You can have outstanding ideas, yet never leverage them into winning at working results. That\’s because the secret behind those ideas lies in performance. Yours. Getting the okay to pursue your idea is directly related to the level of confidence other people have in your ability to deliver it. And if you do, you will […]
Reading in the airport while waiting for a flight to Houston, a housekeeper was tidying around me when approached by another facilities employee. After a few minutes of easily overheard chit-chat, she received coaching from her now apparent supervisor. “You know,” he said “I\’d like you to pace yourself.” Intrigued by his words, I stopped […]
A friend\’s hairstylist saw her bookings drop as the economy fell, ultimately losing her job at a salon. But when my friend asked her if she\’d be willing to make a house-call to style her ailing mother\’s hair, the stylist saw an opportunity. Ultimately, she launched a specialized in-home business and now makes more money […]
Coward. That word, along with others less printable, popped to mind when I heard a story about a friend\’s son. It turns out, he learned he was no longer employed via a text-message to his cell phone on a Sunday night. The brief message from his ex-boss informed him that his last work day had […]
Resist. Resist. Resist. That seems to be the congressional model these days. Whatever one party is for, the other is against. Before an idea makes it to the blogosphere, opposing party political pundits are railing against whatever approach or bill or stance was taken. Now before smugness gets the better of us, I\’d suggest we […]
Poor Pluto. Stripped of its planetary status by the International Astronomical Union and reclassified as a “dwarf planet,” two years ago, Pluto\’s demotion heralds new rules for planet classification. Debate by renowned astronomers from seventy-five countries culminated in the decision to reduce the number of planets to eight “classic” ones. This reclassification got me thinking. […]
In 1883, as soon as construction ended on the Brooklyn Bridge, the scams started. George C. Parker is credited with originating the idea of selling the Brooklyn Bridge, convincing people they could earn a fortune charging tolls for bridge access. Some erected traffic barriers even as Parker boasted he “sold the Brooklyn Bridge twice a […]
“Weren\’t you afraid?” This is a common question friends ask after seeing pictures of how close we were to lions, elephants, leopards, and hippos. After all, our safari into the African bush wasn\’t Disney\’s Animal Kingdom, and watching a lion pride hunt and kill its prey made that apparent. But I never was fearful. There […]
“I don\’t know,” the Gen-Y acquaintance mused. “I\’m thinking about grad school, but it\’s more work than I thought to prepare for the GREs. Then if I do all that and don\’t get into the program I want, it\’s a waste of time. Plus, did you know it could cost more than $40,000 to get […]
During the Beijing Olympics, beach volleyball players Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh were undefeated in their second gold medal Olympics, with an amazing record of 108 consecutive wins. Watching the advancing duo during the Olympic coverage, I heard commentators mention that when either woman was asked during interviews which one of them was better, they […]
