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Your Digestive System & How it Works

Your Digestive System & How it Works

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Your Digestive System & How it Works

What is the digestive system?

The digestive system is made up of the gastrointestinal tract—also called the GI tract or digestive tract—and the liver, pancreas, and gallbladder. The GI tract is a series of hollow organs joined in a long, twisting tube from the mouth to the anus. The hollow organs that make up the GI tract are the mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, and anus. The liver, pancreas, and gallbladder are the solid organs of the digestive system.

The small intestine has three parts. The first part is called the duodenum. The jejunum is in the middle and the ileum is at the end. The large intestine includes the appendix, cecum, colon, and rectum. The appendix is a finger-shaped pouch attached to the cecum. The cecum is the first part of the large intestine. The colon is next. The rectum is the end of the large intestine.

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The digestive system

Bacteria in your GI tract, also called gut flora or microbiome, help with digestion. Parts of your nervous and circulatory NIH external link systems also help. Working together, nerves, hormones, bacteria, blood, and the organs of your digestive system digest the foods and liquids you eat or drink each day.

Why is digestion important?

Digestion is important because your body needs nutrients from food and drink to work properly and stay healthy. Proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins NIH external link, minerals NIH external link, and water are nutrients. Your digestive system breaks nutrients into parts small enough for your body to absorb and use for energy, growth, and cell repair.

  • Proteins break into amino acids
  • Fats break into fatty acids and glycerol
  • Carbohydrates break into simple sugars

MyPlate offers ideas and tips to help you meet your individual health needs External link.

Your digestive system breaks nutrients into parts that are small enough for your body to absorb.

How does my digestive system work?

Each part of your digestive system helps to move food and liquid through your GI tract, break food and liquid into smaller parts, or both. Once foods are broken into small enough parts, your body can absorb and move the nutrients to where they are needed. Your large intestine absorbs water, and the waste products of digestion become stool. Nerves and hormones help control the digestive process.

The digestive process

Previous columnNext column
Organ Movement
Mouth Chewing
Esophagus Peristalsis
Stomach Upper muscle in stomach relaxes to let food enter, and lower muscle mixes food with digestive juice
Small intestine Peristalsis
Pancreas None
Liver None
Large intestine Peristalsis

How does food move through my GI tract?

Food moves through your GI tract by a process called peristalsis. The large, hollow organs of your GI tract contain a layer of muscle that enables their walls to move. The movement pushes food and liquid through your GI tract and mixes the contents within each organ. The muscle behind the food contracts and squeezes the food forward, while the muscle in front of the food relaxes to allow the food to move.

The digestive process starts when you put food in your mouth.

Mouth. Food starts to move through your GI tract when you eat. When you swallow, your tongue pushes the food into your throat. A small flap of tissue, called the epiglottis, folds over your windpipe to prevent choking and the food passes into your esophagus.

Esophagus. Once you begin swallowing, the process becomes automatic. Your brain signals the muscles of the esophagus and peristalsis begins.

Lower esophageal sphincter. When food reaches the end of your esophagus, a ringlike muscle—called the lower esophageal sphincter —relaxes and lets food pass into your stomach. This sphincter usually stays closed to keep what’s in your stomach from flowing back into your esophagus.

Stomach. After food enters your stomach, the stomach muscles mix the food and liquid with digestive juices. The stomach slowly empties its contents, called chyme, into your small intestine.

Small intestine. The muscles of the small intestine mix food with digestive juices from the pancreas, liver, and intestine, and push the mixture forward for further digestion. The walls of the small intestine absorb water and the digested nutrients into your bloodstream. As peristalsis continues, the waste products of the digestive process move into the large intestine.

Large intestine. Waste products from the digestive process include undigested parts of food, fluid, and older cells from the lining of your GI tract. The large intestine absorbs water and changes the waste from liquid into stool. Peristalsis helps move the stool into your rectum.

Rectum. The lower end of your large intestine, the rectum, stores stool until it pushes stool out of your anus during a bowel movement.

Watch this video to see how food moves through your GI tract NIH external link.

How does my digestive system break food into small parts my body can use?

As food moves through your GI tract, your digestive organs break the food into smaller parts using:

  • motion, such as chewing, squeezing, and mixing
  • digestive juices, such as stomach acid, bile, and enzymes

Mouth. The digestive process starts in your mouth when you chew. Your salivary glands make saliva, a digestive juice, which moistens food so it moves more easily through your esophagus into your stomach. Saliva also has an enzyme that begins to break down starches in your food.

Esophagus. After you swallow, peristalsis pushes the food down your esophagus into your stomach.

Stomach. Glands in your stomach lining make stomach acid and enzymes that break down food. Muscles of your stomach mix the food with these digestive juices.

Pancreas. Your pancreas makes a digestive juice that has enzymes that break down carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. The pancreas delivers the digestive juice to the small intestine through small tubes called ducts.

Liver. Your liver makes a digestive juice called bile that helps digest fats and some vitamins. Bile ducts carry bile from your liver to your gallbladder for storage, or to the small intestine for use.

Gallbladder. Your gallbladder stores bile between meals. When you eat, your gallbladder squeezes bile through the bile ducts into your small intestine.

Small intestine. Your small intestine makes digestive juice, which mixes with bile and pancreatic juice to complete the breakdown of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Bacteria in your small intestine make some of the enzymes you need to digest carbohydrates. Your small intestine moves water from your bloodstream into your GI tract to help break down food. Your small intestine also absorbs water with other nutrients.

Large intestine. In your large intestine, more water moves from your GI tract into your bloodstream. Bacteria in your large intestine help break down remaining nutrients and make vitamin K NIH external link. Waste products of digestion, including parts of food that are still too large, become stool.

What happens to the digested food?

The small intestine absorbs most of the nutrients in your food, and your circulatory system passes them on to other parts of your body to store or use. Special cells help absorbed nutrients cross the intestinal lining into your bloodstream. Your blood carries simple sugars, amino acids, glycerol, and some vitamins and salts to the liver. Your liver stores, processes, and delivers nutrients to the rest of your body when needed.

The lymph system NIH external link, a network of vessels that carry white blood cells and a fluid called lymph throughout your body to fight infection, absorbs fatty acids and vitamins.

Your body uses sugars, amino acids, fatty acids, and glycerol to build substances you need for energy, growth, and cell repair.

How does my body control the digestive process?

Your hormones and nerves work together to help control the digestive process. Signals flow within your GI tract and back and forth from your GI tract to your brain.

Hormones

Cells lining your stomach and small intestine make and release hormones that control how your digestive system works. These hormones tell your body when to make digestive juices and send signals to your brain that you are hungry or full. Your pancreas also makes hormones that are important to digestion.

Nerves

You have nerves that connect your central nervous system—your brain and spinal cord—to your digestive system and control some digestive functions. For example, when you see or smell food, your brain sends a signal that causes your salivary glands to “make your mouth water” to prepare you to eat.

You also have an enteric nervous system (ENS)—nerves within the walls of your GI tract. When food stretches the walls of your GI tract, the nerves of your ENS release many different substances that speed up or delay the movement of food and the production of digestive juices. The nerves send signals to control the actions of your gut muscles to contract and relax to push food through your intestines.

Clinical Trials

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) and other components of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) conduct and support research into many diseases and conditions.

What are clinical trials, and are they right for you?

Watch a video of NIDDK Director Dr. Griffin P. Rodgers explaining the importance of participating in clinical trials.

What clinical trials are open?

Clinical trials that are currently open and are recruiting can be viewed at www.jyoungblood.com

Food Chain Definition, Types, Examples

Food Chain: Definition, Types, Examples

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Food Chain: Definition, Types, Examples

Food Chain: Introduction

A food chain explains which organism eats another organism in the environment. The food chain is a linear sequence of organisms where nutrients and energy is transferred from one organism to the other. This occurs when one organism consumes another organism. It begins with the producer organism, follows the chain and ends with the decomposer organism. After understanding the food chain, we realise how one organism is dependent upon another organism for survival.

Now, let’s look at the other aspects of a food chain, to get a better understanding.

What is a Food Chain?

A food chain refers to the order of events in an ecosystem, where one living organism eats another organism, and later that organism is consumed by another larger organism. The flow of nutrients and energy from one organism to another at different trophic levels forms a food chain.

The food chain also explains the feeding pattern or relationship between living organisms. Trophic level refers to the sequential stages in a food chain, starting with producers at the bottom, followed by primary, secondary and tertiary consumers. Every level in a food chain is known as a trophic level.

The food chain consists of four major parts, namely:

  • The Sun: The sun is the initial source of energy, which provides energy for everything on the planet.
  • Producers: The producers in a food chain include all autotrophs such as phytoplankton, cyanobacteria, algae, and green plants. This is the first stage in a food chain. The producers make up the first level of a food chain. The producers utilise the energy from the sun to make food. Producers are also known as autotrophs as they make their own food. Producers are any plant or other organisms that produce their own nutrients through photosynthesis.
  • Consumers: Consumers are all organisms that are dependent on plants or other organisms for food. This is the largest part of a food web, as it contains almost all living organisms. It includes herbivores which are animals that eat plants, carnivores which are animals that eat other animals, parasites that live on other organisms by harming them and lastly the scavengers, which are animals that eat dead animals’ carcasses.

Here, herbivores are known as primary consumers and carnivores are secondary consumers. The second trophic level includes organisms that eat producers. Therefore, primary consumers or herbivores are organisms in the second trophic level.

  • Decomposers: Decomposers are organisms that get energy from dead or waste organic material. This is the last stage in a food chain. Decomposers are an integral part of a food chain, as they convert organic waste materials into inorganic materials, which enriches the soil or land with nutrients.

Decomposers complete a life cycle. They help in recycling the nutrients as they provide nutrients to soil or oceans, that can be utilised by autotrophs or producers. Thus, starting a whole new food chain.

Food Web:

Several interconnected food chains form a food web. A food web is similar to a food chain but the food web is comparatively larger than a food chain. Occasionally, a single organism is consumed by many predators or it consumes several other organisms. Due to this, many trophic levels get interconnected. The food chain fails to showcase the flow of energy in the right way. But, the food web is able to show the proper representation of energy flow, as it displays the interactions between different organisms.

