O

K, this year hasnt started the way wed hoped, but there are silver linings to finding ourselves at home again.

This time round, we know what were doing (more running at lunch, fewer Zoom quizzes), which frees up space for new activities. If we have to be cooped up for the first few months of the year, we may as well do something useful with it. That guitar gathering dust at the back of the wardrobe? A chance to dig it out. That childrens book you told yourself youd start in lockdown 1.0? Third time lucky.

From (finally) learning to fix a puncture, to perfecting your handstand, this is your ultimate self-improvement guide.

Complete Spanish course: Busuu

That post-pandemic gap year wont be much use if you cant mix with the locals. During the first lockdown, one in five Londoners committed to teaching themselves a new language; app Busuu has 12 on offer. Research proves that practicing in 10-minute chunks is the most effective way to let a language sink in, so add the app (and its sister podcast) to your weekday repertoire and track your progress with the in-app study plan. Youll be done by breakfast.

USP: Pandemic pen-pals Spanish natives will offer real-time feedback on your work, as long as youre prepared to return the favour.

Full butter croissant and puff pastry workshop: Bread Ahead

Your housemates might be sick of sourdough but wait until they wake up to freshly baked butter croissants on Sunday morning. In this two-and-a-half-hour Zoom workshop, Bread Aheads expert bakers will teach you how to bake croissants, puff pastry and almond frangipane cream from home with simple kitchen utensils. No specialist equipment is required, a workbook and ingredients list will be emailed at least two days before the workshop starts. Bakers, your time starts now.

USP: Bargain! Tickets are reduced from 25 to 10 until the end of January.

Beginner bike maintenance course: International Open Academy

That shiny new road bike you got last lockdown? Time to stop thanking your lucky stars you havent had a puncture yet and learn how to fix one you know itll happen when youre far from home in Richmond Park. The International Open Academys basics course is currently reduced to 15 from 119 and includes 30 hours of maintenance and repair tutorials to do at home in your own time. Modules range from replacing a flat tyre to taking care of your chain and theres a short multiple-choice exam at the end of each one.

USP: Pass each module to earn an official bike maintenance certificate.

Five day coding challenge: Code Institute

Code Institute claims you can learn to build your own web page in just five days, and still do your day job. The sites free coding challenge takes just one hour a day and each session will challenge you to a new task, from understanding the basics of JavaScript to adding style to your page with CSS.

USP: Text speak youll be talking HTML and CSS in less than a week.

Handstand Zoom class: Handstandman

A new skill doesnt have to involve complicated vocab lessons. In times of crisis, psychologists say being playful can boost physical and mental health, and months at home is a perfect opportunity to strengthen up and nail your handstand you need zero equipment and no one has to see you when you tumble into a hot mess on the living room floor. For expert coaching, try a 60-minute Zoom class from Blok trainer and self-described handstand man David Rutherfoord. Each at-home workshop takes 12 participants through a series of balance and overhead mobility exercises, or you can book a semi-private session for you and just two others.

USP: Start tonight Rutherfoords handstand school takes place on Monday and Thursday evenings.

Learn to play guitar: Fender Play

Led Zepplin and 750,000 others cant be wrong: Fender isnt just the frontman of guitar manufacturing, its also a pretty handy instructor. The guitar makers online learning school, Fender Play, offered subscribers three free months of guitar, bass or ukelele lessons over lockdown 1.0 and its user base rocketed six-fold. You can now subscribe for just 9.99 a month. Songs by Billie Eilish, Ed Sheeran and The Beatles are among rehearsal tracks and you can track your progress using the free guitar learning app. Users say they learnt to play Van Halens Eruption in just a week.

USP: Subscribe and receive a 10 per cent discount on all fender.com guitar gear. 9.99 a month,

Data science A-Z: Udemy

Want to get rich quick? Become a data scientist. According to jobs site Indeed, data modellers were the highest-paid earners in the UK in 2020, and the good news is online teaching platform Udemy claims you can learn the basics in 21 hours. Its data science bootcamp features lessons on cleaning and preparing your data for analysis, performing basic visualisation and how to model your data. The bad news? Youll experience first-hand the pain a data scientist goes through on a daily basis, from corrupt data to anomalies.

USP: Tutor Kirill Eremenko has written two books on data skills for follow-up reading.

