We’re all commitment phobes. We scan, we skim, we browse, but rarely do we read.

Our eyes pingpong back and forth from Facebook posts to open chat boxes, unclicked emails to GIFs of dancing cats, scanning for keywords but barely digesting what we see. Average time spent on an online article is 15 seconds.

In 2014, the Pew Research Center revealed that one-quarter of American adults hadn’t read a single book in the previous year.

And that’s a shame because those who read consistently exhibit significantly greater memory and mental abilities at all stages in life. They’re also better public speakers, thinkers and, according to some studies, better people in general.

Cracking open a book before you go to bed could help combat insomnia, too: A 2009 study from researchers at University of Sussex showed that six minutes of reading reduces stress by 68% (more relaxing than either music or a cup of tea), thus clearing the mind and readying the body for sleep.

The reasoning, per psychologist and study author Dr. David Lewis is that a book is “more than merely a distraction, but an active engaging of the imagination,” one that “causes you to enter an altered state of consciousness.”

It doesn't matter if your book of choice is by James Patterson or James Joyce, fiction or fact, so long as it you find it fully absorbing.

Because when the mind is engaged in a world constructed by words, tension evaporates and the body relaxes, paving the way for sleep.

SEE ALSO: What 17 successful people read before bed

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NOW WATCH: The sleep habits all successful people share

A million dollars ain’t what it used to be, but it’s still pretty good money — especially if we’re talking about annual income, as opposed to net worth.

So, how do you get to that milestone? Since I haven’t done it myself (yet), I reached out to a group of people who actually have made at least $1 million a year.

(Hint: If you didn’t inherit a fortune, it’s all about entrepreneurship.)

Here’s their advice:

1. Love your customers.

Tim Nguyen, co-founder and CEO of BeSmartee:

“Everything you do should center on your customers. Taking a vacation? Ask yourself how that will affect your customers. … Thinking about revising your employee incentive programs? Consider how that will affect your customers. Don’t worry about the sale, and definitely don’t focus on the money. Focus on your customers.”

2. Solidify your foundation.

Margot Micallef, founder and CEO of Gabriella’s Kitchen:

“A good foundation [includes] a network of investors … or a strong relationship with a banker or institutional lender. … In any situation where I have enjoyed significant returns, it has been based on a foundation built years earlier.”

3. Focus on culture.

Steve Starr of StarrDesign:

“If you get the culture right, the money will come. After buying out my partner, our design firm spent the past two years transforming our approach, process, and firm personality. We increased our gross revenue, while driving our net revenue up by 15 percent to more than $2 million. … In any business, it’s essential to define and keep sight of what inspires your team. Nearly every group begins with passion — and holding on to that passion is vital to success.”

4. Focus on product and metrics.

Simon Slade, CEO and co-founder of Affilorama:

“My best advice for joining the million-dollar-earnings club is to create an awesome product and then continue its growth. Pick a single, straightforward metric, such as sales units or revenue, and aim to beat yesterday’s total every day. This growth strategy is both sustainable and manageable.”

5. Understand other stakeholders’ fears.

Ted Leonhardt, career and negotiation expert:

“Yes, I have made a million or more a year. … I did it by understanding the interpersonal issues that drive all social groups, helping my clients reduce their fear, [and] helping people achieve their goals. My one piece of advice is to truly understand the fear that accompanies spending of large sums, and know how to reduce that fear for your clients.”

6. Be persistent.

Ajay Prasad of GMR Transcription:

“Succeeding in business will be harder, cost more, and take longer than you planned. My advice for success is persistence.”

7. Hustle.

Heidi Burkhart, president of Dane Professional Consulting Group:

“At 21, I got into commercial real estate brokerage in NYC … My first three years I was hustling, working 24/7, and surviving on peanuts … Fourth quarter of my third year, I finally started closing deals. Ever since, my income has consistently been in the six figures, with many 12-month periods producing more than $1 million. … I credit all this, though, to the initial hustle that is now forever embedded in my system.”

8. Grow things organically.

Romy Taormina, “Nausea Relief Chief” at Psi Bands:

“There's no overnight success here. I have led our company organically, and this has kept us in business and allowed us to exceed the $1 million threshold. Case in point: The Psi Bands team pitched our first retailer using a prototype. We landed that account — 400 Long's Drugs stores — and garnered a coveted spot in Oprah's O magazine as an "O Pick.” The associated credibility gave me a great sales opener, and I was able to land more accounts.”

9. Build personal relationships.

Andrew Royce Bauer, CEO of Royce:

“Royce is able to make more than $6 million a year by maintaining personal relationships with every single one of our customers. We are a company built on human interaction with our end user … a small amount of really good customers that we truly treat like family rather than trying to be the business that serves everyone.”

10. Stay focused on the ultimate goal.

Zach Halmstad, co-founder and partner of JAMF Software:

“My best advice is to stay focused on where you want to be, and not on what could go wrong along the way. … 99 percent of the things that you worry about never happen. It's the things that you don't worry about that actually happen. This has stuck with me.”

SEE ALSO: How much money you need to save each day to become a millionaire by age 65

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As senior vice president of Apple’s retail arm, Angela Ahrendts needs to do a lot of hiring, often for mission-critical positions.

That places a lot of pressure on her interviewing technique. If she asks the wrong questions, she might end up with employees who don't fit well within an organization that prides itself on operating like a well-oiled machine.

In a new LinkedIn posting, Ahrendts walks the reader through a typical job interview, in which she tries to judge the candidate’s personality across three axes:

• Me vs. We
• IQ vs. EQ
• Left Brain vs. Right Brain

The first axis, "Me vs. We," involves Ahrendts judging the candidate’s aptitude for collaboration with colleagues.

"I ask simple questions about their family, friends, peers, personal interests, sports, spirituality, and community to glean a better understanding of their true motivation and leadership attributes," she wrote. "This is usually the easy part, because people love to talk about themselves."

The next, "IQ vs. EQ," involves a series of questions designed to evaluate the candidate’s emotional and intellectual balance, and if they "truly care about the impact they make on people."

The last part, "Left Brain vs. Right Brain," delves into whether the candidate prefers to rely on intellect or instinct when making decisions. Questions about how the candidate uses his or her spare time, and what they studied in school, are particularly helpful in this context.

The posting also features some of the specific questions that Ahrendts likes to ask. If you're interested in seeing how one of the tech world's most prominent executives judges potential hires, it's worth the read.

SEE ALSO: Apple's HR chief: Working with Tim Cook 'actually helps you to be a better human being'

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Sheryl Sandberg is the Chief Operating Officer for Facebook and founder of LeanIn.org, and is regarded as a successful both in and out of the tech world.

So whenever she starts dolling out career advice, people start paying attention.

On Tuesday, Sandberg was asked by Quora user Courtney Ross what advice she would give to her younger self.

Not only did Sandberg respond thoughtfully, but she gave Ross and other curious Quora users three things she would tell her younger self: Do what you love, believe you can do anything, and “there is no straight path to where you are going.”

“As Pattie Sellers of Fortune Magazine says, careers are not ladders but jungle gyms,” Sandberg wrote. “You don't have to have it all figured out.”

She recommends having a long-term, abstract dream to work towards in addition to a more concrete 18-month plan. The long-term plan allows you to dream big while the short-term plan forces you to push yourself and think about how you want to get better over the next year and a half.

