‘Introverts love the world of ideas, we love to reflect and we thrive on deep relationships with a small number of people who become pillars in our life,’ says Lisa Petrilli in her article for 12most.com. Petrilli offers introverted business people tips on how to better use their ‘quiet strengths’. She believes that introverts have the ability to change the world and that the first step involves rethinking introversion. This means recognising and appreciating the inherent power of the preference.

Building relationships in a personal way

Although introverts enjoy quiet time, they should also acknowledge the importance of networking — or creating and maintaining relationships — to truly succeed in business. ‘Networking, at its soul, is all about creating relationships that grow over time and lead to personal growth, opportunity, and even lifelong friendships,’ advises Petrilli. ‘Commit to it as part of your road to success.’

Introverts are encouraged to network in their own way so that they feel comfortable. With their personal one-on-one approach, they are able to create strong connections with other people. Even so, introverts shouldn’t avoid events, with Petrilli saying: ‘Go.  Period. You have to show up in life and you have to show up in business.’

Another tip is to ‘embrace visibility and attention‘, as uncomfortable as it may be. By so doing, not only will introverts’ ideas be heard, their leadership abilities will be given an opportunity to be seen, too. Petrilli says introverts should then force themselves ‘to jump unabashedly’ out of their comfort zones ‘by joining a critically strategic team or initiative’.

Withdrawing to rejuvenate

Introverts need time out to think and to re-energise and it’s important that they recognise this. Others should be encouraged to respect their need to withdraw from time to time. Given sufficient ‘quiet time’, introverts can continue to bring their best selves to their projects.

‘After basking in the glow of visibility and attention you will return home craving privacy and time to re-charge,’ continues Petrilli. ‘Actually, on virtually every day of your business life you will return home craving privacy and time to re-charge.’

Realising potential by getting out into the world

Introverts run the risk of not reaching their full potential if they do not step out of their comfort zones. ‘As much as the world within our heads can be a truly magical place, it’s imperative to embrace and understand the outside world in order to thoroughly understand our customers, competitors and industry trends,’ suggests Petrilli.

By stepping out into the ‘big, bad world’, introverts give themselves the chance to realise their dreams and well-considered goals.

Small dogs, frequently called ‘handbag dogs’, recently took the world by stomr, fast becoming a popular fashion accessory for celebrities worldwide. However there is so much more to these little guys than being a cute addition to your outfit. Recently the UK has had a serious problem with the dumping of ‘handbag’ dogs after their owners became bored with their new toys. If you are serious about getting a small doggie make sure you are prepared to look after it and treat it with care and respect.

The reality of a ‘handbag’ dog

Small dogs are great for people in townhouses or who travel a lot, but keeping a dog in a handbag can do serious damage to the animal. Handbag dogs don’t know how to socialise with other animals. Moreover, due to the lack of regular exercise their joints and muscles become stiff, which can result in deformities, disease and difficulty with walking. Even little dogs love to run around, play and interact with other dogs and if you need to transport your animal invest in a proper doggie carrier that will support your dog properly.

Your perfect little friend

There are many little dogs to choose from but make sure you are prepared for everything that comes with caring for an animal. Small dogs are great for people with allergies as they have a smaller amount of dander and hair to shed. You can also get small breeds that don’t shed at all like Maltese’s, poodles and schnauzers. These types of dogs come highly recommended for dog lovers with asthma and bad allergies. If, however, you are looking for a small dog due to space constraints make sure you stay away from breeds with high energy like a Jack Russell.

Not just a fashion accessory

When buying a small, or ‘handbag’ dog, as they have come to be known, make sure you are buying it for the right reason. Handbag dogs were made popular by celebrities like Paris Hilton and are slowly falling out of fashion. But these are not just inanimate garments one can simply discard. If you want to make a difference, consider adopting one of the small, abandoned dogs at your local shelter.

This eggplant lasagne recipe is great for vegetarians and can be prepared ahead of time. Ingredients include lasagne sheets, onion, tomatoes, eggplant (or brinjal), mozzarella cheese, olive oil, marjoram and olive oil. The white sauce requires butter, flour, milk and nutmeg. Any cooked seasonal vegetables can be used instead of eggplant for the filling. Oven roasted butternut or pumpkin slices or well drained cooked spinach make for a delicious alternative dish. Allow for one cup of filling for each layer.

