Apple CEO Says $ 1 Trillion Market Cap a Milestone not Focus

Tim Cook

Apple Inc just reaffirmed its prominence and dominance in the world. It become the first ever publicly listed US company to hit $1 trillion in market capitalization. The company now accounts for 4% of the value of S&P 500.

Apple’s stock value needed to be above $207.04 for the company to attain $1 trillion market cap. With the closing share price at $207.39 on Thursday, Apple reached the magical figure of $1 trillion. To put things in perspective, Apple’s stock market value is now greater market capitalization of Exxon Mobil, Procter and Gamble, & AT&T put together.

It may be recalled that the Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffett had disclosed that his company, Berkshire Hathaway had bought 75 million shares of Apple in May this year. It now owns 240.3 million Apple shares. The confidence expressed by Warren Buffett has done no harm to the Apple stock. It’s stock value is now at an all time high.

Apple is one of the most loved brands in the world. Warrant Buffet called Apple an “Unbelievable company.” It has come a long way from its founding days in the garage during 1976. A company started by the iconic Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. Apple is now the most valuable brand in the world and by some distance.

Apple-stastic

Despite the early setbacks, struggles and near bankruptcy, Apple has lived on to become one of the most fascinating companies of the modern world. Steve Jobs played a huge part in rescuing the company from the brinks of failure to a modern powerhouse that commands awe. Steve passed away in 2011 and passed the reins to Tim Cook.

How does the company celebrate this great achievement? Well, by doing what they have always done, focusing on building great products, and services for their consumers.

Tim Cook sent an email to their employees lauding this milestone, however, emphasizing
on what they need to continue doing.

“Financial returns are simply the result of Apple’s innovation, putting our products and customers first, and always staying true to our values,” Cook said in the memo.

steve-jobs

“Steve founded Apple on the belief that the power of human creativity can solve even the biggest challenges — and that the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do,”

“Just as Steve always did in moments like this, we should all look forward to Apple’s bright future and the great work we’ll do together.” Cook wrote in the memo to Apple’s employees.

apple-office

Apple has had a relentless focus on design thinking, user experience and innovation. It launched the iphone in 2007 and revolutionised the world. Apple took an unprecedented lead and surged ahead of their rival technology companies like Microsoft, Intel, & Samsung etc. The iphone gave people unimaginable computing power in their pockets.

Apple also had a string of other super successful products like Apple computer, ipods, ipads, Mac, iTunes, iOS App store, Macbook etc. These products transformed many industries and people’s lives.

Here we revisit the ‘Think Different’ commercial launched in 1997 when Apple was struggling. The video bolstered Apple’s brand and was a runaway success.

How to keep your Brain Young, Sharp & Creative

keep-your-brain-active

It’s not the amount of time you spend doing something, but the quality of it that determines its acceptance. In the fiercely competitive world, you cannot afford to slow down. Infact, you need to raise your game consistently to meet the growing demands. The best athletes, sportspersons, businessmen, professionals are all mindful of this fact. They put deliberate efforts to improve themselves; they take care of their brain & mental conditioning too.

In many ways, the mental sharpness and agility become the sole differentiators of the top achievers from others. The human brain is one of the most mysterious and fascinating things in the world. The increasing research into the human brain unravels interesting things on how to improve it.

While some people’s cognitive abilities decline, others seem to maintain and even improve their cognitive abilities as they age. It’s quite astonishing. Here we look at how to keep your brain young, sharp and creative:

1.Exercise Regularly

excesie

Exercise is as important for the body as it is for the brain. Exercise helps memory, thinking and brain functions through direct and indirect means. Several studies have shown that the part of the brain that controls thinking and memory (hippocampus) have larger volume in persons who exercise than others who do not.

Daily exercise such as running, biking, swimming, aerobics, strength training, yoga etc. for 20-45 minutes can have immense benefits including brain functioning. Exercise helps brain to retain its capacity and reduce its aging process. It also helps to build new cells to keep a person’s brain young and sharp.

2. Mental stimulation

mental-stimulation

Doing things that stimulate your brain is helping in keeping your brain young. It could be solving brain teasers, puzzles, painting, drawing and craft etc. When the brain is challenged with new information and stimulation, it activates synapses in the brain. The ability to recall things and focus also improves when brain is actively involved and stimulated.

3.Meditation

meditation

There are thousands of published researches and studies highlighting the benefits of meditation for human brain and mind. Our brains are constantly churning thoughts and wandering. But meditation helps one attain a state of thoughtlessness for relaxation. It not only improves the cognitive abilities, focus and memory but also makes one stress free.

