When you are at work, do you get frustrated because things don’t seem to be happening the way they’re supposed to be? You see people milling around but nothing gets accomplished. And in the daily hustle and bustle, do you feel that your goals remain just that – goals. Then maybe its time for you to stand up and do something about it.

Most people are content just to stand around listening for orders. And it isn’t unusual to adopt a follow-the-leader mentality. But maybe, somewhere inside of you, you feel the desire to make things happen – to be the head, not the tail. Then maybe leadership just suits you fine.

Some people believe that great leaders are made, not born. Yes, it may be true that some people are born with natural talents. However, without practice, without drive, without enthusiasm, and without experience, there can be no true development in leadership.

You must also remember that good leaders are continually working and studying to improve their natural skills. This takes a commitment to constantly improve in whatever endeavor a person chooses.

First of all, let’s define leadership. To be a leader, one must be able to influence others to accomplish a goal, or an objective. He contributes to the organization and cohesion of a group.

Contrary to what most people believe, leadership is not about power. It is not about harassing people or driving them using fear. It is about encouraging others towards the goal of the organization. It is putting everyone on the same page and helping them see the big picture of the organization. You must be a leader not a boss.

First of all, you have to get people to follow you. How is this accomplished?

People follow others when they see a clear sense of purpose. People will only follow you if they see that you know where you are going. Remember that bumper sticker? The one that says, don’t follow me, I’m lost too? The same holds true for leadership. If you yourself do not know where you’re headed to, chances are people will not follow you at all.

You yourself must know the vision of the organization. Having a clear sense of hierarchy, knowing who the bosses are, who to talk to, the organization’s goals and objectives, and how the organization works is the only way to show others you know what you are doing.

Being a leader is not about what you make others do. It’s about who you are, what you know, and what you do. You are a reflection of what you’re subordinates must be.

Studies have shown that one other bases of good leadership is the trust and confidence your subordinates have of you. If they trust you they will go through hell and high water for you and for the organization.

Trust and confidence is built on good relationships, trustworthiness, and high ethics.

The way you deal with your people, and the relationships you build will lay the foundation for the strength of your group. The stronger your relationship, the stronger their trust and confidence is in your capabilities.

Once you have their trust and confidence, you may now proceed to communicate the goals and objectives you are to undertake.

Communication is a very important key to good leadership. Without this you can not be a good leader. The knowledge and technical expertise you have must be clearly imparted to other people.

Also, you can not be a good leader and unless you have good judgment. You must be able to assess situations, weigh the pros and cons of any decision, and actively seek out a solution.

It is this judgment that your subordinates will come to rely upon. Therefore, good decision-making is vital to the success of your organization.

Leaders are not do-it-all heroes. You should not claim to know everything, and you should not rely upon your skills alone.

You should recognize and take advantage of the skills and talents your subordinates have. Only when you come to this realization will you be able to work as one cohesive unit.

Remember being a leader takes a good deal of work and time. It is not learned overnight. Remember, also, that it is not about just you. It is about you and the people around you.

So, do you have the drive and the desire to serve required of leaders? Do you have the desire to work cooperatively with other people? Then start now. Take your stand and be leader today.

Reading books may be a dying art, but you can’t avoid reading all together. With today’s society buzzing along at a rapid pace compared to the yesteryear of the good ole days, reading is a necessary skill to pull yourself ahead of the game. Unfortunately, many cannot read as well as they would like. This list of 100 resources to improve reading speed and comprehension can bring you “up to speed” with top speed readers.