Ingredients

Measure out the following ingredients to serve six generous portions: 15ml olive oil, 1 finely chopped onion, 1 sprig of marjoram, 1600 grams of good quality tinned tomatoes (chopped), 2kg of eggplant (sliced), 2 cups of grated mozzarella cheese and 12 to 15 slices of lasagne sheets. You will also need salt and pepper to taste.

The white sauce requires 125 grams of butter, 250ml of ordinary flour (sifted), 5 measuring cups of milk — as well as some nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste.

Prepare the eggplant slices

Salt the eggplant (or brinjal) and allow the slices to stand for half an hour before rinsing and drying them (pat dry with a tea towel). Brush both sides of each slice with olive oil and bake for approximately 40 minutes on 200 degrees Celsius. Turn the eggplaint slices halfway through the cooking — after 20 minutes.

Alternatively, fry the eggplant slices in oil until they are cooked and golden in colour. Drain them well with kitchen paper.

Prepare the sauce

Stir the onion in the olive oil on a medium heat until it is caramalised. This should take about a quarter of an hour to 20 minutes. Lower the heat and add the marjoram, stirring for another minute. Add the tomato and season to taste. Cover the pot and simmer the sauce for two hours until it is reduced to a thick sauce with a rich flavour.

Prepare the white sauce

Melt the butter on a low heat and gradually stir in the flour until it is well combined with the butter. Slowly add the milk, stirring with a balloon whisk to prevent lumps. Bring the sauce to a slow boil while stirring continuously — until the sauce is thick. Season with a pinch of nutmeg, salt and pepper.

Press the sauce through a sieve to remove any lumps, should it be necessary.

Prepare eggplant lasagne

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Spread a thin layer of tomato sauce over the bottom of an ovenproof dish. Place a layer of lasagne sheets over the sauce and follow with a layer of eggplant/brinjal. Spread a layer of whites sauce over the eggplant and some cheese. Do the same for the next layer but leave out the cheese.

Repeat until you have three or four layers, finishing with white sauce and a topping of cheese. Bake until the cheese has melted and is light brown in colour. Once cooked, allow the dish to stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Perfumes and incense have been used over time to do anything from heal the sick to avert ‘the evil eye.’ Although we may no longer use fragrances to invoke the gods, aromatic substances still have a powerful effect on the human psyche. Most aromatic materials come from the flowers, leaves, bark and resin of plants — although musk is obtained from the glands of various mammals. Here are a few fragrance-dispensing techniques that have been used by various cultures over the millennia.

Joss sticks, pastille and oil burners

Pastille burners were popular during the 16th century in the West. This involved using a candle to warm a perfumed tablet that was positioned above it. Oil burners are used today in aromatherapy treatments whereby drops of essential oils are heated.

Joss sticks were made through the mixture of aromatic powders with clay. This was done so that the fragrances would adhere to the stick, which were then burnt. The fragrant sticks were kept upright by placing them in a perforated stand or a pot that was filled with sand.

Joss sticks became popular in the West during the 1960′s and 1970′s and remain popular to this day.

Alabastron, jars and bottles

Ceramic containers were often used to store fragrances in the past. Perfume bottles with stoppers stopped scents from radiating while perforated pot pourri jars allowed scents to waft through the air.

The Ancient Greeks stored their fragrant oils in round-bottomed bottles called alabastron or aryballos. They used these aromatic oils to anoint their bodies.

Incense burners

The easiest way to burn incense in the past was to place it on a fire. To this day, smoke is used to make a home smell good in Yemen, while clouds of aromatic smoke were produced with metal or clay burners in China. The Aztecs, who believed that fragrance could cure many diseases, burnt the resin of a tropical tree in large ceramic braziers and in Renaissance Italy many women used the smoke of incense to scent their hair.

Click here to learn how to make your own incense.

Feeling less than rosy or downright miserable? The good news is that it is possible to change your capacity for happiness. University of California professor of psychology Sonja Lyubomirsky has pioneered a simple plan to increase our everyday quotients. Drawing on her research with thousands of men and women, she shares her findings in The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want. The book explains that 40 percent of our capacity for happiness is within our power to change.

The How of Happiness

Lyubomirsky book examines what happiness is and what it isn’t. Supported with scientific research, Lyubomirsky demystifies some happiness myths. Strategies for sustaining one’s sense of happiness over the long term and the short term include staying active, savouring life’s pleasures and developing optimistic thoughts when addressing the future.