When there are more cross-interactions between different food chains, the food web gets more complex. This complexity in a food web leads to a more sustainable ecosystem.

Types of Food Chain

There are two types of food chains, namely the detritus food chain and the grazing food chain. Let’s look at them more closely:

  • Detritus food chain: The detritus food chain includes different species of organisms and plants like algae, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, mites, insects, worms and so on. The detritus food chain begins with dead organic material. The food energy passes into decomposers and detritivores, which are further eaten by smaller organisms like carnivores. Carnivores, like maggots, become a meal for bigger carnivores like frogs, snakes and so on. Primary consumers like fungi, bacteria, protozoans, and so on are detritivores which feed on detritus.
  • Grazing food chain: The grazing food chain is a type of food chain that starts with green plants, passes through herbivores and then to carnivores. In a grazing food chain, energy in the lowest trophic level is acquired from photosynthesis.

In this type of food chain, the first energy transfer is from plants to herbivores. This type of food chain depends on the flow of energy from autotrophs to herbivores. As autotrophs are the base for all ecosystems on Earth, the majority of ecosystems in the environment follow this kind of food chain.

Conclusion

Understanding food chains is vital, as they explain the intimate relationships in an ecosystem. A food chain shows us how every living organism is dependent on other organisms for survival. The food chain explains the path of energy flow inside an ecosystem.

Frequently Asked Questions on Food Chain

Q1

What are the first organisms in a food chain?

Producers, also known as autotrophs, comprise the first level in a food chain.
Q2

What is the difference between the food chain and the food web?

A food chain follows a single path, where animals discover food. But a food web shows different paths, where plants and animals are connected. A food web comprises several food chains.

In a food chain, an organism eats a single item, whereas in a food web an organism consumes multiple items. In a food chain, there is a singular path for energy flow and in a food web, there are different paths for energy flow.

Q3

What role do humans play in a food chain?

The role of humans in the food chain varies, depending on what the human consumes as food. If humans consume only plants, they are known as primary consumers. If the human eats an organism that consumes plants, the human is known as a secondary consumer, and so on. So they are referred to as omnivores.
Q4

What are animals called in a food chain?

Animals are known as consumers in a food chain because they eat other plants and animals.
Q5

What do food chains end with?

A food chain begins with producers who make food, continues with consumers who eat the food and ends with the topmost predator.

To explore more information about food chains or other kinds of food chains, register with prescottmediacenter.org

Entrepreneur: What It Means to Be One and How to Get Started

Entrepreneur: What It Means to Be One and How to Get Started

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Entrepreneur: What It Means to Be One and How to Get Started

 

www.jyoungblood.com – Learn about the challenges facing entrepreneurs as they start new businesses

What Is an Entrepreneur?

An entrepreneur is an individual who creates a new business, bearing most of the risks and enjoying most of the rewards. The process of setting up a business is known as entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurs play a key role in any economy, using the skills and initiative necessary to anticipate needs and bring new ideas to market. Entrepreneurship that proves to be successful in taking on the risks of creating a startup is rewarded with profits and growth opportunities.

Key Takeaways

  • A person who undertakes the risk of starting a new business venture is called an entrepreneur.
  • An entrepreneur creates a firm to realize their idea, known as entrepreneurship, which aggregates capital and labor in order to produce goods or services for profit.
  • Entrepreneurship is highly risky but also can be highly rewarding, as it serves to generate economic wealth, growth, and innovation.
  • Ensuring funding is key for entrepreneurs: Financing resources include Small Business Administration loans and crowdfunding.
  • The way entrepreneurs file and pay taxes will depend on how the business is set up in terms of structure.

Why Are Entrepreneurs Important?

Entrepreneurship is one of the resources economists categorize as integral to production, the other three being land/natural resources, labor, and capital. An entrepreneur combines the first three of these to manufacture goods or provide services. They typically create a business plan, hire labor, acquire resources and financing, and provide leadership and management for the business.

Economists have never had a consistent definition of “entrepreneur” or “entrepreneurship” (the word “entrepreneur” comes from the French verb entreprendre, meaning “to undertake”). Though the concept of an entrepreneur existed and was known for centuries, the classical and neoclassical economists left entrepreneurs out of their formal models. They assumed that perfect information would be known to fully rational actors, leaving no room for risk-taking or discovery. It wasn’t until the middle of the 20th century that economists seriously attempted to incorporate entrepreneurship into their models.

Three thinkers were central to the inclusion of entrepreneurs: Joseph Schumpeter, Frank Knight, and Israel Kirzner.1 Schumpeter suggested that entrepreneurs—not just companies—were responsible for the creation of new things in the search for profit. Knight focused on entrepreneurs as the bearers of uncertainty and believed they were responsible for risk premiums in financial markets. Kirzner thought of entrepreneurship as a process that led to the discovery of opportunities.

Fast-forward to today, entrepreneurs commonly face many obstacles when building their companies. The three that many of them cite as the most challenging include overcoming bureaucracy, hiring talent, and obtaining financing.

What Are Different Types of Entrepreneurs?

Not every entrepreneur is the same and not all have the same goals. Here are a few types of entrepreneurs:

Builder

Builders seek to create scalable businesses within a short time frame. Builders typically pass $5 million in revenue in the first two to four years and continue to build up until $100 million or beyond. These individuals seek to build out a strong infrastructure by hiring the best talent and seeking the best investors. Sometimes, they have temperamental personalities that are suited to the fast growth they desire but may make personal and business relationships difficult.2

Opportunist

Opportunistic entrepreneurs are optimistic individuals with the ability to pick out financial opportunities, get in at the right time, stay on board during the time of growth, and exit when a business hits its peak.

These types of entrepreneurs are concerned with profits and the wealth they will build, so they are attracted to ideas where they can create residual or renewal income. Because they are looking to find well-timed opportunities, opportunistic entrepreneurs can be impulsive.2

Innovator

Innovators are those rare individuals that come up with a great idea or product that no one has thought of before. Think of Thomas Edison, Steve Jobs, and Mark Zuckerberg. These individuals worked on what they loved and found business opportunities through their vision and ideas.

Rather than focusing on money, innovators tend to care more about the impact that their products and services have on society. These individuals are not the best at running a business as they are idea-generating individuals, so they often leave the day-to-day operations to those more capable in that respect.2

Specialist

These individuals are analytical and risk-averse. They have a strong skill set in a specific area obtained through education or apprenticeship. A specialist entrepreneur will build out their business through networking and referrals, sometimes resulting in slower growth than a builder entrepreneur.2

4 Types of Entrepreneurship

As there are different types of entrepreneurs, there are also different types of businesses they create. Below are the main different types of entrepreneurship.

Small-business

Small business entrepreneurship refers to opening a business without turning it into a large conglomerate or opening many chains. A single-location restaurant, one grocery shop, or a retail shop to sell goods or services would all be examples of small business entrepreneurship.

These people usually invest their own money and succeed if their businesses turn a profit, which serves as their income. Sometimes, they don’t have outside investors and will only take a loan if it helps continue the business.

Scalable startup

These are companies that start with a unique idea that can be built to a large scale—think Silicon Valley. The hopes are to innovate with a unique product or service and continue growing the company, continuously scaling up over time. These types of companies often require investors and large amounts of capital to grow their idea and expand into multiple markets.

Large-company

Large company entrepreneurship is a new business division created within an existing company. The existing company may be well placed to branch out into other sectors or it may be positioned well to become involved in new technology.

CEOs of these companies either foresee a new market for the company or individuals within the company generate ideas that they bring to senior management to start the process and development.

Social entrepreneurship

The goal of social entrepreneurship is to create a benefit to society and humankind. This form of business focuses on helping communities or the environment through their products and services. They are not driven by profits but rather by helping the world around them.

How to Become an Entrepreneur

After retiring her professional dancing shoes, Judi Sheppard Missett became an entrepreneur by teaching a dance class in order to earn some extra cash. But she soon learned that women who came to her studio were less interested in learning precise steps than they were in losing weight and toning up. Sheppard Missett then trained instructors to teach her routines to the masses, and Jazzercise was born. Soon, a franchise deal followed and today, the company has more than 8,300 locations worldwide.3

Following an ice cream–making correspondence course, two entrepreneurs, Jerry Greenfield and Ben Cohen, paired $8,000 in savings with a $4,000 loan, leased a Burlington, Vt., gas station, and purchased equipment to create uniquely flavored ice cream for the local market.4 Today, Ben & Jerry’s hauls in millions in annual revenue.

In the 21st century, the example of Internet giants like Alphabet, the parent company to Google (GOOG), and Meta (META; formerly Facebook), both of which have made their founders wildly wealthy, have been clear examples of the lasting impact of entrepreneurs on society.

Unlike traditional professions, where there is often a defined path to follow, the road to entrepreneurship is mystifying to most. What works for one entrepreneur might not work for the next and vice versa. That said, there are seven general steps that many successful entrepreneurs have followed:

Ensure financial stability

This first step is not a strict requirement but is definitely recommended. While entrepreneurs have built successful businesses while being less than financially flush, starting out with an adequate cash supply and stable ongoing funding is a great foundation.

This increases an entrepreneur’s personal financial runway and gives them more time to work on building a successful business, rather than worrying about having to keep raising money or paying back short-term loans.

Build a diverse skill set

Once a person has strong finances, it is important to build a diverse set of skills and then apply those skills in the real world. The beauty of step two is it can be done concurrently with step one.

Building a skill set can be achieved through learning and trying new tasks in real-world settings. For example, if an aspiring entrepreneur has a background in finance, they can move into a sales role at their existing company to learn the soft skills necessary to be successful. Once a diverse skill set is built, it gives an entrepreneur a toolkit that they can rely on when they are faced with the inevitability of tough situations.

Much has been discussed about whether going to college is necessary to become a successful entrepreneur. Many well-known entrepreneurs are famous for having dropped out of college: Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, and Larry Ellison, to name a few.

Though going to college isn’t necessary to build a successful business, it can teach young individuals a lot about the world in many other ways. And these famous college dropouts are the exception rather than the norm. College may not be for everyone and the choice is personal, but it is something to think about, especially with the high price tag of a college education in the U.S

Consume content across multiple channels

As important as developing a diverse skill set is, the need to consume a diverse array of information and knowledge-building materials is equally so. This content can be in the form of podcasts, books, articles, or lectures. The important thing is that the content, no matter the channel, should be varied in what it covers. Aspiring entrepreneurs should always familiarize themselves with the world around them so they can look at industries with a fresh perspective, giving them the ability to build a business around a specific sector.

