One of the most essential skills that a freelancer can have is the ability to say “no”. Without that skill, you will be overloaded with requests and assignments, and continuously overworked and missing deadlines, the quality of your work will slip, and you will take on assignments that you don’t enjoy and that don’t pay enough for the time you spend on them. By saying “no”, although you might feel that others will feel offended or hurt (and it’s possible), you are also sending a strong message that you value your time, that you have priorities, and that you also respect the person to whom you’re saying no, as you don’t want to commit to something and then do a lousy job or not do it at all. Should you say “no” to everything that comes your way? Of course not — as freelancers, we know that we have to accept enough work to pay the bills, and that sometimes we have to say “yes” to less-than-perfect assignments. But it’s also important that you know what you can handle, what you really want to work on, and whether the current request you’re considering fits within your priorities. And it’s very important that if you don’t really need or want to take on the job, you be able to say “no” without caving in. That’s not always an easy skill to acquire. For those who have trouble saying “no”, here are a few practical strategies to try out. '); // End -->
1. Try saying “yes” first. This may sound counterintuitive, but I think of it as a form of mental judo. You say “yes” to the request (assuming you want to do it but don’t have the time to do it now), and then do one of two things: 1) you say “Sure, but I am swamped right now — can you get back to me on this in a month or so? I don’t want to commit to it unless I can actually do a great job on it.” or 2) you say “Sure, but can you do x, y and z first, so we can analyze if this is going to work before we set it into action?” In both cases, you are not turning them down outright, but are putting the action back in their court. I think you should only say these things if you are sincere about wanting to do it, but can’t do it right now. This takes the burden of action off of you for the moment, without having to actually say no. 2. Know your commitments. In order to know when to say no, you need to know what’s on your plate. You should have a running list of all your current projects/assignments, as well as an action task list, made up not of projects but of concrete action steps you need to complete in the next week or so. Once you see this list of all your commitments, you can decide whether the request can fit into your schedule, and if it’s of high enough priority to place on your list of commitments. Guard that list carefully, and only add stuff on there if they are essential. 3. Value your time. One reason a lot of people can’t say no is that they (subconsciously, perhaps) feel that their time is not as valuable as someone else’s time. For example, if someone asks you to do something that they could easily do themselves, and you say yes, you are in effect saying that their time is more valuable than yours — or else why would you do it instead of them? Learn to value your time — you only have a finite amount of it, and it’s perhaps your most valuable asset — and learn to show others that you value it by not taking on requests that don’t actually need to be done by you. 4. Defer. Similar to Strategy 1, this strategy calls for you not to actually decide on something, and not to say yes or no, but to ask the requester to ask you later. For example, you might say, “My plate is really full right now. Could you ping me in two weeks on this?” If the requester is good, they’ll put a reminder in their calendar to ping you in two weeks. If not, they might forget about it. Sometimes, if you defer twice in a row, the other person will give up. But it’s not good to defer too many times on a single request, as it makes you look bad. After two deferrals, on the third request, you should give a definite answer. 5. Be polite, but firm. One mistake a lot of people make is being too nice, and too wishy-washy. They might say no but make it sound like they are wavering. If you respond like that, a strong person will continue to press that request until you say yes, because they think there’s a chance you are going to change your mind. You have to make it clear, if you say no, that you’re not going to change your mind. But don’t be rude about it. A simple, “No, I just can’t right now” will suffice. 6. Pre-empt. If you think that a request is likely to be made, it’s easier to tell people you’re busy before the request is actually made. If you’re meeting with someone, you could say something like, “Before we get started, I have to let you know that my schedule is booked solid for a month, so I won’t be taking on any new projects for at least 30 days.” That will warn the person about to make a request, and they cannot blame you if you say no to a request. 7. “I’d love to, but”. Similar to Strategy 1, this strategy sends the message that this sounds like a great project to you, but you just can’t because of your schedule or other commitments. If the project sounds genuinely interesting, I’ll often say something like, “That sounds like a great project, and I wish I could be a part of it.” I’ll also suggest alternatives if possible, giving the person other people or ideas that might work. Some people will actually appreciate this kind of rejection, as it helps them out. 8. Never say you’re sorry. Again, you have to respect your time. If you apologize, you are sending the message that you are doing something wrong by saying no, that somehow you don’t have a strong right to say no. It’s very tempting to apologize, I know. We often say things like, “I’m sorry, but …” or “I wish I could, I’m so sorry” just because we’re uncomfortable giving an outright no. But again, you are sending the wrong message. See Strategy 5 for a better approach. ]]>http://www.e1905.com/blog/default.asp?id=246<![CDATA[《功夫熊猫之盖世五侠的秘密》电影下载]]>化名为龙http://www.e1905.com/blog/namelong@gmail.com2008-11-14T12:54:47+08:002008-11-14T12:54:47+08:00
◎译 名：功夫熊猫:盖世五侠的秘密 ◎片 名：Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Furious Five ◎年 代：2008 ◎国 家：美国 ◎类 别：动画片 ◎语 言：英语 ◎字 幕：点击下载中文字幕 ◎IMDB评分：8.6/10 (41 votes) ◎IMDB链接：http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1287845/ ◎片 长：25 mins ◎导 演：许诚毅 Raman Hui ◎主 演： 杰克·布莱克 Jack Black .....Po (voice) 达斯汀·霍夫曼 Dustin offman .....Shifu (voice) ◎简 介
Secrets of the Furious Five finds us rejoining Po after his battle with Tai Long. Here he's put in charge of training a new class of kung fu students, made up of the bunnies who were so cute in the first movie. Seeing the students bent on learning how to fight, Po instead teaches them about the character traits that are so important in kung fu - confidence, patience, courage, and more.