Research shows that only 10% of individual differences in happiness are determined by life circumstances whereas 50% are determined by genes. This means that a significant portion comes from one’s intentional activities — as much as 40%.

A taste of Lyubomirsky’s strategies

Take a moment to ‘smell the roses’ and taste the coffee. Those who savour life’s moments in the study ‘showed significant increases in happiness and reductions in depression,’ says Lyubomirsky. Rather than hurrying along, stop and reflect on ordinary everyday events.

Lyubomirsky also recommends focusing on one’s own personal achievements rather than comparing oneself to others. Setting goals helps to bring meaning to one’s life.

Reminiscing is more beneficial than ruminating. Overthinking can worsen sadness and inhibit motivation.

What the research shows

Lyubomirsky’s website explains that about 45% of US adults are reported as moderately mentally healthy. This means that a large percentage of people aren’t ‘flourishing’. There is a general lack of ‘great enthusiasm for life’ and people are ‘not actively and productively engaged with the world.’

Money doesn’t buy happiness. The site says that Americans who earned more than 10 million dollars annually report levels of happiness ‘only slightly greater than the office staffs and blue-collar workers they employ.’

People who practice mindfulness ‘are models of flourishing and positive mental health.’ Couples who are satisfied are ‘more likely to idealize each other.’ And ‘the key to a happy marriage is to respond appropriately to our partner’s successes.’

Other happiness strategies

Regular exercise releases ‘feel good’ endorphins — besides other positive side effects like improving one’s health and self-esteem. Taking the initiative, using one’s creativity and helping others can further increase one’s feelings of self-control and happiness.

As much as those who avoid comparisons enjoy greater happiness and satisfaction in their lives, so do those who don’t make material wealth a priority. Rather than making money a focus, practice gratitude and giving. Teach others your skills. Learn to listen.

Develop authentic and supportive relationships with friends and family. Treasuring those you love means taking time to understand them and care for them. Learn to forgive and remain hopeful about the future.

There’s nothing like making your own Thai curry with your own curry paste. It may take longer but using fresh ingredients will enhance the flavour. Besides, you can adjust the ingredients to suit your taste. Start with fewer chillies and add more while you’re cooking if you want more fire. This vegetable curry uses six green chillies and serves six. Ingredients include green curry paste, onion, potatoes, green pepper, red pepper, baby sweetcorn, peas, broccoli and coconut cream. Substitute vegetables as required.

Green curry paste recipe

The following ingredients are required to make the green curry paste: 6 green chillies, 3 chopped lemon grass stalks, 6 cloves of garlic, 1/2 cup of lime leaves (dried), 1 small onion, 1/4 cup of chopped fresh ginger, 150 grams of chopped coriander, 1 tablespoon of coriander seeds and the juice of 1 lime. You will also need some vegetable oil and a teaspoon each of peppercorns, galangal powder and salt.

Blend all the ingredients together except for the fresh coriander and vegetable oil. When you have a thick paste, add one teaspoon of oil at a time until you have a good consistency. Add the fresh coriander and briefly blend until you have a green paste. Be sure not to over blend the paste. Store in an airtight container overnight or for four hours before you use it.

Thai curry recipe

Measure out the following ingredients: 1 chopped onion, 2 cubed potatoes (these should be par boiled until they are just soft), 1 cubed red pepper, 1 cubed green pepper, 1 cup of chopped baby sweetcorn, 1 cup of peas, 2 cups of broccoli florets, 1 tin of coconut cream and 15 ml of vegetable oil for frying. You will require four tablespoons of your green curry paste and some seasoning to taste.

Heat some of the oil in a heavy bottomed saucepan and stir fry the onion for a minute. Stir in the curry paste for another minute and add the rest of the ingredients. Cook until the broccoli is tender and season. Serve your dish with basmati rice and garnish with coriander.

The word curry comes from ‘kari’, the Indian word for sauce. But a curry need not be a hot and spicy Indian affair that brings tears to the eyes. It can be a combination of spices in many forms, from the mild to the numbingly hot. Compare cinnamon, saffron and clove blends with lemon grass and coriander, for example. Any savoury dish that uses spices can be referred to as a curry. Curries are typical in the cuisines of Southeast Asia and India.