As per a study conducted on the US military, it helps their troops deal with stress, improves their cognitive resilience and increases their ability to focus. Meditation helps one to reduce their thoughts and have a balanced state of mind.

4.Writing

Writing

Writing is a process of expressing oneself. It helps a person articulate their subconscious beliefs, thoughts and how they view things. The best professionals in any field are methodical. They create a systematic and organised list of their activities and then complete the tasks.

The writing process organises your thoughts and helps your brain stay focused. “Writing by hand helps keep the mind dexterous and assists in solidifying memories,” says Kelsey Poe, Director of Marketing & Sales at CMP.

5.Don’t shy away from Challenges:

Don’t shy away from Challenges

Our brains and mental capacity is fluid, we build ourselves according to the challenges we handle in our life. When presented with something difficult or challenging, don’t run away from it. The more you expose yourself to difficult situations and tough assignments, the more you will grow from them.

Our brain capacities can be stretched in tough situations. It can be rewired to develop new capabilities and push your limits.

6.Be open to New Things, Learning and Experiences

Be open to New Things, Learning and Experiences

The most successful people like to spend their spare time in learning. They are always trying to absorb knowledge, learn things and are open to new experiences. When the brain learns new activities, different parts of the brain get activated.

The new knowledge prevents brain from stagnation. The top professionals in any field keep themselves abreast of all the latest happenings and developments. They learn continually and it helps them see things in the right perspective.

7. Socialising and Bonding

Socialising and Bonding

Human beings are wired to stay connected with each other. The social interactions and relationships play a vital role in keeping a person happy. The interactions and conversations with friends and family are good for your brain.

As per Harvard health research, Strong social ties have been associated with a lower risk of dementia, as well as lower blood pressure and longer life expectancy.

8.Sleep Well

 Sleep Well

Sleep deprivation can be harmful for your mental health. It can cause stress, decline in cognition and cause stress. Regular sleep is apparently required for memory, learning and cognitive abilities of a human being. A sleep deprived person can become stressed and anxious. It’s not necessarily good in the long run.

Sleep helps body and the brain to recuperate after a day work. It reenergises the body and the brain to perform to its best capabilities.

9.Being Mindful & Focused:

Being-Mindful-and-Focused

It’s easy to be busy without being productive. When you work with complete focus and attention, results are achieved with ease. The most successful persons are mindful, conscious and absorbed with the things they are pursuing. Practicing mindfulness even in simplest activities like brushing your teeth, bathing, driving to work, chores, etc is helpful for improving focus.

Bill Gates used to drive a different route on the way home from work every day to stimulate his brain. It also helped him stay mindful, conscious and focused. Talk about mundane tasks.

10.Practice Mastery & Flow:

Practice Mastery & Flow

Master your craft by deliberate practices. When you achieve depth and mastery in any field, it creates lighting sensation in your brain. Great scientists, sports persons, musicians, programmers and top executives etc often experience this highly focused mental state. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, an author and psychologist, described it as flow.

He said, people are happiest when they are in a state of flow—a state of concentration or complete absorption with the activity at hand and the situation. The flow is an optimal state of intrinsic motivation, where the person is fully absorbed in what he is doing.

Your brain is one of the greatest assets of nature. You can preserve it, nourish it and make it work to its full capacity by choosing consciously. The power of a human brain is unlimited and can be tapped by stimulating it the right way.

7 Powerful Reasons Mentorship Makes Employees Happier

Mentorship-Makes-Employees-Happier

Employee engagement is all about fostering relationships. Companies operate by the interactions of people. In today’s workforce, encouraging healthy relationships between leadership and staff has become critical to success for employees and businesses in reaching their key objectives.

Like all relationships, growing engagement takes special care and attention. The key to developing lasting relationships lies with mentoring. Mentorship is more pertinent in the digital world than ever before.

1. Mentoring Improves Business Management

Human resource professionals can play a key role in developing mentorship programs. With bona-fide data in hand, they can demonstrate the value of mentoring to leadership. Studies show that manager productivity increases almost 90% among those who have a mentor, as opposed to only 24% of administrators who do not. Productivity improvements at this level are a solid selling point for instituting programs.

2. Mentoring Increases Employee Retention

employee-retention

Mentees feel they work someplace that cares about them as individuals. When a mentor plays a role in developing and promoting careers, employee loyalty remains high. Workers are more likely to remain with a firm when a mentor provides them with an emotional connection.