Starting to write your novel: Curtis Brown Creative

You rolled your eyes at those who wrote a book during the first lockdown but this time, why not join the gang? God knows the last 12 months have offered plenty of inspiration (and free evenings). They say starting is the hardest part, so try calling in a helping hand to get you in gear: Curtis Browns six-week starting to write your novel course starts on Thursday. It aims to help you develop your idea, plan out your story and get writing and youll receive expert advice on assignments from its in-house editors.

USP: Help from heroes Guardian columnist and five-time author Anna David leads the lessons.

Drawing foundations: figure, LinkedIn Learning

The upside of life drawing from home is you can learn from the best without a snooty art tutor looking over your shoulder. LinkedIn Learnings figure-drawing class is led by Amy Wynne, a fine arts professor at Americas Clark University and is open to beginners or intermediates who fancy a refresh. She will break down a classical approach to figure drawing in simple steps: capturing gesture, structure and form, understanding the landmarks of the body, drawing proportionally and adding volume with shapes and shadows. Its filmed in a professional art studio and provides worksheets and sample poses to practice in your own time.

USP: Wynne holds an MFA in painting from the New York Academy of Art.

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Get smart: the best online courses to become an even better you this lockdown - Evening Standard

Harry Toffolo has revealed the pro-active approach to self-improvement that has seen him work his way up from League Two to become one of the Championship's leading full-backs.

The Huddersfield Town defender is always looking to push himself and coax more out of his game, and his desire to consistently add new facets to his game has him constantly looking at the stats to find new ways to up his game.

Toffolo, considered one of the most-improved full-backs in the EFL in recent years, admits he regularly studies his stats and averages following matches.

Speaking on Town's YouTube Preview Show ahead of the Millwall game, Toffolo said: Im massive on stats - it's the way football is going.

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I remember looking at the stats once, and theres no point me comparing myself to Troy Deeney for example, its not my position.

"But you compare yourself to other left-backs in the Championship and the Premier League to see what theyre doing, and even in League One and League Two, because theyre at your heels and want to take your job so youve got to prepare yourself for that.

I look at the interceptions throughout the games and I was at the lower end of the stats and I thought to myself, I want to be in the top two or top three of the stats of every single possible thing I can be at, because I want to be recognised as one of the best left-backs in the league.

So I had to work on different things and it was being more aggressive defensively, and now Ive got my interceptions where Im making consistently over four or five interceptions a game. I still want to improve on that because thats just my character, but before Id be on 1.1 or 1.2 averages.

I knuckled down and thought what can I do to improve my game, the manager wants an aggressive front-foot defender, full-back as well which is harder to play against.

So I thought I had to change my game and Ive been able to do that, and theres other parts of my game Im looking to improve as well and bits I want to keep improving that are up there on the stats.

As players we look at it intensely to be honest. I think the manager looks at the GPS stats and its become second nature to us now. We dont even have to ask now, I think the performance team Callum Walsh, Josh Snowden just send us over the information straight away."

Toffolo has started every single Championship game for Town and has featured in 2,160 out of a possible 2,250 minutes.

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Huddersfield Town's Harry Toffolo reveals ambitious benchmark he aspires to reach - Yorkshire Live

MEADVILLE, Pa. (PRWEB) January 22, 2021

Titanic: a captivating handbook that retells the story of the Titanic in a way where one gets to reflect on their own life and understand the truths of God introspectively. Titanic is the creation of published author Bill Dinkins, a born-again Christian. He has been married for thirty-one years and has two daughters.

Dinkins shares, Titanic: Facts and Faith is a labor of inspiration. Like millions of others, I am a Titanic enthusiast. As a Christian, I see many spiritual insights in the story of the Titanic and know that people can glean a lot from the story.

Written like a graphic novel, the dramatic history of the Titanic is told with a good deal of introspection about the dangers of being distracted in life. The story of the Titanic is about life and death. Titanic: Facts and Faith is about existence on the other side: the side after death. We are all on the Titanic of life. Our own iceberg awaits us. Its not a question of if but when it will strike. What then?

While we should not hasten the end of our lives, we should get to the point where our own biological death does not create sheer panic. When biological life is over, what do we see then?

We should live life between the tension of living and enjoying our life; we also should look with eager expectation at the life to come. To focus on only one and not the other is not balanced.