“Ask yourself how you can improve and what you’re afraid to do,” she said, adding “that’s usually the thing you should try.”

And for women especially, Sandberg said not only is it possible to have a fulfilling professional and personal life, but that you should never let anyone tell you otherwise.

Sandberg is well known for giving pointed advice, both to her employees as well as in her 2013 book, “Lean In.” Kim Scott has spoken about how helpful Sandberg was as a boss as Google thanks to her candor and Sandberg herself has said that women who join her “Lean In” circles “get raises. They get new jobs. They run for office.”

Check out Sandberg’s full answer on Quora about her advice to her younger self below.

Find work you love. When you believe in what you are doing, you can combine passion with contribution – and that is a true gift. Keep trying and you will find what you love to do… and once you do, you will crush it.

Believe you can do anything. This is important for everyone and especially for women. Don’t let anyone tell you can’t have both a meaningful professional career and a fulfilling personal life. When you hear someone say you can't do something, know that you can and start figuring out how. Ask yourself, “What would I do if I weren’t afraid?”

There is no straight path to where you are going. If you try to draw that line you will not just get it wrong, but you will miss big opportunities. As Pattie Sellers of Fortune Magazine says, careers are not ladders but jungle gyms.  You don't have to have it all figured out. I recommend adopting two concurrent goals:

1. A long-term dream: It doesn't have to be realistic or even specific. For example, you might say you want to work in a specific field, travel the world, have more free time. Even a vague goal can provide direction.
2. An 18-month plan: Set personal goals for what you want to learn in the next year and a half. Ask yourself how you can improve and what you're afraid to do (that's usually the thing you should try).

SEE ALSO: Sheryl Sandberg once told an employee she sounded stupid — and the reason why is a great management lesson for everyone

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Life is full of choices, and many of them come with uncertainty. We can never know what might have been if we had chosen differently.

No life will ever be completely clear of opportunity for regret. Failed relationships, missed opportunities, poor judgment calls.

Some choices seem easy at the time and later turn out to have been poorly informed; others are difficult from the beginning.

But some regrets are more fundamental, greater in scope. They tend not to focus on a single moment or area, but how life is lived.

Here are a dozen potential regrets to make sure you're keeping far away.

1. I wish I had spent more time with the people I love.

It's easy to let that time slip away, but once it's gone you can never get it back.

2. I wish I had worried less.

Worry is just using your imagination to create the things you don't want.

3. I wish I had forgiven more.

It takes a strong person to say "I'm sorry," and an even stronger person to forgive. Forgive and let go--free yourself from grudges and enjoy happiness instead of wasting it.

4. I wish I had stood up for myself.

Never allow yourself to be bullied or silenced. No one is more important in this world than you are.

5. I wish I had lived my own life.

Spend your time now working on the things you want to accomplish — or even try. Build a business, cultivate a great career, build a family, run a marathon. The greatest success lies in living your life in your own way.

6. I wish I had been more honest.

If you don't own up to your own elemental truth, falsehood will ultimately end up owning you. Honesty is the clearest path.

7. I wish I had worked less.

Working constantly for something you don't passionately care about adds nothing but stress to your life. And even if the passion is there, keep your workload in balance with the rest of your life.

8. I wish I had cared less about what other people think.

Stop wasting your moments on other people's opinions. Ultimately they are just opinions from those who don't fully share your reality.

9. I wish I had lived up to my full potential.

Live up to your own aspirations, not down to others' expectations. There is no passion to be found in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.

10. I wish I had faced my fears.

Life is found in the distance between your deepest desire and your greatest fear. Remember, fear is only temporary, but regret lasts forever.

11. I wish I'd stopped chasing the wrong things.

When you let the wrong things go, you can give the right things a chance to catch you.

12. I wish I'd lived more in the moment.

Make a difference today. Make it a day worth remembering.

Take a few moments now and then and revisit your business, your life, your leadership.

Ask yourself if there is anything that you might regret later. And if there is, take action.

Later will be now before you know it.

SEE ALSO: 11 things you'll regret doing in your 30s

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Wall Street has a variety of tribes — the traders, the bankers, the analysts, the managers.

Each requires a specific skill set.

Business Insider caught up with John Koudounis, CEO of the Japanese investment bank Mizuho Securities USA, to get a sense of what makes a good trader. Based on his response, it's clear he thinks the game has changed.

Gone are the days of swinging for the fences.

"Awareness of risk is critical in today's environment," Koudounis told Business Insider. "We've seen that going after the 'big trade' at all costs is no longer a workable strategy. Traders should be hungry but also need to think about when it makes sense to pull back and manage risk."

Mizuho Financial Group, Mizuho's parent company, is the second-largest financial-services group in Japan. It doesn't have a huge presence in the US, but its Americas business was the right size (on the smaller side) and had the right balance sheet (a strong capital position) coming out of the financial crisis.

Senior mentors

Koudounis is focused on growing the company, which has been expanding its credit and equities businesses substantially over the past year.

There are two ways to get a good trader. You can hire one, or you can train one.

The layoffs of the financial crisis created a ton of opportunity to hire great traders as they left big banks.

Training them, though, is about to become a bit more difficult. The market is changing. Rates are going up, China is slowing, and the world is looking different.

"A lot of the up-and-coming young professionals on the Street today were not working during the turbulent period of the global financial crisis in 2008, nor previous market dislocations like what happened during the collapse of Long Term Capital Management or the Asian Contagion," Koudounis said.

"Good traders today need to heed the advice of senior mentors to fully understand how things can go terribly wrong if you are not managing the risk in your portfolio properly."

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Anthony Scaramucci, founder and CEO of investment firm SkyBridge Capital, has some advice for aspiring financiers: "Don't listen to your parents."

In an interview with Skiddy von Stade of finance-career site OneWire, Scaramucci opened up on a variety of issues, including politics and his outlook for the fund-of-funds business at large.

The most interesting stuff he said, though, was how to go about figuring out what you want to do with your life.

"If ... you want to be vital in your life, you've got to follow your inner voice. If your mom wants you to be a lawyer and you don't want to be a lawyer, don't be a lawyer," he said.

"If your mom wants you to be a dentist ... Lee Cooperman's mom wanted him to be a dentist, but he probably picked a better choice. He's a billionaire running an $8 to $10 billion fund. That's what he wanted to do, so that's my resonating message for a kid."

Cooperman is the founder of now famed fund Omega Advisors.

Scaramucci, who founded SkyBridge in 2005, grew his business, in part, by picking up assets following the financial crisis. He'd always dreamed of owning his own business.

'Plastic mouth brace'

That said, it's not for the weakhearted.

"I probably shouldn't tell your viewers this, but I wear a plastic mouth brace from the 1998 Russian ruble crisis," Scaramucci told Von Stade.

At the time, Scaramucci was trying to sell his first business, Oscar Capital Management, to Neuberger Berman. When the market went south, he was afraid the deal wouldn't get done.

"I started teeth grinding when the market imploded in August of 1998, and I've been wearing that mouth brace ever since," he said.

That's success, people — bracing yourself for the grind, even while you're sleeping.

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Given today’s corporate environment of flat organizations with tight budgets, the first thing cut—even before brand advertising—is career development. To add insult to injury, bosses are too worried about their own hides to worry about yours.

With that in mind, you should adopt a do-it-yourself attitude. Based on my experience, I developed DIY action steps to help you take charge of your career. Scroll through the illustrated slideshow above or read them below.

