There is no denying the power that Google has been able to accumulate since its launch wayyy back in 1998. It’s just something everybody has accepted as common knowledge. What most people don’t know, however, is how they can utilize the countless services that Google has created since then to improve their efficiency and productivity, both personally and in business.

1. Google Drive

Cloud storage has become synonymous with productivity in the last 3-4 years. There are several offerings when it comes to service providers (DropBox, OneDrive, Box, etc.) but they lack in comparison to Google Drive. While the other services may offer slightly more user friendly and aesthetically pleasing user interfaces, they can’t compete with the connectivity that Drive can deliver, especially if we are talking about other Google apps and programs. If you are going to make the switch to Google’s suite of products, Drive is the place to start.

You can get a free account for Drive that comes with 15GB worth of storage. You can also pay for additional storage depending on your needs.

Platforms: PC, Mac, Android, Apple

Price: Free; Paid plans available

2. Google Docs

The next three on the list could easily be bundled together, but they each offer their own specific perks I decided to give them each their due.

Docs in particular is one that will get tons of use if you are constantly dealing with business reports, school papers, or forms. This is Google’s answer to the steep price you need to pay for Microsoft Word. While it would definitely be difficult to choose Docs over Word, having both is becoming almost a necessity. Docs allows you to access a full word processor wherever you are. You can edit full documents on your phone or tablet, save them to your Drive account, and then open up the document and continue editing once you got back to your computer. Total connectivity and you are never without the ability to keep working.

Platforms: PC, Mac, Android, Apple

Price: Free

3. Google Sheets

Like it’s Docs counterpart, Sheets is the Google version of Microsoft Excel. Personally I have used this program more than the others combined. I am constantly opening up sales forecasts, campaign trackers, and product invoices on my phone or tablet when I am winding down for the night. It is just too easy to keep working when you have complete access to everything you need wherever you are.

And, unlike Excel, Sheets allows you to invite other people to collaborate on the same document so you are all kept in the loop in real time. This is true for all three of the productivity products (Docs, Sheets, and Slides).

Platforms: PC, Mac, Android, Apple

Price: Free

4. Google Slides

Yup, you guessed it. Slides is Google’s version of PowerPoint. While the two are incredibly similar, Slides is the clear choice for presenting to colleagues and co-workers no matter where you are. Stuck at the airport waiting to board? You can make your presentation available for Offline Viewing and the entire sales team can have an impromptu meeting right in the terminal. You have all the functionality with none of the hassle of waiting to be at the office to go over everything.

And what makes these products even better? You can open Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files on Docs, Sheets, and Slides and continue working without losing anything.

Platforms: PC, Mac, Android, Apple

Price: Free

5. Google Keep

One of the better kept secrets from Google has been their To-Do list program, Keep. Google Keep allows you to take notes on your phone, tablet, and computer and have them all sync together so you never lose anything. These notes can be bulleted To-Do lists, pictures taken with your phone, links from Chrome, voice memos, or even quick sketches. You can also set reminders for each note so you are always kept on track and know exactly what needs to be done.

And, just like all other Google products, you can invite friends, family, and co-workers onto your notes so everybody is kept up to speed and synced in real time.

Platforms: PC, Mac, Android, Apple

Price: Free

Originally posted by CT Business Solutions

People are actually legitimately angry that E-sports are being broadcast on television. Specifically the Heroes of the Dorm tournament championship on ESPN2.

Twitter and Facebook are proving to be a breeding ground of keyboard warriors just completely bashing the fact that teams of people playing a video game is being shown on television.

Personally, I love it. There is serious skill involved in playing any of these games, and if you want to be at the level of competition these guys are on, you better be putting in some serious work.

When it comes down to the anger people have been exhibiting, I think it boils down to the fear or uncertainty associated with change.

Why does physical activity have to be a requirement when talking about a competitive event for it to be considered “real”? Are you saying that chess isn’t real? Are you saying that poker isn’t real? These are some of the most competitive things you can participate in, and both of them never require you to even stand up. Hell, you can play both with only one hand if you wanted to.

Why does a video game automatically draw such angst out of the casual viewer? My theory revolves around the the same anger and confusion associated with both the industrial revolution and the introduction of computers to modern day society.

People were afraid. Afraid they’d lose their jobs. Afraid that things were going to change and nothing would ever be the same. This is what is happening now.