3. It Creates Trust

trust

In the workplace, employees need to trust that their managers will lead them in the right direction, while managers need to trust that their employees will come to them with issues. A mentoring relationship provides the ideal scenario to foster trust. Mentored employees demonstrate a higher level of engagement and productivity when trust exists.

4. A Mentor Provides Good Counsel

A-Mentor-Provides-Good-Counsel

Work-life balance affects everyone, including managers and leadership staff. As experienced team members, they can provide invaluable advice to employees struggling to juggle the personal and professional aspects of their lives. Employees that find their best strategy for work-life balance improve productivity, and mentors can show them the way.

5. Mentorship Provides Assessment and Feedback

There is great value in constant feedback and assessment of one’s work. It provides much needed pointers and uncovers areas for improvement. With good mentors, the feedback process becomes transparent. When the expectation and goals are clear, it is easier to excel in work. The best mentors motivate and are not afraid to push their mentees so that they can
improve consistently.

6. They Help Grows Employee Skill Sets

Employee-Skill-Sets

Mentors provide knowledge backed by experience to their mentees, who in turn can offer fresh insights to mentors. By working together towards mutual advantage, knowledge and resources can expand across work groups resulting in higher overall productivity and engagement. Mentors encourage employees to measure their results, not just time spent in the office.

7. Mentoring Elevates Remote Workers

With the rise of far-flung offices and work-from-home staff, mentoring in a virtual environment can help increase retention of remote workers. Digital communication can enable mentors to work across multiple locations to foster cooperation and engagement. Remote workers often struggle to feel connected to their companies, and mentoring assures them that they are valued.

The role of a manager in worker productivity and staff retention cannot be underestimated.Studies show that about half of employees who leave their jobs cite their managers as the reason. Mentorship helps to push employees in the right direction. It is important for employees to realise how their work makes them who they are, it provides them identity and growth opportunities too.

By improving the relationship between managers and staff through mentor training and support, companies can reduce turnover and increase productivity. When people with common goals need to work together daily, they want a solid relationship that can bring them forward in their careers and the future, together.

About Author

david-mizne

David “Miz” Mizne is Content Marketing Manager at 15Five, performance management company. David is the main contributor and chief editor of the popular 15Five Blog. He is helping to refine and promote this new narrative around employee development via the blog.

David earned a BA in English Literature from The University of Florida and a JD from Nova Southeastern University. When he’s not developing marketing content, he enjoys hiking, reading, working on his novel, and performing impromptu puppet shows.

Lynching

Lynching

“It is really fanatical that a friendly hug upsets people more than lynching & killing individuals.”

10 Most Popular Moments of the 2018 Football World Cup.

Most-Popular-Moments-worldcup

Every four years, the world watches the spectacle of football World Cup with amazement. The euphoria and the excitement is second to none. More than half the world is glued to the football World Cup. The 2018 football World Cup has come to an end, but not without leaving memories for a life time. It has been a fascinating World Cup, where France has stamped its authority with the Cup and Croatians have won the hearts of one & all.

This World Cup had it all, upsets, comebacks and VAR, theatrics, presidents breaking protocols and a great final to end the finale.

We take a look at 10 Most Popular Moments of the 2018 Football World Cup.

1. Belgian Comeback

 Belgian Comeback

The most amazing and the best counterattack of the 2018 World Cup featured just seven touches from four players. It went from one end of the field to another in just 10 seconds. It was electrifying. It completed Belgium’s unbelievable comeback from 2-0 down to 3-2 up against Japan. The player who made the goal, and won the game, didn’t even touch the ball. The Belgian player was Romelu Lukaku.

2. Toni Kroos 95th minute goal against Sweden

 Toni Kroos 95th minute goal against Sweden

For 94 minutes, he was the reason for the ouster of Germany. Perhaps even the villain. Toni Kroos was the reason, why Germany was heading out of the World Cup. He scored a goal in the 95th minute and dragged Germany back from the brink, and likely into the knockout rounds. The goal ensured Germany won the game against Sweden 2-1.

3.Cristiano Ronaldo’s free-kick against Spain

Cristiano Ronaldo's free-kick

This moment of Russia 2018 football World Cup was one of the most cherished. One of the most popular heroes of the football world, Christiano Ronaldo did his magic. When Portugal were playing against spain, portugal trailing 2-3 with a couple of minutes left in the game, Ronaldo won a clever free-kick off Gerard Pique about 25 yards from goal. He scored his hattrick and saved the day for Portugal with a 3-3 scoreline against Spain. A moment of sheer brilliance and magic.