This book is also about self-improvement. God is just a prayer away. God does not have to race across the universe when you call his name. He is already with you. He is an ever-present help in a time of need. Remember the words ever present. So read and enjoy with your guard down. God may speak to your heart and mind a little while you read.

Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Bill Dinkinss new book is a powerful read that will bring one closer to God and discover a variety of important lessons through a famous true story.

Everyone, may it be children or adults, will find something striking and worth remembering in these pages.

View a synopsis of Titanic on YouTube.

Consumers can purchase Titanic at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or inquiries about Titanic, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919.

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Bill Dinkins's newly released Titanic constructs a brilliant way of embracing spiritual insights and truths. - PR Web

A pushy or demanding approach will cause friction between you and those who can help you. Take better care of your health, possessions and investments. Dont rely on others to do things for you. Strive to maintain peace of mind. Be charming and diplomatic.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Difficulty with a friend, relative or co-worker will surface if you let your emotions take control. Refuse to get dragged into someones dilemma. Concentrate on fitness and self-improvement.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Share your intentions, and you will resolve pending issues. Holding in your feelings will cause stress and anxiety that will affect your health and emotional well-being. Be honest.

Stackeruseddata from the American Kennel Club's most popular breedrankingsfrom 2019 to put together a list ofthe 30 most popular large dog breeds. Click for more.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Say whats on your mind. Be direct, and the response you receive will be honest and reliable. The more aware you are of the people around you and how they think, the better.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) If you care, share. Helping a cause or someone in need will make you feel good. Keep emotional issues and personal matters to yourself. Dont take an unnecessary risk.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Put your time and energy to proper use. Take care of unfinished business before you start something new. Look for unique ways to use your skills and knowledge. Choose kindness over conflict

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Dont let confusion take charge and ruin your day. Do your best to take care of responsibilities, regardless of whats going on around you. A job well done will lead to financial gain.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) Someone who has something unique to offer will appeal to you. Handle partnerships carefully. Dont let your emotions lead to bad assumptions. Be a good listener.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Youll have plenty to mull over. Get organized, and gather information that will help you make better decisions. A problem with a co-worker will develop if you cannot agree on strategy.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Explore the possibilities, but dont make a move prematurely. An offer you receive will interest you, but consider the cost before you get involved. Make a romantic gesture with confidence.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Be reasonable when dealing with personal matters. Dont jump to conclusions or make a fuss without having all the facts. Spend time sorting through clutter and taking stock.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Catch up with an old friend or relative via phone or email. Rethink your situation and what you are up against. Find innovative ways to ease stress.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Make a change to how you earn your living or handle your finances. Sticking to a budget and lowering your overhead will ease tension at home and make your life better. Avoid excessive people.

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0119_Astro | | albanyherald.com - The Albany Herald

David Michigan is an extremely well known and internationally recognized actor, entrepreneur, social media influencer, fitness coach and model. David is primarily an actor who ventured into the world of entrepreneurship because of his desire to create an impactful and positive change in the world.

Through his Instagram, David Michigan has always strived to introduce dialogue about self-improvement and development. Using spaces of stories, captions and posts, David has regularly talked about the ideas of personal development, positivity, self-esteem and encouragement. He has more than 10 million people following and looking up to him on various social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook.

As easily noticeable through his very artistic and fitness-oriented Instagram profile, David Michigan lives an extremely wealthy and luxurious life. He is also proactively involved in helping budding entrepreneurs increase their market reach on digital platforms.

David Michigan is a humble man with immense riches and wealth. With a net worth of millions, he serves as an example of how hard work and authenticity take you far in life. He says, While Im incredibly thankful for all my resources, I feel that wealth has always been of secondary importance to me. The love, respect and recognition that I've earned is something that I give the most importance and thought to.

One of his key achievements in the digital space has been the launch of the Michigan Academy which is a web portal and course package aimed at providing expert and research-based knowledge and information to people around the world. Currently, more than 170,000 people are students of the Michigan Academy.

While most people benefit from the regularly uplifting content that he puts out, a large part of his audience loves to take glimpses of Davids life of ultimate style and wealth. David is not limited to being an entrepreneur, he is a social media influencer and posts content on fashion as well. Most millennials love how David Michigan has the ability to connect and relate with them, in terms of fashion, fitness and life in general. He is of the firm belief that a positive thought leads to positive action and this is why he advocates the importance of a healthy, forward looking mindset.

