Something put into a system or expended in its operation to achieve output or a result.

Basic Skills that Should be Taught in High School

• Personal Finance, which would include balancing a bank account, How to shop wisely, and Understanding Credit and Compound Interest (AKA how to not get messed up by credit card companies!)
• Law. This would include Your Constitutional Rights, State, County, and Municipal Laws, Dealing with the police, and Basic Contracts.
• Basic Biology: How babies are really made. How to avoid STD's. Drugs and the Consequences of their abuse.
• Home Economics. (I know it's not new) This should be REQUIRED for everyone. Everyone should know how to cook a decent, nutritious meal, do their own laundry and shine their own shoes.
• Basic Home maintenance: How to unclog a sink. How to fix a leaky faucet. How to Spackle and paint a wall. How to properly clean a carpet. How to hang a picture. How to hang blinds and curtains.
• Etiquette. By this I mean basic good manners, not which fork to use how to wear a tie. I mean How to comport yourself in public with common courtesy and consideration.
• Critical Thinking. How to deconstruct a newscast or article. How to tell if you are being lied to. How to understand what advertising does and how marketers try to influence you.

“Nothing is impossible, the word itself says “I’m Possible”! "-Audrey Hepburn 

Habits of Mind - 16 Essential Characteristics for Success
The Habits of Mind are an identified set of 16 problem solving, life related skills, necessary to effectively operate in society and promote strategic reasoning, insightfulness, perseverance, creativity and craftsmanship.
The understanding and application of these 16 Habits of Mind serve to provide the individual with skills to work through real life situations that equip that person to respond using awareness (cues), thought, and intentional strategy in order to gain a positive outcome.

• Persisting: Sticking to task at hand; Follow through to completion; Can and do remain focused.
• Managing Impulsivity: Take time to consider options; Think before speaking or acting; Remain calm when stressed or challenged; Thoughtful and considerate of others; Proceed carefully.
• Listening with Understanding and Empathy: Pay attention to and do not dismiss another person's thoughts, feeling and ideas; Seek to put myself in the other person's shoes; Tell others when I can relate to what they are expressing;
• Thinking Flexibly: Able to change perspective; Consider the input of others; Generate alternatives; Weigh options.
• Thinking about Thinking (Metacognition): Being aware of own thoughts, feelings, intentions and actions; Knowing what I do and say affects others; Willing to consider the impact of choices on myself and others.
• Striving for Accuracy: Check for errors; Measure at least twice; Nurture a desire for exactness, fidelity & craftsmanship.
• Questioning and Posing Problems: Ask myself, “How do I know?”; develop a questioning attitude; Consider what information is needed, choose strategies to get that information; Consider the obstacles needed to resolve.
• Applying Past Knowledge to New Situations: Use what is learned; Consider prior knowledge and experience; Apply knowledge beyond the situation in which it was learned.
• Thinking and Communicating with Clarity and Precision: Strive to be clear when speaking and writing; Strive be accurate to when speaking and writing; Avoid generalizations, distortions, minimizations and deletions when speaking, and writing.
• Gathering Data through All Senses: Stop to observe what I see; Listen to what I hear; Take note of what I smell; Taste what I am eating; Feel what I am touching.
• Creating, Imagining, Innovating: Think about how something might be done differently from the “norm”; Propose new ideas; Strive for originality; Consider novel suggestions others might make.
• Responding with Wonderment and Awe: Intrigued by the world's beauty, nature's power and vastness for the universe; Have regard for what is awe-inspiring and can touch my heart; Open to the little and big surprises in life I see others and myself.
• Taking Responsible Risks: Willing to try something new and different; Consider doing things that are safe and sane even though new to me; Face fear of making mistakes or of coming up short and don’t let this stop me.
• Finding Humor: Willing to laugh appropriately; Look for the whimsical, absurd, ironic and unexpected in life; Laugh at myself when I can.
• Thinking Interdependently: Willing to work with others and welcome their input and perspective; Abide by decisions the work group makes even if I disagree somewhat; Willing to learn from others in reciprocal situations.
• Remaining Open to Continuous Learning: Open to new experiences to learn from; Proud and humble enough to admit when don't know; Welcome new information on all subjects.

(After Arthur L. Costa and Bena Kallick, Habits of Mind: A Developmental Series, Copyright © 2000)

The Immutable Laws of Marketing – Al Ries & Jack Trout

#1 The Law of Leadership – It is better to be first than it is to be better.

#2 The Law of Category – If you can’t be first in a category, set up a new category you can be first in.

#3 The Law of Mind – It’s better to be first in the mind, than to be first in the marketplace.

#4 The Law of Perception – Marketing is not a battle of products, it’s a battle of perceptions.

#5 The Law of Focus – The most powerful concept in marketing is owning a word in the prospect’s mind.

#6 The Law of Exclusivity – Two companies cannot own the same word in the prospect's mind.

#7 The Law of The Ladder – The strategy to use depends on which rung you occupy on the ladder.

#8 The Law of Duality – In the long run, every market becomes a two-horse race.

#9 The Law of Opposites – If you are shooting for second place, your strategy is determined by the leader.

#10 – The Law of Division – Over time, a category will divide and become two or more categories.

#11 – The Law of Perspective – Marketing effects take place over an extended period of time.

#12 – The Law of Line Extension – There’s an irresistible pressure to extend the equity of the brand.

#13 – The Law of Sacrifice – You have to give up something in order to get something.

#14 The Law of Attributes – For every attribute, there is an opposite effective attribute.

#15 The Law of Candor – When you admit a negative, the prospect will give you a positive.

#16 The Law of Singularity – In each situation, only one move will produce substantial results.

#17 The Law of Unpredictability – Unless you write your competitors’ plans, you can’t predict the future.

#18 The Law of Success – Success often leads to arrogance, and arrogance to failure.

#19 The Law of Failure – Failure is to be expected and accepted.

#20 The Law of Hype – The situation is often the opposite of the way it appears in the press.

#21 The Law of Acceleration – Successful programs are not built on fads, they’re built on trends.

#22 The Law of Resources – Without adequate funding, an idea won’t get off the ground.

“Don’t count the days, make the days count.” – Muhammad Ali