How to Be Bold

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Begin, be bold and venture to be wise. -Horace
If you're shy, hesitant, or passive, you run the risk of leading a boring life marked by routine and unfulfilled goals. Most progress has been led by people who were bold--scientists, public servants, artists, and others who didn't wait for opportunities; they created opportunities. So if you want to be bold and unstoppable, here are some ways to kick start your momentum.

Steps

1. Pretend you're already bold. If you were to switch places with somebody who is as bold as bold can be, what would they do in your shoes? If you already know someone who's bold, imagine how they'd act. If you don't know anyone like that, think of a character from a movie or book who's daring and brave. Spend one hour a day or one day a week pretending to be them. When you do this, go somewhere that people don't know you and won't act surprised when you do things that are out of character. Go through the motions and see what happens--you might discover that amazing things happen when you're bold, and you might be convinced to carry this bold behavior into your everyday life.
   
2. Make the first move. Whenever you're feeling hesitant--especially in your interactions with others--swallow your pride and make the first move. Ask your acquaintance if they'd like to go to the bar down the street for drinks after work. Tell the person you fancy that you've got two tickets to a concert and you'd like them to come with you. Give your significant other a big hug and apologize for that time you overreacted a few months ago. Smile and wink at the attractive cashier.
   
3. Do something unpredictable. What could you do that would completely surprise the people who know you? Wear high heels? Skydive? Take a dance class? Bold people aren't afraid of trying new things, and one of the reasons they're so exciting to be around is that they keep you guessing. You can start small, perhaps by wearing a color or style of clothing that you don't normally wear, or visiting a place you normally wouldn't visit. Eventually, you may get to the point where you entertain ideas that make other people's eyes widen when you mention them ("Are you serious? White water rafting?" or "You're kidding me. You want to buy that restaurant on 3rd Street?").
   
4. Ask for what you want. Rather than wait to be recognized for your efforts, or expect someone to consider your needs, step right up to the plate and ask. Some people feel that asking for things is greedy, selfish, and rude--and it is, if you're asking for something you don't deserve. But if someone is withholding something that you've rightfully earned, they're the ones being greedy, selfish, and rude. Besides, what's the worst that could happen? They say no. Life goes on.
   
   • Ask for that promotion or pay raise you've been waiting (and working) for.
     
   • Ask for a discount. A little haggling can go a long way. The phrase "What can you do for me?" is an easy and powerful way to save money.
     
   • Ask to have your credit card's annual fee waived.
     
   • Ask a relative, friend, or even a complete stranger for help or advice.
     
   • Ask for clarification if you're not sure what is expected of you.
     
   
   
5. Take risks. There's a difference between being reckless and accepting risks. Reckless people don't accept risks...they don't even think about them. A bold person, on the other hand, is well aware of the risks, and has decided to go through with the decision anyway, ready and willing to accept the consequences if things don't work out. Think of an athlete who takes risks every day. Are they reckless? No. It's a measured risk. You might make a mistake; we all do. But inaction can be a mistake as well, one that leads to emptiness and regret. For many people, having taken risks and fallen flat on their faces was far more fulfilling than having done nothing at all.
   
6. Rediscover who you are. Ultimately, boldness has to do with coming from your center, what you believe. It is not about what you do, it is about who you are. If you do not know who you are, you can never be truly bold. Start really appreciating your uniqueness. Discover what makes you different and then parade it around for all to see. Put flags on it, call attention to it and love yourself for it no matter what others think. That is the heart of boldness.
   

Tips

• Don't confuse being bold with being aggressive. Aggressiveness often involves imposing your viewpoints or actions on others. Boldness has nothing to do with the people around you; it's about overcoming your fears and taking action.
  
• Don't worry about rejection. Try to make your invitations to others occur as "without consequence," i.e., the opposite of an invitation from your mother to dinner. Conversely, when your invitation is declined, boldly accept it and leave the other person/people feeling okay with their choice.
  
• While there's power in taking on something new, there's also a greater chance of failure because of your lack of experience. Embrace the failure; it's not the opposite of success, it's a necessary component. The opposite of success is sitting still.
  

Related wikiHows

• How to Stop Being a People Pleaser
  
• How to Think for Yourself
  
• How to Be a Nonconformist
  
• How to Accomplish a Goal
  
• How to Be Bold on wikiHow
  

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Be Bold. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

Vote for wikiHow in Open Web Awards

wikiHow is a nominee for best wiki in Mashable's Open Web awards. Because would be a cool thing for us to win, and because we are an awesome wiki, you should vote for wikiHow. All you need to do is add your email and click below:



Vote early and vote often!

