One of the greatest gifts any of us can ever receive is the gift of listening. It is also one of the greatest gifts we can ever give. Unfortunately, it appears to be a lost art.

We live in a world where everyone is talking but few are listening. What often passes for listening is simply one person pausing to collect their thoughts for their next soliloquy. Just turn on your favorite talk radio or television show to experience a vivid example of this. (My personal favorite is Hannity & Colmes, where no one appears to be listening to anyone!)

Listening is difficult work. I don’t pretend to be good at it, but I am trying to learn. Like every skill, the more you do it, the better you get. Here are a few things I am trying to practice and that you can also do to improve your listening skills:

1. Be fully present. This is where every great conversation begins. So often, we are distracted with other things. We try to listen while continuing to work on the computer or watch television. To be fully present means we eliminate these distractions and focus exclusively on the other person. It takes great effort to be fully in the moment, leaning forward, with your ears—and heart—open.
   
   
2. Ask a question. I am trying to discipline myself to ask more questions. Instead of just commenting when it’s my turn, I try to ask a question about something the other person said. Perhaps they said something that requires further explanation. Maybe you need an example. Regardless, a question can help the conversation go deeper.
   
   
3. Ask a second question. Great questions are the prerequisite for great conversation. Sometimes, like peeling the layers off an onion, you have to peel the conversation back with even more questions. It’s good to ask questions. It’s even better to ask lots of questions. The more you listen, the more insight you gather and the more relevant your comments will be.
   
   
4. Put yourself in the other person’s shoes. Words are only part of the communication. Sometimes we need to experience the other person’s feelings to really understand. We need to listen with our heart as well as our mind.
   
   
5. Validate their thoughts and feelings. One of the worst things we can do when listening is invalidate the other person. “Why would you think that?!” Or, “You shouldn’t feel that way.” These kinds of words don’t move the conversation along; they stop it dead in it’s tracks.
   
   
6. Repeat back what you have heard. When we do this—and do it accurately—we communicate that we understand. It also gives you an opportunity to re-calibrate your understanding if you misunderstood something.

Plenty of people are good talkers. Few are good listeners. If you develop the latter skill, you will find yourself invited into amazing conversations that wouldn’t otherwise happen.

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Everyone wants to be a leader. However, few are prepared to accept the accountability that goes with it. But you can't have one without the other. They are two sides of the same coin.

But what does accountability look like? First and foremost, it means that you accept responsibility for the outcomes expected of you—both good and bad. You don’t blame others. And you don’t blame the external environment. There are always things you could have done—or still can do—to change the outcome.

Until you take responsibility, you are a victim. And being a victim is the exact opposite of being a leader. Victims are passive. They are acted upon. Leaders are active. They take initiative to influence the outcome.

Once a month, we require all of our divisional leaders to write a report, detailing what happened the previous month. They submit these to the Executive Leadership Team and then we meet with each leader face-to-face.

These reports provide a summary of what happened and a review of the key metrics that drive the business. We also ask each division head to describe how their leadership succeeded or failed. We ask, “What was it about your leadership that produced these results?” The underlying assumption is that it is all about their leadership. We do not allow them to blame anyone internally or externally.

Allen Arnold did a particularly good job of this in his report. I have asked his permission to include it here, because I believe it serves as a great model for others. By way of background, Allen leads our Fiction division. It is one of our fastest growing divisions and Allen has done a great job leading it to it’s current level of success.

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Almost everyone I know is working more time than they would like. That’s why a book like The 4-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss has been such a big bestseller. This is a great book, but the promise is a little over the top. I don’t know of anyone, including Tim Ferriss, who really only works four hours.

But what if you could shave ten hours off your work week? In my opinion, that is much more do-able. Virtually anyone, with a little thought and effort can do it. Here’s how:

1. Limit the time you spend online. In my experience, the Web is most people’s #1 time suck. Yes, I know it is a wonderful tool for research, blah, blah, blah. But I often catch myself and my family members mindlessly surfing from one page to another with no clear objective in mind. Before you know it, you can eat up several hours a day. The key is to put a fence around this activity and limit your time online. Set a timer for yourself if you have to.
   
   This is true for Web surfing and it is also true for email. Unless you are in a customer service position where you have to be “always-on,” you should check email no more than two or three times a day.
   