Identify a problem to solve

Through the consumption of content across multiple channels, an aspiring entrepreneur is able to identify various problems in need of solutions. One business adage dictates that a company’s product or service needs to solve a specific pain point, either for another business or for a consumer group. Through the identification of a problem, an aspiring entrepreneur is able to build a business around solving that problem.

It is important to combine steps three and four so it is possible to identify a problem to solve by looking at various industries as an outsider. This often provides an aspiring entrepreneur with the ability to see a problem others might not.

Solve That Problem

Successful startups solve a specific pain point for other companies or for the public. This is known as “adding value within the problem.” Only through adding value to a specific problem or pain point does an entrepreneur become successful.

Say, for example, you identify that the process for making a dental appointment is complicated for patients, and dentists are losing customers as a result. The value could be to build an online appointment system that makes it easier to book appointments.

Network like crazy

Most entrepreneurs can’t do it alone. The business world is a cutthroat one and getting any help you can will likely help and reduce the time it takes to achieve a successful business. Networking is critical for any new entrepreneur. Meeting the right people who can introduce you to contacts in your industry, such as the right suppliers, financiers, and even mentors, can mean the difference between success and failure.

Attending conferences, emailing and calling people in the industry, speaking to your cousin’s friend’s brother who is in a similar business, will help you get out into the world and discover people who can guide you. Once you have your foot in the door with the right people, conducting a business becomes easier.

Lead by example

Every entrepreneur needs to be a leader within their company. Simply doing the day-to-day requirements will not lead to success. A leader needs to work hard, motivate, and inspire their employees to reach their best potential, which will lead to the success of the company.

Look at some of the greatest and most successful companies; all of them have had great leaders. Apple and Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Microsoft, Bob Iger and Disney, are just a few examples. Study these people and read their books to see how to be a great leader and become the leader that your employees can follow by the example you set.

Entrepreneurship Financing

Given the riskiness of a new venture, the acquisition of capital funding is particularly challenging, and many entrepreneurs deal with it via bootstrapping: financing a business using methods such as using their own money, providing sweat equity to reduce labor costs, minimizing inventory, and factoring receivables.

While some entrepreneurs are lone players struggling to get small businesses off the ground on a shoestring, others take on partners armed with greater access to capital and other resources. In these situations, new firms may acquire financing from venture capitalists, angel investors, hedge funds, crowdfunding, or through more traditional sources such as bank loans.

Resources for entrepreneurs

There are a variety of financing resources for entrepreneurs starting their own businesses. Obtaining a small business loan through the Small Business Administration (SBA) can help entrepreneurs get the business off the ground with affordable loans. Here, the SBA helps connect businesses to loan providers.

If entrepreneurs are willing to give up a piece of equity in their business, then they may find financing in the form of angel investors and venture capitalists. These types of investors also provide guidance, mentorship, and connections in addition to capital.

Crowdfunding has also become a popular way for entrepreneurs to raise capital, particularly through Kickstarter or Indiegogo. In this way, an entrepreneur creates a page for their product and a monetary goal to reach while promising certain givebacks to those who donate, such as products or experiences.

Bootstrapping for entrepreneurs

Bootstrapping refers to building a company solely from your savings as an entrepreneur as well as from the initial sales made from your business. This is a difficult process as all the financial risk is placed on the entrepreneur and there is little room for error. If the business fails, the entrepreneur also may lose all of their life savings.

The advantage of bootstrapping is that an entrepreneur can run the business with their own vision and no outside interference or investors demanding quick profits. That being said, sometimes having an outsider’s assistance can help a business rather than hurt it. Many companies have succeeded with a bootstrapping strategy, but it is a difficult path.

Small business vs. entrepreneurship

A small business and entrepreneurship have a lot in common but they are different. A small business is a company—usually, a sole-proprietorship or partnership—that is not a medium-sized or large-sized business, operates locally, and does not have access to a vast amount of resources or capital.

Entrepreneurship is when an individual who has an idea acts on that idea, usually to disrupt the current market with a new product or service. Entrepreneurship usually starts as a small business but the long-term vision is much greater, to seek high profits and capture market share with an innovative new idea.

How entrepreneurs make money

Entrepreneurs seek to generate revenues that are greater than costs. Increasing revenues is the goal and that can be achieved through marketing, word-of-mouth, and networking. Keeping costs low is also critical as it results in higher profit margins. This can be achieved through efficient operations and eventually economies of scale.

How do taxes work for entrepreneurs?

The taxes you will pay as an entrepreneur will depend on how you structure your business.

Sole proprietorship: A business set up this way is an extension of the individual. Business income and expenses are filed on Schedule C on your U.S. personal tax return and you are taxed at your individual tax rate.5

Partnership: For tax purposes, a partnership functions the same way as a sole proprietorship in the U.S., with the only difference being that income and expenses are split amongst the partners.

Entrepreneurs operating as sole proprietors can deduct any legitimate business expenses from their income to lower their tax bill. This includes expenses such as their home office and utilities, mileage for business travel, advertising, and travel expenses.6

C-corporation: A C-corporation is a separate legal entity and has separate taxes filed with the IRS from the entrepreneur. The business income will be taxed at the corporate tax rate rather than the personal income tax rate.7

Limited liability company (LLC) or S-corporation: These two options are taxed in the same manner as a C-corporation but usually at lower amounts.8

7 Characteristics of Entrepreneurs

What else do entrepreneurial success stories have in common? They invariably involve industrious people diving into things they’re naturally passionate about.

Giving credence to the adage, “find a way to get paid for the job you’d do for free,” passion is arguably the most important attribute entrepreneurs must have, and every edge helps.

While the prospect of becoming your own boss and raking in a fortune is alluring to entrepreneurial dreamers, the possible downside to hanging out one’s own shingle is vast. Income isn’t guaranteed, employer-sponsored benefits go by the wayside, and when your business loses money, your personal assets can take a hit; it’s not a corporation’s bottom line. But adhering to a few tried and true principles can go a long way in diffusing risk. The following are a few characteristics required to be a successful entrepreneur.

1. Versatility

When starting out, it’s essential to personally handle sales and other customer interactions whenever possible. Direct client contact is the clearest path to obtaining honest feedback about what the target market likes and what you could be doing better. If it’s not always practical to be the sole customer interface, entrepreneurs should train employees to invite customer comments as a matter of course. Not only does this make customers feel empowered, but happier clients are more likely to recommend businesses to others.

Personally answering phones is one of the most significant competitive edges home-based entrepreneurs hold over their larger competitors. In a time of high-tech backlash, where customers are frustrated with automated responses and touch-tone menus, hearing a human voice is one surefire way to entice new customers and make existing ones feel appreciated—an important fact, given that a significant percentage of business is generated from repeat customers.

Paradoxically, while customers value high-touch telephone access, they also expect a highly polished website. Even if your business isn’t in a high-tech industry, entrepreneurs still must exploit internet technology to get their message across. A startup garage-based business can have a superior website to an established company valued at $100 million. Just make sure a live human being is on the other end of the phone number listed.

2. Flexibility

Few successful business owners find perfect formulas straight out of the gate. On the contrary: ideas must morph over time. Whether tweaking product design or altering food items on a menu, finding the perfect sweet spot takes trial and error.

Former Starbucks Chair and CEO Howard Schultz initially thought playing Italian opera music over store speakers would accentuate the Italian coffeehouse experience he was attempting to replicate. But customers saw things differently and didn’t seem to like arias with their espressos. As a result, Schultz jettisoned the opera and introduced comfortable chairs instead.

3. Money savviness

At the heart of any successful new business, is steady cash flow, which is essential for purchasing inventory, paying rent, maintaining equipment, and promoting the business. The key to staying in the black is rigorous, regular cash flow management. And since most new businesses don’t make a profit within the first year, by setting money aside for this contingency, entrepreneurs can help mitigate the risk of falling short of funds. Related to this, it’s essential to keep personal and business costs separate, and never dip into business funds to cover the costs of daily living.

Of course, it’s important to pay yourself a realistic salary that allows you to cover essentials, but not much more—especially where investors are involved. Of course, such sacrifices can strain relationships with loved ones who may need to adjust to lower standards of living and endure worry over risking family assets. For this reason, entrepreneurs should communicate these issues well ahead of time, and make sure significant loved ones are on board.

4. Resiliency

Running your own business is extremely difficult, especially getting one started from scratch. It requires a lot of time, dedication, and often failure. A successful entrepreneur must show resilience to all the difficulties on the road ahead. Whenever they meet with failure or rejection they must keep pushing forward.

Starting your business is a learning process and any learning process comes with a learning curve, which can be frustrating, especially when money is on the line. It’s important never to give up through the difficult times if you want to succeed.

5. Focus

Similar to resilience, a successful entrepreneur must stay focused and eliminate the noise and doubts that come with running a business. Becoming sidetracked, not believing in your instincts and ideas, and losing sight of the end goal is a recipe for failure. A successful entrepreneur must always remember why they started the business and remain on course to see it through.

6. Business smarts

Knowing how to manage money and understanding financial statements are critical for anyone running their own business. Knowing your revenues, your costs, and how to increase or decrease them, respectively, is important. Making sure you don’t burn through cash will allow you to keep the business alive.

Implementing a sound business strategy, knowing your target market, your competitors, and your strengths and weaknesses will allow you to maneuver the difficult landscape of running your business.

7. Communication skills

Successful communication is important in almost every facet of life, regardless of what you do. It is also of the utmost importance in running a business. From conveying your ideas and strategies to potential investors to sharing your business plan with your employees and negotiating contracts with suppliers—all require successful communication.

Entrepreneurship in Economics

In economist-speak, an entrepreneur acts as a coordinating agent in a capitalist economy. This coordination takes the form of resources being diverted toward new potential profit opportunities. The entrepreneur moves various resources, both tangible and intangible, promoting capital formation.