4.Benjamin Pavard’s Incredible hit against Argentina

Benjamin Pavard's hit against Argentina

Which was the best goal of the tournament? The honor goes to French defender Benjamin Pavard. His was easily among the best individual goals, if not the best in the tournament. France was facing elimination, Argentina had scored two goals on either side of the break. It was then an incredible moment of football from Benjamin Pavard, who came up with a stunning goal, which paved the way for France to come back and ultimately won the game marching into the semifinals.

5.Lionel Messi’s goal against Nigeria

Lionel Messi's goal against Nigeria

Lionel Messi scored the first goal for Argentina in their crucial match against Nigeria. After a rather meek start to their World Cup, Argentina were in a position to advance out of the group stage and it was their hero, uncharacteristically quiet up to this moment, who had scored a tremendous goal. However, Nigeria were too good on the day and won the game 4-2.

6. Pogba’s pass

 Pogba’s pass

The final match had its sheer of moments. The crowning moments in the game that mattered the most. It had its moments of beauty, charisma and triumph for France. The pass eventually led to Pogba scoring, a goal which gave France a 3-1 lead. The goal was spectacular. Pogba kept his head when the initial shot was blocked. He then hit the ball in a clinical fashion to grab the much needed third goal for France.

7. Hugo Lloris save against Uruguay

Hugo Lloris save against Uruguay

This save from the French goalkeeper was one of the most important moments. The French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris did a splendid job stretching himself in a position to save the day for his team against Uruguay. He had barely seconds to stretch himself across the net to save the header from Uruguay’s Martin Caceres at the end of the first half. Had he failed to save this goal, Uruguay would have equalised the game and the match could have gone either ways.

8.Panama’s Maiden World Cup goal

Panama-first-goal

One of the most enthralling moments of the tournament was the way Panama fans celebrated their lone goal after being hammered 6-1 against England. Fans went crazy when Felipe Baloy score against England. It was their maiden World Cup goal. They were down by five goals, but that didnt deflate the spirits of their fans. A moment of celebration and elation for Panama.

9.Russia beats Spain to Surprise Everyone

Russia-beat-spain

Russia wasnt given much chance against Spain. They were easily the underdogs. Despite being the host nation, Russia was the lowest-ranked nation heading into the tournament. Russia sent Spain home after one of the most thrilling and unbelievable upsets in World Cup history.

10.An incredible final

An incredible final

The final was the fitting finale to the great football World Cup 2018. It was packed with both brilliant and controversial moments. Croatia had their share of hardluck and would have complaints about the penalty awarded to Ivan Perisic. It was a contentious moment.

But the final also had plenty of brilliance and football magic in it from both teams. The best two teams in the World Cup final. Kylian Mbappe emerged as world’s most exciting young player in the world. The 2018 World Cup gave plenty of moments to football lovers to cherish and enjoy. It will be a sporting spectacle to remember.

10 Amazing Ways to Stay Fit and Healthy

stay-healthy

The only time most people worry about their health is when they lose it. A healthy body and mind are one of the finest gifts of human life. When there is peace of mind and sound health, you can accomplish great things and enjoy life to the fullest. As Jim Rohn once said, “Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.”

Here are some tips on how to stay fit and healthy.

1. Exercise

Life is very busy. But, even the busiest people can add more time to their day by exercising. Yes, even if you get out for a walk a three to four times a week, for 20-45 minutes, it is good enough. Exercise keeps you healthy and in the right frame of mind. The most successful people priorities their health and they find time to exercise first thing in the morning, or even late at night.

2. Sleep

Sleep

In the age of electronic devices, radiations and sedentary lifestyle, sleep comes as a great relief for the body. It affects your physical and mental health. Lack of sleep can adversely affect metabolism, induce irritation, stress, concentration and the immune system. A good sleep acts as a detox, it allows the body to recuperate from the hectic workdays, repair and rejuvenate itself. Getting enough sleep for at least 7-8 hours is recommended to stay in top physical and mental shape.

3. Eat Your Breakfast Daily

How you start your day has a great bearing on what you do through the day. A good and healthy routine in the morning can set yourself up for a great day. A healthy breakfast starts your day off on the right note. It fuels you with the energy and nourishes your body.

4. Drink Water

drink-water

60% of adult human body is made of water. Water is a vital nutrient for us and life of every cell in our body. Keeping yourself hydrated keeps you and your brain healthy. The 73% of our brain is water. Water acts as a shock absorber for the brain. In fact brain ceases to work properly when it is not hydrated. Water is necessary for a healthy body and mental health. Our organs and digestive system are cleansed by water.