Develop goals and performance objectives. You can’t get to where you’re going if your destination is unclear. It’s your job to plot your goals and lay out your success metrics.

Solve for blind spots. Get feedback from everyone around you whenever you get the chance: your boss, your peers, and your subordinates. After key presentations and meetings, ask, “How did that go? What could have been done better?”

Reduce gaps. Create a personal report card of key skills required to do your job well. Assess your competency levels, and summarize ways you can improve.

Seek a mentor. Find someone you admire who shares your values and has skills and experiences in an area important to your career. While you're at it, create a personal board of directors—a few wise people who care and will give you career, and perhaps even life, advice. They may just save you from making big mistakes.

Create a learning circle. Set up monthly calls with industry peers to share ideas, perspectives, and lessons learned. Be sure to share anxieties too. It releases them!

Codify your learning. Keep a journal; when you learn something new, jot it down. This helps you synthesize and reinforce what you know.

Increase your C-Suite visibility. Sign up for projects that allow you to interact with executives. Leaders promote people with whom they are comfortable.

Become an expert. Pick an area that is important to you and your company and go deep with it. When you become sought after for your specific knowledge, your value increases.

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In the world of modern business, where you are is just as important as what you do. The right location plays a big part in attracting qualified talent, allowing more collaboration, and presenting a relatable, physical association for customers and clients. Today, real estate is not necessarily seen as a source of competitive advantage – but it very much is. It's actually a tool that can drive business.

Skilled real estate management is a discipline; lack of experience can have serious consequences. Both new and established companies are susceptible to bad real estate decisions without realizing the implications they can have on the business — or the value a good real estate move can offer. Here's how one company has used real estate as a successful business strategy. 

Taking a historic company into a new era

Young & Rubicam is one of the most recognized and respected ad agencies in the world. But a few years ago Y&R was going through changes. For more than 86 years, the agency’s global headquarters were at 285 Madison Avenue in New York City, and the space was synonymous with the agency itself. However, as Y&R continued to expand, its space on Madison avenue no longer provided the amenities it needed. Finding the right space was critical for Y&R; not only did it have to meet its expanding needs, it also had to be a space where the agency's culture, ethos, and creativity could thrive.

Working with CBRE, a commercial real estate services firm, Y&R identified 3 Columbus Circle as the ideal site for its new global headquarters. CBRE helped Y&R secure a hybrid deal to acquire a condominium interest of floors three through eight, and enter into a 20-year lease for floors nine, 10, 18, and 19 at 3 Columbus Circle.

One of the many draws of the new building is that it provides a number of features that are appealing to both employees and clients, including a sunlit mix of public and private space. Different pieces of art on the walls match the creativity of the campaigns that come from the agency teams. Recognizing that the office is where many employees spend most of their time, Y&R created a number of break areas: a roof deck where people can enjoy stunning views of Central Park; a cafeteria that offers a number of different dining options; and areas for employees to relax and even play foosball and shuffleboard. 

And it's not just the actual building that can influence employees' happiness — the location is also a big draw. The neighborhood has easy subway access, so it's convenient for employees from across the numerous New York City boroughs. Because the office is part of a hub that houses other agencies within WPP (Y&R's holding company), it creates a great space for Y&R to collaborate with colleagues at sister firms. 

The space has proven to be a valuable asset for Y&R, helping the firm deliver on its best-in-class creative reputation and serve as a place where both employees and clients want to be. Another reminder that it’s not just about what you do, but where you do it.

Find out more about Y&R’s story and how the right real estate can help your business.

This post is sponsored by CBRE.

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SEE ALSO: Companies are now using this strategy to win the war for talent

SEE ALSO: Here are the top US cities for tech talent

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Our sixth annual ranking of the 50 best business schools in the world evaluated MBA programs based on reputation, average starting salary after graduation, job-placement rate within three months of graduation, average GMAT score, and tuition and fees. (Read our full methodology here.)

Because business school is such a hefty investment, the ability to get a job soon after graduating is an important factor in choosing where to go.

To come up with our list of the 20 top business schools for getting a job right away, we broke out the schools by job-placement rate. Some schools that ranked highly on our main list didn't make this ranking because of lower job-placement figures, such as Harvard (91%) and Stanford (86%).

It's worth noting though that many students at these schools decide to start their own businesses — an employment result that schools don't factor into their overall job-placement statistic. 

Keep scrolling to see the best business schools for finding a job after graduating, listed here in ascending order by job-placement percentage. 

Editing by Alex Morrell with additional research by Andy Kiersz.

SEE ALSO: The 50 best business schools in the world

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Columbia University — Columbia Business School

Location: New York, New York

Job-placement rate: 93%

Students begin crafting their network and community within the business world the minute they arrive at Columbia, thanks in part to the school's cluster system, which places first-year students in "clusters" of 65 to 70 people who take all their core classes together. Columbia also counts some of the greatest minds in finance among its alumni, including Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett and former Bank of America executive Sallie Krawcheck.

University of London — London Business School (LBS)

Location: London, England

Job-placement rate: 93%

University of London's business school is once again the best outside the US. With 75% of the top-500 global companies based in London, the school is a recruiting and networking gold mine for a host of multinational corporations, including Boston Consulting Group and McKinsey & Co.

In addition to earning an MBA, students are required to graduate with a second-language proficiency in one of 15 languages offered by the Modern Language Centre at King's College London.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology — Sloan School of Management

Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts

Job-placement rate: 93%

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is not only the best college in America, but it's also home to one of the best business schools. The Sloan School of Management, which celebrated its 100-year anniversary last year, offers three MBA tracks: enterprise management, entrepreneurship and innovation, and finance.

Sloan reported that 2014 graduates accepted job offers at companies like Adobe, Microsoft, Google, and Facebook, and 7.4% of grads went on to start their own businesses.

With airfare rising more than 10% in the past five years and hotel rooms going for exorbitant prices, conventional tourism has become more challenging to do affordably.

But what if you could travel and not spend a dime? What if you could even get paid?

Many would jump at the opportunity to experience new cultures, traverse through beautiful landscapes, and satisfy their insatiable wanderlust. 

We’ve compiled 12 ways for just about anyone to get their golden ticket to spending weeks, or years, in exotic lands while earning some cash. 

1. Become A Tour Guide

Leading tours through some of the world's most iconic and historic places sounds like a dream come true. It can offer tons of variety, depending on how you approach it. Do you become a tour guide in one dream place — say, Paris! — and lead hordes of American tourists through the Louvre, the Bastille, and the Eiffel Tower? Or do you lead groups on longer trips that go through a series of destinations? 

Either one can be a solid way to make a living and see new cultures. There are a few cons, though. Guides who stay in one location will likely be working freelance, which may mean uneven paydays and a lack of job security. Some guides give free tours and try to use their personalities to get tips from generous tourists.

Longer-term guides may be lucky enough to get a contract or a full-time gig from a touring company, which adds stability but means they will be the one dealing with all the logistics, planning, and headaches that come with trying to manage a group of cranky tourists for weeks at a time. 

Be prepared to be extroverted and friendly at all times, even when you wake up on the wrong side of the bed.