With a net worth of millions, David Michigan is one of most successful entrepreneurs and social media influencers in the world. With his very creative ideas, he has transformed the digital space into a positive, growth-oriented community which has the potential to change the world.

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David Michigans Fortune: The Secret to this Self-Made Millionaires Wealth - Fortune India

Eyes on you.

Dota 2s public matchmaking environment isnt the most conducive to self-improvement. But Valve is looking to introduce some oversight in the form of Overwatch, a player review system taken from another popular Valve esport, CS:GO.

The aim is to get the community to self-regulate, relying on highly skilled and well-behaved players rather than an automated system.

The Overwatch system tasks trusted and experienced members of the community, named Investigators in CS:GO, to view the match replay of a specific player and determine if any suspicious activity was involved.

Unlike CS:GOs four different charges, Dota 2s Overwatch system is focusing on two: cheating and griefing. Using unauthorized scripts and hacks will fall under the former category, while intentional feeding or ability abuse will fall under the latter.

Overwatch tasks investigators to be confident that the observed behavior would be disruptive, anti-competitive, and/or anti-social beyond a reasonable doubt.

Several acts like smurfing and toxicity remain rampant problems, but the topics subjectiveness lends to skewed judgment. Should Dota 2 also follow CS:GOs systems, Investigators would be rewarded with experience after a certain amount of correct judgments and higher-level Investigators would obtain proportionally more weight behind their verdicts.

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CS:GO's Overwatch system is in the works for Dota 2 - Dot Esports

Twenty years ago, Facebook did not exist. Google had just failed to sell itself to Yahoo for $1 million. Netflix was a fledgling startup struggling to establish a working business model around selling and renting DVDs online. Today, Facebook and Google are among the top ten most valuable companies, and Netflix, now the most popular online streaming service with nearly 200 million users worldwide, is worth over $200 billion. Yahoo sold its assets to Verizon for a fraction of Googles value, and Blockbuster, the video-renting giant that refused to acquire Netflix in 2000, no longer exists.

The internets short but rich history shows that surprises can come from where you can least expect them.

The next big thing might come from Finland, where the public broadcaster Yle has been making impressive inroads in online streaming with its Areena service, which is known to 92 percent of the countrys population and used by 78 percent of them, making it more popular than Netflix. According to an annual brand survey by Taloustutkimus Research, YLE Areena is Finlands number-one internet brand.

Whats behind the success of Yle Areena? How does the company manage to flourish in an era where online streaming is dominated by the likes of Netflix, HBO, and Hulu? If the past is any indication, the companies that move and create new markets do so with good ideas, sound engineering, great product management, strong leadership, and the ability to reinvent and adapt to changes.

In this regard, Yle ticks all the boxes, and its success is supported by its timely and open-minded embracing of data and machine learning, which has allowed it to innovate and rebuild its platform in ways that were previously impossible.

Founded in 2007, Yle Areena was one of the first online video services in Europe. But while streaming giants are challenging local streaming services and broadcasters, Yle has continued to grow. One of the key factors that have contributed to its success is its remarkable ability to personalize the experience of its users. The company developed this capability with the help of an advisory company,Fourkind.

To maintain its relevance, the media must be capable of reinventing itself quickly and with determination. The pressure to renew itself was also an enormous opportunity for Yle , says Elina Huumo, Strategic Design Director at Fourkind. There are no other options than to understand customers deeply to create unique value for them faster and more effectively. In renewing itself, Yle has recognized that it needs to be more customer-centric and solve how to lead and create offerings in an intelligent way.

Among the changes Yle has brought to its platform is the implementation of artwork personalization, which uses a machine-learning algorithm to select the best cover image for each video content for each user. This affects not only the bottom line, but increases understanding on what imagery drives content performance for which types of customers.

Many platforms use machine learning algorithms that cluster users based on characteristics and behavior and recommend content that users from the same cluster have viewed. But these machine learning systems often suffer from noisy, biased data, and a bubble effect that reinforces users preferences instead of providing them with novel content. To overcome this obstacle, Fourkinds experts helped Yle implement a contextual bandit, a reinforcement learning algorithm that discovers customer preferences through controlled exploration and feedback. The addition of AI has resulted in a 2.3-percent growth in viewing minutes in Areena.