5.Express Yourself

With the increase of social media, chats and messages, human beings are becoming less expressive. It is important to let your emotions out. Expressing yourself relieves you of the stress and it also builds healthy relationships with people around you. When you don’t express things, it can cause mental and emotional stress, it can often lead to physical ailments too. You can either speak to someone or even write a journal to express your feelings.

6. Eat Healthy Foods

eat-healthy

A balanced diet is essential for a healthy body. You can’t let your food cravings ruin your health in the long run. Stay away from foods that can cause long term harm to your body. The right amounts of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and proteins on a daily basis are important for a healthy body. For protein, consuming lean sources of protein like poultry, fish, beans and tofu are recommended by medical practitioners.

7.Get Rid of Bad Habits

Addictions are unhealthy. You should quit smoking, drugs, alcohol, and other unhealthy addictions. Don’t let yourself be a victim of these addictions. You control your life by living a healthy life or let your life be controlled by your addictions. It’s your choice. Maintain a healthy routine by yoga, meditation and exercise, they help your brain by releasing chemicals that will reduce the urge and cravings for addictions.

8. De-stress

De-stress

It’s important to unwind yourself doing things that you love. We live in an ultra competitive world, finding peace with yourself can be hard. Most successful persons have hobbies and things they like to do for de stressing themselves. It could be Yoga, reading a good book, walking, running, talking to friends, traveling or anything you cherish. Even a small break from a routinely stressful day can act as a stress buster.

9.Fitting More Activity into Your Day

How active is your day? Most people end up sitting at desk the whole day, coming home tired and sleeping after dinner. It is important to be more active physically. Human body needs exercise and activity for its well being.

Small changes like taking the stairs instead of the elevator, walking to nearby retail stores, stroll after dinner etc can be very helpful in the long run.

10. Regular Check-ups for healthcare

regular-checkups

Our lifestyle can get to us. It is important to take care of health proactively and not fix when it is broken. Your regular visit to a healthcare center once in every 6 months can save you from unwarranted trouble. Get yourself examined when things are not right physically. In case of any physical distress, it is best to consult an expert and seek advise. A healthy body and mind can make you a better person and improve your life.

Most Valuable Food Brands

Most Valuable Food Brands

Which brand comes to the top of your mind when we talk about food? Well, here is a list of the most valuable food brand on the planet. It is not surprising that McDonalds makes it to the top of the list. It is all pervasive and has a commanding presence with an estimated brand value of 126.044$ billion.

1. McDonald’s

Mcdonald's

McDonald’s, an American fast food company, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald , in San Bernardino, California, United States. It is the world’s largest restaurant chain by revenue. It employs over 35,000 people and operates in more than 36,900 locations in over 100 countries. Although McDonald’s is best renowned for its hamburgers, they also sell cheeseburgers, chicken products, french fries, breakfast items, soft drinks, milkshakes, wraps, and delectable desserts. No counting calories with McDonald’s.

2. Starbucks

Starbucks

Starbucks Corporation is an American coffee company and coffeehouse chain. Starbucks was founded in Seattle, Washington in 1971. As of 2018, the company operates in 28,218 locations around the world. Starbucks was started by English teacher Jerry Baldwin, history teacher Zev Siegl, and writer Gordon Bowker. They were inspired to sell high-quality coffee beans and ended up creating Starbucks, which has become a global phenomenon in the modern day world.
Starbucks is considered the main representative of “second wave coffee.”

It has created a very strong brand identity by taste, quality, and customer experience. It has also popularized darkly roasted coffee. Starbucks locations serve hot and cold drinks, whole-bean coffee, microground instant coffee known as VIA, espresso, caffe latte, full- and loose-leaf teas. Coffee lovers are surely not complaining when Starbucks is around.

3. Subway

subway

Subway is an American privately held fast food restaurant franchise that sells sandwiches (subs) and salads. Subway is among the fastest-growing franchises in the world. It more than 45,000 stores located in more than 100 countries. More than half of the stores are located in the United States.

Subway offers long sandwiches measured in inches and foot. Subway’s core product is the Submarine sandwich (or “sub”). Apart from these, Subway also sells wraps, salad, paninis and baked goods. A quick bite is not too far with Subway.

4. KFC

KFC

KFC, until 1991 known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, is an American fast food restaurant chain that specializes in fried chicken. KFC was started by Colonel Harland Sanders. He started selling fried chicken from his roadside restaurant before opening several franchises. KFC is today among the biggest brands in the food industry, its the second largest restaurant chain in the world behind Mcdonald’s.