1. Eyercize – A free online tool to help read quicker and absorb the material you scan.
2. The Literacy Web – A web site completely dedicated to literacy tools and reading comprehension strategies from the University of Connecticut.
3. Spreeder – A free tool to increase your reading speed.
4. Reading Programs Locator – Enter your ZIP code to search a database of reading programs across the U.S.
5. Study Guides and Strategies – A nice article database on reading faster and how to improve comprehension while reading difficult texts.
6. Speed Library – An online database of helpful knowledge on reading comprehension and memory improvement for students and adults.
7. Speed Reading Online – Tools and tricks to improve reading speed in adults.
8. Read Read Revolution – Free software to help improve reading speed line by line.
9. Speed Reading Talk – A blog all about speed reading from people who want to improve their readings skills and people who have improved their reading skills.
10. SQ3R: A Reading Technique – College Boards gives poor readers a big tip on how to recall what you’ve read. Read on and find out what it is.
11. Interlink Language Center – Lessons on how to improve reading skills and comprehension for free.
12. ELC Study Zone: Reading Exercises – A pile of reading exercises to improve reading speed and comprehension.
13. Learning Techniques: 10 Tips to Improve Reading Speed and Reading Comprehension – Speed reading expert Richard Feldman, Ph.D. of Columbia University shares ten vital tips on how to speed up your reading.
14. Reach Out Michigan – With an 11 point list to help you eliminate common causes of slower reading, this site will provide you with concrete tips to get your speed up.
15. Providence College – Reading Comprehension Tips and Speed Reading Strategies – Providence College’s Office of Academic Services lists tips on reading comprehension and a link for more assistance on speed reading.
16. Glenndale Community College – Reading Better and Faster – An article from Glenndale Community College by Dennis Doyle on reading faster and stopping bad reading habits.
17. Glenndale Community College – Self-Pacing Methods – Another helpful article by Dennis Doyle on strategic reading methods to help your read faster with more comprehension.
18. Speed Reading Specialist – Tips and activities on speed reading for all ages.
19. How to Improve Reading Comprehension – A handful of articles with tips on reading faster and better plus resourceful links to help your quest for more speed reading material.
20. Family Education – Top 10 Ways to Improve Reading Skills – An article by educators, Peggy Gisler and Marge Eberts, describing ten tips to advance reading skills and comprehension.
21. Speed Reading eBook – A whole free e-book on speed reading. Enough said.
22. About.com – How to Improve Your Reading Speed – Esther Lombardi gives plenty of advice on how to hasten your reading without sacrificing your understanding of the words.
23. Scott Young Blog – An informative article on how to double your reading rate.
24. Scott Young Blog – A follow-up article on speed reading.
25. Pinny Cohen – Read Faster Instantly – An entrepreneur doles out advice on how to read through information quickly.
26. Reading Effectively Map – A graphic map on how to comprehend your reading faster.
27. Reading Soft.com’s Speed Reading Test – Take this speed reading test to see how fast you can currently read and if there’s room for improvement.
28. Magic Speed Reading – An index of speed reading articles, tips and lessons.
29. Neuro Gym – Two speed reading exercises that will put your reading skills to the test.
30. The English Department – A group of reading comprehension exercises for upper intermediate and advanced readers.
31. Study Habits – Speed Reading Test – Another free reading test to analyze your reading speed.
32. Mind Tools – Speed Reading – Speed reading information for career minded people that need the ability to scan through documents at faster speeds than leisure reading mode.
33. Speed Reading – How to Eliminate Subvocalization – Tips by Peter Sturo on how to eliminate subvocalization and improve your reading speed.
34. Study Hall – Tips for Improving Your Reading Speed – An article on building the ability to read faster. This article is based on college reading, but applies to nearly everyone trying to bring their reading skills up to speed.
35. Learning-Tech: Basic Speed Reading Techniques – An article on how to improve memory skills and boosting reading speeds through comprehension.
36. Psych Tests – Mind Tools on Speed Reading – A map and tools to help readers develop speed reading skills.
37. How to Speed Read Tips – Leon Edward writes on how to learn to speed read and overcome a slow reading pace.
38. WikiHow – A simple article on how to increase your reading speed without paying a lot of money for programs to help you.
39. TurboRead – Reading Speed Checks – A group of tests built to determine your level of reading and reading speed.
40. Speed Reading and Information Overload – Adam Harley discusses how to manage information overload and how to scan your way out of a mountain of words.
41. Proportional Reading – Free movies, free course and free tools to help you read faster and better.
42. Insider Reports – Reading Speed: Learn How To Improve Yours With Speed Reading Techniques – An informational article on what speed reading is and how to learn to master the technique.
43. You Tube -  Learn to Speed Read! – Watch and learn as Kris explains the principles of speed reading in this You Tube video.
44. Evaluating Speed Reading Software – If you determine you need speed reading software for practice, Adam Harley tells you how to get the best software for your buck.
45. Speed Reading vs Skimming – Another article by speed reader Adam Harley on the differences between skimming and speed reading.
46. Harper Studio: Students Can Learn To Read Faster – Dr. Martin Kutscher explains how parents can organize their children to read faster and do better in school.
47. Speed Reading Tactics – Does Speed Reading Software Work? – A thoughtful article on the value of speed reading software by Ed Caldwell.
48. Speed Reading Tactics – Taming and Transforming Subvocalization – Ed Caldwell explores how to eliminate the little voice in your head that keeps you from reading at a faster pace.
49. The Study Hall – Tips to improve reading speed complete with a weekly plan to help you practice what you learn.
50. Start With These Tips on How to Learn Speed Reading – William Temple describes some easy ways to learn to speed read without software.
51. Speed Reading Exercises – Some free speed reading exercises and a free subscription link to speed reading discussions.
52. eHow – How to Read Faster – A easy to understand, quick article on how to make yourself read faster.
53. Literacy Connections – A web site for reading teachers and a list of literacy resources on children’s literacy and adult literacy.
54. Literacy Directory – A directory to find literacy programs for adults and children in the U.S.
55. Read, Write, Think – Games and programs for young students to improve literacy and reading comprehension.
56. The Colorado Department of Education – Colorado’s Department of Education provides a directory of children’s literacy resources and libraries.
57. California Literacy Resources – A resource list for struggling adult readers in California to find help throughout the state.
58. Rhode Island Literacy Resources – Adult literacy program tools and news for Rhode Island residents.