On the one hand, this is a simple solution because it affects a small part of the whole experience, says Jaakko Lempinen, Head of Customer Experience at Yle. But on the other hand, it tremendously changed how we see the possibilities of using machine learning to create more adaptive user interfaces. It also helped our editorial people to better understand the effects of their work because we started to get completely new data and insights on how different types of images lead to different choices, viewing preferences, etc.

The Yle Areena team is still in the process of automating the entire content pipeline. They are also testing the use of machine learning to automatically extract suitable cover images from the raw content. The outcome would be that the contextual bandit algorithm could teach the image selection algorithm to always choose the best images from every film, Lempinen says.

This would create a self-improving loop where the image-selection algorithm constantly learns to pick better images through feedback from the algorithm that analyzes customer behavior and personalizes the experience. Finding more of these self-improving loops is an interesting area Yle will continue to work on.

One of the benefits of a well-designed AI recommendation system is finding areas where the company can outperform the bigger players in the streaming market. Yle might not have the resources of a company such as Netflix, but it has more than 30,000 hours of unique content, most of which is created by the company itself and its collaborators. And being able to connect users with the right content has been very important in maintaining its appeal to the Finnish population.

We produce and promote a lot of local Finnish content, and at the same time, our recommendation algorithms promote more diverse content for the users, Lempinen says. So we are not always looking for the quick fix for the recommendations but what kind of content would create more long-term relationships

While talk of AI adoption is abundant these days, the transition is anything but easy. Our technical infrastructure and our development culture support AI development very well, but the biggest challenges have come from the people who will work in the end with the systems, Lempinen says. And its not the peoples fault in any waycomplicated AI systems require an even better communication strategy and floor discussions where different parties discuss the functionalities of the system in a shared language. We also need good dashboarding to visualize the different aspects of decision making.

This is where Fourkinds specialties helped facilitate the transition. The companys experts engage with clients in different areas, not only providing guidance and leadership but also helping in the implementation of actual AI solutions.

Our team consists of an interdisciplinary collaboration among experts in strategic design, data science, and machine learning, says Jarno Kartela, Principal Machine Learning Partner at Fourkind. We all have a strong understanding of the value of emergent technology for media transformation and the ability to execute solutions at different levels, from strategic to operative, from data to design.

In the past two years, Fourkind has worked with Yle in applying different methodologies and testing different hypotheses and scenarios.

We have supported the efforts of building personalization to the core platform, focusing on both increasing the key targets of the service itself and increasing the understanding of what customers prefer and what content they enjoy, Kartela says.

And the effort has paid off. This year, Areena surpassed 1 billion video views, which means more than 190 views for every person in Finland.

I think the biggest benefit and what has helped us grow the most relates to how we understand the insights that machine learning systems can provide, whether its about descriptive, predictive or prescriptive analytics, Lempinen says.

While these are interesting examples of how Yle has managed to integrate artificial intelligence into its platform, it is not the finish line. Yle and Fourkind are working together to solidify a vision in which Yle can rapidly reinvent itself when needed. They will focus on further developing the customer-centric R&D and creative process.

The keys to success are excellent content and quality of personalized services, Huumo says. We have helped Yle to listen to and interact with the Finns so they can understand them deeply, create meaningful content and build a future-proof creative process and tools to build better content and personalized experience and world-class recommendations for everyone.

With Fourkind I think we have quite a good partnership where we combine business and service design methods with modern machine learning. This has been quite unique and has worked very well so far for us, Yles Lempinen says.

Yles success story provides a glimmer of hope for local companies that want to compete with internet giants at their own game.

This article is brought to you by Fourkind.

Excerpt from:
How this company leveraged AI to become the Netflix of Finland - The Next Web

Inspiration can be found all around us in life, but if theres a chance that it coincides with your weekend binge, all the better. If self-improvement is one of your goals for 2021, there is no dearth of inspiration to be found onscreenfrom the therapeutic gratification of before-and-after makeovers to real-life stories that impart hard-learned life lessons. If youve been on the hunt for some motivation to get you kickstarted for the new year, here are the movies and TV shows that will inspire you to be the best version of yourself.