Spices, curry powder and other flavourings

Spices are chiefly used for the flavouring of food. They were once an expensive luxury in Europe though they were used in everyday dishes in their native countries. They are produced from the dried seeds, roots, bark and leaves of aromatic plants. Curry dishes can be made by combining spices with vegetables, meat, poultry, seafood, nuts, fruit or herbs.

It is interesting to note that curry powder is not a general blend as there are an infinite number of curry powder combinations. A basis for a curry can be a dry powder or paste, which comes from combining spices with moist ingredients like herbs. Different curries suit different tastes and all are open to experimentation. For example, more chilli can be added to a recipe if one prefers a ‘hot’ dish.

Curries from Thailand, Indochina and Burma use lemon grass and lime leaves and require less cooking time than slow-cooked Indian dishes. Malaysian and Indonesian cuisine make use of peanuts, coconut milk, tamarind, chillies and shrimp paste.

Enhancing flavour

Palm, white or brown sugar can be added to curries towards the end of cooking to enhance and balance flavour. Acidity in the form of vinegar, tomatoes, tamarind, lime or lemon juice can also enhance flavour, as can a little salt or fish sauce. Refrain from using pepper though, unless a recipe calls for it.

Accompaniments to curries

Rice, noodles and breads are popular accompaniments to curries as they absorb curry sauces well. Other accompaniments include pickles, chutneys and yoghurt.Yoghurt gives extra creaminess to an Indian curry as long as it is a natural, tart and thin yoghurt.

The world’s total population has hit the 7 billion mark will continue to grow. Not only are population experts concerned about the ensuing consumption that will follow, but so are some companies. They’re worried about all the demand for new vehicles and homes, for instance. How is our already overtaxed planet going to cope? Christopher Joyce on NPR’s science desk reports that a California home builder, ZETA Communities from California, is designing and building ‘small, highly energy-efficient homes’ as a result.

Consumption time bombs

Klaus Lackner, a physicist at Columbia University’s Earth Institute, has pointed out that as the economies of areas like Africa and India improve, so are the lifestyle expectations going to become problematic.

To make matters worse, these developing nations are often inspired by Western consumption patterns. ‘It’s very hard to convince people to stop consumption,’ says Lackner. ‘I would expect consumption in the future gets larger, but we also learn how to do things more efficiently.’ Lackner continues: ‘So the raw material consumption may well go down.’

But even so, he believes that consumption will increase again. Without any incentives not to consume, consumption will only continue to rise. ‘In many parts of the world, energy – and I hate to say this – is simply too cheap,’ says the physicist. That’s because inexpensive access to energy enables people to live ‘the high life’.

Going small – a possible solution?

Christopher Joyce sees it this way: ‘there just isn’t enough cheap energy or water or land for 9 billion or 10 billion people to live the same way. So what if Americans set a different example? Consume less by living smaller? The Japanese do it. Can small be beautiful in the U.S.? Some people think so.’

ZETA Communities thinks small can be beautiful. ZETA can build a 1,500 square foot home in a day using stackable modules. It’s a speedy operation because working in a controlled environment, there aren’t such things as weather days to contend with. Joyce explains that ‘everything from the caulk along the walls to the lumber is certified green or is from sustainable sources.’

The buildings are energy efficient and can be provided with rooftop solar panels in the correct climate. This would result in a ‘net zero’ energy home. The company envisions its big market to be cities since people are moving towards cities all over the world. The idea is to get creative with what space there is.

300 square feet and counting

Architect Taeko Takagi designs ‘micro-studios’ as small as 300 square feet. ‘I like to provide a large sink, so that the person who’s using it doesn’t feel like they’re lacking or living smaller and everything is miniaturised,’ he says.

These just-larger-than-living-room spaces will be a place for the ‘technocrat generation’ who use the city as their living room and kitchen. The micro-studio is their home at the end of the day.

‘If the Duke of Cambridge is looking for a little guidance on how to behave once he inherits the throne, he should head straight to the British Library,’ reports The Daily Mail. The British Library is showing a set of manuscripts that give advice on ‘the art of kingship’, for example. These documents date all the way back to the ninth century and cover such aspects of life as what a monarch should eat and how he should sleep, including with whom.

A remarkable heritage

‘The surviving manuscripts associated with successive kings and queens of England form a remarkable inheritance. Together they offer by far the largest body of evidence for the relationship between two critical parts of British cultural heritage: its monarchy and its medieval art,’ said the curator of the exhibition, Dr Scot McKendrick.