2. Go WWOOF'ing

WWOOF, or Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms, is not a traditional business. Volunteers go for a set period to work on a farm with like-minded travelers in exchange for accommodation and home-cooked meals. The terms are flexible with WWOOFers staying as long or little as they want, and the opportunities are plentiful. While you'll have to pay your own way to fly to the farm, once you are there, there are plenty of people who can offer a ride to the next destination. 

WWOOF'ing isn't quite a career choice, but it is an excellent way to see the world while keeping your bank account (mostly) even.

3. Teach English

If you're looking for adventure in a foreign land, one of the most accessible and lucrative ways to get there is by taking up a job teaching English. Jobs in Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America are abundant, and most of them do not require that you speak the native language.

Schools are looking for native English speakers with bachelor degrees who can teach the "direct method," by which students learn through concepts, pantomiming, and the target language exclusively.

While not all schools require it, a certification for Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) can make you a more desirable candidate. Salaries can be as high as $36,000 a year in Japan or $45,000 in the United Arab Emirates.

4. Trade Specialty, Foreign Goods

Looking to travel and have a little capital to start with? Consider getting in the import-export trade and head out to exotic countries to find local, specialty, and handmade goods that will appeal to travel-hungry consumers back home. Pick up goods that areas are known for (examples include Italian leather, Mexican hammocks, and Turkish ceramics) as well as one-of-a-kind pieces that can't be purchased by the truck full. Once you are back in the U.S., sell them to stores, collectors, and even eBay for a handsome profit.

You'll have to figure out how to navigate customs regulations, but when you can sell goods for many times their original worth, the hassle pays for itself.

5. Research For A Travel Guidebook 

There aren't many professions as romanticized and misunderstood as researching and writing for travel guidebooks such as Lonely Planet and Fodor's. While the job is exhilarating — jetting you off to hundreds of places to try the local culture, food, and hotels — the reality of the work is a grind. Most guidebook researchers and writers report having to meet unrealistic deadlines that require them to work 12-to-14-hour days. In addition, seeing the sights is a small part of the job. Researchers and writers must crank out reports and articles, make maps of the areas they visit, and engage in extensive, tedious data entry.

Because of tightening budgets and an abundance of 20-somethings willing to do the job for next to nothing, guide writing is hardly a lucrative profession. But you can earn enough to make a living.

In an illuminating New York Times' feature about the lives of guidebook writers, Warren St. John reveals the cardinal tenet of the job: "Most who do it quickly learn the one hard-and-fast rule of the trade: travel-guide writing is no vacation."

6. Become A Flight Attendant

If you don't mind taking your travel with a side of 9-to-5, a great option could be applying to become a flight attendant. Flight attendants make between $25,000 and $50,000 a year, and they get free travel benefits for not just themselves but also their families. The pay might sound low, but consider that the average schedule has attendants working 80 hours a month.

7. Work For A Cruise Line

Working on a cruise ship similarly sends you to exotic locales for pay, yet there are a few key differences. The job comes with long hours for comparably poor pay, but with all expenses paid and free travel. Crew members have their own dining halls, shops, Internet cafes, gyms, party areas, and even organized activities, which creates a fun culture. There are numerous jobs on a ship, with certain ones better than others. Washing dishes just doesn't sound as good as chaperoning passengers on exotic excursions.

8. Start A Travel Blog

Being a professional travel blogger is a tough gig. While traveling to every sight imaginable is a tantalizing part of the job, it takes a lot of work to make it happen. Most travel bloggers spend a year building their sites, churning out several posts a day and building up a following on social-media before they ever see any money from their sites.

Almost all travel bloggers start out by spending their savings just to get up and running. Even once you've built a following, a network, and ad partnerships, you are running your own business, which means that in addition to traveling and writing, you must handle all the marketing, site growth, and financials. As you can imagine, it's a job that never ends. To make it all work, you have to truly love travel and blogging.

9. Work As An Au Pair

An au pair, or an extra pair of hands, is an international nanny who lives with a family for a set period, taking care of their children in exchange for travel, room, board, and pocket money. It can be a fantastic way to see a new culture from the locals' perspective and make some money. Most au pairs are students or recent graduates, so get in before it's too late.

Many families don't require au pairs to speak the native language, and many even prefer it if you speak to their children in English so that they can improve their fluency. There are websites, such as Au Pair World, that help match people with families. 

10. Become A Destination Wedding Photographer

This one requires a bit of skill, but for those with the artistic temperament a wedding-photography business can offer free travel and an outlet for creative expression. It goes without saying that you will have to be a talented photographer, or at least a well-practiced one.

The wedding business is a competitive one with high entry costs (think computer, camera, lenses, editing software, portfolio, website, and, possibly, training), but it pays well. Many destination wedding photographers charge up to $10,000 a wedding, plus airfare, meals, and incidentals. While you'll be working hard during the wedding, extend your stay for a few hundred dollars and you are well paid and traveling free. 

11. Join The Peace Corps

Joining the Peace Corps is not a decision to be taken lightly. It requires a 27-month commitment in a developing country with few modern conveniences and not much opportunity to see friends or family. If you're still on board, and have a desire to make a difference in the lives of others, the Peace Corps can be a life-changing and rewarding experience.

Few opportunities immerse travelers in a culture as thoroughly as the Peace Corps. Expect to choose from an array of assignments, including teaching English, working in disease prevention, and building infrastructure. There is also an extensive application and interview process. The Peace Corps pays for travel expenses, living expenses, certain student-loan benefits, and it offers a $7,425 readjustment allowance upon completing your service.

12. Write A Literary Account Of Your Travels

If all else fails (or you are an incredible wordsmith), take a crack at writing the next "Green Hills of Africa,""Homage to Catalonia," or "The Sun Also Rises." If the book does well, you could have a cash cow on your hands in the form of royalties and advance checks.

Of course, most would-be authors will never see a cent from their travels or literary hard work. If you have the courage to try, you could end up with the traveling lifestyle and your pick of publications to print your essays and stories. 

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Here's the Irish island where they filmed the most gorgeous scene from the new Star Wars

If you listen closely after someone asks, "So what do you do?" you can almost hear the other person's eyes roll as they recite their 30-second elevator pitch.

But talking to new people doesn't have to be such a drag.

There are ways to get the conversation going without resorting to irritating clichés.

Check out these 17 icebreakers that will help ease you into an engaging conversation with people you've never met before.

SEE ALSO: How to talk to anyone at a networking event

"What kind of volunteer work do you do?"

Asking people about their volunteer work will open up "a world of wonderful conversation," writes strategy consultant Alice Korngold on Fast Company. 

Korngold says she especially enjoys meeting people who work on nonprofit boards because she gets to learn about how an organization was founded, how the person got involved with it, and about the "fascinating group dynamics of boards." 

"Are you originally from [wherever the event is], or did your business bring you here?"

This question will help you jumpstart an engaging conversation with ease because "it doesn't feel like you are asking for a stiff elevator speech," Diane Gottsman, national etiquette expert and owner of The Protocol School of Texas, tells U.S. News & World Report. 

The conversation will allow both parties to talk about themselves, which is the ultimate goal of career-savvy people attending a networking event, Gottsman says.  

"Man, these networking events can be so crazy. Mind if I join you over here where it’s a little quieter?"

Find someone on the outskirts of the ongoing conversations and introduce yourself, says Ariella Coombs, content manager for Careerealism.com. 

Since they are alone and possibly looking miserable, they are probably uncomfortable with the social situation, Coombs says. By initiating the interaction, you can help to put them at ease and get them in the flow of a conversation. 