KFC popularized chicken in the fast food industry. The fast food industry was earlier dominated by hamburgers, KFC challenged and changed the way fast food industry operates.

5. Domino’s Pizza

Domino's pizza

Domino’s Pizza, Inc , or simply Domino’s, is an American pizza restaurant chain founded in 1960. In February 2018, Domino’s became the largest pizza seller worldwide in terms of sales. Domino’s has more than 13,811 locations worldwide as of 2018. The company employs more than 14,000 people. The number of people working in Domino’s is more than 290,000 when its franchises are included.

Pizza is the primary focus of Domino’s, with traditional, specialty, and custom pizzas available in a variety of crust styles and toppings. The menu offers chicken and bread sides, as well as beverages and desserts. Pizza is one of the most popular foods in the world.

6. Pizza Hut

Pizza-hut

Pizza Hut is an American restaurant chain and international franchise founded in 1958 by Dan and Frank Carney. The company is well known for its Italian-American cuisine menu including pizza and pasta. It also serves side dishes and desserts.

Pizza Hut has 16,796 restaurants worldwide as of 2018. It is world’s largest pizza chain in terms of locations. Pizza Hut experiments with new products, discontinuing less successful ones.

7.Tim Hortons

Tim Hortons

Tim Hortons Inc. is a Canadian-based multinational fast food restaurant known for its coffee and donuts. It is Canada’s largest quick Service restaurant chain. It has a total of 4,613 restaurants in 9 countries.

The company was founded in 1964 in Hamilton, Ontario, by Canadian Hockey player Tim Horton and Jim Charade.

Tim Hortons’ first stores offered only two products – coffee and doughnuts. Apart from its coffee, tea, chocolate, and doughnuts, the menu now contains other baked goods, such as bagels. The company employs over 100,000 people.

8. Burger King

Burger King

Burger King (BK) is an American global chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. It has headquartered in the unincorporated area of Miami-Dade County , Florida. The company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville,Florida-based restaurant chain.

Its menu consisted predominantly of basic hamburgers, French fries, soft drinks, milkshakes, and desserts. It has 15,243 outlets in 100 countries. Almost half of these outlets are in United States.

9.Taco Bell

Taco Bell

Taco Bell is an American chain of fast food restaurants based out of Irvine, California. It was founded in 1962. A subsidiary of Yum Brands. The restaurants serve a variety of Tex-Mex foods that include tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nachos, novelty and specialty items, and a variety of “value menu” items.

As of 2018, Taco Bell has more than 7,000 locations and 80% of them are operated by independent franchisees.

10. Chipotle

Chipotle

Chipotle Mexican Grill is an American chain of fast casual restaurants in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada Germany, and France specializing in tacos and Mission-style burritos.

Chipotle’s menu has four items: burritos, bowls, tacos, and salads. Additional optional toppings are offered free of charge, including rice, beans, queso, four types of salsa, sour cream, cheese, and lettuce. Chipotle Mexican Grill was founded in 1993 by Steve Ells. It has more than 2,000 locations across the globe and employs over 45,000 people.

Happy Social Media Day

Happy #SocialMediaDay 2018! Today marks the 9th year since it’s creation by media company Mashable in 2010. Today, social media is the heart of global communication, and since its inception. social media is a medium to connect between cultures, movements and super-fandom.

10 Most Amazing Buildings in the World!

top-10-amazing-buildings

The man made buildings and architectures are as wonderful as some of amazing natural sights in the world. The human creativity of architects, designers and construction teams have created fascinating buildings that attract people from various places. These architectural masterpieces are brilliant and leave visitors in awe. Here we look at amazing buildings around the world.

1. Burj Khalifa, Dubai

Burj Khalifa, Dubai

This 829.8 m skyscraper in Dubai is the tallest structure in the world. It is one of the most monumental buildings of the world. The building was designed by Adrian Smith and the construction began in 2004. Burj Khalifa was completed in 2009. The design of the tower was inspired by the Hymenocallis flower. Apart from being the tallest building in the world, it is also the tallest freestanding structure in the world. It also has the highest number of stories in the world, highest occupied floor in the world, highest outdoor observation deck in the world, elevator with longest travel distance in the world. Burj Khalifa is also the pride of UAE.

2. Taj Mahal,Agra

Taj-mahal

It is easily one of the most beautiful monuments to be ever built by human beings. Among the wonders of the world, it is the ‘jewel of art in India’, the Taj Mahal was built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. It’s often mistaken as a palace, this famous landmark was actually built as a tomb for the Emperor’s wife. It took around 22,000 men and seventeen years to build the Taj Mahal. The changing colors of the Taj Mahal from a pinkish hue in the morning, milky white in the evening and golden at night with the background of the river, Yamuna make it a compelling sight for the visitors.

