Career Development

Great story today in the SF Chronicle about how amateur chefs are getting huge exposure on Youtube.

I love that there are so many ways to make a living online today. There are Youtube celebrities that have been making six figures in income for years. If you're not already doing what you love, why not start making content online about it? Stick to what you're truly passionate about and stick with it for a few years. You never know where you might go :)

Note: If you're not a subscriber, you won't be able to check out the SF Chronicle article until Saturday.

Workplace stress can be one of the worst kinds of stress you can have. Dealing with stress at work is vital for the future of your company, and your own personal career. Here are some helpful tips on workplace stress busting.

Most of us spend more time at work than we do anywhere else. That includes the time we spend at home with our loved ones. Is it any wonder then that workplace stress is a major factor for so many people around the world?

Workplace stress can be caused in a numbers of ways, and can show up for many different reasons. Some of the most common reasons for stress in the workplace are:

• Heavy workload
• Deadlines
• Long hours
• Personality clashes
• Boss trouble
• Bullying
• Poor working conditions

All of these problems can bring huge amounts of pressure to the workforce, and will ultimately affect the productivity and success of the business.

Let’s face it, most of us are at work because we have to be, rather than because we want to be. As we spend so much time in the workplace, it is of major importance we learn how to deal with, and reduce the amount of stress we feel at work, so that the effects do not spill into our home, and personal lives.

Here are some steps you can take to reduce the amount of workplace stress you feel:

1. Stay Away From Office Politics

Possibly one of the most common causes of stress at work is relationship issues. Virtually all jobs, whether they be manual or office based, demand you to work in close proximity with other human beings. It is unrealistic to expect that you will get on famously with everybody you work with. In fact it is more likely that there will at least one person in your workplace that you will clash with.

The best thing that you can do in these situations is to try and talk your issues out with that person. If it is not possible for you to discuss things on your own then why not get a work colleague to mediate. If absolutely necessary get the boss to sit you both down and discuss things.

It is important for the health of the business, and your personal stress levels that any personal issues are dealt with as soon as possible. If you cannot agree to get along personally then you must at least try and co-exist whilst at work. This will make things much more productive for the business, and calmer for everyone.

If the personality clash is happening between work colleagues other than yourself it is important that you stay mutual, and try as much as possible not to take sides.

The quicker work relationship problems are sorted out, the better for everyone.

2. Listen to Music

If your bosses allow it, then have some music playing in the background in the workplace. Not loud enough so that nobody can here themselves think, but just enough for people to hear.

Music is a known stress buster, and nothing brings people together more than an old song that everyone remembers.

Get that radio out!

3. Make Sure You Eat

We are like cars. If you don’t give yourself fuel you will not have the energy to work! Being hungry also affects your concentration which will lead to mistakes, and of course a rise in stress levels!

Make sure you have food with you to keep you going through the day in case you do not get time for a proper lunch.

4. Try and Make Work Fun

Although it is important to be productive in the workplace, it is just as important to have as much fun as possible whilst working.

Having weekly competitions, and the odd social activity can really help people bond,and eliminate some of the pressures of business.

If you are not in a position to implement any of these ideas yourself, then why not discuss them with your boss.

There is not a business owner on the planet who will not at least listen to ideas on how to get more out of their staff, especially if relieving them of workplace stress will help the business long term.

This article was written by William Eve. William writes about saving money, investment loans and real estate for Home Loan Finder. Visit the Home Loan Finder website to compare the best home loans or search for a mortgage broker today.

"Sometimes the road less traveled is less traveled for a reason." ~Seinfeld

This post has been rolling around in my head for a long time now, and I wanted to throw it out there. It may seem contradictory to a lot of the other material on Bounteo, but I'd like to at least start the discussion.

There are tons of personal finance bloggers out there, and most of them would probably point to the pattern of thrift and investing in the stock market for the long-term (usually via index funds) as the most proven way to achieve wealth. Studies have certainly born this theory out, and I have advocated the same thing on this site and elsewhere.

However, a nagging doubt at the back of my head is this: just because something worked in the past, does that mean it will work in the future? Also, just because 80% of millionaires made their money using method A, does that mean that you should take that route? Maybe methods B & C are a better fit for you, for the age we live in, or maybe they're just simply less obvious / harder so fewer people try them.

Should we take the tried-and-true route to wealth, even if it doesn't inspire us?

Here are some examples of taking the road less traveled in terms of wealth:

Dropping out of college or skipping college to start a business
Probably not a ton of people who would advocate this, but it's a common story among the super-rich. Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Michael Dell, the list goes on and on. Now, please understand, I'm a huge advocate of college, but lots of people have succeeded without it. Maybe there's something else that works better for you.

Leveraging your investments by buying on margin, trading stock options, or day trading
Are you likely to succeed at this? Statistically, absolutely not. However, I personally know some people who have done very well in these areas. I have a hard time thinking of circumstances where I would encourage it, but why should you listen to me? ;-)

Skipping the stock market altogether and just focusing on real estate
Real estate is a proven path to wealth, so perhaps it doesn't belong in this category, but for whatever reason, I see a lot of personal finance bloggers making the argument that real estate is too advanced for most people or offers inferior returns to those of index funds. Neither are necessarily true. Unlike index funds, real estate is an investment that you can directly improve through hard work and dedication. Returns that are orders of magnitude larger than the stock market are not uncommon for professional real estate investors. "But I'm not a professional", you say? Well, do you want to be? All those professionals started somewhere, too.