   
2. Touch email messages once and only once. Okay, let’s be honest. How many times do you read the same email message over and over again? Guess what? The information hasn’t changed. That’s right. You are procrastinating.
   
   I have a personal rule: I will only read each message once then take the appropriate action: do, delegate, defer, file or delete it. I describe these in more detail in a post I made last week.
   
   
3. Follow the two-minute rule. My to-do list is very short. It never gets longer than about thirty items. This is because I do everything I can immediately. If I need to make a phone call, rather than entering it on my to-do list, I just make the call.
   
   If I can complete the action in less than two minutes, I just go ahead and do it. Why wait? You will be amazed at how much this “bias toward action” will reduce your workload.
   
   Conversely, when you don’t do it promptly, you end up generating even more work for yourself and others. The longer a project sits, the longer it takes to overcome inertia and get it moving again. The key is to define the very next action and do it. You don’t have to complete the whole project, just the next action.
   
   
4. Stop attending low-impact meetings. If there’s one thing we can probably all agree on, it’s that we go to too many meetings. Either the meeting organizer isn’t prepared, the meeting objective isn’t defined, or you can’t really affect the outcome one way or the other.
   
   Every meeting should have a written objective and a written agenda. If you don’t have these two minimal items, how do you know when the meeting is over? Could this also explain why meetings seem to drag on and on until everyone is worn out?
   
   If the content of the meeting is irrelevant to you and your job or if you don’t feel that you really add that much to the discussion, ask to be excused.
   
   
5. Schedule time to get your work done. This is crucial. As the saying goes, “nature abhors a vacuum.” If you don’t take control of your calendar, someone else will. You can’t spend all your time in meetings and still get your work done.
   
   Instead, you need to make appointments with yourself. Yes, go ahead and actually put them on your calendar. Then, when someone asks for a meeting, you can legitimately say, “No, I’m sorry, that won’t work. I already have a commitment.” And you do—to yourself!
   
   
6. Cultivate the habit of non-finishing. Not every project you start is worth finishing. Sometimes we get into it and realize, “This is a waste of time.” Fine, then give yourself permission to quit.
   
   I do this all the time with reading. It’s why I am able to read so many articles and books. Here’s publishing’s dirty little secret: most books are not worth finishing. Most books could be cut in half and you wouldn’t miss a thing. The key is to read as long as you are interested and then stop. There are too many great books to read without getting bogged down in the merely good ones.
   
   
7. Engage in a weekly review and preview. Part of the reason our lives get out of control is because we don’t plan. Once a week, you have to come up for air. Or—to change the metaphor—you have to take the plane up to 30,000 feet, so you can see the big picture.
   
   I generally do this on Sunday evening. I review my notes from the previous week and look ahead to my calendar. I have written elsewhere on this topic, so I won’t repeat myself here.

You may not be able to reduce your workweek to four hours—and honestly, who would want to?—but you can certainly scale it down to a manageable level by cutting out the wasted motion and developing a few good habits.

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Affiliate marketing programs are the first lot that website owners and bloggers start looking at when they want to monetise their sites or blogs. Google Adsense is the obvious name that comes to our mind when we talk of affiliate marketing. So recently when I went through that stage for another online venture of mine, I signed up for Adsense plus a host of other affiliate programs.

What I didn't realise that time was that the affiliate programs that work for the blogs or websites in the US might not necessarily work for a website with an Indian audience. The reasons can be many. The primary reason is that there are more Americans today who are buying stuff online than Indians.

I recently read about somebody from Futurebaazar, supposedly one of India's best online shopping portals, mentioning in a news story that out of the total number of visits the site gets in a day, the percentage of people who actually end up buying is so far minuscule. Online shopping is apparently a phenomenon not yet accepted fully by the Internet goers in India. I suppose the touch and feel at Ansal Plaza is what people want :-)

So, people here are more likely to click on ads that link to another service or another online site, rather than a product link. Maybe that is the reason why some people think Google Adsense works best among many affiliate marketing networks.
Secondly, there is the question of relevancy. There is no use advertising a New York service in your website targeted at the Indian audience. This led me to an online quest for Indian affiliate networks.

Below is the list.