How to Attribute a Creative Commons Licensed Work

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

If you come across content or images that are licensed with Creative Commons (like all of the content and images on wikiHow) it's your responsibility to give credit the creator in a manner they specify. These instructions are clear in theory, but many people who apply CC licenses to their work do not specify how they would like to be attributed. In practice, here’s how you can handle the attribution requirements[1] when using Creative Commons licensed material.

Steps

1. “Keep intact any copyright notices for the work”: If a work you’re using has a notice that says “© 2008 Molly Kleinman”, reproduce that notice when you credit the work. If such a notice does not appear, don’t worry about it.
   
2. “Credit the author, licensor and/or other parties (such as a wiki or journal) in the manner they specify”: If a creator has a note attached to her work that says, “Please attribute Molly Kleinman as the creator of this work,” then attribute Molly Kleinman. If there is no note, but there is a copyright notice (see above), attribute the copyright holder named in the copyright notice. If there is no note or copyright notice but there is a user name, check the creator’s profile to see if it specifies how to attribute the creator’s work. If it doesn’t, attribute the user name. If there is no creator or author name of any kind, but there is a website (like wikiHow), attribute the website by name.
   
3. “The title of the Work”: If the work has a title, call it by name. If it doesn’t, you can just say “This work by Molly Kleinman…” or just “Untitled, by Molly Kleinman…” Whatever seems appropriate.
   
4. “The URL for the work if applicable”: Link back to the original source of the work. It can be argued that this is the most important part of the attribution notice. It can help creators keep track of places where their work appears by seeing what links are driving traffic to their websites. It also gives users of your work an easy way to track down the original source. If you are reproducing a CC-licensed work in a print format, you might prefer not to include a long and ugly URL, and there might be situations where leaving out a URL is appropriate. But in general, the link is the most valuable part of the attribution.
   
5. “The URL for the Creative Commons license”: Link to the license. The original work should have a link to the license under which it was released; link to the same place. You do not need to include the full text of the license when you reproduce a CC-licensed work.
   
6. There is no standard way to format the attribution of a CC-licensed work, and you can adapt the style or phrasing to suit your needs or the standard citation style of your discipline.
   
   • An Ideal Attribution
     This video features the song “Play Your Part (Pt.1)” by Girl Talk, available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial license. © 2008, Greg Gillis.
     
   • A Realistic Attribution
     Photo by mollyali, available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial license.
     
   • A Derivative Work Attribution
     This is a video adaptation of the novel Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow, available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike license. Copyright © 2003 Cory Doctorow.
     
   
   

Tips

• The licenses do not require you to inform a creator that you are using her CC-licensed work, but it’s a nice thing to do. Most people are very happy to learn that someone is using and building upon their creations; that’s why they use Creative Commons licenses in the first place.
  

Warnings

• Just because the work is licensed under Creative Commons doesn't mean you can post in anywhere, or do whatever you want with it. If the license is CC-BY, attributing the work is all that you need. The following CC licenses, however, have additional restrictions or requirements:[2]
  
  • Attribution-NoDerivs (You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work.)
    
  • Attribution-ShareAlike (If you alter, transform, or build upon this work, you may distribute the resulting work only under the same or similar license to this one.)
    
  • Attribution-NonCommercial (You may not use this work for commercial purposes.)
    
  • Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (You may not use this work for commercial purposes; You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work.)
    
  • Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (You may not use this work for commercial purposes; If you alter, transform, or build upon this work, you may distribute the resulting work only under the same or similar license to this one.)
    
  
  

Related wikiHows

• How to Understand Copyright Basics
  
• How to Attribute a Photo on wikiHow
  
• How to Import Content Into wikiHow
  
• How to Apply the Creative Commons License to Flickr Photographs
  
• How to wikiHow:Attribution
  

Sources and Citations

• Molly Kleinman. CC HowTo #1: How to Attribute a Creative Commons licensed work. Licensed CC-BY. Original source.
  

1. ↑ http://wiki.creativecommons.org/FAQ#How_do_I_properly_attribute_a_Creative_Commons_licensed_work.3F


2. ↑ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Attribute a Creative Commons Licensed Work. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.