In a market full of uncertainty, it is the entrepreneur who can actually help clear up uncertainty, as they make judgments or assume risk. To the extent that capitalism is a dynamic profit-and-loss system, entrepreneurs drive efficient discovery and consistently reveal knowledge.

Established firms face increased competition and challenges from entrepreneurs, which often spurs them toward research and development efforts as well. In technical economic terms, the entrepreneur disrupts the course toward steady-state equilibrium.

How entrepreneurship helps economies

Nurturing entrepreneurship can have a positive impact on an economy and society in several ways. For starters, entrepreneurs create new businesses. They invent goods and services, resulting in employment, and often create a ripple effect, resulting in more and more development. For example, after a few information technology companies began in India in the 1990s, businesses in associated industries, like call center operations and hardware providers, began to develop too, offering support services and products.

Entrepreneurs add to the gross national income. Existing businesses may remain confined to their markets and eventually hit an income ceiling. But new products or technologies create new markets and new wealth. Additionally, increased employment and higher earnings contribute to a nation’s tax base, enabling greater government spending on public projects.

Entrepreneurs create social change. They break tradition with unique inventions that reduce dependence on existing methods and systems, sometimes rendering them obsolete. Smartphones and their apps, for example, have revolutionized work and play across the globe.

Entrepreneurs invest in community projects and help charities and other non-profit organizations, supporting causes beyond their own. Bill Gates, for example, has used his considerable wealth for education and public health initiatives.

Entrepreneurial ecosystems

Research shows that high levels of self-employment can stall economic development: Entrepreneurship, if not properly regulated, can lead to unfair market practices and corruption, and too many entrepreneurs can create income inequalities in society. Overall, though, entrepreneurship is a critical driver of innovation and economic growth. Therefore, fostering entrepreneurship is an important part of the economic growth strategies of many local and national governments around the world.

To this end, governments commonly assist in the development of entrepreneurial ecosystems, which may include entrepreneurs themselves, government-sponsored assistance programs, and venture capitalists. They may also include non-government organizations, such as entrepreneurs’ associations, business incubators, and education programs.

California’s Silicon Valley is often cited as an example of a well-functioning entrepreneurial ecosystem. The region has a well-developed venture capital base, a large pool of well-educated talent, especially in technical fields, and a wide range of government and non-government programs fostering new ventures and providing information and support to entrepreneurs.

Questions for Entrepreneurs

Embarking on the entrepreneurial career path to “being your own boss” is exciting. But along with all your research, make sure to do your homework about yourself and your situation.

A few questions to ask yourself:

  • Do I have the personality, temperament, and mindset of taking on the world on my own terms?
  • Do I have the required resources to devote all my time to my venture?
  • Do I have an exit plan ready with a clearly defined timeline in case my venture does not work?
  • Do I have a concrete plan for the next “x” number of months or will I face challenges midway due to family, financial, or other commitments? Do I have a mitigation plan for those challenges?
  • Do I have the required network to seek help and advice as needed?
  • Have I identified and built bridges with experienced mentors to learn from their expertise?
  • Have I prepared the rough draft of a complete risk assessment, including dependencies on external factors?
  • Have I realistically assessed the potential of my offering and how it will figure in the existing market?
  • If my offering is going to replace an existing product in the market, how will my competitors react?
  • To keep my offering secure, will it make sense to get a patent? Do I have the capacity to wait until I receive it?
  • Have I identified my target customer base for the initial phase? Do I have scalability plans ready for larger markets?
  • Have I identified sales and distribution channels?

Questions that delve into external factors:

  • Does my entrepreneurial venture meet local regulations and laws? If not feasible locally, can I and should I relocate to another region?
  • How long does it take to get the necessary license or permissions from concerned authorities? Can I survive that long?
  • Do I have a plan for getting the necessary resources and skilled employees, and have I made cost considerations for the same?
  • What are the tentative timelines for bringing the first prototype to market or for services to be operational?
  • Who are my primary customers?
  • Who are the funding sources I may need to approach to make this big? Is my venture good enough to convince potential stakeholders?
  • What technical infrastructure do I need?
  • Once the business is established, will I have sufficient funds to get resources and take it to the next level? Will other big firms copy my model and kill my operation?

 

What Does It Mean to Be an Entrepreneur?

An entrepreneur is an individual who starts their own business based on an idea they have or a product they have created while assuming most of the risks and reaping most of the rewards of the business.

 

What Is the Best Definition of Entrepreneurship?

Entrepreneurship is the process of setting up a business, taking it from an idea to realization.

 

What Are the Four Types of Entrepreneurs?

Four types of entrepreneurs include builders, opportunists, innovators, and specialists.

 

What Are the Seven Characteristics of Entrepreneurs?

Seven primary characteristics among entrepreneurs include versatility, resilience, flexibility, money-savviness, business smarts, focus, and having strong communication skills.

The Bottom Line

An entrepreneur is an individual who takes an idea or product and creates a business, a process known as entrepreneurship. Creating a business requires a lot of work and dedication, which not everyone is cut out for. Entrepreneurs are often young, highly motivated risk-takers who have a vision and often sacrifice a lot to achieve that vision.

Entrepreneurs enter the market because they love what they do, believe their product will have a positive impact, and hope to make profits from their efforts. The steps entrepreneurs take fuel the economy; they create businesses that employ people and make products and services that consumers buy today.

7 Steps to Become an Entrepreneur

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7 Steps to Become an Entrepreneur

www.jyoungblood.com – If you’re thinking of how to become an entrepreneur then, congratulations, because you’ve already taken the first step. That’s because “being” an entrepreneur is less about specific accomplishments or accolades, and more about the mindset.

In fact, if you were to search for “entrepreneurial mindset” you’re likely to find dozens of blogs, videos and webinars discussing secrets and characteristics of how entrepreneurs work to develop a mindset that focuses on achieving success. So if you’re thinking about it, you’re probably motivated to explore it more deeply and perhaps, ultimately, pursue it.

The reason developing a mindset is so important is because, to really be an entrepreneur, to truly embody that creative drive and determination, you need to develop a fundamental nature in how you think of a problem or approach an issue.  Just following a checklist of “have an idea, get a loan and then start a business” isn’t going to do you any good when you come across a problem that you don’t already have an answer for, and no list – not matter how thorough – is going to light that fire of inspiration to help see you through difficult times.

Not everyone is going to have an intrinsic mindset of an entrepreneur, but the principles and process can be learned – after all, you were born unable to walk or talk, but that didn’t prevent you from learning how. Becoming an entrepreneur is about learning to recognize the knowledge you need to acquire and the moves you’ll need to make.

So don’t think of this list as “set-in-stone” directions, it’s more like touchpoints for your journey – you might not even follow it in order! Maybe you’re starting with a great idea instead of building towards one, or maybe you are already part of a motivated team looking for a new opportunity. Whatever your circumstance, consider these steps when thinking of how to start out as an entrepreneur.

7 Steps to Becoming an Entrepreneur

1. Build Your Skill Set and Knowledge Base

No matter what, you want to start and stay curious. There’s a lot out there to learn, more than you’ll ever have time to master and any entrepreneur needs to be adaptable and open to new information. That can seem daunting, but there are a few things you can do to simplify the process of continual learning.

  • Take a “first principles” approach to problems – as Elon Musk has said, first principles is a “good framework for thinking… boil things down to their fundamental truths and reason up from there, as opposed to reasoning by analogy.”
  • Get comfortable with research – subscribe to trade publications to see what’s trending within an industry. Research the market you’re interested in exploring. Get out and meet people who are doing the things you want to do; not only can they provide good advice, they’ll be an invaluable part of your network.
  • Focus your attention on what matters – while some serial entrepreneurs have a reputation of being jacks-of-all-trades as they jump around from industry to industry, you can likely find more success by focusing on an area of interest and specialization. Pursue a degree or program that teaches entrepreneurial skills and knowledge specific to the industry that you want to get into.

2. Build Your Network

No one ever succeeded alone. Every successful entrepreneur has benefited from their own network of mentors, partners, employees and investors. Once you’ve found a mentor or advisor who can assist you, it’s important to reach out and find other systems of support.

  • Unsure of how to go it alone? Partner with a cofounder or small team that will offer complementary skills to your own. Being part of a larger whole provides additional skills and expertise, plus it can make it easier to secure funding.
  • Talk to friends and family about your venture. Not only are they the surest way to  secure additional support, some might be sources of possible “seed” funds or low/no interest loans.
  • Get professional help! Research and vet professionals like financial advisors and lawyers that you feel comfortable trusting and relying on – you’re going to need them.

3. State Your Idea, Claim Your Niche

If you don’t already have a solid idea, then it’s time to consider what type of product or service you’re able to offer and – more importantly – what’s going to set you apart from everyone else.

  • Start exploring solutions for every-day problems or frustrations experienced by friends and family and your target markets. As Entrepreneur magazine explains, the most innovative startups are often simple solutions to common problems.
  • Determine if you’re going to meet an underserved demand or improve on an existing service. The former is a way to claim a space within a market and differentiate yourself from competitors. The latter is more disruptive, where you can position your business as a new way of doing things.
  • As always, you’ll want to do your research on the categories and fields you’re thinking of entering and start asking questions about how a new product/service can exist within that space. If you’re unsure of how to do the legwork, or need to dedicate time to other aspects of your startup, consider hiring a marketing researcher for assistance.

4. Find and Understand a Market

The best product in the world isn’t going to succeed if there isn’t a market interested in buying it. Starting broad may seem like a good idea, after all that’s the highest possible number of buyers, but trying to sell to everyone means that you’re really selling to no one. To get a better idea of what your market is going to be, you’ll need to develop an understanding of what people are looking for.

  • Who are the people most likely to buy from you or would be most interested in your service?
  • Develop profiles of your potential buyers – what jobs do they have? What lifestyles do they lead? What needs do they have? What pain points do they experience?
  • Narrow your list down to the best opportunities and select the one that you want to start with first.
  • Set up interviews or surveys with people who fit that profile to continue refining that initial understanding. Which pain points are most urgent for them? Would they prioritize convenience over price? What benefits of your product/service might excite them the most?

5. Design Your Business and Idea

Once you’ve settled on what you want to do, then you’re going to have to outline your  business structure and develop your product to show that it’s viable. That’s the only way you’re going to be able to win over investors.

