Since you will be celebrating Christmas and New Years during the next two weekends with family and friends, I want to give you a few timely reminders on what I call party etiquette. When my family makes sure to do these things at other people’s homes, our efforts are noticed and appreciated.

Consider these 12 little things when you’re invited to someone’s home this holiday season…read more

Soft skills is a term relating to a cluster of personal attributes that characterize relationships with other people, such as social graces, communication, cooperation, honesty, respect, responsibility, friendliness, and optimism.

Because companies are becoming more process and system driven and because job competition has increased at all levels, there has never been a time when soft skills offer more value to the market than they do today.

As a growing number of people with similar talents and education compete for the same jobs, promotions, and clients, soft skills become the differentiating factor separating one person from another. The little things you’ve been learning about in this blog now matter more than ever…read more

This past week I received an email from a loyal follower of this blog who shared the story of how he took what little money he had to buy a pair of cowboy boots for a little girl.

He wrote, “Had the pleasure of telling a Mom last night (who is without a job) that she could consider her little girl’s boots for Christmas bought. Paid for! She was overwhelmed. To this Mom and little girl (who has wanted these boots for three years), it will be very special Christmas.”

His story so inspired me; I challenged my two younger children (who still live at home) to think creatively about how they can serve one or more people this holiday season. And now in this post, I want to challenge you… read more

For many of us this holiday season will be filled with delicious food, exciting presents and fun memories as we spend time with our families. That, however, will not be the case for Philiswa.

My wife and I met Philiswa (pill-ee-swa) on our most recent trip to Swaziland, Africa. What first stood out to us were her eyes. As you can see in the attached photo, she has one eye that wanders off by itself.

As we spent time with her and the 60+ other children in the village, we couldn’t help but notice that the other kids picked on her. It was as if they noticed her disability and felt that it was perfectly acceptable to hit her, take things from her and laugh at her. Yet through all of this she maintained a surprisingly positive spirit…read more

How do you feel when someone disagrees with you? Do you feel attacked or offended? Does your posture change? Do you immediately feel the urge to respond and prove that you are right, or do you want to withdraw?

How do you feel when someone not only disagrees with you, but also makes negative or derogatory comments about your position?

When people disagree with our thinking, our natural tendency is to become defensive, often causing destructive results to people on both sides of the issue…read more

Do you want to enjoy a more positive and productive life in 2011? If so, you must be committed to continuing your growth and development.

If you are not growing in this competitive work environment, you are losing ground to your competitors. Living a status quo life where you are not pushing yourself to improve will likely have negative consequences. Over time your market value will decline, you will lose your edge, your self-confidence will take a dive, and people who are hungrier than you will replace you… read more

Have you ever calculated the amount of money you will need to have saved in order to enjoy the flow of income necessary to maintain your current lifestyle in retirement?

If your answer is no, the sooner you determine how much you need to have saved, the sooner you can start the critical planning necessary to ensure a comfortable retirement.

I have often heard millionaires referred to as “the rich people,” but did you know if you had one million dollars saved paying you an annualized return of 5 percent a year, you would only be earning $50,000, before paying taxes…read more

In my post You Can’t Improve What you Don’t Measure, I explained why measuring your performance is critical to achieving your goals. Whether in business, sports, school, or any area of life, you can’t improve what you don’t measure. The same rule applies to your personal finances.

As we move into the final month of 2010, I want to encourage you to take time to review your finances, make refinements, and set new goals. If you do this, you’ll be more likely to achieve your long-term financial objectives. You’ll feel like you’re in control of your money, and you’ll enjoy the peace that comes from knowing you have a plan. As part of this process you will learn these things:…read more