Posts Tagged ‘self esteem’
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
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Voice your self-esteem needs
March 19th, 2011
One of my favorite books is Larry McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove
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.
The downside of upspeak
April 2nd, 2010
Great news for the millions of people who find it excruciatingly awkward to stand in front of a mirror and say things like:
I’m a wonderful person.
The world loves me.
I deserve good things.
I am lovable.
What’s the good news? You can stop the embarrassing love affair with yourself.
Shut down your inner naysayer
February 2nd, 2010
As someone who’d been self-employed since his mid-twenties, my dad understood the ups and downs of being your own boss. He knew the worries of watching your business dip with a downturned economy. He knew the responsibility of providing for your own retirement because there would be no company plan. He knew the fear of losing everything when a cancer diagnosis prompted your health insurer to cancel your policy though you’d never been late with a premium. He didn’t want his children to face similar stresses.
So when his son announced he was leaving a secure management job with a major retail chain so he could gamble on law school, Daddy was not happy. Some parents may dream of their children becoming doctors or lawyers. My dad dreamed of company pensions.
To drive home the point that my brother should rethink his choice, Daddy scoured the newspapers and presented him with articles about failing attorneys. Yep, believe it or not, if you look hard enough, you can find articles about starving lawyers.
My brother was confident in his decision, shrugged off my dad’s concerns, and is now a successful partner in his own law firm. My dad couldn’t be prouder. And the major retail chain where my brother had his “secure” management job? It went belly-up before he finished law school.
Sharpen decision-making skills
December 21st, 2009
Finished with your holiday shopping? How did it go? Did you spend a lot of time second-guessing yourself? Calling friends, your spouse, your parents and asking them to validate your choices or help you make a decision? Do you sometimes wish you were one of those people who seem easily able to decide for themselves?
Then why don’t you try to become one of those people?
2 ways to change your reality
November 19th, 2009
Anyone who’s watched a few hours of so-called reality TV knows reality is a relative term. It’s hard to imagine that people can be their authentic selves when the cameras are rolling and they’re performing in contrived situations for the onlooking masses.
But before we become too critical of television’s island survivors; aspiring singers, chefs, and fashion designers; or upscale housewives and wannabe models, let’s be honest: To a large extent, we all create our own realities. And often we cast ourselves in roles that undermine our talents and potential.
Don’t worry what people think
October 13th, 2009
Most of us spend way too much time worrying what others are thinking about us. But we really have no idea what’s going on in anyone else’s head—as I discovered one Christmas.
Our family had gathered at my brother’s and I was refereeing an argument between my then seven-year-old nephew and his younger sister. When I told them they shouldn’t bicker, my nephew announced, “But you and Mimi fight all the time!”
Now “Mimi” is what the kids call my mother, and she and I are exceptionally close. The only time I could remember us getting in a spat in front of the children was when I’d joined them in a wild game of hide-n-seek at her house and we’d nearly pulled down her drapes.
“We do not fight all the time!” I said, but my nephew was adamant. “Okay, then what do we fight about?” Without hesitation, he answered: “Food!”
Food?