3. Eiffel Tower,Paris

Eiffel-Tower

Eiffel Tower built in 1889 in Paris was the product of two engineers Maurice Koechlin and Émile Nouguier. The tower was designed as an entrance to 1889 World’s Fair. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. The Eiffel Tower is the most visited monument of the world with over 7 million visitors every year. The construction of the tower took 2 years 2 months and 5 days.

4.Sydney Opera House,Sydney

Sydney-Opera-House

Australia is often synonymous with the Sydney Opera House. It is widely regarded as one of the greatest architectural works of the 20th century. The innovative & spectacular design came from Jorn Utzon. His design was selected as the winning design among 232 other entries in an international design competition for this building. The beautiful structure comprises of three groups of interlocking shells, which cover two main performance halls and a restaurant. A masterpiece of modern architecture, the opera house has become an iconic symbol of both Sydney and Australian.

5. Lotus Temple, Delhi

Lotus-Temple

The Lotus Temple is in New Delhi consisting of 27 structures resembling petals of the lotus flower that open onto a central hall around 40m high. It has nine sides & nine doors. The temple can accommodate 2,500 people. Its surface is made of white marble from Mount Pentelicus in Greece. Since its inaugurated for visitors, it has drawn more than 70 million people from world over.

6.The Dancing House, Prague

Dancing-House

Nicknamed The Dancing House, Prague Nationale-Nederlanden building was designed by Croatian-Czech architect Vlado Milunić and Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry. The construction of the building began in 1992 and was completed in 1996. The style of the modern glass building is known as deconstructivist architecture.

7.Leaning Tower of Pisa

Leaning-Tower-of-Pisa

The Leaning Tower of Pisa is one of the most remarkable architectural structures of the modern world and Europe. The tilted structure is one of the iconic buildings. The design of the tower wasn’t intentional. It began to lean during construction after soft ground on one side was unable to properly support the building’s weight. It’s also astonishing that construction work on the tower began in 1173 and went on for over 199 years.

8.Fallingwater, Pittsburgh

Falling-water

The building was designed by the famous American architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1934. Fallingwater is easily one of the most famous private residences in the world. The unique design makes it look like appealing. The house stretches over a 30 ft waterfall, without any solid ground beneath it. The house was designed as a weekend home for the family of Liliane Kaufmann and her husband, Edgar J.Kaufmann,Sr., owner of Kaufmann’s Department Store. Surely, not a bad place to spend a weekend or two.

9.Piano House, Huainan, China

Piano-House

Piano House in Huainan, China, is a building served by the Urban Planning Exhibition Hall to display plans for innovative architectural projects in the city. The piano and violin-shaped architecture was built in 2007. It is made only from glass. The transparent violin has escalators and staircases to enter the main piano building.

10.Wonderworks,United States

Wonder-work

The Wonderworks building is designed by architect Terry Nicholson. It is located at Orlando in the United States. The building appears to be turned upside down by a storm. The stunning and incredible building is actually built in an upside-down manner. This monument draws people from all over the world. It is one of the most famous buildings in USA.

11 Most Interesting Websites You wish You Knew Earlier

Most Interesting Websites

The world of web has more than 4 billion users now & over 1.8 billion websites. The numbers are quite staggering considering that the first website was launched in 1991 by the inventor of internet, Tim Berners Lee.

Now, the world of web is filled with everything you can imagine. There are so many interesting websites around. It is an ocean of information that looks unfathomable. It can be daunting and overwhelming at times. So, here we bring to you a list of some of the most interesting and useful websites on the internet, which you wish you knew earlier.

1. Bored Panda

Bored Panda

Bored Panda is the place you want to be when you want to discover amazing, intriguing and visually appealing stuff. It is a blog that publishes regular updates on travel, photography, illustration, humour, animals, technology, design and all sorts of other interesting stuff from weird to great. The articles are fun and engaging for the readers. The panda is bored, but never ceases to amaze everyone who visits it.

2. Ad Block plus

Ad Block plus

Many times surfing internet can be a pain with pop-up ads, banners and notifications from every corner of your screen. These ads can be disturbing especially when you are doing something important. What’s the solution? Well, there is Adblockplus.org. It blocks all the annoying ads on the site you’re visiting and makes your internet surfing enjoyable again.