Based on a memoir of the same name, the Will Smith-starrer sees a homeless salesman turn his life around with as little as $21 in his pocket. For those who love stories that champion the underdog, the 2006 biopic offers a feel-good watch with gems of wisdom that now serve as industry gospel, including the world is your oyster, it is up to you to find your pearls and the cavalry aint coming, you can only depend on yourself.

Streaming on Amazon Prime Video

The coming-of-age movie marks Ayan Mukerjis directorial debut with Ranbir Kapoor in the lead role, with whom he would go on to deliver another blockbuster, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani in 2013. Set against the urban locale of Mumbai, the movie follows the life of an over-privileged graduate who finds that he has to stand on his own feet after being disowned by his father. Help comes in the form of an aspiring writer from Kolkata, portrayed by Konkona Sen Sharma, who helps him find his footing in the real world. The nuanced tale offers a celebration of lifes many joys, both big and smallfrom Sids first successful omelette to his eventual calling as a photographer at a local publication.

Streaming on Netflix

If youve been looking for a reality show that will leave you with a more worthwhile takeaway than the human minds propensity for drama, youll want to queue up Shark Tank for your next weekend binge. Over the course of eleven seasons, the multiple Emmy Award-winning show has been credited with realising over a decade of dreams by allowing homegrown businesses the chance to make a pitch to top investors and secure life-changing investments. Beyond turning everyday people into overnight millionaires, the show offers invaluable discourse for those looking to chase their dreams and turn their passion into a paycheque.

Streaming on Amazon Prime Video

Based loosely on Chetan Bhagats Five Point Someone, the 2009 blockbuster is today known by the box office records it shattered upon its year-end release. Following the lives of three students in a cookie-cutter engineering college, the movie witnesses Aamir Khans Rancho turning the institution on its head with his non-conformist ideals. With side-splitting gags, comedic chases and a moral takeaway that will linger with you long after the end credits have rolled, the movie makes for a fun weekend watchregardless of how many times youve seen it already.

Streaming on Amazon Prime Video

The bromance continues with Zoya Akhtars directorial, featuring Hrithik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar and Abhay Deol in prominent roles. What starts out as a routine bachelor trip quickly evolves into a life-changing road trip for each of the three leads, who discover the courage to face personal dilemmas and blindspots, all while trying their hand at never-tried-before adventure sports. Set against the idyllic backdrop of the Spanish countryside, the movie serves as a treat for the sights as well as the soul.

Streaming on Amazon Prime Video

There is no age limit prescribed for learning and self-development, and Gauri Shindes 2012 directorial espouses the same through her signature lens of emotional coherence and nuance. Starring the legendary actor Sridevi as an archetypal housewife, the movie sees her grappling with her inability to speak English on a trip to New York. That she chooses to conquer her fish-out-of-water circumstances by attending English classes on the sly serves as a testament to her willpower, and her desire for self-improvement ultimately helps her reassert her value in the family.

Streaming on JioCinema

It would be easy to describe Queer Eye as a makeover show, but it would also be a restrictive interpretation of the Netflix phenomenon. Yes, there are makeovers involved, but the show delves beyond the ordinary to underscore sartorial advice with social commentary by the Fab Five, featuring grooming consultant Jonathan Van Ness, fashion designer Tan France, food and wine savant Antoni Porowski, interior designer Bobby Berk and cultural guru Karamo Brown.

Streaming on Netflix

Originally released on January 1 in 2019, Tidying Up With Marie Kondo continues to slot in neatly with the January mood for fresh starts and purging junk. Headlined by tidying expert Marie Kondo, the show, however, offers more than just home makeovers for before-and-after viewing pleasure. By enabling people to let go of the clutter in their lives, the Japanese expert sheds light on our empathy for the things that we surround ourselves with and eventually, helps clients usher in the transformative power of new beginnings.

Streaming on Netflix

Given the cult success of the mindfulness platform, it seems to have been only a matter of time before it made its way to our TV screens. Together with Netflix, Headspace is demystifying the practice of meditation and mindfulness through guided exercises and videos aimed at helping you feel healthier and happier. If youve been on the hunt for some solace in the unpredictable times we live in, ten days of the practice is claimed to increase happiness by 16 per cent.

Streaming on Netflix

9 apps to help you achieve your self-improvement goals in 2021

Why not making resolutions should be your first act of self-care in 2019

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9 shows and movies that will inspire you to be better, streaming on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and JioCinema - VOGUE India

Want to improve your business skills without touching a book? This deal is for you.

