Work / Life

Being Generous Drives Business Success (Unless You’re a Woman)

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Go-givers are supposed to come out ahead.Over the years, books like Adam Grant’s Give and Take have popularized the idea that you can get ahead in business by putting other people first. 

According to this wisdom, rather than looking out for Number One all the time, success-seekers should give their time and attention to others while expecting nothing in return. This is considered one of the greatest open secrets of effective networking. 

The problem is, women have been doing that for centuries without getting ahead. Read More

Your Life Purpose Might Have Nothing to Do With Service

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service guyThis post was inspired by this recent video from Marie Forleo, whom I appreciate and admire. It touches on the concepts of life purpose, service, and meaning.

A fan had written to Marie to ask how she could make sure her personal fulfillment didn’t decrease when she left her service profession and switched to art.

The fan was worried that her sense of meaning and purpose might suffer now that she was no longer serving others. Read More

A Simple Strategy to Make Every Day Productive

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Busy_400px-dpcIf you’re like me, you have some days when you’re the queen of your life and get forty-three things done before lunch … and others where changing out of your pajamas is the day’s biggest achievement.

This is one of the many reasons I love listening to business-oriented podcasts. You can pick up gems of wisdom and inspiration — and yea, even practical tips for productivity — from successful business people, even if they operate in a totally different realm than you. Read More

Try This New Spin on Goal-Setting

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arrow hitting targetRecently I listened to an interview with Chalene Johnson, who introduced me to a new idea for goal-setting.

At first I was skeptical, but when I actually went through Chalene’s steps, it worked!

Here’s what she suggested:

1. Set 10 goals.

WHAT? TEN goals? That’s too many, isn’t it?

Trust Chalene. Write down 10 goals across a wide range of areas of your life.

Here are the areas Chalene suggests for your goals:

  1. Educational (a “get smart” goal — something you want to learn more about)
  2. Pure joy — something just for the fun of it
  3. Love life
  4. Family / friends
  5. Spirituality
  6. Environment — Meaning where you spend much of your time, such as your home or workplace
  7. Purpose / profession
  8. Financial
  9. Fitness / nutrition
  10. Mental wellness — I like to think of this as emotional well-being.
Read More