This is a work in progress list of all the major affiliate marketing programs in India. You might have run in to many of these already. The basic idea is to share what I have collected so far and maybe provide a resource to somebody looking to monetise his/her site. And of course, please link to this blog. Leave me a comment in case you know/have any other affiliate network sites or programs.

Affiliate network sites -
Affiliate Curry - Supposedly India's first affiliate network offering a small range of Indian affiliate programs.
Affiliate Network - Offers affiliate network and provides commission to affiliates on a click basis
Cine Chance- At the Starting you will get Rs. 5 for every confirmed registered member of Cine Chance who comes from a banner/text link on your site. If they get satisfied with your conversion rate, they can increase your commission upto Rs 10 per free registration.
ClixGalore India - Offers five scaled levels of affiliate recruitment and promotional services to their merchants with a small but growing position in the India Affiliate Marketing industry. Network access to the USA, Japan, Australia, India and the UK.
dgm India - A wholly own subsidiary of Deal Group, part of dgm Holdings Plc. The Company's principal activity is the delivery of ROI through affiliate marketing, search engine marketing, display inventory and email, either as individual channels, or as a complete solution.
Media Marketing Online - Provider of Online Marketing services and Sales Solutions with various services like Search Engine Optimization , website optimization services, Search Engine Marketing solutions, PPC Management Services etc based in India with host of services for Advertisers, Publishers and Agencies.
Tyroo - Offers pay per click ads. Generate tags for various categories on your website after identifying the size and type of ads that you want us to serve.
Webshree - Network of web sites and representatives selling your product on a commission-only basis.

Individual websites providing affiliate programs -
Bazaar of India - You can earning 20% commission when your reference buy its herbal products.
Bharatmatrimony.com - India's leading matrimony site offering banner ads, text ads, and email marketing. Earn commissions of upto 50% of the paid subscriptions fee. You earn when visitors reach BharatMatrimony from your website and becomes a paid subscriber.
Career khazana - Whenever any employer visits the site through your link and becomes a premium member, you earn 25% of a net membership fee.
ChennaiBazaar - Earn 8% commissions on sale value on every successful sale generated.
ClickAunty - 25% of each order placed by a referral. 15% of each renewal order.
Crafts in India - Craftsinindia invites queries from the organizations interested in being its affiliates.
ebay - You can refer ebay to friends and earn USD 3 per active confirmed registered user. You can also sell ebay products on your site. There is now a ebay India, so people can trade in INR as well. ebay also has partnerships with other global affiliate networks like Commission Junction and Auction Ads.
Ferns n petals - Earn up to 15% commission on referred merchandise sales with a 10 day cookie for return visitors. You get commission on all sales that take place up to 10 days after you send someone to Fernsnpetals. For example, if a customer visits your site and clicks on its banner ad and doesn't buy anything right away, but purchases something at Fernsnpetals a few days later, you still get credited for the sale.
Fropper - Add a link on your site to Fropper. Whenever someone visits Fropper.com through this link and becomes a premium member, you can earn up to 50% of the fee.
India club - Online shopping site. You can sell Indian Books, Music, Paintings and Multimedia on your site and earn up to 10% in referral fees.
India Herbs - Paying you 40% commission on sales generated from your referrals. Paying you 10% commission on all sales generated on the websites of your referrals.
Indiatimes - You get paid 10% of sale by simply referring a visitor to this online shopping portal.
IndianFriendfinder - It pays you USD 1.00 for each woman and USD 0.50 for each man that signs up for a free membership. The more traffic you send, the more you earn with its percentage program. You earn an extra 10% when other affiliates sign up under your broker ID.
IndianKarma - Pays you 40% commission for each member who signs up for a paid membership.
IndianMatromonialNetwork - Based on a set performance. The higher the performance, the more you will earn! The base commission is 40%.
IndianMatrimonials - With its affiliates program, you earn 30% on all sales referred by your site. That means if someone signs up for one of its Deluxe accounts, you earn up to USD 17.70 per sale without doing anything. Once a month all affiliates with referral revenues of at least USD 25.00 are paid.
Indianplaza - Link your site to products on Indianplaza and and it will pay you a fee for every item sold through a referral coming from your site.
IndianOnNet - As soon as your referral pay its fees, it sends you 40% of the fees as your commission. Your referrals might in turn ask their friends to subscribe to the paid services of IndiansOnNet. If these friends of theirs join, then you receive 15% of the fees.
India travel - Opportunity to earn rewards for sending customers who register with Indiatravel and who book trips.
JeevanSathi- All you need to do is to provide a Banner link on your website that fetches free and paid registrations to JeevanSathi. For every Free as well as Paid Registration you will be entitled to a commission.
Lifepartner India - You can place its links on your site. When users registered at Lifepartners India and becomes a premium member, you earn 50% commission.
Makemytrip - MakeMyTrip.com is an online travel company and among the most successful Internet companies in the country. It provides an affiliate service for which you have to write to the site explaining your business details.
Matri-Money The Matri-Money Affiliate Network offers multiple Indian Affiliate Programs across 14 Matrimony sites, offering up to 50% commission on paid registrations.
Money cosmos - It pays you up to USD 1.00 for each user who registers for free. It also pays you a whopping 20% extra for transactions generated by members referred by you.
Organic India - Its affiliate program allows you to sell tea and other natural products. You can receive 10% commission for every item sold through your site.
rishte hi rishte - You will earn Rs 15.00 for each member referred by you who signs up for free in its matrimonial section.You will earn Rs. 3.00 for each member who signs up for free in its matrimonial section referred by affiliates under you.
Salwar Kameez - All Affiliates, Super-Affiliates, SEO's, Asssociates, Distributors, Dealers, Representatives, Agents are welcome to join its International team and share the profits.
Shaadi.com - Earn upto USD 0.55 on every free profile and upto 40% revenue share – USD 44 for every paid membership.
TajOnline - 5% revenue share on every purchase made on Tajonline through your website. Advance Program: 5% revenue share + recurring commission on purchases made by an individual for 1 year.
Techtribe frontFoot - With frontFoot, companies post high-paying job opportunities that they are looking to fill, and techTribe members refer people in their network for those opportunities. If the company hires a candidate that was referred, the person who made the referral is rewarded financially.
Disclaimer: The above list is simply to provide a directory listing and a brief initial intro to services provided by independent affiliate marketers, for research purposes. This blog cannot take responsibility for the links and descriptions provided above, and offers that these affiliate marketers provide. You are advised to consult and read the terms and conditions provided on their individual websites.