The manuscript was written with the medieval king in mind. It consists of 152 pages and dates from 1326 to 1327. Written in Latin, it is beautifully illustrated with fine examples of royal decorative and figurative painting from the time.

Dated ‑ but still very bright

The quality of the manuscripts is due to them having been kept out of the public eye for so long. They are so well preserved that the gold still flickers in the light when viewed, much as it would have done for its original readers all those years ago.

The Daily Mail adds that ‘many of the colours are still as vibrant as when they were first painted’ and that ‘exquisite miniatures flecked with gold, each of which would have taken professional scribes up to a week to paint.’

The manuals of royal etiquette have been described as ‘mirrors for princes’. The colours may still exhilarate, but the content may not be to everybody’s taste. One can only wonder what the Duke of Cambridge would make of it.

‘Hot tips’

According to the manuscript, when seeking advice, a king should respect his elders: ‘Choose men also of old experience. Their wit and intellect is glorious. Beware of young counsel; it is perilous.’ Perhaps so, but what if a king is suffering from stomach ache? The tip is certainly ‘hot’, albeit rather unorthodox: ‘Clasp a hot and beautiful maiden or to place upon your belly a wide warm shirt.’

A king is instructed to choose a wife as follows: ‘Beautiful in appearance, descended from noble family, well-appointed in limbs, having an agreeable expression and an entire body well-adorned. You may have a majestic wife with whom you may have sex as often as, and when, you wish.’

The manuscript offers a stern warning when it comes to dealing with women, however. It advises ‘Never to trust in the works and services of women, and may you not commit yourself to them.’ It also advises to be cautious of those with devious motives: ‘Beware flattery and beware also the greedy – they are both so desirous of gold they do not care what difficulty their lord is in.’

Futurist Thomas Frey has listed 55 jobs of the future which include tree-jackers, time brokers, plant psychologists and lip designers. He says one of his main complaints about the higher education system today is that it prepares people for the jobs of the past. ‘Similarly, whenever a column is written about the best paying jobs of the future, jobs like civil engineers, registered nurses, and computer system analysts, they are all jobs that currently exist today,’ he adds.

Strange jobs post 2030

If you’re thinking of becoming a pizza delivery person post 2030, think again. You’re going to be in competition with drone dispatchers. But fear not, at least pizzas will still be around! That said, robotic earthworm divers will also be entering the job market. They will be used to mine out the landfills and retrieve valuable resources.

Speaking of retrieving valuable resources, extinction revivalists will do their bit by bringing extinct creatures back to life. Other nature manipulating careers will abound: you could look at becoming a tree-jacker and ‘manipulate growth patterns, create grow-to-fit wood products, color-changing leaves, and personalized fruit.’

Alternatively, you could become a plant psychologist and undo the damage caused by the tree-jackers of the world. If you like the idea of working with plants you could also consider becoming a plant educator: ‘An intelligent plant will be capable of re-engineering itself to meet the demands of tomorrow’s marketplace.’

Career change?

Should you be in a position to ‘unlock the code for influencing gravity’, you could become a gravity puller. If you’ve been working as a cyber terrorist, you may consider exploring new horizons and become a time hacker. Time hackers will be ‘devious jerry-riggers who start manipulating the time fabric of our lives.’

Organ agents will have to consider switching jobs post 2030 as body part makers will start growing organs en mass. Memory augmentation therapists will be in demand. These people will help create better memories which will ‘pave the way for an entirely new class of humans.’

You could become a geo-engineer and control the weather. Meteorologists and climatologists will have to make a career change as these new brokers will ‘wield the forces of nature.’ There are plenty of other strange jobs to consider: time brokers will be in vogue, as will space-based power system designers.

Other options

Sadly, nano-weapons specialists will also have career options. They’ll be working on weapons too small to be seen by the human eye. Earthquake forecasters will work towards the common good, though. With their new understanding of the inner-earth, they will save many lives.

‘Heavy Air’ engineers will ‘figure out how to compress streams of air as they pass through our existing atmosphere’. When that happens, Frey says there will be opportunities for such things as non-surface based transport and housing.

One can only imagine what new careers are yet to come. Hopefully the human race doesn’t wipe itself out in the meantime.