What happened to the good old days when ESPN showed sports and not these stupid video games?

Guess what: they didn’t go anywhere. The good old days are the good current days. Sports is on ESPN 24/7 except for maybe 2 or 3 nights out of the entire year where they show an E-sports event for 2 or 3 hours.

That form of thinking is the same as someone saying:

What happened to the good old days when people did math by hand and didn’t use these fancy schmancy calculators?

Listen up: People still do math by hand. It’s just that technology has introduced something new to help us. It’s foolish to ignore that as a truth rather than an opinion. Advancements in technology are not going away. Things will continuously be enhanced with computers, and competition is no exception.

So, if you are going to continue being salty about ESPN showing E-sports on TV, do us all a favor and keep it to yourself.

Or you can go on your computer, log into your social media accounts, and broadcast your opinions to the world with the click of a button about how you wish things could go back to how they used to be.

Why Are You So Angry About E-Sports? was originally published in DAYONE — A new perspective. on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

You see, I fancy myself a writer. And just like any other writer, I do occasionally write things. Most of the time those things are never read. Instead, they end up in the recycling bin tucked neatly in the bottom left corner of my desktop.

Sometimes, though, the rare piece of finished work manages to avoid that unfortunate fate and make its way in front of someone else’s face.

And I hate it.

Which begs the question I have been faced with over these last three days: How can I consider myself a writer if I never want someone to read what I write?

On some days that answer is easy: I don’t write for someone else, I write for myself.

Bullshit. Total bullshit.

The human condition goes completely against this notion. People crave acceptance. People hunger for validation. It’s not your fault or mine. It’s just something that we’ve had carved into our brains ever since we were young. Only a lucky few have been blessed without this curse, and in some ways I envy them.

But in others I do not.

Think about it. How disheartening and empty would it feel to write something without the underlying urge to have someone read it? I understand that the people who lack this urge aren’t bothered by such things, but humor me and this hypothetical question.

How empty would it feel, just to constantly be writing without ever knowing if what you’re doing is even worth doing?

Exactly! This begs a whole new question: Is something worth doing if someone else doesn’t like it? Is your story, or article, or blog worth writing if someone who reads it thinks it’s total crap?

The easy, politically correct answer is yes, because you shouldn’t require someone else to approve your work to make it worthwhile.

And while that is all well and good, I just don’t know if I can get my mind around that type of thinking.

These questions keep piling up and each answer leads down another rabbit hole, one I’m afraid I just can’t seem to ever find my way out of.

But I am sure of one answer: Everything I have ever written and am currently writing is being done to ultimately please this mysterious unknown future reader. I have no clue who this person is, where they are, or what they like, but I am doing this all for them.

I am writing for validation and approval, yet I know I will probably do everything in my power to make sure they never get to see it.

Makes sense, right? I’ll be down here digging with the rabbits if you need me.

There aren’t that many shows on television nowadays that one can learn valuable life lessons from. There are no more shows like “Leave It to Beaver”, “The Andy Griffith Show”, or “My Three Sons”. That being said, even if there were I’d always rather be watching someone get their head lopped off in Game of Thrones or Detective Benson solving another child abuse case on SVU (even though I still miss Stabler and always will). We are a culture of shock, sex, and gore, and I couldn’t be happier.

To make things easier for my TV consumption I have been fortunate enough to have a father who isn’t afraid of paying for premium cable (cause I sure as shit wouldn’t be if it was my account). This has allowed me to watch a horribly perverted yet totally addicting show: Shameless.

If you aren’t familiar with the show Shameless, you should probably go and read up on the its Wikipedia page because I’m not going to take up time with a complete rundown. I will, however, explain to you how I have been slowly learning some pretty powerful lessons that I’ve been able to put toward my own business.

A little background on myself: I started a marketing and design business in early 2015 and it’s been slowly growing ever since. I’m nowhere near a high powered CEO or a member of the 1%, but I am proud of what I am building and I believe it has serious potential. When I started everything last year I had absolutely no clue what it took to start and grow a successful business (and in most cases I still don’t). I was, however, pretty smart so I knew where to find the answers to the ever growing list of questions I was compiling. From accounting, to sales, to even filing regular tax returns; this was something I never had to do coming out of college, but I was now on the hook for it all.