You get all kinds of happiness advice on the internet from people who don't know what they're talking about. Don't trust them.

Actually, don't trust me either. Trust neuroscientists. They study that gray blob in your head all day and have learned a lot about what truly will make you happy.

UCLA neuroscience researcher Alex Korb has some insights that can create an upward spiral of happiness in your life.

Here's what you and I can learn from the people who really have answers:

1. The most important question to ask when you feel down

Sometimes it doesn't feel like your brain wants you to be happy. You may feel guilty or shameful. Why?

Believe it or not, guilt and shame activate the brain's reward center.

Via The Upward Spiral:

Despite their differences, pride, shame, and guilt all activate similar neural circuits, including the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, amygdala, insula, and the nucleus accumbens. Interestingly, pride is the most powerful of these emotions at triggering activity in these regions — except in the nucleus accumbens, where guilt and shame win out. This explains why it can be so appealing to heap guilt and shame on ourselves — they're activating the brain's reward center.

And you worry a lot, too. Why? In the short term, worrying makes your brain feel a little better — at least you're doing something about your problems.

Via The Upward Spiral:

In fact, worrying can help calm the limbic system by increasing activity in the medial prefrontal cortex and decreasing activity in the amygdala. That might seem counterintuitive, but it just goes to show that if you're feeling anxiety, doing something about it — even worrying — is better than doing nothing.

But guilt, shame, and worry are horrible, long-term solutions. So what do neuroscientists say you should do? Ask yourself this question:

What am I grateful for?

Yeah, gratitude is awesome … but does it really affect your brain at the biological level? Yup.

You know what the antidepressant Wellbutrin does? Boosts the neurotransmitter dopamine. So does gratitude.

Via The Upward Spiral:

The benefits of gratitude start with the dopamine system, because feeling grateful activates the brain stem region that produces dopamine. Additionally, gratitude toward others increases activity in social dopamine circuits, which makes social interactions more enjoyable …

Know what Prozac does? Boosts the neurotransmitter serotonin. So does gratitude.

Via The Upward Spiral:

One powerful effect of gratitude is that it can boost serotonin. Trying to think of things you are grateful for forces you to focus on the positive aspects of your life. This simple act increases serotonin production in the anterior cingulate cortex.

I know, sometimes life lands a really mean punch in the gut and it feels like there's nothing to be grateful for. Guess what?

Doesn't matter. You don't have to find anything. It's the searching that counts.

Via The Upward Spiral:

It's not finding gratitude that matters most; it's remembering to look in the first place. Remembering to be grateful is a form of emotional intelligence. One study found that it actually affected neuron density in both the ventromedial and lateral prefrontal cortex. These density changes suggest that as emotional intelligence increases, the neurons in these areas become more efficient. With higher emotional intelligence, it simply takes less effort to be grateful.

And gratitude doesn't just make your brain happy — it can also create a positive feedback loop in your relationships. So express that gratitude to the people you care about.

For more on how gratitude can make you happier and more successful, click here.

But what happens when bad feelings completely overtake you? When you're really in the dumps and don't even know how to deal with it? There's an easy answer …

2. Label negative feelings

You feel awful. OK, give that awfulness a name. Sad? Anxious? Angry?

Boom. It's that simple. Sound stupid? Your noggin disagrees.

Via The Upward Spiral:

[I]n one fMRI study, appropriately titled "Putting Feelings into Words" participants viewed pictures of people with emotional facial expressions. Predictably, each participant's amygdala activated to the emotions in the picture. But when they were asked to name the emotion, the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex activated and reduced the emotional amygdala reactivity. In other words, consciously recognizing the emotions reduced their impact.

Suppressing emotions doesn't work and can backfire on you.

Via Your Brain at Work: Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long:

Gross found that people who tried to suppress a negative emotional experience failed to do so. While they thought they looked fine outwardly, inwardly their limbic system was just as aroused as without suppression, and in some cases, even more aroused. Kevin Ochsner, at Columbia, repeated these findings using an fMRI. Trying not to feel something doesn't work, and in some cases even backfires.

But labeling, on the other hand, makes a big difference.

Via Your Brain at Work: Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long:

To reduce arousal, you need to use just a few words to describe an emotion, and ideally use symbolic language, which means using indirect metaphors, metrics, and simplifications of your experience. This requires you to activate your prefrontal cortex, which reduces the arousal in the limbic system. Here's the bottom line: describe an emotion in just a word or two, and it helps reduce the emotion.

Ancient methods were way ahead of us on this one. Meditation has employed this for centuries. Labeling is a fundamental tool of mindfulness.

In fact, labeling affects the brain so powerfully it works with other people, too. Labeling emotions is one of the primary tools used by FBI hostage negotiators.

To learn more of the secrets of FBI hostage negotiators, click here.

Okay, hopefully you're not reading this and labeling your current emotional state as bored. Maybe you're not feeling awful but you probably have things going on in your life that are causing you some stress. Here's a simple way to beat them.

3. Make that decision

Ever make a decision and then your brain finally feels at rest? That's no random occurrence.

Brain science shows that making decisions reduces worry and anxiety — as well as helping you solve problems.

Via The Upward Spiral:

Making decisions includes creating intentions and setting goals — all three are part of the same neural circuitry and engage the prefrontal cortex in a positive way, reducing worry and anxiety. Making decisions also helps overcome striatum activity, which usually pulls you toward negative impulses and routines. Finally, making decisions changes your perception of the world — finding solutions to your problems and calming the limbic system.

But deciding can be hard. I agree. So what kind of decisions should you make? Neuroscience has an answer.

Make a "good enough" decision. Don't sweat making the absolute 100% best decision. We all know being a perfectionist can be stressful. And brain studies back this up.

Trying to be perfect overwhelms your brain with emotions and makes you feel out of control.

Via The Upward Spiral:

Trying for the best, instead of good enough, brings too much emotional ventromedial prefrontal activity into the decision-making process. In contrast, recognizing that good enough is good enough activates more dorsolateral prefrontal areas, which helps you feel more in control …

As Swarthmore professor Barry Schwartz said in my interview with him: “Good enough is almost always good enough.”

So when you make a decision, your brain feels you have control. And, as I’ve talked about before, a feeling of control reduces stress. But here’s what’s really fascinating: Deciding also boosts pleasure.

Via The Upward Spiral:

Actively choosing caused changes in attention circuits and in how the participants felt about the action, and it increased rewarding dopamine activity.

Want proof? No problem. Let's talk about cocaine.

You give two rats injections of cocaine. Rat A had to pull a lever first. Rat B didn't have to do anything. Any difference? Yup: Rat A gets a bigger boost of dopamine.

Via The Upward Spiral:

So they both got the same injections of cocaine at the same time, but rat A had to actively press the lever, and rat B didn’t have to do anything. And you guessed it — rat A released more dopamine in its nucleus accumbens.

So what's the lesson here? Next time you buy cocaine … whoops, wrong lesson. Point is, when you make a decision on a goal and then achieve it, you feel better than when good stuff just happens by chance.

And this answers the eternal mystery of why dragging your butt to the gym can be so hard.

If you go because you feel you have to or you should, well, it's not really a voluntary decision. Your brain doesn't get the pleasure boost. It just feels stress. And that's no way to build a good exercise habit.