3. Ted

Ted

TED is one of the most powerful sources of learning and transformation today. It is spreading ideas and knowledge. The nonprofit organization hosts conferences around the globe where people from different sources share amazing ideas and knowledge. The ted talks are typically short(less than 18mins), filled with lot of highly engaging and truly special content. It is inspiring people all over the world with great talks in education, business, science, technology, creativity, health etc.

4. Reddit

Reddit

Reddit is referred to as “the front page of the internet.” It is a community driven website that aggregates content from all across the web. The reddit board is a place where users can find lot of interesting content. Users submit links to content like articles, photos, GIFs, animations or videos that are appealing. Reddit is the where you can find the most powerful and engaging content like social news, breaking news, fun stories and the best of the internet.

5. Alternative To

Alternative To

One of the most useful websites on the web is alternativeTo. It comes in handy when you want to find alternatives to the software and apps. This website helps people by finding alternative websites, apps & software for anything on the web. The alternatives suggested by AlternativeTo.net are based on curated user recommendations.

6. BuiltWith

BuiltWith

BuiltWith is a very handy tool for web developers and designers. It helps users to find the web technology used to build a site. BuiltWith is a website profiler, lead generation, competitive analysis and business intelligence tool providing technology adoption, ecommerce data and usage analytics for the internet.

7. CoolThings

CoolThings

The name suggests it. CoolThings is a collection of all cool things. There are various categories like entertainment, gadgets, gifts, toys and even inventions. There are lot of interesting things that will catch you attention.There is a section for really cool gifts, split into categories for men, women.

8. Truthfinder

Truthfinder

Lost contact with a friend or classmate and want to know more about them & their details? Truthfinder.com might help you. It lets you find information about your friends. You can also check up on your neighbors whether they have any arrest records. This website is a people search engine which allows you to scan public records of the people residing in the United States.

9. Squadhelp

Squadhelp

Squadhelp.com is a crowdsourcing platform where creative people across the world compete by submitting their ideas for a name or brand. It is a perfect place to find the right name for your brand. A person can find a better name or slogan for their website, brand, company, book or anything else on squadhelp.com. They can host a naming content and get the right name.

10. Anystart

Anystart

With Anystart.com, websurfers will have an easy browsing experience because this web portal categorizes the top websites on the internet all at one place.

11. Screencast-o-matic

Screencast-o-matic

Screencast-o-matic is a Screen recording software program. The screencast tool lets users create videos and edit them as per their needs. Screencast tool is easy to use and help users create professional videos. Creating, sharing and experiencing videos is made easy with screencast.

The New Zealand Prime Minister Gives Birth to a Baby Girl

New Zealand Prime Minister

The birth of a child rarely garners such worldwide interest. But in this case, it is the prime minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, 37, who has given birth to her first child. This is only the second occasion in the recent history that someone serving as a national head has given birth. The first was Pakistan’s Benazir Bhutto who gave birth to daughter in 1990.

As per The Associated Press, the former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark sent an email saying that it was a very happy day for Ardern and Gayford. And New Zealanders had taken the news of the pregnancy in their stride.

“This is a sign of our maturity as a country and its acceptance that combining career and family is a choice which women are free to make,” she wrote. “Let’s also celebrate Clarke as a modern man who is happy to be the full time parent of a young child.”

Clarke

“For New Zealand, these events and the way our country has greeted them will be seen as inspirational by all who advocate for gender equality and women’s empowerment,” Clark wrote.

“Welcome to our village wee one,” Ardern used Instagram to welcome the baby girl with this caption. She also wrote, “Feeling very lucky to have a healthy baby girl.”

welcome the baby girl

She further thanked everyone for their kindness, support and wishes. “We’re all doing really well,” she wrote.

While her husband, Clarke had tweeted “So happy to announce our little girl has finally arrived! Everyone healthy and happy. 7.3lb, 4.45pm. What a team.”

It may be recalled that Jacinda Ardern is one of the youngest national leaders in the world. She assumed office of Prime Minister in October 2017 at the age of 37, becoming the youngest female head of government in the world.

New Zealand’s Parliament

She has passed on her duties to Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters during her absence for six weeks of maternity leave. She said she would be consulted on significant issues and would continue to read cabinet papers during her leave.

Jacinda Ardern joined the Labour Party at the age of 18. She entered New Zealand’s Parliament in 2008. She has been advocating children, women, and the right of every New Zealander to have meaningful work.

Jacinda Ardern

Jacinda Ardern arrived at the hospital in her own car, with her husband driving. The baby was delivered in a public hospital without extra care or attention. In a world of fanfare and glitterati for politicians, it is rare to see such simplicity and grounded values.