—————————————————————————————————————————— 化名为龙：《功夫熊猫》的一个短片系列。期待《功夫熊猫2》的道路上有着无限乐趣。]]>http://www.e1905.com/blog/default.asp?id=245<![CDATA[黑人总统《Head of State》电影下载]]>化名为龙http://www.e1905.com/blog/namelong@gmail.com2008-11-05T14:18:54+08:002008-11-05T14:18:54+08:00
中文名称：《乌龙元首》《冒牌总统》《总统大选记》《乌龙总统》 英文名称：《Head of State》 导演：克里斯·洛克Chris Rock 编剧：克里斯·洛克Chris Rock 阿里·李洛伊Ali Leroi 主演：克里斯·洛克Chris Rock 伯尼·麦克Bernie Mac 琳恩·维特菲尔德Lynn Whitfield 迪兰·巴克Dylan Baker 罗宾·吉文斯Robin Givens 类型：喜剧 片长：95分钟 分 级： 冰岛：L 阿根廷：13 澳大利亚：M 加拿大：14A 德国：6 爱尔兰：15 挪威：11 新加坡：PG 西班牙：T 瑞典：Btl 英国：12A 美国：PG-13 发行：梦工厂Dreamworks Pictures 上映日期：2003年3月28日 官方网站：www.headofstate-themovie.com
被伍迪·艾伦等喜剧大师誉为当今美国最搞笑的人的克里斯·洛克是90年代晚期崛起的最闪亮的黑人喜剧明星之一，他的喜剧以对现代社会和政坛的深刻的洞察力及对美国黑人群体存在问题的辛辣讽刺而赢得广泛赞誉，洛克的成名路线颇为典型：被艾迪·墨菲发掘、经受过《周末夜现场》的锻炼培养、在HBO电视频道拥有自己的固定节目“克里斯·洛克秀”，这个节目为他赢得了一座艾美奖，2001年洛克首次主演的喜剧片《来去天堂》(Down To Earth)出人意料地取得了票房上的成功，今年3月，洛克在好莱坞名人大道上拥有了以自己名字命名的一颗星，他的事业可谓是蒸蒸日上。
—————————————————————————————————————— 化名为龙：今天的美国选举，让我想到的第一部电影就是这部《Head of State》。 真是没想到梦工厂的这部电影在今天真能成真！ 或许多少年以后， 有些人会误认为这是一部根据真人真事改变的电影。
——————————————————————————————————————
备注by 雅虎： Obama sweeps to victory as first black president
WASHINGTON – Barack Obama swept to victory as the nation's first black president Tuesday night in an electoral college landslide that overcame racial barriers as old as America itself. "Change has come," he declared to a huge throng of cheering supporters.
The son of a black father from Kenya and a white mother from Kansas, the Democratic senator from Illinois sealed his historic triumph by defeating Republican Sen. John McCain in a string of wins in hard-fought battleground states — Ohio, Florida, Virginia, Iowa and more.
On a night for Democrats to savor, they not only elected Obama the nation's 44th president but padded their majorities in the House and Senate, and come January will control both the White House and Congress for the first time since 1994.
Obama's election capped a meteoric rise — from mere state senator to president-elect in four years.
In his first speech as victor, Obama catalogued the challenges ahead. "The greatest of a lifetime," he said, "two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century."
He added, "There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as president, and we know that government can't solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face."
McCain called his former rival to concede defeat — and the end of his own 10-year quest for the White House. "The American people have spoken, and spoken clearly," McCain told disappointed supporters in Arizona.
President Bush added his congratulations from the White House.
In his speech, Obama invoked the words of Lincoln and echoed John F. Kennedy.
"So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder," he said.
He and his running mate, Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware, will take their oaths of office as president and vice president on Jan. 20, 2009.
Obama will move into the Oval Office as leader of a country that is almost certainly in recession, and fighting two long wars, one in Iraq, the other in Afghanistan.
The popular vote was close — 51.3 percent to 47.5 percent with 73 percent of all U.S. precincts counted — but not the count in the Electoral College, where it mattered most.
There, Obama's audacious decision to contest McCain in states that hadn't gone Democratic in years paid rich dividends.
Obama has said his first order of presidential business will be to tackle the economy. He has also pledged to withdraw most U.S. combat troops from Iraq within 16 months.