59. Literacy Resources, Inc. – A non-profit literacy group aiming to help children improve reading skills throughout the nation. Check the PDF form to see If your child qualifies for literary help.
60. U.S. Department of Education: Reading Resources – Part of the No Child Left Behind program to help children develop better reading comprehension and language skills. A list of articles to help parents and educators assess reading problems in youth.
61. International Reading Association – An organization of literacy educators and promoters. The site has many resources and lesson plans available for parents, teachers and adults.
62. Learn How To Read Faster – A six step article on how to improve your reading speed and get results without extensive training or classes.
63. Business Know How: Improve Your Reading Speed – An article for business people who need to learn how to speed up their reading pace for the suit and tie life.
64. Read Fast Now – A web site full of articles and free resources to beef up your reading skills and comprehension.
65. Readabout’s Speed Reading Program – A nicely organized speed reading program with many featured articles on the subject as well.
66. Dartmouth’s Academic Skill Center – A free database for students as well as those who wish to improve reading and memorization skills. This particular article details how to read textbooks effectively, but it is advice that can be applied to the working world as well.
67. WHAKATE: Read Better, Read Less – A helpful article on achieving higher reading speeds while cutting down on the actual time it takes to read a piece of literature or document.
68. Time Magazine: Read Better & Faster – Trusted source of information, Time brings readers some interesting tips on how to improve life quality by learning to read faster and better.
69. Self Growth: Easy Tips for Faster Reading – Paul Scheele shares a handful of tips that make for faster reading and greater self-improvement.
70. ESL Gold – If you are learning English as a second language this web site is for you. It has content for many areas of English study, but this link takes you directly to an article on how to read faster and use this tool in everyday life.
71. The New York Times: Peripherals; A Program for Reading Faster, Better – This world-wide known newspaper uncovers the good, bad and the ugly in speed reading (and writing) help for consumers.
72. ProductiveElearn.com: Speed Reading Tactics – Check out all the free literature and mini courses on speed reading, but unless you are prepared to pay and need extra help steer clear of the online courses.
73. About.com: Reading Tips and Strategies – A source for college students trying to improve reading efficiency and comprehension of large amounts of information. While this article is directed at students, the techniques will work for anyone with a lot of material to read and remember in a short period.
74. About.com: English as a Second Language – Kenneth Beare unloads heaps of helpful information on reading English as a second language. This article will uncover your reading style to make reading more natural.
75. About.com: Reading – Identifying Skill Requirement – Kenneth Beare identifies reading skills like skimming, scanning, extensive and intensive reading and how to reach intermediate reading skill levels.
76. About.com – Reading: Improve Your Comprehension and Efficiency – Take advice from a Ph.D. on how to how to survive reading long books for college, but you never know when these students reading tips can make your life easier outside of school.
77. About.com English as a Second Language – This informational snippet on scanning information can teach you how to narrow your focus to zoom in on information that is vital to your understanding on the information you’re reading.
78. About.com: English as a Second Language – After you’ve learned a conquered skimming and scanning and reading the English language better, try your hand at business English exercises to launch a more powerful career path.
79. About.com: Reading as a Second Language – A fun reading skills quiz to break up all the article reading on how to bump up your reading speed.
80. Top Ten Reviews- A 2009 speed reading software review of ten products to help you decide which product is worth your money to help you learn to read quickly.
81. Ace Reader – Take this free reading test to see where you stand. You can then download and try the free software trial that tracks your reading comprehension progress during reading speed exercises.
82. Top Ten Reviews – This article is helpful because it reviews each learning method of speed reading. See what experts recommend as the most helpful speed reading and comprehension exercises.
83. Daily Blog Tips: The Secret to Lightning-Fast Feed Reading – An article for online feed reading junkies on how to organize the feeds and master time spent reading the articles listed on your feed.
84. Sources of Insight – Experts comment on the truth about speed reading and how to take information and apply it to real life reading.
85. BlockReading.com – Free and online reading exercises to improve your vocabulary and reading speeds.
86. Speed Reading Secrets – Try the free lesson plan to read faster developed by a military pilot that could only read 156 words per minute before he trained himself with this program.
87. Speed Reading 4 Kids – Now that you are flying through the pages yourself, teach your kids how to read and study much faster and overcome reading disorders that can hinder your children’s ability to read.
88. eBooks – The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Speed Reading – Download this eBook for quick references on how to speed read your way through any book or article. The book costs $16.95 to download. The free part? You get a preview.
89. Speed Reading Software – Try the free trial of Rocket Reader and test your skills with a free reading comprehension test.
90. TurboRead – Another speed reading software program with a free trial and informative articles on reading comprehension.
91. Ace Reader – Another recommended speed reading software kit to help improve reading ability.
92. Two Extremely Effective Speed Reading Exercises – Rin K Otori details two of the most effective reading exercises that will increase your reading speed with practice.
93. Rocket Reader – Try the award-winning software for ten full days without buying. Check out all the free tests and reading help articles too.
94. Literary Resources, Inc. – Michael Heggerty provides useful links and resources for phonetic awareness and advancement.
95. Best Speed Reading Course – A course designed to teach you how to read and comprehend faster. Try the mini-course for free by signing up with your e-mail address.
96. Speed Reader X – An online speed reading course to improve your reading comprehension. You can try the course risk free for 60 days, but payment in required for the courses upfront.
97. The Literacy Company – Speed reading software for all ages. Check out the articles posted at the bottom of the main page for free tips.
98. Nev n Dave – A list of ten tips to effectively read blogs quickly by reorganizing your RSS feed and other easy to fix methods to keep you focused on the important things in life other than blog reading.
99. To Done – If you love to read blogs, this article is for you. It explains how to effectively read blogs without wasting time.
100. The Learning Centre – A two-part article on how to read effectively and improve study and learning skills.

