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When I hear someone say, “Hey you’re the creative one, I’m not,” I begin to shudder. What a weak excuse for someone not to think! Whether someone is a “left brain” or “right brain,” we can all be creative. In fact, we all can apply creativity to our jobs and to our everyday lives. All…

Some days, the work never seems to end. You’re going 100 miles per hour and getting nowhere, trapped in a whirlwind of activity. Other days, idle time leads to pacing, anxiety, and lack of focus—there must be something I could be doing! You find it hard to relax, to take advantage of downtime. How can…

There’s something energizing and renewing about the long daylight hours of summer. Sure, if you were among the unfortunate millions in the mid-Atlantic recently basting in the blazing sun as utility crews worked to restore electricity and air conditioning, you may think otherwise. But I know for me that come the long days of June,…

Let’s face it. Most resumes are boring—a laundry list of where you’ve worked, when, and your educational credentials. It’s all important stuff, but just what does it tell a prospective employer about the real you and the attributes you bring to the table? Absolutely nothing. Zilch. Nada. So you went to an Ivy League college,…

In an ideal world, success would be determined by what you know and how hard you were willing to apply that knowledge to solving problems, innovating, and making a difference in the lives of others. Of course, we live in a world of people, so life doesn’t always unfold in ideal ways. With people come…

We’ve all had those projects/business ventures that just don’t feel “right” from the start. They seem to make sense at conception—they may even get us jazzed—but once they get underway, the momentum just sort of fizzles. For every one step forward, you seem to take two steps back; for every one hour billed, you seem…

I am always being approached by friends, colleagues, and sometimes even strangers who are thinking about starting their own small businesses. They want my advice, my insight, a glimpse at whatever “secret sauce” I’ve been cooking that’s allowed me to start-up several successful small businesses in the last decade. On one hand, I want to…

Sometimes our hearts and minds are stirred by the unlikeliest of sources. Take last week’s episode of NCIS (that’s right, NCIS—one of my guilty pleasures and one of TV’s top-rated dramas for nine years and counting). The main character on the show, Jethro Gibbs (played by Mark Harmon), faces a life or death situation which…

When someone gets a bonus at work, or some other form of recognition, are you happy for him or her—even when you get no such recognition? Or do you become overwhelmed with the feeling of sour grapes (or bananas), wishing it was you in the spotlight? What about when a family member or friend is…

Maybe it’s because I spent time over the holidays in Alaska, marveling at the wonders Mother Nature has to offer, or back here in California skiing in the mountains, refreshing mind, body, and spirit—whatever it is, I am looking at 2012 with a feeling of renewed energy, piqued curiosity, and clarity of purpose. Even though…

This time of year people tend to get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of the holidays that they are often unable to enjoy them. Are you one of these people? How about switching things up this year? As a starter, I invite you to hop off the post-Halloween holiday treadmill, take a…

Do you get so caught up in the day-to-day of life that you begin to lose sight of what’s most important, often taking things for granted, overlooking what’s right in front of you, or simply going through the motions as if on autopilot? Sometimes I do. Sometimes I just seem to put on the proverbial…