engaging, informative, and relevant to the time, place, and audience.

Because content marketing is a conversation between the brand and their customers, it creates room for the brand to listen to the customers. How are they relating to the content and how is it helping them. Through this conversation, you will find that the customers are helping you to decide what to do next. Think of it as a simple way of getting to know the market without having to do a survey.

Worthwhile benefits for your brand

The versatility that Content Marketing provides is an asset. The content does not have to be just words; it can be video, audio, images, etc. It is really about what the brand is trying to achieve, who the brand is targeting, and the best content to target this audience.

There is a lot going on in the marketing world, brands are increasingly trying to be seen and rise above the noise. The ways in which customers behave are changing. Gone are the days when a brand could put a product/service in front of a customer and they immediately want to buy or use it. Consumer behaviour is changing; they are making more informed buying decisions. As consumer behaviour changes it is only natural that a brand’s marketing behaviour must also change to keep up. Content marketing is a multi-faceted approach that has long lasting benefits, and does not have to cost your brand a fortune to implement. Think of it this way, great content creates a great customer experience, which creates greater returns for your brand.

Ambition

I was very ambitious by all means
My true desire was winning forever
The top of the rank was in all my dreams
Wanting to be the best, the most clever.

I got always in front; winning, I did
I outwitted and surpassed many others.
But inside, I felt not good about it
Whenever I had put down my brothers.

Along the way, many lessons, I’ve learned
There’s no peace in being atop of all
It takes lots of care and being concerned
To find happiness in our heart and soul

Now, it is extremely clear in my mind.
My one ambition is: simply be kind.    

Top 10 Blogging Niches to Earn Money Online

Those were the days when people used blogging as a passion. Time has changed over the period and a mass majority of people all over the globe have started blogging professionally to earn money online. Niches to earn money online require special attention to maximizing the revenue benefits of the bloggers and web developers.

There exist several profitable monetization options for the websites and blogs which pay the bloggers and webmasters handsomely. Google Adsense, Media.net, Infolinks, Direct Advertising, Affiliate links are few of the monetization option who prefers to prioritize the niche selection for maximum earnings.

Let us discuss the top 10 niches to earn money online and maximizing the online earnings:-

Finance: The finance niche has a huge potential for maximizing the earning potential of the bloggers. Google Adsense and other monetization networks pay handsomely to the bloggers working in this niche. The niche is even favorable for bloggers to join several affiliate programs. Proceeding forward with teaching processes like how to stock trade, how to succeed in the forex market etc can maximize the profits.

Make Money Online: This is one of the most competitive niches but prioritized in the eyes of the monetization networks. Every single click generates added revenues in association with various monetization networks. In addition, the bloggers can even publish their e-books, get direct sponsorships and advertisements for multiplied revenue generation. Affiliate links yet play the most vital role in this niche.

Health and Fitness: Every single person nowadays is cautious regarding health and fitness. Following the same, crores of people all over the world use to query regarding their health issues. As a result, the niche is guaranteed to drive traffic and generate maximized revenues.

Insurance: Insurance based niche is given top priority by the top-level monetization networks. Every single click generates multi dollars of revenue with a provision to get proceeded with the affiliate links as well.

Technology: Technology is the evergreen niche chosen by the bloggers all around for getting maximum pay per click by their monetization networks.

Hosting: With the Hosting niche, there is a provision to grow a network with affiliate marketing as well, in addition, to drive lots of blog traffic and maximizing the earning potentials. Hostgator like biggest hosting companies pays handsomely with their links.

Food: This niche even has a huge potential to drive traffic. The monetization networks pay handsomely for every single click. People can even sell their cooking recipes and e-books using the niche.

Self-improvement: People keep on searching for self-improvement based ideas over the internet. It is, therefore, one of the best blogging niches to maximize the earnings and proceed to earn exceptionally with affiliate links as well.

Business solutions: This niche is one of the best niches for getting maximized revenues from the monetization options. In addition, business solutions like website creation, social media management, consulting services, virtual assistance services, will drive added traffic and direct advertising facilities as well.

Lifestyle: Well established bloggers are earning over $3000 to $5000 per month using the lifestyle niche. Earning potential is unlimited with multiplied sources of monetization facilities. Start a blog, monetize it and generate affiliate links to multiply the earning profits.

To sum up, the bloggers must consider any of the above-mentioned niches to start their blogging journey and make their blogs successful. The high potential niches will help achieve success in the least possible duration. Other than getting approval from Google Adsense like best advertisement networks, one can easily get sponsored ads. Generating income from affiliate links will not even be the biggest challenge.

I’m nobody! Who are you?

I’m nobody! Who are you?
Are you nobody, too?
Then there’s a pair of us — don’t tell!
They’d banish us, you know.

How dreary to be somebody!
How public, like a frog
To tell your name the livelong day
To an admiring bog!

Making Income From Niche Sites

Niche websites, one of the recent common trending term for passive income. I  got this word while searching to earn passive income. I am impressed by  the successful niche website owners, who earns in around $15,000 –  $30,000 per month.

Some of the niche website owners ( smartpassiveincome ) keep the records of their monthly earning report. This makes me more curious to start new niche site.

What is Niche blogging ?

What is really niche blogging means 

Usually, niche blogs will contain affiliate links or advertisements of some sort (pay-per-click  or products or both). In some cases, the purpose of the niche blog is  to incite the reader into visiting another website which may then  attempt to sell the reader a product or service.

from Wekepedia

Niche blogs saves time for visitors who want information on specific areas. I will find content on the topic I’m looking for and nothing else. 

So if you want to make the most of your affiliate marketing, you’re gonna want to know which niches are worth the most focus.  

But which niches are better than others?
You’ll want to look for two things, namely: (1) niches that  have a large following; and (2) those that never go out of style or are  always relevant. The best niches usually have both but some that fall under either one are worth looking into as well. 

Some of the profitable niches 

• Food Niche
• Health and Fitness Niche
• Relationship Niche
• Personality Development Niche
• Employment / Career Niche
• Blogging Guide Niche

It is always exciting to watch what happens to your blog when  you are purposeful about content and audience. Lastly, it is crucial to note that, in affiliate marketing, your skills and dedication play a more refined role than anything else. All The Best 🙂

Become a Writer

With a growing interest in content marketing, more brands are looking for great writers to create content. The secret to succeeding as a writer is to be an expert in a niche. A lot of writers try to be generalists, writing for a wide range of categories, from food to tech. However, having a niche focus as a writer allows you to write better content.

When you have experience in the niche, you can add a different perspective to a piece of content. That means you’re not just saying the same thing as every other article online. And that’s what brands really want to pay for — your thoughts, experiences, and inside information into their niche.

If someone asks for a marketing writing sample, send them marketing writing samples. Don’t send a finance article. Or a fitness one. It’s hard for a hiring manager to know how well you understand the niche’s industry if they can’t see a relevant writing sample. Apply to opportunities suited to your skills and experience. Also, if your pitch doesn’t have a list of links to writing samples, it’s going to get ignored.