Utilize all the free resources you can to improve your reading speed, but if all else fails there are some good reading programs and software listed to give you help and practice.

It’s a talent that everyone has, yet they think they don’t. The power of innovation. If you’ve ever marvelled at somebody’s creative prowess, guess what, you can create and innovate too. It just takes time. Everyone is born creative. The box of crayons in kindergarten were not limited to those who possessed potential; because the truth is, everybody has potential.

You know how long it took to learn to ride a bike or drive or to never commit the same mistake again? It’s the same with innovation. It takes a  bit of practice and a lot of time before this mind function comes easily  when called. This article will teach you a few tips on how to bring innovation into your life.

Don’t listen to what other people say. Follow the beat of your own drum. Allowing for the input of other people will only bring cacophony to the music you are trying to make. If you have an original idea, don’t waste your time and effort trying to make people understand. They won’t. And the help you will probably get comes in the form of negative feedback. If all those geniuses listened to their peers, we would probably still be living in the middle ages.

Spend time on it. I cannot stress that enough, although, please do not mistake this tip to tell you to quit your day job entirely. Do not. This involves some tricky time management but with a little discipline you’ll be able to squeeze both in.

Exercise. Take a walk. Run a mile or two. Send all those endorphins coursing through your veins. Exercising certainly clears and relaxes your mind and allows for anything to pop up.

Record your dreams. Aren’t some of them just the craziest things that your conscious mind would never have thought of? If you’ve had these dreams before, and I’m sure have, this only shows you the untapped innovative power you have lying within. So jot down those notes. Those dreams may just create an innovative spark in you.

Find your own style. You can always tell a Van Gogh from a Matisse. You’ll know Hemingway wrote something by the choice of words on the paper. So it is the same with you. People will appreciate your innovation more because it is uniquely yours and that no one else would have thought of what you were thinking. That will let people see how valuable an asset you are.

Don’t hide behind nifty gadgets or tools. You don’t need the most expensive set of paints to produce a masterpiece. The same way with writing. You don’t need some expensive fountain pen and really smooth paper for a bestseller. In fact, J.K. Rowling wrote the first book of the Harry Potter Series on bits of tissue. So what if you’ve got an expensive SLR camera if you’re a crappy photographer? Who cares if you’ve got a blinging laptop if you can’t write at all? The artist actually reduces the number of tools he has as he gets better at his craft: he knows what works and what doesn’t.

Nothing will work without passion. What wakes you up in the mornings? What keeps the flame burning? What is the one thing that you’ll die if you don’t do? Sometimes people with talent are overtaken by the people who want it more. Think the hare and the tortoise. Ellen Degeneres once said that if you’re not doing something that you want to do, then you don’t really want to do it. And that’s true. Sometimes you just want something so bad you become a virtual unstoppable. And that is passion. Passion will keep you going.

Don’t worry about inspiration. You can’t force it; inspiration hits when you least expect it to, for those unpredictable yet inevitable moments you should prepare. An idea could strike you on the subway, yet alas, you poor unfortunate soul; you have no sheet of paper to scribble down a thought that could change the world. Avoid these disasters. Have a pen and paper within your arm’s reach at all times.

I hope this article has helped you bring more innovation into your life. Keep in mind that you’re doing these things for your own satisfaction and not anybody else’s. But soon enough they will notice, and everything should snowball from there.