  • It’s time to start laying out exactly how your business will be moving forward. You’ll want to create a business model, aka a business plan, that details how your business will be organized, a prospective budget for the future, details on how your business will make money. If you’re looking for models to follow, consider these business plan templates from Score and from Hubspot.
  • Plan out the sales process that you’ll use to acquire new customers. What’s your marketing strategy – are you using certain social media accounts? Are you attempting a viral marketing campaign? What sales materials will you need? Most importantly, what’s the process by which you’ll convert those who express interest into actual sales?
  • It’s time to truly show what your business is about and build out a proof of concept, or what’s also known as a minimum viable product (MVP). The MVP, whether it’s software, a service or a physical product, should be capable of executing the basic and most important functions of your idea.

6. Secure Finding

You have a plan and you have a product, now it’s time to secure the funding that you’ll actually need to start up your business and get it running. Depending on your product and market, you have several options available.

  • You can attempt to start with securing initial funding or loans from friends and family. Trust levels are high and you might even be able to receive the funds without having to pay interest or offer too much of a share in your company. Of course, this entirely depends on the level of wealth and assets of the people you know.
  • A far more likely scenario is that you’ll have to make a pitch to secure funding from venture capital (VC) firms or angel investors. Both are able to provide large amounts of initial funding for startups with the promise of even larger returns through owning stakes in the company. Start by looking at organizations that connect entrepreneurs with funders, such as the National Venture Capital Association and Angel Investment Network.
  • There’s also the opportunity to secure small business grants and loans. These investments differ from VCs and angel investors by offering (generally) smaller amounts of initial capital and having specific requirements: loans will need to be repaid with interest over time, while grants are reserved for meeting certain conditions – such as assisting minority or underprivileged communities. Read more about business grants and business loans at the SBA
  • Rather than trying to secure a few large amounts of funding, you could attempt to crowdfund your business through hundreds, or thousands, of smaller donations. With modern digital technology, there are several options for running a crowdfunding campaign, through platforms like Fundable or WeFunder.

7. Build Your Business

Once you’ve gotten this far, now the real work begins. Time to put that funding into place, build out your first real product, and get it out to your target market.

  • You will need to establish a location for your business, whether you’re renting out an office space for your team to work in or you’re leasing a building in a downtown location. Or, perhaps your business is entirely online and all your employees are expected to work from home. At the very least you’ll need to claim a website to both promote your business and allow customers to learn about your product and contact your business.
  • You’ll need to consider the actual structure of your organization and what your plans are for incorporating your business. At the very least you should consider the option of registering as a limited liability company (LLC) to both build the  credibility of your business and protect your personal finances.
  • Keep working on promoting and marketing your business! After the initial buzz dies off you’ll still need to find ways to reach out to new, prospective customers and announce the latest updates and developments of your product. Review the metrics of your campaigns and social media channels to determine what’s working, and what’s not, and what you should be doing to effectively advertise.

What Are Some Common Entrepreneurship Pitfalls?

Not every business succeeds, in fact roughly 50% of businesses fail within the first few years. Around just 15% of startups actually manage to achieve large venture returns for their investors. The others, if they don’t go out of business, just manage to sustain themselves without generating any real returns for their owners or investors. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of specific reasons why a business won’t succeed. In general terms, here’s what aspiring entrepreneurs need to be most mindful of:

  • Running out of money – This is THE #1 killer of startups – all businesses really – and is almost impossible to plan around, as there are no guarantees that a product or service will take off. The best you can do is to get a solid plan into place and then be open to shifting your direction or focus as needed. Changing markets and environments require businesses to be agile and no amount of initial success will guarantee continued growth or sustainability.
  • Too much debt – This is related to running out of money, as high levels of debt can cripple businesses, choking off additional sources of income as lenders or investors are scared off. The challenge of securing initial funding means that some businesses will settle for high-interest loans in order to get started, but that sort of devil’s bargain can hinder a company before it ever gets to establish itself.
  • Not keeping the personal and business separate – As an entrepreneur, it can be all too easy to overleverage yourself in a new startup. However, using your own credit as a means for funding could ruin you financially. Not incorporating or registering as an LLC can make you personally liable for actions your company takes. That restriction goes both ways, as entrepreneurs who treat their business’ assets as their personal piggy bank are undercutting their own success.
  • Internal conflict – Disagreements with a co-founder or disgruntled employees can hold up production, disrupt communication, or even dissolve the business. Try to resolve conflicts as amicably as possible, and don’t let hurt egos sabotage your working relationships. As the owner or CEO of your business, you will need to absorb a lot of the uncertainty, even when things aren’t looking great, as too much uncertainty will disrupt productivity.
  • Incompatible culture – Everyone brings their own backgrounds with them, employing different workstyles, possessing different value systems and having different expectations. When people are committed to “what has worked before,” it can make it difficult to pivot when change is needed. Entrepreneurs will need to effectively manage the culture of their business, keeping everything moving forward in a disciplined manner while being as flexible as possible.

What Are the Typical Entrepreneurship Salary Ranges?

An entrepreneur’s salary range is about as wide as they come. The problem lies with how “entrepreneur” is categorized by organizations like the Bureau of Labor Statistics and how challenging it is to estimate average salaries considering the vast differences in the scale between Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos vs. the owners of a local mom and pop store. Depending on a whole range of factors, entrepreneurs can risk losing money or stand to make millions, with the most successful of startup entrepreneurs entirely within a league of their own.

You can also consider leveraging your entrepreneurial experience as a part of an established company. “Intrapreneurs” who utilize their drive and knowledge as an advisor, consultant or within a C-suite position can make on average over $110,000 a year. Whether you establish yourself as the CEO of your own company or work your way up to the top, the highest level executives can make upwards of $142,000 a year, with the most successful positions making more than $200,000.

Looking to maximize your potential for success? One particularly interesting pattern we’re seeing is that out of the top 40 entrepreneurs under the age of 40, the majority of them are in tech or tech-related industries.

How Can I Find the Best Entrepreneurship Degree Program?

If you’re really looking for an advantage in how to become an entrepreneur, consider investing in a degree that walks you through the theory and practice of successful  entrepreneurship. A graduate degree will also prepare you for higher level corporate careers.

Find a program that highlights the study of business principles, including finance, marketing, management and accounting. See if they offer specialized entrepreneurship classes on concepts like Social Branding, Launching and Leading Startups, or Venture Capital and Private Equity.

You’ll also want to investigate whether they promote hands-on experience through collaborative research opportunities, business competitions, study abroad and real-world networking events.

Finally, determine if a program is flexible enough to work with your schedule. Online degree programs not only enable distance learning, they can be one of the most affordable ways to advance your education and career.

We suggest you start your search for entrepreneurial degrees with the University of San Diego’s Master of Science in Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship. It’s perhaps the only degree jointly developed and awarded by a university’s schools of business and engineering to assist tech innovators, business professionals and startup entrepreneurs in bringing their ideas to the fullest potential.

Entrepreneur FAQs

Why are there seven rules?

We liked the number. Seriously, any list of “how to become an entrepreneur” is somewhat arbitrary. It could be a macro list of three things or a micro list of 50. What they all have in common is they try to impart fundamental concepts and habits that you can take forward in your future endeavors.

What are my resources for securing funding?

Arguably THE most important question, as even the world’s greatest idea isn’t getting anywhere without the capital to get it started. You do have access to multiple resources, though some can be quite competitive, so be sure to do your research. Options include:

  • Find programs your company qualifies for at Grants.gov
  • Use crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter, Indiegogo, GoFundMe
  • Pitch your business plan to Angel Investors and Venture Capital firms
  • Get an SBA microloan or find a nonprofit lender
  • Use your credit IF you can confidently pay the balance

Is it better to go it alone or find a cofounder?

Do you like working with others? If it’s important that you’re the undisputed head of a startup, then it may be better to ensure that the people you hire understand that they work for you, and that while your investors may own stakes in the company, they don’t have a hand in day-to-day operations.

However, don’t overlook the positive values of having cofounders. Partnering with someone who shares your drive and passion can go a long way toward getting through the initial startup phase and can bring more support and energy into the development process.

How can I market my business?

This could be a whole post unto itself, and there are certainly a lot of options out there, from promoting on social media, to partnering with influencers to just straight up paying people to use and review your product. The best advice would be, whatever medium or method you plan on using, to start the process early. Even during the funding phase, especially when using crowdfunding sources, you’ll want to think about how you’ll advertise your product and what your target market is looking for. If you’re able to generate that initial excitement and interest, then there’s a good chance you’ll turn your early adopters into advocates and evangelists who will continue to spread the word about your business.

What’s the difference between an Entrepreneur and a Freelancer?

“Entrepreneur” as a concept can get used for a lot of different cases. For this blog post we’ve approached it mostly through the lens of a startup, not necessarily a small business owner or freelancer. While both small business owners and freelancers share some traits with entrepreneurs – they are independent, self-reliant risk takers – they do have some important differences.

Freelancers earn money through their direct work, often turning a passion or hobby into their job. An entrepreneur is more interested in creating the business itself, and generally hopes that they’ll earn a large return down the line when they sell their business or go public. This is also in contrast to small business owners, who often start up their businesses with the intent to be in operation for decades and have gradual growth, whereas an entrepreneur is more interested in exponential growth in a shorter time frame.

What’s the difference between an Entrepreneur and an Intrapreneur?

An “intrapreneur” has the same innovative drive as an entrepreneur does, but rather than starting a new business, is more comfortable working within an established company. Intrapreneurs are likely to lead new initiatives within a company, or push for new product development or establish new departments. Working within a system of support, they are exposed to less risk, but don’t have the same level of freedom or independence as an entrepreneur. For some, intrapreneurship could be a first step on the way to entrepreneurship.

10 Evidence-Backed Ways to Become Smarter

10 Evidence-Backed Ways to Become Smarter

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10 Evidence-Backed Ways to Become Smarter

https://www.jyoungblood.com/ – It’s common to think of intelligence as something that you’re simply born with. Some people, after all, make being smart look effortless.

Intelligence isn’t a set trait, though. It’s a changeable, flexible ability to learn and stimulate your brain that can improve over time. The key is to practice lifestyle habits that support and protect your brain.