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The true mark of a good weight loss program is that you can stick to it for the rest of your life.

People who want to loose weight the quick and easy way end up regaining the lost weight slowly and steadily. Others try the latest fad diets to jump start weight loss then revert to unhealthy and restrictive diets that offer dramatic but temporary results. For most, maintaining the right body weight can be as difficult, if not more so as loosing unwanted pounds.

Weight control is a complex endeavor that involves more than just eating leaves and nuts and every person needs a program that counters the factors that make being in the right weight range elusive. While there is no one formula, there are many strategies that can help increase the ods of hitting your target. In truth, there is no quick and easy way to lose weight; the key is to make simple, practicle and sustainable in your lifestyle.

1.) Dont “diet”- Abandon the idea of dieting and everything associated with it, such as excluding a food group; extreme restrictions; complete abstinence from food that you love; and “magic” food, food group or food combinations. Instead, plan to eat healthy, balanced meals.

2.) Think healthy rather than think thin - Change your behaviour towards yourself and your relationship with food, and assess why you want to loose weight.

3.) Exercise - Although weight loss may be achieved through dieting alone, losses consist mostly water and muscle.

4.) Take your time eating - Put back the pleasure in dining. Enjoy the taste, texture and smell of your food.

5.) Watch your portions - Understand what “one serving” means. That super sized, side dish laden portion isn’t just one serving; there are more calories in there than what you think. You dont want the extra baggage.

6.) Set reasonable goals - Write it down and give yourself a deadline. Post your goals in a place you can see everyday.

7.) Make small changes - Reasonable alterations in lifestyle go a long, long way.

8.) Eat breakfast - The National Weight Control Registry of The United States shows that those who maintained a loss of atleast 30 pounds for atleast one year, 78 percent reported eating breakfst every day.

9.) Forgive yourself when you stumble - There can be days when you just cant help yourself. Forgive yourself and get back on track. Do not use a slip-up as reason to give up.

10.) Consult your doctor - No matter how old you are or how healthy you percieve yourself to be, consult your doctor before you begin a weight loss or exercise program.

Cheers !!!!

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