Through all of the growing pains I’ve had in the last year, I have never shied away from getting advice or tips from anyone or anywhere, including some pretty peculiar places. Enter Shameless.

1. How to Function Despite Being Completely Dysfunctional

The Gallagher’s are arguably the most dysfunctional family unit that has ever graced the small screen. From their drug addicted and drunk degenerate father, to the gay, bi-polar, dishonorable discharge military dropout, almost nothing is literally relatable. But what makes the show great is that, while you may not be able to take what the Gallagher’s are going through and apply it directly to your life, you can always find parallels.

From a business perspective, the Gallagher’s show you that no matter how big of a shit storm you may be in the middle of, there is always a way out and eventually the storm ends. Even if I am struggling to pay my staff for the week because business is slow, or I am dealing with a particularly difficult customer threatening to go with a competitor, I know that I am going to get through it.

I just think back to the time that 13 year-old Chuckie was sent to juvenile detention for drug trafficking and to make sure he was safe in prison his mother tattooed a swastika on his forehead so he’d be a part of the neo-Nazi gang inside. Almost anything I go through in life or in business pales in comparison to that.

Seriously, the show is pretty fucked up.

2. No Matter Who You Are, There’s Always a Way to Make Sure People Hear You

A small business owner is so low on the totem pole that you need to scream for anyone to hear what you have to say, regardless of how important it may be. You could have the greatest idea for your industry in the last 10 years, but if you only have 3 employees and bring in less than $50,000 in sales, it won’t matter. Or so I thought.

Frank Gallagher, the degenerate drunk drug addict I talked about earlier, is arguably the lowest anyone can physically get on that totem pole. In fact, he may actually be buried beneath it. In spite of all this, Frank never fails to make people listen to him, no matter how offensive or ridiculous his spiel may be.

His 3 to 5 minute monologues while getting drunk at the bar are a thing of beauty, and happen so frequently you almost get disappointed when an episode doesn’t feature one. He spouts a painfully disgusting, yet surprisingly articulate, revelation on the way the world works and how things are always going against him; through no fault of his own, of course.

I have taken this truly to heart, knowing that no matter what I have to say, I have the ability to make people hear me. Social media, email marketing, and direct mail marketing have given me the avenues to get my voice in to the public’s ear. A lot of the time what I say has merit, such as some interesting tidbit on small business marketing. While other times I am yelling into the Twitter void about a terrible move my football team has made (the Patriots, save your hate mail, I won’t read it, unless it’s actual mail because that’s dedication and frankly you deserve it).

Just knowing that I can have just as much public access as @CocaCola or @Nike on Twitter, obviously with some serious time commitment and a little money, is enough to get me excited about going off on wayyy more rants on how The Revenant was just ok and that direct mail marketing isn’t dead, despite what you’ve heard.

3. Perseverance Keeps You Out of the Gutter

Nobody wants to be in the gutter, literally or metaphorically. The gutter when it comes to business is the equivalent of failing to make payments to your vendors or having to cut back your employee hours just to make sure you can cover payroll expenses. It’s terrible. Fortunately, I haven’t been through these problems, and hopefully I never will, but the threat is out there. While some business owners see these as inevitable problems, I whole heartedly do not, thanks to Shameless.

The gutter has been a common place for the Gallagher family. They’ve been kicked out of their home on several different occasions. The family has been forced to live in cars, under tarps, and even resort to mooching off weak-willed people and taking up residence in their homes. But, even with all of these obstacles, they always somehow end up back in their house and on their feet at the end of the day. The reason for this is perseverance.

The Gallagher’s have never given up and have gone above and beyond to do whatever it takes to keep their house and stay out of the gutter. Debbie threatened to accuse their uncle, the owner of the house, of child abuse in order to let them continue living there. Carl sold guns and drugs to kids (and teachers) at his school to save up enough money to buy the house back at auction. Frank collected social security payments on his dead Aunt Ginger for years after he buried her in the backyard.

Despite how horrible and depraved that entire paragraph sounds, it translates to one simple thought from the cult classic Galaxy Quest: Never Give Up, Never Surrender. Perseverance is the key to your success in life and in business.

Now, these may seem like some basic thoughts that one can find anywhere if they look hard enough, and I agree. It’s just so obvious when watching the show at how powerful these messages come across, despite their brazen and outlandish coatings.

Just like I said: We are a culture of shock, sex, and gore, and I couldn’t be happier.