Bootstrapping a business with your credit cards
Does this path carry a lot of risk? Absolutely. Are there other ways to accomplish the same thing? Yes, there usually are, but what if this is the only option you have? Should you not take it just because some blogger said it was a bad idea? Lots of businesses have been started this way, and while it's not an ideal start, if it's this or no start, it may be worth it.

Borrowing from your 401k to fund investments
Why not?

Becoming a bank robber
Just kidding. Getting wealth through dishonest means is never worth it.

I say all that to say this: there are many paths to wealth, beyond just the old "save and invest in things that are boring" routine that is often bandied about, even here on Bounteo. That plan is a great one for the vast majority of people, and it's certainly better than no plan at all for 100% of people, but what about those people who are driven to do more? Well, if you're determined to go your own way and explore the road that's even less traveled, here's some advice for the journey:

1. Don't lie to yourself - Be honest about the risks you're taking
2. Manage the risk - Just because you're taking extra risk doesn't mean you can't control or manage it
3. Don't be risky - There's a difference between taking risk and being risky (aka reckless)
4. Have a plan - Before you jump in, think about your path and how you'll deal with different scenarios
5. Seek advice - You're probably not the first to travel down this road, so get advice from those who have
6. Don't abandon the basics - Do what you can to cover your downside and provide an insurance plan if things go south
7. Stay involved - Nothing good ever just happens to people on the road less traveled; you have to make it happen.

Bonus #8: Know when to call it quits - There's no shame in giving it your best and failing. What's sad is people who stumble on in a zombie state for years, wasting valuable time that they could spend on their next attempt.

The last few months have been incredibly busy, but I'm ready to dive in again and get back to Bounteo. I wanted to highlight a few of the great articles I've read recently around the web:

The College Degree is Not Dead - Good post over at Free Money Finance about how the value of a college degree, while declining, is still very high.

Should You Look For A New Job? - Blueprint for Financial Prosperity gives some reasons why you might want to look for a new job, and some reasons why you might not.

Simplicity and being cheap - Philip over at Wise Bread has some great thoughts on simplicity and how living a life without a lot of stuff will help you attain financial freedom.

Here's a few good articles and posts on other sites that I thought readers might find interesting:

How to recover from a (big) mistake at work
Jay over at Dumb Little Man has a pretty interesting post about getting past a mistake at work without letting it do too much damage. The advice is basic but helpful and could be applied to other areas of life beyond just work.

How to Determine the Amount of Life Insurance You Need
Good post from Free Money Finance about how to determine the optimal amount of life insurance. I know that when you're 25, life insurance isn't at the top of your priority list, but there are times when it's important, depending on your circumstances. Take a quick look at the article and see if it's something you should look into further.

You must file a tax return to get economic stimulus tax rebate
Finally, Wise Bread has a post about the upcoming economic stimulus package rebates and how you need to file a tax return to get your cash. I'm posting it here because some college students may not make enough to need to file a tax return, but should definitely consider filing anyway this year. The post also has some good info about the dates that you can expect to receive your rebate.

And that's it! Please send me any links you might have and I'll try and include them in the next Links post.

Now that Bounteo.com is up and running (though we still are working on a design for the site), I want to start things off well, so I'm looking for post ideas and guest bloggers. Please contact me with any ideas you might have for posts and if you're interested in posting a guest post here, please send in any ideas you have. I would love to get some perspectives from other bloggers and authors about how young people can make good choices and make progress towards a life of success.

Bounteo.com is site that explores the pursuit of a life more abundant, particularly as it applies to young adults in their twenties.  However, readers of every age are certainly encouraged to interact and share their opinions and perspectives.  In subsequent posts, I'll explore a bit more about my own definition of success, the topics that I think are relevant to its pursuit, and why I've chosen to focus on young adults.  But first, a short introduction is in order.

My name is Ryan Waggoner, and for some time I've blogged at my personal website about personal finance, including a 12-part series for young adults on how to start investing for the future.  That content will form the genesis of Bounteo, but as we progress, I hope to add content in areas other than personal finance and investing, such as career development, entrepreneurship, time management, personal development and motivation, and other topics related to the pursuit of success in our lives.

Finally, I would like to say that I myself am a young adult (25 years old) and possess little in the way of credentials and professional experience that would qualify me as an authority of many of the topics we'll discuss.  I'm just a guy with a burning curiosity, a passion for learning, and a willingness to see others succeed.  I will do my best to ensure that I provide sources and solid logic and reasoning for the content on this site, but I hope that my readers will do their part to scrutinize my words and conclusions and challenge me where my own reasoning or research has fallen short.  In this way, perhaps we can actually accomplish something in our pursuit of the truth and a life more abundant.