Via The Upward Spiral:

Interestingly, if they are forced to exercise, they don't get the same benefits, because without choice, the exercise itself is a source of stress.

So make more decisions. Neuroscience researcher Alex Korb sums it up nicely:

We don't just choose the things we like; we also like the things we choose.

To learn what neuroscientists say is the best way to use caffeine, click here.

OK, you're being grateful, labeling negative emotions and making more decisions. Great, but this is feeling kinda lonely for a happiness prescription. Let's get some other people in here.

What's something you can do with others that neuroscience says is a path to mucho happiness? And something that's stupidly simple so you don't get lazy and skip it? Brain docs have an answer for you.

4. Touch people

No, not indiscriminately; that can get you in a lot of trouble.

But we need to feel love and acceptance from others. When we don't it's painful. And I don't mean "awkward" or "disappointing." I mean actually painful.

Neuroscientists did a study where people played a ball-tossing video game. The other players tossed the ball to you and you tossed it back to them. Actually, there were no other players; that was all done by the computer program.

But the subjects were told the characters were controlled by real people. So what happened when the "other players" stopped playing nice and didn't share the ball?

Subjects' brains responded the same way as if they experienced physical pain. Rejection doesn't just hurt like a broken heart; your brain feels it like a broken leg.

Via The Upward Spiral:

In fact, as demonstrated in an fMRI experiment, social exclusion activates the same circuitry as physical pain … at one point they stopped sharing, only throwing back and forth to each other, ignoring the participant. This small change was enough to elicit feelings of social exclusion, and it activated the anterior cingulate and insula, just like physical pain would.

Relationships are important to your brain's feeling of happiness. Want to take that to the next level? Touch people.

Via The Upward Spiral:

One of the primary ways to release oxytocin is through touching. Obviously, it's not always appropriate to touch most people, but small touches like handshakes and pats on the back are usually okay. For people you're close with, make more of an effort to touch more often.

Touching is incredibly powerful. We just don't give it enough credit. It makes you more persuasive, increases team performance, improves your flirting … heck, it even boosts math skills.

Touching someone you love actually reduces pain. In fact, when studies were done on married couples, the stronger the marriage, the more powerful the effect.

Via The Upward Spiral:

In addition, holding hands with someone can help comfort you and your brain through painful situations. One fMRI study scanned married women as they were warned that they were about to get a small electric shock. While anticipating the painful shocks, the brain showed a predictable pattern of response in pain and worrying circuits, with activation in the insula, anterior cingulate, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. During a separate scan, the women either held their husbands' hands or the hand of the experimenter. When a subject held her husband's hand, the threat of shock had a smaller effect. The brain showed reduced activation in both the anterior cingulate cortex and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex — that is, less activity in the pain and worrying circuits. In addition, the stronger the marriage, the lower the discomfort-related insula activity.

So hug someone today. And do not accept little, quick hugs. No, no, no. Tell them your neuroscientist recommended long hugs.

Via The Upward Spiral:

A hug, especially a long one, releases a neurotransmitter and hormone oxytocin, which reduces the reactivity of the amygdala.

Research shows getting five hugs a day for four weeks increases happiness big time.

Don't have anyone to hug right now? No? (I'm sorry to hear that. I would give you a hug right now if I could.) But there's an answer: Neuroscience says you should go get a massage.

Via The Upward Spiral:

The results are fairly clear that massage boosts your serotonin by as much as 30 percent. Massage also decreases stress hormones and raises dopamine levels, which helps you create new good habits … Massage reduces pain because the oxytocin system activates painkilling endorphins. Massage also improves sleep and reduces fatigue by increasing serotonin and dopamine and decreasing the stress hormone cortisol.

So spend time with other people and give some hugs. Sorry, texting is not enough.

When you put people in a stressful situation and then let them visit loved ones or talk to them on the phone, they felt better. What about when they just texted? Their bodies responded the same as if they had no support at all.

Via The Upward Spiral:

[T]he text-message group had cortisol and oxytocin levels similar to the no-contact group.

Author's note: I totally approve of texting if you make a hug appointment.

To learn what neuroscience says is the best way to get smarter and happier, click here.

OK, I don't want to strain your brain with too much info. Let's round it up and learn the quickest and easiest way to start that upward spiral of neuroscience-inspired happiness.

Sum up

Here's what brain research says will make you happy:

• Ask "What am I grateful for?" No answers? Doesn't matter. Just searching helps.
• Label those negative emotions. Give it a name and your brain isn't so bothered by it.
• Decide. Go for "good enough" instead of 'best decision ever made on Earth."
• Hugs, hugs, hugs. Don't text — touch.

So what's the simple way to start that upward spiral of happiness?

Just send someone a thank-you email. If you feel awkward about it, you can send them this post to tell them why.

This really can start an upward spiral of happiness in your life. UCLA neuroscience researcher Alex Korb explains:

Everything is interconnected. Gratitude improves sleep. Sleep reduces pain. Reduced pain improves your mood. Improved mood reduces anxiety, which improves focus and planning. Focus and planning help with decision making. Decision making further reduces anxiety and improves enjoyment. Enjoyment gives you more to be grateful for, which keeps that loop of the upward spiral going. Enjoyment also makes it more likely you'll exercise and be social, which, in turn, will make you happier.

So thank you for reading this.

And send that thank-you email now to make you and someone you care about happy.

Join over 205,000 readers. Get a free weekly update via email here.

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SEE ALSO: Science says that if you want to be happy, you should consider ditching the promotion and staying where you are

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NOW WATCH: The simplest way to get — and stay — happy, according to psychologists

Charlie Munger settled into his seat in front of the crowd at the University of Southern California.

It was 1994 and Munger had spent the last 20 years working alongside Warren Buffett as the two men grew Berkshire Hathaway into a billion-dollar corporation. 

Recently, Munger was delivering a talk to the USC Business School entitled, "A Lesson on Elementary Worldly Wisdom." 

About halfway through his presentation, hidden among many fantastic lessons, Munger discussed a strategy that Warren Buffett had used with great success throughout his career.

Here it is:

When Warren lectures at business schools, he says, "I could improve your ultimate financial welfare by giving you a ticket with only 20 slots in it so that you had 20 punches — representing all the investments that you got to make in a lifetime. And once you’d punched through the card, you couldn’t make any more investments at all."

He says, "Under those rules, you’d really think carefully about what you did and you’d be forced to load up on what you’d really thought about. So you’d do so much better."

Again, this is a concept that seems perfectly obvious to me. And to Warren it seems perfectly obvious. But this is one of the very few business classes in the U.S. where anybody will be saying so. It just isn’t the conventional wisdom.

To me, it’s obvious that the winner has to bet very selectively. It’s been obvious to me since very early in life. I don’t know why it’s not obvious to very many other people.

The Underrated Importance of Selective Focus

Warren Buffett’s "20-Slot" Rule isn’t just useful for financial investments, it’s a sound approach for time investments as well. In particular, what struck me about Buffett’s strategy was his idea of "forcing yourself to load up" and go all in on an investment.

The key point is this: 

Your odds of success improve when you are forced to direct all of your energy and attention to fewer tasks.

If you want to master a skill — truly master it — you have to be selective with your time. You have to ruthlessly trim away good ideas to make room for great ones. You have to focus on a few essential tasks and ignore the distractions. You have to commit to working through 10 years of silence.

Going All In

If you take a look around, you’ll notice very few people actually go "all in" on a single skill or goal for an extended period of time. 