If you want to improve your career prospects, one of the best things you can do is expand your knowledge base and grow your skillset. It will help you stand out from the competition when applying for new jobs or possible promotions.

But there's a problemexpanding knowledge has traditionally involved doing a lot of reading. And if you've got pressures at work, a family at home, and other hobbies that you do in your free time, you might not have time for that. After all, reading and digesting entire courses is a slow process, even for people who can read quickly.

So, what's the solution? Well, we recommend checking out some of the best companies that specialize in audio-based courses. It means you will be able to learn on-the-go, such as while your commuting or traveling.

One such example isKnowable, and today, we can offer you a discount on aKnowable subscription. Want to know more? Keep reading.

Knowable offers a selection of exclusive audio courses, each of which is taught by an expert in the subject's field. You can binge through the courses like you would with a podcast, so you can fly through new material in no time.

In total, more than 200 experts teach courses on the platform. They includeAlexis Ohanian (the co-founder of Reddit), Scott Kelly (a NASA astronaut), and Chris Lyons (an investment guru at Wall Street firm, Andreessen Horowitz).

The courses themselves cover a wide variety of business-themed topics, including entrepreneurship, career growth, sales and marketing, leadership, personal finance, productivity, creativity, and self-improvement. Course vary in length between one hour and eight hours, and each is split into individual lessons.

Each course also comes with PDF workbooks, curated resources, and other tools included to help you reinforce the new knowledge that you are learning.

If you like the idea of learning via audio rather than reading endless books, you should definitely consider picking up this deal.

It costs just $60, which is a 75 percent discount on the regular price of $249. For the price, you will lifetime access to the platform, access to the new courses that are added every week, and the ability to access the courses on desktop, Android, and iOS.

You must be a new user to be eligible for the discount.

Interested in accessing free college-level courses? Here are some of the best sites to take free online courses.

Dan joined MakeUseOf in 2014 and has been Partnerships Director since July 2020. Reach out to him for inquires about sponsored content, affiliate agreements, promotions, and any other forms of partnership. You can also find him roaming the show floor at CES in Las Vegas every year, say hi if you're going. Prior to his writing career, he was a Financial Consultant.

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Prior to the 2020 season, there might not have been a more controversial and hated player on the Denver Broncos' roster than left tackle Garett Bolles. A former first-round pick that was inching closer and closer to 'bust' status due to his nasty habit of drawing boneheaded penalties, Bolles was a hot topic in Broncos Country over the course of this past summer.

For good reason, too.

Bolles inconsistencies on the blindside had fans and pundits alike pining for his eventual replacement to be drafted following the fourth season of his career, citing his 45 total penalties over his first three seasons as a pro, including 10 total accepted holding flags in 2019.

Many fans feared for Drew Locks safety playing behind Bolles, fretting that it was only a matter of time before the young quarterback would get injured.

It seemed as if the Broncos were in lock-step with the general consensus across the fanbase. After all, the Broncos telegraphed their intentions by not exercising Bolles' fifth-year option this past spring.

The message was simple; either improve your play in the final year of your contract or find work elsewhere.

Despite the outside noise and being slapped in the face by the organization that made him the 20th overall selection of the 2017 draft, Bolles showed mental fortitude, dedicating himself to becoming a great player in order to silence his critics.

Bolles is now playing football at an unforeseen level compared to what he had shown in the past. With a drastic improvement in his technique and consistency, he has quietly grown into the best player on the Broncos' offensive line.

"I truly believe a man goes through a rough patch in their life for a reason, Bolles said on Tuesday. [Its] to make them better, and it speaks highly of how a man comes out of that.

I truly believe I came out of it on a high noteI learned from my mistakes.

Going back to the 2017 draft, Bolles was widely considered to be one of the top tackle prospects in the class. A raw but highly athletic specimen out of Utah with a mean streak, he was dubbed as a two-to-three-year project for whichever team drafted him.

It was going to take a while for Bolles to get up to speed in the NFL as he refined his technique, but once the investment came to fruition, the dividends are now being paid in spades.

The problem was, Bolles didnt develop his technique properly as he struggled to adapt his game to a different offensive line coach in each of his first three seasons in the league. With a learning disability serving to complicate and hinder his development, which was mistakenly identified as a lack of work ethic by outsiders, he was unable to adapt to the NFL game as a whole.

