4 ways to get moving
Do you have a personal soundtrack? You know, songs that play in your head as you go about your daily routine? Lately I’ve been hearing a lot of “I Like to Move It Move It” from the 2005 animated film Madagascar
TAGS: 
How to hear your guru
Imagine you’re having a conversation with someone who has the golden touch. Every business venture this person has tried has been a triumph. And now this guru is willing to share with you the secret to sure-fire success. But instead of listening quietly to what the guru says, you keep interrupting and insisting that the ideas just won’t work.
“Oh, get real,” you say, “that would never happen.”
Don’t be so sure.
Is living a dream worth it?
My sister-in-law calls me a “bow head.” That’s because, while she grew up a tomboy, I was one of those little girls who wore bows in my hair and outfits that were all matchy-matchy. As they sang in the musical Flower Drum Song
On the other hand …
My DVD collection has more action pics
Are you ready to simplify?
Apparently a lot of Americans have started to figure out that those who die with the most toys don’t win. They just spend their lives lugging around a lot more stuff—and then they have to leave it here for their loved ones to take care of when they finally shuffle off this mortal coil. So … people have started simplifying their lives by getting rid of some of their toys in advance.
3 big communication mistakes
Recently I attended a big celebratory gathering of more than 100 friends. After everyone enjoyed a huge potluck lunch
Of all the mothers and daughters I know, Sarah and Whitney are the duo that most remind me of the relationship
But relationships like Sarah and Whitney’s don’t just happen by magic or luck. They take a lot of work. Watching them through the years, I know Sarah directed much of her parenting effort the same way my mother did—toward effective communication. They approached parenting from different perspectives: My mother worked full-time outside the home while Sarah was a stay-at-home mom. Both also had many responsibilities on behalf of their extended families. But when their children needed to talk, they were there to listen.
Quotes on finding the funny thing
When my nephew was a year old, my mom and I kept him while my brother and sister-in-law attended a wedding in another state. One night he got upset about having to go to bed at his usual bedtime and decided to hold his temper until around midnight when he suddenly started screaming loudly enough to wake the hounds of hell.
My mother was in the room next to his and frantically tried to quiet him. But he was red-faced, furious, and having none of it. So she brought the squalling little cuss to me.
How to welcome back veterans
“In the very near future, the undersigned will once more be in your midst, dehydrated and demoralized, to take his place again as a human being … In making your joyous preparations to welcome him back into organized society you might take certain steps to make allowances for the past 12 months. … Treat him with kindness, tolerance, and an occasional fifth of good liquor and you will be able to rehabilitate that which was … the happy-go-lucky guy you once knew and loved.”
These lines are excerpts from a letter sent by an Army private to his family—one version of several similar letters that circulated among American soldiers serving in Vietnam. The full text, along with more than 200 other letters, appears in Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam
Can you take criticism?
When I was studying journalism in college, I had one instructor whose opinion mattered more to me than anyone else’s. He was a tremendously talented writing coach with a wry sense of humor—and he didn’t pull his punches.
Occasionally we’d wander to the restaurant across the street from the journalism department and grab a corner table. He’d light a cigarette, lean back, and start critiquing my articles. When he came across a passage that didn’t work, he’d read it aloud … and laugh at my goofy sentence construction. I’d grimace and writhe in my chair, and he’d laugh even harder because he knew I was fighting the urge to throw my drink at him. One day I asked, “Do you laugh like that at all your students?” “No,” he said, “only the ones that can take it.” Taking it wasn’t always easy. But the lessons stuck, and they made me a better writer.
Why try your best?
Several years ago I worked with a woman who confided that every morning she drove into the parking lot, then sat in her car with her head on the steering wheel trying to will herself to go into the building. That’s how much she hated her job. And knowing her supervisor, I couldn’t blame her. But once she walked into her office, she always maintained her professionalism and did her job well.
At least once in our working lives, most of us will know what it’s like to be stuck in a job we loathe. And if that’s where you are right now, you probably wake up every morning wondering why you bother to put in so much effort for people who make your life miserable, who don’t pay half what you’re worth, or who can’t tell the difference between good work and crappy work anyway.
When you feel like that, just think about Mrs. Staples.
Leaders say time trumps money
What’s more essential to being an effective leader, time or money? According to the money people, the answer is time.
In a recent survey of accountants by Ajilon Finance and the Institute of Management Accountants, 29 percent of respondents said what leaders most need to be effective in their positions is more time. Only 14 percent said leaders need more money.