Practicing certain lifestyle habits may help improve your overall intelligence, which includes two types:

  • Crystallized intelligence. This refers to your vocabulary, knowledge, and skills. Crystallized intelligence typically increases as you get older.
  • Fluid intelligence. Also known as fluid reasoning, fluid intelligence is your ability to reason and think abstractly.

Read on to learn what science has to say about the different ways you may be able to boost both your crystallized and fluid intelligence.

1. Exercise regularly

Staying physically active is one of the best ways to improve brain functioning.

According to a 2018 studyTrusted Source, light exercise promotes activity in the hippocampus, which is involved in memory. It also enhances the connection between the hippocampus and other brain regions that regulate memory.

A 2014 studyTrusted Source also found that exercise increases the volume of the hippocampus. The authors of the study speculated that aerobic activity promotes the growth of neurons, which boosts brain structure and function.

To enjoy the cognitive benefits of exercise, it’s important to do it regularly. The good news is that you don’t have to exercise vigorously to reap the benefits.

Beginner-friendly exercise ideas include:

  • walking
  • yoga
  • hiking
  • bodyweight workouts

2. Get enough sleep

Sleep is also essential for supporting optimal cognitive function. When you sleep, your brain consolidates memories you created throughout the day. It also enhances your brain’s ability to learn new information when you wake up.

In fact, adequate sleep is so important that a 2019 studyTrusted Source
found that even mild sleep deprivation negatively influences working memory.

3. Meditate

Another way to become smarter is to practice meditation.

In an older 2010 study, meditation was associated with better executive functioning and working memory. These effects were observed after just four days of meditation.

A 2019 studyTrusted Source found similar results. After participants completed 8 weeks of 13-minute guided meditation sessions, their attention, recognition ability, and working memory increased. The participants’ anxiety and mood also improved.

The researchers speculated that these cognitive effects were due to the emotional benefits of meditation.

There are many ways to meditate. You can:

  • use meditation apps
  • listen to guided meditation videos
  • attend a meditation class

4. Drink coffee

Adenosine is a brain chemical that stops the release of stimulatory substances in your brain. However, the caffeine in coffee blocks adenosine, which allows these substances to give you a boost of energy. This could help promote learning and mental performance.

A 2014 studyTrusted Source also determined that caffeine intake can enhance attention, which may help you stay focused, and better able to take in new information.

It’s best to consume coffee in moderation, though. Drinking too much caffeine can increase anxiety and make you jittery.

5. Drink green tea

Sipping on green tea can also support your brain function. Some of these effects are due to the caffeine in green tea, which is present in small amounts. Green tea is also rich in a chemical called epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG).

According to a 2019 reviewTrusted Source, EGCG may facilitate the growth of the axons and dendrites in neurons. Axons and dendrites make it possible for neurons to communicate and complete cognitive tasks.

Additionally, a 2017 reviewTrusted Source concluded that green tea increases attention and working memory. This is likely due to the combination of beneficial components in green tea, rather than a single substance.

6. Eat nutrient-rich foods

Another way to boost your brain health is to eat foods with nutrients that support brain function. This includes foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids, flavonoids, and vitamin K.
Omega-3 fatty acids

According to a 2017 reviewTrusted Source, omega-3 fats are major components of the brain’s structure. Rich sources include:

  • fatty fish
  • shellfish
  • seaweed
  • flax
  • avocados
  • nuts

Flavonoids

Flavonoids are beneficial plant compounds with neuroprotective benefits.

According to a 2015 reviewTrusted Source, flavonoids are associated with positive cognitive outcomes, including increased executive functioning and working memory.

Rich sources of flavonoids include:

  • berries
  • tea
  • cocoa
  • soybeans
  • grains

Vitamin K

According to a 2019 reviewTrusted Source, vitamin K plays a role in brain cell survival and cognitive performance. It’s primarily found in leafy greens, such as:

  • kale
  • spinach
  • collards

7. Play an instrument

Playing an instrument is a fun and creative way to boost your intelligence. It involves skills like:

  • auditory perception
  • physical coordination
  • memory
  • pattern recognition

This challenges your sensory and cognitive abilities, according to a 2013 reviewTrusted Source. As a result, playing a musical instrument may help increase your cognitive and neural functioning.

If you’re an experienced musician, challenge yourself by learning new songs or genres. If you don’t know how to play an instrument, remember that it’s never too late to start. You can find plenty of free how-to videos online to get you started.

8. Read

Research shows that reading may also help boost your intelligence.

According to a 2015 review, reading stimulates every part of your brain, along with the neural connections between them.

That’s because it requires multiple cognitive functions, including:

  • attention
  • predicting
  • working memory
  • long-term storage memory
  • abstract reasoning
  • comprehension
  • visual processing of letters

A 2013 studyTrusted Source also determined that reading enhances connectivity between brain regions involved with comprehension. This effect can last a couple of days after reading, suggesting long-term benefits.

9. Continue learning

If you’d like to increase intelligence, aim to be a student for life. A longer duration of education is linked to higher intelligence, according to a 2018 reviewTrusted Source.

Another 2019 reviewTrusted Source found that continuing education also increases cognitive function and protects your brain.

Continuing your education doesn’t mean you need to get a degree. You can:

  • listen to podcasts
  • watch TED talks
  • attend lectures or workshops
  • pick up a new hobby
  • learn a new language
  • read books on a new subject

10. Socialize

Since humans are social creatures, staying social may also enhance your mental fitness. That’s because socialization stimulates the mind and cognitive ability, according to a 2018 studyTrusted Source.

If you find it difficult to meet new people or create relationships, you may want to consider the following:

  • volunteer in your community
  • join a club, gym, or sports team
  • take a class
  • join a book club
  • reconnect with old friends

The bottom line

Remember, intelligence isn’t about knowing more than other people. It’s about stimulating your brain, being able to solve problems, and learning new things.

By staying curious and following the tips outlined above, you may be able to boost your brain health and enhance your intelligence over time.

Six Steps to Smarter Studying

Six Steps to Smarter Studying

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Six Steps to Smarter Studying

https://www.jyoungblood.com/ – How did you learn how to ride your bike? Someone probably gave you a few lessons and then you practiced a lot. You can learn how to study in much the same way. No one is born knowing how to study. You need to learn a few study skills and then practice them.

Why work on your study skills? It will make it easier for you to learn and do well in class, especially as you move up to middle school and high school.

Here are six steps to smarter studying:

  • Pay attention in class.
  • Take good notes.
  • Plan ahead for tests and projects.
  • Break it down. (If you have a bunch of stuff to learn, break it into smaller chunks.)
  • Ask for help if you get stuck.
  • Get a good night’s sleep!

1. Pay Attention: Good Studying Starts in Class

Here’s a riddle for you: Did you know that before you even begin studying, you’ve already started? Huh? Here’s what we mean. When you pay attention in class and take good notes, you are starting the process of learning and studying.

Do you have trouble paying attention in class? Are you sitting next to a loud person? Is it hard to see the board? Make sure you’re sitting in a good seat that lets you pay attention. Tell your teacher or parents about any problems that are preventing you from paying attention and taking good notes.

2. Good Notes = Easier Studying

Not sure how to take notes? Start by writing down facts that your teacher mentions or writes on the board during class. Try your best to use good handwriting so you can read your notes later. It’s also a good idea to keep your notes, quizzes, and papers organized by subject.

3. Plan Ahead and You’ll Be Glad You Did

Waiting until Thursday night to study for Friday’s test will make for a homework night that’s no fun! It also makes it hard to do your best. We’re all guilty of putting things off sometimes. One of the best ways to make sure that doesn’t happen is to plan ahead.

Ask for a cool calendar (something you like and can keep by your desk or study area) and write down your test and assignment due dates. You can then plan how much to do after school each day, and how much time to spend on each topic. Are lessons or extracurricular activities making it hard to find time to study? Ask your mom or dad how to make a schedule of what to do when.

4. Break It Up!

When there’s a lot to study, it can help to break things into chunks. Let’s say you have a test on 20 spelling words. Instead of thinking about all of the words at once, try breaking them down into five-word chunks and working on one or two different chunks each night.

Don’t worry if you can’t remember something on the first try. That’s where practice comes in. The more days you spend reviewing something, the more likely it is to stick in your brain. There are also tricks called mnemonic (say: new-MON-ik) devices that can help you remember stuff. When you’re trying to memorize a list of things, make up a phrase that uses the first letter of each. For example, are you trying to learn the eight planets and their order from the sun? Think: My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Nachos to remember Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Your teacher can give you ideas, too.

Another way to break it up is to study regularly instead of just the night before. You can always review your notes and read over the chapters you’re working on. Or, if you’re studying math or science, do some practice problems.

How much studying should you do each night? Your teacher can help you figure it out. Most brains can only pay attention for about 45 minutes. So if you’ve been working for a while and find it hard to pay attention, try taking a break for some water or a walk around the house. Just fight the temptation to turn on the TV or stop working!

5. Lose the Confusion — Ask for Help

You can’t study effectively if you don’t understand the material. Be sure to ask your teacher for help if you’re confused about something. You can check yourself by reading through your notes. Does it all make sense? If not, ask your teacher to go over it with you. If you’re at home when the confusion occurs, your mom or dad might be able to help.

6. Sleep Tight!

So the test is tomorrow and you’ve followed your study plan — but suddenly you can’t remember anything, not even 2+2! Don’t panic. Your brain needs time to digest all the information you’ve given it. Try to get a good night’s sleep and you’ll be surprised by what comes back to you in the morning.

Understanding the American Education System

Understanding the American Education System

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Understanding the American Education System

www.jyoungblood.com – The American education system offers a rich field of choices for international students. There is such an array of schools, programs and locations that the choices may overwhelm students, even those from the U.S. As you begin your school search, it’s important to familiarize yourself with the American education system. Understanding the system will help you narrow your choices and develop your education plan.

The Educational Structure

Primary and Secondary School

Prior to higher education, American students attend primary and secondary school for a combined total of 12 years. These years are referred to as the first through twelfth grades.

Around age six, U.S. children begin primary school, which is most commonly called “elementary school.” They attend five or six years and then go onto secondary school.