Rather than researching carefully and pouring themselves into a goal for a year or two, most people "dip their toes in the water" and chase a new diet, a new college major, a new exercise routine, a new side business idea, or a new career path for a few weeks or months before jumping onto the next new thing.

In my experience, so few people display the persistence to practice one thing for an extended period of time that you can actually become very good in many areas — maybe even world-class — with just one year of focused work. If you view your life as a 20-slot punchcard and each slot is a period of focused work for a year or two, then you can see how you can enjoy significant returns on your invested time simply by going all in on a few things.

My point here is that everyone is holding a "life punchcard" and, if we are considering how many things we can master in a lifetime, there aren’t many slots on that card. You only get so many punches during your time on this little planet. Unlike financial investments, your 20 "life slots" are going to get punched whether you like it or not. The time will pass either way.

Don’t waste your next slot. Think carefully, make a decision, and go all in. Don’t just kind of go for it. Go all in. Your final results are merely a reflection of your prior commitment.

Join the conversation about this story »

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Lingerie startup Adore Me has an enticing offer for those who quit the company, Bloomberg reports, and it comes in the form of $10,000 checks.

"We would do it for anyone that has put in a lot of hard work and effort at Adore Me," CEO Morgan Hermand-Waiche said to Bloomberg.

"It's great for someone inside the company. It makes them more willing to stay," he added.

One person who received this reward was Julie Tracy, Bloomberg reported.

A representative from Adore Me told Business Insider that Tracy was the company's fourth employees.

"We don't like to have our team members needing to wait for the day we sell and IPO to get the reward of their work," Hermand-Waiche said to Bloomberg.

This practice also seems to be a way of paying it forward.

"It's just a way to say thank you," Hermand-Waiche said to Bloomberg. "Maybe one day they will come back, maybe they will tell their friends about it and it will get us some great leads."

But, some experts remain skeptical of this practice.

"Are you kidding me?," Bruce Elliott, manager of compensation and benefits of the Society of Human Resource Management, said to Bloomberg. "Organizations don't give away money like this to be nice. There's got to be an end game here. There's got to be some sort of objective. How will it benefit the business?"

Meanwhile, Adore Me has been growing rapidly, and this new buzz comes on the heels of positive news about the brand.

Inc. named Adore Me its No. 2 retail company and its No. 14 overall company on its Inc. 5000 list, while pointing out that Adore Me has grown an impressive 15,606% in just three years.

It has generated consistent praise for embracing women of all sizes with its inclusive designs.

"We as a brand are reinventing the approach to fashion," Adore Me's CEO Morgan Hermand-Waiche said to Business Insider this month. "We want to be the brand that stands for everyone, and everyone means every wallet, every style, and every size."

Earlier this summer, Adore Me's director of business and brand development, Sharon Klapka, told Business Insider that the company "[aims] to slay Victoria's Secret."  

SEE ALSO: This lingerie company is tapping into a $17.5 billion industry that many retailers ignore

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Checking your email on vacation can be just as tempting as checking your text messages at work.

Over 40% of working adults said they feel obligated to check their email while they are on vacation, according to a poll of over 2,000 adults from Ipsos Public Affairs.

The temptation is rational. Who wants to click through hundreds or thousands of emails after returning from a time of R&R? Some say this post-vacation email deluge even makes them dread going on vacation in the first place.

However, Research shows that stress levels tend to increase when you have access to your inbox and that in order to return to work refreshed and rejuvenated, you need to unplug completely during vacation.

But Dmitri Leonov, VP of growth for Sanebox, says that's not always a realistic option.

He says following these five steps will allow you to enjoy your vacation, as well as transition back into the workflow with ease:

SEE ALSO: 3 reasons companies like LinkedIn, Virgin, and Netflix are giving their employees 'unlimited' vacation

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1. Set your auto-responder to expire a couple of days after you get back from vacation.

"The most important hack is to setting the expectation that you will be back later," Leonov explains. He says this buys him a couple of extra days to play catch up at work before responding to his emails.

Plus, when you come back to work on Monday but your out-of-office email doesn't expire until Wednesday, people are really impressed when you get back to them first thing Wednesday morning, Leonov says.

2. Install a filter to separate important or urgent emails from unimportant, non-urgent ones.

Everyone should have a filter that sorts emails into "important" and "unimportant" folders, Leonov says. These filters, like Google priority or his own tool, Sanebox, allow you to quickly scan through your unimportant emails and delete them all at once.

"Having an active filter is going to save you a disproportionate amount of time when you're back," Leonov says.

3. Filter out recurring emails.

Daily updates from your go-to news sites or weekly notifications about meetings are helpful — if you're in office.

While you're out of the office, make sure to filter out these recurring updates, notifications, and newsletters so you don't waste time deleting them during or after vacation when they are obsolete.

Hiring managers spend six seconds on your résumé before they decide on you.

This is what they look at.

Produced by Matt Johnston.

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During the holidays, things tend to slow down. Invest some time in a few high-impact actions to boost your online visibility and help you start your job search in 2016.

In case you don't know where to start, this list of quick and easy ideas will get you on your way to building your brand, nurturing your network, and re-energizing your career.

1. Google yourself.

Enter your name in quotation marks in Google's search bar and see what comes up on the first page.

2. Identify companies where you'd like to work.

Take a quick assessment of top companies in your desired industry and make a list of the ones that sound interesting. This will serve as a list for future research and tracking the activities of these companies.

3. Reconnect with former colleagues.

Send a quick email to a former co-worker. This is a great time of year to wish people a happy New Year and touch base. If you send out a few each day over the next few weeks, the responses you receive won't arrive at the same time, and you'll have time to reply.

4. Send an end-of-year email to your network.

Along the same lines, sending an email to your closer friends and associates is a wonderful way to bring your network up to speed on what you're doing professionally. Don't be afraid to insert some personal highlights as well. Close your email with a sentence asking them to update you on their lives or offering your assistance.

5. Update your LinkedIn photo.

If you're still using a photo from 10 years ago on your LinkedIn profile, update it with a fresh, contemporary shot. Use a headshot, not a full-body shot, and make sure that you are the only one in the photo. A 400-by-400 pixel photo is ideal, according to LinkedIn. A 20,000-by-20,000 pixel photo is too big. You can do some minor cropping once you've uploaded your picture.

6. Audit your LinkedIn profile views.

It only takes a few seconds to check how many people have viewed your LinkedIn profile. Consider this your baseline. Once you've made some updates, wait a couple of weeks, then go back to check the number of views your profile received.

7. Try a new social network.

Learning how to use a new social network may increase your marketability. Sign up for one you aren't using yet and spend a few minutes playing with the functions and following influential users.

8. Create a reading list of business books.

Ask your friends or mentors for book recommendations. You can make your request general or ask for books on a specific topic. Once you've compiled the list, send it to everyone who contributed as a way of saying thanks.

9. Make a wish list.

Throughout the year, people have recommended attending events, conferences or training seminars. Put these together on a list. Research dates, locations and costs to help you determine which are feasible for the year. You may even ask your manager whether your company could sponsor some.

10. Invest time in your hobby.

Investing in time to yourself can help you feel rejuvenated. Be sure to add time for your hobby to your calendar, so other emergencies don't push it aside. It's fine to be a little selfish once in a while.