While Bolles' play in the running game was among the best in the league over those first three seasons, his pass protection was incredibly inconsistent, leading to several penalty flags to fly.

So why did Bolles struggle so much?

I think in the past I just used my athletic ability to get the job done, Bolles explained on Tuesday. But I think the more I've been in the league, the more I watch film and I watch myself, the more I really dial in on the technical side of things.

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One of the biggest aspects of self-improvement comes from self-scouting. Identifying the flaws within, learning to adapt to and overcome those flaws, and translating those flaws into improvement. As Bolles put it, he realized that he had to learn from those mistakes and grow as a player.

Sometimes, that realization can come at the expense of the ego. Acknowledging that he wouldnt change his mentality as being a dog out there, Bolles understood that he needed to improve his technique, and cited multiple flaws in his game.

What I did need to change is how I saw things, Bolles admitted. How I placed my hands and how I moved my feet, how I keep my shoulders and my numbers square for two kick slides or how I take two kick slides, pause, and get on my guy. Those were the things I had to learn, and it took time.

Through all of the criticism, both warranted and unwelcomed, Bolles knew that he had to do something different with his preparation for the upcoming season. Looking towards his idols legendary tackles Jonathan Ogden, Joe Thomas, and Joe Staley Bolles began to understand that improved technique, along with his incredible athleticism, could help him achieve his goals to become a top-flight left tackle in the league.

Those guys were technicians for a reason," Bolles said. "They were 10-time Pro Bowlers, first-time [Pro Football Hall of Fame] ballot players because of what they did on the field with their technique.

Seeing the deficiencies in his technique and understanding why that was the reason for the massive onslaught of criticism levied on his head, Bolles found a new way to improve himself as a player during the offseason, all while dealing with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Without being able to access the Broncos' training facilities or film room, he got creative.

As Bolles and his wife were in the kitchen preparing their dinner, Bolles would practice his footwork without wearing shoes, feeling the floor against his feet and getting a better understanding of his balance and weight placement against a solid surface. A technique multiple offensive linemen, including ex-Broncos' All-Pro Louis Vasquez, have admitted to utilizing over the years.

But it didnt stop there.

I had my wife line up and she would run after me and I would take sets, Bolles said. Id put my hands on hernot hard of coursebut just enough so I can get into a repetition of continuing to do the same thing over and over again. Id run, Id hit the bag, Id get a pole and Id fit it like I was fitting a run game. Id do whatever I can to find myselfI was training in California to of course not break COVID rulesbut be by myself and go to the park and set up a tree or put cones on the ground and set, something like that. I always found something to do to continue to get my body in shape and get my mind where it needs to be mentally and physically and really dial in what I needed to do.

That creative mindset, alongside having back-to-back seasons with venerated O-line coach Mike Munchak, has turned a once-maligned career on its head. The focus on the little things, such as changing his diet, changing his sleep schedule, and not going through the motions, has transformed Bolles into a quality left tackle.

Bolles has only allowed nine total QB pressures on the season and has yet to surrender a sack through the teams 10 games. While he has had a few penalties as well, the yellow laundry has not fallen with anywhere close to the rapidity of the previous three years as his play drastically improved.

We're talking about a quanum-leap type of improvement as illustrated by his current ranking as the No. 1 offensive tackle in the league per Pro Football Focus' grading system.

Bolles' performance has completely changed the narrative surrounding his future with the Broncos, and he's now poised to receive a long-term contract extension following the season.

Bolles' focus remains on the present and becoming the best player he can be with his ultimate goal of becoming the best offensive tackle in the league. He knows that if he takes care of his business on the field, everything else will fall into place.

I mean, that would be nice, but its not up to me," Bolles said of garnering an extension from the Broncos. "Thats why I hired an agent. He talks to Mr. Elway. When they want to do it, theyll do it. Thats just how I look at it. I just want to be consistent. I have to go out there and play at a high level every single week. Fix my mistakes throughout the weeks but go out there and shine.

Follow Lance on Twitter @SandersonMHH and @MileHighHuddle.

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Garett Bolles Opens Up on the Epiphany That Led to him Becoming NFL's Top-Graded Left Tackle - Sports Illustrated