Secondary school consists of two programs: the first is “middle school” or “junior high school” and the second program is “high school.” A diploma or certificate is awarded upon graduation from high school. After graduating high school (12th grade), U.S. students may go on to college or university. College or university study is known as “higher education.”

Grading System

Just like American students, you will have to submit your academic transcripts as part of your application for admission to university or college. Academic transcripts are official copies of your academic work. In the U.S. this includes your “grades” and “grade point average” (GPA), which are measurements of your academic achievement. Courses are commonly graded using percentages, which are converted into letter grades.

The grading system and GPA in the U.S. can be confusing, especially for international students. The interpretation of grades has a lot of variation. For example, two students who attended different schools both submit their transcripts to the same university. They both have 3.5 GPAs, but one student attended an average high school, while the other attended a prestigious school that was academically challenging. The university might interpret their GPAs differently because the two schools have dramatically different standards.

Therefore, there are some crucial things to keep in mind:

  • You should find out the U.S. equivalent of the last level of education you completed in your home country.
  • Pay close attention to the admission requirements of each university and college, as well as individual degree programs, which may have different requirements than the university.
  • Regularly meet with an educational advisor or guidance counselor to make sure you are meeting the requirements.

Your educational advisor or guidance counselor will be able to advise you on whether or not you must spend an extra year or two preparing for U.S. university admission. If an international student entered a U.S. university or college prior to being eligible to attend university in their own country, some countries’ governments and employers may not recognize the students’ U.S. education.

Academic Year

The school calendar usually begins in August or September and continues through May or June. The majority of new students begin in autumn, so it is a good idea for international students to also begin their U.S. university studies at this time. There is a lot of excitement at the beginning of the school year and students form many great friendships during this time, as they are all adjusting to a new phase of academic life. Additionally, many courses are designed for students to take them in sequence, starting in autumn and continuing through the year.

The academic year at many schools is composed of two terms called “semesters.” (Some schools use a three-term calendar known as the “trimester” system.) Still, others further divide the year into the quarter system of four terms, including an optional summer session. Basically, if you exclude the summer session, the academic year is either comprised of two semesters or three quarter terms.

The U.S. Higher Education System: Levels of Study

  • First Level: Undergraduate

“The American system is much more open. In Hong Kong you just learn what the teacher writes on the board. In America, you discuss the issues and focus more on ideas.”

A student who is attending a college or university and has not earned a bachelor’s degree, is studying at the undergraduate level. It typically takes about four years to earn a bachelor’s degree. You can either begin your studies in pursuit of a bachelor’s degree at a community college or a four-year university or college.

Your first two years of study you will generally be required to take a wide variety of classes in different subjects, commonly known as prerequisite courses: literature, science, the social sciences, the arts, history, and so forth. This is so you achieve a general knowledge, a foundation, of a variety of subjects prior to focusing on a specific field of study.

Many students choose to study at a community college in order to complete the first two years of prerequisite courses. They will earn an Associate of Arts (AA) transfer degree and then transfer to a four-year university or college.

A “major” is the specific field of study in which your degree is focused. For example, if someone’s major is journalism, they will earn a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism. You will be required to take a certain number of courses in this field in order to meet the degree requirements of your major. You must choose your major at the beginning of your third year of school.

A very unique characteristic of the American higher education system is that you can change your major multiple times if you choose. It is extremely common for American students to switch majors at some point in their undergraduate studies. Often, students discover a different field that they excel in or enjoy. The American education system is very flexible. Keep in mind though that switching majors may result in more courses, which means more time and money.

  • Second Level: Graduate in Pursuit of a Master’s Degree

Presently, a college or university graduate with a bachelor’s degree may want to seriously think about graduate study in order to enter certain professions or advance their career. This degree is usually mandatory for higher-level positions in library science, engineering, behavioral health and education.

Furthermore, international students from some countries are only permitted to study abroad at a graduate level. You should inquire about the credentials needed to get a job in your country before you apply to a postgraduate university in the USA.

A graduate program is usually a division of a university or college. To gain admission, you will need to take the GRE (graduate record examination). Certain master’s programs require specific tests, such as the LSAT for law school, the GRE or GMAT for business school, and the MCAT for medical school.

Graduate programs in pursuit of a master’s degree typically take one to two years to complete. For example, the MBA (master of business administration) is an extremely popular degree program that takes about two years. Other master’s programs, such as journalism, only take one year.

The majority of a master’s program is spent in classroom study and a graduate student must prepare a long research paper called a “master’s thesis” or complete a “master’s project.”

  • Third Level: Graduate in Pursuit of a Doctorate Degree

Many graduate schools consider the attainment of a master’s degree the first step towards earning a PhD (doctorate). But at other schools, students may prepare directly for a doctorate without also earning a master’s degree. It may take three years or more to earn a PhD degree. For international students, it may take as long as five or six years.

For the first two years of the program most doctoral candidates enroll in classes and seminars. At least another year is spent conducting firsthand research and writing a thesis or dissertation. This paper must contain views, designs, or research that have not been previously published.

A doctoral dissertation is a discussion and summary of the current scholarship on a given topic. Most U.S. universities awarding doctorates also require their candidates to have a reading knowledge of two foreign languages, to spend a required length of time “in residence,” to pass a qualifying examination that officially admits candidates to the PhD program, and to pass an oral examination on the same topic as the dissertation.

Characteristics of the U.S. Higher Education System

Classroom Environment

Classes range from large lectures with several hundred students to smaller classes and seminars (discussion classes) with only a few students. The American university classroom atmosphere is very dynamic. You will be expected to share your opinion, argue your point, participate in class discussions and give presentations. International students find this one of the most surprising aspects of the American education system.

Each week professors usually assign textbook and other readings. You will be expected to keep up-to-date with the required readings and homework so you can participate in class discussions and understand the lectures. Certain degree programs also require students to spend time in the laboratory.

Professors issue grades for each student enrolled in the course. Grades are usually based upon:

  • Each professor will have a unique set of class participation requirements, but students are expected to participate in class discussions, especially in seminar classes. This is often a very important factor in determining a student’s grade.
  • A midterm examination is usually given during class time.
  • One or more research or term papers, or laboratory reports must be submitted for evaluation.
  • Possible short exams or quizzes are given. Sometimes professors will give an unannounced “pop quiz.” This doesn’t count heavily toward the grade, but is intended to inspire students to keep up with their assignments and attendance.
  • A final examination will be held after the final class meeting.

Credits

Each course is worth a certain number of credits or credit hours. This number is roughly the same as the number of hours a student spends in class for that course each week. A course is typically worth three to five credits.

A full-time program at most schools is 12 or 15 credit hours (four or five courses per term) and a certain number of credits must be fulfilled in order to graduate. International students are expected to enroll in a full-time program during each term.

Transfers

If a student enrolls at a new university before finishing a degree, generally most credits earned at the first school can be used to complete a degree at the new university. This means a student can transfer to another university and still graduate within a reasonable time.

Types of U.S. higher education

“I like that schedules are flexible, classes are fun, and the variety of activities I can participate in.”

1. State College or University

A state school is supported and run by a state or local government. Each of the 50 U.S. states operates at least one state university and possibly several state colleges. Many of these public universities schools have the name of the state, or the actual word “State” in their names: for example, Washington State University and the University of Michigan.

2. Private College or University

These schools are privately run as opposed to being run by a branch of the government. Tuition will usually be higher than state schools. Often, private U.S. universities and colleges are smaller in size than state schools.

Religiously affiliated universities and colleges are private schools. Nearly all these schools welcome students of all religions and beliefs. Yet, there are a percentage of schools that prefer to admit students who hold similar religious beliefs as those in which the school was founded.

3. Community College

Community colleges are two-year colleges that award an associate’s degrees (transferable), as well as certifications. There are many types of associate degrees, but the most important distinguishing factor is whether or not the degree is transferable. Usually, there will be two primary degree tracks: one for academic transfer and the other prepares students to enter the workforce straightaway. University transfer degrees are generally associate of arts or associate of science. Not likely to be transferrable are the associate of applied science degrees and certificates of completion.

Community college graduates most commonly transfer to four-year colleges or universities to complete their degree. Because they can transfer the credits they earned while attending community college, they can complete their bachelor’s degree program in two or more additional years. Many also offer ESL or intensive English language programs, which will prepare students for university-level courses.

If you do not plan to earn a higher degree than the associate’s, you should find out if an associate’s degree will qualify you for a job in your home country.

4. Institute of Technology

An institute of technology is a school that provides at least four years of study in science and technology. Some have graduate programs, while others offer short-term courses.

10 Educational Goal Examples (With Tips To Accomplish Them)

10 Educational Goal Examples (With Tips To Accomplish Them)

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10 Educational Goal Examples (With Tips To Accomplish Them)

jyoungblood.com – The purpose of education is to help you to reach your potential. To make sure this occurs, it’s important to set educational goals. Determining what you should learn and how to accomplish your objectives helps create the foundation for reaching your educational goals.

In this article, we take a look at examples of educational goals, along with ways you can achieve them.

Examples of 10 educational goals

Education goals

put into words what you’d like to achieve after a certain amount of time, such as after completing a course or a program. It explains the skills, competencies and qualities you hope to possess by that time.

This process usually involves identifying objectives, choosing attainable short-term goals and then creating a plan for achieving those goals. Here are 10 examples:

1. Think positive to stay focused

Positive thinking

can make it easier for you to focus on tasks that need to be done and learn new information. For instance, if you approach learning better writing skills with a positive mindset, you may be more likely to stay focused since you’re open to the experience.

To maintain a positive mindset toward learning, here are a few things you can do:

  • Set and track your own learning goals

  • Manage your stress

  • Be open to new ideas and approaches

  • Visualize a positive outcome

  • Learn from your mistakes

Related: SMART Goals: Definition and Examples

2. Stay resilient

Resiliency refers to the ability to adapt after encountering a challenge. It’s important to acknowledge the challenge or difficulty in order to find a way to overcome it. Resiliency helps you accept the issue and find steps to move past it while staying positive.

Here are a few ways to improve your resiliency:

  • Find a sense of purpose in your life

  • Establish positive beliefs in your abilities

  • Build a strong network

  • Embrace change

  • Develop your problem-solving skills

Related: Interview Question: “What Are Your Future Goals?”

