Archive for the ‘Work & Success’ Category
Do what makes you happy
June 15th, 2011
The Cherry Sisters—19th-century Iowa farm girls—yearned to visit the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair
Effie, Addie, Ella, and Jessie came up with the idea of staging a vaudeville
TAGS: confidence, fair comment, happy, last laugh, libel, motivation, Self-Improvement, talent, true stories, trust | 
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How to find common bonds
May 21st, 2011
As humans we have many splendid qualities … and a few failings. One of our less commendable characteristics is a tendency to dislike and distrust people based on surface differences without taking the trouble to learn who they are inside. Even the most reasonable among us are sometimes influenced by stereotypes about race, religion, ethnicity, national origin, political persuasion, and regionality. As a result, we shortchange people we don’t know—and miss the opportunity for interesting and enriching interactions.
Be confident in your ideas
April 20th, 2011
In these precarious times, it takes courage to approach others with an idea for a new project you believe will pay off in the long run. And it takes special courage to stand by your idea when no one but you can see its value.
William Seward
Believe in yourself … regardless
February 4th, 2011
You sorta know when a guy nicknamed “Stinky” does you a favor … well, to wind up with roses, you might have to start with manure.
Johnny “Red” Kerr wanted to be coach basketball. And he had pretty good credentials for the job. During three years at the University of Illinois, he’d scored 1,299 points to help the Fighting Illini win a Big 10 Championship. As a pro rookie, he’d helped the Syracuse Nationals win an NBA Championship. And as vice president of the ABA’s Virginia Squires, he’d demonstrated an eye for judging talent by taking a chance on then-unknown Julius Erving.
But as writer Marty Farmer recounted on the Chicago Bulls Web site, what Red really needed to make his career grow was a lot of support—and a little manure—from his old pal Stinky Fryer.
Dress for success on a budget
January 25th, 2011
Great fantasy novels and films tap into something called “suspension of disbelief.” It means audiences put logic on hold and allow themselves to believe for a while that Klingons exist and animals can speak with human voices.
Sometimes we also use the device to convince ourselves of things we want to believe in the nonfiction world—for instance, that you can’t judge a book by its cover. The adage may be true in principle, but it doesn’t mean employers won’t make superficial judgments when evaluating prospective hires. And when you’re out of work or transitioning from school into a career, you probably don’t have the financial resources to spend a lot on your power wardrobe.
Control emotions with this tip
January 25th, 2011
Oooh, I just lost my temper. Some days that’s easy to do. I’ve been struggling with a pounding migraine
Avoid making snap judgments
January 22nd, 2011
With so many out of work these days, employers can practically sketch their ideal employee and find someone to perfectly fit the image.
Not many would sketch Nic Schoonbeck.
A decade of drug abuse had left the 24-year-old with a felony arrest record and bedraggled appearance. But as Rhonda Abrams explains in her book Wear Clean Underwear: Business Wisdom from Mom
Rev your engine after the holidays
December 27th, 2010
It’s beginning to look a lot like … the post-holiday slump. Ugh. You’ll probably do some partying to ring in the new year, maybe watch a few football bowl games. And then it will be time to clean up the mess, throw out the leftover fruitcake, and beat the bathroom scales to dust with your kid’s new baseball bat.
For six weeks, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and New Year’s keep Americans on one extended high of sugar and hustle-bustle. Then it’s back to reality … a little poorer
Creating a Christmas classic
December 18th, 2010
After years of recession, we know all about cutting back and being frugal. Folks knew all about it during the Great Depression, too. Executives at Montgomery Ward weren’t worried about pinching pennies when the mail-order giant launched its first retail store in the mid-1920s. But by 1939, even the retail powerhouse had to cut costs during its annual Christmas promotion. So instead of buying coloring books, the company decided to create its own in-house giveaways.
Although 35-year-old Robert Lewis May was fortunate enough to be employed as a copywriter in Montgomery Ward’s advertising department, it still wasn’t the most wonderful time of year for him. His wife was battling a terminal illness. But since he enjoyed trying his hand at children’s stories, he appreciated the assignment to come up with a booklet to replace the coloring books. Perhaps his melancholy over his wife’s illness led him to think of his childhood as a small, shy boy often teased by others. Inspired by his memories, he created Rudolph, a red-nosed reindeer rejected by his classmates.
Quotes on passion and restraint
September 11th, 2010
As my friends know well, I’m a passionate person. Fortunately, though, I have a wide practical streak that helps me hold my passions in check and keeps me from cutting off my nose to spite my face. That practicality is a gift from both parents, but it usually speaks to me in the voice of Star Trek’s Mr. Spock, quoting a favorite line from the film The Wrath of Khan
As a reporter for the Washington Post, Carl Bernstein occasionally let passion get the best of him, too. According to author Stephen Bates in his book If No News, Send Rumors
Furious, Bernstein decided to quit the job he’d held since 1966. But his inner Spock must have had a word because he didn’t just storm out the door. Instead he quietly applied for Hunter S. Thompson’s recently vacated postion as political writer for Rolling Stone.