11. Order personal business cards.

Treat yourself to personal business cards. They're an easy way to share contact information. At a minimum, include your personal email address. You could also include your personal mobile telephone number, LinkedIn profile link, or other branding information you want people to know or ask about.

12. Research salaries.

You really should know what the going rate is for the type of work you do. Do a quick search using salary calculators. Email a couple of local recruiters as well to get an idea of how much professionals with similar experience and skills are commanding.

13. Organize your desk.

It may sound like a procrastination stunt, but decluttering your desk may help you feel less overwhelmed. Chunk this into three smaller increments to keep it manageable. First, set up an online filing system. Second, toss old materials you no longer need. Third, scan important documents you want to keep.

14. Zero out your email inbox.

If you feel like a slave to your email, try setting up a system to manage incoming messages. Not only will this save time, it may also reduce stress.

15. Master your calendar.

Try putting everything on your calendar. Schedule time every day for specific job-search or career-building activities you know you should do. It's too easy to say that you don't have time to reach out to people or meet for coffee, so build it into your schedule throughout the year.

16. Compile positive feedback.

Before you forget or lose the information, collect performance appraisals and testimonials from customers, clients or colleagues. Send the materials to your home email or save it to the cloud and keep it in a brag file. If you want to create a presentation or portfolio of positive feedback quotes in the future, you'll have easy access to this information.

17. Create a bucket list of people you want to meet.

Brainstorm a list of industry experts, local movers and shakers, or even famous alumni you want to reach. Having this list will help you carry through on making the outreach actually happen.

18. Create a vision board on Pinterest.

Search for photos online that represent your ideal future work space or company. Include visual representation of the steps that will lead to your goal, such as winning an "Employee of the Month" contest, writing an award-winning paper, or even attending an industry conference. There may be industry experts you idolize or want to emulate. Add these photos to a job board on Pinterest and keep it somewhere you see every day for inspiration.

SEE ALSO: 7 science-backed ways to instantly feel more powerful

DON'T MISS: The 27 jobs that are most damaging to your health

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NOW WATCH: Research Shows What Type Of Office Makes Employees More Productive

The best way to invite good new things into your life is to make room for them.

Just as you declutter your office and home, from time to time do a check and throw out anything that isn't helping you make your success achievable.

Here are some good places to start.

1. Trying to be perfect.

Perfectionism sets us up for failure. It's not a quest for the best but a way of telling yourself you'll never be good enough.

2. Playing small.

Expand your horizons. Go big. Grow! Sometimes the process is painful, but it's worth it.

3. Faking it.

Vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage. Truth and courage aren't always comfortable, but they're always strong.

4. Waiting for luck.

Luck builds its foundation on preparation. Coming across good opportunities may be partly a matter of luck, but it's also a matter of knowing where to find them and being prepared to make the most of them.

5. Waiting for anything.

We have been fooled into thinking that if we wait for the right time, right place, and right person we will be successful, but opportunity is where you find it, not where it finds you.

6. Needing approval.

Don't let the opinions of others consume you. What a waste of time!

7. Trying to do it alone.

Even if you can pull it off, it's twice as much work and half as much fun when you do it alone.

8. Making empty promises.

Make your promises rare and 100 percent reliable.

9. Fixating on your weaknesses.

We all have our weak points. Work on them, but focus on your strengths.

10. Blaming others.

It's cowardly and it costs you respect.

11. Overlooking your negative thoughts.

You may believe that you are responsible for what you do but not for what you think. The truth is those things can't be separated.

12. Living in the past.

Your future starts now.

13. Trying to please everyone.

The surest path to failure is trying to please everyone. Work to please only yourself and those who are important to you.

14. Small goals.

Small goals yield small results; big goals, big (and sometimes huge) results.

15. Holding on to grudges.

They're a waste of time and a thief of contentment and happiness.

16. Avoiding change.

Change will happen with your permission or not. Manage it when you can and always make the best of it.

17. Trying to never make a mistake.

Avoiding risk and never daring is the biggest mistake you can make.

18. Saying "I can't."

Don't give up just because things are hard, and don't talk to yourself in negative terms.

19. Minimizing yourself.

Being a shrinking violet doesn't help you, it doesn't put anyone else at ease, and it's a bore.

20. Gossiping.

Small people indulge in gossip. Talk about ideas instead — and when you do talk about people, be compassionate and supportive always.

21. Staying down.

Failure does not come from falling down. Failure comes from not getting up.

22. Complaining.

If you spend time complaining about yesterday, you won't have time to make tomorrow better.

23. Spending time with negative people.

If those around you are trying to bring you down, maybe it's time to lift yourself up.

24. Comparing yourself with others.

Comparison is another thief of your happiness. Don't worry about what others are doing.

25. Thinking you can't make a difference.

Each of us can make a difference — and together we make a change.

We all have traits and tendencies we need to give up so we can let something great come in. Everyone is entitled for success; we just have to make room for it. Learn to give up what is keeping you stuck and start moving closer to the things you want out of life.

SEE ALSO: 18 things you need to stop doing if you want to be successful

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Patrick Bet-David recently took a 30-day RV road trip across the US to talk to young people about dropping out of school. 

That's right. The entrepreneur is advising some college kids to take a different path.

"If there's one message I can give to the younger generation, it's to drop out as quickly as possible from school," he told Business Insider.

Of course, this isn't the right move for everyone.

Bet-David, who founded the $40 million insurance company PHP Agency in 2009, says these are the only three reasons you should go to college: 

1. If you're trying to be a doctor, dentist, engineer, lawyer, or play sports.

2. If you don't have a strong work ethic and do better when someone is there to tell you what to do.

3. If you have a habit of not finishing things.

Considering 80% of college freshman at Penn State said they were uncertain about their major, Bet-David says that a college education is often "wasted" on kids who don't know what they want to do with their lives. Investing money into educating a student in a subject they're unsure of is not always worth their parents working 5 to 10 extra years to pay for it, or the student using their first decade worth of paychecks to pay off loans, he says. 

Even if a family has the money to send their child to college, the student still needs to ask themselves, "Is this worth it?,"Bet-David suggests. 

So what should 18- to 22-year-olds do instead? He shared a couple ideas:

1. Travel

Of course, this isn't an option for a lot of people. But if you have some money saved from your summer job in high school, or very generous parents, you might want to consider traveling the world, he says.

"I would rather finance one year of travel for my two sons for them to go live in 10 different countries and learn about different cultures."

2. Work for a CEO for a year for free

"If you think you want to do a certain job, go work around that environment to see if you even like it — and if you don't, then at least you found out earlier rather than later, and school will always be there if you change your mind."

These two alternatives give young people in their late teens and early 20s more real world experience than college can provide, he says. "If you go to college, you come out knowing the same thing that [thousands] of other kids know, but when you go through life experiences, then you can teach me or other hiring managers things," he explains. 

And for everyone who says that these alternatives cut out the "experimental/partying" phase of college, Bet-David disagrees. "I joined the Army out of high school and my party stories are by far much better than my friends who went to college." Young folks will find a way to experience life, and "party," no matter where they are, he adds.

Bet-David says he just wants people to at least question whether spending the money to go to school for four years is really worth it, because it's not a "one size fits all" experience. "Too often we're following the traditional footsteps of what were supposed to do and it's not working," he concludes.

SEE ALSO: A millionaire CEO who was once homeless says these are the 3 most important lessons he's ever learned

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