3. Make time to read

Reading can help you to develop critical thinking skills, which are important to make well-reasoned decisions. Reading requires you to think and process information in ways you may not experience in other forms of entertainment. You can read fiction, autobiographies or journals on any topic that interests you. While you read, take notes to keep your mind focused on the text.

Here are a few tips that can help you make time to read every single day:

  • Read first thing in the morning or before bed

  • Always keep a magazine, newspaper or book in your bag in your bag

  • Use bus or subway time to catch up on reading

  • Find material that you find interesting

  • Set reminders for reading

Related: 7 Simple Strategies To Improve Reading Comprehension

4. Manage your time

Good time-management skills help you to prioritize tasks so you’re able to complete work and assignments on time. You should also plan ahead, set aside the time you need for assignments and projects and stay focused to better use that time.

Here are some tips to effectively manage your time and improve your study:

  • Create a daily, weekly and monthly schedule

  • Avoid distractions while you’re studying

  • Set goals for every study session

  • Start working on projects or tasks early

  • Make a project plan

  • Work on one task at a time

  • Start early in the day

Related: Time-Management Skills: Definition and Examples

5. Find time to relax

Finding time to relax can help you to stay focused and motivated. Giving yourself time to do something you enjoy or practice self-care can help instill balance in your life. When you take a break, you can usually return to your task with a renewed focus and a fresh perspective.

Here are a few ways you can relax:

  • Get quality rest

  • Practice the 50/10 rule (50 minutes of work followed by a 10-minute break)

  • Plan your meals a week in advance

  • Schedule time for your hobbies and interests

  • Take breaks during difficult projects

Related: 8 Steps for How To Stop Overthinking at Work

6. Strive for excellence

You should strive for excellence in your work by setting and then exceeding goals. Excellence is about striving to be better, with the end goal of providing consistent quality work. To achieve excellence in your day to day, you need to spend time practicing and developing new skills.

Here are a few tips to develop the habit of excellence:

  • Explore new ideas

  • Do more than what’s expected of you

  • Take risks

  • Surround yourself with positive people

  • Build a trusted connection with a mentor

Related: How To Take Pride in Your Work in 7 Steps

7. Build a strong network

Networking is about building and nurturing long-term relationships with the people you meet. When you invest time in building meaningful relationships (personal and professional) you create a network of people you can rely on throughout your career.

Networking allows you to develop and improve your skill set, while staying up-to-date about the job market, meeting prospective mentors and gaining access to resources that can promote your development.

Here are a few tips to build a strong network:

  • Take the first step by reaching out

  • Listen to advice and tips

  • Treat people with dignity and respect

  • Learn to trust more

  • Give and take constructive feedback

  • Have empathy

Related: Building Rapport: Tips and Examples

8. Build good study habits

One of the most important parts of academic success is practicing good study habits. Developing and maintaining good study habits can help you to increase your competence, confidence and self-esteem.

Good study habits can also help to reduce your anxiety about deadlines and/or tests. You may also be able to reduce the number of hours that you spend studying, leaving more time for other important things in your life.

Here are a few steps you can take to build good study habits:

  • Plan when you are going to study

  • Create a consistent, daily study routine

  • Set a study session goal to help achieve your overall academic goal

  • Avoid procrastination

  • Create an environment conducive to studying

  • Spread material throughout several study sessions

Related: Top 10 Study Skills and Techniques

9. Attend seminars or training

A seminar is an expert-led educational meeting that focuses on a specific topic or discipline. Seminars are an ideal opportunity for you to study a topic in-depth. By asking questions, paying attention to the speaker and writing notes, you can leave a seminar with a wide range of knowledge in a specific field.

Along with having access to experts, seminars also allow you to meet other people who share your interests and build connections. Seminar discussions give you an opportunity to debate issues related to the field, exchange ideas and share experiences. Meeting new people can offer solutions to common problems, encouragement and advice for how to handle challenges.

Related: What Is On-the-Job Training?

10. Develop patience to achieve your goals

Being patient can help you realize that consistent reflection and hard work can produce successful outcomes. Many goals you need to reach often take time and patience can help you continually produce excellent work.

Here are a few tips to overcome impatience:

  • Be more mindful of your thoughts and reactions to what is going on around you

  • Calm your mind so that you can think more clearly about your situation

  • Practice deep breathing and mindfulness techniques

  • Set milestones and reward yourself when you reach them

How to Teach Good Behavior: Tips for Parents

How to Teach Good Behavior: Tips for Parents

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How to Teach Good Behavior: Tips for Parents

Children must be taught good behavior so they can live and work well in society when they grow up. Good teaching includes rewards for good behavior. Your child’s age should guide your choice of ways to teach. Some tips to help you teach your child are listed below.

DO:

  • Encourage your child and give lots of affection.
  • Reward good behavior. Praise your child and give extra attention when he or she does something right. Give a reward for good behavior.
  • Your child will copy your actions and words. Act and speak the way you want your child to act and speak.
  • Be kind, but firm.
  • Remove temptations (like breakable items) before children get into trouble. Preventing bad behavior is always easier than correcting a problem.
  • Ignore some small problems or annoying behaviors. Bigger problems need to be corrected, especially if the child’s bad behavior might be harmful or dangerous.
  • Be consistent. Always treat a bad behavior the same way, or your child will learn that he or she can sometimes “get away with it.”
  • Correct your child soon after the bad behavior occurs, but wait until your anger has passed. Counting to 10 before you say something or do something may help reduce your anger so you are in control of yourself.
  • Make rules that are right for your child’s age. Rules work best for children who are school-aged. Younger children (infants and toddlers) don’t understand rules yet. They are still learning what a rule is.
  • Use “time-out” for children between 18 months and five years of age. Time-out may help correct bad behaviors like tantrums, whining, fighting, and arguing. To use time-out, put your child in a chair with no toys or TV. Don’t speak to your child during time-out. Time-out should last one minute for each year of the child’s age. For example, a four-year-old should be in time-out for four minutes. Your child should be quiet for at least 15 seconds before timeout ends.
  • Correct older children by taking away things they like (TV or video games, or time with friends).
  • Remember to tell your child that the behavior was bad, but the child isn’t “bad.”

 

DON’T:

  • Don’t nag or talk about bad behavior too much. Children ignore nagging.
  • Don’t try reasoning to get your point across to children younger than three or four years. They won’t understand.
  • Don’t criticize your child.
  • Don’t call your child names.
  • Don’t call your child “bad.” Only the behavior is bad.
  • Don’t scold too often. Scolding makes children anxious and may make them ignore you. It may also worsen the behavior. Never scold your child during time-out.
  • Don’t spank. Spanking teaches your child that it’s okay to hit someone in order to solve a problem. Never spank a child who is younger than 18 months. It doesn’t help, and you may hurt the child. Never spank a child when you’re angry. Never hit your child with an object.
  • Don’t pull your child’s hair, jerk an arm, or shake your child.

 

Where can I find more information about teaching good behavior to my children?

 

Here are two books you might find at your public library or local bookstore:

Touchpoints: Your Child’s Emotional and Behavioral Development, a book written by T. Berry Brazelton. Published by Addison-Wesley Publishing Company in 1992. The chapter on discipline is very helpful (see pages 252 to 260).

Parenting: Guide to Positive Discipline, a book written by Paula Spencer. Published by Ballantine Books in 2001.

Behavioristic Theory – Definition, Principles, Characteristics

Behavioristic Theory – Definition, Principles, Characteristics

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Behavioristic Theory – Definition, Principles, Characteristics

Behaviorism

Behaviorism is the theory that all behaviors are learned by interacting with the environment. This differs from other theories, which state that behaviors are an innate part of biology. As a branch of psychology, it seeks to predict and control behavior. It assumes that there is no difference between humans and other biological organisms and their ability to learn in response to the environment. It wants to find the simplest explanation possible rather than get conflated with many variables and complexities.

Criticisms

Despite its contributions to psychology, behaviorism has many criticisms. Because it assumes that nearly everything an organism learns comes from how it interacts with its environment, many holes can arise due to the complex nature of human psychology. Many other fields point out these conflicts. For example, in humanism, humanity’s ability to make decisions with free will plays a key role in understanding psychology, and behaviorism ignores the idea entirely because of its core principles. Biological psychology theorizes that every behavior comes from an organic source, which lies on the other end of the spectrum from behaviorism that states that everything comes from external stimuli. Behaviorism also does not take into account memory, problem-solving, critical thinking, etc., all of which play a key role in how humans make decisions and interact with the environment.

Pros and Cons of Behaviorism

While it might not paint a complete picture of psychology, it is still possible to learn more about an individual’s mind based on their principles. For example, if someone lives next to a railroad and always eats exactly when the train is roaring by, they will find that if the train goes by and they don’t eat, they will get hungry. People can learn how they respond to particular stimuli and how it affects them, rather than living by them and never knowing why they’re always suddenly hungry right when the train goes by. The main advantages of this theory are that it can generate predictable outcomes, which can be measured and tested. It can be used in therapy to help shift behaviors away from negative ones to positive ones. One of the biggest shortcomings of this theory, though, is that it doesn’t take into account critical thinking and decision-making skills. Once the person notices they get hungry when the train goes by, they aren’t stuck living that way forever. They can make a change if they desire, eating at a different time of the day instead. This is the concept of free will, which happens when a person does whatever they wish. Rather, behaviorism seeks to explain every choice that is made through responses to external stimuli.

B.F. Skinner

B.F. Skinner began his career as a writer, though returned to college to receive a Ph. D. in psychology, and then went on to become a professor at several institutions, but became the Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology in 1958 and held the position until his retirement in 1974. He founded the theory of Radical Behaviorism following the establishment of behaviorism by John Watson in 1913. Because things within the mind like beliefs and memories could not be empirically defined, he dismissed them entirely. Thus, adopting the theory that every observable response comes from an external stimulus, completely outside of what is felt within the mind. In his novels Walden Two and Beyond Freedom and Dignity, he argued that humanity should seek to craft their environment to optimize behaviors and forget concepts of free will. Additionally, he continued to refine the theory of operant conditioning, based on Thorndike’s Law of Effect, furthering his theory of behaviorism by developing explanations for more intricate things like superstitions and complex chains of behavior.

 

Behaviorism in the Classroom